A series of explosive reports today’s Guardian newspaper (from Britain) details the almost romantic relationship between the governments of South Africa and Israel in the decades preceding the collapse of South African Apartheid in the late 1980s.

Shimon Peres

The major focus was military collaboration, including nuclear weaponry.

More later – but for now head over to the Guardian for a feast of ‘Top Secret’ memos from the Apartheid era which highlight the deep and longstanding collaboration between racist Israel and apartheid South Africa: The memos and minutes that confirm Israel’s nuclear stockpile: Documents reveal how then-defence minister Shimon Perez tried to sell South Africa’s apartheid government the bomb.

Here’s a gem – a 1974 personal note from Shimon Peres, then Defence Minister of Israel (currently Israel’s President!) to the South African Minister for Information. It includes a sentence that even the world’s smoothest old liar will not be able to explain away:

“…cooperation is based not only on common interests and on the determination to resist equally our enemies, but also on the unshakeable foundations of our common hatred of injustice and our refusal to submit to it.”

Joan Armstrading: pretty voice for sale to Apartheid?

Co-incidentally, I wrote to Joan Armatrading yesterday via her website.

Apparently the British singer is booked to perform in Apartheid Israel next month.

How this artiste could even contemplate performing in the Sun City of our era is utterly beyond me. I told her so, as politely as I could.

If she goes ahead with the tour, I may write her once more to suggest she changes her name to Joan ArmsTrading.

Perhaps she has debts worse than Sarah Ferguson‘s?