Lessons Learned on South African Limmud Tour

With over 80 groups across the world in 42 countries, Limmud is a global phenomenon of cross-communal Jewish learning, giving participants access to the most dynamic Jewish educators, performers and teachers, working in a variety of educational styles – lectures, workshops, text-study sessions, film, meditation, discussions, exhibits and performance.

It was an honor to be invited by Limmud South Africa to be one of its group of international presenters at events in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town during August.

This was a wonderful opportunity to lecture about media bias and the work of HonestReporting to hundreds of Limmud attendees from a relatively small yet strongly pro-Israel and committed Jewish community that has contributed so much to post-apartheid South Africa.

Indeed, this was also a learning experience for myself. While those of us who live in Israel are acutely aware of just how inaccurate and defamatory the Israel apartheid libel is, it is enlightening to witness what real apartheid actually was. A visit to Johannesburg’s Apartheid Museum and a tour of the notorious former prison at Constitution Hill with a former prisoner who outlined his experiences there helped to place things in proper perspective.

It is, however, easy to see how Israel’s enemies are able to take individual Israeli security measures or bureaucracy and join dots in order to build a false equivalence between those and what went on in apartheid South Africa. Ultimately these libels are an insult to millions of black South Africans who suffered so greatly under the racist regime during that era.

A visit to Soweto was an eye-opener, a place I associated with the anti-apartheid struggle. I must admit I was expecting to see the equivalent of a shanty town. Instead, I was driven around what amounted to a proper city of over one million inhabitants in an area of over 100 sq km replete with infrastructure, including shopping malls. The same way that uninformed people make assumptions about what a Palestinian “refugee camp” is, so my assumptions were shattered by the reality.

While it was incredible to see parts of the country during my stay, the primary purpose was, of course, to lecture and educate. To this end I presented 10 sessions at three Limmuds, including on how HonestReporting fights media bias, a look at how Photo Bias impacts coverage, and Red Lines: The Eight Categories of Media Bias. In addition, I appeared on two panel discussions on Israel Through the Media Lens as well as giving a further two Israel news updates looking at the Gaza situation and analyzing the contentious Nation State Law.

Visits to Johannesburg and Cape Town were also opportunities to meet with dedicated activists through the local Zionist Federations as well as a studio guest appearance on Chai FM’s morning show. (Click here to listen from approx. 5 mins in.)

Amidst the vibrancy of Limmud and the warmth and hospitality shown to me by the South African Jewish community, it is clear that there are significant challenges thanks to the local Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and a South African government that has shown that its sympathies lie with Hamas rather than the Israeli state.

With a domestic media that appears to be overwhelmingly hostile towards Israel, HonestReporting hopes to work with many of the friends and colleagues that were made on this incredibly fulfilling visit in order to assist with tackling this particular problem.

Thanks must go to the organizers of Limmud SA for putting together three superb events and for hosting me and the other international presenters – a wonderful group of people with whom it was a pleasure to spend time and learn from over the course of our travels.