Monessa Shapiro in response to Ronnie Kasrils

Five hundred rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza in 24 hours last week.   Rockets aimed not at soldiers, not at military institutions but at civilians.  Israeli men, women and children.   Rockets aimed at houses, apartment blocks, kindergartens, schools and hospitals.  The intention to murder as many Israelis as possible.

Schools were closed.   Whole towns were put on high alert.   Mothers sat vigil by their children’s beds in order to get them timeously to shelters and safe rooms when the siren went.   They had 15 seconds.  Try it.  Try grabbing crying, petrified children and running with them to a place of safety within 15 seconds.

And yet the media was silent.   We’re used to that.  Dead Jews don’t make news.   And certainly, suffering Jews are not news-worthy.   But not only was the media silent.   So were the Jews for a Free Palestine, the BDS, The MRN and ‘upstanding’ Jews like Ronnie Kasrils.   Again, not surprising.   The norm.

Yet all found something this past week to rant about.  Not least Ronnie Kasrils.  At Hertzlia school, a proudly Jewish Zionistic school two pubescent boys, just 14, knelt during the singing of Hatikvah (the Israeli national anthem).   For Kasrils, this ultimate act of courage was sufficient for him to pen a lengthy opinion piece.

And in so doing he has reaffirmed for all, just where he stands.   It is not so much what he has said in his op-ed – trite and uncontextualized as most of it is – but his omission of basic verifiable facts, his blatant inability to identify with Jewish suffering and Jewish pain that puts him in a category of his own.   In the Holocaust they termed such people “kapos”.

Rodney Mazinter to The Star

Dear Sir

Shannon Ebrahim (The Star 16 November) fails to explain why there was an incident resulting in the injury of a Palestinian boy leaving the uninformed reader to draw conclusions that Israel attacks Palestinians for no reason, leaving misery in its wake. There should always be some context, describing Israel‘s actions in a defensive war against rockets, knives, invasion attempts and firearms, aimed at Israeli civilians. Describing and showing an isolated incident without context merely reinforces the false narrative sold to the public that Israel is at fault.

Untold is how Palestinian extremists – internationaly outlawed terror groups – fire 500 rockets at Israeli citizens and continue to dig attack tunnels in attempts to murder innocents and kidnap Israelis to hold them hostage as bargaining chips.

 Israel has no choice and every responsibility to safeguard its populace from being relentlessly attacked, bombarded by deadly mortars and rockets fired by Palestinian groups intent on murdering and maiming innocents.

 Israel also makes every effort to safeguard the lives of non-combitants, while Hamas and the PA makes every effort to place its weapons and fighters next to and within civilian installations. In so doing, Hamas in particular commits a double war crime and crimes against humanity by firing on civilians while hiding behind civilians.

 Anti-Israel activity is a cesspit, a Jew-hating cause based on lies. It attracts antisemites, thugs, liars, terrorists and yes, even abusive journalists who just make it worse for everyone both Arab and Jew – it’s all about hate.

In the interests of balance, Ebrahim would be well served by publishing reports of these deadly Palestinian activities, of Israeli civilians terrified in bomb shelters and being treated in hospitals, and of fanatics in civilian clothing shooting rockets at Israeli civilians. That would paint a balanced and contextualised picture of the conflict.

Victor Gordon responds to Ronnie Kasrils “2 Who took the knee, brave”

After a respite from having to confront Ronnie Kasrils’ lies, distortions and misinformation, this newspaper has seen fit to allow this avowed enemy of Israel a major op-ed in which to spew forth his latest vitriol.

Not only has Kasrils chosen to focus on two students at Herzlia School in Cape Town who refused to stand at attention during the singing of  the Israeli national anthem, Hatikva, but “took  the knee” in a blatant display of rude defiance. They now face disciplinary action from the school council.

Indeed, Herzlia is a Jewish day school, as Saheti caters for the Greek community, the German School caters for German children and the Chinese school looks to the interests of Chinese children. I am of the belief that contrary to Kasril’s assertion that only at Herzlia, the children are “force fed” the anthem of a foreign country, all ethnic-based schools teach their learners the anthem of the country linked to their heritage, as well as “Nkosi Sikele iAfrika”.

However, Kasrils does a dangerous thing in suggesting that in Jewish schools Hatikva is paramount while “Nkosi” is of but secondary importance. This is not only false but highly inflammatory.

Quite stupidly, Kasrils claims that Muslim-inclined schools do not sing the Saudi or Egyptian anthems. Of course they don’t!  Why in heavens name should they? Neither should they sing the anthems of Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon or Iran! The fact of them all being ”Muslim-inclined” provides no nationalistic link other than a shared religion. If Kasrils’ argument had any sensible basis, would Christian-linked schools not therefore be obliged to sing the anthems of  a host of  Christian-based countries?

In the case of Israel, the country came into being, not as a direct result of the Holocaust but almost immediately thereafter with six million Jews slaughtered as they had nowhere to go. No one would have them.

The rationale behind Israel’s existence is not only based on an historical connection exceeding 2000 years, but as a direct result of Jews not having anywhere to turn in times of danger. This reality, coupled with the historic, religious and emotional connection that exists in the life-blood of almost every Jew (except seemingly, Ronnie Kasrils) is enough to ensure that the vital  link between Israel and the Jews who live in the Diaspora is firm and healthy.

Now, seventy-five years after the Holocaust, despite all the lessons it offers mankind, anti-Semitism is at an historic high making it even more imperative that Jews know that Israel’s doors are never shut. One has only to hear the threats uttered by some local politicians and other leaders who should know better, to appreciate a reality that is unique to Jews alone.

Clearly Ronnie Kasrils hates his Jewish heritage. Why else would he repeat the lie that Israel has carried out “mass shootings of unarmed protesters in Gaza” when TV news footage has shown the exact opposite and only this past week, Hamas launched over 400 rockets into Israel.

For local Jewish children who have never had to lift a finger in defence of their country to insult the young Israeli boys and girls who defend their heritage by “taking the knee”, is both despicable and unforgiveable.