Conflicts in the Middle East

Saturday, December 8

Aftermath of "Pillar of Defense

English: Khaled Meshaal in a meeting with spanish journalists (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Mahmoud Abbas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

العربية: علم حماس עברית: דגל חמאס I made this for use on the Hamas article of Wikipedia. Category:Hamas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Coat of arms of the Palestinian National Authority (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The "Pillar of Defense" War in Gaza has come and gone with both Israel and Hamas claiming an overwhelming victory. The former had inflicted heavy damage on Hamas but despite Israeli claims that its goals were reached, this is not the case in reality. Hamas never surrendered and because of this they claimed a victory. The damage done to Hamas property was enormous and the loss of life was relatively low on the Palestinian side.Perhaps this was the Hamas claim to victory. There is a tenuous cease-fire in place with Egypt being the broker for this cease-fire under tremendous pressure from the US.

Earlier in November, the Palestinians in Gaza, led by Hamas rulers who build a terrorist infrastructure and call for Israel's destruction, launched more than 1,000 rockets toward Israel, including the city of Jerusalem -- holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews -- in attacks meant to indiscriminately kill or maim civilians. The Palestinian Authority, which leads Palestinians in the West Bank, recently chose action in the United Nations over talking to Israel. The United Nations General Assembly has voted in favour of upgrading the Palestinians status to that of a non-member observer state. The vote was taken at a meeting of the body in New York, with 138 countries voting in favour of the upgrade. Nine countries voted against it, and 41 others abstained.

Israel had no option but to retaliate for the firing of Qassam missiles into the settlements and towns in the south of Israel. The ally of Hamas is Iran. The latter supplied Hamas with the Fajr 5 long range missiles with a 70 Km radius.The world was silent as many European leaders knew that Israel has the right to defend its citizens from Hamas terrorism, but after a couple of days pressure started mounting on Israel to reach a cease-fire. The dour and spineless secretary-general of the UN, Ban Ki Moon paid a quick visit to Israel and Palestine and pressurized a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt. Hilary Clinton, the US Foreign Secretary had a meeting with President Morsi of Egypt.The US pledged about 12 billion dollars aid to Egypt if they would aid in maintaining the cease-fire.

The cease-fire is holding for the moment. In Israel street there is total silence about the Pillar of Defense War against Hamas. There is one thing that has been emphasized in the aftermath is the total impotence of the Palestinian Authority in its part in this war.The PA remained out of the picture and had no influence in the outcome or decisions made apart from supporting a cease-fire. It is obvious that Palestine is divided into two entities: Hamastan which is Gaza and Fatahstan which is the West Bank that is still occupied by Israel. President Mahmoud Abbas is wedged between Hamas and Israel and has no power in decision-making let alone negotiations.

He did somehow flex a bit of muscle in the UN in his demand for Palestine getting observer status and this in turn would upgrade Palestine in the UN without being a member of the UN. In practical terms this gives them access to the International Court at the Hague to take Israel to court for "war crimes" against the Palestinians. It is doubtful if they will pursue this.

Had there been a Palestine with a leadership that is strong and could negotiate with Israel for peace and security then there would be no problem with Palestine's status in the UN. At the end stage of negotiations, Palestine would declare itself independent and would become a full member of the UN. This is not the case at all.

Palestine speaks with two voices. The moderate Abbas voice which is dubious in its support of a peace treaty with Israel. Abbas has no power to make decisions on this matter and the talk about it is nothing but empty statements lacking any backing from the extremists in the Hamas terrorist organization ruling Gaza. They are unanimous in demanding Israel's total destruction and while they are in this self-destructing mode and are not willing to negotiate with Israel leaves Israel with no choice but to oppose the elevation of Palestine's status to non-member observer status in the UN as the representative of Palestine which does not represent Hamas-ruled Gaza. The question is: Who represents Palestine as an observer non-member whose legitimacy in representation by the PA is not accepted by Hamas? Hamas is still viewed as a terrorist organization by the US and its allies in the European Union. It was Hamas that carried out terrorist acts against Israel in the south.

Israel had gained some points in the world but these points decreased rapidly when PM Bibi Netanyahu decided to establish 3000 housing units in the E1 area because of the Palestinian move in the UN. Two wrongs do not make a right and the vindictiveness of the Netanyahu Government to do this was a stupid tactless blunder for reasons that are for consolidating the right wing parties in Israel under his banner at election time which is on 22nd January 2013. He wants to outright the right the of Naftali Bennet (The Jewish Home Party an extremist illegal settlement oriented party) and all these other pathetic right-wing fanatics in Israel standing for election. This is the main reason for making his rash and unwise decision on promoting illegal settlement. The more illegal settlements built the less likelihood if any will there be for the establishment of a Palestinian state which today consists of two parts as mentioned earlier in my article..Hamas and Fatah are at loggerheads and even resort to murdering each other.

The Israeli Election campaigns this year seem to be side stepping the importance of a peace settlement with the Palestinians. The desertion of various party members from one party to another in the mad rush for seats in the Knesset and the total compromising of ideology as to how Israel should be led towards a peace settlement with Palestine and its Arab neighbours is sorely lacking.

This is very dangerous and on the extremist right wing flank we have the destruction of Israel's credibility in the world. Criticism of Netanyahu are even coming from Israel's closest friends. Ambassadors are being recalled from Israel for consultations and this does not bode well for Israel's future if the Likud-Beiteinu Party of Lieberman and Netanyahu are re-elected which is a foregone conclusion unfortunately.

Saturday, November 17

Israel and Gaza -at War

English: Grad rocket fired from Gaza hits Southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva and destroys a kindergarten classroom (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: A Qassam rocket fired from a civilian area in Gaza towards civilian areas in Southern Israel. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades emblem (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At the time of writing, Israel is pounding Gaza from the air and from the sea. I also hear the Israeli Air Force Planes flying overhead carrying their deadly cargo to fire into the Hamas terrorist nests. Are they Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? I prefer the term terrorists for that is what they represent. Maybe eyebrows are raised by the term especially by naive human rights groups. Do they have any idea what it is like to be within the radius of terrorist aggression? Missiles are fired on innocent civilians, who have made no provocations of violence towards the Palestinians. This has been going on intermittently for months and years and Israel has not retaliated. The Qassams fall, people are injured and their property is destroyed and for what? Where is the UN? Why is there no condemnation from that impotent world body? Deathly silence from its halls is the reply.

This has nothing to do with the occupation. It has a lot to do with not accepting Israel's right to exist. The occupation is a result of that. My opposition to the occupation and its ramifications has been written many times in my previous articles and I am not going to repeat what I have already stated over the years.

It would be wise to ask the question: What country would allow rockets to be fired into their civilian population? Would the US, South Africa, Great Britain and France allow this to go on undeterred? The Hamas Government of Gaza has been warned many times but to no avail. They ignore splinter terrorist groups such as Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Islamic Jihad and many other splinter groups who are the military wing of Hamas. One must also remember that these groups are being aided by Iran and even Syria, Iran's proxy -"bastions of democracy and human rights". If this is the case and it certainly is then Hamas must take the responsibility for controlling them which they have not. Hamas must be held accountable for the reaction of the Israel Defense Forces.

The picture on the war front is showing that Hamas and its terrorist wings are taking a well deserved hammering. They have tried their luck against

Israel

in their hateful rhetoric and terrorist activity. Their anti-Israel activities have also gained legitimacy by naive human rights groups, whether it is the arrival of flotillas to bolster Hamas morale by protesting the Israeli blockade on Gaza and the so-called passive anti-Israel platitudes expressed by these so-called self styled righteous "peace-mongers" . The blockade is not against the Palestinians of Gaza but against Iranian attempts to smuggle in arms in order to destroy

Israel

. The propaganda machines of Hamas have been playing on the poverty and suffering of the Gaza Palestinians much of which is of their own creation. Hamas is a racist Islamist organization whose ideology of super race is aligned to fascism and paradoxically getting the support of self-styled human rights activists. Human rights are NOT on their agenda for their own people. Their treatment of women is shocking. Hamas tortures members of the opposition who are aligned with Fatah without mercy. Democracy and human rights are not on the Hamas agenda and never will be.

Hamas gets funds for developing infra-structure for Gaza from various Arab states. What do they do with these funds? The leadership pockets it for themselves and the rest goes into promoting the suffering of the Gaza Palestinians because this is where their strength lies. The money goes into Qassam rockets, Grad missiles, Fajr 5 missiles which is targeted towards Tel Aviv and other heavy populated areas of Israel. This is the Hamas answer to promoting the interests of the Palestinians. Their Islamist fantasy world is their enemy. They lie to their own people in order to bolster their morale by stating that they have hit the Knesset in Jerusalem and targeted Tel Aviv. Israel had no alternative but to attack the Hamas terrorist headquarters and their terrorist leaders.

Hamas survives on hatred and destruction, not on education and building a viable state for the good of the Palestinian people including all the social services that their citizens are entitled. There is no economic development in Gaza apart from building weapons of death and destruction under Iranian and Syrian tutelage. They use innocent children as human shields - placing them in the pathways of Israeli shelling and bomb attacks in order to create as much death and destruction as possible to promote their evil cause. This serves as a very effective propaganda machine against Israel and soon world pressure will build up against Israel in the pathetic Islamist - controlled UN to cease its attack on Hamas and its evil allies in Gaza.

Hamas will not rest and even if a cease fire is declared it will be a respite for them to re-arm and create a situation in their fantasy world of Israel's total destruction. They will have another try in a few months in order to achieve that end. Their ideology does not cater for Israel's existence now and possibly forever. I do hope that that I am wrong and they will become pragmatic towards a reality in the Middle East that will not disappear under the rain of Qassams and Iranian weaponry.

Those who suffer the most are the Palestinians of Gaza who are scared of their Hamas oppressors.

Israel

has not occupied Gaza. Hamas has occupied Gaza with their Iranian proxies. There are those that will say that Hamas was elected by free elections. That is true but if we go back in history to 1933, the Nazis were elected in democratic elections by the German people. We must bear in mind that there are anti-democratic racist parties that use the democratic process by standing for election and using their propaganda to gain power. The end result is total crushing of the opposition and installing a reign of terror. This happened in Nazi Germany and is now happening in Hamas occupied Gaza. Al Qaeda is waiting on the sidelines to pick up the pieces. It is the silent majority in Gaza, who is suffering. Poverty, unemployment, lack of basic essentials and decent education is not part of the Hamas plan for its people. The various in-fighting within Hamas itself unknown to most of us is also taking its toll. All that unifies Hamas is its hate for

Israel

has the ability to destroy Hamas but it will not. It has no intention of occupying Gaza and installing military rule. The ramifications of that would be disastrous as world opinion would pressurize Israel - not to mention Egypt's President Morsi is tight rope walking now.

A reality cannot be ignored. Israel's assassination of Ahmed Jabaari of the military (terrorist) wing of Hamas was a catalyst to the increased firing of missiles from Gaza. It was not the cause as this was going on for too long. He was a commander of terrorist groups responsible for much of the aggression against Israel's citizens.

The war goes on at the time of writing and nobody knows how it will end. Hopefully Hamas will raise a white flag for a truce but this is unlikely. They will use their supporting countries like Egypt to apply pressure on Israel and this could have a domino effect in the UN and the Arab world. It is an unfortunate fact that the opposition to Hamas in Gaza are those groups that are even more extreme.

Saturday, October 27

The Upcoming Israeli Elections and the Peace Process

English: Avigdor Lieberman, Israeli politician (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli politician (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Soon election fever will be upon the Israeli voter and the various party lists will be competing for votes. The party lists are being formed and one of the big surprises has been the amalgamation of Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud with Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu to form Likud Beiteinu. There is a dearth of commentators on this unification and the Israeli Press is saturated with analysis and predictions so it is unnecessary to go into the positive and negative aspects of this move for which only time will tell.

The range of parties is quite large but there is nothing new in any of them. The thinking voter will have a very difficult time to choose the party of his choice.

The right wing will grow stronger after these elections and it is almost a foregone conclusion that Netanyahu will continue to be prime minister. When one asks the average Israeli voter who will be the next PM of Israel, the answer is almost unanimous - "Bibi Netanyahu, as there is nobody else". This is a good enough reason to predict the outcome of the elections.

One can feel the beginning of election fever. The only way to decide is by elimination. Most of us know for whom we will not vote. Even the Zionist parties of the right and the left have put the Peace Process and the relationship with the Arab World on the back burner. This does not seem to be an issue at all. It is business as usual. The Qassam rockets from Hamas-controlled Gaza, fall on the south of of Israel and results in injury and death to innocent people. The Israeli Army retaliates and hit the terrorists responsible and in many cases innocent people also lose their lives.

Many Israelis have come to the conclusion that there is no partner for peace or at least this is what seems to be the case in Hamas-controlled Gaza. The non-recognition of Israel's right to exist among the extremist Islamist groups must be blamed for this state of affairs.

Despite this pessimistic view, there are Palestinians who have had enough of the stalemate and the lack of progress towards peace. They are the silent majority whose voice is suppressed by their corrupt leadership. Israel should be more forthcoming in finding a solution to this conflict which is a drain on Israel's resources. The lack of progress on a solution to the conflict also strengthens Iran and the Likud's desire to strike at Iran's nuclear capabilities which will also become part of Netanyahu's election campaign. This will also gain him much support. Much of Ahmadinajad's rhetoric against Israel may just be demagogic bluster and this is working in the right wing's favour. An Israel at peace with its Arab neighbours, including the Palestinians, could be a strong bulwark against Iran as nobody will gain from war. The Palestinian People will be the most exposed to fallout from Iran's nuclear capability if there is a nuclear war with Iran.

The other small parties on the right may be ready to join the right wing Lieberman - Netanyahu coalition as the situation of the right wing will be more clearcut and all embracing of the extremist right wing which is very settler oriented in the occupied West Bank. The Kadima Party has weakened because of defections to the Likud and to other directions. Kadima is on the verge of collapse.

The Labor Party with Shelly Yechimovitch as leader seems to be an alternative at first sight. However, they hope to capture the voter's support on their socio-economic programme which on the surface seems to be more soft serve capitalism oriented than the Likud tycoon orientation which somehow is eroding the middle class. On certain issues such as peace and security and the importance of these issues is not a priority.

Meretz is weak and is not much of a factor in these elections. Zahava Gal On is a good parliamentarian and a forceful speaker but her colleagues in the party are conspicuous by not being active on issues where they should such as the peace process and human rights issues. The religious Zionist and non-Zionist parties are right wing as well and are

problematic when it comes to separation of religion and state. A religious party can never be a democratic party as they all have partisan issues which rely on their own religious supporters.

The Hadash or Communist Party is the only non-partisan party in theory which is a Jewish-Arab party but it is doctrinaire and is weak on human rights as they tend to support the Butcher of Damascus - Bashar Assad of Syria. It also believes in the two-state solution and coexistence between Jews and Arabs. Apart from Dov Cheinin and occasionally Mohammed Barakeh, the party leader, most of their Knesset members have been little more than dormant. The Arab Parties, Ra'am - Ta'al are no less partisan than the extreme right wing parties. Their policy on the Jewish sector in Israel is not on their platform and is unknown.

It is unclear at this stage which party one can support in these upcoming elections especially as the peace process seems to be on the back burner of all the Zionist

parties from right to left. Perhaps the reason is, especially among the Zionist left, they may not get them much support.

Our hopes are that the parties will get their act together not only on social and economic issues but also on the peace process with our Palestinian neighbours and accept the changes occurring in the Arab World and how we in Israel can come to terms with these dramatic changes so that all will benefit. After all Israel is an integral part of the Middle East.

Friday, September 28

Is the Arab Spring moving into winter?

So many changes have occurred in the Middle East. In the beginning of the various uprisings, many of us were filled with hope of a new order - a sort of wind of change that would bring the Middle East towards democracy. It was a dream. Despite much populist rhetoric about democracy it is doubtful if that will ever be achieved.

Now nearly two years later - not only is there no democracy, those wonderful, educated young people who were at the forefront of the various uprisings, have disappeared. They were the hope of many of us as the despotic Middle East regimes started crumbling. The despotic regimes have been replaced by Islamist regimes that wish to install Sharia law. It could happen in Syria with great cost to human freedom and democracy which never existed under the brutal Bashar al Assad regime. The rebels there are also slaughtering innocent people no less than the soldiers of Assad. The future in Syria can be described as very bleak.

If we look at Egypt, we see that there was a semblance of democracy when the people voted for the Muslim Brotherhood. The new Egyptian President, Mohammed Morsi, seemed promising despite his support from the Muslim Brotherhood. However, when one Islamist party (in Egypt - the Muslim Brotherhood) shows signs of pragmatism towards the Western nations such as the US, other splinter extremist Islamist terror groups such as the Salafis exploit the economic misery of the people and create a form of anarchy against the elected leader. Morsi is trying to be pragmatic. He needs foreign investment which includes aid. Egypt today, torn by turmoil, has to rebuild its economy and tourist trade.

What is happening in Egypt today is a big disappointment and this is reflected in the other Arab countries where, tyrants fell and are still falling.

Morsi cannot afford to antagonize Israel. Both Israel and Egypt have a common enemy - Bedouin Islamist terror groups as well as El Qaeda which seek to attack Israelis and even the Egyptian Security Forces. They have their own agenda – conversion to Islam by force and the destruction of the “infidel” who are non-Moslems by their definition.

Security is in the common interest of both Israel and Egypt as both have suffered from Islamist terror group infiltration. The peace treaty between Egypt and Israel
will hold. Morsi is in no position to change the conditions of the treaty even though he has indicated his desire of doing this. The Palestinian refugee problem is always a convenient bandwagon on which to climb as well as the Israeli Occupation. It is doubtful if Egypt cares about Palestinian welfare. Ahmedinajad of Iran and Assad of Syria are not interested in Palestinian suffering at all. They use this issue to bash Israel as a digression from their own brutal treatment of their people. Even President Morsi has used the Palestinian issue to gain points in his speech at the UN General Assembly.

While the Israeli Occupation is a very complex problem, it is also an obstacle for an independent Palestinian state because the illegal settlements create a situation that makes the two-state solution impossible to achieve. Despite this, nothing in Palestine can be compared to the slaughter going on in Syria and the massive refugee problem that this has created. Massive infringements of human rights in Iran and Syria have not been given much expression in the UN General Assembly speeches of world leaders.

The direction that Egypt is moving remains unclear and the economic problems that need to be solved are immense because of the intense poverty and neglect under the tyrannical rule of Mubarak.

All the Arab countries that have changed their leadership during the Arab Spring are moving towards more fundamentalist Islamist rule with the strengthening of Islamist extremist groups.

The release of an anti-Islam film in the US resulted in a wave of Islamist terror in the Middle East. The US ambassador in Libya was murdered in Benghazi as a frenzied mob of Islamist extremists went on the rampage killing innocent people. This sweep of violent demonstrations against Israel and the US reached epidemic proportions. While the film was disgusting and hateful towards Islam and protest against its release was justified. Indiscriminate killing of people because of violent protest was tragic and must be condemned. It is the duty of Muslim spiritual leaders not only to condemn this shocking film but also to condemn the killing of innocent people. This just did not occur. Islamist extremism and hate goes on the rampage when there is an affront real or imaginary with devastating fatal results.

Why are the West not adopting a more even handed policy towards Islamist terror groups? They make impotent clucking noises condemning this terror and a few days later everything is forgotten until the next brutal Islamist terror act.

Syria

is in the throes of a bloody revolution. Innocent people are being slaughtered not only by the evil Assad regime but also by an opposition of militants that are on the rampage. In this sweeping wave of slaughter by both Assad and the various militias which are not united are the Syrian people caught in the cross-fire. There is not much medical aid to speak of and those who are lucky to escape the killing fields of Syria find themselves in squalid refugee camps in Turkey and Jordan.

The hope of change in Syria from the cruelty of Assad and his brutal forces to a democratic alternative is dim. The rebel forces are disunited and are composed of cruel militias committing the same crimes as the shaky Assad regime. It is a field day for Islamist terror groups to pick up the pieces. This is fertile ground for El Qaeda and its various militias.

Why is the UN indifferent to the slaughter in Syria? There seems to be so much Israel bashing in that forum and allowing the evil Ahmadinajad of Iran to be given a well publicized platform to sprout his desire to destroy Israel on his visit to the UN General Assembly Convention. This evil tyrant should be ignored. He is not worthy of the attention that is being showered on him.

Ahmidinajad is a Nazi and the butcher of Iran. He wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and he is helping Bashar el Assad to murder his own Syrian people. He should not have been allowed to address the UN General Assembly. Why did so few delegates walk out when he spoke?

The strange paradox in these cruel scenarios is the attitudes of the ruling ANC in South Africa. The ANC which is arrogant and corrupt - certainly very different from the great liberation movement it once was under the evil apartheid regime of

South Africa

. The ANC shows total ignorance of the dynamics in the Middle East. This could be due to ignorance, naivety or a mixture of both. They have become allies of Iran, Assad's Syria, Hezbollah, and even Hamas. They support the darkest anti-democratic forces in the Middle East. They see them as the liberators of the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. They lose no opportunity to condemn Israel as being an occupier and an exploiter of the Palestinians. There is deathly silence from Archbishop Desmond Tutu and many other left-wing human rights activists on the killing fields in Syria, Iran and even in Gaza where Hamas oppresses the Palestinians more than Israel ever did. The ANC is very selective in what it sees as human cruelties. After all they shot innocent miners in cold blood because they had a strike in Marikana. Perhaps they learn these cruel tactics from their despotic allies in the Middle East as well as the old white apartheid government. The ANC is no paragon of virtue if we examine their record of conduct in ruling South Africa.

It looks as if the Arab Spring on which many of us had pinned such high hopes is turning into an Arab Winter where the new regimes are becoming more anti-democratic and Sharia Law will be playing an important part in policy making in the future.

Tuesday, September 18

The Hypocrisy of ANC-ruled South Africa towards Israel

Cover of Nelson Mandela

Boycott Israel-poster (Photo credit: Creap)

English: Malema (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Lonmin Mine disaster that has caused the loss of many lives last month must be viewed as a danger call in South Africa. There are various trade union groups independent of the COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions) which is affiliated to the African National Congress. The dissatisfaction is only rising to the surface now and it will only get worse. The strikers were gunned down in a brutal fashion by the ANC-controlled police.

The annoying thing about all this including the tragic loss of life is the hypocrisy of the ANC Government. An issue that concerns many of us is the cruel tactics used to quell protest. The ANC is not the ANC of Nelson Mandela and wonderful people of the calibre of Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and Duma Nokwe as well as a host of other wonderful people who had sacrificed so much in order to achieve the demise of the evil apartheid regime. They had suffered torture in white South African ruled prisons and their determination to achieve justice for their people was unwavering. I am sure that that the deceased ANC fighters for freedom are turning in their graves today if they knew what a disappointment the ANC is today. The ANC MPs have become rich, arrogant, self-righteous and corrupt on the backs of the South African taxpayer. The massacre of strikers of the Lonmin Platinum Mines of Marikana will cause a crack in the ANC power base which is being exploited by the ex-leader of the African National Congress Youth League, Julius Malema – an arrogant, wealthy, charismatic rabble-rouser, who is taking advantage of a tragic situation to score points. He has his own agenda and that is to grab power and to be a threat to the ANC. Both Malema and the ANC have similar allies ranging from the tyrants Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Bashar el Assad of Syria and Mahmoud Ahmadinajad of Iran not to mention Hezbollah of Sheik Nasrallah and Hamas of Haled Mashal - "great benefactors of human rights issues".

Where are the human rights groups of South Africa? Those who remain silent on the refugee crises in Darfur, the xenophobia of those who attack refugees from Zimbabwe, the brutal slaughter of innocent men, women and children in Syria.

These same hypocritical left wing human rights groups of South Africa are the first to jump the anti-Israel bandwagon, shooting their mouths over Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. There is a lot of room for criticism on the occupation of Israel in the West Bank. I have made this clear in all my posts on this blog and I have not changed my attitude on that issue. South Africa’s policy of hostility towards Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and support of BDS (boycott,divestment and sanctions) is hollow; reeking of ignorance of the issues involved which are very complex. What the ANC is doing to its own people is far worse. The combating of crime is poor and South Africa has the highest crime rate in the world. Poverty, housing shortages, the collapse of the education system are a failure of the ANC to deliver the goods to its people. Surely South Africans must reach the right conclusions as to the performance of the ANC.

The added problem of Julius Malema with his competing agenda will only exacerbate the situation. We must remember that Malema is homespun from the ANC. He shares the same love of wealth and corruption as the ANC. The ANC by their impotency on vital issues because of severe corruption in their ranks is paving the way for future Malemas whose hero worship of despots of Mugabi’s ilk could be the death knell of democracy in South Africa and and the beginning of black apartheid with disastrous consequences.

The double standard ANC is condemning Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians which is out of all proportion when compared to the way it treats the poor and the mineworkers of South Africa.

South Africa is sliding down the abyss of disaster and the ANC is becoming South Africa’s tragedy and another chapter in its bloody history. South Africans of all colours, creeds and religions must heed the wake up call and vote against the ANC at the ballot box before it is too late.