Jack Miller, Johannesburg
Are tourists (Israeli or otherwise) supposed to entirely ignore the local crimes statistics – about 20 murders a day and about 50 rapes a day (apart from the fact that hundreds of rapes are never reported), street robberies, car hijackings, home invasions, and so on.
This, after the virtual complete withdrawal of the South African ambassador to Israel – by President Cyril Ramaphosa nogal – leaving the embassy there a seemingly miserable nonentity.
Did Ramaphosa even give the former ambassador the opportunity to express publicly his honest impression of his tenure in Israel? No chance of that, in case he had truly positive opinions, which he was probably forbidden to express. So much for multiculturalism!
Please note that the ministry still went ahead with an entire list of “do’s” and “don’ts” to potential tourists. So, to the spokesperson of our tourism ministry and its protest about the travel advisory from Israel, it sickens me to the core.
