Israel lobby in South Africa is outplayed by BDS campaign, analyst says
Jeremy Gordin, Haaretz, Sep 18 2012

The well-organized, well-funded anti-Israel lobby in South Africa, mainly in the form of BDS, is overpowering the local Israel lobby, a veteran analyst of Israel-South African relations told Haaretz. According to Howard Sackstein, whether Zionist groups can get back up on their feet depends on how rapidly they realize that they’re up against professionals, and also how quickly they move away from counting only on personal relationships with personages in the ANC and government. Sackstein, an attorney currently working in telecommunications, studied international conflict resolution at Harvard University and worked for AIPAC. He was the founder and vice-chairman of Jews for Social Justice, the Jewish Anti-Apartheid movement, and led the only ANC delegation ever to visit Israel. Sackstein also took Nelson Mandela to Brussels on behalf of the World Jewish Congress. He spent six years at the Independent Electoral Commission (1994 to 2000) ending as executive director of the IEC and becoming largely responsible for the 1999 South African general elections. In Sackstein’s view, much of the ANC’s latest emphasis on anti-Israel action is the result of trying to win Muslim votes in the Western Cape, which is the only province in South Africa not controlled by the ANC. Many so-called “Coloureds,” who live mainly in the Cape, are Muslims. He said:

I think the Muslims in the Cape have got other priorities, but that’s not the point. The point is that the ANC is trying to woo them however it can. One point I would make finally is that the BDS campaign, spearheaded by Muhammed Desai and Zachie Achmat, is very well-run and seems to be well-funded. Maybe local Jewish leaders have relied for too long on their relations with ANC leaders who have in case moved on now, such as former President Mandela, and it’s time for the Jewish leadership to do some hard strategizing. Maybe this should be their new year’s resolution.

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