President Shimon Peres, early Friday morning, 3 Teves 5774, released a special statement following the death of Nelson Mandela:
“The world lost a great leader who changed the course of history. On behalf of the citizens of Israel we mourn alongside the nations of the world and the people of South Africa, who lost an exceptional leader. Nelson Mandela was a fighter for human rights who left an indelible mark on the struggle against racism and discrimination. He was a passionate advocate for democracy, a respected mediator, a Nobel peace prize laureate and above all a builder of bridges of peace and dialogue who paid a heavy personal price for his struggle in the years he spent in prison and fighting for his people. Nelson Mandela’s legacy for his people and for the world will forever remain engraved in the pages of history and the hearts of all those who were touched by him. He will be remembered forever.”
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
After the death of Yasser Arafat, yemach shmo, Nelson Mandela eulogized him as a true icon, concerned with not just the oppressed Arabs, but with the oppressed of the whole world. He said that losing a man of his stature was a great blow to all those who are fighting oppression. Mandela called Arafat “one of the outstanding freedom fighters of this generation.”
At this time, Israeli leaders who have the good sense to keep their mouths closed are doing us a great service.
Is this the same Nelson Mandela that called Israel’s security fence ‘Apartheid’ ?
VeHamaven Yovan…………
Source: Haaretz Website (Google)
A year later, ahead of the Israeli Apartheid Week events held on university campuses in over 50 cities worldwide, mostly in North America and Europe, Barak appears in an article in Columbia University’s student newspaper the Spectator. The article, written by Tanya Keilani and Randa Wahbe, places the defense minister alongside other public figures who, according to the article, “have pointed to Israel as an apartheid state, including Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Arun Gandhi.”