PHOTOGRAPHS: BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM
is the corridor into ‘real’ politics, with the
student wings of political parties often being seen as the start of a career path.
RADICAL POSTURING
Some aspects of South African political discourse – and especially the discourse on
campus – are unique. SA’s recent history of
disenfranchisement and armed struggle
leads to a generally more radical political
discourse than that which takes place in
Western Europe and North America. Boisterous protests, shouting down speakers
and even damage to property are not considered beyond the pale. When extreme anti-Israel pronouncements are the norm, it’s
easy to see SA as an enemy of Israel. The reality, however, is much more complex.
SA’s political theatre co-exists with hardnosed self-interest. I saw this contrast firsthand last summer. In the midst of Israel’s
defensive war against Hamas’ attacks from
Gaza, Telfed and the Wits Alumni organisation held a forum in Tel Aviv on the sub-
ject: “Nelson Mandela – The Legacy, Relevance for Israel?” One of the panellists was
SA’s ambassador to Israel, Sisa Ngombane.
His Excellency spoke eloquently, as befits
his status as a proud veteran of the ANC.
As it happened, that very day, the ANC had
issued a scurrilous press release relating to
the war. Not only did it make obscene and
extravagant claims of Israel setting up
“death camps” in Gaza, it even misstated
the number of Israeli youths kidnapped by
Hamas (two rather than three). I challenged him as to whether such “facile political posturing” aided or hindered his work
as a professional diplomat. His response –
an embarrassed assertion that a press release of a different tone and substance
would be forthcoming from government –
clearly demonstrated his discomfiture at
the absurd and offensive statement.
The contradiction between his proud
membership of an organisation that parrots ridiculous canards against the Jewish
state on the one hand, and his profession-
al obligation to improve relations with
that same state on the other, highlights
the inherent contradiction in SA’s relationship with Israel. While ANC ministers
were making ever more strident calls for
boycotting Israel, SA was expanding its
trade relations with the Jewish state. In
2014, South African trade with Israel was
R10.3 billion. Of this figure, SA exports to
Israel were R7.2 billion, while SA imports
from Israel were R3.1 billion – leaving SA
with a healthy R4.1 billion surplus; between 2013 and 2014 bilateral trade increased by 24 percent.
CAMPUS IS DIFFERENT
Students don’t need to deal with the hard
facts of balance of payments deficits and
are therefore not required to balance their
rhetoric with reality. There is thus little to
stop the ANC Youth League or the campus
branches of the EFF from applying the full
hysteria of South African political discourse to Israel and Zionism.
C.O.R.E
Centre Of Remedial Education
EDEN C.O.R.E is the latest edition to the Eden Schools group.
It has been established for those children who struggle to
achieve their potential in a mainstream classroom.
Our priority is to restore confidence and develop a positive
attitude towards learning through remediation,
a happy environment and individual attention. We aim to
develop and empower young children with active minds so
they become successful members of our community.
Our C.O.R.E unit offers:
- Grade 0-8
- Strong Jewish ethos
- Small classes
- Remedially trained teachers
- State of the art remedial education centre
- Speech therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Play therapy
- After-care and homework centre
- Jewish studies & Hebrew
- Music programme
- Sports programme
- Wide range of extra murals
EDEN SCHOOLS
Contact C.O.R.E
011 445 3900
[email protected]
48 Johannesburg Rd,
Lyndhurst, Gauteng
www.edencore.co.za