Israel’s strike on Gaza on December 27 — which according to Hamas has now killed an estimated 1 300 Palestinians, including at least 700 civilians — continues to reverberate around the world.
In South Africa, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Fatima Hajaig told a pro-Palestinian rally this month that: ”They [Jews] in fact control [America]. No matter which government comes into power, whether Republican or Democratic, whether Barack Obama or George Bush. The control of America, just like the control of most Western countries, is in the hands of Jewish money and if Jewish money controls their country then you cannot expect anything else”.
The Jewish Board of Deputies this week charged Hajaig with ”anti-Semitic hate speech” and laid a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission.
Thought Leader blogger and Jewish Board of Deputies associate director David Saks first broke the news on his
With the ANC’s electoral list-making process nearing finality, Jacob Zuma and his top officials must walk a fine line between handing the spoils to the victors of Polokwane, keeping the losers on their side and ensuring that South Africa is competently run.
2. ANC speaks out on Motlanthe reports
Media reports about President Kgalema Motlanthe’s personal life violated his rights to privacy and dignity, the African National Congress (ANC) said on Tuesday.
3. Cope ‘on the verge of making history’
A ”stabilising fund” is needed for industries under pressure due to the global financial crisis, the Congress of the People said on Friday.
4. SADC wants new Zim govt by mid-February
Southern African leaders on Tuesday gave President Robert Mugabe and rival Morgan Tsvangirai until mid-February to form a unity government after marathon talks to break Zimbabwe’s political deadlock.
5. ‘Cope is like the ANC my father joined’
The Constitution will be ”fearlessly defended” and the rule of law upheld by a Cope government, said the party’s election manifesto launched in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
6. Obama’s speech through different eyes
In tiny Grahamstown this week, the local Grocott’s Mail featured a letter that accused the media of dressing up an exploitative United States by pedalling Barack Obama as the world’s political saviour.
7. Holomisa reports ANC for rule-breaking
The leader of the United Democratic Movement (UDM), Bantu Holomisa, has written to the chairperson of the African Union, Jean Ping, to complain that actions of the African National Congress (ANC) and government are breaking the fundamental principles of the union.
8. End for unity govt in Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe’s main rivals head into Monday’s emergency regional summit hoping for the same outcome — a formal declaration of an end to efforts to force them into a unity government.
9. Mugabe party rejects MDC demands
Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF party on Friday refused to budge on opposition demands for a unity government, whose fate hinges on the outcome of a regional summit next week.
10. MDC disappointed with Zimbabwe summit
Regional leaders at a summit said on Tuesday they had reached a breakthrough in negotiations on implementing a power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe, but the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said it was disappointed with results of the meeting.