Gift of the Givers' Dr Imtiaz Sooliman. Picture: Gallo Images/Die Burger/Jaco Marais
Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman has hit back at allegations that his organisation is financing terrorism.
This comes after a Jewish human rights lawyer alleged in an open letter that Gift of the Givers, donates money to groups blacklisted as terrorist organisations by the US government.
Lawrence Nowosenetz, former chairperson of the Jewish Board of Deputies objected to the Helen Suzman Foundation invitation to Sooliman to deliver the Helen Suzman memorial lecture in two weeks.
Nowosenetz, who now lives in Tel Aviv in a letter published in The Times of Israel said Suzman was a strong supporter of Israel and claimed that inviting Sooliman contradicted the liberal values of the former Progressive Federal Party MP.
“Not too long ago I might have joined you in celebrating this decision and event, believing him to be a majestic humanitarian of global proportions.
“However, unpalatable information has increasingly come to my attention which I am duty bound to raise with you, which puts a very different light on the persona of Dr Sooliman who we all think we know,” Nowosenetz claimed.
The Citizen contacted the Helen Suzman Foundation for comment. This will be included into the story once received.
Nowosenetz claimed that Gift of the Givers was the second NPO founded by Sooliman, the first being the South African branch of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Al Aqsa Foundation, established in 1991 which was ”committed to “the destruction of Israel”.
He stated that while Sooliman had distanced himself from Al Aqsa Foundation, he continued to make donations to them and to the Union of Good, which was blacklisted by the US Treasury in 2008.
“This means Gift of the Givers may be directly or indirectly financing Hamas,” he wrote.
Nowosenetz’s attack on Gift of the Givers comes after Sooliman was honoured with the All Africa Business Leaders’ award as philanthropist of the year.
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Sooliman told The Citizen Gift of the Givers could account for every cent it has received and donated.
“I have only one request to those making the allegations, please produce irrefutable proof of our terrorist activity. Take it to the SAPS, SIU, Hawks, NPA, State Security, Dirco, Reserve Bank, Standard Bank (which are our bankers), Standard Chartered in USA through which we do our foreign currency transactions), banks in Israel through which we fund projects in Palestine.
“Let us be charged, then announce it to the local and international media and expose us,” Sooliman said.
Sooliman added that he has never hidden his support for the Palestinians.
“Gift of the Givers fully supports, endorses and acknowledges South Africa’s additional submission at the International Court of Justice on Monday, 28th October against Israel.
“We call on South Africans to support humanity, justice and truth, to present yourselves at the Cape High Court on Monday, 28th October, between 8am and 9am to show your support and solidarity and acknowledgement, not that truth needs any support. Truth is self propagating. The divine injunction is very clear. Truth has arrived and falsehood perished,” Sooliman said.
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Sooliman said he “absolutely loves” what has been written” about him.
“It shows clearly that the Zionists are falling apart floundering in a sea of chaos and confusion, running out of ideas and strategies.
“The world knows that Israel are the baby killers, murderers of innocent civilians, journalists, health care workers, humanitarian aid workers,” Sooliman said.
Sooliman said the attack against the Gift of the Givers began shortly after President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke strongly out about the Middle East conflict during his speech at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Ramaphosa joined calls for the urgent reform of the UN Security Council, which he said remained “largely unchanged” in the 78 years since its formation.
Citing the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has claimed more than 42,000 lives, causing a humanitarian crisis and displaced the entire 2.3-million population in Gaza, Ramaphosa said the unabating violence should “shock our collective humanity”.
“The violence the Palestinian people are being subjected to is a grim continuation of more than half a century of apartheid. We South Africans know what apartheid looks like. We lived through it. We suffered and died under it. We will not remain silent and watch as apartheid is perpetrated against others. Through the UN and the instruments it wields, we must end the suffering.”
Last week, at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit in Kazan, Russia, Ramaphosa said the BRICS nations have thrown their weight behind South Africa’s genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
‘‘All of them welcomed the stance that has been taken by South Africa in relation to Palestine.’’
Ramaphosa said the world could not afford a region-wide escalation of the conflict, which has been raging for more than a year.
The president said he informed the BRICS countries that in a few days South Africa will be submitting its full genocide case against Israel at the ICJ.
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South Africa filed its case at ICJ in late 2023, accusing Israel of failing to uphold its commitments under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
In January, the ICJ determined that genocidal attacks may be occurring in Gaza and ordered Israel to take measures to prevent genocide against Palestinians in the region.
However, Israel refused to comply with the court’s order.
In March, the ICJ again concurred with South Africa’s assertion that the situation in Gaza has deteriorated significantly since the initial order on 26 January.
The UN’s top court granted South Africa’s urgent request to enforce additional emergency measures against Israel, accusing it of violating existing orders and causing irreparable harm to the rights invoked by Pretoria under the 1948 Genocide Convention concerning the ongoing siege of Gaza.
In May, the ICJ ordered Israel to immediately cease its attacks in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. This decision marked the third time this year that the 15-judge panel has issued preliminary orders aimed at curbing the death toll and alleviating humanitarian suffering in Gaza.
Several countries, including, Türkiye, Nicaragua, Palestine, Spain, Mexico, Libya and Colombia, have all joined the case which began public hearings in January.
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