South Africa May Downgrade Ties With Israel Over Palestinian Issue
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party is calling for the downgrading of the country’s embassy in Israel to signal displeasure with the occupation of the Palestinian territories.
The move would “send a strong message about Israel’s continued illegal occupation of Palestine and the continued human rights abuses against the peoples of Palestine,” read a statement from a party committee that approved new positions on international relations.
The government would have to adopt the committee’s resolutions. But that is possible, considering that the ANC, which led the country out of apartheid, controls the levers of the country’s government.
National elections are expected in 2019 and the ANC may see the anti-Israel push as a popular move.
Arthur Lenk, Israel’s ambassador in South Africa, criticized the move as unproductive. “Any decision to downgrade the South African Embassy in Israel would only hurt South Africans and would have absolutely no impact on Israel or the Palestinians,” he said, in comments to the Times of Israel.
The move comes as Israel has made progress in strengthening ties with Africa, including some Muslim West African states that once shunned it.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
