By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider-Opinion
“Genocide is a very big word and I haven’t been to Gaza, and I don’t know. But I certainly know that Hamas has spent all its energy to obliterate the state of Israel;” said potential DA Mayoral Candidate for Johannesburg, Helen Zille in her interview with Newzroom Afrika.
At this point hoping to appeal to the humanity of political entities is beginning to feel like believing in unicorns.
Time and time again we see political figures doing and saying whatever means necessary to further their own causes and agendas instead of putting that energy into finding solutions that will benefit the collective people of the nations they represent.
In South Africa in particular the scarcity of integral figures has dwindled to non-existence. Leadership in its essence is an act of service upon the people being led but our leaders have always managed to see it the other way around.
Whether it be party leaders, our judicial system, our ministers and even the president himself, in their view leadership is a tool to gain an upper hand which can sometimes even border on idol worship.
Even when you look at history itself, true leaders were people who never shied away from speaking out against oppressive powers, considered the needs of their communities and put themselves last with notable true leaders such as; Steven Bantu Biko, Chris Hani, Robert Sobukwe, Lillian Ngoyi, Winnie Mandela, Albertina Sisulu only care about the collective freedom of their people.
As history has also taught us, people with these types of qualities end up murdered by the powers they are fighting against and to make the matter more brutal, these leaders never once approached the attainment of freedom through acts of violence, yet their demise almost every time was met with violence.
I believe this is the reason we have a shortage of leaders with integrity because I believe those with integrity understand that to lead with a good moral compass will mean that the powers who aim to keep their agendas preserved, will see to it that they are silenced.
In accordance with this particular matter, DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille gave her bid this past weekend in Soweto, announcing her plans to run for Mayor of Johannesburg.
This may have been an interesting choice if not for her unwillingness to say that Israel is committing genocide upon the people of Gaza even though countless entities and organizations, even international ones including the United Nations have all recognised that what Israel is doing to Palestine is Genocide.
Still Zille has opted to not state her clear stance on this very prevalent issue and instead stands on the legs of Hamas being the ones who are “obliterating the state of Israel.”
The sad thing about anyone who stands on this argument is that Hamas is going up against an entire state when they are a small organization.
Instead of Israel, as a state, approaching this matter diplomatically with Hamas, they have opted to wreak havoc and mass destruction upon thousands of innocent people and starve those people due to a conflict with a minority organization.
The state of Israel has consistently initiated drone strikes on innocent Palestinians for two years without any regard of whether or not their “intended targets” were in the vicinity and have now used the same rationale to initiate strikes on other neighbouring countries such as Qatar, Iran, Yemen and Lebanon.
The DA in its entire history has never spoken about how to collectively fight for every citizen of South Africa, instead they fight to keep the minority owning majority of this South Africa’s economy as well as constantly doing their best to keep Western investors happy and continue to let them tear down this nation’s soil and extract its resources for profit.
Zille’s views on this conflict are very harmful especially when South Africa still stands on the bones of our own Apartheid with all these institutions failing to renovate and reconstruct themselves away from this point in our history.
Helen Zille’s actions glorify ignorance. In what way does she intend to lead people when she can not acknowledge that a nation of people is experiencing the same type of oppression that South Africa faced 31 years ago? Her remarks were utterly shameful and destructive towards the fight for liberation as she ought to rethink her stance or remove herself for mayoral nomination.