Why Anti-Israel Boycott Is a 'Mockery' of the South African Struggle
Decades after an international boycott movement helped end South Africa's apartheid system, Palestinians in the Middle East are gaining traction with a similar campaign against Israel – even calling Israel an apartheid state.
But is that an accurate comparison? Many South Africans like Olga Meshoe say, "no."
Meshoe is the daughter of a member of the South African Parliament, who grew up under the apartheid system.
"When I hear that Israel is an apartheid state, when people make that accusation, depending on the mood I'm in I either break out laughing or I get really, really angry – because it's an absolute lie," she said in a recent video.
Now she's on a mission to set the record straight about the Jewish state, and she takes to task those she claims are making a mockery of the struggle endured by those who lived under South Africa's apartheid system.
"If the media was actually trying to accomplish something that was going to give hope, that was going to give life, that was going to encourage, that was going to encourage peace, then let's maybe have a conversation on that," Meshoe said.
"But how dare you take that and use it to incite violence, use it to incite and encourage the destruction of a people just because you don't like them," she charged.
"The world needs to recognize that you are not only doing an injustice to the people that are in the Middle East; you're making what our parents went through, you're making the struggle a mockery," she said.
Meshoe and her father, Kenneth Meshoe, have founded an organization called DEISI, which stands for Defend, Embrace, Invest, Support Israel.
DEISI's goal is to create awareness for Israel, for educating South Africans and forging relationships to the benefit of Israel, Jews, South Africans and Christians.
*Meshoe talks more about DEISI on The 700 Club.