Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 20/13 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 03. – 17. Dezember 2013 1. Zum Tod von Nelson Mandela Der Tod des ehemaligen südafrikanischen Präsiden­ten und Freiheitskämpfers Nelson Mandela wurde in den israelischen Medien intensiv behandelt. Thema­tisiert wurden auch Israels Verhältnis zum südafri­kanischem Apartheidsregime – Israel kooperierte lange mit Johannesburg und erhob Sanktionen erst 1987, später als alle westlichen Nationen – sowie Mandelas Affinität zur PLO und dem palästinensi­schen Freiheitskampf. Der israelische Premierminister Benjamin Netanya­hu kündigte zunächst seine Teilnahme an der Trau­erfeier für Mandela in Johannesburg an, sagte dann jedoch aufgrund angeblich zu hoher Kosten ab. Da Präsident Shimon Peres krank wurde, wurde Israel von Parlamentssprecher Yuli Edelstein in Südafrika repräsentiert. In den vergangenen Jahren ist Israels Besatzung der palästinensischen Gebiete immer wieder mit einem"Apartheidssystem" verglichen worden, unter anderem von dem südafrikanischen Erzbischof Desmond Tutu, einem Weggefährten Mandelas. A symbolic absence "Given the generous budget for travel[…] and given that Mandela’s doctrine and legacy[…] are evidently not the pillar of fire that guides Netanyahu, it’s not unreasonable to suspect that the spending issue provided Netanyahu with a pretext to escape a vex­ing event he didn’t want to participate in.[…] Mandela[…] symbolized the idea of equality among all human beings and opposition to the apartheid regime.[…] Israel under Netanyahu’s leadership, in which segregation, racist legislation and discrimina­tion on the basis of nationality are flourishing virtual­ly un disturbed, cannot say it respects Mandela’s heritage.[…] The absence of Israel's senior leadership from Man­dela's funeral[…] can be seen as a symbol of I s­rael's increasing diplomatic isolation." HAA 111.12.13 By avoiding Mandela's memorial, Netanyahu digs Israel's PR grave "Netanyahu has reinforced the belief of many that he never misses an opportunity to miss an oppor­tunity. […] Netanyahu’s excuse that the price of travelling to South Africa prevented him from attending today’s memorial lies nothing short of pathetic.[…] The reality is that the decision not to attend was political in nature. Netanyahu felt that a letter of condolence and sending a low level delegation would be enough. Why attend the memorial of a man who supported the Palestinian cau se?[…] Yet by acting as he did, Netanyahu critically dam­aged Israel’s image.[…] If Netanyahu had attended the memorial of Man­dela, despite the political awkwardness, Israel would have stood shoulder to shoulder with the other coun­tries of the world." Neil Lazarus, TOI 10.12.13 The dearly departed "The only ones who got angry that Netanyahu and Peres did not attend the memorial ceremony in South Africa were a few Israeli journalists. We may think that the whole galaxy revolves around us, but the Africans showed no anger." Gonen Ginat, IHY 13.12.13 Mandela and Israel "Mandela voiced his vehement opposition to Israel’s control of the territories it had'occupied' in the Six Day War, and he urged it to concede land to the Palestinians and Syrians,[…] for the sake of peace. […] 1