The impact of 'I am Hamas' on South Africa's Jewish community - opinion

According to dictionary.com, the word “humane” is characterized by tenderness, compassion, and sympathy, especially for the suffering or distressed. It is synonymous with being benevolent, gentle, kindhearted, and merciful.

But if you wanted to find a complete mirror image opposite, look no further than the savage terrorists of Hamas whose sole purpose is to brutalize others by committing heinous atrocities while being impervious to the cries and anguish of their fellow man.

And while no one can really grasp the depth of evil and base impulses that cause one human being to turn their back on all manner of reason and goodness, as a result of the hateful indoctrination deposited into their hearts and minds from birth, it defies all understanding to digest the fact that anyone would choose to align with that level of depravity, preferring it to sanity and rationale.

Yet, that was the clear direction that the president of South Africa’s Muslim Judicial Council, Sheikh Riad Fataar, took when he expressed the words, “I am Hamas, we all are.” Not only did he speak for himself, he also included all of Cape Town, South Africa, as being Hamas, essentially enjoining each resident of the country’s capital as those who share his hateful viewpoint.

But to assume that Fataar’s abhorrent sentiments and identification with a violent terror group is espoused by all of Cape Town doesn’t take into account that there is a sizable Jewish community, estimated at 12,500, who also call that city home, comprising 23.9% of all its residents. For them, it’s been a year of increased attacks following the October 7th massacre, which has manifested itself by the burning of Israeli flags, calls for the deaths of Zionists, as well as antisemitic graffiti, protests outside synagogues, and flagrant intimidation by chanting, “From the river to the sea." (“Cape Town Jews doubly victimized as antisemitism rages,” Jewish Report, October 19, 2023).

So, if you’re a member of that community, feeling the daily intensity of animus that is being leveled on a fever-pitch scale, you may, indeed, begin to realize that Cape Town is no longer a welcoming venue for your people. If the statement, “We are Hamas,” can stand, without being disavowed by the other 4,760,500 residents, who are not necessarily of the Muslim faith, it begs the question as to whether they also acquiesce to being included in that point of view.

According to the statistics of 2015, Christians make up 82.3% of the population, while Muslims are 8.0%, and African Religious are 3.8%. Even as recent as 2022, Muslims are said to constitute only 1.7% of the population in the entire country, so why would the overwhelming majority of Christians be silent in the face of one extremist cleric who professes to speak for all?

It might be because even if much of South Africa has not voiced the words, “We are Hamas,” they have seemingly voiced the words, “We are not with Israel.” That was made clear on December 29, 2023, when South Africa brought charges before the International Court of Justice as it related to the conduct employed by Israel in its fight against Hamas, claiming the absurd allegation of genocide.

January 2024

As of January 31, 2024, it was reported that there was a 631% increase in antisemitism in just one year, compared to 2023. In that period, there was “a sharp increase in physical attacks against Jewish persons or property, including assault, vandalism, threats, verbal abuse, insults, hate mail, cemetery desecration, boycotts and dissemination of anti-Jewish literature” (“Antisemitism in South Africa has increased by 631%,” www.sajbd.org, January 31, 2024).

While Muslim hostility against Jews is expected by those who have been radicalized, it still boggles the mind how antisemitism has become deeply rooted in South Africa. Some believe it began when Nelson Mandela warmly received Yasser Arafat in 1990. Months later, while attending a summit in Algiers, he proudly wore a keffiyeh, symbolizing his solidarity with Palestinians.

The influence of these sentiments has been steadily gaining traction over the years, culminating in today’s very limited political and diplomatic relations with Israel, aggravated by the present war being fought against Hamas.

Now, as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly denounced Israel, accusing the Jewish state of committing Palestinian genocide, albeit with no evidence to back up the allegations, South African citizens must make the choice as to whether they will support his outrageous assertions or stand with their Jewish community and the only democratic country in the Middle East, fighting for its survival.

Anything short of the latter will represent a shift from being humane to embracing depravity and the type of savagery that was witnessed during the darkest ages of mankind, when cruelty toward hated populations was seen as an acceptable form of sport, similar to the entertainment that took place in the Roman Colosseum, as humans were fed to beasts.

Not much has changed, despite the supposed enlightenment that defines our current period. Humans are being dragged into dark, narrow tunnels with no standing room, air to breathe, food to eat, or urination facilities. The puddles of blood, which were aired on Israeli televised nightly news stations, attest to the same level of depravity and degenerate evil, revealing the depths of wickedness to which man can sink.

The choice to align with such perversion is nothing more than a return to those days of utter degradation where human dignity, God-given rights, and morality were disregarded and considered irrelevant, in deference to the unjustified hatred and intolerance for whomever was being vilified, usually based on race or religion.

Does anyone really believe that taking this direction will benefit the world as a whole or even the microcosm of one’s local sphere? That is where professing, “I am Hamas” leads – to the path of darkness, animal savagery, and turning our backs on our fellow man. It is, essentially, the end of our life cycle as those created in the image of God and a sharp trajectory toward the demons of hell, better known in today’s world as Hamas!

The writer is a former Jerusalem elementary and middle school principal. She is also the author of Mistake-Proof Parenting, available on Amazon, based on the time-tested wisdom found in the Book of Proverbs.