RSS
South Africa Is Becoming Another Front in the War Against Israel
Anti-Israel protesters march through the streets of the township of Lenasia in Johannesburg, South Africa, Oct. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ihsaan Haffejee
Amid growing instability across the world, South Africa is playing a key role in the tectonic geopolitical shifts underway, recently supporting Iranian membership in BRICS, the Russian-led Global South economic club.
With its bogus genocide charges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and its connections to Iranian nuclear interests, South Africa spearheads the global solidarity movement’s attack on Israel.
Elite political figures in South Africa show no discomfort with the desire of Iranian leaders to destroy the State of Israel. The South African figure most closely associated with nuclear policy, Abdul Minty, is a veteran anti-apartheid activist and ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He is also an outspoken opponent of Israel, who has a track record in the IAEA that is considered favorable to Iran.
In pursuit of their goal to destroy Israel, the Iranian leadership prefers not to put their own population in the firing line, cultivating proxy militias elsewhere, including Gaza’s Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis, and Syria’s Shi’ite militia.
South Africa increasingly shows itself to be another key Iranian proxy site, an eighth front in Israel’s existential war.
With South African civilians and politicians working actively against Israel — including in diplomatic arenas, in lawfare, and in humanitarian sectors — public perception is churned in Iran’s favor, including support for the false “apartheid” analogy that has since been overtaken by charges of genocide.
Iran’s stated goal to destroy the Jewish State has been supported on the streets of Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town, where sources close to Jewish communal organizations highlight links between South African anti-Israel groups and Iran.
South Africans generally are reeling in shock, following crass antisemitic statements made by Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman, the much loved founder and director of Gift of the Givers humanitarian relief agency, at a recent rally in Cape Town organized by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and attended by extreme anti-Israel and pro-Iran groups.
Sooliman’s comments were highlighted in an open letter by retired High Court Judge Lawrence Nowosenetz, published in his blog on The Times of Israel.
Sooliman continues to work with the backing and support of the South African government and elite civil society, and has many other supporters including Usuf Chikte, coordinator of the PSC Campaign. Speaking at Cape Town’s first Shia Mosque, Ahlul Bait Mosque, on Al Quds Day in April 2022, Chikte described his excitement in 1979 when the Islamic Revolution took place, and his support for Iranian geopolitical interests oozes from his every utterance. He has pushed legislation to boycott Israel, to use lawfare charges or genocide against it, and much more.
Chikte’s promotion of Shiite Iranian geopolitical interests is also clear on the international front, where he calls explicitly for the removal of the Sunni leaders in Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Gulf States, which he describes as “so-called Muslim countries.”
“We want to expose the hypocrisy of the despots of the Middle East,” said Chikte. “In the fight against imperialism, these are the people at the forefront and they must be removed for us to be able to ensure that the whole region is free from imperialism, from plundering and pillaging of that whole area.”
Time will tell if South Africa is using BRICS to undermine the possibility of any progress with the Abraham Accords as Sooliman, Chikte, Hamas, and Iran would wish, and whether leaders of the “so-called Muslim” countries described by Chikte will be pleased if, with South Africa’s support, Iran does in fact succeed in its goal to undermine and destroy the Jewish State.
Joshua Schewitz is a researcher and analyst specializing in Africa and the Middle East, with a focus on security related-topics in addition to blockchain technology.
The post South Africa Is Becoming Another Front in the War Against Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students
Haredi Jewish men look at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Israel, on Nov. 23, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad
Israel’s military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students following a Supreme Court ruling mandating their conscription and amid growing pressure from reservists stretched by extended deployments.
The Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, a policy established when the community comprised a far smaller segment of the population than the 13 percent it represents today.
Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel’s 21 percent Arab population are mostly exempt, though some do serve.
A statement by the military spokesperson confirmed the orders on Sunday just as local media reported legislative efforts by two ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to craft a compromise.
The exemption issue has grown more contentious as Israel’s armed forces in recent years have faced strains from simultaneous engagements with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Iran.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders in Netanyahu’s brittle coalition have voiced concerns that integrating seminary students into military units alongside secular Israelis, including women, could jeopardize their religious identity.
The military statement promised to ensure conditions that respect the ultra-Orthodox way of life and to develop additional programs to support their integration into the military. It said the notices would go out this month.
The post Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel’s new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a “grave mistake” that he said would benefit the terrorist group Hamas.
Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel’s military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his “next steps” but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition.
Smotrich’s comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.
“… the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas,” Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as “logistical support for the enemy during wartime”.
The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.
Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to U.N. estimates.
Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.
PRESSURE
Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.
The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.
The post Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation’s Jewish community.
There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state.
Australia has experienced several antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.
Counter-terrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighboring New South Wales, charging him with offenses including criminal damage by fire, police said.
“The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene,” police said in a statement.
The suspect, whom the authorities declined to identify, was remanded in custody after his case was heard at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no application was made for bail, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police.
The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia’s Jews.
It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to “condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together”.
“This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last,” Herzog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incidents as “severe hate crimes” that he viewed “with utmost gravity.” “The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community,” Netanyahu said on X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law’s full force.
“My Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort,” Albanese posted on X.
Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organized crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives in order to divert police resources, police said in March.
The post Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue first appeared on Algemeiner.com.