Press Statements
Press statement of the SAZF:SA ZIONIST FEDERATION - MEDIA RELEASE
Russell Tribunal on Palestine - 20 July 2011
The forthcoming meeting of the Russell Tribunal in Cape Town is unlikely to be anymore more than a pointless political smear campaign by a self-appointed group of anti-Israel activists. Despite its name, the Russell Tribunal is not an impartial, accountable judicial body. Rather, it is a loose association of lobbyists pushing a narrow, one-sided political agenda, in this case the delegitimisation of the State of Israel. Such bodies make a mockery of credible judicial procedure, and hinder rather than help any efforts towards resolving the Israel-Palestine question.
The proceedings of the Russell Tribunal, already rendered all but meaningless by the body’s institutionalised anti-Israel bias, have been further made irrelevant by the latest developments in the Middle East and North Africa. A state of civil war is already raging in Syria and Libya, with thousands of civilian deaths having already occurred, while the specter of insurrection and instability stalks many more countries in the region. These are the pressing issues that urgently need international attention.
In its previous meetings, held in the UK and Spain, the Russell Tribunal proved to be an irrelevant talk-shop whose members simply arrived at pre-endorsed conclusions, all of which were aimed at depicting Israel, and only Israel, as a criminal rogue state. There is no reason to believe that the latest installment of this rolling propaganda roadshow will be any different.
Ben Swartz
Spokesperson – 082 451 5788
South African Zionist Federation
