SA must deal with predicament: ‘How do we treat the state of Israel?’ 

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalule says it is wrong for Orlando Pirates to ignore all the injustices that Israel was imposing on Palestinians, writes Nabeelah Shaikh.

The ANC’s secretary-general, Fikile Mbalule, has called for all forms of pressure to be placed on Israel, including calling for a sports boycott after South African soccer team Orlando Pirates went up against Maccabi Tel Aviv last week. He echoed this during a press briefing following a National Executive Committee Meeting of the ANC. 

Mbalula made the remarks in relation to the recent backlash and debate surrounding the calls for Orlando Pirates to withdraw from playing the friendly match with the Israeli team on July 13. 

Despite the growing calls for the club to refrain from going up against the team, Pirates went ahead with the game, winning 1-0 against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The SA club’s failure to withdraw from the match has garnered widespread backlash from several organisations in the country.

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Coalition had first called for Pirates not to play against Maccabi because of Israel’s continued human rights violations in Palestine. This came in the same week in which Israel had launched military raids in the Palestinian city of Jenin where 12 people were killed and dozens of houses were destroyed.

“Just as those who fought apartheid in South Africa expected international teams to heed the call from the oppressed South African majority not to play with representatives of that regime, Palestinians were asking Orlando Pirates not to play with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

As millions of Palestinians face apartheid Israel’s ongoing, decades-long violent and deadly oppression, Orlando Pirates’ failure to heed our call is exactly what would “undermine the club’s values,” BDS said in a statement. Several organisations including the South African Communist Party called on the club to reconsider its stance last week. 

SACP general-secretary Solly Mapaila said the Palestinian people do not fall outside the global community and society – they deserve the solidarity that Orlando Pirates and other South Africans benefited from against apartheid.

“Year in, year out, the apartheid Israeli regime attacks the Palestinian people, killing many including children, and women. It will be un-Orlando Pirates to ignore this injustice and the fact that Israel is occupying dispossessed Palestinian territories,” Mapaila said. 

But in response to the backlash, Orlando Pirates went ahead and played the match, saying it was governed by ‘the rule of law’.

“Orlando Pirates’ core functioning is governed by rules. There is no cultural boycott or boycott of any form by either the South African government, FIFA, or the host country that Orlando Pirates can base its refusal to play against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Heeding a call from any other body would create a conflict within Orlando Pirates that would undermine the club’s values and history irreparably,” the club said in a statement. 

Apartheid

Addressing the situation, Mbalula says the predicament that must be addressed by all peace-loving people, is the question of: ‘How do we treat the state of Israel?’ 

“Miss SA went to participate in Israel. We made calls that she must not go, but she went to Israel. We have some trade relations with Israel, some of the grapes you eat from Woolworths come from Israel. Maccabi invited our team, then people are being killed in Jenin. What is our policy response to that? We are saying to Orlando Pirates don’t play Maccabi in light of what’s happening, as an act of solidarity.” 

 “Also, Banyana Banyana wins the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco and Morocco has suppressed the people of Western Sahara. What do we do? When we enjoyed international support in SA, there was a sports boycott imposed because apartheid was declared a crime against humanity. What is happening in Israel cannot go unchallenged. So that is why we say we need to engage on this matter. We want a two-state settlement. And our approach is Israel living side by side with Palestine,” said Mbalula. 

He said Palestine should be treated as a recognised state. 

“No violence will end that carnage, the killing of innocent people and children. We need to accelerate and not give up on peace initiatives. We can’t give up on what is happening there, and we need to put pressure on the state of Israel for a de-escalation of violence and the killing of innocent children,” said Mbalula.

He called for pressure to be put on, including imposing a sports boycott on Israel. 

“This will help so that we don’t have this back-and-forth confusion about how we treat a state which has used weapons of war to settle a dispute. And that’s what we need to deal with,” said Mbalula.