South African Politician Suspended For Saying City Is ‘Friend Of Israel’
Mayor of Johannesburg Herman Mashaba with Shubankar Sharma of India at the end of the final round of the Joburg Open in 2017. Image by Getty Images
(JTA) — The mayor of Johannesburg said that a City Council member was suspended for declaring that the city was a friend of Israel.
Mayor Herman Mashaba in announcing Mpho Phalatse’s suspension on Tuesday said her “remarks didn’t adequately address the complexity and sensitivity of the issue. They caused confusion,” News24 reported.
Phalatse made the remarks during a pro-Israel event organized by local Jews.
“I would like to declare that I am a friend of Israel and the city of Johannesburg is a friend of Israel. Shalom,” she said.
Phalatse was suspended after other councilors called for her firing.
The African National Congress, South Africa’s ruling political party, last month compared Israel’s actions on the Gaza border to Nazi Germany’s actions against the Jews. Israeli troops have killed dozens of Palestinians there in riots organized by Hamas. Demonstrators have hurled dozens of firebombs at the troops amid attempts to breach Israel’s security fence.
South Africa announced following the clashes that its ambassador will leave Israel “until further notice.”
Separately, an online petition urging the South African government “to cease efforts to sever ties with the State of Israel and to reinstate” its ambassador to Israel has received 27,000 signatures since its posting online this week.
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected]
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward In NYC, Itamar Ben-Gvir says he’s changed — and wants ‘the Trump plan’ in Gaza
-
Fast Forward On his first trip to Auschwitz, New Jersey governor urges vigilance against rising antisemitism
-
Fast Forward Survivors of the Holocaust and Oct. 7 embrace at Auschwitz, marking annual March of the Living
-
Fast Forward Could changes at the FDA call the kosher status of milk into question? Many are asking.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Trump’s heedless approach to an Iran deal could be a big problem for Israel
-
Fast Forward In NYC, Itamar Ben-Gvir says he’s changed — and wants ‘the Trump plan’ in Gaza
-
Opinion Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to a Jewish society at Yale exposed deep rifts between US Jews
-
Fast Forward On his first trip to Auschwitz, New Jersey governor urges vigilance against rising antisemitism
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.