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South Africa’s Future Depends on Confronting Domestic Crises, Not Scapegoating Israel
Director-General of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa Zane Dangor and South African Ambassador to the Netherlands Vusimuzi Madonsela talk at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), at the start of a hearing where South Africa requests new emergency measures over Israel’s operations in Rafah, in The Hague, Netherlands, May 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in effect called for the annihilation of Israel at the African National Congress (ANC)’s closing election rally — by leading a chant of “From the River to the Sea” — it marked a new low in South Africa’s democratic history.
However, this blatant attempt to scapegoat Israel and deflect from the ANC’s catastrophic failures at home, didn’t improve its poor performance in the May 29 elections.
South Africa is besieged by domestic crises — joblessness, collapsing infrastructure, and a murder rate of 81 people per day. Yet, rather than focus on addressing these urgent issues, one of the ANC’s key election tactics was to demonize Israel for defending itself against the terrorist group Hamas. Ramaphosa naively believed this would win votes, declaring “historically, people have been appreciative of the stance taken by the ANC.”
But South Africans weren’t fooled. They voted based on the dire situation at home, not a faraway conflict they know little about. The ANC suffered its worst result ever in the country’s history. Meanwhile, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) party, whose leader Gayton McKenzie bluntly told a rally “Do not tell me about Palestine here … This is not Palestine,” won an impressive 7% in the Western Cape province, almost equal to the 9 percentage points the ANC lost there.
Some analysts wrongly predicted the PA’s pro-Israel stance would doom them. Instead, the PA’s success showed that the ANC is out of touch.
The ANC’s malicious campaign against Israel reached new depths when it took the Jewish State to the International Court of Justice, falsely accusing it of genocide. This egregious charge not only does a grave historical injustice to the actual meaning of genocide — and the millions of victims who suffered under it — but also exposes the ANC’s moral decay.
By exploiting the term “genocide,” the ANC cheapens the memory of the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, and other true genocides.
This is nothing more than a despicable attempt to delegitimize Israel by associating it with the most heinous crime imaginable. Such an accusation coming from the ANC, a party once led by moral giants like Nelson Mandela who understood Israel’s right to exist in peace and security, is a disturbing sign of how far it has fallen.
In contrast, McKenzie and other politicians openly stood with Israel on the campaign trail, knowing that millions of South Africans, especially in the largest churches, maintain strong spiritual bonds with the Holy Land.
The Shembe Church, with millions of followers, recently sent leaders to Israel who denounced their own government’s bias, stating, “There is no apartheid in Israel.”
One of the church’s leaders, Inkosi Phakama Shembe, called out the government’s silence on Hamas’ October 7th atrocity, and criticized South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. He noted the ANC’s position is in direct contrast to that of millions of Shembe Church members.
The Democratic Alliance also safely held its majority in the Western Cape, despite warnings that its neutral Israeli-Palestinian stance would cost it votes. This affirms that most South Africans believe in Israel’s right to exist in peace, even if their government shamefully sides with those seeking its annihilation.
As South Africa enters uncharted political territory, its leaders must heed the true will of the people. Scapegoating Israel while the nation crumbles will only hasten its demise. South Africa’s survival depends on courageously confronting its domestic ills while building bridges in a world that increasingly accepts Israel’s permanence and promise.
The ANC’s resort to charges of genocide against Israel only underscores how far it has strayed from its guiding principles and the moral vision of its former leaders. As it faces an uncertain future, the party must reckon with its own ethical decay if it hopes to regain the trust of South Africans and play a constructive role in the nation’s renewal.
Rowan Polovin is the chairman of the South African Zionist Federation.
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Israel Receives Shipment of Heavy Bombs Cleared by Trump

US President Donald Trump looks on as he signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, Jan. 31, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Israel has received a shipment of heavy MK-84 bombs from the United States, after US President Donald Trump lifted a block imposed on the export of the munitions by the administration of predecessor Joe Biden, the defense ministry said on Sunday.
The MK-84 is an unguided 2,000 pound bomb, which can rip through thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius.
The Biden administration declined to clear them for export to Israel out of concern about the impact on densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.
The Biden administration sent thousands of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas terrorists from Gaza but later held up one of the shipments. The hold was lifted by Trump last month.
“The munitions shipment that arrived in Israel tonight, released by the Trump Administration, represents a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said late on Saturday.
The shipment arrived after days of concern about whether a fragile ceasefire in Gaza agreed last month would hold, after both sides accused each other of violating the terms of the deal to halt fighting to allow the exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails.
Washington has announced assistance for Israel worth billions of dollars since the war began.
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US Mideast Envoy Says Phase Two Gaza Talks to Continue This Week

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that talks on phase two of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian terrorists Hamas would continue this week “at a location to be determined” to figure out how to reach a successful conclusion.
He told Fox News that he had “very productive and constructive” calls on Sunday with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt’s director of intelligence.
Witkoff said they spoke about “the sequencing of phase two, setting forth positions on both sides, so we can understand… where we are today, and then continuing talks this week at a location to be determined so that we can figure out how we get to the end of phase two successfully.”
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Arab States to Reveal 5-Year Plan to Rebuild Gaza: No Hamas or Relocation

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends the Arab summit in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, May 31, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad l Mohammed/File Photo.
i24 News – Arab countries will unveil their plan for the reconstruction of Gaza on February 27 in Cairo. This initiative, developed by the Palestinians and handed over to the Egyptians for implementation, will be presented to the leaders of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The plan provides for reconstruction over three to five years, without the displacement of the Palestinian population and without Hamas control. The funding, estimated at several hundred million dollars, will come from Gulf countries. The work will be carried out by Egyptian companies, representing a significant source of income for Egypt, which is strongly opposed to any migration of Palestinians out of Gaza. The workforce will consist mainly of local Palestinians.
“The goal is to marginalize Hamas so that it understands that it has lost control of Gaza, and to completely eliminate the terrorist organization’s grip on the population and the territory within 5 years from the start of reconstruction,” a source involved in the plan said.
An independent “Palestinian administration,” separate from the Palestinian Authority but relying on it, will oversee the reconstruction. This power structure is designed to get the approval of Israel and the United States, who refuse direct management by the Palestinian Authority.
Arab countries fear a resurgence of fighting by Israel, which could, in their view, favor US President Donald Trump’s plan to move Palestinians to neighboring countries. The former US president said he wanted to see Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab countries welcome more displaced people from Gaza, so that the war-torn area can be “cleaned up.”
According to analyzed satellite images, approximately 65% of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed during the war. Experts estimate that reconstruction could take more than a decade and cost several hundred billion dollars.
The post Arab States to Reveal 5-Year Plan to Rebuild Gaza: No Hamas or Relocation first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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