By Iqbal Jassat
Out in the open that an Israeli IDF soldier with roots in South Africa, has been regularly in and out of Cape Town, apparently without facing any consequences from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) related to Israel’s war crimes and in particular the genocide in Gaza.
A leading article in the SA Jewish Report titled “CT-born Israeli siblings caught in Clavicular storm”, provides a revealing account of Shira and Daniel Braun’s current controversy within the settler colonial regime.
We learn that the siblings made aliya from South Africa to Israel about nine years ago and that they “return regularly during the summer to visit family and friends in the Mother City”.
We also learn that the two have for years “dedicated themselves to promoting Israel to international audiences” and that they “now find themselves in one of the biggest controversies to hit Israel’s online advocacy community”.
The Jewish Report describes 20 year old Shira as an IDF soldier who faces disciplinary action for repeatedly appearing in Clavicular’s livestreams without authorisation.
Though it does not relate to my concerns about failure by SA’s criminal justice system to apprehend Israeli soldiers who party at Cape Town’s nightspots and beachfronts, context of Clavicular is relevant.
Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Eric Peters, is a leading figure in the “looksmaxxing” movement, an online male subculture built around the extreme pursuit of physical attractiveness, according to Middle East Eye (MEE).
Its followers promote tactics as diverse as traditional grooming and bodybuilding to dangerous practices such as drug use and “bone-smashing” – hitting the face, sometimes with a hammer, in an attempt to redefine the contours of the jaw.
Their end goal is to “framemogg” male competitors, by appearing more attractive than rivals in pictures.
In its article titled “US influencer Clavicular’s ‘Israelmaxxing’ propaganda trip ends in national scandal”, MEE reports that his recent visit to Israel “exposed disorder inside Israel’s propaganda machine”.
Though his trip attempted to serve two purposes, including securing favourable content for Israel as the Gaza genocide shreds its international standing, and to rehabilite Peter’s reputation as an online influencer accused of antisemitism, it backfired.
MEE report points out that Peters appeared repeatedly with Shira Braun, a soldier serving in the Israeli army’s Spokesperson’s Unit – known as the propaganda arm of the army.
During the broadcasts, Peters sought to touch and kiss Braun, spoke about taking her to a hotel and asked whether he would receive $7,000 for publishing pro-Israel posts.
Though reprimanded and barred from her role as an IDF propagandist, Braun will serve in another unit for the remainder of her military service. In other words, she remains an integral part of the Zionist regime’s genocidal army.
Thus the concern as to why South Africa’s law enforcement agencies have failed to detect a publicly known IDF soldier’s travels to Cape Town is undeniable.
And more so given that her role within the IDF raises a number of legitimate questions given SA’s groundbreaking ICJ case on genocide.
Not only does the failure by the Hawks to pounce on her reflect badly on the country’s ability to walk the talk on the seriousness of the ICJ case which has been applauded by progressive forces across the world as well as supported by many countries, it has also exposed the selective application of domestic legislation.
Here one is reminded of the unjust persecution of Ziyaad Hoorzook by the NPA.
The 35 year old Hoorzook is accused of funding a so-called “terrorist organisation” in Syria known as “Al Sadaqah”. While conceding that he had donated an amount of R11500 during 2017, it was to provide humanitarian support to Syrian families caught up in a civil war.
Nothing abnormal nor unusual for Muslims who are exhorted to dig into their pockets in aid of the needy. Zakaah is a mandatory religious obligation and is one of the five pillars of Islam. Sadaqah too is encouraged as a voluntary act of charity.
Ironically, Hoorzook gets nabbed for discharging his sadaqa to an institution known as Al Sadaqah.
Muslim social welfare and charity organisations such as Al Sadaqah and a host of others whether based in Occupied Palestine or elsewhere, have since 9/11 been casualties of America’s unilateral sanctions including being listed as “terrorist”.
Arbitrary demonisation, and criminalisation at the whim of Islamophobes almost all linked in one way or the other with Israel’s nefarious political agenda without due process.
Surely our sovereignty as an independent state in full control of levers of power and adhering to our constitutional values particularly the rule of law, cannot and should not be contingent on unilateral rules dictated by American imperialism.
The global security environment as reflected in Israel’s horrendous slaughter of Palestinians in the Gaza genocide, is a manifestation of pervasive lawlessness in respect of international humanitarian laws.
Yet while turning a blind eye on IDF soldiers including SA citizens deployed in the settler colonial regime’s notorious army of killers, the NPA has tergeted and charged Hoorzook for allegedly contravening the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities (POCDATARA).
In doing so it has disregarded America’s denial of a fundamental legal obligation to due process in relation to its dictatorial listing of Muslim charity institutions as “terrorist” or “associated with terrorist activities”.
The test of credibility lies in the NPA’s hall of powers. Will it act to arrest IDF soldier Shira Braun when she next holidays in Cape Town?
And the next test of integrity for it will be to drop the case against Hoorzook by acknowledging that the charges are spurious and zero to do with terrorism.
Iqbal Jassat
Executive Member
MEDIA REVIEW NETWORK