The South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the umbrella body of South African Jewry, accused Jessie Duarte, deputy secretary-general of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), of "obsessive hostility towards the State of Israel" after Duarte aligned herself the Boycott‚ Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The move comes after BDS and an Israeli group called on South Africans to support Israel Apartheid Week (IAW)‚ an annual campaign to draw attention to the plight of Palestinians in Israel. The 11th edition of IAW is currently taking place in South Africa.
Wendy Kahn, national director of the Jewish Board of Deputies, said in the statement: :The annual propaganda circus known as ‘Israel Apartheid Week’ has consistently shown that it its aim is not to be pro-peace or even pro-Palestinian‚ but simply to be viscerally anti-Israel. There is nothing wrong with this country showing solidarity with the Palestinian people‚ but this need not take the kind of radical anti-Israel‚ and frequently anti-Semitic‚ form that characterises IAW campaigns.
Kahn called Duarte’s "hostile rhetoric and unadulterated prejudice towards Israel out of synch with President [Jacob Zuma's] commitment to South Africa playing a role in the resolution of the conflict‚ as well as former President Mandela’s commitment to continuously dialogue in areas of conflict.
Kahn went on to state: "If South Africa is to play a meaningful role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute‚ it must be in helping persuade all sides to commit themselves to constructive‚ final status negotiations aimed at achieving peaceful co-existence between the two peoples living alongside one another in their own sovereign states. It cannot do so by endorsing negative and counter-productive boycott actions.
"We are witnessing mounting instances of anti-Israel rhetoric crossing over into overt anti-semitism‚ particularly on the university campuses. Last week‚ attempts were made to disrupt a religious learning session for Wits [University Johannesburg's] Jewish students‚ with the speaker being rudely interrupted and participants subjected to offensive verbal abuse (such as that 'Jewish money' controls the university).
"We have witnessed many incidents of intimidation‚ incitement and threats against Jewish students on South African university campuses over the past few years during the IAW campaign.
“We believe that these statements are irresponsible‚ provocative and dangerous. They serve to import a fraught and highly divisive foreign conflict at a time when there is a particularly pressing need to promote a culture of national unity and tolerance in our country.
"It further comes at a time when a volatile situation prevails on our university campuses‚ significantly contributing to prevailing tensions and heightening the risk of further explosive confrontations.
"Rather than supporting this hate-filled IAW week‚ we appeal to Duarte to support instead a week of dialogue‚ learning‚ exposure to different perspective and‚ ultimately‚ of reconciliation. This‚ surely‚ is the true South African way," Wendy Kahn declared.
