Thursday, November 8, 2012

Jewish discontent and the Reggies protest

Jewish discontent and the Reggies protest
This weekend saw the beginning of a campaign against the Jewish National Fund (JNF) by variety of anti-Israel bodies including BDS South Africa and Stop the JNF South Africa. The focus of the protest centred a round a local toy company’s sponsorship of a JNF project. The protestors were calling on Reggies to end its relationship with the JNF South Africa because they ostensibly believe the JNF is responsible for human rights violations.
The issue of organisations protesting against individuals, companies and institutions that have dealings with Israel is by no means new. We have seen protests against Israeli political leaders coming to this country, Israeli performers, products manufactured in Israel and the Occupied Territories and the like. What has upset many in the Jewish community is that there has been a visible increase in the number of Jews at the forefront of this recent action. The lead co-ordinator of the Stop JNF South Africa is Jewish and some of the spokespeople and participants in the action were Jewish. Again this is by no means new the Jews like Ronnie Kasrils, Nathan Geffen, Doron Isaacs and the like have been involved in similar types of campaigns.
I think that as Jews we are always deeply concerned when one of our own stands along side those who have less than honourable reasons for protesting against anything related to Israel, namely that these groupings have overt or covert Judeophobic values and/or members.
Again the Jewish community is confronted with the dilemma of how to ‘deal’ with those Jews who have broken ranks and joined forces with groups which the mainstream Jewish community believes to be unacceptable and problematic. I have received a slew of e-mails and Facebook invites to initiatives and groups which seek to ‘expose’ Jewish members of groups associated with BDS organisations like Stop JNF South Africa. They have described these people as new age Jewish Kapos, Kapos were Jews who collaborated with the Nazi’s, and is a serious insult. I have read and heard people describe them as Moserim or informers, which are Jews who give information to authorities which causes or has the potential to cause, substantial harm to another Jew. According to our tradition a Moser suffers the worst punishment a Jew can face and that is spiritual excommunication (Maim.Yad, Hovel u-Mazzik 8:9).
 I am not shocked by the anger and resentment that many people in the Jewish community feel towards these Jews as I have had similar allegations and curses thrown at me in the past. What worries me and many others in the liberal circles of the Jewish community is that many of the Jews that are involved in the present anti-Israel activities were once dovish pro-Israel Jews. Who now feel that they have no forum in the mainstream Jewish body politic or social spheres to voice their concerns have thus decided for reasons of deep disgruntlement and conscience to join with these reactionary anti-Israel groupings.
The lack of openness and willingness by the- core- mainstream Jewish organisations including the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the South African Zionist Federation and the Union of Orthodox Synagogues/ Office of the Chief Rabbi to facilitate a genuine communal forum where grievances and concerns can be raised in a frank and safe manner, is a contributory factor to the disgruntlement of some. Of this I have no doubt.
There are of course factors that are beyond the control of any Jewish institutional body in this country that no level of open discussion or dialogue will change and those relate to the realities on the ground in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The collapse of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the continued rise of hardline hawkishness in Israel, the continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank, the siege of Gaza, and so on. These realities do not exactly inspire the dovish, pro-peace members of the community.
Most of the Jews involved in these actions are largely outside of the community structures which makes it easier for outraged Jews to use inflammatory and vulgar language when referring to this bunch of disgruntled Jews. We consider them ‘other’ and will unlikely cross paths in the real world, unless we come a cross them in a counter protest.
The only real forum where Jews from differing points of views can come together to discuss and present their differing points of views – in an open, frank and most importantly safe manner -  is at the Limmud conferences that take place annually. And thank goodness for Limmud but a lot more needs to be done in this area and the sooner the better.
In conclusion, I urge all of us in the mainstream Jewish community to avoid invoking hateful rhetoric against those we disagree with and try to be true to the Jewish practices of constructive debate and discussion. By further marginalising those we disagree with, we will only swell the ranks of groups that care not for human rights but for the denial of the Jewish peoples’ right to express their national, cultural and religious rights in the State of Israel. Our communal institutions have to be encouraged and lobbied vigorously to change its focus on promoting communal conformity, whether it, be regarding Israel, the role of women in the community or religious practice, to promoting acceptance of communal diversity so as to allow for as many members of the Jewish community to have genuine say in issues affecting us all.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

SA Jewry somewhere between Kevin Bloom and Amir Mizroch

SA Jewry somewhere between Kevin Bloom and Amir Mizroch
By: Ilan Solomons
I like many of you have been following, with some level of interest, this debate taking place in mainstream South African media between Kevin Bloom and Amir Mizroch – over the true nature of the Jewish communities’ attitude towards Israel. It struck me that neither of the authors can in all honesty claim to be active members of the current SA Jewish community and therefore I felt as some one who has been actively involved in Jewish communal matters and specifically with regards to the Israel-Palestine question that I should be a bit chutzpadik and add my two rands worth.
Kevin Bloom is not entirely wrong when he says that sections of the Jewish community of South Africa are in total agreement with the policies and practices of the State of Israel, especially when it comes to dealing with Palestinians. Where he is deeply mistaken is that he presents this camp within the community as the only significant one, one that will defend Israel’s policies blindly. This is just not the case.
So what about the remaining majority? Well to be frank some are just too ignorant of situation and have no views either way. Then there are those who are pro-Israel but would dearly like her to live side by side with an independent Palestinian State in internationally recognized borders, and then there are the genuine far right fascists who quite literally bully the leadership into taking the most meek and mild criticisms of Israel, in cases where she has done wrong.
I was involved in two major Jewish organizations until very recently. The one was Bnei Akiva – a religious Zionist youth movement – and the other being the South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS). Bnei Akiva is one of the biggest Jewish youth movements in South Africa and in Israel has taken very hawkish positions on matters relating to the Palestinians’, however in my time with the movement it declared itself ‘apolitical’ and thus it was able to be more open to dialogue and discussion on sensitive matters relating to Israel-Palestine. Many within the leadership of the movement were very keen to explore a broad educational policy relating to the history and politics of the region. This culminated in Bnei Akiva inviting the Palestinian Ambassador to South Africa, Dr Ali Halimeh in 2010 to its community centre in Glenhazel to give a presentation on the history and politics of the conflict from a Palestinian perspective. This is an incredibly noteworthy achievement which was well received by most who attended the presentation and who were able to engage with a representative of the Palestinian people, for many it was the first time they had actually ever met a Palestinian let alone a member of the Palestinian Authority.
SAUJS hosted a panel discussion with the Ambassador Halimeh and veteran anti-Apartheid activist and now anti-occupation activist Benjamin Pogrund at Wits University, where the issue of ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian State was the main message that came out from the discussion. Obviously there were many very unhappy members of the Jewish community, ironically they were less angered at Ambassador Halimehs' remarks but at Benjamin Pogrunds’ comments concerning the illegality of settlements in the West Bank and the human rights violations that Israel was causing as result of its brutal occupation, and that he seemed to side with Ambassador Halimeh on most issues. Most Jewish students found the discussion enlightening and learnt a great deal from the event.
SAUJS regularly issued statements calling for a just and fair peace that would result in the establishment of an independent Palestinian State along side the State of Israel and this has been a long standing policy of the movement.
It would however be deeply dishonest of me not to mention the following story of intolerance that I suffered at the hands of those who were less open minded about promoting Israeli-Palestinian peace. When I was in my final year as a councillor for Bnei Akiva I was appointed as deputy education officer for the end of year camp. One of the important aspects of this role was to promote educational understanding on Israel. I was given as a gift from the Palestinian Embassy a badge with a Palestinian flag along side a South African one, so I decided that I was going to wear this badge along side my Israel badges on a Friday Night – which is sacred in Judaism – as a symbol that I was pro Israeli-Palestinian peace which I thought was something important for my fellow councillors and campers to see. No big deal right? Within minutes of me having them on my jacket some of my fellow councillors were trying to rip them off my jacket. I protested and they grudgingly stopped. As I was about to sit down in the Synagogue for the beginning of the Friday Night Service, in stormed one of the movements Rabbi’s from Israel, who had obviously been informed of what I was doing and said something along these lines “Ilan if you don’t remove those bloody things from your jacket immediately I’m going to personally rip them off and smack your head in”. This as you can imagine caused a bit of commotion I got up and walked out of the Synagogue and was quite shaken by the incident, I mean you don’t expect that type of ‘deranged’ behaviour from a Rabbi.
 I had known that I was playing with fire and I valued my health more, as I knew that this Rabbi had lived as settler deep in the heart of the occupied territories and was known for his extremism, so I decided to remove not only my Palestinian badges but the Israeli ones as well as small form of protest. Many of the campers and my fellow councillors had seen this incident and were deeply disturbed, some wanted to put on the badges as sign of protest. Well firstly I didn’t have enough badges to go around and secondly I had made a point which I thought was enough. If I continued this protest I would have had all my other educational programmes scrapped and those educational programmes were more important than causing a brawl on the Bnei Akiva campsite on the Sabbath.
After the camp I had several meetings with the then Chairman of Bnei Akiva to stop or as he put it ‘re-think’ what I was doing, mainly because there were those who were concerned I and some others were doing a disservice to the Israel and Zionism. It eventually reached a point when the Chairman was threatening to issue a statement that would state Bnei Akiva was going to disassociate itself from me, even though I was no longer a member of the organization. So desperate where some to suppress what I was saying and doing at the time that they set up a meeting which was overseen by someone who I have only the highest regard for, the former anti-Apartheid activist Rabbi Bentzion Isaacson. He was also the first South African Rabbi to establish formal contact with the PLO while he was himself in exile in Zimbabwe. Nothing came of these heated discussions, and in the end it seemed there was more bark than bite.
I have had people spit at me on several occasions as they felt I had betrayed the Zionist/Jewish cause by establishing close links with Palestinians and by helping to strengthen ties between the Jews, Muslims and specifically Palestinians. These few pockets of extremists are present in all communities and the Jewish community is no exception. The organizations that I served largely received positive feedback for the efforts we undertook and even the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), Zionist Fed and Israel Centre were accepting on some level.
The point is that the SA Jewish community is by no means at present monolithic in its views or opinions of Israel. I only wish that the community had more people like the late Arthur Goldreich, a man who fought for the State of Israel on its founding, and was a member of the ANC and its armed resistance wing. He was a devout Zionist and Humanist, who loved the State of Israel dearly but was appalled by its practices in the Occupied Territories, he had the most important thing that one needs in the SA Jewish community and that was legitimacy. The Jewish community of South Africa is only too aware that Israel is important to world Jewry but that the Palestinians have legitimate claim to self determination along side the State of Israel.
 We desperately require someone like Goldreich who can say these words without having the baggage of Kasrils, Goldberg, Nathan Geffen, Doron Isaacs and the like that they can be accused of not being active members of the community, or that they do not live in Israel or have no right to comment as suggested by Amir Mizroch and that they do not have the best interests Israel and the Jewish people at heart.
*Note that if readers would like to get a sense of the diversity of views that exist in the Jewish community both dovish and hawkish I suggest they go to check out the following links http://chutzpahonline.blogspot.com/2010/08/view-of-our-palestinian-israeli-guest.html and http://www.myshtetl.co.za/community/israel/israelnews/halachos-land-peace-what-hit

Sunday, January 1, 2012

The Jewish Koch on the South African governments funding of Palestine Embassy of South Africa and other projects

On a local communal website the issue of the South African Government funding the Palestinian Embassy in South Africa was discussed and I had to add my two cents worth. Check it out. http://www.myshtetl.co.za/community/community-orgs/shtetl-orgs/our-tax-rands-funding-pa-hamas

SA taxpayers fund PA to the tune of up to R10m a year

Mon, 10/31/2011 - 20:26
Not with our taxes HOME.jpg
THIS IS A REAL SHOCKER!
OUR TAXES FUND PA & HAMAS

MyShtetl Exclusive
The SA Department of Foreign Affairs (up to 2009) and the renamed Department of International Relations and Co-operation (from 2010) have been making massive annual contributions of SA taxpayers’ money to assist Palestinian causes. So said the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation on 6 August 2010 in answer to a parliamentary question posed by DA MP S Mokalapa.
And there the information died – in the files of Parliament – until a Shtetler tipped off MyShtetl to this last week.
As MyShtetl’s investigation dug up and anlysed the information, we were overwhelmed by the scale of the distribution this distribution of hard-working taxpayers’ funds – including Jewish taxpayers of course.
As we sought further information, we found that all Jewish Organisations we raised the matter with were also unaware of these goings-on. The Israeli Embassy, too, had to take a day to absorb this information before issuing a very diplomatic ‘no comment.’
So where has all this money been going? (See table on SLIDE #2 below story)
Essentially, the Minister’s reply indicated that there were three basic areas of support for the Palestinians:



To see the original DA Parliamentary question and the Minister’s answers simply
CLICK HERE AND GO DOWN TO QUESTION NO. 2061 RIGHT NEAR THE BOTTOM

Firstly, contributions are made to the United Nations Regional Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) “to support relief efforts for Palestinian Refugees” said the Minister. This, together with a special “Emergency Relief” payment after operation Cast Lead had cost SA taxpayers R6.2 million over the past five years. There may have been funding to this account prior to the accounting that the Minister was asked for, as is the case with the next item.
Secondly, there is the funding of the Palestinian Ambassador and Embassy in Pretoria – a practice that begun in 1994/95 said the Minister. But she had only been asked to provide figures for the past six years. Over the years 2006/07 to 2011/12 (current financial year) SA taxpayers have funded the Ambassador and Embassy to the tune of 7.4 million.
The third leg of the previously unknown funding of the Palestinians is the most recently-introduced and by far the largest use of SA taxpayer money.
SA granted an amount of US$1 million (R7.8-m) per year for three years to assist in Capacity Building - to build skills and institutions in Palestine. These grants were for financial years 2009/1- through to the current year. In the first year, said the Minister, an additional R1.4 million was allocated for the training of Palestinian diplomats.
The cost to SA taxpayers of this Capacity Building assistance? A whopping R34.8 million over the past three years!

TUESDAY'S STORY
SA Jewry & other taxpayers gave a whopping R38.4m over past 4 years to support Palestinian ambassador in SA & in foreign aid assistance to Palestine. This support goes back as far as ’95 & seems set to continue into the future.
None of the many communal leaders of SA Jewry and local Jewish organisations that MyShtetl has spoken to since Friday had any idea that SA taxpayers were footing Palestinian bills. And that includes Jewish taxpayers as well!
Jewish organisations were shocked to find out that the total amount the South African taxpayer has contributed to the Palestinian cause since 1995 has been in the region of R50 million.
The information comes from the public record after an answer by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation on 6 August 2010 to DA MP S Mokalapa – who had posed the following question:
(1) Whether any aid was (a) offered and/or (b) provided in the past five years to countries in which South Africa has an Embassy; if not; why not; if so, in each case, (i) what was the (aa) nature, (bb) reason for offering or providing of the aid and (cc) value of the aid and (ii) from which budget were these funds sourced.
The shocking answers, which in most cases cover just four years, amounted to a whopping R38.4 million and covers three projects - supporting the Palestinian ambassador in SA, foreign assistance to the UN in Gaza and foreign aid assistance to the Palestinian government to be used towards the cost of building institutions.


The recently announced Arms deal commission, with
3 Judges sitting for 2 years has a budget of R40m
Surely our taxes should feed SA’s hungry, shelter
our homeless, improve healthcare and schooling?

Up to 2009 the funds were provided by the then-Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and that from 2010 the funding came from the newly-named Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO).
MyShtetl is digging up more on this story - so stay tuned. While we await answers from many sources, we have found the figures in the public domain and we have decided to publish this prematurely due to the public interest and then fill in the gaps as we speak to leaders and politicians.
"I simply refuse to believe that our own Jewish community’s taxes would have been spent in this way,” a said senior communal leader (who asked not to be named) and was in complete denial as this would have harkened back to the Mandela Presidency. “It would have been insensitive and distasteful to the extreme."
Watch this space...
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I see nothing wrong with

I see nothing wrong with this! The ANC owes the PLO a considerable amount, due to its support of the ANC in its fight against Apartheid in South Africa. Palestine is an entity under Occupation and Siege! The Embassy of Palestine in South Africa is vital to legitimate cause of Palestinians.
The Embassy of Palestine has established good relations with several Jewish institutions including the SAJBD and SAUJS.
When Palestine is a fully independent State with its own economy and so on then it will have to support its own embassies until then one can not expect the host country - in this case South Africa - not to support it financially! Especially bearing in mind the important role the PLO played in assisting anti-Apartheid activities, it would be unimaginable for the ANC government to do otherwise!
I'm sure other shtetlers will say otherwise though, unfortunately!

Pray tell Ilan, exactly what

Pray tell Ilan, exactly what you understand by "the important role the PLO played in assisting anti-Apartheid activities"? Was it verbal, financial, how to be effective in the use of terror, bombing innocents?
I am afraid that if you are an example of the ignorrance in our Jewish youth, then I quake for our community. Obviously the current and popular mind-set has penetrated your cranium and I suggest you do a lot more reading and studying on the subject and do not rely on your emotional weakness to create facts in your mind.
I suggest you speak to people who were around at the time and read more real history books.
No, Ilan, it is a highly questionable state for South Africa to financially support the Palestinian Embassy and fund all its expenses.
As for the SAJBD and SAUJS, the same applies to all of them and I would like confirmation from the SAJBD that ythis is in fact so and if so, I would ...[Sorry Sam - you are rabble-rousing and we've edited this as not being in the community's best interest -ED].


Sam, Sam, Sam - while I am sure many or most users would share your views - I am just as convinced that none of them agree with your method of heaping scorn. Play the issues. You are good at it. Share your views positively please.


Fund bombs and rockets is

Fund bombs and rockets is the issue. Funding of the embassy is small change compared to the funding of Palestine over there. We'll publish the figures tomorrow once they are all collated. To me the principle is that by funding them there we are in so many ways indirectly supporting rockets. Funding the ambassador only funds their ability to justify those rockets. I am not comfortable with my hard-earned tax money funding and employing the families of martyrs - that really is an issue for me.
But, of course, each of us is entitled to have a differing view of this.

Important points you've

Important points you've raised. Should have considered them myself.

Solomons, Just two weeks ago

Solomons,
Just two weeks ago I stood in Sderot holding what remained of a missile launched from your "occupation and siege"ed land called Palestine...
The rocket landed in a civilian area...
and this is only 1 of over 8000 rockets fired from Gaza into Sderot over the past few years.
and you still want to defend the funding of these terrorists while little jewish Israeli children can barely play in the park without having to run to the bomb shelter which had to be made for them in a park ( a place of fun and relazation... not terrifying sirens).
I am very sorry (not really) but these Jewish children, homes and families were not involved in Apartheid.
furthermore Israel was one of the only countries who actually did help south africa during those dark years.
Its easy for you to speak from your neighborhood protected by GAP etc... but lets see how keen you are to live there if missiles started falling in your backyard from Houghton. you still gonna pay GAP to protect Houghton as well?

I attended a talk by David

I attended a talk by David Hersch in Cape Town at the Marais Road Shul some years ago when he was chairman of the Western Province Zionist Council and, if my memory serves me correctly, also a national vice-chairman of the SAZF and I remember him clearly pointing our in his talk that what is revealed in the article above was the case.
Is the current leadership of the Board of Deputies and SAZF asleep as usual? I find it ingenuous that they deny any knowledge of South Africa fully funding the Palestinian Ambassador and Embassy. What, if anything, are they going to do about it? Can they do anything about it? Do they want to do anything about it? Have they the courage to do anything about it? Kol hakvod to MyShtetl for telling us about this.
Assuming they cannot do anything about it other than register their unhappiness and discontent with the government, surely it is a good weapon to bring to people's attention regularly.
I am sad to say that I have no faith in our current communal leadership. I really wish we had people there who had knowledge, had courage and knew right from wrong and could stand up for Israel and our community. Oy weis mere!

Yet another reason (along

Yet another reason (along with widespread corruption and wasteful spending) to hide every last cent of tax you can!

Sam it is well known and

Sam it is well known and easily available on the internet and various books, about the role the PLO played in training and arming MK fighters and even Poqo(the armed wing of the PAC)
Anthony/MyShtetl the issue of funding humanitarian projects in the Palestinian territories is surely a nobel thing. Unless you are implying and have concrete proof that SA is funding militias like Hamas and Islamic Jihads armed wings, that's a whole other matter which needs to be looked into, regardless of the amount!

So where exactly do you

So where exactly do you stand Ilan? You are too young to know of the murders perpetrated by these groups on innocent people. For example, Poqo murdered a Jewish shopkeeper in Wellington in the Cape. An ordinary man running his shop just outside Wellington who played no political role and certainly no military role at all. They also perpetrated many other murders of innocent civilians. Where is the justification and where do you stand on this? Are you implying some sort of justification?
What about the wanton murders and maiming of innocent worshipers in the St James Church in Kenilworth, Cape Town when armed Apla members burst into a Sunday evening service, began shooting their automatic machine guns into the congregation and also throwing hand grenades into the church amongst the worshipers? (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_James_Church_massacre)
Then there are the bombs in Magoo's Bar in Durban and the Heidelberg Tavern in Cape Town.
All of these atrocities are akin to what the PLO and its various offshoots have perpetrated in Israel and still try to perpetrate. All deliberate and without motive or provocation and uncalled-for with the usual scant and empty justifications.
What do you and your fellow students, filled with the infantile milk of human kindness, abysmal ignorance, no experience and faulty morality really know?
Do you still see nothing wrong in the South African government totally funding the Palestinian Embassy? The Arabs have murdered your fellow Jews for more than a century and the PLO has blood all over its hands, feet and face.
Your parents and the rest of the South African Jewish community are indirectly through their taxes funding the enemies of Israel and have no say in it. Do you think that we, as South African citizens should have no say in what the ANC government are doing with our money? You support this?
I quote your immature final statement in your original remarks: "I'm sure other shtetlers will say otherwise though, unfortunately!" Yes, we certainly say otherwise and what exactly do you mean by "unfortunately", you silly ignorant boy?

Sam, undoubtedly the ANC,PAC

Sam, undoubtedly the ANC,PAC did carry out militant attacks on innocent civilians on occasion during the course of the struggle. Which I whole heartedly condemn. I'm do believe that like the Jewish militant groups such as the Palmach and Irgun, the ANC was very much entitled to take up arms. And like our own Jewish militias their were acts of unacceptable attacks which killed civilians like the Deir Yassin Massacres,the King David. Hotel bombings,etc.
I obviously feel deep sadness and loss for the shedding of Jewish blood by Palestinian militias including by the likes of the PLO and its affiliates and other Palestinian militia groupings.
I believe also strongly in a just and lasting peace between Israel and Palestine, living side by side with a shared capital in Jerusalem! I view it important for SA to support these efforts but ensuring Palestine as diplomatic,economic and political representation in SA, like its Israeli counterparts.
If Palestine were a fully independent State with its own economy like other states then you would have a very valid point as to why our taxes are going to support the up keep of a Palestinian Embassy and other projects in Palestine.
Let's just hope that soon they will have their own independent state so our tax revenues can go to other good and just causes!

Goodness me Ilan, you really

Goodness me Ilan, you really are lacking in real knowledge. I have just come across your talkbacks and you lack greatly. Are you typical of our current crop of Jewish students? If so, may Hashem help us. You are obviously living proof of the failures of the leadership at the South African Zionist Federation and our Jewish school system and a product of an over-indulged Jewish youth.
What do you really know about Deir Yassin except the propaganda our enemies have obviously fed you and you have swallowed hook, line and sinker? Do you even know where it is? I recommend you look at this one bit of evidence: http://maurice-ostroff.tripod.com/deir_yassin.html and then do some real home work reading widely and not just the Arab propaganda. There was no massacre at Deir Yassin.
A friend and I will later this month in Cape Town be delivering a talk and comparison on “The alleged massacre at Deir Yassin and the real massacre at Kfar Etzion”. I have been to both places and investigated them thoroughly and you are way off the mark. Do some serious reading and study.
I won't engage you as you look for equivalence and go into a whole diatribe of the nonsense you write, but whilst freedom fighting is one thing, targeting civilians is another.
I know the Jewish family from Wellington referred to in Sam’s response to you. I was at university with the daughter and saw how the tragedy decimated the family and destroyed the wife, her mother, who I used to see in Sea Point. Multiply that a few thousand times to even get an inkling of what has happened in Israel and please don’t wet your computer keyboard with crocodile tears.
I note in your first contribution you state “Palestine is an entity under Occupation and Siege!” Well, that is a matter of law, fact and opinion and I reject your view in its entirety. There is no need whatsoever to ingratiate yourself to our enemies and show what a reasonable and good boy you are. Get real and acquire some courage!
The rest of what you write I also find immature and wishy-washy. A shared Jerusalem as far as I am concerned is not on the cards nor should ever be. Historically the Arabs and the Muslims never regarded Jerusalem as a capital. When they controlled the area, which was not for very long, Ramla near Ben Gurion Airport was their capital. The Arabs claiming Jerusalem is inventive nonsense. Ramallah is a stone’s throw from the north of Jerusalem down Route 443 and together with our invention of the “Law of return”, which they then corrupted and hijacked, they covet Jerusalem, and the rest of Israel, and in reality are bankrupt for ideas, reality and what is really just.
Every one of us would like to see peace in Israel. Your description in my view is the usual idealistic, quixotic and shallow claptrap rolled out by the uninformed and romantically inclined ignoramuses.
The trouble with your generation, which has not experienced not having an Israel, a land of our own, not having the right to live in our biblical homeland, is how spoilt and indulged you are and how removed from reality you really are. Your heads are filled with romantic straw with no real knowledge and definitely no experience. Sixty three years ago there was no Israel and your people had been decimated in the holocaust. We had been in exile from our land for two thousand years. You have no idea of what it took to get Israel, to fight for it, defend it and be at war for the entire period of its modern existence. You have no idea of the pain and sorrow, the losses of family and loved ones. You have never experienced anti-Semitism. You have no concept of the constant existential threat to Israel and your own people.
It is only sixty three years since Israel’s reestablishment and resurrection after two thousand years of exile and your generation take it for granted and wonder around and arrogance and abysmal ignorance. Shame on you all and shame on you for your shallow take on all of this.
Empower yourself with real knowledge. You will find it fulfilling, thrilling, really useful and worthwhile, but for all our sakes, disabuse yourself from the romantic nonsense you sprout.
As for South Africa funding the Palestinian embassy, their Ambassador, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Fatah with my tax money, I have no idea what I can do about it, but I have the democratic right to voice my objection and I certainly will.

Ilan, are you aware that the

Ilan, are you aware that the Palestinians have had more money thrown at them than was required for the Marshall Plan for the rebuilding of Germany and Europe after WWII? How aware are you of the kleptocracy that made Yasser Arafat a mega millionaire, not to mention all his cronies on the PLO?
“Palestine” is not a country, so ask yourself how it can have embassies around the world and question the madness of this?
The Arab states, dripping in oil revenues, contribute less than 20% of the money gobbled up by the PA. How much of this goes to buy arms to use against Israel? How much of this has actually gone to their so-called “refugees” who remain exactly that after 63 years and who the PA clearly states will never be citizens of Palestine as they want them to be absorbed by Israel. Has the madness of this, including the fact that they have stated that a Palestinian state will be Judenrein, not bothered you or pricked your sense of what is right and wrong?
What does it mean to “believe also strongly in a just and lasting peace between Israel and Palestine”? Does this blot out all common sense?
Look at the rest of what you right where you claim a similarity between Israel and the PA. I quote: “I view it important for SA to support these efforts but ensuring Palestine as diplomatic, economic and political representation in SA, like its Israeli counterparts”. Apart from bad English, what are you talking about and how do you see and entity such as the PA in Judea and Samaria, the West Bank, and a legitimate and recognised state such as Israel? In your logic, the PA is equivalent not only to Israel, but also to the USA, Britain, France, Russia and every other legitimate country in the world. What nonsense!
As for the rest about Palestine being “a fully independent State with its own economy like other states”, what complete balderdash! It is thanks to Israel and the Netanyahu government’s policies that they have an economy that is growing by at least 7% plus a year. However, they will not have a viable economy for many years, if ever, should they ever gain independence.
Let me tell you why I take the trouble to answer you at length. It is because you need to be informed correctly, which you are not. I have seen your name and assume you are involved in SAUJS at university and what worries me is that if you are not corrected, you will spread your superficial nonsense that aids and abets the enemies of your people and buys into their propaganda, that harms Israel and your people.

Illan, please explain to us

Illan, please explain to us what a Palastinian is, please also tell us who there president was before Arafat, what was there currency. Then with your smug command of the rnglish language, explain to us why they are there and where they came from.
Then Illan,maybe you will stop trying to be controversial, in order to impress yourself, after that you can go and live in Ashdot for a while.
Hopefully then you will have grown and wised up, think you still need to learn to rather keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool rather than to have opened it and removed all doubt.

Reading all the comments in

Reading all the comments in reply to Illan's remarks which have rightly sparked all the debate, i suggest you read a booklet available on Frontpagemag edited by David Horowitz called " The Jewish Enablers of Anti Semitism". The booklet explains that "the enemy within" is Israel's biggest problem- the Jews themselves! Sad to say, we are fighting an endless debate amongst ourselves which can prove more lethal than the PA, Abbas, Nazrallah and all the other enemies of the Jews combined. Until we have unity "within" our own camp, expect nothing other the the Illan's of this world who aid and abett anti semitism ;perhaps without even realsing the consequence of their actions.

Shtetlers are getting off

Shtetlers are getting off track here, partly due to me entertaining side issues like the comparisons of different armed struggles. The issue of the historical roots and development of the Arab-Israeli conflict is undoubtedly an issue of serious scholarly debate. I would suggest that all those that are genuinely sincere read the various historians and analysts who give a tremendous insight into this turmoil ridden history. There are very many but to name but a few I would recommend the works of the following: martin Gilbert,Uri Avnery(founder of Gush Shalom not to be confused with Uri Davis or Uri Avineri), Yossi Beilin, Michal Oren,Tom Segev,Benny Morris,Mitchel Bard and Edward Said.
Those people give a broad enough spectrum into the history. I will leave the debate over the 'true' history to the experts.
Getting back to the original topic, is the question of whether on thinks it is a legitimate cause for SA Tax payers to contribute to the maintenance of the Palestinian Embassy and other humanitarian causes in the Palestinian Territories.
I believe that it is and I have made my reasons abundantly clear already. I tend to think some people oppose this not out of shock at how the government is spending SA Taxes but because the beneficiaries are Palestinians, which is just plain bigoted!
I have no doubt that SA has a similar arrangement with the Western Saharns, which is also an Occupied Territory and which also has an Embassy in Pretoria. I doubt we would voice even remotely the same level of outrage if findings had to emerge that SA is spending similar resources on Western Saharan mission to SA!
Be that as it may, people are entitled and must be encourage to CONSTRUCTIVELY voice their views on the matter.
That's my last thoughts on this matter. Take care guys :-)

Ilan - you have been so busy

Ilan - you have been so busy pretecting the Palastinians that you havnt bothered to to reference the link myshtetl has given (above)to the information. Every single foreign donation (and there many and lots much bigger than this one, every single donation is to a country. The Republic of this or that.
Evey 1 exept for this one. Here the country is referred to as "Middle East" - not even Palastine. There is no Western Sahara. There is a Middle East. This is not so much about SA taxpayers helping out some who are less fortunite (because there ar those with less).
To e its more about 1.) "MIddle east" is not a country 2.) SA Jewish taxpayers contribute above their weight and its insensitive 3.) If Palestine was a caountry and was sending rockets at civilians and women and children as human bombs - there would be no justification for financial suppot

Ilan, I can't wait for you

Ilan, I can't wait for you to grow up. Maybe then we will be spared your unfantile obfuscation, moralising, self-righteousness and maybe you will read more widely. Except for Michael Oren, whom I have met and have read, the rest of the authors you quote all find themselves on the left and extreme left and Edward Said is so left he has left the planet, in more ways than one. I am surprised you didn't mention Avi Shlaim and Ilan Pappe.
Only recently has Benny Morris changed his views. See what maturity and less self-interest can do for one. Try reading his latest book, 1948.
It is noted how people have answered what you wrote and how you avoid doing the same. If you have now retreated from posting any more silly replies, Baruch Hashem! And thank you.
And once more on the original topic, when you start paying taxes, lets see how much you like doing so within a kleptocracy and funding people who kill and have killed thousands of our people and whose agenda is to continue doing so and threaten the existence of the only country we have and have had in two thousand years. The spread of their lies across the world endangers us everywhere, including the hallowed halls and walks of Wits, where you spread your infantile and shallow heartfelt nonsense.

Ilan Solomon - Firstly you

Ilan Solomon - Firstly you left out the best book of all THE TANACH. Secondly would you please go and speak to the
ordinary people in Ashkelon where my family lives and tell them what you have lectured to the readers in My Shtetl. My grand daughter is a ballet dancer but is now a proud tall soldier in the IDF. I am so proud of her and every single soldier in the IDF that your mumbling nothings in your "intellectual lectures" to us here in the shtetl leave me with nothing but disdain for you and your friends. What have you ever done yourself that means anything for Israel??? I would really love to know.

Dear Miriam, You are more

Dear Miriam,
You are more than welcome to ask Anthony about my contribution to Jewish communal matters and to fighting anti-Israel sentiment on university campuses and off them. I have no need to give you my Jewish and Zionist credentials which are well known to many in the community.
If Anthony wants to provide you with some of my credentials so be it, buy I certainly am not going to waste my time doing so.
All the best send my regards to Choni.:-)

Ilan who?

Ilan who?

I have been thinking about

I have been thinking about your responses Ilan for a few days and I think you come over as an arrogant an opinionated boy. I have noted your name popping up from time to time and I have no doubt you are involved in communal matters and are entitled to your opinions, wrong as they may be.
However, the question is essentially, is your "contribution" good for the community or for Israel? If we have to apply an analogy, some really bad people in history, which I am not implying you are, can also claim to have made a "contribution" to their societies and communities. In other words, your claim is complete twaddle.
I suspect you are a product of the recent decade of Habonim and the former maskirim (leaders) that now show up as anti-Israel and side with our enemies in the likes of the ever despicable Open Shuhada Street. Not only are you all a product of a misguided and infiltrated youth movement, but the also the product of a weak and gutless leadership of the SAZF.
Other commentators have referred to your lack of maturity and I will join them in hoping that time, common sense, logic, intelligence and maturity will find you and that you will go on to truly be a real contributer to the Jewish community and certainly not in the mode you now find yourself. Politely put, this means acquire some [Ilan will have to use his imagination here, Taryn -ED] and grow up!

"Habonim"? - Are you

"Habonim"?
- Are you referring to the Habostinians, those poor little rich kids who go park their asses down by the waterside at Onrust once a year and talk Deep Philosophy about tikun olam, singing Kumbaya around campfires, and going home to wherever the hell they came from and eventually end up marrying some goy from Goyville?
Huh!
Lion613

Dear Taryn, I was a member

Dear Taryn,
I was a member of Bnei Akiva youth movement in fact not only was I member but I was a Madrich. Not only that but I was Sgun Chinnuch at camp in last year.
So no I am not a Habonim product by any means.
Hope that clears up any confusion you may have concerning my Jewish youth movement affiliation?
All the best.

I took a run through the

I took a run through the posts in this blog from 31 October to date.
Its interesting to see that Ilan Solomons (who I most certainly do not agree with) never slings a gratuitous insult at anyone, regardless of the vicious and personal insults which are thrown at him. Despite the fact that he is probably the youngest protagonist in the debate, he behaves better than any of us: and if you were going to tell me that the abusive language and the anger in our posts (mine included) is justified by the seriousness of the topic then I’m going to tell you that the sort of language which we have employed is so counterproductive that we only make our cause look nuts.
We need to behave much, much better.
Just look at this:
Sam (1 November):
"I am afraid that if you are an example of the ignorrance in our Jewish youth, then I quake for our community. Obviously the current and popular mind-set has penetrated your cranium and I suggest you do a lot more reading and studying on the subject and do not rely on your emotional weakness to create facts in your mind."
Sam (2 November):
"You are too young to know of the murders perpetrated by these groups on innocent people"
David Hersch (2 November):
"Goodness me Ilan, you really are lacking in real knowledge. I have just come across your talkbacks and you lack greatly. Are you typical of our current crop of Jewish students? If so, may Hashem help us. You are obviously living proof of the failures of the leadership at the South African Zionist Federation and our Jewish school system and a product of an over-indulged Jewish youth…."
"What do you really know about Deir Yassin except the propaganda our enemies have obviously fed you and you have swallowed hook, line and sinker? Do you even know where it is? "
" … you are way off the mark. Do some serious reading and study.
I won't engage you as you look for equivalence and go into a whole diatribe of the nonsense you write,"
" ... please don’t wet your computer keyboard with crocodile tears…
There is no need whatsoever to ingratiate yourself to our enemies and show what a reasonable and good boy you are. Get real and acquire some courage!"
" … The rest of what you write I also find immature and wishy-washy.
Your description in my view is the usual idealistic, quixotic and shallow claptrap rolled out by the uninformed and romantically inclined ignoramuses."
" … how spoilt and indulged you are and how removed from reality you really are. Your heads are filled with romantic straw with no real knowledge and definitely no experience."
" … your generation take it for granted and wonder around and arrogance and abysmal ignorance. Shame on you all and shame on you for your shallow take on all of this."
" … but for all our sakes, disabuse yourself from the romantic nonsense you sprout."
Sam (2 November):
"Let me tell you why I take the trouble to answer you at length. It is because you need to be informed correctly, which you are not. I have seen your name and assume you are involved in SAUJS at university and what worries me is that if you are not corrected, you will spread your superficial nonsense"
Anonymous (3 November):
"Then Illan,maybe you will stop trying to be controversial, in order to impress yourself, after that you can go and live in Ashdot for a while."
"Hopefully then you will have grown and wised up, think you still need to learn to rather keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool rather than to have opened it and removed all doubt."
David Hersch (3 November):
"Ilan, I can't wait for you to grow up. Maybe then we will be spared your unfantile obfuscation, moralising, self-righteousness and maybe you will read more widely."
"It is noted how people have answered what you wrote and how you avoid doing the same. If you have now retreated from posting any more silly replies, Baruch Hashem! And thank you."
"The spread of their lies across the world endangers us everywhere, including the hallowed halls and walks of Wits, where you spread your infantile and shallow heartfelt nonsense."
Taryn Samuels (10 November):
"I have been thinking about your responses Ilan for a few days and I think you come over as an arrogant an opinionated boy."
No doubt everyone whose extracts I have blocked and copied (shocking spelling, bad grammar and all), is older than Ilan. I don’t know him from a bar of soap but if this is the best that we can do to answer him, he must see us (myself included) as a bunch of curmudgeonly (oh for g-d’s sake, go look it up), intolerant old farts who are not worth paying any attention to in the first place – exactly the reaction we should avoid.
And a merry old shavua tov to you all! I’m done here!
Lion613

Thanks @lion613 - exactly what I thought reading all the responses. I know Ilan has done serious reading and sole searching in an effort to tackle, and come to terms with his findings on these issues. Not too long ago he was attacking my leftist positions (though never with the personally-
directed malice he has been subjected to here). I respect his intellectual integrity and courage.
His views are really not marginal except within the mainstream neo-con, Jewish institutions.
It's good to see that young people from all youth movements, not just Habonim but also Netzer and Bnei Akiva (Betar probably still think 'Jordan is the Palestinian State'?) are starting to think independently on these issues.

Brett, Anyone who discusses

Brett, Anyone who discusses Eretz Yisrael, and its coflict with the Ishmaelites, and does not emphasise God and Torah, knows nothing.
I am sure that Mr. Solomon's research, and serious reading does not include Tanach.
P.S. Where is "palestine"?

When will people get

When will people get it!!!!!!
Before Israel, after Israel, they want us dead and buried. It's in there religious scriptures and embodied in thier text books.
I was privaleged to hear the Chief Rabbi recount te history of the "Palestinian" conflict at a shiur during Operation Cast Lead. Only a complete and utter fool could walk away from that assuming their so-called struggle is a struggle.
Israel is simply a point of galvanisation for them. It helps them get money from Western bleeding heart liberals who feel sorry for themplay victim.
It doesnt change the truth about what they want to accomplish with all Jews the World over. How many times are people going to listen to them and fob them off as fringe extremists even when they lead large countrys and large relgious movements!!! They working hard to solve the Jewish question.
While they tell the truth plainly, and we sit cowering and lying to ourselves that it can't be true! We're the liars and while we do that more people die! They say they want Jews to get rid of Jews. The return of their mahdi or mesianic prophesies requires it (depends on ur flavour of Islam, but they all need us gone) ! They're being true to their belief and we fight that with clever lies we tell.
As for Tanach and Choni. I agree with him. Only a complete moron would be unable to realize that while we don't pay it creedence we will suffer. Time and time again throughout history it has proven to be correct, and now as we stare down the barrel of a nuke from Iran and complete genicide we still debate stupidly, like that ever saved a soul. We should pay the Koran and Hadiths creedence to, then we might understand them better
OPEN UR EYES. No mud you chuck at each other is going to resolve anything, but it all sticks.
I don't care how many titles Ilan has earned, or who heads what fancy Zionist organization, or how did what and who wrote what. The situation is worse than ever there and the threat to our existence as a people is greater than ever. Big round of applause for all those who claim titles and accomplishments here!!! Snaps for you. Yay!
We're Jews, we're equal. Stop acting like any of you are even close to what our Sages were!
The truth is not complicated. It is simple.
Lies are complicated. They build on each other. So everyone things that "palestine" is complicated. Its so not. Just go back to the start. Like a house of cards, it all falls down with the slightest prodding. You'll see every bleeding heart comment is just another lie on top of many others.
The ANC and PAC fought an armed struggle against occupiers/settlers. The Jews in Israel are not the occupiers, the PA is! How many more relics need to be found to prove our claim to the land existed generations before Muhammad was even a twinkling in his mother's eye. They say we fake history to steal from them. They teach their kids that too. The problem is everyone likes to paint it the other way around because for them to succeed Jews must be wrong and they must fail!!!!
Yawn, you miserable bunch are going to still be debating when the nukes hit. B"H the IDF takes matters a little more seriously than our local Jewry.