International affairs minister favours cutting ties with Israel

NICOLA MILTZ

She told this to a BDS-linked Muslim organisation called the Social Compact for Peace and Justice shortly before the ANC’s December elective conference at Nasrec. It was there that the ANC took the policy decision to downgrade the South African embassy in Israel. 

She told the members of this group in January that she had, according to their wishes, spoken to members of the international relations commission, which was handling the downgrade. The SA Jewish Report could not confirm whether Sisulu did indeed speak to members of the commission, or do anything at all, before the ANC’s decision to downgrade the embassy.

Sisulu, who was sworn in this week as part of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet reshuffle, had dinner with members of this organisation shortly before the ANC’s elective conference in December and committed to doing what she could for them. 

On January 4, Sisulu was invited again by the same group to report back on the role she played and to further engage on the Palestinian issue.

A video of this gathering was seen by SA Jewish Report. In it, Sisulu is seen addressing a relatively small crowd – made up of members of this organisation, along with the top leadership of BDS SA and other members of the Muslim community –at the Jiswa Centre in Lenasia.

She reported back to them about the dinner she had with the Social Compact members before the conference took place at Nasrec, saying: “We had a wonderful time with them… We discussed a whole variety of things… But one thing that stood out was the concerns around the issue of Israel.

“Two requests were made: One – there must be a downgrading of the embassy, and two, please make sure that tomorrow the Embassy of Israel packs up and goes to the Dead Sea. Am I correct?” she said, to loud applause.

Sisulu said she took the message through to the international relations commission. “Fortunately, it fell on very fertile soil,” she said.

She added that she thought it was very important “to come back and say thank you for making that very strong suggestion. It was taken up and today you can say you were part of a very important decision that was taken by the ANC at the conference.

“Unfortunately, the Embassy of Israel is not in the Dead Sea; it’s very much in Pretoria and we still have to work very hard to make sure the final request that was made is carried through.”

There were several prominent speakers at the Lenasia event, including South Africa’s ambassador to Palestine, AY Suliman; the co-founder and director of BDS SA, Muhammed Desai; and South Africa’s former ambassador to Libya, Syria and Saudi Arabia, Mohamed Dangor. Professor Farid Esack, the chairperson of BDS SA, and members of the SA Council of Churches were also present.

Sisulu has been a long-serving Cabinet minister in portfolios including defence, public service and administration, and human settlements. Sisulu is the daughter of anti-apartheid activists Walter and Albertina Sisulu.

In 2014, she was accused of squandering public money while she was defence minister when it emerged that she had spent R11 million on chartered flights in a Gulfstream jet.

She has also come under fire for several appointments she made in her portfolios, which included the appointment of former national director for public prosecutions Menzi Simelane as a special adviser, despite him facing charges of misconduct.

Sisulu initially ran against Ramaphosa in the ANC leadership race in 2017 but later withdrew, choosing to pursue the deputy position, which she lost to David Mabuza.

Sisulu told the audience that when she was invited to dinner with Social Compact for Justice and Peace in December, she shared her own personal experience of having been sent by Madiba to go and see Yasser Arafat just before he died. She said that Arafat told her that his “fate was in the hands of the South Africans”.

“So, all of us here have the responsibility that a man died for peace, a man who supported us through our struggle, and I came back here to report to you because we knew that the message he was sending us to give to the conference was one that came from the heart…”

Desai said at the report-back meeting that when the embassy is downgraded, “we’re going to have a welcome party, Comrade Sisulu, and we want you to be part of it”.

Desai spoke about the numerous so-called BDS successes last year, including when government minsters participated in a 24-hour solidarity fast; and the snub the government gave to the visiting Israeli parliamentary delegation.

Calling the downgrade “no small feat”, he added: “We must acknowledge members of the ANC and Minister Sisulu’s role.”

Wendy Kahn, the national director of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), said this week: “The SAJBD was concerned by comments by Minister Sisulu in January this year when she stated in an address at the Social Compact for Peace and Justice that she had delivered on her promise to them to downgrade the South African Embassy in Tel Aviv and would now work hard to cut diplomatic ties. 

“We have written to the minister with a view to meeting with her to discuss this issue. It is our hope that the new administration will be open to the possibility of South Africa playing a role in attempting to facilitate dialogue between the Palestinians and Israelis with a view to finding solutions going forward. Many in the Ramaphosa Cabinet have valuable experience in dialogue and negotiation, having led our country to democracy and, more recently, in terms of our leadership transition.”

The board said it look forward to discussing with Sisulu “the role that this experience and expertise could have in peace building between the Palestinians and Israelis”. 

The board added: “We have stated previously that if you shut your embassy, you shut your ability to play a role in the conflict. This does not help anyone. As President Ramaphosa said in 2014: ‘It is often best, when you want to solve problems, to remain engaged so that you can have some leverage.’

“We also intend sharing with the minister the real concerns that the Jewish community has in terms of the implications of the downgrade.”