Gaza flotilla was just a farce

Letters to the Editor, October 10

Band together for the common good

For the sake of the country and Johannesburg in particular why can't Helen Zille and Herman Mashaba put their differences aside and work together for the good of the city?

If their aims are the same (as they appear to be) and their wish for the betterment of South Africa is genuine surely there is no place for this enmity.

Citizens should not be forced to choose between two qualified candidates with the same goal Personal egos and political aspirations have no place in the disaster that Johannesburg has become its time to unite and stop squabbling. | Linda Young Morningside

Too much rugby not good for Bok players

All of South Africa were overjoyed at the weekend with the stunning Springboks winning the rugby championship trophy again.

And the rugby world now knows about the wonderfully talented Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu if they didn’t already – a possible Springbok captain of the future.

In November the Boks have another mountain to climb with five tests in just one month. They play Japan, Italy, France, Ireland then Wales. They have great depth in their squad ,but five Tests in just one month! Isn’t that too much for the players? Every Test match is a mighty test for every player who want to put everything they have into the game for the team to win. No player wants to let the team down.

All of South Africa is behind the Boks and wishes them well, but too much first-class rugby can bring long-term damage to players that only comes to the fore years later. | Philip Engelen Rosebank

Tolerance of violence stokes insurrection

AN AFP report on violence in US cities gave no context for why the Trump Administration calls them war zones.

The legacy of the Joe Biden administration’s open-border policy – millions of unvetted illegal immigrants – is fuelling crime and violence in Democrat-run sanctuary cities. Among these illegals are elements of Antifa, Latin American drug cartels, Tren de Aragua terrorists from Venezuela, MS-13 gangsters, human traffickers and other dangerous criminals.

America’s globalist enemies have long plotted to destroy the republic from within – through civil strife, social division, woke ideology, critical race theory and media indoctrination. Trump was elected to resist those forces and to restore US integrity.

For 80 days, anarchic elements rioted in Portland, Oregon, attacking ICE agents, committing arson and vandalism, and obstructing the removal of illegal aliens. Yet when Trump deployed the National Guard to uphold law and order, Oregon Democrat Senator Wyden accused him of “inciting violence in a peaceful city” and of launching an “authoritarian takeover”.

Chicago has endured criminal violence for years, but when Trump warned Mayor Johnson that he would send in the National Guard unless the situation improved, the mayor responded by declaring “ICE-free zones” and suing Trump for enforcing the law.

Such defiance emboldens anarchists. In Chicago they placed $10 000 bounties on Federal agents, and police reportedly ignored calls for help from trapped ICE officers on mayoral orders.

Seattle, Los Angeles, Memphis, New York and Minneapolis are likewise mired in lawlessness.

By condoning violence and perpetuating division, the Democratic Party betrays the Constitution and stokes insurrection. Trump, aware that America’s gravest threat lies within, has vowed to invoke the Insurrection Act to restore national order. | Dr Duncan du Bois Bluff

Gaza aid flotilla nothing but a farce

Vanessa Govender employs flowery, emotion-laden language that may stir readers’ sympathies but ultimately obscures facts and spreads disinformation (A flotilla of defiance in Gaza’s endless night, September 30, 2025).

Behind the poetic imagery lies a narrative that misrepresents international law and absolves Hamas of responsibility for Gaza’s suffering.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is not a lifeline for the people of Gaza but a publicity stunt. Under UNCLOS Articles 25 and 30, Israel has the right to act against non-innocent passage within its waters. Far from unique, blockades have been used throughout history by powers from the Union in the American Civil War to the UN against Iraq. Israel is unfairly singled out for exercising self-defence – even while going beyond the call of duty to minimize civilian casualties in a way no other military power ever has.

Govender ignores the reality that Israel facilitates aid deliveries. Flotilla organisers rejected these safe and practical avenues because their aim is not relief but spectacle. The real obstacle to aid in Gaza is Hamas, which loots supplies and uses civilians as shields.

Untrained activists sailing into a war zone add nothing to humanitarian relief but risk escalating conflict. | ­Nicholas ­Woode-Smith Cape Town