In a shameful surrender to ignorance and malice, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, has condemned Israel as “a state founded on the basis of apartheid.” Accordingly, the creation of Israel was “a crime against humanity.”
This statement, issued by ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe in conjunction with the Communist Party, the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Civics Organization, must have gratified Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, which categorically reject Israel’s legitimacy.
With this vile diatribe, the ANC has allied itself with some the most reactionary forces in the Middle East.
What a disgrace.
The ANC has regularly lambasted Israel’s settlement construction program in the West Bank and its policies toward the Palestinians. Such criticism is perfectly legitimate and useful. But when Israel’s right to exist is questioned, a dangerous line has been crossed.
The late Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, adopted a measured position with respect to Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Although he was deeply supportive of the Palestinian cause, he was in favor of a two-state solution and never indulged in anti-Israel rhetoric. In short, he tried to be balanced in his outlook.
In a sharp and regrettable break with this sense of fair play, the current leadership of the ANC displays no such fairness. This abysmal lack of balance manifested itself before and during the recent 50-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Shortly after Israel launched Operation Protective Edge, in response to Hamas rocket bombardments of Israeli communities along the border, Jessie Duarte, the deputy secretary-general of the ANC, likened Israel’s military offensive to a Nazi attack. Apparently fond of Nazi symbols, Duarte accused Israel of turning the West Bank into a “permanent death camp.” To no one’s surprise, given her animosity toward Israel, Duarte didn’t even bother mentioning that Hamas aggression was the root cause of the war.
A few days later, the social media manager of the Western Cape branch of the ANC, Rene Smit, posted a Facebook message lauding the Nazi genocide of Jews. The post was eventually deleted, but the damage had been done.
Four months prior to the outbreak of the Gaza war, the ANC officially endorsed Israel Apartheid Week, an anti-Israel event that takes place in March on some university campuses around the world.
In November 2013, the minister of International Relations, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, announced that South Africa would downgrade bilateral relations with Israel by curtailing ministerial visits. Nine months earlier, her deputy, Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, had said that South Africans should not associate with Israel.
In further comments suggestive of the ANC’s animus to Israel, South Africa’s former ambassador to the Jewish state, Ismail Coovadia, accused Israel of practising apartheid, while South Africa’s former deputy president, Baleka Mbete, claimed that Israel is “far worse than apartheid South Africa.”
Accusations that Israel is an apartheid state are simply absurd and false.
Israel has its faults and imperfections, to be sure, and they should be exposed and corrected. But Israel is definitely not the old apartheid South Africa. It’s a thriving and lively democracy whose ethnically and religiously diverse citizens enjoy equal rights under the law. All Israelis, whether Jewish, Muslim or Christian, are allowed to vote and enjoy freedom of movement, assembly and speech. This was not the case in apartheid South Africa, where non-whites were oppressed on all levels.
When Israel imposes restrictions on its citizens, legitimate security concerns are inevitably the reason. Israel remains under siege by an assortment of enemies. It’s still the only country in the world whose existence and legitimacy cannot be taken for granted.
Much to his credit, Mandela understood the dynamics of the Arab-Israeli dispute and of Jewish history. His successors do not appear to understand or appreciate these basic fundamentals.
This is a pity, for South Africa and Israel.