For the communities that stood to gain, the promise was extraordinary: more than 100 000 jobs, affordable housing, quality education, medical facilities, farming and fishing opportunities, and business growth for disadvantaged communities over ten years. Within days of the announcement, it was gone. The reason had nothing to do with the merits of the project.
The agreement at the centre of the controversy was signed on 27 October between local property developer Gary Itzikowitz and the National Coloured Congress (NCC), a political party that announced the deal with much fanfare as a “multibillion-rand investment” and “private investment aimed at building ownership, opportunity, and a stronger future for our people”. The party told its constituents that politicians had made empty promises for 30 years, but that “the NCC did not come with another promise. It came with a signed agreement. And it goes ahead whatever the result on 4 November, because our people deserve it either way.”
Days later, the NCC cancelled the agreement. “When we discovered that the developer was a Zionist, we walked away out of principle,” said NCC president Fadiel Adams. “Anything that has to do with Zionism is poisonous, and we don’t want it.”
Itzikowitz, who has 30 years of property development experience, describes the proposal as “business with purpose”, aimed at benefiting under-serviced communities. He says the NCC’s decision “came from left field and I was, perhaps naively, shocked. I was also disappointed, above all, for the communities that stood to benefit.”
The human cost of the cancellation lands against a grim economic backdrop. According to labour law expert Ivan Israelstam, 44 percent of South Africans, or 12 million people, are unemployed. “It’s never been this bad, and unemployment continues to rise,” he says. “Soon, half the working population will be unemployed. This affects every South African.”
Israelstam says South Africa is approaching “failed state” status, with “unemployment, decaying cities, crime, and starvation” abounding. “We can’t turn this country around if people aren’t willing to put aside their minor differences in favour of solving major problems. And yet it happens every day, because we are such a divided society.” Although such a project would make only a small dent in unemployment, “we need to take every opportunity to create jobs”. He adds that if investment and job creation are politicised, it will deter further investment.
Fellow labour law expert Michael Bagraim calls the project altruistic and destined to create thousands of jobs. “The concept is what is needed in South Africa. To now boycott a deal because one individual happens to be in favour of Israel is nonsensical.”
Meanwhile, the story of how the deal came about is one of a long professional relationship. Itzikowitz says he met NCC deputy president Larry Varrie more than two years ago while doing independent due diligence for an investor on a property. Two proposals Varrie brought to him were declined on normal commercial grounds. “Our relationship was courteous and professional, and it began before Varrie had any involvement with the NCC,” Itzikowitz says. He mentioned to Varrie that investors he worked with were interested in affordable housing and rural retail developments, and from the outset they agreed that any project had to be commercially viable, conducted at arm’s length, subject to full due diligence, and compliant with all applicable laws.
When Varrie joined the NCC, he proposed the party take on a property project as a community initiative. Itzikowitz explored this on the understanding that the project was independent of party politics. Varrie drafted a non-binding letter of intent on NCC letterhead, which Itzikowitz reviewed and signed on 27 October. “Political views were never discussed,” he says.
Critics of the cancellation argue the communities themselves are the losers. South African Zionist Federation national spokesperson Rolene Marks says the people paying for the NCC’s political grandstanding are the communities it claims to champion. “What changed between signing the agreement and cancelling it?” she asks. “Not those communities’ need for jobs. Not their need for investment. The investor’s political views became the overriding consideration.” She calls the hypocrisy “staggering”, noting South Africa maintains diplomatic relations with Israel, and says the NCC should “stop pretending it puts communities first”, calling it a betrayal of the people it was elected to serve.
Daniel Bloch, executive director of the Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies, says rejecting opportunities for community upliftment due to political or religious beliefs “risks depriving local communities of vital resources. Ultimately, it is these very communities that bear the consequences.” The welfare of citizens, he says, “should always remain the priority”, yet a conflict thousands of kilometres away “appears to have taken precedence over the immediate needs of fellow South Africans”. Bloch emphasises that no South African should have to conceal their identity, religious beliefs, or connection to Israel in order to conduct business or participate fully in the economy. “Our message to the Jewish community is simple: don’t be intimidated, don’t withdraw from broader society, and don’t feel compelled to compromise your identity or beliefs.”
Itzikowitz remains unbowed. He will continue to source land and partners for affordable housing and township and rural shopping centre development, saying demand and funding for this asset class are strong, and he does not intend to act against the NCC. “The project was intended to uplift minority communities who have themselves suffered prejudice,” he says. “It is an unfortunate irony, and a clear reminder that prejudice of any kind does no good.”
Whether the communities who were promised those 100 000 jobs will ever see another offer like it remains the open question hanging over the whole affair.