Patriotic Alliance says no to Leila Khaled Drive

Patriotic Alliance (PA) Deputy President Kenny Kunene, as member of the mayoral committee (MMC) of the City of Johannesburg for roads and transport, has refused outright to allow the renaming of Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive.

This emerged last Shabbos, when he and PA President Gayton McKenzie spoke at the Great Park Synagogue in Johannesburg on Saturday after shul.

The pair were invited to share insights into their recent trip to Israel and to address members following the shul service.

The controversial renaming of Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive came up for discussion, during which McKenzie said his party “would never allow it”.

Speaking to the SA Jewish Report, he said, “I disagree strongly with the renaming of Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive and the Patriotic Alliance will never vote for it.” He was opposed to it, he said, because “we have many local heroes that are more deserving of such an honour”.

He wouldn’t comment on whether his views had anything to do with the fact that Khaled was the first woman to hijack a plane as a member of the terrorist organisation Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

McKenzie told the SA Jewish Report that the matter had been raised among coalition parties. “It was discussed together with the name change of William Nicol Drive to Winnie Mandela Drive, only Winnie Mandela Drive had consensus among all of us. Al Jama-ah comrades approached us to help them with the name change. We flatly refused.

“There’s great appetite for the name change, but we’re not in agreement. We’re clear that we’ll not support it. Kenny Kunene is MMC of roads and it needs his sign off. We aren’t people that hide our views on any matter,” he said. “I must add that the other parties respect our view.”

He didn’t elaborate which parties he was referring to.

Great Park Shul Rabbi Dovid Hazdan corroborated what they said. “They vociferously opposed the renaming of Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive,” he said.

The topic was raised after the pair spoke about their impressions of Israel following their recent trip in July, where they met President Isaac Herzog among others to learn about coalition governments, water treatment, and wastewater management.

“The shul doesn’t align itself with any particular candidate or political party, and we’ll welcome those with different perspectives and opinions over the next months to present to our community,” Hazdan said.

“They spoke about their visit and why they went there, which we found interesting,” he said. “They also spoke about their perspectives on the future of South Africa. There were a lot of strong, hard questions and engagement.”

The pair arrived early on Saturday morning, and stayed for the duration of the service, Hazdan said. “They respectfully wanted to be part of the service,” he said.

In the face of criticism from the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions coalition, McKenzie said his party’s decision to visit the Jewish state was correct. “Israel has many of the answers to the problems being faced by South Africa, and we need to work with each other. South Africa needs friends, not enemies.

“Being pro-Israel doesn’t mean you have to be anti-Palestine. That’s a false dichotomy that will take us nowhere. We cannot – and should not – wish for Israel to stop existing, which unfortunately is the starting point for many of those who are ostensibly on Palestine’s side. That cannot and will not happen. What’s important is to look at solutions to improve life for Palestine and everyday Palestinians without needing to wipe Israel off the map.”

The pair said they had gleaned valuable information about coalition governments from the Israeli president and McKenzie said that the PA would be a key player in coalitions after next year’s national election.

McKenzie said he found the shul service “most interesting and spiritually fulfilling. People were extremely friendly and accommodating. We spoke about how Israel has many solutions to the problems of South Africa, and that we shouldn’t put political animosity ahead of people’s needs and the betterment of people’s lives,” he said.

In 2018, the Johannesburg City Council adopted a motion to rename Sandton Drive – the location of the United States consulate – after Palestinian militant Leila Khaled.

Khaled, 79, has visited South Africa several times. She’s known as the poster girl of Palestinian militancy for her role in hijacking TWA flight 840 from Rome to Tel Aviv in 1969 and El Al flight 219 in 1970. A portrait of her as a young woman holding an AK-47 is a symbol of the Palestinian liberation struggle. Several countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel consider the PFLP to be a terrorist organisation.

It was then councillor Thapelo Amad of the minor Al Jama-ah party – now the former mayor of Johannesburg who lasted three months in office – who originally brought the motion before the council. Al Jama-ah holds three out of 270 seats in the Johannesburg City Council. The name was opposed by the Democratic Alliance (DA), which said it would be wasteful expenditure.

An amendment to the motion was then tabled and accepted, calling for renaming the road after Khaled. The DA didn’t support the motion, but was outnumbered when the Economic Freedom Fighters and African National Congress voted in favour of it.