It would appear that South African Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies is something of a labeling whore. But not designer labels, rather his penchant or his obsession with Israel. This began as a declaration of intent to label goods produced outside of the 1948 armistice line as “goods made in the Occupied Palestinian Territories” and has snowballed into a situation that has possibly and irretrievably damaged the relationship between South African Jewry and the government. .
Since 1994 the South African Government has paid lip service to the Jewish community, a community that has and continues to punch above its weight in contributions and experience, not only from a business perspective but from a humanitarian one as well. This is a community that can credit a disproportionate number of activists who fought against the Apartheid regime and contributed to the building of a truly democratic South Africa. At one time,South Africa prided itself on taking on the role of a possible peace broker in the Middle East and toned down its rhetoric accordingly.South Africa has always been vociferous about support for a Two State Solution and one wonders why President Zuma’s government does not seem to walk the talk. Post Operation Cast Lead the rhetoric changed with an about face on foreign policy towards Israel. That was when some pundits began predicting that maybe the golden era of South African Jewry was drawing to a close.
Read the complete article as it appears in the Times of Israel:
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-curious-case-of-rob-davies-the-label-whore/
