There are many reasons why the war between Gaza and Israel should be of interest to South Africans.

One reason is that many South African Jews have family in Israel, some of whom they lost in the 7 October assault, or are hostages in Gaza. Then of course there is also the association that many South Africans make between their oppression under  apartheid and the lot of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

But I suggest the overriding interest should be what the conflict says about the general health of democracy and about South Africa as a democratic nation.

I say so because behind all the propaganda lies a conflict between democracy and authoritarianism. For all the ANC’s alleged support for democracy and our Constitution, it and, by extension, the South African government are coming down heavily on the side of authoritarianism.

I do not think this is a good thing  ̶  but then I am a liberal who believes passionately in individual human rights, democracy, the separation of powers and a rule of law-based system of government that respects these values.

We are learning that many South Africans see that what one of my friends calls a principled opposition to Israel is based on a fundamental disavowal of these values. What one has instead is a binary world of East vs West, North vs South, where successful democracies are portrayed as the oppressors. In this world, facts and nuance fly out of the window and, in their place, one finds a ‘newspeak’ that resonates with the mob rather than following reason.

Increasing militancy

And it’s not just South Africa. It’s everywhere. Trump and the ‘Make America Great Again’ rightists in the US are a manifestation of this phenomenon, and so is the increasing militancy of religious groupings both in Christianity and Islam.

What binds all of them, it seems to me, is their preoccupation with what they do not like rather than what they like. In simple terms, the golden rule that enjoins us to love one another is being replaced with the idea that we proclaim our virtue in hatefulness.

And this is where there is some good to be found in the horrors that have arisen out of the hatred many have for Israel and the concomitant brutalisation of a nation fighting for its existence.

It has drawn the lines between those who espouse liberal values based on the golden rule of reciprocal respect and tolerance and those who do not. Liberal values are under attack from extremists on every side of the religious, political and, dare I say it, environmental spectrum. This means that for the first time in many years,  those values are clearly identifiable in society. It is not so easy any more to dismiss liberals as being either left or right wing.

I suggest that the world and especially South Africans need to ask themselves what they stand for, rather than what they hate. And perhaps we might in so doing develop a taste for building rather than destroying. But that assumes that South Africans want democracy. As the Americans are showing us, the taste for authoritarian rule can be irresistible, even when you have everything.

Not the only positive

But these stark divides are not the only positive factor to come out of the war. Just as European nations have woken up to the threat of Russian aggression and its war against Ukraine, so I believe Arab nations are waking up to the destabilising consequences of denying Israel a right to exist.

As I said, this war is not just about Palestinians and Israelis. It is ultimately a proxy war over competing values. It will end badly, whichever side wins, unless all people learn to love or at least tolerate their neighbours.

I do not think that this is something that combatants are going to achieve by themselves. Both sides are going to have to be dragged kicking and screaming to a solution that, if not entirely peaceful, is at least sustainable.

This is why I see the recent moves by Arab states as significant. The combatants might not like it, but a solution largely supported by the region that respects the sovereignty of both the Israelis and the Palestinians is a significant step in the right direction. I devoutly hope sanity prevails.

[Image: Rodolfo Quevenco from Pixabay]

The views of the writer are not necessarily the views of the Daily Friend or the IRR

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Ian Cox is an attorney in Durban, specialising in commercial law. In recent years he has become increasingly involved in the constitutional and administrative law aspects of environmental law-making. His particular area of interest is conflict between the ‘nature first’ or biocentric perspective adopted by conservationists and the ‘people first’ or anthropocentric sustainable development approach required in terms of the Constitution. In this capacity, he has taken on both an activist and advisory role in the fight to prevent trout from being declared an invasive species, and has helped the freshwater aquaculture industry challenge attempts to unreasonably regulate its industry. He has also advised elements in the game ranching industry. In his personal capacity, he made submissions to the High Level Panel on game breeding, hunting and trade.