3 years ago
1
ARTICLE AD BOX
“Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance.” — Albert Einstein.
Unfortunately this is all too often the case when it comes to Israel, especially in South Africa. Condemn first, investigate later, regardless of the lives and careers it destroys in the process. Nothing could describe this phenomenon more accurately than the recent debacle between the South African Rugby Union (Saru) and Israel’s first qualifying international rugby team, the Tel Aviv Heat.
The Heat had been invited to participate in the Mzansi Challenge tournament alongside four other teams from different countries. Before the Israeli side even had time to tie their boots, their invite was rescinded. Saru, under allegedly undue influence, condemned the team out of the competition simply because they were an Israeli side.
Saru dropped to the knee at the alleged threat of violence and “bloodshed” by supporters of the BDS movement, with reports indicating there would be security issues concerning the players and tournaments should the Israeli team participate.
Saru sent them to the bin, they were disinvited and replaced by another team, even though the Tel Aviv Heat is comprised of players from around the world, South Africans included.
Saru president Mark Alexander, allegedly fearful for his safety and the reported mayhem that was threatened, buckled — and brute terror won the day.
Who are the players involved? Who has condemned Israel? For starters, this requires an introduction to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign (BDS), which promotes boycotts, divestments and economic sanctions against Israel (and only Israel, not Syria, Iran or any other human rights violator in the Middle East). They claim to be a human rights organisation fighting the cause for the Palestinians who they claim are victims of an apartheid state that is Israel. Yet nothing could be further from the truth.
Israel is a bastion of democracy where prejudice and discrimination against anyone, be they Jew, Arab, Christian, atheist or of varying sexual orientation, is illegal. Anyone transgressing the rights of Israeli citizens will face consequences. Israel offers full and free rights to all its citizens, which includes more than 2-million Arab Israelis, and to its Jewish inhabitants.
Arabs in Israel enjoy every opportunity equally. That is why there are chief justices, politicians, members of the Knesset, doctors, surgeons, national team soccer players and police chiefs who are Arabs in Israel. If you had to stop and ask any Arab Israeli if they would prefer to be governed by the Palestinian Authority or by the authorities in Gaza, which are Hamas, you will get a resounding “no”. This may be because both groups have no democratic legitimacy in either territory.
Most Arab Israelis would hands down choose to be under the constitution and free democracy offered by the state of Israel, rather than the patently corrupt and brutal control of other harsh and often sadistic autocracies.
In Israel there are more than 400 Mosques because Israel allows for freedom of all religions and their worship. How many synagogues are there in the West Bank or Gaza? Zero, because Jews are not allowed there. If a Jew sets foot into these territories, they will more than likely be executed.
To suggest Israel be condemned for being an apartheid state is such an aberration of the truth and ludicrously outside the bounds of the obvious. Yet BDS has managed to build a narrative that has swayed views in South Africa due to our collective suffering under an apartheid government not so long ago.
Israel has good relations with most countries in the world, with a thriving economy in which the biggest firms from around the globe have made investments. They continue to grow strategic partnerships in Africa and the Middle East, resulting in increasing trade benefits with Chad, Sudan, Bahrain, Angola and the United Arab Emirates (effectively ending Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East since 2020).
Israel has signed pacts and treaties with a growing number of neighbouring Arab countries affecting interactive social and work collaborations.
If the shifting sands of the Middle East continue to promote regional security and dialogue, why does the South African government buy into the BDS noise, which remains completely out of touch with the reality and progress being made on the ground?
With all the smoke and smog BDS has tried to create around the subject of Israel, a bit of investigation is easily able to clear the murkiness with this one simple fact: Israel is not an apartheid state.
It is BDS that should be condemned for suggesting Israel is like the former South African government which suppressed the freedoms of black South Africans through torture and violence, while Israel has always sought dialogue to resolve conflicts with its Palestinians neighbours.
When a rugby team from the only democracy in the Middle East is invited to our shores and Saru is met with statements such as “you will have blood on your hands”, it is BDS which ought to be condemned, not the team that was promptly ejected and disinvited.
Investigate before condemning. We’ve done some of that here and I hope it offers some clarity on the subject. But the best investigation is through personal first-hand encounters, which a sporting fixture could so aptly provide. I suggest making Israel a destination to visit. Go and visit Arabs living with dignity and prosperity alongside fellow Israelis, sharing every amenity and opportunity together.
Go, see and return and tell the story of the real Israel.
* Ilan Herrmann is the managing director of Soul Workout NPC
English (US)