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Allan Wolman

BDS Exposed

If anyone wanted more proof that Africa4Palestine (BDS) was an anti-Semitic hate group whose sole agenda and purpose is to eradicate the Jewish State as well as every Jew on the planet, read on and then form your own opinion.

BDS claim that sanctions and boycotts were one of the causes of the downfall of the apartheid regime in South Africa and no doubt that was very much a contributing fact.

However, those initiatives were designed at the downfall of the apartheid regime to be replaced by a democratic system and not the total destruction of the country or its people or even the purveyors of that evil system. The call was for regime change only.

It may be safe to say – bar those die-hard racists (some of whom still exist today) the majority of the average South Africans of all races wanted the same future – a safe and secure environment to raise and educate their children under a democratic political system of non-racialism and equal opportunity. Very much what most of the world aspires to.

That being the utopian dream which is not the reality but the aspirations nevertheless where some countries come close while others strive to get there and there of course those who try to manipulate the system for other ideological agenda’s and choose a different route. But nevertheless, the John and Jane citizens all want very much the same things and strive to improve their lives accordingly.

The question I ask are the Israeli’s wants and aspirations any different to those of the rest of the world? In all likelihood no. Like anywhere else and any other population there will always be differing objectives and ideas as to how their lives should be governed and this is what makes for dynamic politics either good or bad. But like most people the average Israeli wants the same as his counterpart in South Africa, France or Russia. Israel being the only Jewish State amidst a sea of Islamic States places a different mindset on its population being under threat for most of its short existence. Whilst that threat is still present by Iran the dynamic has changed and a somewhat warmer breeze is blowing from the surrounding desert.

I take the South African example as I have lived there most of my life and certainly lived through the most forceful change on the continent. The ANC who emerged as the most powerful political party forming the first democratic government with a simple promise – “a better life for all” and under Nelson Mandela was embraced by most even the privileged minority.

After nearly 25 years of democracy that dream has turned into a nightmare. One can name every aspect of life that has turned sour, from housing to education to healthcare and security. Understandably the ruling party whilst aspiring to a socialistic system based on the standards of Cuba, Venezuela or the old Soviet system at the same time had to deliver that “better life for all” and the only way to achieve this was to stimulate the economy which up to the Mbeki government was successful.  But then came the Zuma years of corruption, looting on the grandest of scale and failed economic planning. The rest is pretty well documented.

The needs and wants of the people remained the same and the same incompetents were returned to power time and again through no better alternative. That “better life for all” remains the desire of all the people regardless of their rulers – their wants were what most of the world’s population desire. Again, I ask the question is Israel or the wants of her people any different? In reality NO – there are ideological and religious agenda’s very much part of the fabric of Israeli life – but the basic wants are no different to the rural African striving for the “better life”.

Whether the occupation is right or wrong, whether the security wall is right or wrong or whether the political scenario are right or wrong – these are all part of the ruling establishment – the government voted in, in a democratic way and one can either oppose the agenda or embrace that. But just like in apartheid South Africa where the system or regime changed, that’s what sanctions and boycotts helped bring about. Not the total destruction of the country or its people and that is the simple difference – BDS neither wants regime change, and make no bones that their sole purpose being the total destruction of the Jewish State and its people.

This organizations embrace any and every issue that captures the headlines of the moment. Currently the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement have been infected with an anti-Jewish undertone – in fact it’s becoming very much a overtone. What have Jews done to be aligned with police brutality and racial discrimination in the U.S? Certainly, in the forefront of integration in the U.S were always high- profile Jews, Civil rights movements always had Jews prominent in leadership roles. So why have the BLM and anti-Jewish sentiment become synonymous?

Jews have always been blamed for everything from the black plague to the cause of the world wars to controlling the press and world economies with conspiracy theories that never fail to surprise. If Israel were to suddenly find an effective vaccine and antidote for the coronavirus Covid19 and share the vaccine with the world those conspiracy theorists would turn this around and lay the blame for the cause of the virus at the Jews door and accuse Israel (read Jews) of creating the virus to profit off the vaccine. And as in past days thousands would believe this!

There is very little that those determined to denigrate or destroy Israel will stop at and with as powerful a medium as social media they have the perfect platform to further their aims by the use of fake news, fabricated facts and outright lies consumed by the liberal movements of the day where it’s so fashionable for the young radical mob inspired student to digest such fabrications, who echo the call to kill the Jews, coming from the “peace loving”  liberal leftist.

To illustrate the depths that BDS resorts, the following report appeared in a South Africa newspaper resulting from a posting on social media:

The Star published Leigh-Ann Naidoo’s encounter of breaking the Israeli blockade to Gaza (29 Sept 2016) – and reported that her motivation was a video she had watched. She writes about three separate incidents of illegal settlers “executing children, shooting them and then circling them screaming ‘die you dogs’ while they bled to death”.

Had such an incident actually happened every news outlet worldwide would have exploited that with blazing headlines for weeks. Clearly that never happened as it was a bare faced lie, and featured only once in that report but gleaned from social media fabrication.

 

About the Author
Allan is a member of the South African (SA) Israel Media Team - lobby group that challenges negative reporting about Israel. The SA mainstream press is amongst the most hostile and biased press concerning Israel and supports BDS as is the ANC government of that country. He has been a contributor to combatting the false and sometime fabricated reporting on Israel and has had many letters to the editors published.