by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – THE expulsion and counter dismissal of senior diplomats of the respective countries represent relations between Israel and South Africa reaching an all-time low.
These countries, at the moment two of the fiercest adversaries globally, have since this past weekend engaged in a war-of-words, culminating in South Africa on Friday informing Israel of its decision to declare, Ariel Seidman, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Israeli Embassy, persona non grata.
Persona non grata (Latin) is a diplomatic term for a foreign person whose entry or presence in a country is prohibited by its government, most often a diplomat declared unwelcome by the host nation, requiring them to leave.
South Africa expressed the move as a decisive measure following a series of unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice which pose a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty.
The Depart of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said these violations included the repeated use of official Israeli social media platforms to launch insulting attacks against President Cyril Ramaphosa, and a deliberate failure to inform DIRCO of purported visits by senior Israeli officials.
Chrispin Phiri, DIRCO spokesperson, said such actions represented a gross abuse of diplomatic privilege and a fundamental breach of the Vienna Convention.
“They have systematically undermined the trust and protocols essential for bilateral relations. South Africa’s sovereignty and the dignity of its offices are inviolable.”
Seidman was required to depart from South Africa within 72 hours, from last Friday.
Phiri urged the Israeli government to ensure its future diplomatic conduct demonstrated respect for South Africa and the established principles of international engagement.
Israel has responded by declaring South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative, Shaun Edward Byneveldt, persona non grata and must leave Israel within 72 hours, also effective Friday.
“Additional steps will be considered in due course,” Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
It claimed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar decided following South Africa’s false attacks against Israel in the international arena and the unilateral, baseless step taken against the Chargé d’Affaires of Israel in South Africa.
The South African Zionist Federation, waded into the issue, accusing the African National Congress (ANC) of Ramaphosa of expelling Seidman, as “an act of staggering moral bankruptcy – a choice that exposes a ruling party more committed to ideological hostility than to the welfare of the people it has so profoundly failed.”
“Let us strip away the euphemisms and the lies. A diplomat was declared persona non grata not for espionage, not for misconduct, not for breaching protocol – but for the unforgivable crime of helping South Africans get water. Clean water.”
It alleged provincial Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, of the Eastern accused Israeli embassy officials and AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Zwelibanzi Dalindyebo of breaching diplomatic protocol.
The king, of a subgroup of the Xhosa tribe of Nelson Mandela, is a critic of the ANC. He recently visited Israel, where he is quoted as asking the host country for “friendship.”
Julius Malema, leader of the opposition Economic Fighters (EFF) in South Africa, welcomed the expulsion of the Israel envoy.
“However, we want the whole Israeli embassy closed down,” he told party supporters on Sunday.
In late 2023, South Africa’s National Assembly adopted a motion calling for the government to close the Israeli Embassy until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza and Israel commits to UN-facilitated negotiations.
The motion was passed with the support of 248 votes to 91 with no abstentions.
Suspending all diplomatic relations however rests with the president and cabinet.
South Africa took Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023, accusing it of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and violating the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.
– CAJ News