Thabo Mbeki: His government did much to incite the international anti-Israel campaign (photo: World Economic Forum)

The President of the Student Representative Council at Wits University, Johannesburg, Mcebo Dlamini, recently declared that he “loves Adolf Hitler”. After all, he said, there are some white people who still admire Cecil Rhodes today so why should he not admire Hitler? “Hitler was a great leader even if he had faults. I love him for his charisma, his strong leadership, his organising ability. Whites are making out that the Jewish Holocaust was worse than the black holocaust in South Africa, which shows that every white has an element of Hitler in him. But Hitler was no worse than other great villains of history such as Napoleon, Tony Blair and George W. Bush.”

Simultaneously, the SRC President at the Durban University of Technology, Mqondisi Duma, demanded the expulsion from the university of all Jews who do not publicly declare their loyalty to the Palestinian cause. Duma doubtless knew that although many Jews are willing to criticise the Netanyahu government, only a rather freakish fringe are willing to side publicly against their confreres in Israel so that in effect he was demanding that the campus be cleared of nine Jews out of every ten.

Yet not many years ago Nelson Mandela happily accepted an honorary doctorate from Ben Gurion University at Beersheva and dwelt admiringly on the fact that BGU is a world leader in combating desertification, in water purification and in assisting agriculture in harsh conditions — and that it was making all this expertise available to South Africa. Moreover, Mandela never tired of praising South African Jews for having sided against apartheid and provided so many members of the Progressive, Liberal and Communist parties. Yet Israel now lists South Africa as a country where the Jewish community is under major threat and strongly recommends that the entire community here leave for Israel as soon as possible. So how has it come to this?

The short answer is that 40 per cent unemployment and the evident failure of the ANC government has engendered a bitter, indeed toxic mood among militant black youth. They are looking round for targets. First there was the Rhodes Must Fall campaign. Then the streets erupted into murderous xenophobia against immigrant workers. Now a new target is needed. Historically, it has never been long before people in such a mood alight upon the Jews.

But there is a longer answer too. Thabo Mbeki, who became president in 1999, suffered badly from paranoia and a grandiosity complex. He wanted to be president not just of South Africa but of all Africa and even of the whole Third World. Thus he pumped life and money into the long-defunct Non-Aligned Movement so that he could preside over it. And like so many who have spent their life in the struggle, he wanted the struggle to go on. If Africa’s liberation was now complete, where else should the struggle move ? Obviously, to Israel — another mainly white implant in the Third World. And by foregrounding the Palestinians and grandstanding about them Mbeki could hope to win the support of Muslim nations for his leadership of the Third World.

So endless Mbeki cabinet conferences were devoted to the Arab-Israeli problem. This was done under the public pretence that South Africa, “the miracle nation”, would take its peace-making skills to Israel and help bring about a full settlement there at last. This was regarded both by local Jews and Israelis with complete bemusement. After all, Mbeki’s meetings included extensive representation of Palestinian groups but only a few far-left Jews were invited. Officially, Israel said nothing but made it clear privately that since the ANC wanted to see a “liberated” Israel under Hamas rule, any idea of mediation was simply laughable.