Israel’s just military response to Hamas aggression has not found favor in South Africa’s ruling circles. The deputy secretary-general of the African National Congress, Jessie Duarte, issued a blatantly one-sided statement a few days in which she compared Israel’s response to Nazi atrocities. As she put it, “The African National Congress condemns in the strongest terms the barbaric attacks on the defenceless Palestinian people of Gaza … We are reminded of the atrocities of Nazi Germany.”
And in a parting shot, she added, “The State of Israel has turned the occupied territories of Palestine into permanent death camps.”
This is nonsense of the highest order, and it should be refuted.
Duarte’s comparison between Operation Protective Edge, Israel’s offensive to silence Hamas’ merciless rocket barrage on civilian targets in Israel, and Nazi Germany’s attempt to exterminate the Jews of Europe, is factually and glaringly incorrect, as well as morally obtuse and obscene.
And her crazy claim that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank can be likened to Nazi concentration camps, like Auschwitz and Treblinka, is so blinkered and outrageous that it defies comprehension.
If Duarte possessed even a scintilla of knowledge about the Middle East and the Holocaust, she would not have dared to make such outlandish and egregious claims.
One must wonder whether she imbibed hallucinogenic substances before uttering these worthless comments.
Worse still, Duarte did not even make a minimal attempt to display a sense of balance. Cheap propagandist that she is, Duarte refrained from acknowledging that the latest round of cross-border fighting was ignited, as usual, by Hamas and its sister organization, Islamic Jihad, both of which call for Israel’s destruction and reject a two-state solution to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The true face of Hamas is revealed in its despicable charter, which is awash with racist and antisemitic language and imagery and which, astonishingly enough, evokes the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an anti-Jewish tract concocted by czarist Russia in the late 19th century, to defame and marginalize Jews. Hitlerite hacks like Joseph Goebbels and Alfred Rosenberg revelled in its repugnant lies, and Hamas gladly joined the Nazi bandwagon.
Israel unilaterally pulled out of Gaza in 2005, hoping that the Palestinians would try to convert Gaza into a haven of peace and prosperity. Israel`s expectations were soon dashed. Hamas, having defeated Fatah in the 2006 elections, proceeded to turn Gaza into a totalitarian one-party state governed by the rigid rules of Shariah law. After seizing full control of Gaza in a coup in 2007, Hamas transformed Gaza into an armed camp in preparation for war with Israel. Its objective is to pursue the path of armed struggle, destroy Israel and establish an Islamic state on the ruins of the Jewish state.
Since the fanatical and obdurate Hamas leadership rejects reconciliation with Israel, unlike Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, Hamas has repeatedly and adamantly rejected overtures from the Quartet — the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia — to accept its baselines for peace: recognition of Israel, rejection of terrorism and acceptance of previous agreements signed by Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas, never mind Islamic Jihad, is not remotely interested in peaceful coexistence with Israel. Hamas is dedicated to destroying Israel, and that simple fact explains its irresponsible decisions to continually break ceasefires with Israel.
Israel has a right to defend itself in the face of Hamas aggression, and that`s why Operation Protective Edge is currently unfolding, much to the detriment of the Palestinians, the ultimate victims of Hamas stupidity and hubris, and of the Israelis.
Duarte may be dimly aware of these salient and telling facts. Only she knows the truth. In the meantime, one can safely assume that her mean-spirited and disgusting verbal barrage is deliberate. She has taken sides and seems oblivious to reason.
Nonetheless, the African National Congress cannot ignore this intolerable provocation. It should reprimand or sack Duarte and issue a heart-felt apology to Israel, which is defending itself and its people.
What would South Africa do if Cape Town or Johannesburg were shelled by enemy combatants? The answer is obvious.