Parliament votes to downgrade SA embassy in Israel

Parliament voted this week to downgrade the South African embassy in Israel in a move seen by critics as posturing that helps nobody and disqualifies SA from playing a constructive role in helping to revolve the Iraeli-Palestinian conflict.

The resolution was proposed by the NFP which holds only two seats in Parliament but which allied with the anti-Israel ANC to push the motion through. Representatives of the DA, ACDP, IFP and FF+ spoke out against the move but the motion was carried with 208 votes to 94.

“This is a historic moment for our country and a demonstration of our unwavering commitment to justice, human rights, and freedom,” the NFP said in a statement after the vote which was largely a symbolic formalisation of a 2017 ANC conference resolution to downgrade the embassy in Tel Aviv to a liaison office which was followed by the recall of the SA ambassador in 2018.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry slammed the vote as a “shameful and disgraceful” resolution that contributes nothing to promoting a viable solution in the Middle East and comes at a time when Israel is strengthening ties with Muslim and Middle Eastern states.

Pamela Ngubane, spokesperson of South African Friends of Israel called the motion an outright attack on the religious rights and freedoms of South African Christians wishing to travel to the Holy Land.

Rowan Polovin, national chairman of the South African Zionist Federation said they are appalled at the passing of the motion whose only achievement is to diminish South Africa’s international standing and diplomatic role in the Middle East.

He said the ANC government had created a foreign policy that aimed to befriend dictatorships and bash democracies. “It obsesses over Israel, which is the size of our Kruger National Park, and at the same time, hosts navy war drills with Russia, responsible for horrific war crimes and the deaths of thousands of innocent Ukrainian civilians over the past year.”

“We note that this symbolic act took place during Purim, a Jewish holiday that commemorates how Jews were saved from genocide at the hands of Haman in ancient Persia.  It is ironic that Parliament would pick this day, of all days, to target and sanction the world’s only Jewish State, whose existence serves to prevent another genocide against the Jewish people,” he said.

South African Jewish Report commented that political analysts agree that the move won’t hurt Israel, considering that SA has made itself an “irrelevant player” in the Middle East peace process and is a minor trade partner.

However, it says the analysts believe Tuesday’s vote will have a “profound impact” on members of the Jewish community, who may question their future in a country so openly hostile to the Jewish state. They say it could prompt Jews to leave, taking with them entrepreneurial expertise and the potential for much-needed local job creation.

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