It would be better to read the book

WHAT seems quite apparent is that David Saks, in his attack on our book, Why Israel? (“Driven by unthinking antipathy to Israel and the US”, The Mercury, September 18) has not even read the book.

If he had done, then we are sure that he would have commented on the more than 55 pages that explore how the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) – of which Saks is the executive director – has intimidated South African critics of Israel; vilified journalists and commentators; and consistently evaded debate on the question of Israel as an apartheid state.

Did Saks miss the pages that described how the SAJBD tried to strike a backroom deal with the SABC in July 2007 to ensure that there was more pro-Israel coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Of course, we can well understand why he would want to avoid discussing this particularly embarrassing episode, since it did not make the pages of any mainstream newspaper in South Africa – and he would not want it to do so.

We also cover how Saks included journalists Tim Modise and Mathatha Tsedu, and renowned academic and anti-apartheid stalwart Barney Pityana, in anti-Semitism reports for the Stephen Roth Institute, when these highly respected commentators attempted to provide balanced accounts of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

We wait to see if Ivor Blumenthal’s December 2012 lament of not being able to stone South African anti-Zionist Jews to death, will feature in the next anti-Semitism report that Saks compiles. Incidentally, we also cover Blumenthal’s chilling rant and SAJBD’s mild disapproval of his statements in Why Israel?

Saks has also overlooked the sections dealing with a sustained 18month campaign of family and personal