RIVONIA, SOUTH AFRICA - MAY 1: Gareth Cliff talks about his new show on GliffCentral on May 1, 2014 at their new studios in Rivonia, South Africa. An Internet radio station, listeners can tune in online, via wechat, or by watching on Comedy Central on DSTV. Cliff is aiming to innovate the face of radio and is holding auditions to find new and fresh talent. (Photo by Gallo Images / Foto24/ Felix Dlangamandla)
Internet radio host Gareth Cliff has done what he’s often done before, which is to swim against the current of popular opinion and say whatever he likes.
A clip of him condemning Palestinians as “invaders” has been widely shared and strongly divided opinion on social media. South Africa’s diplomatic position on Israel is that they have condemned the recent killings of Palestinians and recalled our ambassador to Israel in protest.
However, speaking during his morning show on Cliff Central, an online radio station, on Wednesday, Cliff believes South Africa has it all wrong.
Earlier this month, at least 61 Palestinians were shot dead and 2 400 were injured after the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) fired live ammunition on the Gaza border during a protest against, among other things, the moving of the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Israel was also celebrating the 70th anniversary of its founding in 1948.
Cliff has called South African media biased by apparently choosing to side with the Palestinians.
“I looked at what was going on over there and I’ve done quite a lot of reading and looked at quite a lot of the news articles from around the world. This claim that Israel shot demonstrators is just a blatant lie. It’s an absolute falsehood. This was an attempt to invade a sovereign nation and border communities to indiscriminately slaughter civilians.”
He said the Palestinian people have been hellbent on perpetrating violence against Israel and destroying the nation.
“What must Israel do? Let it happen? Let their citizens be killed by a bunch of people who are clearly hellbent on violence?”
Cliff is no stranger to controversy, having defended convicted racist Penny Sparrow’s right to free speech more than two years ago, which saw him being fired on Idols and getting a lot of flak from both fans and critics.
Take a look at some of the latest reaction below.