Thoughts on the Middle East Conflict

By Mary Kluk 

As Jewish South Africans we long for a day when the people in Israel and Palestine can resolve their differences through meaningful dialogue so that they can live in peace side by side with secure borders. 

We have seen the miracle of transformation in our own country and we know that situations that seem hopeless and desperate can indeed change and can result in parties coming together and finding mutually beneficial outcomes.

But we in South Africa know that this process is not simple. It comes through the hard workof parties sitting around a table, trying to understand each others’ insecurities and anxieties.                                                       

The challenge is for both sides to see the situation from the perspective of the other partner in the negotiation. To overcome these obstacles the parties themselves need to work through these painful and difficult issues so that they can constructively develop solutions that address the concerns so that a sustainable way forward can be determined.

It was through the extensive interactions, dialogues, negotiations and CODESAS that South Africans were able to understand each other, work through the difficulties and build a future that both parties could live with.

So many of our South African leaders who spearheaded the transformation in our country speak of the formula for our change being `negotiate, negotiate and then negotiate some more’. They know that there were no short cuts to our country’s move to democracy – it was ongoing dialogue and engagement.

Although many countries tried to shape our future and bring about change, it was only once the Nationalist Government and the ANC committed  themselves to the transformation that the process could truly begin.

So the many initiatives that are constantly arising to demonize Israel make no constructive contribution to the Peace process. They in no way encourage the parties to come to the table to work towards a negotiated settlement. All they do is polarize the two sides drawing a wedge between them that makes dialogue harder and harder.

Boycotts, sanctions, pseudo legal tribunals, Apartheid and Nazi comparisons do nothing more than detract from the critical objective which is to bring the parties together to find a solution for transformation.

It saddens us as Jewish South Africans that our own country’s experience of peace building is not offered as a unique model for the people of Israel and Palestine. Our leaders came together to talk even though there was distrust and animosity. What a powerful lesson for the Middle East.

In the early 2000’s the Likud delegation visited South Africa and their leadership were very moved by the lessons they learned from South African’s who were involved in the transformation. We need to see more of this sharing of experiences.

But our role should be to facilitate the dialogue, to support the negotiation and to encourage the parties to come together.

We should never be seen to impose solutions on another conflict. 

This has been our government’s foreign affairs and international relations and cooperation policy since our democracy.

Our government has always offered assistance, but never foisted its solutions on other conflict areas. In post 1994 South Africa, our government has made such a valuable contribution to so many conflict situations in Africa, bringing divergent sides together to make a lasting peace.

Kenya, Burundi, Sudan and the Ivory Coast are just a few examples. We hope that this same sensible approach and stance applied to other areas of conflict will also be applied in the Israel and Palestine situation.

As South African Citizens we call on our government to encourage the parties to work together towards building a sustainable peace in which a two state solution is completed with a viable Palestinian State existing side by side with the Jewish state as its neighbour.

This presentation was made to a symposium on the Middle East hosted by Parliament's portfolio committee on International Relations and Cooperation in Cape Town on 16 November 2011.