eNCA.png
Backlash over Jewish schoolboy's stand on Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Angela Waywell, eNCA, Johannesburg, 9 August 2014
The actions of a King David Victory Park schoolboy in Johannesburg have
caused more upset than the young lad had anticipated.
Josh Broomberg, deputy head boy of the high school and Honours pupil, was
tagged in a picture posted on Facebook showing himself and two team members
from the South African National Debating team wearing Palestinian scarves,
known as Keffiyehs, and Palestinian flags in badge form.
The picture was accompanied by a caption which read: "Team South Africa
wearing Palestinian badges and Keffiyehs to show our opposition to the human
rights violations carried out against the people of Palestine."
Broomberg is Jewish.
The posting has given rise to an online petition drawn up by a member of
web-based platform, change.org.
The member, known only as "Concerned Zionist" has written "on behalf of the
Jewish community", calling for "Broomberg [to] be removed from his position
in office as Deputy Head-Boy and further be removed from the SRC [School's
Representative Council]" for having brought his school into "disrepute."
The petition also demands that Broomberg's Honours be revoked.
"We insist that both KDVP and the South African Jewish Board of Education
("SABJE") take immediate disciplinary action with regard to the incident
that will be cited in the body of this letter," the petition reads.
The online petition was addressed to the school's headmaster, Gavin Budd,
and had received over 1,300 signatures by Saturday afternoon. It was also
copied to Rabbi Kacev, general director of the South African Board of Jewish
Education.
Broomberg, who is also captain of the South African National Debating team,
has since responded to the outcry, with a statement of his own, posted on
his Facebook profile.
He firstly apologised for an incident he said was "not designed to offend or
upset."
He then defends his actions by stating his belief that "all citizens of
Israel, the West Bank and Gaza have the absolute right to live in peace and
security."
"I am proud to be a South African Jew, and I am proud to attend a Jewish Day
School. I am also a Zionist," he states, adding he took a stand on the
Israeli / Palestinian conflict not because of politics, but because of the
humanity issue.
"We stand with the thousands of civilians who have lost their lives in the
conflict. We stand with a people who do not yet have a state to protect
themselves. We stand with the innocents. We stand for two states. We do not
stand against Israel."
Broomberg added that while he loves, supports, and believes in Israel and
its people, he can "still reject and criticize some of its actions."
He points out that his support is objective, saying his "sympathy also lies
with the innocent Israelis exposed to threat at the hands of terrorists. The
conflict is a tragedy for all, and once again, all innocent life is equally
valuable."
Broomberg said the reason for their action was to "take a stand for the
thousands and for those without a voice."
"We do not for a second condone any violence what so ever. We stand for
peace."
He highlights the importance of talk, engagement and enlightenment, and
concludes by saying, "I am proud to bear the responsibility of continuing
the discussion."
SABJE has also responded to the incident with a Facebook posting which
reads: "The South African Board of Jewish Education and leadership of
Victory Park High School takes note of the Facebook posting which has caused
much discussion in the community. We assure you that the School is dealing
with the matter."
From: http://www.enca.com/king-david-deputy-headboy-upsets-jewish-community
--
--
You are subscribed. This footer can help you.
Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this
message.
You can visit the group WEB SITE at
http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options,
pages, files and membership.
To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You
don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put
anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this
address (repeat): [email protected] .
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"YCLSA Discussion Forum" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
