The ANC flatters to deceive the majority of South African Jews by wooing Jewish investment while revoking recognition of Israel.
“President Ramaphosa has assured me on a number of occasions that an important part of his vision for South Africa is a vibrant, thriving Jewish community. This address is part of upholding that vision, and serves as a reminder that we are key stakeholders in the project of building this country.”
So said Rabbi Warren Goldstein at Gardens Synagogue in Cape Town on Wednesday 12 September 2018 in a welcome address to Cyril Ramaphosa.
“Your election as leader of the ANC and elevation to the president of South Africa,” Rabbi Goldstein went on, “is a great victory for freedom and democracy and the hope of a brighter future for all.
“Mr President, we commend you for bravely and resolutely leading the fight against corruption.”
In his own address on that occasion, President Ramaphosa noted the Jewish contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle and the value that Jews had added to every “crevice” of South African society.
Ramaphosa recommended the role that South Africa could play in the Israel/Palestinian conflict, and declared his commitment to the concept of a two-state solution in which a secure Israel lived alongside a Palestinian state.
Ramaphosa also expressed gratitude to the community for its willingness to assist South Africa in job creation and business stimulus. It had been music to his ears, he said, when he heard Jewish business leaders were prepared to come forward with a number of proposals on how to further create jobs.
He said government wanted to attract $100bn in domestic and foreign investment over the next five years. The government also wanted to cultivate a new generation of entrepreneurial South Africans capable of establishing businesses for themselves and employing others. The Jewish community was ideally placed to contribute to this effort.
Ramaphosa noted that the downgrading of the SA embassy in Israel was an ANC conference decision, but that South Africa stood ready to play a constructive role in the peace process.
“We are clear in our support for the achievement of a Palestinian state alongside the right of the state of Israel to exist in peace and security with its neighbours,” he said.
“It remains our hope that the people of Palestine and Israel will work with each other and with the international community to achieve lasting peace and stability… What I would like to say is, let us continue engaging. Let us not walk away from each other.”
“The importance attached by the Jewish community to family and community life‚ to faith‚ to education‚ to hard work and to perseverance is admired by all South Africans.
“Our history is punctuated with several examples‚ both celebrated and unknown‚ of people of Jewish background who fought against the injustice of apartheid.”
Our view is that Ramaphosa does double-speak: he knows the ANC’s resolutions against Israel are going to be fully implemented, while at the same time flattering the Jewish community about their past, present and future contributions.
We’ve been criticised for this unflattering view, but we must remember that Ramaphosa is 100% a man of the ANC.
Let’s fast forward to 3 April 2019 and questions put to Minister of International Affairs and (ironically) Cooperation (Dirco), Lindiwe Sisulu, at an address to the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA).
Sisulu was asked to confirm statements made in the written version of her address, which she had excluded from the speech she actually delivered.
This is what she said: The South African government had implemented “stage one” of its programme of downgrading relations with Israel, by withdrawing its ambassador from Tel Aviv permanently.
Sisulu also suggested that eventually Israel would no longer have an ambassador in South Africa. If so, the government would be going further than the ANC did at its conference in December 2017, when it decided to direct the government “to immediately and unconditionally downgrade the South African Embassy in Israel to a Liaison Office”. The ANC resolution did not direct the government to downgrade Israel’s embassy in Pretoria as well.
Sisulu told SAIIA that the ANC already had “no relations with Israel” and would like the government to adopt that position as soon as possible.
“Our ambassador is back in South Africa and we will not be replacing him. Our liaison office in Tel Aviv will have no political mandate, no trade mandate and no development co-operation mandate.
“It will not be responsible for trade and commercial activities. The focus of the Liaison Office would be on consular and the facilitation of people-to-people relations.” This contradicts the view that SA would continue to play a meaningful role in the future of the region.
Sisulu was also asked if the government had assessed the implications of a downgrade in relations with Israel, having previously indicated that relations would only be downgraded once the implications had been assessed.
Sisulu confirmed the following:
“…And we will also look at the legal implications of the agreements we have currently with Israel, if there are any. And any other administrative repercussions that come out of that.”
Sisulu was asked why the government allowed the University of Cape Town, a partly government-funded institution, to have relations with Israeli universities. Last week the UCT Council overturned a decision by the university’s senate to cut off relations with Israeli universities.
“The reason why public institutions have relations with countries the ANC has decided to sever relations with is possibly because we have been slow in getting to where we should,” Sisulu said.
“If we had done it much faster we would have a very clear policy where we direct even public institutions like the one you are talking about (with) what the government’s position is in relation to Israel.”
She said the government would eventually deal with the matter of public institutions such as UCT and their relations with Israel.
It seems that the Council of UCT’s decision not to adopt an academic boycott against Israeli universities at this stage will have been a pyrrhic victory for all those who lobbied the Council not to do so, as the ANC government will demand that they boycott Israeli academia anyway.
“The ANC’s position in relation to Israel is very clear. We have no relations with Israel. That’s what we would like the government to adopt as soon as possible,” Sisulu said.
In February, the Israeli company Milco wanted to buy Clover SA; this was opposed by groups such as Boycott Sanctions Disinvestment (SA) because the consortium is led by Israel.
The government supported the Clover/Milco deal with Dirco saying that it was in line with SA’s investment drive. Dirco said that South Africa was open for business and other direct benefits would be that Clover products would be exported.
They did say, however, that SA would continue to work with international partners on the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Sisulu has made it clear that the ANC government wants nothing to do with Israel and so cannot intend to help achieve peace. It will isolate Israel completely yet expect South African Jews not to notice. UCT Council’s decision to not implement a boycott on Israeli academia until it has been better researched, is moot. The government will impose a boycott.
The antithetical positions smack of something quite odious: a party that has very little knowledge of either the Israeli side of the conflict or the Palestinian side. It is swayed by the ingrained antisemitism of the left and the successful propaganda of unalloyed victimhood by the Palestinians.
So, the position seems to be that on the one hand the ANC is going to sever all and any relationships with Israel and has no desire to play a conciliatory role in the Middle East conflict.
On the other, the ANC wants Israeli and South African Jewish money, and Ramaphosa will flatter the community to deceive.
The ANC is nothing if not pragmatic – the Jews can contribute economically, but they have nothing to offer electorally.
A half truth, as the Yiddish proverb has it, is a whole lie
Sara Gon is editor of the Daily Friend and a Policy Fellow at the IRR.
If you’re enjoying the Daily Friend then join us as a Friend to support the IRR’s efforts at placing common sense in the media and lobbying against every threat to South Africa’s future as a free society. Join us. Live free. SMS your name to 32823 (SMSs cost R1, Ts and Cs apply).