President Cyril Ramaphosa. Photo: GCIS
The Good party has called on President Cyril and Ramaphosa and Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola to defend South Africans speaking out against the atrocities being committed by Israel.
The party raised concerns about the integrity of two of South Africa’s most prominent voices advocating for justice, human rights and humanitarian aid in Palestine being singled out for attack by Israel.
It said South Africa must “stand firm against banning and maligning of dissenting voices and humanitarian aid”.
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The Good party made reference to a letter by Jewish human rights lawyer and former member of the Jewish Board of Deputies Lawrence Nowosenetz published in The Times of Israel smearing the name Dr Imtiaz Sooliman and his humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers, claiming they were channelling money to groups blacklisted as terrorists by the United States.
The party also mentioned the United Kingdom declining to grant Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela a visa and said it was unlikely to do so in the future, claiming he was too close to Hamas.
“Mandela is the grandson of former President Nelson Mandela, who himself led an organisation designated “terrorist” by the West,” Good party secretary general Brett Herron said.
“These events preceded this week’s decision by Israel’s parliament to ban the United Nations’ providers of humanitarian aid in Palestine, UNRWA[ United Nations Relief and Works Agency], from operating in Israel or in areas under its control .”
Herron said with Israel doubling down on its resolve to “complete the annihilation of Gaza and its people, and broader Middle-East conflagration loading, South Africa must double down on its efforts to have Israel held accountable.”
“It was good to see the delivery of the truckload of evidence South Africa submitted to the ICJ this week in support of its Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel).
“Given developments over the past week, we call on President Ramaphosa and Minister of International Relations to defend South Africans with different views to Israel’s, and to join Norway in seeking the ICJ’s opinion on Israel’s decision to outlaw humanitarian aid,” Herron said.
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