SA defence minister Ronnie “Cowboy” Kasrils has been the South African government torch bearer during their ongoing anti-Israel tirade. Yesterday he stood up and made yet another speech in Parliament to support the ANC led (everybody else rejected it) resolution through parliament. Most of his speech was laughably inaccurate but I thought I’d share this particularly funny part:
“The biblical narrative was evoked to proclaim Palestine as the Promised Land reserved exclusively for God’s “chosen people” and their civilising mission. It sounds all too familiar as a vision the Voortrekkers had in this country. It gives rise to racism, apartheid and a total onslaught on those who stand in your way, whether blacks or Arabs or Red Indians.“
Somebody really should tell our bumbling minister that the term “Red Indians” is a pejorative saying only used in the USA by rascists. Not only did he make this speech in our supposedly politically correct and non-rascist parliament but the speech is on the South African Government Information official site here.
I would have thought that with Mugabe as our next door neighbour and crime raging out of control he has more important and relevant things to worry about than making an arse of himself yet again.
Of course, bringing down the Jews is more important to the ANC government. Until influential South Africans (read middle class) take an actual and active interest in politics the current government will never be held accountable for ignoring the crime problem or the failure of our dithering foreign policy on the ruins called Zimbabwe.
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22 June, 2007 at 11:44 am
6000
For the “influential” middle class to actually have any influence on SA politics, it will have to be an entirely new middle class. Which, of course, is on its way, but is still 20 years down the line.
With the seemingly unwavering support from the masses for the ANC, no matter what they do wrongly or badly, the “new” democratic SA is really anything but.
But I don’t mean to be critic of the elected representatives of our society. After all, they are mature, sensible people who are expressing the country’s views in a responsible manner.
Or: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=6&art_id=vn20070621023458960C719235
5 August, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Sean Reynolds
Hey, David,
I’m the Chicagoan you chatted with not one hour ago as I walked from Chicago’s weekly “Jewish Voice for Peace” vigil to the 147 Michigan Avenue Express bus which takes me home. I was really thrilled that there’s a blog named after one of the best Juluka songs, and also thrilled to get to talk with a compassionate and polite person on a different side of the Israel/Palestine issue - not many of us on either side get to be compassionate or polite. .
About your government’s criticism of Israel - I don’t think it’s an issue of “bringing down the Jews” as you phrase it, but of . . . criticizing Israel. Perhaps the first person in written history accused of hating the Jews is the prophet Elijah. He criticizes evil King Ahab, who asks him in return, why does he hate the Jews? It’s an old old dodge. When I was at our weekly vigil I had a guy come to me from the counterprotest across the street (they’re across the street each week calling for ethnic cleansing of all Palestinians into Jordan) and the guy tells me a sign I was holding - with nearly 4000 palestinians killed by Israelis over 5 years and about 800 israelis killed in return - and saying, “there are so many more Arabs than Jews, that even though all those Palestinians have died, the Jews have lost more.” Not all defenders of Israel are as hideously racist as this obviously, but we can all guard against this kind of scary nonsense by remembering that it’s two political bodies duking it out - with millions of people in the crossfire - and not two “peoples” or races or any such dark-ages nonsense (Okay, I quote the Torah and then I’m complaining about dark-ages nonsense - althoguh I think that’s what the Torah was written to pull people out of. Anyway). Race just isn’t a very good category for thinking about any - repeat, any - situation, though of course it’s sometimes all people have. Your government is pulling down the Occupation, and criticizing Israel. That’s just about the best favor anyone can do for Israel right about now, and I understand where you’re coming from, but it simply doesn’t count as antisemitism.
Anyway, I’m sorry to come on all preachy-hostile in this - eager for your thoughts, and mostly just glad to have met you and seen the site.
6 August, 2007 at 4:02 am
Sean Reynolds
Hang on, I wrote “Torah” when I meant “Tanakh.” Just caught it, sorry.
:^)