Don Krausz to the Cape Argus

The Letters Editor,

CAPE ARGUS.

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

RE: INVERSION OF REALITY ALLOWS JUSTIFICATION OF ISRAEL’S WAR CRIMES.

 

This will be difficult to answer. A letter writer is only allowed about 350 words, way too little for correcting Shuaib Mabhra’s many lies, omissions and distortions.

 

These days and for decades we have witnessed the hatred and curses from the imams, the untruths in the media, the disgusting courses of instruction to hatred and murder given to little children and the faithful in Moslem institutions.

 

One would suspect that the writer was referring to the +/- 200,000 killings in Syria at the hands of Sunni and Shia, or the murders and massacres committed by ISIL, the Boko Haram or in Pakistan.

 

Nowhere does he refer to the real reason for the Gaza invasion, the estimated 14,000 missiles fired from there at civilian settlements in Israel proper over the years.

 

But let’s give this writer a lesson in history. I will quote from the British Encyclopaedia (BE).

 

He states that Israel was created by terrorism in 1948 and mentions Menachem Begin and Yitzchak Shamir who became prime ministers long afterwards. He might have mentioned that it was the terrorist Begin who arranged the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt upon the signing of a peace treaty in 1979. (BE page 145). Hamas please note.

 

However, it is not surprising that Manjra makes no mention whatever of the totally unprovoked attack in 1948 by resident Palestinians and five neighbouring Arab states on Israel, one day after it declared its statehood as granted by the United Nations.

 

780,000 Jews had been living there on and off since the days of the Bible. They suffered 6,000 dead and 30,000 injured in that war. (BE. Page 142). 4.6% Of their total population, proportional to South Africa losing 2,300,000 of its citizens on the battlefield.

 

Israel had to fight five subsequent wars against neighbours and Palestinian terrorists. (BE pages 143-147). Each time the assailants openly declared their genocidal intentions. But to Manjra there have only been Israeli warcrimes.

 

Throughout his article Manjra refers to Israeli occupation, colonialism, terrorism, violation of international law, ethnic cleansing, daily land theft and oppression. I find it interesting that the British Encyclopaedia states that the term “Military Rule” is more accurate.

(BE.  page 423).

 

They, of course, would also be aware, but less reluctant to mention, that under international law an attacked country has the right to occupy the territory of the aggressor and remain in situ until a peace treaty has been signed, That is how Egypt regained the Sinai Peninsula.

 

 

Fiction and propaganda, Mr. Manjra?

Allan Wollman to The Star

Deputy President Ramaphosa addressing the National Council of Provinces adds his support for a negotiated settlement to bring about peace in the Middle East.  At the same time he emphasized the governments strongest condemnation of Israel’s attacks on Gaza, presupposing that Hamas were in no way complicit in this conflict. The governments condemnation includes a “demarche” – the strongest diplomatic reprimand, he did however affirm that there would be no break in relations between the two countries. 

In the very same edition The Star reports “Jihadists spreading terror in Syria” – this report details mass executions, mock crucifixions, amputations, and lashings in public squares forcing young children to witness these atrocities. The U.N. has accused Damascus of using chemical weapons against civilians. Just last week these Jihadists posted a video of the beheading of Jim Foley – something that doesn’t seem to have elicited any much comment from our leaders.

One must wonder just where our government sets the bar as to who to condemn and when to remain silent? With the black flag of terror spreading throughout the Middle East, where people are murdered in their hundreds of thousand, one wonders if our Department of International Relations would issue the same “demarche” to Syria for its use of chemical weapons and barrel bombs killing her civilians?  Probably not as they can’t pin that one on Israel.

Gill Katz to the Mail & Guardian

Sitting in the shade , a floppy sun hat and sunglasses plus a healthy spritz of anti mosquito spray protecting me from the heat and the mozzies. Seated on benches and strolling past are half a dozen moms with several kids each ranging in age from babies in prams to 12 year olds who are scrambling up the jungle gyms or swinging on the swings. I am enjoying the antics of 3 of my grandsons and thinking that the practice of no use of computers or cell phones  on the sabbath is a brilliant practice.
In religious Jewish homes, the sabbath is a time for rest and reflection. Our daughter and her hubby are having a well deserved nap after a hectic week of work and the business of raising 5 children.
I smile as the boys started a game of soccer. 
‘WooooOooooooOooooooooooo’
Suddenly!
No warning.
Loud.
Raucous!
The air raid siren jolts everyone into action. Suddenly children  run helter smelter  to their houses which have 
‘ safe rooms’ AKA bomb shelters.
Mothers grab babies and I rush to herd my 3 little ones plus 3 of their friends to our safety. Metal swings clang against one another they are abruptly abandoned.
Chanting softly ,
‘Hurry! Hurry! ‘ I try not to sound panic stricken. This is the 3rd time Hamas has aimed her rockets on our direction but the first time I’ve been out of the house and thus not close to the mammad. I am aware how seasoned my Israeli family is, though. 
It makes me deeply sad.
This is not what I envisioned for my children and grandchildren.
Inside the house, my husband daughter, son in law and two other children are already inside the ‘mammad ‘ and my son in law secures the bomb proof window and the big steel door. It is pitch black inside  and I hear the panting collective breaths of lots of sweaty children 
‘Did I get everyone in? Is anyone missing?’
I reach for the light switch instinctively. 
Ooops!
I forget it’s the sabbath and I am not supposed to switch on a light!
But as I apologise to everyone in the room , and am relieved that all are accounted for, 
I am of the belief that when danger strikes, G*d doesn’t mind really if I put the lights on.

Don Krausz to The Jewish Report

RE: DR. DEAN LUTRIN – The holiness of the BDS movement.

 

I spent years in the Nazi concentration camps where most of my family were murdered.  After the war I studied the Shoah and learned the lesson of the 1938 Evian Conference where most of the prominent countries of the Western World gathered, condemned the Nazi persecution but refused to open their doors to German Jewish refugees.

 

The Jewish Diaspora has been in existence for nearly two millennia. Our contribution to Human welfare is out of all proportion to our numbers. We have served as loyal citizens in European countries in excess of a thousand years.

 

And yet when the murderers came, hardly one country lifted a finger to save us.

 

Homicidal anti-Semitism predated Christianity and thrived thereafter. There is no reason to assume that it will disappear and its worldwide presence today is proof thereof, despite the lesson of Auschwitz.

 

The only solution is a Jewish State, ruled by a Jewish majority government and with a very strong Jewish controlled army.  A homeland, a refuge for the eternally persecuted Jew. And never mind if that is racialist and not democratic. Pikuach nefesh, the Life Saving Principle, takes precedence.

 

I lived in Israel for years and look upon the country as our Mother, drunk or sober. She is there for us. If we are critical of her then we must assist her, help her, not try to destroy her as the Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions crowd are trying to do.

 

To me there is nothing holy in that.

 

And even if these Jews believe that they represent “the best of what Judaism has to teach,” it is time for them to realise that one is judged by the company one keeps.

 

Lutrin suggests, quite rightly, that a Mosque used as a military stronghold becomes a legitimate military target. “It ought to be destroyed, yet Jewish ethics demands more of us.”

 

Most admirable, especially when not within sniper range of the minaret. I am open to correction but believe that our Jewish ethic of Pikuach Nefesh applies here, the priority imposed on Jews of saving life.

 

And I don’t think that the Tanach is referring to the life of that sniper.

Don Krausz to The Daily Dispatch

The Letters Editor,

            Daily Dispatch.

 

            Dear Sir/Madam,

 

            RE: JOS TE BRAAKE – PAGE 7 – 2014/08/22.

 

            An appropriate Dutch name. Braken in Dutch means to vomit.

 

            He writes that “after 2,000 years of persecution….Israelis have still not learnt to have compassion for other people.”

            Obviously this must not be read as also meaning that other people have been persecuting Jews for 2,000 years without compassion.

 

He refers to a Palestinian, Dr. Irene Calis, whose family’s property was dispossessed in 1948, as proof of Israel’s “inhumanity and callousness.” Good point, that.

 

But what a pity that he chose to take the matter out of context. You see, 1948 was the year that the state of Israel was declared for the

780,000 Jews living in the land. Most local Palestinians and five neighbouring Arab states promptly attacked the fledgling country without any provocation, killing 6,000 and wounding 30,000 of them. (British Encyclopaedia, page 142.) Now that made 4.6% of the whole Jewish population casualties, equivalent to South Africa suffering the death and wounding of 2,300,000 of its citizens on the battlefield.

 

Wouldn’t you describe that also as being somewhat callous and inhuman? Dr. Calis’ family only suffered the loss of property. I think that they were lucky.

 

Jos states quite rightly that Palestinians are people and have a right to exist. Although he does not say so, I trust that he applies that to Israelis too. Then why does he write that he is “not surprised that Hamas wants to eliminate all Jews?” What, even the ones not living in Israel? Wouldn’t that be inhuman and callous? And as he seems to be opposed to callousness and lack of humanity, why does he not condemn the 12,000 missiles plus fired at civilian settlements in Israel proper over the years, each one with the intent to maim and kill?

 

He demands to know what steps were taken to consult the Palestinians before Jews were permitted to continue living in the land they had called their own since the days of the Bible. This was done by the British Peel Commission, Jos. If you and the Palestinians believe that they suffered an injustice, then why not get the Hamas to fire their rockets at Britain instead?

Don Krausz to the Mercury

The Letter Editor,

The Mercury.

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

RE: MUHAMMAD OMAR’S LETTER OF 2014/08/20 HEADED: PEOPLE OF GAZA ARE BEING PUNISHED.

 

One only has to look at the photos of the devastation in Gaza to admit that living there now must involve hardship. That it is the elected Hamas government that is responsible for the Israeli retaliation does not lessen that fact.

 

Muhammad Omar’s concern for his fellow Muslims is understandable. Yet this does not justify his “tunnel” vision, his resort to untruths and ignorance/omission of facts.

 

In accusing Israel he reverts to 1948.

Does he mention the totally unprovoked attack on Israel during that year by resident Palestinians and five Arab countries that inflicted 6,000 dead and 30,000 wounded on the fledgling state? (British Encyclopaedia page 142) That is 4.6% of the entire Jewish population at that time, equivalent to South Africa suffering 2,300,000 casualties in combat?

 

He refers to the 32 plus tunnels dug into Israel. For what purpose – sightseeing?

 

Not once does he identify the real reason for Gaza’s predicament – the 12,000 plus missiles launched from there at civilian residential areas in Israel proper over the years and even to this day despite numerous ceasefires.

 

Don’t try and be flippant by describing those rockets and mortars as toys. I have been to Sderot, 2 km from Gaza, and reported at that time as having had 4,000 rockets fired at its inhabitants. I have seen the effect they had.

 

You may point to the comparatively small Israeli number of casualties. Sderot provided the answer. Shelters in the houses, in front of every housing block in the streets.

I visited there on a working day; there were hardly any people in the streets. The schools had double roofs to lessen impact. Warnings given for each incoming rocket, even if it was only 15 seconds. 15 seconds to gather your spouse, children and pets and dive into a shelter! The infants in the bombproof crèche showed signs of trauma.

 

And if you had the misfortune of having shots fired at you and your family on a daily basis even if they did not hit you, you would be severely traumatised.

 

Let’s have the truth, Mr. Omar!

don Krausz to The Star

The  Letters Editor,

The Star.

 

RE: KIM SENGUPTA – GAZA – 18 AUGUST.

 

Yes, Mr. Sengupta, war is horrible. Not only does it take a ghastly toll of human beings, young and old, but it induces an emotional response that deprives one of logic, even truth.

 

I lived with bombing throughout WW2, from the devastation of Rotterdam by the Luftwaffe to day and night bombing on the part of the RAF and the USAAF’s one thousand bomber raids.

 

I think that what terrified me most was the emotional effect on people: they lost their reason.

 

Two of the most shattered cities in Europe were Hamburg and Dresden where the deathtolls ran into the tens of thousands.

 

One day I encountered a woman who had survived Hamburg. She described the horrors that she had witnessed. She was articulate and spoke an educated German. Her account of her experience was intelligent.

 

Then she began to denounce the British and Americans. She was half Jewish and we were in a terrible concentration camp. Perhaps she was still in shock or imbued with Nazi propaganda.

 

“The Allies were supposed to be gentlemen, civilised. How could they commit such atrocities against civilians, women and children?”

 

I gently reminded her of Rotterdam, Warsaw, Belgrade, Coventry, London. I was too young to know about Guernica. She turned on me in anger. “Can’t you understand?”  she shouted, “We had to bomb those  places! Look what they have just done to Hamburg!”

 

Mr. Sengupta, I recognise your sorrow. Yet you have not written one word about the horror that once again has led to the Gazan tragedy. The more than 12,000 missiles fired at civilian settlements in Israel proper over the past years, each one with the stated intention to maim or kill.

 

And don’t mention “harmless fireworks” or the word “disproportionate” to me. I have visited Sderot, two km from Gaza, and seen the effects of these “toys” on the inhabitants on a daily basis. I well remember the horror of the air raids and the nightly anticipation of injury, loss of family and death.

 

And if I fired shot after shot at you and your family on a daily basis without any of you actually being hit you would all be severely traumatised.

 

Victor Gordon responds to Tony Ehrenreich in the Cape Argus

Refers:  “At no point did I call for violence, but I am calling for decisive action”

 

Tony Ehrenreich’s call for justice for the Palestinians and sympathy for their cause would sound a tad more credible had  he,  within his lengthy diatribe (“At no point did I call for violence, but am calling for decisive action”),  just once mentioned and condemned the 12,000 rockets, missiles and mortars directed at Israeli civilians, on a daily basis, for the past 9 years.

His failure to do so displays a lack of understanding of the underlying problem and a complete absence of any helpful suggestion towards a solution.

His target for vilification, the 105 year-old  SA Jewish Board of Deputies,  has played a vital role in monitoring and acting against the very sort of anti-Semitism of which Ehrenreich is so obviously guilty  despite his unconvincing  bleat that anti-Semitism is the furthest thought from his mind. The one thing that Jews have no difficulty in recognising is anti-Semitism whenever  it rears its ugly head.

Personally, I am grateful for, and reassured by,  Ehrenreich offering his sympathy for the Holocaust while claiming that it has nothing to do with what is happening in Gaza.  As part of an ethnic minority in my own country, thanks Tony, it leaves me feeling a great deal safer  – but, as Ehrenreich will never understand, it has everything to do with what is happening in Gaza in that Hamas is simply the latest advocate for Jewish genocide to grace the pages of history (read their charter), and therefore,  need  to be prevented from realizing their  goal.

Frankly, it’s the “reich” in Ehrenreich that leave me somewhat bothered.

Victor Gordon to the Pretoria News: Refers: “Israel behaves as if there is no tomorrow”

Contrary to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s assertion that “Israel behaves as though there is no tomorrow”, Israel’s unwavering belief that there is, in fact, a tomorrow has compelled her to fight to perpetuate this ideal,  every day,  since 1948. No other country in history has had to endure the vilification and opposition she has faced despite her having undergone the most  legal  creative process  on record.

What few understand is that the same procedure that brought Israel into being, applied, at the very same time to the creation of Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. All these new countries were recognised and ratified by the San Remo Conference of 1922, followed by the League of Nations and, finally, by the United Nations. The only one brought later into question was Israel which now, in some quarters is  regarded as legally illegitimate.

If that is correct then so are the other three countries already mentioned, all of which should face the same censure.  Considering that only Israel was founded on (and has maintained) the principles of democracy,  as well as ethnic  and religious inclusivity, makes it strange that it is the only member of this group subject to continual vilification. Perhaps the Arch could explain this. Might it have something to do with Israel being the only state for Jews?  Heaven forbid.

While decrying  what Tutu refers to as the “daily violations of human dignity and freedom of movement Palestinians are subjected to at checkpoints and roadblocks”,  why does this moral icon not encourage these victims to refrain from attacking Israel and accept  that peace and co-operation is the surest way to achieve an end to this undesirable status quo. Indeed, they would find in Israel a more than willing partner.

As for his assertion that “Israel should support the cause of the Palestinians”, what does the Arch think Israel was doing by handing over Gaza,  in the misguided hope that its inhabitants would turn this coastal enclave into a second Singapore. Instead they chose Hamas and, as they say, the rest is not only history but the present and, sadly, a part of the future.

Luminaries such as Desmond Tutu could do so much good were they to only drop the hypocrisy and sermonise based on fact.

Don Krausz to The Sunday Times

The Letters Editor,

Readers’ Views,

Sunday Times.

 

RE: YOUR ISSUE OF AUGUST 17.

 

Israel and Gaza are controversial. Any newspaper that is not a political mouthpiece must present a fair, balanced viewpoint.

 

Yours reminds me of Christopher Isherwood’s renowned book and film, “I am a Camera,” in which he reports on Berlin’s early Nazi period. He questions his German landlady’s anti-Semitic views and she replies: “But all the speakers say so!”

 

George Osborne’s Animal Farm has the sheep bleating: “Four legs good, two legs bad!”

 

You printed two short letters presenting the Israeli aspect, and then two against, one anti-Zionist cartoon, half a page of anti-Israel articles and a half page advert by the Palestine Solidarity Forum.

 

I cannot believe that no counter opinions could be accessed to provide another point of view, not from the Israeli Embassy, the Jewish Board of Deputies, the Zionist Federation, the Media Team Israel or any of the other highly competent, reputable and well-informed sources.

 

No, you were partisan, and did not want to present the inevitable other aspect to almost every historical event.

 

So much for your integrity!

 

When the Sabra and Shatilla massacre occurred in Lebanon at the hands of the Christian Falange while Israel was in control, hundreds of thousands of Israelis marched in protest in their streets. Ariel Sharon had to resign.

 

Yesterday’s TV news reported massive protest by Israelis against the Gaza attack.

 

Where was the Palestinian protest against the 12,000 plus missiles launched from Gaza at Israeli residential areas?

 

After 9/11 the Gazans danced in the streets. When the three-month old Fogel baby and his family had their throats cut by terrorists, Palestinians celebrated.

 

Polls taken by Palestinian entities have found that about 80% of Palestinians supported terrorist atrocities perpetrated against Israeli civilians.

 

Shame on you! You are biased!