South Africa – Having lived under the Apartheid government, South Africans know what it feels to be treated like secondary citizens in their own country. Therefore, it was always easy for South Africa to be in support of Palestine. The government and people understand and can identify what an Apartheid system looks like. However, in recent years there have been some in government who have started to side with Israel. It now raises the question as to whose side South Africa is truly on.
The South African government remains in favour of a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel. It is a solution that Palestinians are not in favour of. Although they have this stance and continue to have an embassy in Israel Braam Hanekom, from Africa4Palestine, expressed that South Africa’s is a true friend of Palestine although it could do better.
“While there’s a lot of room for improvement, we would always want to see more Improvement, the government of South Africa and the ruling party have actually been a shining light for Palestinian solidarity around the globe. There are very few countries around the world that do not have an ambassador in Israel right now. There are a very few countries around the world that are taking the position that South Africa is at the UN and although there’s a lot of work to be done, I think that South Africa actually is a true friend of the Palestinian people.”
The risks taken by South Africa to support Palestine
There have been calls in the past for the government to show more solidarity towards Palestine. Local activists believe that not enough has been done by the government. However, Donovan William, International Relations Consultant, begs to differ. He believes the government has done enough but the people on the ground fail to recognise it.
“South African government, with both Minister Pando as well as the deputy minister and the president, risked long-standing relationships on the African continent for the support of Palestine. They’ve risked deep standing diplomatic trade relations with countries within our continent and across the world because they make no apologies for standing with the people of Palestine. Nobody has yet commended the South African government for that.”
The government has risked a lot to keep its ties with Palestine. William feels the public has treated the government unfairly when it comes to these matters. He also believes those who criticise the government often fail to do anything locally when political parties join ties with Israel.
“You have local municipalities working with Israelis on water technology and there’s not one protest by local residents on those deals being made. You’ve had political parties openly say that they support Israel, and they will not change from that but yet we have had no single party step away from joining coalitions with those parties.”
While the national government is doing their part, William feels those on the ground have not. They need to do a lot more in terms of creating awareness and cutting ties with Israel. The government deserves to be applauded for their actions and sticking by Palestine.
The South African government needs to be more consistent with its support
Civil societies and indeed international organisations have always been vocal and appreciative of the government’s help and support. The government even withdrew their support for Miss SA when she travelled to Israel for the Miss World competition. This is all well and good but Noor Ahmad, Palestine Solidarity Alliance, would like to see more consistency from the government when it comes to calling out those who are in support of Israel.
“While the government did withdraw the support for Lalela, why is it that the same sort of energy is not utilised when we have South African football players soccer tournaments on ethnically cleansed Palestinian land? There’s not that same kind of energy towards tennis players that are soon to be playing a match in Israel. There needs to be more of an adoption of a policy of BDS.”
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South Africa needs to do more than just declare Israel an Apartheid state
In recent times there have been calls and push from various influential people and politicians to label Israel an Apartheid state. While William is all for the move, it is not enough. Israel is more than just an Apartheid state.
“We agree with the South African government of calling Israel an apartheid state but there is also a difference. Apartheid South Africa wasn’t focused on killing the black South Africans of this country. It needed them for cheap labour. Whereas in Israel in the occupied territories, it is clear that there’s a genocide. It is a liquidation of the people of Palestine. It’s more than just Apartheid. We agree with the South African government, but this has gone further than a discussion about whether it should be two-state or one state.”
The one state or two state solution should come from the Palestinian people themselves. They should get to decide, said William. The government should be pushed further to label the actions in Israel as a genocide.
When the South African Council of Churches visited Palestine, they labelled it worse than Apartheid, said Ahmed. This shows how far worse the situation is and why the government needs to be pushed to label it a genocide.
Removing the South African embassy in Israel
Many see the South African embassy in Israel as a statement that South Africa is supportive of them. There have been calls by various activists to remove it and shut it down. William cannot see the benefit of doing that. He relayed a story about IDF members who went to the British embassy during Apartheid days to seek refuge. This scene caused the British government to ask questions about what was really going on in Apartheid South Africa. William believes keeping the embassy open can help in a similar way and will only be beneficial to the Palestinian people.
“We should be using our embassy and our relationship with Israel. We should be telling the South African government that every time you meet with Israel the first point on the agenda and the last point of the agenda must be ‘what are you Israelis doing about the liberation of the Palestinian people and your human rights atrocities’? That must be always on the agenda at the beginning and the last point of the agenda. Our embassy in Israel must be used as a magnet for progressive Israelis, for Palestinians who are being oppressed to be able to use our embassy to organise and elevate their struggles.”
While in theory creating an embassy like that is a great idea, Ahmad doubts it can be accomplished. She believes South Africa should lead the way forward being a former Apartheid state and close down the embassy.
“The idea that the South African embassy can be an activist hub, or a progressive space is very good in theory but we have to be very honest whether or not that would translate into the action we want. It’s also extremely important as a former Apartheid state to set the example. The South African government has been leading the call to recognise what Israel is doing is genocide. We also now need to take that step and make sure we are leading the world with our actions and not just our words. We can’t be complicit with the actions taken by Israel.”
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The government won’t do anything that goes against their two-state policy
While the idea of taking down the embassy certainly is a way of sending a message to the world, it will not happen. Doing that will be going in the step of de-recognising Israel. A move South Africa will never sanction as it will go against their two-state policy, explained Alvin Botes, Deputy Minister of Department of International Relations (DIRCO).
“We have recalled our ambassador. We have obviously looked at the mechanism to downgrade the embassy as a way to express our dissatisfaction for the ongoing human rights violation by Israel in Palestine. What we can’t do is de-recognise the State of Israel because that obviously goes against the principle of the two-stage solution.”
The important thing is for South Africa to draw a clear line on their stance and work with organisations to achieve their goals. It is important to have unity on this situation for anything reliable to be achieved. While the government and activists have done a lot for Palestine, more can be done. Only by unifying under one banner can this goal of freeing Palestine be achieved.
