TALI FEINBERG
The PSC announced on 24 March that it would host a “series of topics online surrounding IAW 2020”. It shared a range of anti-Israel content on its social-media platforms, in particular Twitter.
One tweet, which was originally posted by Africa4Palestine (previously Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions South Africa) paid tribute to Therese Halasa, who was one of four Palestinians that hijacked a plane en route to Tel Aviv in 1972.
“The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an incredibly important discussion that needs to be happening on campuses throughout South Africa and indeed the world. However, there’s a time and place for it,” says South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS) National Chairperson Ariel Goldberg.
He says his team is closely monitoring the online IAW campaign, and nothing anti-Semitic has appeared so far. However, they will continue to keep a close eye on it, and encourage the community to do the same and report to SAUJS if you do see such content.
SAUJS has chosen not to launch a counter-campaign at this sensitive time. “Zionism is one of the pillars on which SAUJS operates. Our responsibility to host educational campaigns isn’t diminished by the pandemic.
“However, we understand that there is an immediate need to join the fight against COVID-19. As such, we will be running our Israel Awareness Week campaign at the appropriate time later this year. With the outbreak and deadly spread of the virus, it’s time for unity. As our president and countless other community leaders have emphasised, we can only overcome this together,” Goldberg says.
“As the youth, we have a responsibility to South Africa. We are the ones who need to be at the forefront of the fight. We need to be the voice for the vulnerable and weak – those who are unable to help themselves at a time like this. We must answer the call, as many of our fellow students have done, to join the fight against COVID-19.”
He says SAUJS will double its efforts to help people – from handing out sanitisers and multilingual information brochures to fellow students, to discussing and promoting mental and physical health. “From inspiring communities to educating others about the best ways to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic, we are making a tangible difference to South African society.
“We refuse to compromise our focus on having a positive impact on people’s lives in an effort to counter the false and hateful narrative being perpetuated by anti-Israel groups. We won’t be doing our own virtual Israel Awareness Week, but we will still stand against hate wherever it may arise.
“Please reach out to SAUJS if you’d like to assist us with our COVID-19 programme, or if there is any way SAUJS may be able to help you.”
Wendy Kahn, the national director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, said, “We commend SAUJS for responding quickly and timeously to the COVID-19 crisis, and channelling its energy to helping fellow South Africans. The anti-Israel hate-fest – the so-called Israel Apartheid Week – resonates with very few people. COVID-19 affects every single one of us. SAUJS has shown true leadership by dealing with the crisis in a real and meaningful way.”
Rowan Polovin, the chairperson of the South African Zionist Federation, said, “SAUJS has taken the moral high ground in supporting the life and unity of the nation during this crisis. While the anti-Israel lobby has been turning coronavirus into a weapon against the Jewish state, SAUJS is prioritising pikuach nefesh (the saving and preservation of human life) through positive nation-building efforts.”
