During a press conference at BDS South Africa offices in Johannesburg, media personality Shashi Naidoo apologised on Wednesday(June 20) for her "ignorant, copy and paste" message about Palestine that landed her in hot water a few days ago.
Naidoo received not only harsh criticism, but allegedly also death threats, following her Instagram post which she said she received from a "friend". She referred to Gaza as "a sh*thole" during a debate about Palestine-Israel on social media.
Naidoo said her next step is to embark on a journey to Palestine in order to educate herself and others about the issues of human rights in Palestine/Israel.
BDS South Africa's representative Muhamed Desai said though Naidoo should be held accountable for her erroneous act, the organisation fully accepted her apology.
"We would like to commend what we see as a positive outcry on social media in the last 48 hours. Politicians, celebrities, influencers of social media should all be accountable to public scrutiny and some argue precisely because of the wide amount of reach and influence and weight that they carry among members of the public that they should be more informed and aware of pertinent social and human rights issues... BDS SA fully accepts Shashi's apology and we also welcome the idea of the trip."
Naidoo said she is disappointed with herself for her ignorance about humanitarian issues.
"I feel very disappointed in myself for not being fully aware of what was happening in Gaza and sometimes ignorance can be just as bad... and a lot of people have been asking me if I'm worried about losing work, the endorsements, and from my side it's not a primary concern of mine.
"I do have a voice and I aim to use it in a positive way... I'm going to use the voice that I have to discuss the humanitarian issues, to share what I learnt and as I said it's going to be a long journey.
"And I hope that other people that have an ignorant thought will join me, stand with me on this journey. I feel certainly that in the last 48 hours that my eyes have been opened... My life has changed," said Naidoo.
– IOL
