‘SA government has let down our people’: South African Jewish Board of Deputies criticises lack of embassy in Israel

The vice-president of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, Zev Krengel, has criticised the South African government for not having an embassy in Israel, adding it will be difficult for South Africans there to return home easily.

Krengel was addressing the media during a briefing on how the country’s Jewish community was affected by the situation in Israel.

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Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, initiated an invasion from Gaza into southern Israel last week, resulting in the deaths of Israeli soldiers and civilians. It saw extensive rocket attacks and a record number of civilian casualties. The conflict is ongoing, with reports of Israeli hostages being taken by Hamas.

SA Jewish community affected

President of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, Karen Milner, said this has greatly affected the Jewish community in South Africa.

“Although it feels like a conflict that is happening very far away, the Jewish community is actually very small globally and that community is very strongly connected to Israel. This included the Jewish community in South Africa.

“A lot of the Jewish community in South Africa does has very close family connections in Israel and so the extent of the attack has shaken our community to its core… That is why every one of us knows of someone who has been killed or is missing in Israel,” she said.

Krengel described the recent events as Israel’s 9/11 moment.

Meanwhile, he lashed out at the South African government, saying the he was disappointed at how little compassion it had for Jewish life.

“I think it’s a very sad day to realise that 25 years into democracy, with the past we’ve had, the government couldn’t find it in themselves to show a little bit of solidarity with the women and children in Israel who are suffering through this.”

SA on ‘wrong side of the conflict’

He boldly accused South Africa of “once again being on the wrong side of a conflict in history”.

“We are urging South Africa to show some sort of compassion… we’ve never had over 1 200 jews killed in this way since the holocaust,” he said.

He also said that the lack of an embassy in Israel has made life hard for South Africans who want to return to South Africa as the conflict rages on.

“Aside from the Jewish community, there are a number of Christian groups out there who are trying to get back to SA, back to safety, but are struggling to with the lack of an embassy.

“It’s a very scary thing. This is therefore a great time to discuss how the government has let down our people when we needed an embassy in Tel Aviv for South Africans,” he said.

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He also said the lack of an embassy in Israel made it difficult to get an accurate figure of the number of South Africans who are stranded in the country.

Earlier this year, Parliament gave its approval to reduce the status of South Africa’s embassy in Israel. This decision was made after it was proposed by the National Freedom Party (NFP).