By Bafana Modise, National Spokesperson of South African Friends of Israel
More than 5 500 people gathered at Mount Beula Park & Mount Zion in Edenvale, Johannesburg, on Saturday in a powerful demonstration of Christian prayer, national intercession and solidarity with Israel, as the South African Friends of Israel (SAFI) participated in the A Million Women solemn assembly.
The full-day gathering brought together local families, churches and communities for fasting, worship and prayer at a time when organisers have called Christians to respond to the profound challenges confronting the nation, and follows the tragic killing of several women in Kempton Park over the last few weeks.
“The scale and conviction of Saturday’s gathering demonstrated that Christian South Africans who stand with Israel are increasingly willing to make their voices democratically heard in South Africa’s civic life. With Israel’s Deputy Ambassador in attendance, 5 500 people stood together in prayer against antisemitism, prayed for the safety of the women of our country, for Israel, and for the peace of Jerusalem, sending an unmistakable message to the ANC government: thousands of Christian South Africans are prepared to stand publicly and unapologetically against antisemitism and in friendship with Israel. What we witnessed at Mount Zion was faith finding a public voice,” said Bafana Modise, National Spokesperson for SAFI.
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Saturday’s gathering challenged the assumption that the South African Government’s policy towards Israel speaks for all South Africans. Relations between the two governments remain severely strained, and yet, the deterioration in government-to-government relations contrasts sharply with continued engagement between Israelis and South Africans outside of government. Israel’s new Deputy Head of Mission, Hen Feder, told News24 that he sees relations between the two governments as “tense” and at “quite a low point”, but nevertheless believes that “there’s still a positive agenda that can be pursued” in South Africa. Feder said that, in the absence of a diplomatic thaw, he intends to pursue a “people-to-people agenda”, including engagement with South African communities and traditional leaders.
That distinction between government relations and relations between people was visible at Mount Zion on Saturday, where thousands of South Africans publicly expressed solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people.
In his recent News24 interview, Hen Feder strongly rejected South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ, describing it as “atrocious”, “factless” and “baseless”. He described South Africa’s expulsion of his predecessor as “erroneous” and “too extreme”, while insisting that despite the deterioration in diplomatic relations, Israel’s embassy “is here to stay”. The News24 interview also highlighted another significant divide between political rhetoric and the practical relationship between the two countries: bilateral trade has continued despite their diplomatic dispute.
According to the latest figures, South Africa exported R415-million worth of goods and services to Israel in June 2026, a 211% increase from R133-million in June 2025. Trade Minister Parks Tau also confirmed in a parliamentary reply that South Africa exported 1.8 million tonnes of coal to Israel during 2025, compared with 722,000 tonnes in 2024 and 535,000 tonnes in 2023. Tau said there was “no position to review SA exports to Israel” and that halting trade could breach World Trade Organisation agreements and expose South Africa to legal challenges.
Feder has told the media that neither country had decided to discontinue trade and argued that commercial relationships could continue because businesses don’t need the embassies or the governments to intervene. These continuing commercial and people-to-people relationships demonstrate that the relationship between South Africa and Israel extends beyond the diplomatic dispute between their governments.
Pearl Kupe, a Minister and Kingdom Activist, lawyer, and advisor to world leaders, was also in attendance at the event on Saturday, and speaking to the deputy ambassador, stated: “We declare these words as South Africa, Your people will be our people and Your God, our God.”
Apostle Ben Ndobe, Leader Of Dominion Life Cathedral International, added to these sentiments and stated: “We call for peace and end to bloodshed of innocent lives in Israel and Palestine. We call upon the church to pray for the peace of Jerusalem as mandated by scripture”.
“Government policy must not be confused with the full diversity of South African public opinion. Saturday demonstrated that there is a substantial Christian constituency whose biblical convictions lead them to friendship with Israel and solidarity with the Jewish people. Those South Africans also deserve to be heard in our national conversation. Restoring constructive relations between South Africa and Israel could also create opportunities for cooperation in areas where South Africans face urgent challenges, including water security, agriculture, technology, entrepreneurship, healthcare and innovation,” Modise said.
“Caring about Israel and caring about South Africa are not competing commitments. We believe friendship between our countries can be grounded both in biblical conviction and in a practical desire to see South Africans prosper. Our country should be building bridges that allow knowledge, innovation and opportunity to flow between our peoples,” Modise added.
The gathering also placed the relationship with Israel within the wider debate about political participation by South Africa’s Christian communities. It is clear that organised Christian engagement on Israel will increasingly form part of the issues on which politically engaged Christians scrutinise public representatives and participate in democratic debate.
“Prayer and democratic participation are not mutually exclusive. Christians, like every South African, have the constitutional right to examine the policies and conduct of their leaders, to make their convictions heard peacefully and to hold elected representatives accountable at the ballot box,” Modise said.
SAFI stressed that Christian solidarity with Israel should never be understood as hostility towards Palestinians or any other people. Praying for the peace of Jerusalem is a call for a future in which Israelis, Palestinians and their neighbours can live without terrorism, antisemitism, hatred or perpetual conflict. The gathering also affirmed the conviction that God’s covenant with Israel has not been erased by contemporary politics. Thousands stood together to pray for the Jewish people, for Israel, for Jerusalem and against antisemitism.
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