South Africa May Downgrade Ties With Israel Over Palestinian Issue
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
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
