Yes I.
Here is the article:
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Benjamin Netanyahu
and the speech that
didn’t exist
;;; in Features ;;; July 15, 2014
A racist speech attributed to
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has caused outrage
among South Africans. But what
if the speech never existed?
RA’EESA PATHER reports.
In Gaza, violence is escalating. But
you’ve probably heard about
that. Israel has partnered up with
Egypt to announce a ceasefire, but
they forgot to tell Hamas about it.
In the past few days, Palestinian
and Israeli supporters have been
buzzing across social media.
Statistics, news articles and
images of bloodied children have
been widely shared. But how
much of it is truthful?
Recently, a racist speech
accredited to Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
had South Africans spluttering
with rage.
“The State of Israel that we
know of today has not been
created by wishful thinking…
We do not pretend like other
whites that we like the
blacks. The fact that, blacks
and Arabs look like human
beings and act like human
beings do not necessarily
make them sensible human
beings.”
– excerpt from a speech
attributed to Netanyahu.
But what if that speech never
existed?
The speech was sent around
Facebook, WhatsApp and via
email. The intention was to inform
as many people as possible that
this is the real Netanyahu – a
racist leader who believes that as
far human beings go, well, Arabs
and blacks aren’t really all that.
The message went viral in Muslim
networks, and is said to have been
shared by Affan Sosibo of the
African National Congress Youth
League.
It’s easy to understand why these
words would have South Africans
dizzy with fury. After all, we are
still recovering from our own
history. The speech paints Israelis
as the superior race, while Arabs
and blacks are slighted as the
lowest of humans. Through its
religious preaching that “a Jew is
[an] honest, God fearing person,
who has demonstrated practically
the right way of being” it tugs at
colonial justification as to why
colonisation is necessary. It’s what
God wanted, right?
But it was a hoax, and right now
the online world is saying that this
speech actually belongs to former
South African apartheid president
PW Botha.
“The Republic of South
Africa that we know of today
has not been created by
wishful thinking… We do not
pretend like other Whites
that we like Blacks. The fact
that, Blacks look like human
beings and act like human
beings do not necessarily
make them sensible human
beings”.
– excerpt from the speech
which is now attributed to
PW Botha.
Netanyahu’s and Botha’s speeches
are almost identical. The
difference, of course, is that
Netanyahu’s speech refers to
Arabs. In a remarkable play, it
would seem the speech of a
former apartheid leader has been
manipulated into the words of a
current apartheid leader. Almost
disturbingly poetic.
Yet, if you dig into Botha’s speech
and try to search for any
conclusive evidence that he ever
made it, you will find nothing. The
speech is a hoax. It never existed.
In fact, you could find the real
version of the speech here .
The address is alleged to be a
reprint that was published in the
Sunday Times , but
the Sunday Time s has called the
speech “utterly fictitious “.
There have been several instances
where images have been re-
appropriated from other contexts
and used as fodder to mobilise
Palestinian support. For example,
a photograph of a child kneeling
execution-style with guns circling
his head, has been widely shared
on Twitter. #PrayforGaza is the
caption, but the correct caption is
actually #PrayforSyria: this photo
is not from Palestine, it was taken
in Syria. It is unjustifiable to take
the violence and persecution from
one nation and use it to gather
support for another.
But the digital world is full of
mischief. Yes, search engines like
Google and websites like Snopes
make it easier to uncover hoaxes.
But online users are humans, and
humans can get it wrong. A simple
share can be read by hundreds,
creating a viral wave of
misinformed people. As such, the
resistance itself becomes
manipulated and misinformed. So
why are these hoaxes so easily
believed? Are we too lazy to
inform ourselves, simply clutching
onto whatever information we
see?
The Palestinian people have been
living under oppression for more
than 60 years. It is the longest-
lasting colonial tyranny in the
modern era. Yes, there is a need
to encourage further resistance,
to inform more people about the
mounting atrocities. But by
spreading falsehoods, we are
doing the Palestinian people an
injustice. We are fooling and
manipulating people into believing
the struggle is justified, and how
does that make us better than the
oppressors we denounce?
We owe the Palestinian people
more than that. We owe them a
true fight.
www.thedailyvox.co.za/benjamin-netanyahu-and-the-speech-that-didnt-exist/
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#Liars accusing liars
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