What does South Africa have against us?
This is one of the questions that troubles us most when we think about the bizarre lawsuit filed against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
An apartheid state? Genocide? Are they seriously saying this?
Of course there's antisemitism, which can explain just about anything. But if couples therapy has taught us anything, it's that you can't understand what's really going on until you've listened patiently to the other side — all the way through.
I've been reading up on the subject lately to understand what all the fuss is about, and here are my conclusions in brief (with the obvious caveat — I don't know the facts firsthand):
The residents of Gaza don't actually interest South Africa, and probably don't interest anyone else on earth either.
What does interest South Africa is the Israeli government's extensive ties with the apartheid regime, back in 1975.
At the time, the apartheid regime was isolated and ostracized — much like Israel's own situation then. The U.S. president was Jimmy Carter, who was making life difficult for Israel on the international stage. On top of that, many African nations had severed their ties with Israel.
Within the Mossad of that era, there operated a unit called LAKAM — the Bureau of Scientific Relations — and the young Arnon Milchan, a well-known arms dealer and tycoon, had become one of its most important operatives.
Arnon Milchan controlled a global money-transfer network, which he used to enable the apartheid regime to continue moving funds around the world. The Israeli government also sold weapons and manufacturing licenses for Israeli weapons to be produced on South African soil.
In addition, he received substantial funding with which he was tasked to acquire control of Western media outlets that would amplify the apartheid regime's messages in the West and sway public opinion in its favor.
The trade agreements also included blueprints for the manufacture of fighter jets, and at their peak, Jericho cruise missiles — including nuclear warheads — were planned for delivery.
In return, Israel received natural uranium from South Africa, which it desperately needed to advance its nuclear program.
The culmination came when Israel sent tritium — a fissile material used in the production of nuclear weapons — to South Africa, and the two countries jointly conducted an illegal nuclear test in the ocean.
The ending is well known. The apartheid regime fell and was replaced by a government of the country's indigenous population. They never forgot Israel's cooperation with the apartheid government, and from that day to this they have harbored a grudge against Israel, waiting for an opportunity for revenge.
So the lawsuit at The Hague is not baseless antisemitism — it is a drive for vengeance.
The use of the word "apartheid" doesn't refer to the residents of Gaza; they are merely the pretext. It refers, historically, to South Africa's own apartheid government.
Does that make South Africa right or righteous? Of course not. But understanding the source of South African anger matters if we want to know how to resolve the conflict — through, for example, a public apology from the Israeli government and putting the matter to rest once and for all. Digging in and waving the antisemitism flag will certainly lead nowhere.
Photo: Reuters, Piroschka van de Wouw