Response to the Report of the Parliamentary Fact - Finding Mission to Israel and Palestine - ACDP

Speech by Rev Dr KRJ Meshoe MP - ACDP

Tuesday, 23 October 2001


In a Parliamentary debate today, on the Consideration of the Report of the Parliamentary Fact – Finding Mission to Israel and Palestine, Rev Dr Kenneth Meshoe, President of the African Christian Democratic Party gave the following speech:


We are not sure as Members of Parliament whether all the delegates that were in the Parliamentary fact-finding mission to Israel and Palestine agree on the contents of the Report before the house today because the ACDP was not part of that delegation. The report seems to have some omissions.

One of the serious omissions is that there is no mention of the historical and the religious Jewish link with the land of Israel. Instead, the historical overview begins in 1992, as if there was no Jewish connection to Israel/Palestine prior to this date. Nowhere in the report is it stated why the land of Israel has been and continues to be of such significance to Jewish people all over the world.

This history of Israel that we read about in the Bible relates to events that took place hundreds of years before 1922. The report should have recognised this important fact. The issue of Jerusalem for example, is linked in the Bible to Israel and Judah. This fact has also not been acknowledged. If we want to succeed in promoting peaceful co-existence between Israel and Palestine, then all the historical and archaeological facts must be taken into consideration, including those pre-1922.

We agree that there must be intensive efforts by both Israelis and Palestinians to exercise measures for the cessation of violence, provocation and incitement and to embark on confidence building measure to lay the foundation for, and charter the road towards meaningful and lasting peace.

The ACDP endorses the following recommendations in the report:

1. The Parliament of South African urges both Israel and Palestine to stop the violence and return to the negotiation table.
2. The Parliament of South Africa encourages humanitarian aid to both Palestine and Israel by our Government and civil society, particularly in refugee camps.
3. People to people contact and dialogue should be encouraged through trilateral relations between Palestine, Israel and South Africa.
4. Due to the high number of medical casualties, the Government of South Africa investigates the possibility of voluntary service of South African medical interns in the region.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information please call Rev Kenneth Meshoe at 021-4033521 or ACDP Media Liaison Liza Bloemetje at 082 478 1037