Discussion:
Op-Ed: Mandela Was an Enemy of Israel
(too old to reply)
and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
2013-12-06 21:49:32 UTC
Permalink
Op-Ed: Mandela Was an Enemy of Israel

Mandela was an enabler of anti-Semitic terrorism.

By Giulio Meotti
Israel National News
Friday, December 6, 2013

"In 1990, Mandela likened Israel to a "terrorist state"
and declared that "we do not regard the PLO as a
terrorist organization."

Nelson Mandela has already been mourned by many Jews
around the world. And for good reasons. When Mandela was
released from prison by de Klerk, he showed statesmanship
and reconciliation rather than revenge.

But his biography reveals that he was an enemy of the
Israeli people.

A post-apartheid Pretoria that joins in boycotting
Jerusalem is one of the more powerful victories for the
boycott and divestment campaign. And it's Nelson
Mandela's legacy.

Historically, black leaders in South Africa such as
Desmond Tutu viewed the Jews as a part of the "capitalist
camp", and therefore exploitative of the blacks. Neo
Mnumzama, chief representative of the ANC (Mandela's
party) at the United Nations, called Zionism an "ally of
apartheid" and "an accomplice in the perpetuation of the
crimes of Pretoria against the South African people".

In Mandela's twisted version, Israel and South Africa -
both, in his view, under apartheid rule - were small
bastions of Western interests surrounded by a larger and
non-Western people; both governed hostile majorities,
using force and denying rights to subjugate them; both
were run by nationalistic, racist governments unwilling
to grant rights to these people but anxious to exploit
labor. 

Mandela always made it clear that those who are the
enemies of the Jews are not necessarily his enemies.

In 2000, the American Jewish Committee canceled a
Washington luncheon scheduled to honor Mandela after he
said that 13 Jews tried for "espionage" in Iran were
receiving a "fair trial". 

Mandela laid a wreath on the grave of Ayatollah Khomeini,
the father of the Iranian revolution, warmly greeting his
successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "We are indebted to
the Islamic Revolution", Mandela proclaimed. It is the
same Mandela who claimed that Communist Cuba had achieved
the "systematic eradication of racism".

In 1990, Mandela likened Israel to a "terrorist state"
and declared that "we do not regard the PLO as a
terrorist organization. If one has to refer to any
parties as a terrorist state, one might refer to the
Israeli government because they are the people who are
slaughtering defenseless and innocent Arabs in the
occupied territories".

Mandela should have raised Jewish eyebrows when in 1990
he embraced Arafat in Lusaka, Zambia, likening the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict to the struggle against
South African apartheid. "If the truth alienates the
powerful Jewish community in South Africa, that's too
bad", said Mandela.

During a trip to Libya, Mandela declared that "we
consider ourselves to be comrades in arms to the
Palestinian Arabs in their struggle for the liberation of
Palestine. There is not a single citizen in South Africa
who is not ready to stand by his Palestinian brothers in
their legitimate fight against the Zionist racists".

In September 1990, addressing the Reform congregation of
Johannesburg, Mandela said: "If Zionism means the right
of the Jewish people to seize territory and deny the
Palestinian people the right to self-determination, we
condemn it".

In 1999 Mandela supported the Palestinian Arab use of
violence. With Arafat seated next to him in Gaza, Mandela
declared: "All men and women with vision choose peace
rather than confrontation, except in cases where we
cannot proceed, where we cannot move forward. Then if the
only alternative is violence, we will use violence".

A few weeks later, the Palestinian Arabs began the Second
Intifada. 2,000 Jewish civilians have since been killed
in suicide attacks and shootings. When the terrorist
Arafat died, Mandela called him "outstanding freedom
fighter". 

Then Israel's President Ezer Weizmann said of Mandela:
"He calls Arafat by his first name, Yasser. They
embraced, and he said he and Arafat were brothers. I
said: ‘Then, Mr. President, we are cousins'".

Nelson Mandela might be a symbol of goodness for many,
but for Israel's Jews he has been an enabler of anti-
Semitism.

---------

The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes
a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author
of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal
stories of Israel's terror victims, published by
Encounter. His writing has appeared in publications, such
as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary. He
has just prblished a book about the Vatican and Israel
titled "J'Accuse: the Vatican Against Israel" published
by Mantua Books.

More at:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14199

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.jai-maharaj

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and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
2013-12-06 21:58:38 UTC
Permalink
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
Op-Ed: Mandela Was an Enemy of Israel
Mandela was an enabler of anti-Semitic terrorism.
By Giulio Meotti
Israel National News
Friday, December 6, 2013
"In 1990, Mandela likened Israel to a "terrorist state"
and declared that "we do not regard the PLO as a
terrorist organization."
Nelson Mandela has already been mourned by many Jews
around the world. And for good reasons. When Mandela was
released from prison by de Klerk, he showed statesmanship
and reconciliation rather than revenge.
But his biography reveals that he was an enemy of the
Israeli people.
A post-apartheid Pretoria that joins in boycotting
Jerusalem is one of the more powerful victories for the
boycott and divestment campaign. And it's Nelson
Mandela's legacy.
Historically, black leaders in South Africa such as
Desmond Tutu viewed the Jews as a part of the "capitalist
camp", and therefore exploitative of the blacks. Neo
Mnumzama, chief representative of the ANC (Mandela's
party) at the United Nations, called Zionism an "ally of
apartheid" and "an accomplice in the perpetuation of the
crimes of Pretoria against the South African people".
In Mandela's twisted version, Israel and South Africa -
both, in his view, under apartheid rule - were small
bastions of Western interests surrounded by a larger and
non-Western people; both governed hostile majorities,
using force and denying rights to subjugate them; both
were run by nationalistic, racist governments unwilling
to grant rights to these people but anxious to exploit
labor. 
Mandela always made it clear that those who are the
enemies of the Jews are not necessarily his enemies.
In 2000, the American Jewish Committee canceled a
Washington luncheon scheduled to honor Mandela after he
said that 13 Jews tried for "espionage" in Iran were
receiving a "fair trial". 
Mandela laid a wreath on the grave of Ayatollah Khomeini,
the father of the Iranian revolution, warmly greeting his
successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "We are indebted to
the Islamic Revolution", Mandela proclaimed. It is the
same Mandela who claimed that Communist Cuba had achieved
the "systematic eradication of racism".
In 1990, Mandela likened Israel to a "terrorist state"
and declared that "we do not regard the PLO as a
terrorist organization. If one has to refer to any
parties as a terrorist state, one might refer to the
Israeli government because they are the people who are
slaughtering defenseless and innocent Arabs in the
occupied territories".
Mandela should have raised Jewish eyebrows when in 1990
he embraced Arafat in Lusaka, Zambia, likening the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict to the struggle against
South African apartheid. "If the truth alienates the
powerful Jewish community in South Africa, that's too
bad", said Mandela.
During a trip to Libya, Mandela declared that "we
consider ourselves to be comrades in arms to the
Palestinian Arabs in their struggle for the liberation of
Palestine. There is not a single citizen in South Africa
who is not ready to stand by his Palestinian brothers in
their legitimate fight against the Zionist racists".
In September 1990, addressing the Reform congregation of
Johannesburg, Mandela said: "If Zionism means the right
of the Jewish people to seize territory and deny the
Palestinian people the right to self-determination, we
condemn it".
In 1999 Mandela supported the Palestinian Arab use of
violence. With Arafat seated next to him in Gaza, Mandela
declared: "All men and women with vision choose peace
rather than confrontation, except in cases where we
cannot proceed, where we cannot move forward. Then if the
only alternative is violence, we will use violence".
A few weeks later, the Palestinian Arabs began the Second
Intifada. 2,000 Jewish civilians have since been killed
in suicide attacks and shootings. When the terrorist
Arafat died, Mandela called him "outstanding freedom
fighter". 
"He calls Arafat by his first name, Yasser. They
embraced, and he said he and Arafat were brothers. I
said: ‘Then, Mr. President, we are cousins'".
Nelson Mandela might be a symbol of goodness for many,
but for Israel's Jews he has been an enabler of anti-
Semitism.
---------
The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes
a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author
of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal
stories of Israel's terror victims, published by
Encounter. His writing has appeared in publications, such
as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary. He
has just prblished a book about the Vatican and Israel
titled "J'Accuse: the Vatican Against Israel" published
by Mantua Books.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14199

Forwarded post:

mandela was a genocidal communist

they are committing genocide against white people in
South Africa( stage 6 genocide). google and check images
also

the latest trend is rape, and disembowelment of white
women in South Africa, with the Sanction of the black
government(legacy of Mandela). google this if you think
i'm lying

the U.S. news media celebrates this

https://www.google.com/search?q=genocide+south+africa&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=lUCiUseaNsflkAf21IDQBA&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=671&bih=295

they are raping then disemboweling (while alive) white
women some as old as 80 and young little girls too

Posted by Democrat_media
(Obama ordered IRS to rig 2012 election and must resign)

End of forwarded post.

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.jai-maharaj
and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
2013-12-07 06:21:29 UTC
Permalink
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
Op-Ed: Mandela Was an Enemy of Israel
Mandela was an enabler of anti-Semitic terrorism.
By Giulio Meotti
Israel National News
Friday, December 6, 2013
"In 1990, Mandela likened Israel to a "terrorist state"
and declared that "we do not regard the PLO as a
terrorist organization."
Nelson Mandela has already been mourned by many Jews
around the world. And for good reasons. When Mandela was
released from prison by de Klerk, he showed statesmanship
and reconciliation rather than revenge.
But his biography reveals that he was an enemy of the
Israeli people.
A post-apartheid Pretoria that joins in boycotting
Jerusalem is one of the more powerful victories for the
boycott and divestment campaign. And it's Nelson
Mandela's legacy.
Historically, black leaders in South Africa such as
Desmond Tutu viewed the Jews as a part of the "capitalist
camp", and therefore exploitative of the blacks. Neo
Mnumzama, chief representative of the ANC (Mandela's
party) at the United Nations, called Zionism an "ally of
apartheid" and "an accomplice in the perpetuation of the
crimes of Pretoria against the South African people".
In Mandela's twisted version, Israel and South Africa -
both, in his view, under apartheid rule - were small
bastions of Western interests surrounded by a larger and
non-Western people; both governed hostile majorities,
using force and denying rights to subjugate them; both
were run by nationalistic, racist governments unwilling
to grant rights to these people but anxious to exploit
labor. 
Mandela always made it clear that those who are the
enemies of the Jews are not necessarily his enemies.
In 2000, the American Jewish Committee canceled a
Washington luncheon scheduled to honor Mandela after he
said that 13 Jews tried for "espionage" in Iran were
receiving a "fair trial". 
Mandela laid a wreath on the grave of Ayatollah Khomeini,
the father of the Iranian revolution, warmly greeting his
successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "We are indebted to
the Islamic Revolution", Mandela proclaimed. It is the
same Mandela who claimed that Communist Cuba had achieved
the "systematic eradication of racism".
In 1990, Mandela likened Israel to a "terrorist state"
and declared that "we do not regard the PLO as a
terrorist organization. If one has to refer to any
parties as a terrorist state, one might refer to the
Israeli government because they are the people who are
slaughtering defenseless and innocent Arabs in the
occupied territories".
Mandela should have raised Jewish eyebrows when in 1990
he embraced Arafat in Lusaka, Zambia, likening the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict to the struggle against
South African apartheid. "If the truth alienates the
powerful Jewish community in South Africa, that's too
bad", said Mandela.
During a trip to Libya, Mandela declared that "we
consider ourselves to be comrades in arms to the
Palestinian Arabs in their struggle for the liberation of
Palestine. There is not a single citizen in South Africa
who is not ready to stand by his Palestinian brothers in
their legitimate fight against the Zionist racists".
In September 1990, addressing the Reform congregation of
Johannesburg, Mandela said: "If Zionism means the right
of the Jewish people to seize territory and deny the
Palestinian people the right to self-determination, we
condemn it".
In 1999 Mandela supported the Palestinian Arab use of
violence. With Arafat seated next to him in Gaza, Mandela
declared: "All men and women with vision choose peace
rather than confrontation, except in cases where we
cannot proceed, where we cannot move forward. Then if the
only alternative is violence, we will use violence".
A few weeks later, the Palestinian Arabs began the Second
Intifada. 2,000 Jewish civilians have since been killed
in suicide attacks and shootings. When the terrorist
Arafat died, Mandela called him "outstanding freedom
fighter". 
"He calls Arafat by his first name, Yasser. They
embraced, and he said he and Arafat were brothers. I
said: ‘Then, Mr. President, we are cousins'".
Nelson Mandela might be a symbol of goodness for many,
but for Israel's Jews he has been an enabler of anti-
Semitism.
---------
The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes
a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author
of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal
stories of Israel's terror victims, published by
Encounter. His writing has appeared in publications, such
as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary. He
has just prblished a book about the Vatican and Israel
titled "J'Accuse: the Vatican Against Israel" published
by Mantua Books.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14199
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
mandela was a genocidal communist
they are committing genocide against white people in
South Africa( stage 6 genocide). google and check images
also
the latest trend is rape, and disembowelment of white
women in South Africa, with the Sanction of the black
government(legacy of Mandela). google this if you think
i'm lying
the U.S. news media celebrates this
https://www.google.com/search?q=genocide+south+africa&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=lUCiUseaNsflkAf21IDQBA&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=671&bih=295
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
they are raping then disemboweling (while alive) white
women some as old as 80 and young little girls too
Posted by Democrat_media
(Obama ordered IRS to rig 2012 election and must resign)
End of forwarded post.
Forwarded post:

If you haven't seen some of the graphic images here is
another site:

http://ajkraad.wix.com/genocide-museum

Posted by Sheapdog

End of forwarded post.

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.jai-maharaj
and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
2013-12-07 06:25:23 UTC
Permalink
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
Op-Ed: Mandela Was an Enemy of Israel
Mandela was an enabler of anti-Semitic terrorism.
By Giulio Meotti
Israel National News
Friday, December 6, 2013
"In 1990, Mandela likened Israel to a "terrorist state"
and declared that "we do not regard the PLO as a
terrorist organization."
Nelson Mandela has already been mourned by many Jews
around the world. And for good reasons. When Mandela was
released from prison by de Klerk, he showed statesmanship
and reconciliation rather than revenge.
But his biography reveals that he was an enemy of the
Israeli people.
A post-apartheid Pretoria that joins in boycotting
Jerusalem is one of the more powerful victories for the
boycott and divestment campaign. And it's Nelson
Mandela's legacy.
Historically, black leaders in South Africa such as
Desmond Tutu viewed the Jews as a part of the "capitalist
camp", and therefore exploitative of the blacks. Neo
Mnumzama, chief representative of the ANC (Mandela's
party) at the United Nations, called Zionism an "ally of
apartheid" and "an accomplice in the perpetuation of the
crimes of Pretoria against the South African people".
In Mandela's twisted version, Israel and South Africa -
both, in his view, under apartheid rule - were small
bastions of Western interests surrounded by a larger and
non-Western people; both governed hostile majorities,
using force and denying rights to subjugate them; both
were run by nationalistic, racist governments unwilling
to grant rights to these people but anxious to exploit
labor. 
Mandela always made it clear that those who are the
enemies of the Jews are not necessarily his enemies.
In 2000, the American Jewish Committee canceled a
Washington luncheon scheduled to honor Mandela after he
said that 13 Jews tried for "espionage" in Iran were
receiving a "fair trial". 
Mandela laid a wreath on the grave of Ayatollah Khomeini,
the father of the Iranian revolution, warmly greeting his
successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "We are indebted to
the Islamic Revolution", Mandela proclaimed. It is the
same Mandela who claimed that Communist Cuba had achieved
the "systematic eradication of racism".
In 1990, Mandela likened Israel to a "terrorist state"
and declared that "we do not regard the PLO as a
terrorist organization. If one has to refer to any
parties as a terrorist state, one might refer to the
Israeli government because they are the people who are
slaughtering defenseless and innocent Arabs in the
occupied territories".
Mandela should have raised Jewish eyebrows when in 1990
he embraced Arafat in Lusaka, Zambia, likening the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict to the struggle against
South African apartheid. "If the truth alienates the
powerful Jewish community in South Africa, that's too
bad", said Mandela.
During a trip to Libya, Mandela declared that "we
consider ourselves to be comrades in arms to the
Palestinian Arabs in their struggle for the liberation of
Palestine. There is not a single citizen in South Africa
who is not ready to stand by his Palestinian brothers in
their legitimate fight against the Zionist racists".
In September 1990, addressing the Reform congregation of
Johannesburg, Mandela said: "If Zionism means the right
of the Jewish people to seize territory and deny the
Palestinian people the right to self-determination, we
condemn it".
In 1999 Mandela supported the Palestinian Arab use of
violence. With Arafat seated next to him in Gaza, Mandela
declared: "All men and women with vision choose peace
rather than confrontation, except in cases where we
cannot proceed, where we cannot move forward. Then if the
only alternative is violence, we will use violence".
A few weeks later, the Palestinian Arabs began the Second
Intifada. 2,000 Jewish civilians have since been killed
in suicide attacks and shootings. When the terrorist
Arafat died, Mandela called him "outstanding freedom
fighter". 
"He calls Arafat by his first name, Yasser. They
embraced, and he said he and Arafat were brothers. I
said: ‘Then, Mr. President, we are cousins'".
Nelson Mandela might be a symbol of goodness for many,
but for Israel's Jews he has been an enabler of anti-
Semitism.
---------
The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes
a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author
of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal
stories of Israel's terror victims, published by
Encounter. His writing has appeared in publications, such
as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary. He
has just prblished a book about the Vatican and Israel
titled "J'Accuse: the Vatican Against Israel" published
by Mantua Books.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14199
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
mandela was a genocidal communist
they are committing genocide against white people in
South Africa( stage 6 genocide). google and check images
also
the latest trend is rape, and disembowelment of white
women in South Africa, with the Sanction of the black
government(legacy of Mandela). google this if you think
i'm lying
the U.S. news media celebrates this
https://www.google.com/search?q=genocide+south+africa&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=lUCiUseaNsflkAf21IDQBA&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=671&bih=295
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
they are raping then disemboweling (while alive) white
women some as old as 80 and young little girls too
Posted by Democrat_media
(Obama ordered IRS to rig 2012 election and must resign)
End of forwarded post.
If you haven't seen some of the graphic images here is
http://ajkraad.wix.com/genocide-museum
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
Posted by Sheapdog
End of forwarded post.
Forwarded post:

And the crazy thing is he was on the US terror list for
20 years, under presidents of both parties.

On the other hand I remember how the left celebrated the
passing of Arafat as well.

Posted by Dave346

End of forwarded post.

Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.jai-maharaj

Steve Hayes
2013-12-07 06:14:29 UTC
Permalink
Post by and/or www.mantra.com/jai (Dr. Jai Maharaj)
Op-Ed: Mandela Was an Enemy of Israel
Mandela was an enabler of anti-Semitic terrorism.
By Giulio Meotti
Israel National News
Friday, December 6, 2013
Nelson Mandela was close to Jews, resolutely loyal to Palestinians

Late South African leader had strong friendships with many in the Jewish
world, but never forgot his allegiance to the PLO — or Israel’s support for
the apartheid regime

By Raphael Ahren December 6, 2013, 1:54 am

Raphael Ahren Raphael Ahren is the diplomatic correspondent at The Times of
Israel.
-----------
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela had close friendships and alliances with many Jews,
but his relationship with the Jewish state was complicated. While always
courteous and never hate-filled, the South African icon’s dealings with Israel
were overshadowed by Jerusalem’s staunch support for his tormentors and, even
more so, his ironclad loyalty to the Palestinian cause.

In the name of reconciliation, he made no ongoing issue of Jerusalem’s strong
long-term partnership with the apartheid regime after he was released from a
lengthy prison sentence and became South Africa’s first black president in
1994. He professed the legitimacy of Zionism as Jewish nationalism and, upon
receiving the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, he said Yitzhak Rabin deserved it more
(Rabin was co-honored the following year). But his primary concern in dealings
with Israel’s government was the advancement of the peace process and the
well-being of the Palestinian people.

“Mandela always strove to be scrupulously fair to both sides, even though his
inclination was very much towards the Palestinian side,” said David Saks, the
associate director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies. “He was
deeply supportive of the Palestinian struggle for independence, but never
deviated from his view that this could only be attained through all parties
recognizing Israel’s legitimate right to exist within secure borders.”

Jews played a crucial role in various stages of Mandela’s life, especially in
his early decades. Indeed, the only white person he ever called “my boss” was
Lazer Sidelsky, a Jewish lawyer from Johannesburg, who in the 1940s hired him
as a legal clerk.

“It was a Jewish firm, and in my experience I have found Jews to be more
broadminded than most whites on issues of race and politics, perhaps because
they themselves have historically been victims of prejudice,” Mandela wrote in
his 1994 autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom.” “The fact that Lazer Sidelsky,
one of the firm’s partners, would take on a young African as an articled clerk
— something almost unheard-of in those days — was evidence of that
liberalism.”

In 1995, a year after Mandela became president, he gave a signed copy of his
book to “my former boss Laz,” calling him “a man who trained me to serve our
country.” Mandela reportedly attended the bar mitzva of Sidelsky’s son Barry
(Dov) Sidelsky, who now lives in Jerusalem. “When I was a boy, I met Mandela
and what etched an indelible impression on me was that when he got married the
wedding procession passed by our house in Johannesburg as a sign of tribute to
and respect for my father,” Barry recalled during a 1999 television interview
he gave in honor of Mandela’s first and only visit to Israel.

Countless other Jews had close relationships with Madiba, as Mandela was
called by friends and supporters. People such as Isie Maisels, Harry Schwarz,
Joe Slovo, Lionel Bernstein and many others helped him during various stages
of his decades-long struggle against apartheid. Some of Mandela’s former
associates later relocated to Israel.

Arthur Goldreich, for instance, helped hide Mandela and the African National
Congress in the 1960s. Born in Johannesburg, Goldreich came to Israel in the
1940s to fight in the pre-state Jewish underground, yet moved back to South
Africa in 1954 to fight apartheid. In the 1960s, he pretended to operate a
farm outside Johannesburg, which really served as the underground headquarters
of the ANC and its leaders, including Mandela, who posed as a worker on the
farm. In 1963, South African authorities raided the farm and Goldreich was
imprisoned. He escaped to Britain but immediately decided to move to Israel,
where he died in 2011 at an old-age home in Herzliya.

Cape Town-born journalist and social activist Benjamin Pogrund is another
close associate of Mandela’s who has since moved to Israel. The former deputy
editor of the Rand Daily Mail, the country’s leading newspaper, Pogrund was
among the pioneers who reported about black politics in South Africa.

In 1961, Pogrund helped Madiba organize an illegal strike. “Mandela and I met
secretly and regularly,” Pogrund recalled in Saks’s 2011 book “Jewish Memories
of Mandela.” “We had a system of sending messages to arrange to meet, which
would either be at a friend’s house in Fordsburg, or when I would drive to a
street corner at night, pick up Mandela — his worker’s overalls disguise did
little to hide his tall, imposing figure — and we would sit in my car in a
dark street and talk about the strike campaign.”

Some 25 years later, Pogrund and his wife were the first non-family members to
visit Mandela in his prison cell on Robben Island, where he was serving a life
sentence for sabotage and conspiracy to violently overthrow the government.

“During the nearly two hours of the visit, we mentioned that our youngest son,
Gideon, was having his bar mitzva at the end of the month,” Pogrund, who today
lives in Jerusalem, remembered. “A few days after our visit, Gideon received a
letter from Mandela at our home in Johannesburg: It conveyed best wishes for
his bar mitzva and for his future life. If getting a message like that from
inside prison wasn’t surreal enough, it was written neatly on a whiteboard,
which Mandela must have told his warders to buy for him. From a man serving a
life sentence — and at that stage with no idea when he might be released — it
was a kind and thoughtful action for a youngster he had not even met.”

But in his fight against apartheid, Mandela also had Jewish adversaries. Percy
Yutar, for example, was the chief prosecutor in the 1960s Rivonia trial in
which the future president was sentenced to a lifelong prison sentence. Yutar
served for many years as the head of a group of Orthodox synagogues in
Johannesburg.

South Africa’s first Jewish attorney-general, Yutar is remembered by
anti-apartheid activists for the “unnecessarily abrasive, indeed often
vindictive, manner in which he carried out his duties,” writes Saks. “Even
Mandela, generally so ready to acknowledge the good in even his avowed
enemies, cannot bring himself to recall Yutar with anything more than
disdain,” Saks wrote. However, Mandela later had lunch with Yutar, reportedly
offering him a kosher meal.

Today’s Jewish community in South Africa likes to highlight the Jews fighting
side by side with Mandela to marginalize the role of those who supported the
regime.
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
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