Israel plays a part in destruction of historic Christian sites
Daniel Jacobi is correct to highlight the plight of persecuted Christian communities (“Attacks on Christian communities escalate across Africa”, August 27). How curious, though, that he overlooks some of the most egregious desecration of Christian sites occurring in our times, in the very birthplace of Christianity.
The Citadel of Chamaa, for example, a 1,000-year old citadel in South Lebanon housing a shrine to Saint Peter, was severely damaged by explosives, followed by bulldozers three months ago.
In 2024 a Catholic convent run by the sisters of the Holy Saviour in Yaroun and a Christian school in the same area were bulldozed by soldiers without a clear reason.
Qana, traditionally identified as the site of Jesus’s first miracle, is under constant mortar bombardment. In the West Bank this year a soldier was filmed smashing a statue of Jesus.
Perhaps the reason he omits these, even though they point to destruction on a state-sponsored level, is because they were committed ― and continue to be committed ― by the state of Israel.
These are not isolated events. Jerusalem’s Greek Orthodox, Latin and Armenian patriarchs have routinely lamented Israel’s attacks as a threat to the Christian religion and its heritage.
There are at least half a dozen more examples I could cite. But of course Jacobi has not raised the issue of Christian persecution because he is particularly interested in their plight. Rather, the issue is a smokescreen to vilify Muslims and subtly cast them as a threat to regional and world peace.
He does this to distract because he is, by his own admission, a lobbyist for a particular state, which is itself accused of their most heinous crimes ― including the ones I’ve mentioned.
He is not alone in this. There exists a growing Islamophobia and vilification of Muslim communities globally, and they take many forms. Sometimes it’s used as a rallying call that the UK is being “overrun by Muslims”. Elsewhere in Europe, it’s charged that left to their own devices all Muslims would impose sharia.
Unfortunately for him, no serious scholar gives this credence. But of course that’s not his aim, which is simply to move attention away from what the subject of his lobby group perpetuates.
Kalim Rajab
Saxonwold
DA spokesperson on electricity dangerously ignorant
The ignorance about our energy grid shown by the DA electricity spokesperson Kevin Mileham is disturbing. (”Grid upgrades vital no matter what the power source”, August 31).
He attacked my sober warning that spending over R400bn on a stupid expansion of our transmission lines will be a catastrophic waste of money. We only need to spend a far smaller amount on sensible expansion.
We must have more electricity to rescue our economy and we will require some more transmission lines, but not many. A quick look at a map of our transmission lines, demand centres and power stations shows that we already have a good transmission system and that all future nuclear stations are already on transmission lines or close to them.
It only requires some strengthening of existing lines and some short tie-ins for future nuclear. The same goes for gas. We require only a fraction of the R400bn to give us all the extra transmission lines we need.
Most of the suggested R400bn would be wasted on bringing distant, unwanted, expensive, unreliable solar and wind from remote areas to centres of demand, where they will push up electricity costs horribly and kill our chances of ever becoming a successful industrial nation.
Andrew Kenny
Kleinmond
SA must define its economic path amid global tariff tensions
Jing Chien and Lawrence Edwards’ article provided helpful insight into the nuances of Donald Trump’s tariffs (“Trump’s latest tariffs leave SA exposed”, August 28).
Their segmented approach to different products and markets offers a practical perspective for business, especially smaller ones that need to find new markets. While no country can afford not to trade with the US, their recommendation to diversify markets will find favour with strategic minds.
It is refreshing to read an article that represents economic reality using data and “talking to observable facts”. The authors’ observation that US tariffs may force South Africa towards being a commodity economy is thought-provoking.
It is important that South Africa finds counterbalances to the effects of US policies, which is not its largest or only trading partner, to define development in its own terms as a sovereign nation.
There has been and will be more internal pain, but even after this current economic period is over South Africa should emerge more independent from exploitative business partners.
Navine Christian
Via Business Day online
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