Blinded by the obvious, he can’t see the wood for the trees
THE only person who wears blinkers when it comes to the Middle East conflict is Adiel Ismail, “Blinkers off over Israel, apartheid” (the Cape Argus, November 30).
Ismail was referring to the “opinion” piece by John Dugard, the former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Occupied Palestine. As Len Bennett of Ottawa, Canada, wrote on November 30, Dugard’s report was riddled with bias and inaccuracies, but Ismail can read it himself as it was printed above his letter on November 30.
However, Ismail is so blinded by the obvious he can’t see the wood for the trees. The only hardliner in the debate is Ismail. Dugard was paid by the UN, so why would he disagree with his paymasters and write the truth? You would think a man who is an Emeritus Professor at the universities of Leidin and the Witwatersrand would know better. However, Dugard has always been virulently anti-Israel.
If readers have wondered why there has been a flurry of anti-Israel reports and letters in the Argus over recent weeks, it is because November 29 marked the International Day of Solidarity with the People of Palestine.
Read the op-ed piece by Khalid Sayed, the ANC deputy chief whip in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature, “ANC must act for free Palestine” (the Cape Argus, November 30), which is also full of jargon. And no matter how much he wishes it to be otherwise Jerusalem will always be home to Jews the world over.
Despite what Sayed claims, all annexation plans have been put on the back-burner following the recent accords with the UAE and others. The footnote explains that Sayed, who is also provincial chairperson of the ANCYL, is writing in his personal capacity. Pull the other one. Sayed is just echoing Youth League policy, which we all know is a collective where no one is allowed to write or say anything without collective permission.
Sayed also got all bitter and twisted when he slammed the Blitzbokke for holding a training camp with Israeli Sevens in Stellenbosch (Argus, December 1). A non-story if there ever was one.
Bennett and Larry Shapiro in Alberta, Canada, have highlighted the inaccuracies in the piece by Dugard, so I won’t repeat them.
However, just to remind Ismail and Sayed, the phrase, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” has been associated with calls to wipe out Israel.
On November 29, 1947, that’s 73 years ago, the UN voted to partition British Mandate Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. The Zionist movement accepted the partition, and the date is marked in Israel in street names and educational curricula. Palestinians, who rejected the partition, mourn the date. And kyk hoe lyk hulle nou.
| BRIAN JOSSELOWITZ
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