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South Africa’s Future Depends on Confronting Domestic Crises, Not Scapegoating Israel
Director-General of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa Zane Dangor and South African Ambassador to the Netherlands Vusimuzi Madonsela talk at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), at the start of a hearing where South Africa requests new emergency measures over Israel’s operations in Rafah, in The Hague, Netherlands, May 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in effect called for the annihilation of Israel at the African National Congress (ANC)’s closing election rally — by leading a chant of “From the River to the Sea” — it marked a new low in South Africa’s democratic history.
However, this blatant attempt to scapegoat Israel and deflect from the ANC’s catastrophic failures at home, didn’t improve its poor performance in the May 29 elections.
South Africa is besieged by domestic crises — joblessness, collapsing infrastructure, and a murder rate of 81 people per day. Yet, rather than focus on addressing these urgent issues, one of the ANC’s key election tactics was to demonize Israel for defending itself against the terrorist group Hamas. Ramaphosa naively believed this would win votes, declaring “historically, people have been appreciative of the stance taken by the ANC.”
But South Africans weren’t fooled. They voted based on the dire situation at home, not a faraway conflict they know little about. The ANC suffered its worst result ever in the country’s history. Meanwhile, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) party, whose leader Gayton McKenzie bluntly told a rally “Do not tell me about Palestine here … This is not Palestine,” won an impressive 7% in the Western Cape province, almost equal to the 9 percentage points the ANC lost there.
Some analysts wrongly predicted the PA’s pro-Israel stance would doom them. Instead, the PA’s success showed that the ANC is out of touch.
The ANC’s malicious campaign against Israel reached new depths when it took the Jewish State to the International Court of Justice, falsely accusing it of genocide. This egregious charge not only does a grave historical injustice to the actual meaning of genocide — and the millions of victims who suffered under it — but also exposes the ANC’s moral decay.
By exploiting the term “genocide,” the ANC cheapens the memory of the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, and other true genocides.
This is nothing more than a despicable attempt to delegitimize Israel by associating it with the most heinous crime imaginable. Such an accusation coming from the ANC, a party once led by moral giants like Nelson Mandela who understood Israel’s right to exist in peace and security, is a disturbing sign of how far it has fallen.
In contrast, McKenzie and other politicians openly stood with Israel on the campaign trail, knowing that millions of South Africans, especially in the largest churches, maintain strong spiritual bonds with the Holy Land.
The Shembe Church, with millions of followers, recently sent leaders to Israel who denounced their own government’s bias, stating, “There is no apartheid in Israel.”
One of the church’s leaders, Inkosi Phakama Shembe, called out the government’s silence on Hamas’ October 7th atrocity, and criticized South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. He noted the ANC’s position is in direct contrast to that of millions of Shembe Church members.
The Democratic Alliance also safely held its majority in the Western Cape, despite warnings that its neutral Israeli-Palestinian stance would cost it votes. This affirms that most South Africans believe in Israel’s right to exist in peace, even if their government shamefully sides with those seeking its annihilation.
As South Africa enters uncharted political territory, its leaders must heed the true will of the people. Scapegoating Israel while the nation crumbles will only hasten its demise. South Africa’s survival depends on courageously confronting its domestic ills while building bridges in a world that increasingly accepts Israel’s permanence and promise.
The ANC’s resort to charges of genocide against Israel only underscores how far it has strayed from its guiding principles and the moral vision of its former leaders. As it faces an uncertain future, the party must reckon with its own ethical decay if it hopes to regain the trust of South Africans and play a constructive role in the nation’s renewal.
Rowan Polovin is the chairman of the South African Zionist Federation.
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Trump Says Israel ‘Will Not Exist Within Two Years’ if Harris Elected President During Heated Debate
Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump points towards Democratic presidential nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris, during a presidential debate hosted by ABC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, Sept. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump insisted on Tuesday night that his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris would prove catastrophic for Israel if she were to win the White House in November.
Trump argued during his first presidential debate with Harris, the current US vice president, that she “hates” Israel and that her election would lead to the Jewish state’s swift demise. He also took a jab at Harris for allegedly snubbing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by not attending his address to a joint session of the US Congress in July.
“If she’s president, I believe Israel will not exist within two years from now. She hates Israel,” asserted Trump, who served as US president from 2017-2021.
Trump went on to claim that Harris also “hates” people of Arabic descent and that her foreign policy approach would result in a destructive regional war in the Middle East.
“At the same time, in her own way, she hates the Arab population, because the whole place is going to get blown up. Arabs, Jewish people, Israel, Israel will be gone,” Trump said.
The Republican nominee also took a swipe at the Biden administration’s approach to Iran, arguing that its policies have resulted in empowering and enriching the Islamist regime in Tehran.
“Iran was broke under Donald Trump,” Trump said. “Now, Iran has three-hundred billion dollars, because they took off all the sanctions that I had. Iran had no money for Hamas or Hezbollah or any of the 28 different spheres of terror.”
Trump was referring to his decision as president to withdraw from the controversial 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose harsh economic sanctions on he regime. The Biden administration sought unsuccessfully to renegotiate the nuclear accord and has offered certain sanctions waivers, which according to critics benefit Tehran and allow it to spend more money on supporting terrorism.
US intelligence agencies have long labeled Iran as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism. Supporters of Trump’s policies toward Iran argued in part that they gave the regime less resources to give to its terrorist proxies across the Middle East, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Critics countered that the nuclear deal was a better path to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and that Washington should work to prevent escalation with Tehran.
“They had no money for terror. They were broke. Now, they’re a rich nation. And now, what they’re doing,” Trump continued.
The former president urged the audience to “look at what’s happening to the Houthis and Yemen. Look at what’s going on in the Middle East.”
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia, a US-designated terrorist organization, began disrupting global trade with its attacks on shipping in the busy Red Sea corridor after Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, arguing its aggression was a show of support for Palestinians in Gaza. The Iran-backed movement has also said it will target all ships heading to Israeli ports, even if they do not pass through the Red Sea, and claimed responsibility for attempted drone and missile strikes targeting Israel.
Harris on Tuesday night emphatically denied Trump’s assertion that she harbors animosity toward the Jewish state. She argued that the former president was attempting to distract from his own “weak” foreign policy record.
Harris echoed her previous comments on the ongoing war in Gaza, insisting that “Israel has a right to defend itself” and that “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”
She added that the war in Gaza must “end immediately” and repeated calls for Israel to strike a ceasefire and hostage deal with the Hamas terrorist group. The Democratic nominee also underscored the need for a “two-state solution” to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The post Trump Says Israel ‘Will Not Exist Within Two Years’ if Harris Elected President During Heated Debate first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli TV Stars Call for Immediate Release of Hamas Hostages in New Video Message
Gabriel (played by Michael Aloni) and Rochel (played by Yuval Scharf) in “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem.” Photo: Yes Studios.
Some of the biggest Israeli television stars are calling for the immediate release of the 101 individuals still held hostage by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip for almost a year now following the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel.
Actors from “Fauda,” “Shtisel,” “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem,” “Night Therapy,” “On The Spectrum,” and other popular shows in Israel pleaded for the safe return of the hostages in a video message released on Tuesday by Israel’s Yes TV.
“When we shoot a show, we know the script, we know what the story is, who is against who and we know how the story will end,” they said in the video, with each person stating a different part of the message. “But now, this isn’t a show. These are real people, and their time is running out. This pain is impossible to bear. There’s no air.”
“If they don’t come back, then who are we? Who?” many of them asked. “What does it say about us?”
“How will we look our children in the eyes?” asked Noa Koller, the star and creator of “Rehearsals,” who is also a mother of two. “Our grandchildren?” added “Shtisel” star Sasson Gabay, who is a grandfather.
“There are people alive there,” the actors said repeatedly. “These are their lives, and our lives — all of our lives. We have to bring all of them home, now, now,” they said again and again.
The video also featured “Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” stars Yuval Scharf and Hila Saada, “Fauda” and “The Lesson” star Doron Ben-David, “Fauda” and “Night Therapy” actor Yaakov Zada Daniel, “On the Spectrum” and “Bloody Murray” actress Neomi Levov, Israeli film star Yael Abecassis, “Fire Dance” star Yehuda Levi, “Berlin Blues” actress Shirah Naor, comedian Tom Yaar, comedian and actor Yuval Semo, and others.
The post Israeli TV Stars Call for Immediate Release of Hamas Hostages in New Video Message first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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NYC Art Exhibit With Israeli Artists Commemorating Oct. 7 Attack Focuses on ‘Resilience and Reflection’
A partial view of the canvas painting “Enduring Hope” by Nirit Takele featured in the exhibit “Resilience and Reflection: An Artist Response to October 7th.” Photo: Provided
A new art exhibition opening in New York City on Thursday to honor the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre will showcase a variety of memories, stories, and emotions — including grief, resilience and hope — surrounding the deadly attacks in southern Israel.
“Resilience and Reflection: An Artistic Response to October 7th” will be open to the public at the David Benrimon Fine Art Gallery. The exhibit features 24 works of art from emerging and established Israeli artists, and each piece of art included in the exhibit tells a personal story connected to Oct. 7.
“Art has long been a powerful tool for processing collective trauma and catalyzing communal healing. ‘Resilience and Reflection’ aims not only to remember the lives and stories intertwined with October 7th but also to showcase the incredible capacity of human beings to seek hope and renewal in the face of despair,” according to a released statement about the exhibit.
“Resilience and Reflection” features various mediums, including painting, poems, sculpture, video, and mixed media, “each serving as a personal response and reflection on the events of that day.” A print photo by Benzi Brofman showcasing the Bibas family is a mostly black-and-white image, except for some background color and the bright red hair of the Bibas children Kfir and Ariel.
The entire Bibas family was abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7 and remain held hostage by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Kfir, the youngest hostage to be abducted by Hamas during its deadly rampage across southern Israel, was 9 months old when he was kidnapped.
One Hebrew language poem is featured in a mixed media piece titled “Handful of Dreams,” by Dede Bandaid and Nitzan Mintz. Its translation reads: “A bed bakes my body like bread/filling it with a handful of dreams/When I open my eyes/How great is the hunger/Woe to the walls.” The artists said that the poem is about “hope, hard reality and big dreams.” The duo also created a collage titled “October” that includes different memories connected to the Oct. 7 terrorist attack.
A hand-carved wooden sculpture of a solitary individual standing beside a small house with a red roof was created my mixed media artist Yarin Didi and is titled “Cut Apart.” It is part of an Oct. 7 sculpture series and was made from oak, olive, and eucalyptus woods. Didi said the small house with a red roof “stands as a testament to the horrors around Gaza on that fateful October 7th.”
“The earth beneath the figure, crafted from olive wood, symbolizes peace with its olive branch. The entire composition — from the figure to the ground and the house — captures emotions too heavy for most to bear or speak of,” he added. “In silence, I create. I carve memories and experiences of that October from wood, teetering between hardship and hope — that change may come, and we might yet find healing and joy.”
Danielle R’Bibo is the curator of the exhibit, and this is her first solo curated show.
“Art allows us to communicate the inexpressible, to process pain, and to find hope amid sorrow,” R’bibo said. “The artists in this exhibition are deeply moved by the opportunity to share their work in America. Through their art, they aim to honor the memories of those lost, bringing a human face to the war. This exhibition is not about politics; it’s about the people — their stories, their pain, and their resilience.”
“Resilience and Reflection: An Artist Response to October 7th” will be open to the public Sept. 12-26 at the David Benrimon Fine Art Gallery.
The post NYC Art Exhibit With Israeli Artists Commemorating Oct. 7 Attack Focuses on ‘Resilience and Reflection’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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