Queen Rania’s Gaza speech divides youth summit

Queen Rania of Jordan used a high-profile global youth summit in Cape Town to deliver a fiercely one-sided condemnation of Israel, drawing cheers from sections of the audience, but leaving Jewish delegates and others deeply uncomfortable. Influential South African business people involved questioned her judgement. 

During the opening ceremony of the One Young World Summit on 3 November, the queen invoked South Africa’s apartheid struggle, condemned Israel’s conduct in Gaza, and applauded Pretoria’s “genocide” case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. 

“When South Africa formally accused Israel of violating the Genocide Convention, it did so boldly, plainly, and unapologetically. Thank you, South Africa. If only every nation had your moral clarity.” 

One young Jewish entrepreneur attending the summit was so distressed that she got up and left, witnessing others doing the same. 

“She hijacked this auspicious event with hateful rhetoric. I have never felt so uncomfortable or unsettled. Hearing people applaud made me feel sick,” she told the SA Jewish Report, requesting anonymity. 

“Here was a room filled with extraordinary, impressionable young minds from across the globe, gathered to inspire and change. Instead, they were subjected to a divisive political message that had no place on a platform intended to unite and inspire.” 

Another attendee said she felt “let down and disappointed”. 

“There should have been other speakers to provide balance, context, and nuance.” 

Prominent businessman and philanthropist Ivor Ichikowitz, who was seated on stage when Queen Rania spoke, said she had “misjudged” the occasion. 

“I was uncomfortable, but I think she miscalculated this thing terribly. Her speech went down like a lead balloon,” he told the SA Jewish Report. 

Geoff Rothschild, Johannesburg Stock Exchange chairperson and Africa adviser to One Young World since 2013, said, “It was not in keeping with the ideals of One Young World. If there is to be harmony in the world, hate has no place.” 

One Young World brings together emerging leaders from around the world to tackle pressing global challenges. The Cape Town summit featured approximately 300 speakers, including Nobel laureates, former heads of state, business leaders, and renowned humanitarian Graça Machel. 

During her address, Queen Rania accused the international community of failing to uphold international law in Gaza and described Palestinian life in the West Bank as “a living hell”. 

She accused governments that failed to act against Israel of making a deliberate choice, describing their position as “a cop-out dressed up as neutrality”. 

Her speech made no reference to Hamas’s 7 October attacks or the Israeli hostages taken into Gaza, omissions that drew criticism from Jewish organisations. 

Ichikowitz, whose family foundation partnered with One Young World through the National Programme for Job Generating Entrepreneurs initiative, said Queen Rania’s address stood in stark contrast to the overwhelmingly positive messages delivered by other speakers. 

“She should have been there in celebration of youth, like everybody else was. Instead, she was there to make a political speech,” he said. Her speech was “so against the theme of the event and was just so out of place”. 

Ichikowitz stressed that his objection was not to differing political opinions but to the appropriateness of the occasion. “It was an inappropriate forum for that message.” 

Although Queen Rania received applause, Ichikowitz said it was noticeably less enthusiastic than that for other speakers. 

“Graça Machel got up and made a speech and got a standing ovation. Queen Rania did not.” 

“I was sitting on the stage, so I was watching. I’ve spoken to numerous people who were in the crowd, and other speeches got a much more rousing reception than what she received. 

“She is an icon and got the polite reception that somebody of that nature would receive, but her speech didn’t get the reaction that she probably expected,” he said, suggesting that the queen may have anticipated a more sympathetic audience in Cape Town. 

He was particularly encouraged by the summit’s flag ceremony, which included both Israeli and Palestinian flags. 

“Yes, there was an Israeli flag in the mix, and the Israeli flag got exactly the same applause.” 

The South African Zionist Federation condemned the queen’s speech. 

“Queen Rania of Jordan wrapped herself in Soweto, Sharpeville, and Robben Island, and borrowed the moral authority of South Africa’s liberation struggle for a speech devoted to condemning Israel,” said national spokesperson Rolene Marks. 

“In an address about Gaza, she found no room for Hamas, for 7 October, or for the hostages. That silence tells you what kind of speech it was.” 

Marks accused the queen of overlooking Jordan’s own treatment of Palestinians, citing the 1970 Black September conflict, the stripping of Jordanian nationality from West Bank Palestinians, and the withdrawal of citizenship affecting Jordanians of Palestinian origin. 

“South Africans need no lessons from a royal court on the meaning of apartheid. We lived it. Queen Rania is entitled to her politics. She is not entitled to conscript Soweto into a campaign that erases Hamas from the story, prejudges a court, and exempts her own kingdom from scrutiny.” 

This was not the first time the queen used the summit platform to condemn Israel. In 2025 in Munich, she drew parallels between Nazi dehumanisation of Jews and Israeli rhetoric about Palestinians. 

One Young World defended its decision to give her a platform, while acknowledging the discomfort expressed by some participants. 

Managing director Ella Robertson McKay said the organisation existed to facilitate open discussion, including on contentious political issues. 

“One Young World is a platform for the free and frank exchange of views. That includes perspectives on deeply contested issues, which participants must be free to question and disagree with.” 

She said Queen Rania was one of 300 speakers and had addressed three previous summits. Her longstanding work in children’s rights, education, and refugee advocacy made her a relevant contributor, Robertson McKay said. 

“Providing a platform for political views does not imply endorsement by One Young World or by anyone else attending the summit.” 

She pointed out that the programme had also addressed conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as gender-based violence and security. 

The organisation had previously hosted Holocaust survivor Eva Clarke, and Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilders Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu-Sarah. 

Robertson McKay stressed that the organisation took participants’ concerns seriously. 

“We want young people of every nationality, faith, and background to feel welcome, respected, and heard at One Young World.” 

She said organisers were willing to meet participants who felt their perspectives had not been represented and consider ways to make future summits more inclusive. 

Ichikowitz was emphatic that the controversy should not overshadow the summit’s success. 

“I’ve very seldom attended a massive summit of this nature that was quite as well delivered as this. It was a real celebration of the power and the resilience of global youth. I think we can celebrate the fact that Cape Town stood to its principles. It didn’t allow itself to get used and abused.”