Press Statements
SOUTH AFRICAN ZIONIST FEDERATION AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN JEWISH BOARD OF DEPUTIES - NEWS RELEASE - 18 October 2011
RELEASE OF GILAD SCHALIT
The South African Zionist Federation, together with the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, and on behalf of the Jewish community, is overjoyed at the news of the release of Gilad Schalit. After 5 years of incarceration by Hamas in Gaza, where he was kept incommunicado by his captors while his family and Israel prayed for his safety, he has finally been reunited with his parents, his siblings and a nation that held him in their hearts for all that time.
We pray that his integration back into his family and his society will be easy and smooth; and we extend our sincere thanks to the members of the Israeli government who worked tirelessly to secure his release.
Issued on behalf of:
Avrom Krengel
Mary Kluk
Tel: 082 600 6465 / 083 775 8618
SA Jewish Leadership Regrets SA Government Stance on Palestinian UDI
The SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) and SA Zionist Federation (SAZF) are disappointed by President Zuma’s statement that South Africa will support the recognition by the United Nations of an independent Palestinian state. While we support the creation of an independent Palestinian state co-existing in peace alongside Israel, this can only be achieved through a process of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Unilateral action by either party aimed at bypassing the negotiations process will result only in increased polarisation and will retard rather than advanced the prospects of achieving a lasting peace agreement.
We believe that South Africa’s supporting a unilateral declaration of independence by the Palestinians is contrary to the South African ethos of resolving differences through the give-and-take process of negotiations, in which all parties work through the issues and find mutually acceptable solutions to the questions that divide them. This has been shown not only in the way South Africa was able to achieve its own transition to multi-racial democracy, but in the role it has played in helping resolve disputes in Sudan, Ivory Coast and Kenya.
Negotiations will also serve to build the necessary trust and understanding between the parties that will enable an Israeli and a Palestinian state to co-exist peacefully in the future.
The SAJBD and SAZF urge the South African government, as well as the greater international community, to work towards a negotiated settlement to the Israel-Palestine question. This in turn should have the goal of bringing about a mutually agreed upon two-state solution through which the two peoples can realise their respective national destinies in a spirit of good neighbourliness and respect.
For further comment, contact Mary Kluk (083 775 8618), Avrom Krengel (082 600 6465) or Zev Krengel (082 557 9681).
SA ZIONIST FEDERATION - MEDIA RELEASE
Russell Tribunal on Palestine - 20 July 2011
The forthcoming meeting of the Russell Tribunal in Cape Town is unlikely to be anymore more than a pointless political smear campaign by a self-appointed group of anti-Israel activists. Despite its name, the Russell Tribunal is not an impartial, accountable judicial body. Rather, it is a loose association of lobbyists pushing a narrow, one-sided political agenda, in this case the delegitimisation of the State of Israel. Such bodies make a mockery of credible judicial procedure, and hinder rather than help any efforts towards resolving the Israel-Palestine question.
The proceedings of the Russell Tribunal, already rendered all but meaningless by the body’s institutionalised anti-Israel bias, have been further made irrelevant by the latest developments in the Middle East and North Africa. A state of civil war is already raging in Syria and Libya, with thousands of civilian deaths having already occurred, while the specter of insurrection and instability stalks many more countries in the region. These are the pressing issues that urgently need international attention.
In its previous meetings, held in the UK and Spain, the Russell Tribunal proved to be an irrelevant talk-shop whose members simply arrived at pre-endorsed conclusions, all of which were aimed at depicting Israel, and only Israel, as a criminal rogue state. There is no reason to believe that the latest installment of this rolling propaganda roadshow will be any different.
Ben Swartz
SA ZIONIST FEDERATION - MEDIA RELEASE
JUDGE GOLDSTONE RETRACTS OPERATION CAST LEAD REPORT - 4 April 2011
The South African Zionist Federation is encouraged by the statement released this weekend by Judge Richard Goldstone in which he affirmed, among other points made, that Palestinian civilians in Gaza were not intentionally targeted by Israel as a matter of policy; but that the rockets fired by Hamas were "purposefully and indiscriminately aimed at civilian targets."
The SA Zionist Federation has always been of the opinion that the original Goldstone Report was biased and based on conjecture and speculation rather than on actual evidence. This opinion is borne out by the Judge's decision to publish this statement which is a retraction of the now clearly discredited original report.
The falsehoods contained in the original report caused incalculable and irreparable damage to the reputation of Israel and its armed forces.
While Judge Goldstone's statement may go some way to limiting the harm caused to Israel by his original report, the SAZF reiterates its call to him to repudiate the report in its entirety.
Issued on behalf of:
Avrom Krengel
Private Bag X6 Sandringham 2131
Cell: 082 600 6465
SA ZIONIST FEDERATION - MEDIA RELEASE
PETITION AGAINST ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS DESMOND TUTU - 12 January 2011
The South African Zionist Federation would like to clarify and confirm that the views expressed in the petition calling for Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu to be “axed” as patron of the Holocaust Centres in Cape Town and Johannesburg do not reflect any statements which have been issued by official representatives of the South African Zionist Federation.
The petition was launched by certain individuals without prior consultation or approval of the South African Zionist Federation and represents their personal views alone.
The Cape Town Holocaust Centre has been an outstanding success in the ten years it has been in existence. It is an educational institution serving all citizens of the country as a whole and is dedicated to creating a more caring and just society in which human rights and diversity are respected and valued.
The South African Zionist Federation recognises the Holocaust Centre as an autonomous organisation and respects its leadership’s right to respond in respect of the petition.
The South African Zionist Federation reserves the right to make an official response at the appropriate time.
Issued on behalf of:
Avrom Krengel
Private Bag X6 Sandringham 2131
Cell: 082 600 6465
SA ZIONIST FEDERATION - MEDIA RELEASE
ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS DESMOND TUTU and the CAPE TOWN OPERA - 27 October 2010
The South African Zionist Federation is profoundly saddened by the call by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu to the Cape Town Opera to postpone its proposed trip to Israel for political reasons.
We had hoped that as a man of peace and a Nobel Peace laureate, he would use his legacy and his reputation to bring the Israeli and Palestinian people closer to a resolution of this tragic conflict, rather than exacerbating it by his hostile statements.
His attack on Israel is unjust and harmful to any moves towards peace, and his stance is to be regretted, especially in light of the decision taken by the Cape Town Opera to continue with its tour of Israel because it is "first and foremost an arts company that believes in promoting universally held human values through the medium of opera".
Issued on behalf of:
Avrom Krengel
Private Bag X6 Sandringham 2131
Cell: 082 600 6465
SA ZIONIST FEDERATION - MEDIA STATEMENT
THE GAZA FLOTILLA - 2 June 2010
The seizure of the Gaza Flotilla has resulted in widespread accusations against Israel which have absolutely no foundation but which are instead based only on sensationalism and propaganda aimed at delegitimizing Israel in the basest manner.
The Hamas regime controlling Gaza is determined to continue attacking Israel with whatever means it has at its disposal. Under international law Israel has the right to defend and protect her citizens from Hamas attacks, and has thus imposed a maritime blockade to curb further Hamas aggression. Under international maritime law, when a maritime blockade is in effect, no vessels can enter the blockaded area.
Israel fulfilled the tenets of international law by warning these ships repeatedly of the existence of this maritime blockade off the coast of Gaza. At the same time, based on the assumption that the boats in the flotilla were carrying humanitarian aid for the citizens of Gaza, Israel offered them the opportunity to land in the Israeli port of Ashdod and to offload the aid, under their scrutiny, which would then be transferred to Gaza through the existing overland crossings.
However on 27 May, Greta Berlin, one of the flotilla organizers, made the following statement to AFP: “This mission is not about delivering humanitarian supplies, it's about breaking Israel's siege."
The organizers claim to want to bring humanitarian assistance to Gaza; yet at no time has any such offer been made to or about Gilad Shalit, the young Israeli soldier captured 4 years ago by Hamas and since then denied every opportunity either to be visited by the Red Cross or to be in contact with his family.
When it became clear that the organizers refused to change direction towards Ashdod, thus violating the Israeli blockade, Israeli naval personnel had no option but to board the illegally sited vessels. A helicopter landed on the deck of one of the boats, and the Israelis who disembarked were immediately attacked and their weapons forcibly removed. Confronted by protestors with weapons as well as by a man carrying an infant in his arms – in what he called a "message" to any Israelis planning to act against the flotilla but which cannot but be construed as anything other than child abuse - the Israeli naval personnel were well within their rights to take action against their attackers. 10 Israeli soldiers were injured in the incident, of whom one suffered a serious head injury, two others were injured by gunshots and another was stabbed.
The vessels have now been redirected to Ashdod, where the humanitarian aid will be transferred to Gaza according to standard operating procedures.
The SA Zionist Federation strongly condemns the distorted and overt media bias which yet again has ignored the role of terrorist group Hamas and its supporters who promote violence and aggression under the guise of humanitarian activity in favour of damning Israel based solely on one-sided, prejudicial and fallacious information.
Issued on behalf of:
Avrom Krengel
Private Bag X6, Sandringham 2131
Cell: 082 600 6465
The South African Zionist Federation Media Statement
2 September 2010 - Resumption of Middle East peace talks
The South African Zionist Federation strongly supports the renewed peace talks currently underway in Washington between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. These are the first direct, official contacts between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in 20 months. In the words of Prime Minister Netanyahu, their goal, which we fully endorse, is "a peace that will end the conflict between us once and for all. We seek a peace that will last for generations.”
At the same time we condemn the murderous attacks by Hamas terrorists, the first which resulted in the deaths of four Israelis, including a pregnant woman, the mother of six, and her unborn seventh child, and the second which injured two more Israelis, one of them seriously. By its savage and brutal actions, Hamas has proved indisputably not only its flagrant disregard for human life, both Israeli and Arab, but also its determination to derail the talks even before they begin, in the hope of sabotaging any chance of a peaceful Middle East settlement.
Issued on behalf of:
Avrom Krengel
Private Bag X6 Sandringham 2131
Cell: 082 600 6465
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