South Africa, Israel trade expulsions in diplomatic free fall

South Africa and Israel this week shattered their relationship in a tit-for-tat expulsion of senior diplomatic representatives, marking one of the most serious escalations in bilateral tensions to date. 

On Friday, 30 January, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) declared Israel’s chargé d’affaires in Pretoria, Ariel Seidman, persona non grata, ordering him to leave the country within 72 hours. 

Within hours, Israel responded by declaring South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative in Israel, Minister Shaun Edward Byneveldt, persona non grata, also giving him 72 hours to depart. 

The dramatic diplomatic rupture unfolded as Seidman was in Johannesburg delivering an address to schoolchildren at King David Linksfield during a special assembly welcoming the Bibas family to South Africa. Baby Ariel Bibas, his brother, Kfir, and their mother, Shiri, were murdered by Hamas terrorists during the 7 October 2023 massacre in Israel. 

By the time Seidman returned to his office in Pretoria, a media crew, including journalists from the South African Broadcasting Corporation, were already waiting outside. According to sources, Seidman hadn’t yet been formally notified of his expulsion and first became aware of Dirco’s decision through the media. 

In Dirco’s statement issued on 30 January, it said it had informed the Israeli government of its decision to declare Seidman persona non grata, describing the move as a decisive measure in response to what it called a series of unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice which posed a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty. 

Dirco accused the Israeli embassy of repeatedly using official social media platforms to launch insulting attacks against President Cyril Ramaphosa and of deliberately failing to inform the department of purported visits by senior Israeli officials. 

“These actions represent a gross abuse of diplomatic privilege and a fundamental breach of the Vienna Convention,” Dirco said, pointing out that the conduct had systematically undermined the trust and protocols essential for bilateral relations. 

“South Africa’s sovereignty and the dignity of its offices are inviolable,” the department said, confirming that Seidman had to be out of South Africa within three days. 

Within a couple of hours, Israel’s foreign ministry issued a responding statement instructing Byneveldt to leave Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said their decision followed South Africa’s false attacks against Israel in the international arena, and Dirco’s unilateral, baseless step against the Israeli chargé d’affaires. 

“As a result, South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative, Minister Shaun Edward Byneveldt, is persona non grata and must leave Israel within 72 hours,” the statement said. “Additional steps will be considered in due course.” 

Diplomatic analysts say the reciprocal expulsion of chargés d’affaires, the highest-ranking diplomats in the absence of ambassadors, signals a severe downgrade in already bad relations between the two countries. 

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) reacted with outrage, describing Dirco’s decision as a troubling escalation in South Africa’s increasingly hostile diplomatic posture. 

“The decision to expel an Israeli diplomat over social media posts and alleged procedural oversights stands in stark contrast to South Africa’s wilful blindness toward ongoing international atrocities,” the SAJBD said. 

Though Dirco claimed to be defending diplomatic norms and human rights, the Board accused the government of applying these principles selectively, pointing to South Africa’s silence on serious human rights abuses, including the massacre of protesters by the Iranian government and war crimes in Sudan. 

“Just days after Israel offered water solutions to a desperate community in the Eastern Cape, Dirco expelled the Israeli chargé d’affaires, diverting attention from real domestic issues,” the statement said. 

“It is also notable that, as a ceasefire holds in the Middle East, the opportunity for South Africa to contribute to peace is again ignored.” 

The Board said that, unlike Dirco, South Africa’s Jewish community remained committed to constructive dialogue on all matters affecting the country and global conflicts. 

The South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) issued a sharply worded response, accusing the African National Congress (ANC) government of moral bankruptcy and ideological hostility. 

In a statement titled “Cry the Thirsty Country”, SAZF National Spokesperson Rolene Marks said Seidman had been expelled not for espionage, misconduct, or breaches of protocol, but for helping South Africans access clean water. 

She said the Israeli embassy had partnered openly with traditional leadership and civil society in the Eastern Cape to provide water solutions for communities long abandoned by the state. 

“When water flowed where excuses had ruled, the ANC didn’t respond with humility or gratitude. It responded with expulsion,” Marks said. 

The SAZF accused the government of punishing humanitarian assistance because it exposed state failure, while maintaining close ties with authoritarian regimes such as Iran. 

“This isn’t principled foreign policy, it is ideological hostility masquerading as virtue,” the SAZF said. 

The diplomatic standoff comes amid already strained relations between South Africa and key Western allies, particularly the United States, following Pretoria’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and its growing alignment with Iran, Russia, and China. 

Foreign policy experts warn that the expulsion of senior diplomats, especially in such a public and confrontational manner, risks further isolating South Africa and undermining its credibility as an advocate for human rights and international law. 

Israel’s warning that additional steps may follow has raised concerns that further diplomatic, political, or economic consequences could be imposed. 

Before the end of the day, Dirco spokesperson Chrispin Phiri put out a statement: Mr Shaun Byneveldt is ambassador to the State of Palestine not Israel, Israel’s obstructionism forces a farcical arrangement where he is accredited through the very state that occupies his host country. This underscores Israel’s refusal to honour international consensus on Palestinian statehood. 

In his address to the assembly at King David Linksfield, Seidman said, “Growing up in Israel, I never really experienced antisemitism the way you do here. Only when I moved abroad, I realised what antisemitism was, what it means to meet people who hate you or dislike you or think of you just for being a Jew. But, if there’s something small or good that came out of these horrible two years – since 7 October – I would like to say that the Jews in Israel and the Jews in the diaspora are much, much, much closer than ever before.” 

For now, both governments appear entrenched, with neither showing signs of de-escalation. 

What is clear is that the rapidly escalating diplomatic fallout between South Africa and Israel has entered dangerous territory, with implications that may extend beyond Pretoria and Jerusalem and into South Africa’s already fragile relations with the United States and other Western partners.