LETTER: How is BDS anti-Semitic?
Prior to its work in SA, Rheinmetall’s grotesque history includes the use of Jewish slave labour during the Nazi period, and its current complicity with Saudi-UAE war crimes
Since Allan Wolman again demands I should focus on fixing SA (“Lies about Israel must stop,” May 6), for his information World Beyond War works with the Macassar community in Somerset West in the campaign to close down the Rheinmetall-Denel Munitions (RDM) factory, where eight workers were killed in an explosion in 2018.
To evade German arms export regulations, Rheinmetall deliberately locates much of its production in countries where the rule of law is weak. It is totally untenable for safety and environmental contamination reasons to locate an ammunition factory in a residential area.
After a public inquiry into the explosion prompted by media coverage, the Macassar community awaits a decision whether RDM will be prosecuted for criminal negligence. RDM exports over 80% of its production, mainly to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both of which are notorious for abuses of human rights.
Rheinmetall’s grotesque history includes the use of Jewish slave labour during the Nazi period, as well as its current complicity with Saudi-UAE war crimes and the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen. As mentioned in my letter, I was the first person in SA to expose the arms deal scandal corruption, but I still await Wolman’s explanations on which of the three Palestinian BDS demands are anti-Semitic.
Terry Crawford-Browne
World Beyond War SA
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