Naledi Pandor’s call for an import boycott against Israel in the context of the Israel-Hamas war is baffling. Why would South Africa act against either party in a situation that has been globally recognised as both a tragedy and moral conundrum?
As South Africans our efforts should be towards a peaceful solution in the aftermath and the well-being of innocent Israelis and Palestinians. We are, after all a democratically-minded decent people, with no specific gripe against either nation. We are aligned therefore only to the shock and despair that the rest of the world feels about the loss of all the innocent lives in Israel over the last week or so. Like the rest of the peace-loving nations of the world, most South-Africans fear the radical acts that pit West against East, as demonstrated by Hamas against Israelis on 7 October. Take note, Hamas, and not Palestine. There is no action by our government that can eradicate that fear or ease the horrors associated with Israel’s retaliation. In contemplating a response decision-makers would do well to remember that Jews, Christians and Muslims alike are part of the diaspora in South Africa. All of them are our people, South Africans.
Why make a blanket call against Israel? This is a slight against the Jews in our country, insofar as they are automatically associated with the Jewish homeland, regardless of their political affiliations within that context. The Jewish community has famously contributed to a free South Africa and its economy. I am not mandated to speak on behalf of individuals.
In 1980, South Africa’s National Congress of the Jewish Board of Deputies passed a resolution urging “all concerned and, in particular, members of the (Jewish- JM) community to cooperate towards securing the immediate amelioration and ultimate removal of all unjust discriminatory laws and practices based on race, creed or colour.”
Perhaps nearly 30 years into our democracy we should take a unified position in returning the favour.
