He was no particular friend of Israel, he sided with Arafat thinking he was a "peaceful freedom fighter' like he may have been. How wrong he was. How naive he was. RIP but we dont need to be there especially with South Africas attitude towards Israel. And as for world leaders attending, who amongst them is honorable enough even to greet? Nah better to stay home and wash the dishes then shake hands with hypocrites.

YOU ARE! You may have even bought him a new suit and clean underwear. Now Abbas will look real chic pretending to be a "head of state" at a solemn ceremony that he will turn into another platform for "palestinian" propaganda and money-begging. Chalk up another loss for the American tax payer! (Unless, of course, you don't work and therefore don't pay taxes to give to the PA).

....is not attending Mandela's funeral and it is for political purposes to placate Israel's racist voters.

Have you forgotten Mandela's inaugural speech at the Durban Hatefest of 2001? I realize it was held on a day whose events quickly overshadowed the despicable display (September 11, 2001), but some of us were paying attention. Mandela launched himself on a one-hour ranting diatribe against the Jewish people and the State of Israel. I wouldn't send a single Israeli official to South Africa to honor Mandela the racist. To do so accords him far too much honor.

Is that all? Israel has been ranting against most of the rest of the world for more than sixty years.