Cry my beloved countries!

Summary

The writer, who was born in apartheid South Africa and now lives in Jerusalem, expresses shock and disappointment at the recent trial brought by South Africa against Israel in the Hague. He believes that South Africa has denied Israel’s right to exist and has sided with terrorism by supporting Hamas. The writer also criticizes the current situation in South Africa, with high poverty rates and murders, despite the end of apartheid. He questions how this situation came about and what can be done?

Blog

I’m sitting here in Jerusalem, having been born in apartheid South Africa in Cape Town, and chosen to live in Israel as part of my Jewish identity and core beliefs. Today we have witnessed the trial of Genocide charges in the Hague, brought by my beloved country South Africa against my beloved country Israel. And I’m shocked to the core. And I’m shocked to the core in the opening remarks of the South African petition to the Trial in the use of  NAKBA and 76 years of occupation, and basically, the South African government and representatives have denied the right of Israel to exist, denied the right of me as a Jew to express my destiny, my nationality, that I was born into.

And not only that, they have decided to side with terror and the barbarous actions of October 7th. And what further shocked me in this position was they entertained Hamas and maybe Iran in the weeks after October 7th. And they should have said to Hamas, these actions went too far’  We have to make an adjustment. Let’s release the hostages and try to make something good out of this. And indeed it will be in the South African way.

And two people ,can work together for a better future. That was the hope of Mandela. Mandela, was a strong supporter of the PLO. He also had sympathy for Israel and had a strong relationship with the Jews who supported him throughout the various stages of his career and his struggle for Freedom.

This quote from Mandela, recognizing Israel’s right to live in secure borders, is a poignant one.

“I cannot conceive of Israel withdrawing if Arab states do not recognize Israel within secure borders.”  Nelson Mandela

Image source – AZ Quotes

Hamas does not recognize this. And South Africa, supporting Hamas, has now become a state in support of terrorism. A pariah disgrace. The idea of apartheid was immoral. However, I think the current situation of South Africa, where they have over 18 million people living below the extreme poverty line, $1.9 a day, and over 25,000 murders a year, is intolerable and very sad. And that is why I cry over my beloved country.

Despite apartheid ending, and despite there maybe being democracy, one man, one vote, it has led to this situation. And I ask how. How did this come about? And what can be done about this?

Israel, at one point, enjoyed a strong relationship with South Africa, and there was strong trade and strong support of the economy. Today, the world shuns doing business in South Africa. And they are stuck in this third world, with a bit of first world as well, . And what is the hope there?

I was shared this story, and it makes a compelling tale and future Netflix movie.

Follow the Money

“About 6 months ago an application was brought by a service provider who was owed about R 120 million by the ANC – and in respect of which it had obtained an earlier unsatisfied judgment  – for the liquidation of the ANC. That application was due to be heard in about November. The ANC had no defense to the application because it was based on a judgment that had many months before been granted against the ANC.  Indeed the ANC had many financial problems. Earlier last year it had been unable to pay salaries of staff  for several months. A few days after 7 October the minister of foreign affairs visits Iran . The government then to a man expresses solidarity with the Palestinians in a public display broadcast on TV . That same minister  has a telephone discussion with Hamas leader and the government hosts a Hamas delegation in SA. The government then  launches an urgent application to the ICJ accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. It assembles a large legal team that even for this initial preliminary application must  cost not less than R 200 million for preparation and argument and for a final trial will cost about  R 1,5 billion . And then suddenly about 3 weeks ago the liquidation application is confidentially settled ( I imagine for a payment  by ANC of not less than say R100m) and today ANC publishes statement that its financial woes are over and it’s ready to fund and fight elections ! So as the wise saying goes FOLLOW THE MONEY.”

Image from : https://www.news24.com/news24/politics/political-parties/anc-claims-financial-woes-are-over-and-its-ready-for-its-costly-election-campaign-20240113

The cancel culture

Another story is the saga of David Teeger the young Jewish talented cricket who was to captain South Africa in the upcoming under 19 World Cup Cricket Competition and bravely expressed a Pro Israel message at a Jewish Awards Dinner.

“But more importantly, yes, I’ve been awarded this award, and yes, I am now the rising star, but the true rising stars are the young soldiers in Israel… So I’d like to dedicate this award to the South African family that married off one son whilst the other is still missing. And I’d like to dedicate it to the state of Israel and to every single soldier fighting so that we can live and thrive in the diaspora.”

The Authorities tried to remove him. I was shared by David’s Great Uncle a copy of  ADJUDICATOR’S DETERMINATION which ruled in his favour.

This is the extract and conclusion of the adjudicator:

“I am in any event of the view, however, that Mr Teeger did not contravene clause 1.6.3. That is so for substantially the same reasons as those that persuaded me that he was not guilty of any contravention of clause 1.6.1. He spoke to the Jewish community and not to the members of other cricket teams. He spoke of matters entirely unrelated to them. They might find his statements offensive because they fundamentally disagree with him. That is entirely understandable. But it is again an occasion on which the right to freedom of expression requires them to respect his right to express his opinion however offensive they might think it to be.

Conclusions

I conclude that Mr Teeger did not contravene clauses 1.5.2, 1.6.1 or 1.6.3 of the CSA Code or clauses 4.5.2, 4.6.1 or 4.6.3 of the Lions Code.”

However, this week he was removed for potential security issues at the risk of demonstrations.

Image sourced from:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/david-teeger-removed-as-south-africa-captain-for-u-19-world-cup-1416352

The real fight is not in South Africa but in the UN, and UNRWA

“What comes to mind when you hear the words ‘a teacher’ and a ‘UN employee’? I envision someone with high integrity, dedicated to educating the next generations for peace and democracy—a person committed to making the world a better place. Unfortunately, this idealized image doesn’t align with the recent revelations by UN Watch, exposing a group of over 3000 UNRWA teachers celebrating and glorifying the horrors of October 7th. These celebrations include messages that incite the murder of Israelis and encourage the execution of civilian hostages taken by Hamas.

We’ve been aware for some time that UNRWA has not been entirely free of association with Hamas’s terror infrastructure and has turned a blind eye to terror activities. However, the active support, celebration, and encouragement of violence against civilians by United Nations employees are despicable. These employees are funded with our taxpayer money. What were they teaching Gazan children all these years? To what extent did their views contribute to the dehumanization of Israelis in the eyes of Gazan teens, reaching levels that allowed for horrific killings, rape, and mutilation?

The UN has clear guidelines and a code of conduct with zero tolerance for violence and support of terror. Where were these guidelines when it comes to UNRWA employees?”

There is a saying that comes to mind: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. The original idea to support war refugees by the UNRWA was apparently good, but after more than seven decades this institution now supports the Hamas terrorists movement and celebrates the 7/10 massacre – there is no place for the UNRWA in our region, all of their employees shall be fired and the institution shall be closed!!!

Sourced from LinkedIn.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-vol/

More reading

UN Teachers Call To Murder Jews, Reveals New Report

Is this Genocide?

Israel has been accused of genocide and brought to trial for genocide. Let's just put one fact out there. Based on Hamas's spokesman, they claim that 22,000 people have been killed, including many children. Now, at least 8,000 of those have been terrorist militants. And as Hamas recruits teenagers under 18, therefore some of these are children. But with a ratio of less than 1 to 3, and if you discount Hamas's numbers, you get a ratio of less than 1 to 2.

“However, wars in recent decades have become increasingly deadly for civilians. Civilian casualties outnumbered battlefield deaths during World War II, as combatants bombed major cities. And between 1990 and 2000, civilians accounted for 90 percent of the world's four million war-related deaths.”

https://world101.cfr.org/understanding-international-system/conflict/civilian-consequences-conflict#:~:text=However%2C%20wars%20in%20recent%20decades,four%20million%20war%2Drelated%20deaths.

 This is an unheard-of statistic in warfare, and a ratio of 1 to 3 militants or soldiers to civilians. And therefore this fact needs to be highlighted. And these numbers alone show there are no grounds for genocide.

This is a pure-blood libel.

Hope

And what is the hope also for the Israelis living securely in their borders? What is the hope? That we can have normal relationships with the countries and the people around us in our countries. And I just want to go back a bit of history, prior to Oslo, when Israel gave into the Palestinian claim to the land. And this let the genie out of the bottle. And the reports prior to 1990, and I can testify myself, where everybody had some sort of freedom movement. People were able to travel freely to Bethlehem, and even to Gaza City With Oslo, this all changed, and there became this cycle of hate, and violence, that was unleashed against the Jewish state. And now we see this in clearer daylight.

We have the terrible horrors of the massacre of October 7th, but we are now suffering these PR blood libels.

Photo taken me overlooking the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.