The Russell Tribunal - Message from Community Leaders

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Our view is that the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue is to make a reality a two-state solution, with two viable states living side by side with secure borders, and encourage any initiatives that can bring the parties together in a constructive way to achieve this. Events such as the RToP, which adopt obviously partisan and one-sided stances, serve only to polarize the positions further.

 
In conclusion, as the Jewish communal leadership, we are monitoring the situation closely and liaising with experts in South Africa and abroad with a view to exposing this body for what it really is. It should be noted that as a national response, the South African Jewish community has established a collaborative organisation, known as FairPlaySA which has positioned itself as the body  focussed on coordinating the community’s efforts in combating and mitigating the ongoing efforts of Israel’s adversaries to delegitimize the State of Israel and undermine its very existence.
 
In the end, we are hopeful that the RToP, like all the other anti-Israel jamborees that have preceded it, will come and go without having any lasting impact. Although we may feel anger and frustration as a community, giving its organisers undeserved publicity by overreacting should be avoided.  
 

 

 

Mary Kluk                           Avrom Krengel                       Ben Swartz

Chairman SAJBD               Chairman SAZF                     FairplaySA