
he South African Board of Jewish Deputies on Thursday blasted South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, after she announced that dual South African-Israeli citizens who served in the IDF would be arrested.
Karen Milner, National Chair of the Board of Jewish Deputies, issued a statement quoted by Haaretz in which she described a pattern of “contempt, vitriol, and intimidation” that emerges from Pandor’s actions over the last few months against the Jewish community in South Africa.
Noting specific incidents that demonstrate these claims, Milner wrote in the statement,
- “Minister Pandor has made it clear that she will not engage with South Africa’s Jewish minority, expressing a consistent disdain unbefitting a professional minister. She has attacked, ridiculed and instigated a witch hunt against Jewish citizens.”
Pandor announced earlier this week that South African citizens who serve in the IDF will be arrested the moment they return to the country.
- “I’ve already issued a statement alerting those who are South African and who are fighting alongside or in the Israeli Defense Force; we are ready – when you come home, we will arrest you,” she declared during an African National Congress dialogue on South Africa’s solidarity with “Palestine”.
South Africa’s already tense relations with Israel have worsened since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the war in Gaza which followed.
The South African government announced in November it was recalling its ambassador and entire diplomatic mission from Israel in protest against Israel’s attempts to defend itself from the Hamas terrorist organization following the October 7 massacre.
In December, South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel in which it accused the Jewish state of carrying out genocide in Gaza.
On January 26, the ICJ handed down a ruling in South Africa’s case, saying that Israel must do everything to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza and take “immediate” measures for aid provisions. It did not, however, order Israel to stop the war in Gaza.
Last month, Pandor related to the ICJ’s ruling and said it “makes it clear that it is plausible that genocide is taking place against the Palestinian people in Gaza. This necessarily imposes an obligation on all states to cease funding and facilitating Israel’s military actions.”
Source: Arutz Sheva