Fighting the good fight
THIS week’s bloody conflict, which left more than 60 Palestinians dead as Israel celebrated its 70th anniversary, while the Arab citizens of the troubled region observed the Nakba, or catastrophe, has made it clear that this, one of the world’s most intractable conflicts, is far from being resolved.
Decades of attempts to find lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians to co-exist in the disputed region as equals have failed dismally. The international community has failed the people of the disputed region.
There were moments of promise, such as when Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat shook hands with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1993, but this week’s horror undermined the possibility of a resolution. The prospect of more bloodshed and destruction now looms larger.
Such developments pose a challenge to all people to take a stand. No matter where South Africa is in the greater scheme of things, we are part of a world that seems to be shrinking and becoming ever more violent. As such Pretoria had no choice but to do something.
Our founding president, Nelson Mandela, said South Africa could not be truly free until the Palestinians were free. So the return to our international relations guiding light of human rights is a welcome development.
Time will tell whether our government overreacted or unfairly “singled out” Israel. But even if we err, South Africa will remain on the right side of history and justice if it sticks to its principles.
That we were among only three countries to withdraw ambassadors from Israel should not be seen as strange. It might have been a risky step, but the spirit of the diplomatic censure is in line with our national values.
The move was also compelled by a series of earth-shattering recent events that went against the grain of the Middle East peace project of past decades with the US as an honest broker. These include the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to disputed Jerusalem.
The geopolitical tectonic plates have shifted markedly. South Africa and the world are at a crossroads, with major economic and other risks involved.
The terrifying move to unilateral zerosum tactics by the maverick US under President Donald Trump has for more than a year been the elephant in the room that could not be ignored.
But all’s well that ends well. South Africa and the world will be all right as long as we fight the good fight and give peace and negotiations a chance.