My experience at a PSC event in Brixton

Guest Blog: Ilan Solomons - http://supernatural.blogs.com/weblog/2010/01/guest-blog-ilan-solomons.html 

Ilan Solomon’s has over the past year or two become one of the new important leaders in the fight against anti-Israel attitudes and behaviours on and off university campuses in South Africa. He is the current SAUJS National Political Officer and is also the former Wits Political Officer.
He sent in the following guest blog on a recent experience at a Palestine Solidarity Committee event which took place late last year.
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My experience at a PSC event in BrixtonIlan Solomons
I write this short description of how I was treated at a PSC event which I recently attended at Nsako House in Brixton.
A friend of mine on facebook invited me to the screening of a few movies by the Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC), a few weeks back. Now I fundamentally believe that if one has a strong background in the Israeli-Arab conflict and is not swayed easily by propaganda - on either side – then I see no problem with hearing different views on the matter. So I decided along with a friend of mine to take up the challenge and venture into Brixton and go and see this event that the PSC and a few other organizations were putting on.
Some familiar PSC members did their best to hide their shock and clear discomfort with having two Jews that are well known for their pro-Israel activities in their own ‘den’. Well we quickly sat down to take our seats for the films and discussions. Before I continue let me just clarify that we both did not have any provocative clothing on, i.e. Israel or IDF shirts. The only thing that was clearly visible were our yarmulke’s which were just plain unbranded black and blue yarmies. Which as you will see later in this account became an issue.
The one documentary did not run properly, so they went straight onto the next film which is called Occupation 101, which features several supposed experts on the conflict giving over some of the ‘facts’ – as they see it on the ground.
After the film some members of the PSC, were given time to field questions from the audience. The questions touched on a variety of points relating to the conflict, many of which the PSC members did not answer or simply ignored or played down especially relating to the issue of Palestinian terror groups like Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
At first I was hesitant to ask a question as being in the PSC ‘den’ with the only one other Jew besides me was quite intimidating – especially bearing in mind their history of volatile behaviour – I decided nonetheless to ask a question which I felt no one had touched on. The question was as follows “ I understand the situation in the territories are not as they possibly should be, and this needs to improve, however my question is what does the PSC suggest should be done to counter the religious extremism that is emanating from Mosques, Churches, Shuls and so on. It is clear that this conflict has major religious connotations and this issue needs to be addressed, how do you propose this issue be addressed?” Now I would say that is a fair question which is not hurtful nor is it inappropriate.
Well the members of the PSC were not happy with answering the question, and basically swept it aside saying it was a diversion from the greater human rights issue. A few minutes later the stage was given to Salim Vally – the Chair of the PSC Gauteng, he went on a tirade about Apartheid South Africa and how the new ‘Apartheid’ had to be fought by WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY!!! He then turned to me personally and here is some of what he said “Ilan Pappe – confusing me with a renegade Israeli historian!!! He then corrected himself and ranted Ilan Solomons you racist, fascist, your question was a typical Zionist ploy to divert attention from the real issue, the colonial imperialist Zionist who are ethnically cleansing Palestine. It is racist like this man Ilan Solomons that characterised the white supremacist racist Apartheid regime in South Africa and in Israel today. Ilan Solomons criticizes me for supporting the likes of Islamic Jihad and Hamas but he supports the state terrorist entity of Israel, who is the extremist Ilan Solomons, or myself, I am the moderate that supports human rights, it is the likes of Ilan Solomons that are the extremist’s racists. The PSC is open to all Christians, Muslims, Jews, and whoever else that wants to support the fight against the pariah Apartheid state of Israel and those that prop up this regime. Even you Ilan Solomons are welcome to join the PSC!” He then went on to conclude proceedings by thanking people for coming and by ranting about the racist supporters of Zionism and how it must be eliminated.
This just shows that the PSC is not interested in engaging with the issue but rather seeks to targeting the only Jewish person that asked a question, and by hurling personal insults and calling for the elimination of all Zionists and its supporters. As much as I hate invoking the Holocaust analogy, at that moment I truly related to the Nazi propaganda that was used when they called for the elimination of the Jewish nation, and its proprietors, which we all know what the results were.
I must state that afterwards when the crowds had dispersed somewhat Mohammed Desai – president of PSC Wits did come up to me and say that he felt Salim Vally was out of line, and offered me an apology. Which I had no choice but to accept what else was I meant to do? I mean when you have a full room of people seeing and hearing you being clearly targeted on a religious, and political grounds and having no right of response, it was one of the most humiliating and shocking experience of my life but I came expecting something along those lines, the only surprise I suppose looking back is that it took so long to actually happen.
I wonder whether this is the manner in which the PSC encourages other members to join? Or is this treatment only reserved for its prospective Jewish members. Well this is not the type of reception or marketing that I appreciate, and I am sure many people would agree with me. Can you imagine if the situation were the other way around and it was some one like David Sacks or Zeev Krengel from the Jewish Board of Deputies there would have been a riot or maybe even a Goldstone type report on the matter? It just shows one that while members of the Jewish/Zionist community seek to engage with the Muslim community, in this case the PSC, the PSC not only boycotts our events but when they do come like with the Limmud saga they seek to disrupt and protest against the very event.
This incident will not discourage me, and I encourage the progressive liberal members of the Jewish community to engage with the PSC, I believe in the goodness of man and I believe in a peace between the Jewish State of Israel along side an independent, contiguous and viable Palestinian State! Which is I believe that the moderate Zionist must seek to tame the beast of Islamist extremism, and neo-Islamist fanaticism.
Peace is not an easy task but it can only come about through constructively engaging the other side, and you never know where and when you will find a true partner of tolerance and peace!
By Ilan Solomons

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Of course, these are Ilan's views. Should there be any PSC members who were at the event and have a different story about what took place, I will be happy to post it as a reply to Ilan.

OPEN LETTER TO EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH AFRICA – RE: PRISONER SWAP

by Ilan Solomons on Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at 4:55pm

 

OPEN LETTER TO EGYPTIAN AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH AFRICA – RE: PRISONER SWAP

• egyptemb@global.co.za

Dear Egyptian Ambassador to South Africa Ambassador Extraordinary - H E Dr Mohamed Zayed,

I write to you as a member of the Jewish Community of South Africa. Today - the 18th of October 2011 - is a significant day for all people who have an interest in the Middle-East. The release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in exchange for over 1000 Palestinian detainees has taken major negotiations and coordination. It is well known that the Egyptian Authorities played a critical role in ensuring this deal was carried through.

The fact that the Egyptian leadership was able to mediate these negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships at a time when Egypt itself is facing many internal instabilities and an uncertain future is what makes its role even more incredible.

Egypt has shown itself once again to be a true force in the Middle East, not in the military sense – which it is without doubt – but in the sense that it has shown the power of diplomacy and mediation. You have acted as a fair and just arbitrator in this matter which will undoubtedly once again ensure that Egypt will be at the forefront of the Arab-Israeli Peace making initiatives as it has been since it concluded a Peace Treaty with Israel under Late President Anwar Sadat – May His Soul Rest in Peace – in 1979.

I once again would like to thank you as representative of the Egyptian people in South Africa, as a Jew and as South African citizen for your counties efforts and I know that many of my fellow Jewish brothers and sisters, South Africans’ of all colours and creeds, and of course the family of the Gilad Schalit and of the Palestinian detainees share much of my same sentiments.

In conclusion it is my hope that your country makes a peaceful transition to a full Democratic system in the coming years and that Egypt will continue to be at the forefront of promoting a lasting and just peace not only between the Israeli’s and the Palestinians but also between Israel and the broader Arab and Muslim world.

Yours Sincerely,

Ilan Solomons

Johannesburg, South Africa

The Rebellious Rabbi and the Radical Reverend reunite

by Ilan Solomons on Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 12:12pm

 

http://www.myshtetl.co.za/community/shuls/news-orthodox/now-rebel-rov-reunites-radical-rev

The Rebellious Rabbi and the Radical Reverend reunite.

On the 3rd of July 2011 I was again very fortunate to be present at an incredible reunion. This time it was between the veteran anti-Apartheid activist Rabbi Ben Isaacson, who is rightly described by Professor Gideon Shimoni in his book Community and Conscience – The Jews in Apartheid South Africa, as “ someone approximating to a rabbinical counterpart of the daring Christian clerics – the like of Father Huddelston and Bishop Ambrose Reeves – who fearlessly battled the Apartheid system and also had to contend with objections from within their flock, this title would go almost solely to Isaacson”, and senior South African Council of Churches(SACC) cleric Reverend Zachariah Mokgoebo. Reverend Mokgoebo is a practicing Reverend in Orlando Soweto and senior statesmen in the SACC who was a contributor to the Christian Conscience Magazine – Challenge – which dealt with contextual authority and supported the concept of critical thinking in the Christian community.

The two were involved in building Black-Jewish relations and interfaith co-operation. They also were both outspoken critics of the racist policies of the Apartheid regime which culminated in them going on an international tour of Europe and the United States, which lasted close on 3 months in the 1980’s to highlight the need for Jewish-Black interaction and of raising awareness about the gross human rights violations which were taking place in South Africa during that period.
According to an article written in the Los Angeles Times, by Kathleen Hendrix on March 19, 1987 that by the time of their final appearance the pair had spoken on a whooping, 193 occasions during their tour. The tour was organized and funded largely by the New Jewish Agenda. The tour had taken them into churches and synagogues, college campuses, community centres, and living rooms in-order to promote their message.

The then Archbishop of Cape Town said that the two men were “courageous witnesses in the struggle against racism” and said of any one who supported their efforts, that “I will count it as a personal favour”. Rabbi Ben Isaacson said the following, prophetic like statement during one of their public addresses “Our task as religious leaders is to prepare for the future. Now is the time to show the world, that the white community and the black community in South Africa, that there can be piece”. Today these words ring largely true.

Returning to the reunion the two men embraced each other in a warm embrace at the entrance to the Rabbi’s flat. Rabbi Isaacson describes Rev Mokgoebo as his “black brother”. Rev Mokgoebo describes Rabbi Isaacson as his “blessed brother”. The two men although they have not seen each other in many years share a deep spiritual connection that crosses all boundaries. They discussed many personal issues and matters which were deeply personal and which I can not write about. I can say though that the two men were very excited to see one another once again. Rev Mokgoebo said that although those days were incredibly exciting, they were also very aware of the apartheid security operatives that were operating abroad and the apartheid sympathizers which did not approve of their actions.

The men reminisced about the old days and discussed about how far South Africa had come since then. They also recounted some of the humours incidents which occurred. The one which I think illustrates the energy and eagerness with which Rabbi Isaacson wanted to carry out his activism which Rev Mokgoebo told was of Rabbi Isaacson waking Reverend up one morning, only to soon discover that he had done so several hours earlier than was required. Although Rabbi Isaacson plays it down as a simple misjudgement of time, the story still illustrates the zeal the Rabbi had to carry out their Holy mission.

In a book entitled, The Jews of South Africa – What Future? Rabbi Isaacson in response to the assertion that he was ‘a rebel Rabbi’ has this to say “ I am not a rebel. Those who do not abide by the teaching of the prophets are the rebels. I am for justice, mercy and righteousness as taught by the prophets. This is conventional Judaic thought teaching. Pure Orthodoxy”.
Rev Mokgoebo says that the tour was a resounding success, “I would say we received a good reception 90% of the time”. Of course we had some difficult audiences at times but we were incredibly successful in promoting interfaith dialogue and highlighting the dire situation which Black South Africans faced under the Apartheid regime.

These men in their old age were a head of their time. Although today racial and inter-religious interaction is common place in the new South Africa, there still exists a chasm between Christian Clerical leaders and Jewish Rabbinic Authorities. The Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein of the Orthodox Community has participated in interfaith events and the like but one will still struggle to find close interactions between Jewish and Christian Congregations on any formal level – especially in the Orthodox sectors. The situation is even direr when it comes to Jewish-Muslim formal institutional interactions.

It was amazing to witness such a stirring and emotional reunion between such great men and hear them retell their awe inspiring stories. The two who unfortunately lost contact due to circumstances promised to remain in contact.

Pesach another meaningless Jewish ritual or a time to reignite our sense of social conscience? - SAUJS Blog Piece

by Ilan Solomons on Monday, April 11, 2011 at 9:16pm

 http://chutzpahonline.blogspot.com/2011/04/pesach-another-meaningless-jewish.html


Pesach another meaningless Jewish ritual or a time to reignite our sense of social conscience

I love Pesach it’s my favourite Festival, I enjoy everything about it I think it just oozes coolness. I mean you get to spend time with friends and family in an intimate setting around the Seder table, I know in my house we often invite people we don’t see to often so its really a special time. Look I think the whole preparation for the festival isn’t always that great i.e. all the cleaning out and change over stuff but it all adds to the sanctity of the festival I guess.


Rabbi’s have an absolute field day at this time of the year. Pesach is filled with symbolisms. Take for instance the dry and unleavened bread we eat i.e. matzah. I’m sure we all know the teaching which says that Chometz (normal risen bread and bread based products) is a symbol of arrogance because it’s risen and filled out like the Yetzer Harah (Or Evil Inclination) which is bloated through its arrogance of joy when people do wrong. On the other hand Matzah is lowly bread which symbolizes piety and simpleness. This lowly bread symbolizes the Jewish people when they left Egypt according to our Sages, and is called a bread of our affliction. The broader understanding of this period is a time of national introspection and remembrance. We go into depth about our suffering and the miraculous redemption from bondage in Egypt. However as Jews we do not just kvetch about our suffering and pain, we also give praise for our redemption and also look forward to a final future redemption.

This being said I think that a fundamental part of this festival and especially the Seder part have become drowned in petty worrying about measurements and sizes of this thing or that. Many Haggadah’s have pages on the fluid ounce requirements for the cups of wines, the amount of inches of matzah and maror that one requires. I am in no way saying these should be ignored or dismissed but I feel that the emphasis is being misplaced with ritual over meaning.

The Seder has the potential to be the most spiritually and emotionally up lifting experience not only for the little kids who get to sing the Manishitana section of the Seder but for the adults as well. I know in certain sects they dress up and put on plays to live up the Seder experience. This is fantastic but again it’s all symbolic for me the essence of Pesach is the concept of justice and dignity. The Hebrew people’s who originally fled to Egypt due to the drought in Canaan and the difficult living conditions, were refugees seeking a better life for themselves and their families. They were in later generations oppressed and turned into slaves. Their dignity was undermined in many ways as the Haggadah says.

The essential message which I think we should gain from Pesach – besides the pounds from some of those measurements especially those of the Chazon Ish – is the central importance of human dignity and the fact that the Jewish people should be ultra-sensitive to the plight of others especially those who have become refugees due to circumstances in their own country. South African Jews have an obligation to highlight the suffering of the oppressed people of Zimbabwe, Swaziland, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the like who have fled despotic tyrannical regimes in some cases and others who have just fled to find a better life for themselves and their families.

It is no co-incidence that soon after Pesach we will be Commemorating Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Memorial Day – we see that in the not too distant past the Jewish people suffered the most egregious systematic mass murdering in recorded history. We rightly ask where the world was.  We are rightly given no definitive answer. We however need to ask where our voices today when thousands of African Refugees are fleeing Darfur, Zimbabwe, Libya, Ivory Coast , Libya, and so on. It is not our task alone to raise these issues but I feel that South African Jews should be highlighting the plight of fellow Africans in any way we can.

I feel that Moroccan Jews although small should be highlighting the plight of the people of the Occupied Western Sahara which is illegally and brutally Occupied by the Moroccans for more than 30 years, Jews in Europe should be arguing strenuously for the rights of refugees that have fled to Europe especially those fleeing the crisis now that has engulfed large swathes of North Africa. We the children of the freed slaves of ancient Egypt and the children of those survived years of discrimination, anti-Semitism, pogroms and the Holocaust of Nazi Europe should be aware and vocal on ensuring the rights and dignities of others.

This for me is the real message which we should take out of Pesach and one which too often is overlooked or totally misunderstood by us and more so by many of our Rabbi’s!
I wish you all Chag Kasher VeSameich and meaningful Sedorim.  
By Ilan Solomons - SAUJS National African Affairs Liaison Officer

In case any one was 'concerned' about Ilan Solomons religious beliefs ;-) Asked by Yoni Isaacson

by Ilan Solomons on Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 11:06am

 

 From Yoni Isaacson:
I would like to ask Ilan Solomons to publicly clarify a number of things. You claim to be Orthodox and seem to be a very influential member of Bnei Akiva, yet some of the things you say and imply confuse me a little. so here goes:

i. Do you believe that the Torah, written and oral (including the Talmud) is the word of G-d and though subject to valid interpretation, is not negotiable.
ii. Do you believe that the Torah gives authority to Talmidei Chachamim, masters of the talmud and poskim, and not journalists, to make halachaic decisions?
iii. Do you believe that the land of Israel was given by G-d to the Jewish people and belongs to them, as described in the Torah?
I defend your freedom of speach either way: some of my best friends are not Orthodox or even Jewish, but thought your readers , and particularly your fellow Bnei Akiva members, deserve clarification on this
I just want to clarify something before I give you clarity on your very sexy questions ;-) which I find rather entertaining I must say :-)
I was a Bnei Akiva maddie and channie but my kids last year as a maddie was last camp in... december which was my kids last camp as channichim. So I am not involved anymore in an official capacity, although I join them for davining occassionally still. I am seemingly influential in Bnei? Wow thats interesting thats something I am sure many in Bnei would take umbrage with, I mean I was never a rosh of anything the highest position I ever attained on Bnei was sgun chinnuch on camp. I am glad I give over this perceived image of an influential character thanks nice to hear this ;-)
My only issue is why are these questions coming up now with my so called Bnei members? I mean i was involved for several years and never were these concerns publicly raised, its just a bit puzzling that it only comes up the year after I finshed! Maybe Rav Yoni you can clarify why the sudden spike in interest of my religious views and practices??? I am very interested to hear?
Ok so let me answer your questions systematically:
i. Yes - as per the 13 principles of faith which is part of my culture Jewish cultural beliefs I believe in this principle.
ii. Yes - although i would sometimes prefer if some journalists like Amira Hass, Uri Avnery, Gidon Levy and Larry Derfner, etc would replace some of these crazy reactionary Chareidi Rabbonim, who make the most racist, anti progressive pasaskim, which only seek to chareidize the community, and bring in unnecessary Chemuras that only divide Klaa Yisrael further and further their own religious fundementalist agenda's, but yes in principle to your question this concept is clearly and undoubtedly part of the Jewish culture
iii.Yes I do, but I do believe that we have developed from the dark days of when we ethnically cleansed Caanan and behaved like barbarians in acquiring the holy land. I also believe that the although we have a national and religious right to every square inch of the Eretz Yisrael we are however not entitled to behave like savages and madmen to enforce this right. And we have to be reasonable and not supresse others who dwell on the lands we claim or prejudice them in any way. We are a human people but sometimes you would nt think that were the case the way those bloody settlers behave- and not I am talking about my own family who live in thse settlements and are just as guilty of violating palestinian rights - ofetn like Cossacks and russian marauders that inflicted pogroms on jews in eastern europe! This I do not accept and will never accept being done in the name of my faith.
I hope this clarifies your concerns and " my fellow Bnei Akiva members". I was worried you were going to ask me realy difficult stuff like my studies of Spinoza,Mendelsohn, Hess, and other such works which i learn with fellow maddies and channies! I guess that isnt such a concern why I study and taech thse types of works! I am glad to hear this doesnt woryy any one too much ;-)
Thanks Rav this was very enjoyable I really had a good time clarifying these vey serious concerns about my cultural view :-)
I am more than willing to clarify any further concerns you may have :-)

Old – unlikely – friends reunite after almost 20 years at the most unlikely of venues.

 by Ilan Solomons on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 1:29pm

Veteran anti-apartheid activist Rabbi Ben Isaacson and Palestinian Ambassador to South Africa, Dr Ali Halimeh, met for the first time in almost 20 years at the Palestinian Embassy in Pretoria. Rabbi Ben Isaacson was an out-spoken member of the Jewish community concerning the atrocities of the apartheid regime. He took on the apartheid regime from various platforms including his own pulpit. He was loathed and despised but many in his own community, and accused of endangering the Jewish community for speaking out on apartheid from as early as the 1960’s. He even clashed with the Chief Rabbinate and Jewish Board of Deputies on several occasions. Undeterred by this, Rabbi Isaacson only increased his activism taking the stage to denounce apartheid with the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Beyers Naude. He even gave refuge to ANC activists like Ben Turok and Janet Love risking his own family’s safety.

The Rabbi also served in the Israeli Defence Force and fought in combat units. He believed strongly in the principles of Zionism and the Jewish peoples’ right to self determination in its national homeland of Israel. He however also came to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people to live in dignity and freedom which only further incensed many in the Jewish community.

Ambassador Ali Halimeh on the other hand grew up in a Palestinian Refugee camp in Lebanon and was actively involved from an early age in the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), although he never joined or trained in its armed wing preferring to be involved in its international diplomatic affairs. He is very much a secular Muslim and has been involved in raising awareness of the Palestinian peoples plight for several decades, serving as the PA representative in various countries including Ireland, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Although he grew up in a family of Palestinian refugees who fled during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence he acknowledged from early on that the Jewish people had certain historical, religious and national connections to the land in Israel.  This view led him to trying to create dialogue with Jewish people and communities where ever he was posted on diplomatic missions.

In the 1980’s while Rabbi Isaacson was in exile serving as head of the Zimbabwean community and also continuing to highlight the evils of apartheid, he met with Ambassador Ali Halimeh at a function in Harare where they began to discuss the importance of finding a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The two became very close friends and Rabbi Isaacson was often a house guest of Ambassador Halimeh where they shared meals and conversation. Halimeh remarks “The first time I brought Ben home my wife was very scared she had never met a Jew let alone an Orthodox Rabbi who they knew had served in the IDF, she would say that he was going to spy on them. To which I replied well you know he spies on me I spy on him”, laughed Halimeh. Isaacson “Your wife was very scared of me at first but she soon got over it and treated me like one of the family”. Isaacson said that he only had fond memories of the times he spent at the Halimeh’s.

However there came a time when Rabbi Isaacson would have to call upon that friendship with Ali Halimeh. Isaacson continued to be active in his anti apartheid activism and he also started speaking publicly with Halimeh about the concept of the 2 states solution which was just too much for the local Jewish community of Zimbabwe and they wanted to get rid of Isaacson and send him back to South Africa. The communal leadership essentially ended his contract and requested that the authorities deport him within a matter of weeks. Fearing a return to South Africa which was still under the apartheid regime he called on his friend Halimeh who was able to intervene and went to the highest levels of Zimbabwean Government to get a 10year extension on his passport and thus was able to save the Rabbi from imminent deportation back to South Africa. Halimeh gained nothing from intervening on Isaacson’s behalf, in fact he could well have put himself at risk of political repercussions but this did not deter him. When asked why he did what he did Halimeh’s response was simple “Ben was my friend and comrade he was pro peace and justice in South Africa and he also supported peace between Israeli’s and Palestinian’s and most importantly for me he was, is and always will be my friend and comrade”. Isaacson “I will always be grateful to Ali for what he did for me”.

At the end of a very emotional and stirring meeting held in Ambassadors office the two hugged and promised to ensure they remained in contact. Although they do not agree on everything concerning the path to lasting peace in the middle-east and both recognize that the current state of affairs is rather bleak but they both continue to hold out hope for a 2 State’s Solution.  The incredible story of friendship between a PLO diplomat and a Zionist-Orthodox Rabbi who stood up for justice for all people, is something which should serve as model for the possibility of a lasting not only peace between Israeli’s and Palestinian’s but  friendship and co-operation. Inshallah, Bezrat Hashem, God Willing speedily in our days Amen!

SAUJS takes a public stand with the MDC for justice and dignity in Zimbabwe

by Ilan Solomons on Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 1:18pm

 

 JOHANNESBURG – A South African students’ coalition said this week that it would support the MDC-T and civil rights organisations in their ongoing efforts to achieve total democracy in the troubled Southern African country.

The South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS), a non-governmental organisation established to represent all Jewish Students at tertiary educational institutions throughout the neighbouring country, early this week threw its weight behind the mainstream MDC party, led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, ahead of elections that will replace the coalition government currently running the country.

SAUJS spokesman, Ilan Solomons, told The Zimbabwean that his organisation would support Zimbabweans’ efforts to turf out President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe with an iron fist and destroyed its erstwhile growing during the past 30 years of the octogenarian’s misrule.

“We know about the problems you are facing both in and outside your country and would like to tell you now that we share in those problems, which are similar to those of the Jewish people,” said Solomons.

“Zimbabwe is now in ruin and you have been persecuted for trying to bring about change in that country, which has been destroyed by the despot that is Robert Mugabe. I therefore, want to assure you that SAUJS will continue to support you in your endeavours to bring about change in your country.”

Solomons said that, just as his organisation supported the struggle for Zimbabweans’ dignity in South Africa, it would continue to rally behind the MDC’s struggle for democracy, even under constant attacks by Mugabe and his supporters.

“We will continue with our fight to achieve a safe life for Zimbabweans in and outside their country. We are moved by Zimbabweans’ own commitment to a better life and democracy and we will continue to support the MDC,” added Solomons.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37343:sa-students-support-mdc-t&catid=31:weekday-top-stories&Itemid=30

Jewish Report letter " Give More Credit to Christians Support of Israel" - 22 October 2010

by Ilan Solomons on Friday, October 22, 2010 at 3:36pm

 

I was amazed this week to discover how little the community leadership understands about the active role Christians are playing in publicly standing up for Israel in this country. David Sacks makes it sound as if they are content to keep their views of pro-Israel sentiment to the confines of their own Church circle and that only a limited number venture into the public forum.

He is obviously not aware of the work groups like Bridges for Peace, Christian Friends of Israel, and Ebenezer (just to name a few), have done in public forums to defend the State of Israel. There are many other Church leaders who often attend Israel rallies when called upon to do so in this country and are on the front lines of the battle while in many cases a Jew is nowhere to be found.

When SAUJS demonstrated against the South African governments recall of its Ambassador to Israel, it was the African Christian Democratic Party(ACDP), represented by Steve Swart who was the only South African politician along with his party that were willing to publicly take a stand against South Africa's radical decision to recall its Ambassador after the Flotilla incident. Not one Jewish politician in the DA, ANC or ID (all these parties have Jewish representatives by the way) was willing to publicly support Israel on this issue.

The real problem is that the leadership of the Jewish Board of Deputies and the Zionist Federation have not created more programmes and initiatives that would include many thousands if not millions, of Christian Zionist in this country.

Even as we speak many Christian academics and activists are actively involved in supporting SAUJS's public campaign to fight this outrageous and disgraceful issue of the attempted termination of the Ben-Gurion - UJ agreement that seeks to improve the quality of water in this country, while many Jewish people are doing nothing about this very serious issue.

I respectively suggest that the SAJBD and the SAZF spend less time worrying about Justice Goldstone and the 'danger' he represents in attending his grandsons' Bar mitzvah and more time strengthening alliances in the Christian Zionist community.

It is always good for people that live in Ivory Towers to come down to the grass roots level and see what is actually going on before they talk on matters they have no actual understanding of.

SOUTH AFRICAN UNION OF JEWISH STUDENTS(SAUJS) OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON THE CURRENT STATE OF TALKS BETWEEN THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

by Ilan Solomons on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 4:53pm

 

The South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS) has noted the current pessimism surrounding continuing peace talks in the Middle East. As members of responsible civil society around the world we also have an important stake in the outcomes of such talks. For too long the issue of lack of peace with the two parties has set campuses alight with violenc eand hatred. It has coarsened public discourse and has distracted needlessly from other important issues facing the student community. We would therefore like to encourage all parties in their political endeavours and remind them to keep constantly focused on the prize of peace. Whatever obstacles are in the way this must be the final results ofany efforts. The peaceful fate of yourselves, the region and ultimately the world is depended upon the creation of a Palestinian State along side the State of Israel in internationally agreed borders, and through a fair and just negotiated settlement.



We continue to engage the Israeli and Palestinian Embassies in SouthAfrica, and all other regional powers that are willing to meet with us as we believe strongly in dialogue and discussion to help facilitate peace in any way possible.

SAUJS encourages all local groupings that support peace in the middle-east to engage in constructive peace building initiatives, and not unconstructive practices that marginalize or undermine the efforts of either side.

We hope and pray for a peaceful year a head, one that will bring lasting peace closer and end the dark chapter of History known as the‘Arab/Israeli conflict’.


Regards Benji Shulman
Media OfficerSouth African Union of Jewish Students
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SAUJS Hosts His Excellency Ambassador Ali Halimeh and Benjamin Pogrund at Wits University 12 August 2010 – By Ilan Solomons – SA

by Ilan Solomons on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at 11:55pm

 

From:http://chutzpahonline.blogspot.com/2010/08/view-of-our-palestinian-israeli-guest.html


It's not often that an event hosted by the South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS) makes it onto websites like Al-Jazeera.net Arabic, Electronic Intifada and Maan News to name just a few. Well our recent event made headlines on these sites. SAUJS is an organization which seeks to constructively engage on a range of issues whether they are relating to Jewish identity, South African and African Affairs, or even the Arab-Israeli conflict. This is because SAUJS is founded on 3 core values Jewish Identity, South Africa and Zionism. The last principle is something which makes our connection to this conflict that exists thousands of miles away from South Africa such an important part of daily SAUJS activities.

SAUJS is defined as broadly as an apolitical organization but this does not by any means make us politically naïve or unconscious. We send tours to Israel every year, we have our leadership training there, our highest values are to make Aliya and become a part of Israeli society. We have a close relationship with the Israeli Embassy in South Africa and all of the above is generally regarded as common knowledge. What is not such common knowledge are our relationships with the Palestinian people and their diplomatic missions.

Before I go into this topic let me just also state that SAUJS also has relationships with Israeli human rights organizations which are generally very critical of policies and practices of the State of Israel. The most famous one being Benjamin Pogrund who is the former editor of the Rand Daily Mail and who moved to Israel and founded the Yakar Centre for Social Concern in Jerusalem. He is a veteran of the Zionist-Left and is very much critical of the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian territories and the human rights abuses that occur in the Territories, and other policies which infringe upon the rights of Arab-Israeli's, which is why he has been so involved in Israeli-Palestinian and Jordanian dialogue through the Yakar Centre. He is devote Zionist but just as devoutly anti-Occupation

SAUJS believes firmly in the concept of the Two State Solution, which would obviously deal with the issue of safe and secure borders, the Refugee issue, Jerusalem, and all other points of conflict.
Now back to the issue of our relationship with the Palestinians. SAUJS has been engaged in meeting with Palestinian peace activists in the territories, SAUJS has hosted Bassim Eid and Benjamin Pogrund on a previous occasion. We have unfortunately only very recently begun engaging directly with the local Palestinian Diplomatic Mission in South Africa. Although this is viewed as contraversial move by some to meet the PLO/PA SAUJS realized that we had found someone in Palestinian Ambassador who shared our view of creating meaningful dialogue between the Jewish community and the Palestinian people.

That we have major differences it goes without saying that the Ambassador is not in favour of Zionism or the concept of a Jewish State – as apposed to the existence of State called Israel where Jews, Muslims, Christians and others live together as equals – this goes without saying, I just am stating this because many of the internet sites have labelled him a 'Zionist collaborator' and 'an agent of Zionism and of the Zionist entity AKA Israel', this is incredibly insulting to any Palestinian no-less to a Palestinian diplomat, who views Zionism as the reason for them being without a state and many still languishing in refugee camps throughout the middle-east. What we do agree on is the need for dialogue and as the Ambassador has said many times he would rather us to shout at one another than shoot at one other.
I have personally arranged for the Ambassador to speak to Jewish Youth groupings, and have helped facilitate a special relationship between our movement and parts of the Jewish community. I truly hope this will help bring balanced view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from an official Palestinian view point – that is opposed to the radical views espoused by groups like the PSC, Afro-Middle Centre(AMEC) and the like!

The actual discussion between the Ambassador and Pogrund which was held in the Dorothy Susskind Hall in John Moffat building on Wits Campus was entitled " Assessing Current Diplomacy towards building Peace in the Middle East". It was moderated by Professor Larry Benjamin from the School of International Relations. What both participants agreed on was that the growth illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories were destoying efforts to establish a viable independent Palestinian State along side the State of Israel. They also agreed that America was not doing enough to bring a peace settlement and that it was important for both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government, to take bold and courageous steps to bring about a just and equitable solution!

I believe that as a movement we should be committed to seeking a fair and broad understanding of the tragedy that has befallen the people of Palestine and Israel. I think that we have too often been guilty of responding to groups like the Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC), by countering their propaganda with our own form of Hasbara. I believe that we should be committed to defending Israel from unfair criticism and liable, but I also believe that through initiatives like the discussion between an imminent Israeli human rights activist and a representative of the Palestinian Authority we are assisting in highlighting the plight of the Palestinian people and the hurdles that need to be overcome in-order to ensure that peace is achieved.

In conclusion I just would like to state that the PSC was approached to co-host this event but they refused to do so. SAUJS however will continue to engage them in the hopes that we can work together to show a fuller picture of situation and co-operate in the interests of peace between the State of Israel and the Future State of Palestine. We welcome partnerships with various groups and organizations and look forward to expanding dialogue with all campus groupings, civil society and other institutions!

If you would like to know more about the event or SAUJS or anything that was mentioned in this article please feel free to contact me at liaison@saujs.co.za.

Chutzpahonline is a forum for debate of individual SAUJS members. Please see our terms of use for more information. If you would like to contribute on this or any other topic please email media@saujs.co.za 

Students urge PLO envoy not to attend Jewish lecture - But Palestinian Ambassador not deterred!!!

by Ilan Solomons on Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 9:29pm

 

 http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=307220
Published yesterday (updated) 11/08/2010 19:54
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian student union has called on PLO ambassador to South Africa Ali Ahmed Halimeh not to attend a conference organized by a Jewish student group scheduled for Thursday.
The Palestinian Student Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel in Gaza said in an open letter that Halimeh's participation in a South African Union of Jewish Students lecture entitled Towards Peace in the Middle East – The Status of Current Democracy "as antagonistic to the values of our people, and it cannot be subsumed under the framework of diplomatic duties as SAUJS is neither a governmental nor parliamentary organization."
The student union said the South Africa Palestine Solidarity Campaign views the group as "part of the Zionist lobby, which is known to work relentlessly to support Israel and whitewash Israel's crimes."
"SAUJS considers Zionism as one of its three main pillars - in addition to "Jewish Identity" and "South Africa" - as is mentioned on their website. This ensures SAUJS's unconditional support or apartheid, and Israel's killing and ethnic cleansing policies, which have led to the displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians, and suffering caused by 62 years of ongoing Nakba."
According to the group's website, the Jewish organization hosts "interesting speakers, do interfaith events, have great socials, provide religious learning in own Beit Midrash, participate in political debates, do outreach work, help get exams moved from Jewish holidays and fight anti-Zionism on campus."
1 ) Ilan Solomons / South Africa
11/08/2010 14:06
If any one has any problems about this event I am one of the co - ordinators of this event as I am the National Liaison Officer for SAUJS.
His Excellency will be discussing the subject with an ex-Anti-Apartheid Activist and Israeli Human rights actvist, Benjamin Pogrund, this topic is important for University students and is intended to be a platform where serious issues can be discussed and debated at a university audience!Any one wanting to know more can contact me @ liaison@saujs.co.za
2 ) David / South Africa
11/08/2010 16:07
Benjamin Pogrund might have been an "Anti-Apartheid activist" of the white liberal variety, but today he supports Apartheid in Israel, and is an apologist of Israel and a propagandist for Zionist racism. It is fitting that he speaks on the platform of a Zionist-racist organisation. But it is disgusting that the "Palestinian ambassador" speaks on that same platform.
3 ) Daniel / South Africa
11/08/2010 23:28
For those of you who don't know the recent history of SAUJS and the PSC let me explain. In the last 3 years SAUJS has hosted multiple anti-xenophobia events, assisted survivors of the Rwandan Genocide and Congo War, securing finances and accommodation for underprivileged non-Jewish inorder to further their studies, engaged with South African Muslim Organisations inorder to promote dialogue. The PSC's most notable event is hosting an event that was later declared to contain Hate Speech by the HRC

Overcoming the social divide between Jews and Muslims – the practical way

by Ilan Solomons on Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 11:19am

 

The last year various progressive initiatives have been taking place in South Africa to bridge the cultural and social divide that has been the cause of conflict between the Jewish and Muslim communities. There are various tensions that exist between the two communities – but the major one today mainly revolves around the Arab-Israeli conflict and specifically the Palestinian-Israeli situation.

The first major one came when the South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS), decided that the time had come to engage the true representatives of Palestinian people in South Africa. No, they did not go meet with the Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC), SAUJS has tried in the past to engage them to very little avail they have made it very clear on numerous occasions that they would not engage with ‘the agents of the Zionist entity’ or something like that. They much prefer to put up Swastikas on university campuses or get their supporters to paint signs like ‘Death to the Jews’ than work together for the sake of peace between Israel and Palestine. Instead members of the SAUJS national and branch committees decided to set up a meeting with the Palestinian Ambassador to South Africa.

There was an initial meeting between the Ambassador and a member of the National Committee of SAUJS. The meeting between the full committee delegation of SAUJS and some members of the Jewish youth movement Bnei Akiva took place about a month later. The meeting took place erev-Pesach (or on the eve) 2010. It was cordial, frank but pleasant and enlightening. Ambassador Ali Halimeh spoke about a variety of topics including his own background, the interaction the PLO with Israel, some personal interactions with the former Israeli Ambassador Dr Alon Liel, how he was able to save the liberal young Rabbi Benny Isaacson from being sent back to South Africa from Rhodesia – as he had run foul of local Jewish community for his anti-Apartheid activities, and of course about the peace process and the current impasse!

A little while later a ground breaking event took place. The Palestinian Ambassador was invited to Bnei Akiva Bayit (house) to address the members of the movement and others on the Palestinian perspective of the situation between Israel and the Palestinians. It was generally well received obviously there were disagreements which were to be expected but overall the talk was well received and the audience felt that they had gained some important insight into the plight of the Palestinians and of the complexities of the situation from their view point.

Another important event took place in South Africa coinciding with the FIFA World Cup™, the Football for Hope Competition which brings together children from usually underprivileged backgrounds or from places where there is some type of social or political unrest. One of the teams that participated was a combined Israeli-Palestinian team which comprised of Israeli children and Palestinian children from the Occupied Palestinian territories. They called themselves the Peace Team. Their aim was to show the world that Israeli’s and Palestinians can paly and work together in peace and that peace between the two is possible. The kids honestly believed that Peace between the Jewish State of Israel and an Independent State of Palestine was possible within their life times. They all strongly supported the concept of the Two States Solution and all of them were strongly against extremism and violence committed by both Israeli Forces and Palestinian militia groupings like Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

SAUJS and other Jewish organizations like Bnei Akiva and the Jewish National Fund (JNF) went to many of the games that the Peace Team played. In addition to this they brought along Palestinian and Israeli flags to show equal support for all the members of the team, although one would expect that they would avoid putting up or carrying a Palestinian flag this was clearly not the case. SAUJS also took the team out for supper and ten pin bowling. This was fantastic because we got to spend quality time with the guys and got to know their coaching and management staff as well.
The Team’s management consisted of people from the Al Quads Foundation and the Peres Centre for Peace two societies based in Israel and Palestine, whose goal is to bridge the divide between Israeli and Palestinian society through peaceful interaction.

The Palestinian and Israeli Embassies both met with the team, the JNF not only hosted a function for them at Museum Africa which both ambassadors were present at they also hosted the team for a Friday night dinner. All showing the willingness of institutions to bridge the social divide. What was rather disappointing was that none of the so called ‘pro-Palestinian’ organizations made any effort to meet or come or support the team, the likes of the Palestinian Solidarity Committee(PSC), Wits Branch of Amnesty International, the Afro-Middle Centre(AMEC) or Open Shuhada Street (OSS), were no where to be seen which was rather unfortunate. I can not say why none of their members came, but my guess that the idea of Israeli’s and Palestinians working together is not something that they fancy, unless it involves them destroying the State of Israel! It is only a guess and I my well be wrong, in fact I hope that they say that they did not know about the Peace Team or that they would love to have come but….. Only they will have the answer to this question.

What I do know for certain that such initiatives are required to overcome the divide between the Jewish and Muslim communities world wide. I am upbeat that the process of engagement that has been undertaken in the last while will help to create or establish a platform whereby the communities can overcome their prejudices and negative stereotypes of one another, and who knows this may lead to a true lasting peace between the Jewish State of Israel and the future Arab State of Palestine!
Be’Ezrat Hashem, InshAllah, God Willing speedily in our Days! Amen

Shabbos in Soweto - A Unique Jewish Experience

by Ilan Solomons on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 11:13pm

 

What comes to mind when you think Soweto? Crime, violence, 1976 unrest, soccer, lots of Apartheid era memorials and even perhaps the home of many famous South African struggle heroes! I doubt that Rugby, Blue Bulls and Jewish students staying and keeping the Jewish Sabbath is something that would jump to the front of ones mind. It definitely does not for me. Soweto is a place that holds an integral part in South African history. A place where approximately 3million people live, that is alive with character and culture. It needs no introduction. It is a place that evokes strong emotion and differing feelings among black and white South Africans specifically.

It is a place that I have been to for tours, meetings – specifically at the Maponya Mall – and I have attended sports events like the Soweto Open Tennis Open which is held at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Most of these events have taken place over a couple of hours and are normally confined to specific places or what some would deem as “Soweto Safe Zones”. I had never contemplated staying over in Soweto nor had I ever thought about spending a Jewish Sabbath – which commences on a Friday afternoon at dusk and concludes on Saturday at night fall – as there are many religious requirements and rules which need to be adhered to over this period and just would not be easy to fulfil in Soweto which does not have a mainstream Jewish community in it other than a group called the Lemba; of whose status the main stream Jewish establishments of South Africa do not recognize as fully fledged Jews, but this is something which requires a full explanation and I will not elaborate on in this piece.

I am a major Blue Bulls rugby fan and try to follow their progress as much as possible. I have never however been to a semi or final that they have contested until this year. When I heard that the Blue Bulls would be moving their home semi-final match to Orlando Stadium – as Fifa has commandeered their home ground of Loftus in Tswane for the upcoming world cup – I decided that this was a historic occasion which I could not afford to miss out on. The only problem was that rugby takes place over the Jewish Sabbath and issues like the prohibition of taking any form of transport and not carrying articles outside specific areas is a major issue for practicing orthodox Jews like my-self. The other issue is that the white phobia of townships and specifically Soweto is something that runs very deep. I personally have been to Soweto and have friends and colleagues there so I am personally not as paranoid. I found a Bed and Breakfast that is within walking distance of the stadium and we arranged to bring our kosher meals, and we made agreements with the owner of the B&B to carry our tickets to the game so as to avert the issue of carrying outside an enclosed area on the Sabbath.

My friend and I arrived on Friday afternoon and were taken on walking tour of Orlando East by the owner of Magora’s B&B, Mr Jimmy Magora. We had another longer walking tour on Saturday which showed us a lot of the developments in Orlando and the many challenges that Soweto faces. The mix of old shabby houses and tin structures along side houses that would not be out of place in the northern suburbs was eye opening. Soweto is like many traditionally black neighbourhoods that is developing rapidly but at the same time desperately attempting to retain its sense of communal uniqueness.
The atmosphere in the stadium was electric to say the least. The shear historical importance of the semi-final of a major rugby competition being played in a place renowned for its strong soccer culture and the mass of mostly Afrikaans white people coming to a largely Black township, was not lost on any one. The party began long before the game with Black, White, Indian, Jewish, Coloured and others, getting together to get behind the Bulls and to unite in our rich cultural diversity. It’s truly amazing how far we have come as a nation and the culmination of a successful rugby game in Soweto just shows how powerful sport as a tool is in continuing to unite us as a nation.

Seeing Afrikaners starting to sing Shoshloza and Black people shouting “ Bulle,Bulle – jou lekke ding”, was incredible. Seeing random people going up to one another and having pictures with one another and starting conversations with old adversaries was awe inspiring to say the least. I am grateful to my friend for coming with me to the game and spending shabbos with me in Soweto, I am grateful to the Magora’s for making us feel at home in their beautiful B&B that was not only spacious but also uniquely sowetan. The measures they took to ensure that we were not only safe but that we felt safe as well. I can vouch that neither my friend nor I ever felt threatened or scared and we had an amazing time.
I do not think that this was a traditional Shabbos but it was a unique one, which I will never forget. I hope that not only foreigners will grace Soweto with visits and tours, but that the White and Indian communities specifically make greater efforts to explore Soweto and the other areas that we are traditionally scared or intimidated to even step foot in due to the various stereotypes and prejudices we harbour.

I will be back in Soweto at the Magora’s B&B for the Final of the Super 14, wether my team is successful or not, I am assured that South Africa will be the winner in one way or another.

*Just a last point if people would like to stay in Soweto there are various places and tours available. The place I stayed offers those services as well and at a reasonable and competitive rate. I stayed at Magora B&B which is situated at 4009 Senaone Street, Orlando East – five minute walk from Orlando Stadium and centrally located to other famous locations. To enquire or book with them you can contact them at magora@iburst.co.za, or www.magorabnb.co.za, they are also listed on the AA site and are an accredited B&B by FIFA – check out there respective sites or you can call the owners on 072 182 4459.

Debate from blog post "Putting SA in SAUJS"

Monday, March 15, 2010 - http://chutzpahonline.blogspot.com/2010/03/date-on-putting-sa-in-saujs.html 

 

Hi all

Some very naughty people decided to carry on this debate on facebook and not on the blog (smack). So I have put all the exchanges below so everyone can see them and not just those of us with fb accounts.

Daniel Alexander Mackintosh Hi Ilan

The real challenge is to join the real future struggles of this country, for young Jews to be a part of creating a decent society. In SA, with our systematic inequality, we need the youth of our community to seek to engage poor people and join the variety of struggles for basic education, health, housing and sanitation.

What that really means is to move ourselves out of the mindset of 'being a good person and helping out' to becoming a part of the struggle for equality.... See More
March 10 at 4:33pm

Mukovhe Morris Masutha DANIEL MAN, I'M PROUD OF YOU , YOU TOOK ALL THE WORDS FROM MY MOUTH AND THIS IS THE REASON WHY THE SOUTH AFRICAN STUDENTS CONGRESS RECOGNIZES AND APPRECIATES THE EXISTANCE OF SAUJS IN OUR WITS CAMPUS AND OUR SOCIETY IN GENERAL..

THE CHIEF RABBI STATED IT CLEARLY THAT WE HAVE A HUGE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AS CHILDREN OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN SOILS AND ... See More
March 10 at 8:56pm

Mukovhe Morris Masutha VERY INFORMATIVE Ilan...Would you suggest any book on the history of Jews in south africa?
March 10 at 10:17pm

Ilan Strauss An important discussion to start Mr Solomons (so I dont feel like I am speaking to myself).
SAUJS have tough choices about their identity and values (they cannot be seperated in this case), which effect how they interact with both SA and Israel.
Jews were one of the most visible victims of rising ethnic nationalism in Europe in the 19th century. This ethnically centred state posed problems for democratic and pluralistic values which were becoming more prominant at the time (i.e. how to deal with minorities if citizenship is defined by ethnicity).

The ethnic Jewish identity which exists in South Africa today fosters good and bad in Jews' approach to the 'non-Jewish' world and people. ... See More
The bad (always more interesting): the Jewish mission of making the world 'more human' while still being a Jew currently seems lost in the current ethnic configuration of some Jews' identity.

- Making Jews interact (as Jews) with other South Africans is difficult, not only because of our previous largely oppresive and entirely removed relationship with black people in this country, but because of current race and class boundaries, and all other cultural, geographic and other barriers whic stems from class, race and a history of opression and division. Working through these present and historical barriers in SA, as well as blatent and latent insensitivity - at best - displayed by some Jews towards non-Jews is challenging.
This insensitivity is fostered by how Israel advises Jews to properly interact with minorities internally as well as those who one occupies. This stems from its ethnic centred citizenship and all the unfreedoms which stem from it (i.e. no constitution to ensure the state promotes the liberty and prosperity of all citizens living within its enlarged borders etc).

If we want to interact more and 'better' with SA society, why not explore: a radical rethink of the school syllabus in jewish schools regarding South Africa, and Jews in South Africa; a fresh approach to living in a multicultural society and reassessment of the value of this type of citizenship; and a decision about the degree of risk (real and phsycological) we are willing to take in order to explore other geographical parts of this country which are inhabited by the, still exploited, majority. They represent the SA which was seperated from white Jews during Apartheid and which still remains largely seperate from wealthy peoples today.
March 10 at 10:21pm

Ilan Solomons Morris two excellent books about Jews in SA is one entitled " The Jews of South Africa" by Gideon Shimoni and the other is " Cutting Through the Mountain" by Prof Raymond Suttner, their great books which give a detailed history of Jewish involvement in south african society!
March 11 at 6:26am

Ilan Solomons Guys thanks for the post so far, just one thing. Please can you all post your comments on the blog directly in future as it makes it more accessable to others.

Interesting discussions so far, this is exactly the reason we created the blog, in-order to foster productive discussion and critical thought. So far so good! thanks guys keep it up :-)
March 11 at 6:34am

Rafael Etan Eliasov @ Daniel, i agree with many of your points, SAUJS remains committed to combating inequality within South African society, it is a cornerstone of our very existence.

However to say that Zionism is incompatible with this is completely unfounded, in fact the opposite is true. The reason i joined the SAUJS committee was because someone told me what i can and cannot believe - 'Zionists are not tolerated on this campus', this fundamentally contradicts our constitution which entitles the people of South Africa to their beliefs. Therefore by taking up the fight against those who seek to dictate beliefs we are taking up the fight to protect our constitution and South African values.

We have and always will support the rights of any person anywhere in the world be they black, white, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Palestinian or Israeli etc. This is why we continue the struggle to emancipate the Palestinians from the likes of Hamas, who continue to abuse human rights in the Gaza Strip - indeed they are the main obstacle to peace in the Middle East. This has been recognized over and over again in every part of the globe. In the 2008 Doha debate the house passed a resolution by 70.9 to 29.1 recognizing that 'Palestinians risk becoming their own worst enemy'. However since the infighting between Haj Amin Al Husseini and the Nashashibi clan this has been true. That being said any Israeli action which is against the fundamental rights of the Palestinians should be equally condemned.

You continually condemn the two state solution as reactionary yet this is the solution adopted by the United Nations, resolution 242 and the ICC and it receives, according to many polls, more support than any other solution. Yet you portray this solution as symptomatic of right-wing Jewish leadership. The reality is that it is you who is trying to stifle democracy and impose a solution.

Looking forward to helping to make Wits and South Africa a better place for all.
March 11 at 9:49am

Daniel Alexander Mackintosh Rafael

I actually never said 'However to say that Zionism is incompatible with this is completely unfounded, in fact the opposite is true.' It is a very strange attempt to put words in my mouth.

I would call myself a spiritual Zionist, in the tradition of Buber and Achad Ha'am. Neither of these two necessarily advocated for a Jewish state in law but wanted a Jewish cultural home. That means that their vision could have been created through Israel being a real democracy (ie not just a state for its Jewish citizens, as it is defined in law at the moment).

But I condemn the occupation without question and call for Israel to become a real democracy.

The problem is that a blanket statement of 'we are Zionist' means something very different in today's world. Through your silence, you become identified with the most violent, racist, aggressive interpreters of Zionism today - the settlers.

If SAUJ's Zionism means, as religious zionism does, the belief that the whole of the land of Israel (and the Occupied Palestinian Territories) belongs to Jews, then that is a justification of the colonialism that is currently going on there (see the current Biden/Clinton v Bibi row going on now). By not separating itself from this truly radical (and violent) form of ideological belief, SAUJS become a mechanism for justifying it and the entire colonial project in the OPT.

I never said that a two state solution is a reactionary position. Rafael, please read my posts more carefully.

I said that it was parev, meaningless and totally un-progressive.It is a statement without any meaningful moral content. While SAUJS said some important things during Apartheid on the moral bankrupcy of white supremacist rule, its ability to speak ethically on the occupation, colonialism, violation of Palestinian rights and the continued breakdown of Israel's democracy, SAUJS is today silent. You only restate what the SAZF or SAJBD says. That is fine, but then be honest about it.

And, if you really want to be a part of fighting for justice for Israelis and Palestinians, then start to read about Sheikh Jerrach, Hebron, go and visit the colonial settlement projects in the OPT (which if you have already done and still you continue to not speak out, it simply boggles my mind) and learn about how the law operates to dispossess Palestinians of their homes and lands.

Here is a good website to start:

http://theonlydemocracy.org/2010/03/why-were-concerned-about-sheikh-jarrah-and-why-you-should-be-too/

If SAUJS does not start to speak out, the time will come when history will judge SAUJS for playing a role diametrically opposite to that which it played during Apartheid when the Board and SAZF wanted it to just shut up and batten down the hatches. At that point, people will look to its leadership and wonder whether they lacked courage, did not know what was actually going on (which I have no doubt people will use as an excuse when the time comes) or actually agreed with the colonial project (and hence did not recognise Palestinians as human beings worthy of equal human rights).

That choice is yours to make.
Yesterday at 12:41pm

Rafael Etan Eliasov Daniel you categorize my comments as a 'very strange attempt to put words in my [your] mouth.' Yet you do the very same thing to SAUJS:

'By not separating itself from this truly radical (and violent) form of ideological belief, SAUJS become a mechanism for justifying it and the entire colonial project in the OPT.' I reiterate SAUJS supports no radical or ideological belief, we have demonstrated this time and time again by hosting speakers from all sides of the political spectrum and a host of different religions. Indeed I wander if you are even familiar with the positions of SAUJS which are constantly being assessed and redefined?

'un-progressive' ,'reactionary', this is semantics - i simply wished to understand the logic behind these accusations (which remain unanswered, indeed sweeping statements are made with very little reasoning). I think both words indicate a certain negativity towards the two state solution.

SAUJS does very little 'without question' as you so revealingly state of yourself. We are constantly questioning our positions and beliefs. You on the other hand seem to have made up your mind.

Many may see your cultural or 'spiritual' Zionism as a mere guise for anti-Zionism (I will expand upon this later). The fact that people misinterpret what Zionism means is purely due to ignorance, and we should not be forced to our beliefs in order to appease the ignorant. I can garuntee that SAUJS does not see the entirety of what was the Palestinian mandate as belonging to Israel. Furthermore you dangerously stereotype religious Zionism as dangerous and radical. This is incorrect and based on ignorance about the concept of religious Zionism and Torah law. Indeed many rabbi's have agreed to concessions for peace.

Your implied insult that SAUJS simply re-state the SAJBD and the Zionist Fed's position belittles our organization (and my own intelligence, having produced many of SAUJS articles on the issues). I do not wish to make this personal and will not adopt the same tactic. Indeed the 'attack the man not the argument' tactic is often used when one has a weak argument (produce any factual evidence of your claim whatsoever). I have read all forms of literature ranging from Neve Gordon's 'Israeli Occupation', Lisa Hajjar's 'Courting Conflict' to Dershowitz's 'the Case for Israel', however out of the countless total books on the conflict I have read less than a tiny portion and will strive to continue to expand my knowledge.

I have been to Hebron (and Shuhada Street), and seen disgusting things on the part of the settlers, indeed the 'death to Arab' graffiti was a true horror to see. However the hatred I saw in the eyes of the Palestinians was even more horrifying, they have implemented an apartheid system in which no Jew (one merely has to look at the declining Christian population in the West Bank to see that it is not exclusively Jewish) may enter H-1 under pain of death. I have met Palestinian activists and Breaking the Silence. I have written to Btselem and Yesh Din. I have debated with hundreds of people representing the entire political spectrum and I look forward to continuing to expand my knowledge. I know that the Palestinians have suffered and continue to suffer, I know that Israel constantly commits acts I disagree with. But I believe that Palestinians suffer most from bad leadership. However that being said I do not simply attempt to condemn one party blindly and unilaterally (I infer this from the fact that you have not once condemned the Palestinians in the above two posts).

You point a finger to specific events and places, while ironically ignoring many others. I could full volumes with the wrongs the Palestinians have done to Israel and each other. Your condemnation of a human rights violation on the part of Israel, does not necessitate an equal condemnation of the Palestinians but when one disproportionally focuses on one party, one's objectivity may come into question. I think that this is the characteristic distinction in our views - I attempt condemn human rights violations on both sides. I have no problem condemning any violations on the part of the settlers (and Israeli government), while you seem to focus on a single party as if hypnotized. (this is based on all your articles I have seen in the Jewish Report and your comments here. I don't think I once saw an article on the killing of collaborators, the abuses of Hamas, nor have you once mentioned Palestinian human rights abuses in our current conversation).

It is strange this culture of accusation, I am constantly told of the dangers (as, if i may be so bold as to summarize, you seem to do) to SAUJS (and myself) of not changing some of our values and beliefs with respect to Israel. Yet I wander if there is anyone that has informed you of the dangers of false accusations? Something you seem to have done a lot in your previous post (most of your claims about SAUJS were blatantly false or lacking in any evidence). Accusing someone falsely of immoral actions is one of the worst actions a man can do, indeed you may just shrug your shoulders and say 'oops I was wrong' but in reality the crime you would be committing has the potential of devastating effects.

Now lets talk about actions. You have cooperated with the PSC - bringing to Wits the Shministim in cooperation with the PSC. Just the other day I called the head of the PSC to discuss how we can create a more conducive environment to learning about the conflict - I was told that they would not meet me until I condemn my Zionist beliefs. They have been involved in numerous hate crimes over the years including hosting Mr. Masuku, drawing swastikas on the graffiti wall, I personally was told by the head of the PSC that he would make Zionists life on campus a 'hell'. They have distributed an article entitled 'Jewish anti-semitism is the real problem'. While I am not inferring their actions onto you, your claims of Zionism seem to ring hollow - why would a Zionist host an event with such an organization?

I wander if you would be willing to stand for my rights on campus? In my SAUJS tenure I have been called 'a vampire that drinks the blood of butchered Palestininians' for my condemnation of the rocket fire into Sderot. I have been told that 'Hitler should have finished the job'. I have been called a racist a Nazi and a 'fucking Jew', I have been attacked verbally and physically.

Daniel, in reality it is Open Shuhada that supports radicalism, by promoting a completely one-sided narrative of the conflict that breeds ignorance, Open Shuhada Street's actions prolong the conflict (and induces Antisemitism). By labeling the two state solution as 'meaningless', it is you who are denying Palestinians the right to self-determination.

ps. I would most happily discuss the state of Israeli democracy with you. Although, due to more pressing issues I have omitted it. Suffice to briefly state Freedom House (an NGO which monitors countries and their systems), rates Israel ( only applies to Israel proper - although somewhere in the region of 90% of Palestinians in the occupied territories are under the control of the PA) as one of the freest countries in the world.
Yesterday at 8:59pm

Rafael Etan Eliasov oh and thank you for your link to that website. Clearly the 'good Jews', understand the situation much better than I or Freedom House do (a well respected NGO as appose to an organization with a clear political agenda).
Yesterday at 9:00pm

Daniel Alexander Mackintosh
Raphael

Please furnish me with statements where SAUJS calls for an end to the occupation. I would be only too happy to be shown to be wrong on this issue and proved to be someone who has made terrible statements of an accusatory manner.

Zionism is not a single ideological belief and in the world today the term has been captured by the settlers. Arthur Hertzberg, in the Zionist Idea, talks about some of the varieties thereof including Socialist Zionism, Revisionist Zionism, Religious Zionism, Cultural Zionism etc. Today, the only form of Zionism that is a driving ideology for settlement in the OPT is religious Zionism with the active (although quite) encouragement of the Israeli state (how else would streetpoles, plumbing and roads suddenly appear in the West Bank).

I have not actually attacked you as a person Rafael. I do however, criticise SAUJS and you should accept this criticism being in your position. In fact, you should welcome it - this is what it means to live in a democratic society. I would like to see examples where SAUJS dares to ever speak with a different voice to the SAZF/SAJBD on one of the of the following issues:

• The Shministim – where despite my best efforts, an event with SAUJS was vetoed as people tried to silence their message.

• Israel’s gaza war – where the joint statement of the SAZF/SAJBD justified Israel’s attack and did not condemn the killing of 1400 Palestinians, the deliberate attack on civilian infrastructure or the unofficial but used policy IDF policy of human shields (see Breaking the Silence Report).

• Shuhada Street – what could be more simple than calling for a ‘Jew only’ road (read Apartheid road) to be open to Palestinians and Israelis?

• The real implosion of Israeli democracy – as seen by Supreme Court decisions that are not carried out and attacks on human rights organisations and activists. Talk to Israeli human rights activists on the ground and see how scared they are about death threats coming from within Israeli society and the way that the state is starting to shut down protests and monitor them.

I could keep going, but it will become tedious. The point is that on matters of substance, SAUJS will tow the part line.

How many Jews do you know who lived in H1 in houses with Palestinians? I know a couple, and in fact, one of them is working with me in OSS right now. She stayed for a month in H1 with a family with no problem whatsoever.

Are you saying that the Palestinians suffer the occupation (the 500 000 settlers who live over the green line as a result of Israeli violations of the 4th Geneva convention and the IDF’s strict divide and rule tactics throughout the West Bank) because of bad leadership? Is that a serious statement? You are saying that had the Palestinians had good leadership then Israel would not have:

• Expropriated their private land
• Created settlements and brought in settlers to live throughout the West Bank
• Keep the Palestinians living under lock and key as they have for over 43 years since the occupation began

No serious person who knows anything about the history of the occupation could possible subscribe to your view.

In addition, I feel no need to defend the Palestinian leadership and I agree with you that they have been ineffective, corrupt and many of them have supported terror attacks against Israelis.

However, bad Palestinian leadership does not justify occupation, because that is what the logical conclusion of your statement suggests.

Antisemitism and violent rhetoric is exactly what OSS is seeking to combat. By building on a basis of human rights, I have no time for racists who engage in horrible slander like that which you have been subjected to on Wits campus. Members of OSS have been attacked thus far by Jews for being anti-Semitic and by anti-Semites for some of our members (including myself) for being spiritual Zionists - so I think that we are getting the message right. No quarter for antisemitism/islamaphobia and a renewed focus on the human rights abuses.

My point about a two state solution (I think I have said this so many times already) is that it is merely a restatement of the current consensus. Hence, SAUJS, by reiterating what everyone is already saying, is not saying anything of meaningful moral content. My issue is that SAUJS is not speaking out about the myriad of human rights abuses, implemented by the Israeli state and the settlers, against Palestinian human rights.

Will SAUJS release a substantive statement on Sheik Jerrach for instance and how racist Israeli property law only allows Jews to recover property while denying Palestinians that same right? See

http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1263147932330&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter

Lastly, thank you for pointing out Freedom House’s characterisation of Israel. While Freedom House does have a tendency not to criticise US strategic allies (a whole other discussion but they do have a political agenda), and it is completely inconsistent that the country implementing the world's longest occupation is put on par with Western democracies which do not keep millions of people under lock and key, I definitely think that they are a decent source of information.

Did you know that Freedom House highlighted that Israel, after the Gaza War in 2009, fell on its journalistic freedom rating, from ‘free’ to ‘partly free’ on the Freedom House score sheet (below that of Kuwait, the UAE and Lebanon)?
17 hours ago

Rafael Etan Eliasov Daniel, on numerous occasions SAUJS has called for an end to the occupation through a negotiated settlement. Our positions are rarely published (except in the Jewish Report), I would be quite happy to write a statement condemning the expansion of settlements and calling for a negotiated settlement (I do not believe that a unilateral withdrawal will be in any way helpful as the Gaza disengagement so aptly proves). Our new blog has provided a space for us to provide our stances (and I recommend you read my article on the stalled peace process which will be up soon). What is more important and what I have continually emphasized is that we have become a forum for diverse views, (I will not restate the list of personalities we have hosted again), providing a space for our students to derive a real education.

Categorizing Zionism into neat little boxes and then blaming one for all the wrongdoings is not only unhelpful but completely incorrect. One just has to look at the diversity of Israeli settlers to understand this, look at the positions of Yisrael Bieteinu and Betar (a revisionist Zionist movement), to see that your stereotype is based on a fallacy. Your original statement was categorizing religious Zionism as a whole as, 'truly radical (and violent) form of ideological belief'. I merely wished to point out that this is a stereotype, you seem extremely displeased by someone stereotyping your Zionist beliefs - don't do it to others. (Again you have at no point disproved my statement but only tried to divert the debate - even if I accept your flimsy premise that ideological Zionism drives settlement building, the settlers are not representative of religious Zionism and I again, although somewhat redundantly, point out that there are religious Zionists who support the Palestinians right to self-determination and autonomy. Within religious Zionism there are a plethora of political positions.)

Accusing SAUJS and by extension me of 'only restat[ing] what the SAZF or SAJBD says', would be tantamount to me accusing you of only restating Doron Isaac's position. Although your positions are no doubt similar on some issues, this is something I would not do, as I respect you as a free thinking individual with enough intellect to come up with your own positions (and because I am only familiar with a few of your and Mr. Isaacs positions - comparable to the familiarity you have with SAUJS' positions).

Before I deal with your list of 'positions', I would just like to explain the reality of SAUJS' work with regards to Israel. Organizations on campus question Israel's right to exist, I have seen students attempt to justify suicide bombings and rocket attacks. I point this out to illustrate that on campus the very substance of debate is different, we therefore focus our energies and efforts on proving Israel's right to exist.

You have given me an extensive list of positions however you have not given me the full press release and I therefore cannot comment on any of their positions without further details (nor do i claim to be an expert on SAZF positions). That being said I will address my understanding (which may be erroneous as SAUJS is a democratic institution - we had the highest voter turnout in our last election than any other SAUJS elections in the last ten years) of SAUJS positions:

With regard to the Shministim, I can truly confirm that SAUJS can offer them no platform, this was a democratic decision. While this is not a position taken lightly, as a prerequisite we require that a speaker actually knows something about the issue he (or she) is speaking on.

SAUJS condemns any deliberate attack on civillians. (just as SAUJS condemns the use of human shields by Hamas).

SAUJS condemns the actions of the Palestinians that necessitated ethnically separate roads. Palestinian terrorist organizations attacking anyone of a certain religious orientation, is a gross form of racism. Make no mistake Daniel, it was the racism and brutality of organisations such as Hamas and Fatah that lead to the ethnically separate roads. When Palestinian organizations threaten genocide against Jews it is they who cause the separation, your gripe should therefore be with these organizations. Your' severing the necessary implications of cause and effect are unhelpful. That being said when any lesser measure could have been taken to protect Jews traveling to visit thousand year old holy sites, SAUJS would condemn Israeli action (ie. the adopting of an unnecessarily severe measure).

That being said and I would like to redundantly state this again SAUJS condemns the apartheid that the Palestinian organizations are perpetrating against Christians and Jews in their areas of control.

Finally we condemn any Israeli action which ignores a procedurally and substantively correct Israeli court ruling. We condemn death threats to any individual.

Again I see you are guilty of putting words into other peoples mouth - I highly doubt that these are the positions of any Jewish body, although I'm happy to get the Zionist Fed's opinion if you disagree.

I met the Jews living in H-2 (actually they were living in a Palestinian home in H-2, but semantics aside, although unlikely, you could have met a different set), firstly the Jews living there are such a tiny portion of the population. Secondly the Palestinian apartheid regime necessitates that they adopt certain political radically anti-Israel stances in order to be accepted. I was warned on leaving not to go into H-1 without a Palestinian guide by these very people (and the breaking the silence representative), why? because I was a Jew. Visions of a burning Joseph's tomb, visions of Palestinians proudly displaying the blood of lynched soldiers for the world to see flashed before my eyes.

I believe that the Palestinians suffer from the occupation due to bad leadership and I think that this is obvious (your disdain towards this logical conclusion in no way detracts from it). This in no way justifies the settlements nor does it mean that the settlements are helpful - which they are not, they are in fact in many respects independent from the errors of Palestinian leadership. This is most evident in the fact that the first time settlements become part of the peace process was only in 2002, one must than wander at the ever increasing importance of the settlements and their true implications.

If there had been good Palestinian leadership the Palestinians would have a state today, it would therefore be impossible for Israel to do the things you mentioned (although this in no way means that they are justified as you claim is the logical conclusion of my statement which it is not - again you attempt to put words into my mouth). The Palestinians have been offered a state countless times in every shape and form (I can go through them if you like). Please don't use emotional and generic statements like 'No serious person who knows anything about the history of the occupation could possible subscribe to your view.' and 'Is that a serious statement?', Instead bring facts to prove your statement (facts remain sparse). Please don't belittle my intelligence with such statements.

And yes I do believe that bad leadership can (notice and use the word 'can' instead of 'does') justify occupation - where occupation is the only means to stop twelve thousand rockets being fired at civilian populations - every single time the Israeli's have withdrawn they have received devastating attacks against civilian targets. If the Palestinians had a good, effective and moderate leadership it would allow Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories without this effect.

Open Shuhada is not achieving its objective by promoting a one sided narrative - quite the opposite in fact.
7 hours ago

Rafael Etan Eliasov With regards to the two-state solution - your assumption is based on a faulty premise; that anything the majority says lacks 'meaningful moral content', quite the contrary many times the majority is indeed correct (in fact your premise is contrary to democratic values). Your basis for denying the two state solution is that this is that this is a position that the majority has adopted - which is no basis at all. Do you support the two state solution, which in my opinion is the basis for a moderate solution that does not completely ignore international law and human rights? Please don't use SAUJS other positions to attack it's support of the two state solution - if you want to attack the two state solution, attack the two state solution.

Regarding your request for a statement, I will look into the situation further and consult the committee, if we democratically decide to do so then we will do this. Would you be willing to release a statement condemning Hamas and its incitement, xenophobia, violations of human rights and supporting the two state solution? (by the way your article is an analysis as appose to an actual news article; just a point, although this does not invalidate it)

Yes I happened to notice that - that is however a different index (Israel's rating remains 'free' in the political and civil rights indexes).
7 hours ago

Rafael Etan Eliasov Daniel, it is time that Open Shuhada Street adopts moderate positions, it's radical positions threaten to corrupt what we as a community and country stand for. If you are radicals that is fine but at least be honest about it and don't champion your cause under the guise of human rights and tolerance. History probably won't judge Open Shuhada Street, as once the conflict ends it will quickly be forgotten. However, the time will come when people will question whether Open Shuhada Street actually intended to divide and brainwash our community. I have no doubt people in the organization will at no point be accountable to the false accusations that they make. However if they were they will claim that they thought they were helping the Palestinians and not silencing their democratic will. Or some will claim that they supported the apartheid of the Palestinian terror organizations (and therefore do not see Jews and Christians as human beings).

The choice is yours to make.
6 hours ago

Daniel Alexander Mackintosh Hi Rafael

I need to reply to you on the facts and I will do so with detailed sources.

However, for the moment, 2 points are worth mentioning:

1 - OSS is not a Jewish organisation. Our membership has a diverse array of people, so the charge of dividing the Jewish community is a nonsensical one. I know that there are many Jews who care about Palestinian and Israeli human rights and who will not be kept quiet by the accusations of breaking ranks. That is what SAUJS seemed to be willing to do under Apartheid but would not dare do today.

2 - Your statement below is one of the most important I have read coming from SAUJS in many years and I thank you for being so honest:

'And yes I do believe that bad leadership can (notice and use the word 'can' instead of 'does') justify occupation - where occupation is the only means to stop twelve thousand rockets being fired at civilian populations - every single time the Israeli's have withdrawn they have received devastating attacks against civilian targets.'

A justification for the violation of international law through occupation. The International Court of Justice in its 2004 advisory opinion stated very clearly that it all territories conquered by Israel are occupied. And occupation combined with settlement of your own country's citizens in that territory violates the 4th Geneva convention.

A proper response will follow in due course.
5 hours ago

Rafael Etan Eliasov Daniel before you go further, you have again tried to put words into my mouth I refer to 'community' and not 'Jewish community' referring to a wider South African community.
5 hours ago

Putting in the SA in SAUJS - Ilan Solomons

Putting in the SA in SAUJS - Ilan Solomons - http://chutzpahonline.blogspot.com/2010/03/putting-in-sa-in-saujs-ilan-solomons.html 

The South African in SAUJS 2010

The South African Union of Jewish Students or SAUJS stands on three pillars Judaism, Zionism/Israel and South African affairs. These values are what hold us together as a student movement on and off campuses across the country. It is often a difficult and complex balancing act but these core values have held us together for many years and will be our guiding principles for the foreseeable future as well.

SAUJS has been in the recent past mainly associated with its first two pillars, which are without doubt two vital aspects of our culture and tradition. The third principle, i.e. South Africa has to some extent been overshadowed since the end of the days of Apartheid when SAUJS was one of the few ‘white’( as we were classified by the NATS) organizations that openly opposed the unjust and inhumane system that oppressed the overwhelming majority of the country. There have been various books and articles written on this particular subject and SAUJS is actually in the process of compiling its own history into a book, which should be ready some time this year hopefully.

The issue now is what is SAUJS’s vision for how to reignite the spark of patriotism and South African activism for which it was once known? Last year we were able to co-host with the Progressive Youth Alliance – which consists of the South African Students Congress (SASCO), the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL), and the Young Communist League (YCL) – an event where prominent Jewish South Africans like Janet Love and Howard Sackstein, spoke about their involvement in the struggle both as Jews and as humanitarians. It was a fantastic and enlightening discussion which showed the important role Jewish activists played in the struggle, and even how SAUJS leaders like Howie Sackstein took brave decisions to stand up to members of his own constituency including the Board of Deputies and the Sydenham Highlands North Shul committee who hosted PW Botha on one occasion when he was involved and responsible for some of the most egregious acts of Apartheid oppression. These are the types of Jews that make us proud and I hope that if Heaven Forbid the current leadership of the Jewish community had to be associated or even supportive of oppressive racist elements that we as SAUJS would stand up to them.

Just this past week we co – hosted Moeletsi Mbeki with the Association of Black Securities and Investments Professionals Wits Chapter(ABSIP), Mr Mbeki is the brother of the former President of South Africa – Thabo Mbeki. He is a leading Economist, Journalist and Political Analysis. He is also a major critic of the government namely on its policy towards the economy, HIV/AIDS and Zimbabwe. He spoke about the release of his latest book and some of the important issues that the book mentions. It is important that South African students are always made aware from a plurality of views about the challenges that our country faces and how best we can overcome them and turn them into opportunities for a better South Africa.

It is my sincere hope that the campus committees of SAUJS ensure that events like the Jewish Anti-Apartheid Hero week happens this year, and that more collaboration between various organizations of different faiths, creeds, backgrounds and the like occur. As the National committee of SAUJS we are committed to improving ties with our Non-Jewish friends and exploring the loads of diverse cultures that this country has blessed us with. Opening up avenues of communication and dialogue with members of the Islamic faith is another challenge which we hope to tackle in some shape or form during the course of this year.

We truly hope that this year in which we host the Soccer World Cup that not only Bafana Bafana will put in a respectable performance, but that the message of fair play and tolerance is embedded in the minds and souls of all our countryman during and after the tournament itself.

Please feel free to contact me or any member of the SAUJS National Committee about interesting initiatives or suggestions for projects we can do to help further strengthen our South African - or any other aspect of the movement for that matter – affairs portfolio.

Am Yisrael Chai, Ayoba 2010 Ayoba!!!!

Feel free just to leave comment on the blog or contact Ilan on Liaison@saujs.co.za