SA government delegation to Middle East ignores Israel

The deputy minister of international relations and cooperation, Candith Mashego-Dlamini, and her entourage took a trip to the Middle East on 21 August 2022 but left Israel off the itinerary.

The entourage made stops in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.

The trip was made soon after International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) Minister Dr Naledi Pandor told visiting American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, “We must use the proven tools of diplomacy, peace-building, dialogue, and mediation to resolve conflict. South Africa is keen to be a partner in this endeavour.”

“It’s a little unusual for a senior South African government official to travel to the Middle East for meetings about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and not meet anyone on the Israeli side,” said local political analyst Steven Gruzd. “The possibility of South Africa playing a credible mediation role has long passed, as the government has lined up firmly behind the Palestinians and makes no pretence of neutrality any more. South Africa doesn’t wish to legitimate Israel, and so the deputy minister is acting like Israel doesn’t exist.”

Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela said in an official statement, “The working visit is intended to enhance and strengthen bilateral relations between South Africa and the Levant countries. This will include the formation of strategic dialogue between Palestine and South Africa aimed at advancing the Palestinians’ desire to establish an independent, sovereign state.”

Said Monyela, “It’s expected that the visit will further provide the deputy minister an opportunity to exchange views on the most recent developments in South Africa, the South African Development Community region, and the African continent. While in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, the deputy minister will hold meetings with her counterparts. The meetings will be aimed at deepening relations between South Africa and these countries.”

Mashego-Dlamini was accompanied by the director-general of the department, Zane Dangor, and other officials. “The director-general will co-chair the second round of the South Africa – Palestine political consultations in Ramallah on 21 August 2022,” said Monyela ahead of the trip.

“It’s not normal for such a high-level delegation visiting the region not to visit Israel,” said Hussein Solomon, senior professor in the department of political studies and governance at the University of the Free State. “Whether you like its politics or not, it’s important to engage with Israel, because there’s not going to be any peace without the Israeli side.

“There’s a broader dynamic here,” he said. “If you look at South Africa in terms of our stance regarding Ukraine and so forth, our foreign policy seems to be guided by an ideological prism which is fit for the 1960s not 2022. We don’t have real pragmatism in terms of what our best interest as a country are.

“Israel has a lot to offer us. Beyond helping resolve the conflict, our national interests dictate that we engage with the state of Israel. That doesn’t mean to say that we agree with all that it does. In the same way that South Africa doesn’t agree with the United States on a variety of different issues – including Ukraine – our ambassador is still in the US. Excluding Israel doesn’t reflect a mature foreign policy or a mature leadership in Pretoria.”

Priyal Singh, senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, whose research interests include South African policy, said, “My immediate takeaway is that on this particular trip, I don’t think Israel was factored into South Africa’s strategy.” He believes that if South Africa was going to engage with Israel, it would have sent an even higher-level delegation. “Though there hasn’t been any meaningful engagement with Israel for quite some time, South Africa may be building up to that engagement. It wouldn’t have suited what it wanted to get out of this visit.”

He said this visit was more of a symbolic one, rather than focusing on any meaningful conflict resolution. “South Africa is becoming more explicit in its opposition to the US,” Singh noted. At the same time, he said South Africa was proud of being a constitutional democracy that prized human rights. He thinks this will hold South Africa back from officially aligning itself with states like Iran and Syria.

He believes South Africa still wants to play a role in mediating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “South Africa calls for mediation and dialogue in other places, but when it comes to Israel and the Palestinians, it disengages from one party. If it were to play a constructive mediation role, it would need to build some level of trust and rapport with Israel. And even if South Africa appears to support isolating Israel, it doesn’t officially boycott it. Israel and South Africa have trade relations, back-and-forth investment, and historic ties. All of this points to a confused foreign policy.”

“Strategic dialogue on issues relating to Palestinian statehood need to include input from Israeli and South African representatives,” said South African Zionist Federation National Chairperson Rowan Polovin. “It highlights the importance of having a South African ambassador based in Israel to help facilitate such dialogue. Appointing an ambassador would help improve South Africa’s image by creating a fair and balanced approach to its diplomatic efforts.”

South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) National Chairperson Professor Karen Milner said the visit showed that “South Africa may be looking for ways to practically re-engage in the region. We hope that this visit will be followed up with an official visit to Israel in the near future.

“The SAJBD believes that a negotiated two-state solution, with Israeli and Palestinian states co-existing in peace alongside one another within secure borders, is the only way forward. South Africa can play an important role as a mediating partner. This, however, can be done only when there’s a direct understanding of the situation on the ground, based on engaging with all parties. We hope that the deputy minister’s visit signals the beginning of such a process.”

The SA Jewish Report approached Dirco for comment, but received no response.

The Embassy of the State of Palestine in South Africa and Dirco’s Facebook pages shared almost identical posts about the trip. This after Pandor recently admitted to the fact that South Africa had funded that embassy since its creation in 1994.

The embassy’s page said the deputy minister had arrived in Jerusalem, but at no point was this described as being in Israel. She then went to Bethlehem.

Using the hashtag #SAinPalestine, both Dirco and the embassy said, “Deputy Minister Mashego-Dlamini accompanied by a Dirco delegation, visited the Yasser Arafat tomb and museum in Ramallah, Palestine.”

“The museum serves as an ongoing repository of national knowledge and culture where information on the history and culture of Palestine is displayed,” they said. “The museum also encourages effective dialogue with the public. This is a resource centre established as a vital, educational research facility for the local community and those interested in the Palestinian cause and the life and legacy of Yasser Arafat.”

Both Dirco and the embassy shared that the deputy minister had participated in the “second session of the Palestine-South Africa strategic dialogue with her counterpart, Dr Amal Jadou, the deputy minister of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The purpose of the #SAPalestine #StrategicDialogue is to deepen relations between Palestine and South Africa including on political, economic, cultural, and social issues. Furthermore, it also provides a platform for government representatives from the two countries to exchange information on developments within the region as well as globally,” continued the post. This was accompanied by the hashtags #SAinPalestine, #SAPalestineRelations and #Solidarity4Palestine.

Photo credit: Dirco Facebook Page