Statements
JDI Statement on THE ONGOING VIOLENCE IN ISRAEL-PALESTINE
As we monitor the situation – talking to friends and family in Israel-Palestine, watching and reading the various media and mourning the fallen - we are left bereft by the senseless loss of life, the trauma and the tragedy.
A fundamental reassessment and recalibration of our relationship with Israel-Palestine is overdue. Praying for peace is insufficient. We need to raise our voices in support of our Jewish State that understands that investing in peace is the only policy that can earn the dividend of peace.
Through our tears and heartbreak, we must find the space to support those in Israel-Palestine who work to craft a long-lasting resolution to the conflict over rights and territory in a Jewish Homeland equitably shared with all who live there.
Photograph by Haaretz
JDI Statement on THE PASSING OF KEY JUDICIAL OVERHAUL LAW
On Monday, 24 July 2023, the first piece of the far-right judicial overhaul legislation has been passed by Netanyahu's settler-led government.
The Jewish Democratic Initiative (JDI) joins millions of Jews both in Israel and the Diaspora in condemning the seismic ideological shift driven by the government of the State of Israel’s ruling coalition.
Our firm belief is that democracy cannot exist under Occupation. In this moment of adversity, our hope is for the Israeli protest movement to evolve, shifting focus away from ethno-centric Jewish supremacy towards embracing genuine democratic values and principles of equality under the law.
Photograph by Oren Ziv
JDI Statement on Nakba day: 75th anniversary of the catastrophe
This year marks the 75th anniversary of al-Nakba (The Catastrophe) that commemorates the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians from their homes in Palestine.
As Jews deeply connected to Israel – we are obligated to understand this painful history and to support efforts to seek a permanent, just, fair and equitable political solution between The State of Israel and the Palestinian population.
In this sense the Palestinian Nakba is also our catastrophe.
We - as a people – can never be free until we are all free.
JDI Statement on the mass protests averting a coup (for now)
As we write [27 March 2023] - a pause has been called in the attempted coup by right-wing ideologues in the Israeli governing coalition.
A huge coalition of civil society comprising Jewish Israelis from diverse sectors of society seems to have forced a suspension of the legislative push to overturn the last vestiges of democracy in Israel-Palestine.
Although this may bring sighs of relief to Jews around the world, we have to understand that this is a battle in a larger war.
The current turmoil is a symptom of a larger problem, exposing a society consumed by contradiction. We cannot return to the comforting myths and slogans that have masked the true nature of Israeli politics and society for decades.
JDI Statement on the threat to south african rural democracy
Today [23 February 2023], the Alliance for Rural Democracy (ARD) took the South African Parliament to the Constitutional Court in the matter of Constance Mogale and Others v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others.
This case is a part of the larger #STOPTHEBANTUSTANBILLS campaign, working to stop the government from passing unconstitutional bills into law. If passed, these bills would effectively set up a segregated justice system in South Africa, stripping millions of citizens of their democratic rights, entrenching Bantustan geography and colonial notions of customary law.
Stay informed as the struggle for rural democracy continues! See our full statement for additional resources.
JDI Statement on the legislative assault on israeli democracy
Today [13 February 2023]– in the Knesset - the first legislative steps towards the end of Jewish democratic rule in the State of Israel were taken.
A totalitarian State is in the making. Jewish Israelis need only look at the web of State control over the lives of Palestinians to understand the increasing role government will take in ordering their lives and livelihoods by curbing civil rights.
We are witness to a profound change in our Israel identification – leaving the question: What are we – collectively and individually –going to do about it?
JDI Statement on escalation of violence and tragic killings in Israel-palestine
The Jewish Democratic Initiative notes with deep sadness and concern the escalation of violence and the tragic killings of Israelis and Palestinians in Occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank this past week.
We join the global community in mourning and extends our deepest condolences to the families of all victims. When Jews are murdered, we all feel pain. Equally when Jews are perpetrators, we cannot evade our collective responsibility to speak out against violence.
JDI Statement on NEW ISRAELI FAR-RIGHT COALITION
On 29 December 2022, Benjamin Netanyahu brought in his unprecedented sixth term as Prime Minister of Israel with the inauguration of the country’s most far-right, ultra-Nationalist and religious fundamentalist government to date.
The Jewish Democratic Initiative calls on our South African communal leadership to publicly condemn ideologies which undermine our dedication to values of dignity, equality and freedom for all. To support the self-determination of the Jewish people in our historical homeland is to condemn both the internal and external threats to its survival, international standing and moral compass.
JDI Statement on 25th knesset election results
The alliance of Likud, Religious Zionism, Shas and United Torah Judaism have won the majority of seats in Israel’s 120 seat Knesset. Headed by Benyamin Netanyahu this coalition will likely make up the next government. Judging by their election manifestos and statements the new ruling coalition represent a sharp turn to the right for the Jewish state.
JDI calls on all South African Jews and Jewish institutions to join international Jewry and publicly condemn the Religious Zionist Party’s inclusion in a ruling coalition government. If we really believe there can be no space for hatred in South African and Israeli society, we must explicitly and forcefully reject the vile politics currently represented by the Religious Zionist Party.
JDI Statement on the rise of the religious zionist party
A disturbing development in this election is the acceptance of openly racist and homophobic political party platforms. Current polling suggests the Religious Zionist Party - which promotes a toxic mix of Jewish Supremacist and homophobic positions - could attain important cabinet seats in any potential Netanyahu led governing coalition.
An important question for our SA Jewish community and indeed all Diaspora communities, is how to react to this trend.The Jewish Democratic Initiative calls on all SA Jews – and particularly the Board of Deputies and the Zionist Fed - to explicitly and publicly reject and condemn Religious Zionism and its vile politics.
JDI Statement on Designation of Palestinian Civil Society Organisations as Terrorist Organisations
JDI calls on all organisations that stand for the protection of human rights, due process, and the integrity of Israel’s government and its armed forces, to demand that Minister Gantz either produce substantiating evidence immediately or reverse the military order outlawing these civil society organisations.
Attacks on human rights organisations prevents peace, justice and self-determination for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
JDI Welcomes the New Israeli Government
The Jewish Democratic Initiative welcomes, with cautious optimism, the new Israeli governing coalition. This “government of change” sees the ousting of Benjamin Netanyahu and the end to Israel’s political paralysis. Though this government may not represent the radical shift in policy and ideology towards which JDI advocates, we hope it is at least a step forward.
JDI Statement on the violent deterioration of the conflict in Israel and Gaza
The Jewish Democratic Initiative has witnessed with despair and horror the eruption of a new cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. We unequivocally condemn all violence whether perpetrated by Israel, Hamas or extremists amongst Jews and Palestinians.
JDI supports the international appeal to Israel and Hamas to accept an immediate ceasefire. However, the only permanent insurance for stability and enduring peace for the State of Israel, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and Palestinian-Israelis is to actively pursue negotiations with the goal of ending the Occupation, creating a pathway for peace between Palestinians and Israeli’s and enshrining equality of rights and resources for all citizens.
JDI denounces Likud Political Agreement with Extremist Parties
The Jewish Democratic Initiative views this as a fundamental step in further degrading Israel’s democracy.
Legitimising extremist beliefs serves to emphasise the schism between Diaspora Jews, whose rights are mostly protected by their governments, and Israeli’s whose civil rights are being eroded. Equal rights for every citizen is the bedrock of any Democracy. The Religious Zionism bloc advocates for a reduction of these rights.
JDI calls on all our communal organizations, institutions and bodies to publicly denounce this agreement. As a community we must make the distinction between the distorted values of this extremist political grouping - that has no place in any decent society - and our own.
The silence of our leadership is deafening
Where is the South African official communal leadership when we need them to take a moral stand? We swiftly pounce on the racism that is anti-Semitism. But why does leadership not publicly condemn prejudice and racism within our Jewish world and in Israel?