Category Archives: current affairs

DA taking a big risk by praising Mandela and Mbeki

Posted on by

In the excellent TV commercial recently censored by the South African Broadcasting Corporation, but now back on the air after the threat of court action,  the Democratic Alliance’s very eloquent candidate for Gauteng Premier, Mmusi Maimane, tell South Africa’s that the ANC of Jacob Zuma is not the same ANC of the great leaders that they voted for in the past.

for a party that used to attack these ‘great leaders”, one of whom, “Thabo Mbeki” was an HIV denialist and great supporter of Robert Mugabe, this is a rather hypocritical strategy.

One only hopes, that in contrast to the views expressed in the below article, the strong impact of the advert and message will at least help to woo some votes from those who have always loved the ANC but are now focused on Zuma’s crimes.

People, after all, have short memories.

http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2014/03/24/the-democratic-alliance-makes-massive-strategic-zuma-blunder

 

American Neo Nazi terror attack in Kansas

Posted on by
The frightening attack on a Jewish centre in Kansas by a white supremacist American highlights once again that America’s race problems run far deeper than many like to admit.
contrary to sterotypes, it is not only black Americans who conduct violent crime, and not only muslims who practise terror.
More than enough mall shootings and terror attacks in recent American history have been carried out by deranged white males, whether racially or simple criminally or psychologically motivated.
Its time we realize that the enemy is not any one religious or racial group, but the extremists in each group that trade their humanity for cannibalism.

http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/A-raging-anti-Semite-Who-is-Frazier-Glenn-Cross-348478

‘A raging anti-Semite’ – Who is Frazier Glenn Cross?
http://www.jpost.com
Cross, a former Green Beret, did two tours of duty in Vietnam, served time in prison, and launched unsuccessful bids to win public office.

Fugitive Rabbi and followers in S.A.- how to react?

Posted on by

How should we react when a Chassidic Rebbe accused of sex crimes in Israel arrives with 300 of his followers in our community before Pesach after being expelled from Morocco and now Zimbabwe?

on the one hand, there is a prohibition against helping sinners (mesayin yedei ovrei aveira) and the Chilul Hashem involved here is unsurpassed.

On the other hand, some of the more naive members of a cult like this might well be “tinokos shenishbe’u” and victims of their own upbringing and environment- would the normal Mitzva of kiruv and hachnasas orchim, and tzedoko not apply to those of them who have nowhere to go for Yom Tov?

the Chief Rabbis of S.A. and Israel seem to think “yes”, on condition that they agree to go back to Israel after Pesach- is this not wishful thinking though, and kind of like offering a drug-addict help on condition he gives up drugs in a week?

Is this not really a far deeper problem that needs far more expert help- they are, after all, fellow Jews who are either willing accessories to horrendous things or unwilling victims of a terrible cult?

is this not perhaps an opportunity for us a community to do far more- or is it more than we can possibly handle, and wise to follow the Chief’s advise and get out as fast as possible?

The Chief Rabbi’s letter is posted below

“

Dear Rabbonim שליט”א

 

As per the previous e-mail, R. Eliezer Berland and his followers have wrongfully descended on our community, and in doing so have exacerbated the terrible chillul Hashem of the situation.

 

However, it appears that some of these families are now destitute without food or shelter before Pesach. Given the dire circumstances, those who are able to help these destitute people over the course of Pesach should do so on the following condition, that after Pesach the entire group of these followers must agree to return to Israel immediately.

 

R. Eliezer Berland himself must return to Israel immediately to face the criminal justice system. It is untenable and unconscionable for anybody to support or shelter a fugitive from justice.

 

His followers must return home immediately after Pesach and we as a community must insist they do so.

 

The direction provided in this letter is based on discussions with and represents the consensus of my opinion and that of Rabbi Kurtstag and the Johannesburg Beth Din, as well as Chief Rabbi David Lau, the Chief Rabbi of Israel.

 

חג כשר ושמח.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein

”

Rabbinic fugitive in Africa

Posted on by

When the Vilna Gaon excommunicated the Chassidic movement based on its early cultlike tendencies, one wonders whether he imagined 300 Breslaver Chasidim blindly following  their renowned fugitive Rabbi, accused of sex crimes in Israel, from one African country to another, creating one of the greatest Chilulei Hashem of the day.

He certainly was reacting to the specter of thousands of followers of the false Massiach Shabtai Tzvi who followed their leader in his conversion to Islam  and his student Jacob Frank into radical sexual permissiveness.

yet we cannot blame Rabbinic sex crimes temselves on Chasidism- we have had more than enough of these scandals spanning the full spectrum of Orthodoxy from modern Orthodoxy and Religious Zionism to Lithuanian and Chasidic Chareidism-

nor do they have the monopoly anymore on blindly following leaders into insanity……

There is something far from healthy in our own backyard, and we dare not ignore it any longer

Turkish Elections: another failure of democracy

Posted on by

Since Adolf Hitler abused the democratic process to come to power and proceeded to wipe out all opposition, many a tyrant has taken advantage of the voting power of the easily manipulated and intimidated masses to stay in power.

Turkey’s Recep Tayip Erdogan has recently joined the ranks of such tyrants , and this week’s local elections in which his long-ruling  party  managed to capture about 46% of the vote- hardly a majority, but enough to claim a public mandate for his tyranny, and to control the country’s two largest city council’s of Istanbul and Ankara, are truly an example of democracy’s Achilles-heel.

That a leader who threatens to destroy his opponents, imprisons more journalists than any other country in the world including China, and even bans Twitter and Utube to prevent people spreading reports of his corruption, can do so well in an election, truly reminds one of the famous words of Sir Winston Churchill: “The greatest argument against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter!”

dare I guess the same will apply in South Africa this May?

yet what can one do? there is no better system currently available….

 

the “Great Rabbi” accused of child molesting

Posted on by

My thoughts on the judgement against a famous Rabbi for indecent acts against minors, Hashem yishmor.

I was asked, on my timeline, if I believed that the sentence passed in the relevant case was too mild.

I replied to the question, and am sharing my reply as a post as well, as I believe it is very relevant and on many people’s minds.

“This is a very sensitive one. Part of me says that this man disgraced us all,used his position as a Rosh Yeshiva and national leader to take advantage of kids, and should be given the most harsh sentence possible. Part of me, having met the man myself, and seen his kindness and caring for ALL people (even his insistence of visiting Chris Hani hospital and seeing how AIDS victims are treated), feels VERY sorry for the man, and for all of us who have lost him as a mentor, and that something could also be awefully wrong with the charges. I do not think that either approach is rational. All he was convicted of was “relatively minor” indecent behaviour. The more serious charges were NOT proven. Whether anyone likes it or not, in a democracy, a person is innocent till proven guilty in a court of law. he had his trial, and he was NOT proven guilt of rape, sodomy, or any serious sexual crime. What is also true, is that things that in western culture are considered to be sexual assault, are not always that way in middle eastern, african, or even jewish culture. Affectionately hugging or kissing a student is NOT sexual assault, unless it is done in a sexual way. I hug my students all the time, and there is NOTHING sexual about it. My uncle , Rav Tucazinsky zt’l, used to kiss and hug me, and hugging and kissing students is very common amongst many rosh yeshivos and Rebbeim, and there is NOTHING sexual in it at all. yet many secular teachers at Yeshiva College felt uncomfortable with Rabbis hugging students, which was totally ridiculous. This of course, makes it easy for Rabbis who do have sexual issues to take advantage, and very hard to tell the difference, but it also means that what to western courts are indecent acts might not even be indecent in reality. I do NOT know what Rabbi Druckman is thinking- perhaps he truly believes that the Rabbi in question is innocent, along the lines of the above, though we all know Rabbi Lichtenstein took a VERY different approach. – Personally, I wish and still hope he is innocent- he is or AT LEAST was a great man who has touched the lives of literally thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people for the better, but I am also NOt an ostrich . Even great men make bad mistakes and can do TERRIBLE things sometimes. David heMelech committed adultery and killed the girl’s husband. HE suffered his whole life for it. He did Teshuva, which was eventually accepted. Those who denied his right to repent in their self-righteous manner were also criticized. Of course, even the relatively “minor” verdict of the court would be enough for me not to let him anywhere near my kids in private, just out of caution. nor has he admitted to the charges publically, but it is NOT a halchic requirement of teshiva to publically confess to something- confession is a private matter between a sinner and Hashem, and who says he hasn’t done that? And does any of this really mean that he is so evil that one cannot learn anything from him, or that he deserves to rot for the rest of his life in prison for kissing a kid on his neck, however much it disgraced us, and however bad it might be? The judge can only take into account that which has been PROVEN in his sentence, and so can we- that is ALL. As for the rest, we have to take caution and not let vulnerable people be in private with ANYONE suspected of such things, but thats it. Would I invite him to teach minors, NO- Do I think he should be condemned for ever as an evil man and shut out of society – I dont think any of us have a right to make that call based on the above . The discussion remains open, and there is much to say and debate. It is NOt simple, it is really painful, and what is more painful is that this is not just an isolated incident, but all too common these days- it needs to stop and be stopped- but how to stop it, how to get to the root of the problem- that needs great wisdom, and I fear that we lack it!”

What will replace the ANC?

Posted on by

“the day the ANC does to us what the Apartheid government did, we should do to the ANC what we did to the Apartheid government. ”
Nelson Mandela

“One may not knock down a synagogue before building a new one in its place”
[Talmud Bava Batra]

Those who are quick to wish for the demise of the corrupt and incompetent ANC, should consider who will replace it, and whether they can keep the country stable and relatively united, like the ANC, with all its failings, has done.

We need change, but we don’t need Congo style anarchy.

Open letter to South African opposition leader Helen Zille

Posted on by

OPEN LETTER TO HELEN ZILLE ON DA’S BETRAYAL OF ISRAEL AND OTHER STUFF

Dear Premier Zille

I have always been a great admirer of yours, both of your past in the black sash, something my father, Rabbi Ben Isaacson, a well-known anti apartheid activist Rabbi was very close to, as well as your present as the visionary leader of the DA

however, I am very concerned about the talk that is going around about the DA’s support at worst, or silence, at best, of the outrageous demonification of Israel going on right now , as highlighted in the recent Parliamentary committee’s resolutions in Cape Town, and your lack of response so far to people’s requests for clarification about it.

This seems to be indicative of a general tendency towards avoiding responding to serious issues raised by critics as well as supporters, which for a liberal party like the DA, is highly problematic.

I have in the past questioned the DA’s lack of taking a stand against slave labour wages in the Western Cape of R75 a day, the one province where we (and I say “we” as a loyal supporter of many years standing) are able to make a difference and take a moral, if not a legal stand ), and never received a response, even in a direct tweet to you.

I also emailed the DA’s direct email address with very concrete ideas on how to use social media to bolster the election campaign, to which I also received no reply.

It is not so much the fact that we might disagree on issues, which is perfectly legitimate if done fairly, openly, and correctly, but that there seems to be a general tendency in the DA, not unlike that in the ANC, to be above criticism and to be out of touch with its supporters, avoiding real questions that are poised to it, and this is really disturbing.

It is not far fetched for the pro Israel Jewish and Christian communities to field ACDP candidates in their wards against the DA incumbents in the coming elections, and certainly in the municipal elections, and possibly even take them away from the DA, or even worse, split the opposition vote and deliver them to the ANC, if the current matter of concern is not addressed.

The even greater matter that I have mentioned of general lack of transparency to members and supporters is even more troublesome and could lead the DA to meet the same fate as Morgan Tsvangirai if not addressed urgently.

In understand that the recent debacle with Ramphele, from which I believe you have come out taking the moral high ground, is still heavy on your mind, but before this matter hits the social media and our anti BDS sites in an even bigger way, I would appreciate a serious reply from you- there is absolutely NO time to lose- as you know, facebook takes no prisoners and waits for noone.

Promising the world to crowds in Polokwane like Malema (even though we all know you could do a better job ) and dancing on the stage like Zuma (though that is something he is certainly your better at ) might be a necessary way to bring about change for the better, but showing the ability to stick to promises, answer rather than evade real questions, and not backstabbing loyal supporters is the true test of what can come of such promises.

Warmest wishes and hoping for a wise and speedy reply

Rabbi Yoni Isaacson
Community Educator and Businessman

Did Israel really support Apartheid South Africa?

Posted on by

old sa flag

DID ISRAEL REALLY SUPPORT APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA?

As the son of an anti-apartheid activist who was also a soldier in two Israeli wars at the same time as opposing apartheid, I can point out that the truth is closer to the opposite:

before the seventies, Israel was one of the most anti Apartheid countries in the world, and even trained anti-Apartheid activists.

Israel helped support newly independant African countries, and invested heavily in their development and decolonization.

all this during a time when America and the West were supporting Rhodesia and Apartheid South-Africa, and Western puppet dictators like Mobutu in the Congo, who they installed there to protect Western interests after murdering the democratically elected socialist, Patrice Lemumba.

After the Yom-Kippur war , Arab States bribed Africa states with oil to sever ties with Israel.

When they took the bait and betrayed Israel, together with South African liberation movements who were aligned with the Soviet/Arab block, she was left isolated, and the similarly isolated Apartheid government became a natural ally- not exactly a crown of glory, but no different to the “new South Africa’s ” alliance with Gaddafi, China, and other dictators-

The so-called right-wing Menachem Begin is described by one of his closest aides as an admirer of Nelson Mandela, at a time when Mandela was still in prison and openly aligned with the then “him who may not be named” Yasser Arafat, our biggest foe.

In short, our little Israel has done much more for Africa than any of the Arab nations that oppose us- our record might not be perfect, but in the greater picture, we have far more to be proud of than ashamed of!