Jewish Journal
Ryan Torok
4/242019
Klaas Mokgomole from the University of Witswatersrand in Johannesburg and Mmamalema Molepo from the University of Cape Town believed that Israel was an apartheid state until they traveled to Israel and the West Bank and saw the reality, according to pro-Israel education organization StandWithUs. Both activists now contend that the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement is lying about Israel.
They appeared in Los Angeles as part of the “Reclaim Your Story” tour, a partnership between Africans for Peace, a collective of independent students, scholars and activists who bring an African lens to the global debate on peace and stability in Africa and beyond, and StandWithUs, an international Israel education organization that believes education is the road to peace. Mokgomole and Molepo interacted with students interested in learning more about their change in attitude to Israel and later spoke to the campus communities.
According to StandWithUs, Justin Feldman, president of SSI at UCLA, and Yitz Shafa, president of SSI at Santa Monica College, agree that Mokgomole and Molepo enlightened the students on what apartheid truly was in South Africa and how Israel is the antithesis of it. They also said the activists’ views, formed through their own personal experiences, are much needed to dispel the misinformation about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict being circulated on campuses, especially during April’s “Israeli Apartheid Week.”
Read the article here.
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