The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has castigated a draft African National Congress parliamentary resolution on the Middle East, saying it could have a dangerous and unfortunate double effect and possible unforeseen consequences.
”The SAJBD condemns the draft resolution by the ANC on the Middle East as totally one-sided, incorrect, unjustified and abandoning any possible reason for South Africa’s own transition to be regarded as a model for the Middle East,” board chairperson Michael Bagraim said on Thursday.
”There is no attempt whatsoever to be fair. The draft resolution marks the abandonment of any pretence by the ANC of even-handedness on the Middle East,” Bagraim said.
He urged government to distance itself from the allegations in the draft resolution.
”Passing such a resolution will have a dangerous and unfortunate double effect and possible unforeseen consequences.”
Such language serves to incite unjustified hatred of Israel that could easily spill over into Jew hatred.
”We have already seen and heard unfortunate examples of anti-Semitism on our streets in recent years, sometimes not even cloaked in a thin guise of anti-Zionism,” he said.
The resolution abuses the terminology of human rights and international law to denigrate Israel, just as bodies like the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) have done.
The UNHRC was disbanded earlier this year by the United Nations.
Hezbollah and its Iranian and Syrian backers are the real culprits, contravening the Geneva Conventions and openly calling for genocide against the Jewish people, Bagraim said.
The draft resolution does not refer to this, nor to Hezbollah using civilian human shields, or deliberately targeting Israeli civilians, Bagraim said.
The resolution — in the name of ANC chief whip Mbulelo Goniwe — on the order paper for Thursday’s National Assembly plenary, notes, among other things, Israel’s military aggression against civilian targets.
It further states ”the actions of Israel are against international law and the Geneva Convention”.
It adds that the Palestinian people have the right to self-determination and independence in the State of Palestine and that the State of Israel has the right to exist alongside the State of Palestine, within secure borders, and calls for a peaceful comprehensive solution.
It further calls on all parties to desist from any actions that may exacerbate the conflict, the maintenance of the UN ceasefire and a negotiated solution of the Israeli, Palestinian and Lebanese prisoner issue. — Sapa