Expulsion of Israeli diplomat sparks backlash

South Africa’s decision to expel Israel’s chargé d’affaires has escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis, drawing condemnation from the United States (US) State Department, sharp rebukes from multiple domestic political parties, and expressions of shock from Jewish communal organisations. 

Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein publicly accused the African National Congress (ANC) and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) of allowing ideology to override the national interest. 

This follows Dirco’s decision on Friday, 30 January, to declare Israel’s chargé d’affaires to South Africa, Ariel Seidman, persona non grata, giving him 72 hours to get out the country. Israel responded by expelling South Africa’s ambassador in Ramallah, Shaun Byneveldt, in what officials on both sides acknowledge as a further deterioration in bilateral relations. 

On Tuesday, Tommy Pigott, the deputy spokesperson for the US State Department, issued a blunt condemnation of Pretoria’s decision. “South Africa’s recent decision to expel Israel’s top diplomat is another example of its poor foreign policy choices,” Pigott said. “Expelling a diplomat for calling out the African National Congress party’s ties to Hamas and other antisemitic radicals prioritises grievance politics over the good of South Africa and its citizens.” 

Dirco accused Seidman of “unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice which pose a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty”, including insulting President Cyril Ramaphosa. It accused Seidman of using official social media platforms to attack Ramaphosa, and inviting Israeli officials to the country without permission. 

Dirco spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said this week that the department was assessing the impact of the decision on South Africa’s diplomatic presence in the region, including its services in Palestinian territories, and was considering the facilitation of a potential new ambassador. 

He said Israel could also facilitate the appointment of a new chargé d’affaires to South Africa “if it is interested in correcting the conduct of Mr Seidman”. 

The reciprocal expulsions point to a freezing of relations rather than a complete severing of diplomatic ties, according to analysts who warn that it marks a clear escalation in hostilities between the two countries. 

The dispute partially centres on the Israeli embassy’s public communication, particularly on social media. Its more recent posts adopted a forthright and at times “cheeky”, though measured, tone. This is described by insiders as a broader embrace of so-called “Twitter diplomacy”. 

Supporters of the Israeli mission argue that though the tone was occasionally sharp, it didn’t cross diplomatic red lines and remained within accepted international norms. 

One post that drew attention was from 6 October 2025, amid the Global Sumud Flotilla saga. Responding to a Mail & Guardian article headlined, “Cyril to Israel: Release Them Now”, the embassy posted, “Mr President @CyrilRamaphosa: We trust DIRCO_ZA has informed you that all South Africans who tried to enter illegally will be expelled tomorrow via Jordan. As always, it’s the South African taxpayers who get the honour of paying for their fellow citizens’ deportation tickets.” 

Diplomatic sources caution against reducing the saga to social media alone, noting that much of the engagement under scrutiny involved humanitarian outreach and development cooperation facilitated by visiting Ambassador David Saranga, the director of the digital diplomacy bureau at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working in coordination with the Israeli mission in South Africa. 

Saranga facilitated engagement between Israeli representatives, abaThembu King Buyelekhaya Zwelibanzi Dalindyebo, and civil institutions including hospitals and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) operating in the beleaguered Eastern Cape. The aim was to address severe challenges such as water scarcity, healthcare delivery, and to support infrastructure. 

Sources say it was the visibility of these engagements – particularly photographs, videos, and posts shared publicly following visits to the Eastern Cape – that ultimately triggered concern within Dirco. “It was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said one insider. According to sources, the outreach was perceived as bypassing national government structures, despite its humanitarian focus. 

Two days after the widely publicised visit to the Eastern Cape involving Israeli representatives, Seidman was declared persona non grata. 

Saranga described the expulsion as sudden and extreme. “It was surprising,” he told the SA Jewish Report. “To declare a diplomat persona non grata is an extreme measure. Countries usually try to refrain from this.” 

He rejected the notion that the activities cited were unusual. “Over my entire career as a diplomat, I have never had to ask permission to visit places,” Saranga said. “This is the job of a diplomat – not to sit behind a desk. Israeli diplomats are active. It’s in our DNA. We reach out, build bridges, and find ways to cooperate.” 

He said Israel would continue its humanitarian engagement in South Africa. 

Former Israeli ambassador to South Africa, Arthur Lenk, echoed this view. “I spent four years in South Africa, and I never asked permission to go anywhere,” he said this week. 

For South Africa’s Jewish community, the expulsion has been deeply unsettling. 

Wendy Kahn, national director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), said it wasn’t clear what had justified such an extreme response. “Bringing NGOs into the Eastern Cape to assist with a devastating water crisis shouldn’t be controversial,” she said. 

Kahn warned of practical consequences. “This has a direct impact on South Africans living in Israel, visiting Israel, and on Christian pilgrimages,” she said. “Suddenly people find themselves in a country with no consular services.” 

She said the community felt betrayed, and that South Africa had applied “a completely different set of rules when it comes to the Jewish state”. 

Professor Karen Milner, the national chairperson of the SAJBD, said, “At a time of great global turmoil, Dirco finds the time and energy to expel a member of the Israeli diplomatic corps while ignoring human rights abuses elsewhere. This didn’t happen in response to a few tweets.” 

In a scathing address this week, the chief rabbi said the expulsion of Seidman showed how much Ramaphosa and his government “hate Israel and the Jews – that the government is prepared to let its own people die rather than concede that its foreign policy on Israel is misguided”. 

“The Israeli embassy was working with local communities to help address a devastating water crisis in the Eastern Cape. Millions of South Africans lack reliable access to clean water. Children fall ill from preventable disease. Families queue for hours or share contaminated water with livestock,” Goldstein said. 

“When Israel offered help, the programme was halted,” he said. “The diplomat was expelled. Because allowing Israel to alleviate human suffering threatened the optics of the ANC’s anti-Israel agenda.”