The SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has expressed hurt over the silence of Minister Naledi Pandor and the Department of International Relations and Co-operative Development (DIRCO) in the wake of terror attacks in Israel which have seen the tragic deaths of several Jewish residents as well as international tourists in the country.
The SAJBD says Dirco was quick to condemn events at the Al Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, but said its silence following terror attacks in recent weeks has been deafening, sending the message that the government feels no compassion towards Jewish victims of terror.
The SAJBD’s allegations are correct.
In answer to the SAJBD, I don’t believe that DIRCO does feel compassion towards Jewish victims. DIRCO’s and the ANC’s support for Palestinians and their leadership is absolute. Thus no quarter is given to Jewish Israelis, despite their much-touted support for a negotiated, two-state solution: this diplomatic position is just a weak attempt at pretending to care in the face of a completely one-sided bias.
It is apparent from DIRCO’s condemnation of the clash between Israeli security forces and 300-odd ‘worshippers’ who had smuggled fireworks, stones and other projectiles into the mosque, that they based their view solely on a few seconds’ footage of the security forces acting against these ‘worshippers’. DIRCO is not likely to have worried about ascertaining the full facts, given their bias.
I just don’t think that it would occur to Naledi Pandor or DIRCO to condemn the deaths of Jewish victims. If they had heard about them I think little regard would have been had for them. Their bias supports the narrative that there are only Palestinian victims and Israeli aggressors, nothing else.
Vastly different
The actual situation was vastly different from the one assumed. Clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli Security Forces on the Al-Aqsa Compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, when Palestinian ‘worshippers’ threw stones, firecrackers, and other projectiles at Israeli police officers. The policemen used tear gas shells, stun grenades and police batons against the rioters.
The Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque. This is contrary to an agreement between the Israelis and Waqf that no one could stay overnight in the mosque. The compound is administered by the Jordanians through the Waqf. The Israelis are responsible for the security of the area.
In response, police raided the mosque, arresting those who had barricaded themselves inside.
The Palestinians prevented worshippers who were not involved in their actions from leaving the mosque, and other worshippers could not enter the mosque to pray.
Most of the Palestinians were arrested. Much of the media slammed the Israelis for entering the compound, creating the impression that Israeli forces just invaded the compound for no reason other than to attack Palestinians just for the sake of it.
Despite these incidents, about 200 000 Palestinian worshippers during Ramadan attended Al Aqsa peacefully and without incident.
What has been described above happened to a greater or lesser extent in 2021 and 2022. It is an established tactic employed by Hamas, during the holy month of Ramadan, to deploy the decades-old trope that the Jews want to destroy the mosque. This stirs up the requisite protests and violence.
The Israelis are forced to deploy security to break up the crowds. The clashes then attract media attention, which leads to Israel being accused of being ‘heavy handed’, thus creating a media storm. This ultimately leads to the original goal of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is to ‘justify’ the launching of rockets into Israel. This year they were joined by Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, acting as Iran’s proxies in Lebanon and Syria.
It is the narrative
In 2022 Hamas launched over 1 000 rockets into Israel, but when Israel responded it was accused of committing a ‘disproportionate response’, even though the sites aimed at were largely munitions factories. Everything becomes Israel’s fault. It is the narrative; it becomes the trope.
It never seems to occur to Israel’s detractors in the media that Israel would have absolutely nothing to gain by instigating attacks. First, it would serve no purpose; second, it would only attract condemnation globally.
The media relies largely on Palestinian Authority press releases and information passed to them by NGOs with deliberately anti-Israel animus. The Palestinian Authority released a very quick press release blaming Israel for attacking innocent worshippers. Many attempts to discredit Israel have had these versions destroyed after proper investigation of the facts.
Much Palestinian propaganda against Israel has been proved false. But like the irrational bias displayed by those who should know better, DIRCO and Pandor aren’t interested in the facts because the facts don’t support their biases.
[Image: Anna Sulencka from Pixabay]
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