South Africa reacts to murder of protesters by Israel

Africans identify very strongly with any people being occupied by an oppressive regime, and so the sentiment to break ties with the zionist entity occupying Palestine has always been a strong one in southern Africa. Most of us consider that we should have broken ties immediately as the zionist regime was founded on the same ideology as Apartheid in the same year as Apartheid (1948). The two regimes rode one another's backs, when the tide turned against Apartheid, the allies like UK and USA slowly (very very slowly) came around to supporting the world's view that Apartheid had to go. The occupation of Palestine by eastern Europeans who claim to be Jewish, a race superior to everyone else and entitled to the land of others, is an idea anathema to all decent African people. There is a large Christian group represented by moderate parties, who see somehow an alliance with Israel as they are convinced that Israel is in some way the modern embodiment of the ancient people called Israelites. This is a small marginal group though, most people see the racism in Palestine as a lot worse than we sufferred under Apartheid.

As the majority in the South African republic (the centre-left, ANC) battles to stem the growing tide of impatience and to gain back some credibility of its own, they took a decision at their recent conference to downgrade the embassy in Tel Aviv as well as to move quickly on the land question. Many newspaper houses support the centre-right parties like the DA and populist EFF, largely led by people with their eyes set on access to the elite circles of power.

The questions raised by Jan Jan Joubert at this press are very interesting, for he takes the typical western anti-iran propaganda and asks for a response from the ministers. It is interesting too to note that Joubert himself landed himself in hot water for a conflict of interest, having been both an editor of a newspaper and aiming for a post as DA party spokesperson last year. The AfriForum is a group aiming to further the idea that the current Pretoria regime is engaged in genocide and land theft against their supporters (most of whom see themselves as different from Africans - the old so-called 'white and afrikaner' community).

What is quite significant is the prime time exposure Pretoria has given to the really experienced and skilled politician in the person of Luwellyn Landers (Deputy to Lindiwe Sisula). Landers is given all the hot potatoes to handle here and imo, he floors the questions very very well. If the ANC continues to allow voices like Landers a scope in the party, we may be in for a better future. Sadly though, the domestic politics is dominated by systems of corruption and patronage, allowing such advances to be turned back as soon as we make them.

I am now, after many years, proud to say I know the gentleman in a personal capacity. Key in my memory of the turbulent years under Apartheid was a Saturday in 1983, when Landers drove me in an old Peugeot to the historic launch of the UDF at a community centre in Cape Town's township of Mitchells Plein. He along with the rest of my family led me to always keep a keen eye and a foot in politics.

In my youth after that, I opposed the man for his history with the former political parties. It was years after he joined the ANC and served in key leadership positions and in the National Assembly that my opinion began to very slowly shift. Seeing him this week make the strong view of African people known to the rest of the world filled me with pride as a fellow African.