Friends in high places: the politicians who stood behind Israel

The fact that downgrading of the South African embassy in Israel was even debated in parliament is something that Member of Parliament (MP) Michael Bagraim says he never expected to see in his lifetime.

Yet on 2 March 2023, a draft resolution by National Freedom Party parliamentary leader Ahmed Munzoor Shaik Emam calling for further downgrading of the South African embassy in Israel was debated. A later session resulted in the adoption of the resolution (see page 1).

Amid naked hatred for the Jewish state, a number of politicians named the downgrading for what it was: a cheap political game, a clear and hostile bias, a betrayal of South Africa’s own history, and the moment where South Africa walked away from playing a mediating role in the Middle East.

MPs from the Democratic Alliance (DA); Freedom Front Plus (FF+); Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP); and African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) all called for the embassy in Israel not to be downgraded.

Thirty-year-old DA MP Luyolo Mphithi was one voice that stood out, providing much-needed wisdom and calm. “What I expected to hear today was practical and pragmatic ways of engagement with this issue,” he said. “People are being killed, yet here we are discussing showy and punitive measures that only add fuel to the fire.”

He noted that although South Africa is failing in almost every other sphere, playing a role in brokering peace is one arena where it can still have influence, and yet it’s failing there too.

Mpithi called on the African National Congress (ANC) to consider its history, which he believes it’s betraying. Referring to democratic South Africa’s founding foreign policy documents, he said, “It was clear than and is clear now that we must stand on the side of diplomacy, on the side of peacekeeping, where it’s not about grandstanding but more about solutions that value every life.”

Bringing the discussion back to the draft resolution at hand, Mpithi said, “This is an argument that prioritises cosmetic changes instead of changes that will have a positive impact on the Palestinian and Israeli people. Like an ostrich in the sand, the ANC government is intent on acting out ideological and factional motivations.”

“The people who are so quick to throw stones at Israel must first familiarise themselves with what’s really going on there,” said Dr Corné Mulder, FF+ MP and chief spokesperson on international relations and co-operation. “A first-hand visit to the country wouldn’t hurt,” he said. “It’s highly unlikely that all the South African enemies of Israel have paid a visit to the Palestinian city of Ramallah, the West Bank, or Gaza Strip.

“Today’s attacks on Israel in the South African parliament contained all the same old clichés,” he said. “It confirms the suspicion that those expressing them are totally out of touch with what’s happening in the international community. The debate in parliament is, in fact, a tragic reflection of South Africa’s foreign policy and its attitude towards the country. With it, South Africa is relegating itself to an irrelevant bystander in the entire Israel-Palestine matter.

“These politicians are obviously ignorant of the international Abraham Accords between various role players seeking common ground for peace. [The Accords] include Middle Eastern Muslim countries that pursue normal diplomatic relations – something that many South Africans reject.

“The following lesson should be taken to heart: Israel doesn’t need anything from South Africa,” Mulder said. “The tiny country is a giant in the technological arena, and could help South Africa address its many problems. But ideology bites the hand that could feed it.

“Not everyone in Africa is that blind, though,” he said. “Countries like Angola, Cameroon, the Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Zambia, and many others have normal, diplomatic ties with Israel to the benefit of everyone in those countries.

“South Africa must wake up and take note,” said Mulder. “Even Israel and Palestine themselves are moving on in their pursuit of lasting solutions and peace. A true friend would have advised Palestine to help find true solutions and not keep playing the victim to get the world’s sympathy. Constantly attacking Israel is a game that has reached its expiry date.”

IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa described the debate as “disingenuous” and “regressive diplomacy”. He noted that “downgrading is a fluid concept”, so passing such a resolution actually carried no weight, and it was about “sloganeering” instead of genuinely accessing all diplomatic channels to bring together the two sides.

Hlengwa emphasised that such a move would affect South African Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities, and that it may also hinder access the Palestinians and Palestinian Authority. “This won’t inspire confidence in South Africa, and will put it in the awkward position of no longer being trusted as an honest broker for peace,” he said. “This moment will see South Africa walk away from the negotiating table.”

DA MP Mergan Chetty said bystanders picking sides only perpetuated divisions, and there were politicians who sought to benefit from these divisions as it had become their “political currency”. Human rights violations on both sides, such as terrorism perpetrated by Palestinians, needed to be called out.

ACDP MP Wayne Maxim Thring said the downgrade could negatively impact South Africa’s Christian pilgrims. “Israel bashing seems to be in vogue”, Thring said, yet the open hypocrisy was clear to see as “these Israel bashers” are quiet about so many human rights violations in the world. “We have a moral obligation to assist in a negotiated solution,” he said. “This resolution undermines any hope for a negotiated process and doesn’t benefit the Palestinian people.”

All four parties said their position on the Middle East remained in favour of a negotiated, two-state solution, based on 1967 borders. Both the South African Zionist Federation and South African Jewish Board of Deputies thanked them for their support in this dark hour for South African Jewry.