Helen Suzman, the courageous anti-apartheid campaigner, passed away on New Year’s day. A lone voice in South Africa’s parliament against the racist regime, this daughter of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants was hailed by Nelson Mandela, whom she visited regularly during his incarceration on Robben Island, as a “powerhouse against apartheid.”
Unlike some other leftist South African Jews, Suzman was unmoved by the analogy between Israel and the apartheid regime. In a 2005 interview with Ynet, she said:
Yes, there are South Africans, including Jews such as Ronnie Kasrils (South Africa’s Minister of Intelligence), who headed up the “Not in My Name” campaign against Sharon’s policy against the Palestinians, and they talk of the fence as the “apartheid wall.”
I cannot comment on the situation in Israel, except to say that I understand the difficulties of combating suicide bombers and a generation of Palestinians who have been brought up to hate Jews and who refuse to recognize the existence of the State of Israel.
However, policies which inflict great hardships on Arabs will certainly not win the sympathy of the outside world, and I hope the withdrawal from Gaza will improve the situation.
Sadly, those hopes have not been realized. Still, in her statements and activities both during and after the apartheid era, Helen Suzman demonstrated that another path is possible.
UPDATE: Check out this 2007 interview with Helen Suzman on the consistently excellent It’s Almost Supernatural: She continues to speak out on a wide range of topics including Israel. Last year, for example, she accused Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils of fostering anti-Semitism for likening the Jewish state to the Nazis. Although never having being a member of any Zionist organisation, Helen describes herself as a passive Zionist. She has over many years contributed to Israeli causes and has had thousands of trees planted by the JNF in her name. On two occasions she has visited Israel but has yet to see the Knesset in action.
Your juxtaposition of Helen Suzman and Ronnie Kasrils is perfectly apt because they are/were polar opposites in many ways. I’m producing a feature documentary film, Breaking the Rules, (www.breakingtherulesmovie.com) which tells the story of the white South Africans who opposed apartheid and dedicated their lives to the struggle for racial justice. Suzman and Kasrils are two of four main characters in the film. I am personally devastated by Helen’s passing but thankfully have already shot the material I needed with her to make the film. She had a great antipathy for Kasrils’ anti-Zionist views as well as his activities as a communist/ANC cadre.
Interesting, they were both born Jewish in Joburg, but into substantially different financial and cultural circumstances. I suspect that’s why their lives took very different political paths. Of course, they are but two among many, many Jewish South Africans who stood up for racial justice. Despite their differences on tactics they had that overriding value in common.
Helen’s passing is a devastating loss but we are hoping that our film (due for completion in 2010) will help others see what one (or in this case four) individuals can do to make a difference simply by saying “no” to grave injustices being suffered by others.
You can see clips from the last videotaped interview with Helen Suzman at our You Tube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/fivestarfilmsinc.