By Iqbal Jassat
In an outrageous attack on Naledi Pandor’s integrity, Israeli-SA Zionist Federation’s Rolene Marks, resorts – yet again – to convoluted disinformation in her desperate defence of the genocidal regime.
Titled “An Open Letter to Naledi Pandor” – published in Politicsweb (December 7), Marks repeats unfounded, unsubstantiated allegations to besmirch Pandor.
The emotional ranting, notwithstanding absolute disregard for truth, is symptomatic of the war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu’s highly resourced Hasbara (propaganda) campaigns.
Since the SAZF is a self-described loyal agency of Israel, it is not surprising that Marks regularly embarks on rhetoric laden with misinformation we are boringly familiar with.
Her frustration obviously stems from the fact that Pandor’s unflinching commitment to human rights and justice – an uncompromised principle – is neither for sale nor negotiable.
Pandor’s distinguished role in having Israel charged at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the heinous crime of genocide against Palestinians, forces defenders of Zionist terrorism and war crimes to self-reflect.
However it appears that the cracked mirror Marks looks at, reflects a disjointed image of a criminal entity most of the world has recognised as an apartheid regime underpinned by a brutal military and led by thugs facing arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
It is thus true that to defend or turn a blind eye on the Zionist regime’s atrocities informed by its misguided policy of Jewish supremacy, makes one complicit in a range of human rights contraventions.
Equally it is not only correct but imperative to condemn all who participate in whitewashing Israel’s defiance of global conventions including the United Nations charter on human rights.
Whether they be hand-picked journalists or members of political parties lured by Hasbara-induced “freebies” by the SA Zionist Federation and their allies known as Friends of Israel, the agenda is a PR campaign deserving condemnation.
Resorting to “WhatAboutism” by injecting Iran in Mark’s attempt to discredit Pandor is another sign of desperation. Indeed the fallacy of her arguments reflects bankruptcy!
Supporting resistance against injustice, oppression and apartheid is a matter of principle which the Islamic Republic of Iran has courageously upheld against Israel as it did against South Africa’s notorious racist regime.
To invoke misplaced designations of terrorism to resistance movements, is a poor reflection of the history of South Africa’s liberation struggle.
The “logic” applied by Marks against Iran’s Revolutionary Guards is questionable, for it feeds a narrative associated with the Netanyahu regime that promotes unbridled Islamophobia.
Unlike Iran’s unblemished record as a stable, responsible and rational sovereign state, Israel since its illegal colonial occupation of Palestine in 1948, has instigated major wars across the region.
Destabilisation of the Muslim world and dismemberment of Palestinians remains a core objective of Israel.
And in contrast to Iran, the Zionist regime has since 1948 defied dozens of UN Security Council resolutions.
A fortnight ago the UN General Assembly adopted two resolutions demanding Israeli withdrawal from Occupied Territories: one concerning the occupied Syrian Golan and the other the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
“For 78 years, the Palestinian people have been denied their inalienable rights — in particular, their right to self-determination,” said Annalena Baerbock (Germany), President of the General Assembly at its eightieth session.
Hence, it is a bitter pill for defenders of Israel to swallow when persons of integrity such as Pandor demand adherence to international law.
On the question of the genocide, none other than South Africa’s highly acclaimed jurist Navi Pillay, as chair of the UN Commission made a finding that Israel “is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza”.
Mark’s vicious attack on Pandor reveals an inability on her part and that of her Pro-Israel lobby outfit SA Zionist Federation to acknowledge Israel’s wilful destruction of Palestinians in Gaza and the rest of Occupied Palestine.
Iqbal Jassat
Executive Member
Media Review Network
Johannesburg
South Africa