South Africa’s ANC Party Urges Citizens Not to Travel to Israel

[Purveyor]

October 13, 2015 2:31 pm 0 comments

JNS.org – South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), has urged its citizens not to travel to Israel unless it is to promote “solidarity with the Palestinian struggle.”

The decision came amid a “strong consensus” among the ANC’s National General Council, South Africa’s Independent Online reported.

According to the report, senior ANC leaders have recently criticized South African lawmakers and business leaders for traveling to Israel due to the fact that that they view the situation in Israel as worse than what was experienced during apartheid-era South Africa.

“Apartheid in South Africa was a picnic compared to what we have seen in the occupied territories,” South African Parliamentary Speaker Baleka Mbete said.

more...

https://www.algemeiner.com/2015/10/13/south-africas-anc-party-urges-citizens-not-to-travel-to-israel/

[geek tragedy]

1. algemeiner?

the ANC is trying to withdraw from the ICC and have actively sheltered the monstrous war criminal leading Sudan from accountability, so their moral compass is about as broken as Israel's is

[oberliner]

2. Israelis are probably not too keen on traveling to South Africa either

Seems to not be the friendliest climate there for Israelis.

[King_David]

3. Tight knit and very Zionist Jewish community in South Africa. nt

[oberliner]

4. What's left of it

There has been serious emigration of Jews out of South Africa since the 1970s.

[King_David]

5. Yes, more than half have left. nt

[azurnoir]

8. Not according to the Jewish Virtual Library

[King_David]

9. It's not possible to be accurate

But the Jewish population of South Africa is approximately half of what it was in its heyday.

[azurnoir]

10. well

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1134&pid=115234

[azurnoir]

7. most Jewish emigration from SA occurred during the Apartheid years, the population has stabilized

Violence in South Africa during the 1970's led to an exodus of many white citizens, including Jews, who were fearful of their future in the country. Many children were sent to live and study abroad and remained in their host countries.

Two Jewish organizations were formed in 1985: Jews for Justice (in Cape Town) and Jews for Social Justice (in Johannesburg) tried to reform South African society and build bridges between the white and black communities. Also in 1985, the South African Jewish Board passed a resolution rejecting apartheid.

Jews prospered during the apartheid era, as did many non-Jewish white citizens. The Jewish population, however, contained a higher than usual percentage of college graduates. More than 50 percent of the Jews were matriculated, compared to the average 23% in the total white population. Ten percent of the Jewish community had university degrees, compared to only 4% of the total white population. Jews were disproportionately represented in the commercial and financial sectors of society. The Jewish population peaked in the early 1970's reaching nearly 119,000 people.

Between 1970 and 1992, more than 39,000 Jews left South Africa, during this same period approximately 10,000 Israelis moved into the country.

Prior to the second half of 2003, the Jewish community in South Africa were in a state of transition. Approximately 1,800 Jews left the country every year, primarily due to concerns about crime and the economy. South Africa had the highest violent crime rate in the world, about ten times that of the United States; residences in the middle of cities were often surrounded by electrified ten-foot-high walls topped with barbed wire. The prevalence of crime, and the consequent economic woes, led to the depletion of the Jewish "viable middle," the young and middle aged adults who are needed to sustain the community. Many members of the disproportionately aged population, whose children have left, face problems as they grow ill, as government welfare subsidies have decreased sharply.

Despite the economic and demographic woes, however, the South African communities remained mostly optimistic. The Jewish population is very religious, 80 percent Orthodox and rising. This increase in religiosity has been attributed to a desire for stability in an otherwise unstable society. Anti-Semitism is negligible, and the intermarriage rate is only 7 percent. Many of the Jews who remain in the country do so out of the conviction that post-apartheid South Africa needs their support, and will soon pay social and economic dividends; of course, the rest of those who remain do so simply because they cannot afford to leave.

Since the latter half of 2003, South Africa's community of 75,000-80,000 Jews has largely stabilized

.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/South_Africa.html

[Little Tich]

11. I strongly oppose any banning or stigmatizing of travelling to Israel.

This is stupid and dangerous.

But why Algemeiner? I had to check with other news sources to see if it was true or not.

[shira]

12. You think Illan Pappe is more honest & accurate than Algemeiner? n/t

[Little Tich]

13. Ilan Pappe is a solid historian, and I can warmly recommend his book "The ethnic cleansing of

Palestine". Algemeiner, OTOH isn't really a news source, it's way too biased. However, the OP is consistent with reality, so my argument isn't really valid in this particular case.

What about the OP - do you think ANC has lost its moral compass?

[shira]

14. After Pappe's lies about Tantura, I find that an amazing statement.

As well as his admitting that his "facts" are nothing of the sort, but rather based on ideology.

The ANC is a big supporter of Sudan's Bashir. 'Nuff said.

[Little Tich]

15. The location of the mass graves outside Tantura are well known, you know...

Perhaps it's time for the authorities to take a look and see what's in them?

[shira]

16. How do you know there are mass graves of anyone there?

Last edited Thu Oct 15, 2015, 06:15 AM - Edit history (1)

You have zero evidence of that.