Prominent figures among hundreds of concerned South African Jews calling for ceasefire in Gaza

This list of names reads like a roll call of the greatest white South Africans I know.

Chickens supporting KFC

Dear SA, this is the list of people that do not control the media or the banks. Leave them in peace please. Also fairly sure none own a padel franchise (but this has not been verified)

Well said. Can someone explain in detail the concept of Pikuach Nefesh?

Well said, and well done.

Heartening to read this.

Arlene Levitan

All I can say to every signatory is, go live in Israel. Live through the terror of sirens going off, meaning missiles are incoming. Go live next to a people that have vowed to exterminate your entire race off the face of the planet. Why must Israel be the one to sue for peace? If Hamas surrenders and returns the hostages, the war is over tomorrow. Surely both sides must give something for there to be peace? I am not a Jew, but I fully support the right of the Jews to exist as a nation and a people.

Why is there no request for Hamas to release the hostages? Israel must stop the bombs but its ok for Hamas to do nothing to protect the Gazans and to keep the Israeli hostages? I am also sickened by the killing and starvation of innocent people. But the role of Hamas must be called out too. Ask them to stop bombing Israel a release the hostages. Then I would also sign this letter.

In every generation you get Jews who feel so sorry for those murdering their own people. Where in the entire world did we see a Gazan or any Muslim for that matter, protesting the Hamas terrorist attacks? The Jews of Germany did just the same. The Jews of America and the world also defended the Nazis until it was to late. These few hundred misunderstanding apologists do not represent Jews, let alone those who live in South Africa. While no Jew is happy with loss of life, they do accept that this is war. Don't believe this narrative of one side being stronger. In ww2 two nuclear weapons were used against Japan to end the war. I have never seen any so called Jews saying how terrible that was as so many women and children died! Israel is all Jews have and if these people can't see that then surely they will be the first slaughtered when their homeland is destroyed.

That's cool. Don't expect Hamas to care though, their charter calls for your deaths too.

Bravo!

Thank you for speaking up for justice and for Peace.

I would just like to ask the 500 odd signatories what they would consider a "proportional " response to Hamas's terror attack.

xxx

Thank you for your courage, humanity and equanimity.

That's less than 1.5% of South Africa's Jewish community - hardly a relevant figure.

You should all know better. There was a ceasefire and the people of Gaza broke it by massacring over 1000 Israelis on October 7th. Your stunning lack of concern for the victims of the Hamas pogrom is shameful.

Easy to be shocked about the war in Gaza, while you live in comfort and safety. I am not Jewish but understand the outrage and actions of the Israelis and IDF. Hopefully all the upset signatories are offering assistance for the ill and hungry children in South Africa

Self-hating Jews!! Aren’t they the worst kind? Just like the Capos during the Holocaust. They gave their brothers and sisters up to the Nazis in the hope that they would be spared… cowards …. well if history will repeat itself, I hope this list of self hating Jews know that the blood of their family and their ancestors lies squarely on their heads. Shame on them, I feel pity for their families and I wish these 538 a miserable existence. Am Yisrael Chai!!!

This is heartening. Thank you for your courage and for not putting anger and vengeance over your sense of humanity.

Well done!!! All hostages mist be released, Israeli AND the thousands of Palestinians languishing in Israeli jails, without trial. Ultimately, a just peace must include full citizenship to all who live in Israel-Palestine, the return of occupied territory on the West Bank, and the right to return of all those exiled by the forced removals since 1948 (ironically also the beginning of official apartheid in South Africa).

The saddest thing about this list, it that it demographically mirrors the people who were murdered and kidnapped in Israel on October 7. A disproportionate number of idealists looking for peace and harmony, not "practicing racist zionism". Hamas hit: 1. A supernova music festival on Simchas Torah. Young people at a rave, not fervent religious Jews in synagogues 2. Kibbutzim on the Gaza border. Socialist, idealist, well-known left-leaning communal-living communities, with strng social working ties to the people of Gaza, not "zealous settlers" in so-called "occuppied or disputed" areas of Israel like the West Bank The gas chambers did not discriminate. Hamas does not either. The people on this list, brave as they think they are, have simply made themselves known as Jews. And sadly, we Jews have learnt how dangerous it is for our enemies to have lists of us.

Bravo! Thank you for standing up for humanity. Starving, killing and maiming an entire civilian population (most of which are children) is NOT the answer.

No Adrian Gore or Stephen Kosseff

Regardless of whether you agree with the signatories of this letter or not, what is crucial is that in the Jewish community inside and outside Israel, plurality, diversity of opinions and self-criticism are just as natural as in the liberal Western democracies and that a group has the courage and freedom to speak out against the social pressure of the majority of their community. I consistently miss such courage for self-criticism in the Islamic communities in Western countries whenever jihadist groups commit their atrocities among the civilian population by citing Islam.

Shalom. Salaam.

Honestly just trying to read the comments

I am not Jewish and would love that peace is secured in that region where Israel's right to exist peacefully is guaranteed and the Palestinians have their land. The 2-state solution is the best option on the table but both parties have to be on board. Israel even gave up Gaza on the road to peace and they were repaid with Hamas, missiles, rockets, murders etc. Five times this was rejected through the evil influence of parties such as Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad etc. whose sole mission in life is to kill Jews and obliterate Israel. It take two to tango and in my opinion, the Palestinians need to look after their own interest and what is best for them and not to kowtow to the radical, evil and demented outsiders (who control by terror, tyranny and the barrel of the gun) and who really don't care about the welfare of the population. At the same time, the days when the Jewish people went meekly to the slaughter under the Nazis, are gone and will never happen again. They will resist, fight and eliminate those who want to murder them. And rightly so! I support that 100%!!! Peace is for the brave and the intelligent, and the Palestinians must be brave and intelligent - meet Israel halfway.

I am a South African Gentile. I acknowledge the vast extent of trauma carried by those in the region – and which is being severely extended in this conflict. I understand how this trauma itself drives more hatred and violence, and how this drives yet more conflict. This is not a guarantee of security for anyone. I echo your call for a solution based upon democracy, security and justice for all, and wish, with many others outside the region, to help to bring about that change.

How can I add myself to this list?

I am proud the IDF has reacted in this manner to the pogrom committed on that fateful day in October. This has zero/ nothing to do with being anti apartheid. Jew s are not and cannot be anyone’s victims anymore.. Understand Jewish history to know the true meaning of our defense. No more pogroms , no more being victims, only a belief in self protection regardless of the antagonist. Where were the protestors when Assad bombed and gassed half a million Syrians , or a million Arabs murdered in the Sudan or Iranian women shot by their army etc etc But when Jews are in involved in protecting theiridentity is another story… why? Quite vexing

It would be timely and admirable if Palestinian supporters would also put their names down with these sentiments. Where are the peaceful prominent Muslims in this equation?

Thank you. Its folks like you who create home during these desperate times.

A very impressive and knowledgeable list of signatories, but I have to ask, in signing this statement, why did it take you so long to do so and what do you hope to have achieved: In particular: Where was your voice over the last many years protesting about the Hamas charter which makes it its mission to kill jews. Where was your voice against Hamas's seizure of power in Gaza and the inhumane way they diverted resources from the locals to build tunnels of war over many years. Where was your voice in their call to annihilate the state of Israel Where was your voice in the way they built military infrastructure in dense civilian areas in Gaza, to ensure the carnage you are now protesting about? Where was your voice in the immediate aftermath of 7th October where they murdered parents in front of their children and children in front of their parent. They raped woman in the most beastly fashion on the Jewish Holiday of Simcha Torah, making the Nazis look kind. but you were silent until now. Why? Where was your concern for pikuach nefesh then? Did you question why Hamas acted like animals in murdering the jews. Is it possible that they wanted their actions to engraved in the minds of jews forever? Does it strike you that they don't want peace with people like you under any circumstances? Where was your voice when they kidnapped babies, and paraded woman naked in the streets of Gaza? Why did it take you until now to say anything? Since October 7, has anyone of you done anything to give a voice to the release of these hostages, or is this statement how you give your voice 7 weeks later. I don't remember you asking why it was that Hamas took the hostages they did? Clearly, they provoked Israel into a response. You make no mention of what you think it would have been appropriate for Israel to have done after October 7? Why is that? What would you wise people have done if these were your kids, parents, siblings? Would you have walked into Gaza in peace and pleaded for the release of the kidnapped? Would you have sent your kids on their bicycles to look for them? Perhaps you would have got in your cars and knocked on the tunnel doors. Why really did you make this statement? Was it to ingratiate yourselves with your compatriots who are in the pro palestinian marchers? The same people who tear down posters of the hostages and prevent jews from expressing their views, of which you guys say nothing? Does it help you sleep better at night, with your conscience cleared? I recognize many of you from previous statement you have signed for ceasefires. Have these ceasefires made any difference given what happened on October 7th? I think it was Einstein who said it was insanity to repeat an action and expect a different outcome? Are you insane? What do you expect a ceasefire to achieve? Based on the above, do you believe Hamas really wants a peaceful settlement? Would you wise people trust them given they might have killed your mother or raped your sister? Seriously? Surely, with all your wisdom, you can come up with something cleverer than simply a ceasefire. What then? Go forward and repeat? Not in my name.

The Jews who signed this letter should be ashamed of themselves. They are truly no better than collaborators with the Nazis. It is particularly shameful that many gay people signed this letter, when Palestine (Gaza and West Bank) has been listed as one of the worst places in the world to be LGBT - and that's not just because Hamas routinely executes and imprisons gay people, it's because most of the Palestinian population agrees with it. Where was the letter from South African Jews about the treatment of LGBT people in Gaza and the West Bank? The vile oppression of gay people has been going on for decades, and there are at least 500,000 LGBT Palestinians who are literally fearful to say they are gay, and yet no one in our Jewish community has spoken up about them. Hamas' attack on Israel was because they hate Jews and want to kill them - it's not because of the conditions of the Palestinian people. If the Palestinians wanted peace they would have it today - they have been offered a two state solution numerous times, and every single time they have sabotaged it. The simple truth is they don't want Jews, the indigenous people of Israel, to live in their own land. The original colonizers were the Muslims, who built the Al-Aqsa Mosque directly on the site of the first and second temples in Jerusalem, the center of Jewish life for more than 1000 years. What Israel faces now is an existential threat, and they have no choice but to go into Gaza and root out Hamas once and for all. The blood of Palestinian children is on Hamas' hands, not Israel. Just 18 millions Jews in the world face terrible anti-Semitism, and the signers of this vile letter feel it's ok to add to it (yes, look on social media, and you'll see exactly how this letter is being used by those who hate Jews). There are 1.8 billion Muslims in the world, and they don't face Islamophobia on near the scale that the world's small Jewish population does. There are 240 hostages in Gaza, whose lives hang in the balance. The only reason why there are negotiations for their release going on is because of the Israeli actions. Beyond everything, the signers of this letter, privileged and safe where they are, had no right to attack Israel as they did - pro-Hamas forces are already doing that globally. You betrayed all Jews in the writing of this letter, and you should all be ashamed of yourself.

Palestinians have never been offered a true peace. What they have offered is capitulation and a Bantustan. True peace in Palestine would look like the South African solution. The whole country opened up for all its people, the right of refugees to return, and yes, even the Zionist Jews imported into Palestine after 1915 (when the British took over) and 1948, can remain, and then one man one vote. Zionists like to project that Palestinians want to kill them all, but why should that be, when they have allowed Jews to live peacefully in Palestine for over 1000 years of rule by successive Islamic governments? In fact, the mass killing of Jews in Palestine happened whenever Christians came there - the goodly Crusaders, those noble men of God, slaughtered Jews wherever they found them, and peace returned when Islamic governments took over again. Christians have killed more Jews in Palestine than Hamas, probably and order of magnitude more. And Zionists have killed an order of magnitude more Palestinians then Jews killed by them, since 1948. Take the last 300 years under the Ottoman Empire ending in 1915. Jewish refugees fleeing the Spanish Inquisition were give refuge in Palestine. People of all three faiths lived peacefully, were good neighbours to one another, and worshipped peacefully in their places of worship. Until militant Zionist Jews came from the outside and started the ethnic cleansing. Hamas would not exist if the Palestinians were given a true peace offer, because they would be no need for them. The IDF is the biggest recruiter for Hamas when they perpetrate atrocity after atrocity against the Palestinian people.

Well meaning , but way to late Zionism is now the majority amongst Jews . for non jews read "who is a jew" by Leonard Greenspoon .Purdue University . make for interesting reading gives a better understanding of Israeli policies .

Your headline is misleading. It only refers to the call for a ceasefire but omits to mention the call for the release of the hostages. I wonder if this is what the signatories were expecting & how they feel about it. You have taken a thread out of their long letter and emphasised only the wording that reflects your own views. Have you run out of space again DM? That is your usual excuse to me.

Most religions teach the golden rule, yet here we are in 2023 justifying hatred and murder in the name of god. Proclaiming to be his chosen nation and he gave you your land. Despite our incredible intelligence as a species, we just can't escape the ape. RIP in peace fellow humans.

Surely a ceasefire would make the terrorists' strategy victorious? Why don't the innocent civilians and their children get away from the war zones, out of their own free will?

Chris Hedges writes: I was a close friend of Alina Margolis-Edelman who was part of the armed resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in World War II. Her husband, Marek Edelman, was the deputy commander of the uprising and the only leader to survive the war. The Nazis had sealed 400,000 Polish Jews inside the Warsaw Ghetto. The trapped Jews died in the thousands, from starvation, disease and indiscriminate violence. When the Nazis began to transport the remaining Jews to the extermination camps the resistance fighters fought back. None expected to survive. Edelman, after the war, condemned Zionism as a racist ideology used to justify the theft of Palestinian land. He sided with the Palestinians, supported their armed resistance and met frequently with Palestinians leaders. He thundered against Israel’s appropriation of the Holocaust to justify its repression of the Palestinian people. While Israel dined out on the mythology of the ghetto uprising, it treated the only surviving leader of the uprising, who refused to leave Poland, as a pariah. Edelman understood that the lesson of the Holocaust and the ghetto uprising was not that Jews are morally superior or eternal victims. History, Edelman said, belongs to everyone. The oppressed, including the Palestinians, had a right to fight for equality, dignity and liberty. “To be a Jew means always being with the oppressed and never the oppressors,” Edelman said.

I applaude the bravery of the signatories to this statement. Palestinians are not stateless, occupied yes, stateless no.

These are people who can help the world from the brink of inhumanity and to restore humanity in all of us and remove the anger in many people to ensure a durable peace process can be crafted. Many of them have been part of the struggle and are part of the patriots who want to see South Africa succeed. They are conscious that extremism in pursuit of justice is no virtue and the eye for an eye will leave everybody blind. Their voice is very crucial because that conflict can subsume the entire world and would have lasting effects on peace and stability in the region. Not only that but would leave the global economy scarred. The emergence of Netanyahu in Israel was one of the most catastrophic phenomena in that region. We do not need humanitarian assistance only but peace that would give hope to the future of the Palestinians that seems to desert those who are clamouring for revenge. The message by these progressive Jews to all of us is to pause and to think what we are saying including to the Zionists. We applaud their courage as well as their well thought message to South Africa and the world.

This is a calm, sensible article that has retained logic over emotion. I agree totally. Regardless of history, both sides have done wrong, both sides need to come to the table.

Respect to those South Africans standing for decency & common sense. They will not be silent as Hamas attempts to steal victory from their revolting terror. And they stand opposed to the lunatic fascist Netanyahu & his government doing everything in their power to grant Hamas their goal.

The signatories have honorable intentions as does the South African government. Sadly, they are unaware of the destructive energies that Hamas represents, as well as its hold on the Arab population. Its a death cult, a murderous and aggressive movement seeking only one thing - to create chaos and destruction. I call on all honorable people to reconsider their views. As a South African citizen, I call on all honorable members of parliament to realize that Hamas is not a civil rights movement and has no resemblance to those who fought against the evils of apartheid

I cannot believe that a letter decrying the horrors of war makes no mention of the atrocity that started it on 7 October, nor the uncontested fact that Hamas is a Jihadist organisation that has the erasure of the state of Israel in its charter - and that's if you have problems calling a terrorirst a terrorist. I cannot believe that a letter, ostensibly smart and humane, should use terminology without querying or vexing it, such as 'genocide' or 'Zionist' - simply accepting the idea that zionist is a dirty word, equivalent to paedophile, say, or serial killer. I am a left wing Zionist and I see no contradiction in that - I believe that the state of Israel has the right to exist, along with all the other nation states that got allocated and named in the mapping of the 'Middle East' at the point of decolonisation, starting with Lebanon and Syria in the 1920s, and right up to Kuwait in 1961. This was part of decolonisation. You cannot colonise a place of which you are indigenous. Calling out Netanyahu, the harm he has done, the way he has sanctioned the vile behaviour of settlers on the West Bank, is an ethical responsibility but what a shame none of these signatories saw it fit to call out the actions of Hamas, or to address the fact that 'between the river and the sea' is in itself a genocidal call, though some have argued it is 'poetic.'

As someone in the Jewish community, who went to King David and have sent my children to King David schools this list is certainly not made up of ‘prominent people’. I recognize 3-4 successful business people and the rest are average Joe’s with zero influence - feels like the journalist stood outside Norwood Hypermarket & got people to add their names . Some are even recent graduates. This journalism is in the dumps