{"id":4943,"date":"2023-04-01T00:09:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-01T00:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=4943"},"modified":"2023-03-28T15:11:16","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T15:11:16","slug":"israel-slams-south-africa-parliament-decision-to-downgrade-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=4943","title":{"rendered":"Israel Slams South Africa Parliament Decision To Downgrade Ties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Alberto Arellano<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel on Wednesday slammed as \u201cdisgraceful\u201d the South African parliament\u2019s decision to downgrade Jerusalem\u2019s embassy in Pretoria to a liaison office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The measure in the South African legislature was backed by 208 lawmakers, with 94 opposing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe symbolic resolution taken yesterday by the South African parliament calling for the downgrading of relations between South Africa and Israel is shameful and disgraceful,\u201d the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt does not contribute in the least to the promotion of any viable solution in the Middle East,\u201d the statement continued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The measure was introduced by South Africa\u2019s National Freedom Party, which has two members in parliament, to protest what it considers to be Israel\u2019s discriminatory practices against the Palestinians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative was reportedly pushed through with help from the ruling African National Congress Party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a moment [former South African leader Nelson Mandela] would be proud of. He always said our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of Palestinians,\u201d the left-wing National Freedom Party said in a statement Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe state of Israel was built through the displacement, murder and maiming of Palestinians. And to maintain their grip on power, they have instituted apartheid to control and manage Palestinians. As South Africans, we refuse to stand by while apartheid is being perpetrated again,\u201d it added.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The South African Zionist Federation denounced the move, saying in a statement that the \u201cANC government has created a foreign policy that aims to befriend dictatorships and bash democracies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt obsesses over Israel, which is the size of our Kruger National Park, and at the same hosts navy war drills with Russia, responsible for horrific war crimes and the deaths of thousands of innocent Ukrainian civilians over the past year,\u201d added the organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, the Israeli Foreign Ministry partially\u00a0blamed<\/a>\u00a0Pretoria for the ejection of an Israeli delegation from the African Union\u2019s annual summit in Ethiopia.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIsrael looks harshly upon the incident in which the [Foreign Ministry] Deputy Director for Africa, Ambassador Sharon Bar-Li, was removed from the African Union hall despite her status as an accredited observer with entrance badges,\u201d the ministry said in a statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is sad to see that the African Union has been taken hostage by a few extremist countries such as Algeria and South Africa, driven by hatred and controlled by Iran. We call on the African countries to stand against these actions that harm the organization of the African Union itself and the entire continent,\u201d added the statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Foreign Ministry said that the charge d\u2019affaires at South Africa\u2019s embassy in Israel would be summoned for a reprimand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The South African government<\/a> has become a vocal critic of Israel, often accusing the Jewish state of practicing \u201capartheid.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pretoria downgraded its embassy in Tel Aviv in 2019 and pulled out its ambassador. President Isaac Herzog last month slammed<\/a> as a \u201cblood libel\u201d comparison of Israel\u2019s policies towards the Palestinians to South African apartheid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a dangerous and intensifying terrorism, since the legitimacy of the State of Israel and the justification of its existence is directly related to its ability to protect itself and hence they are trying to undermine this ability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Produced in association with\u00a0<\/em>Jewish News Syndicate<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Published without changes from Zenger News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Alberto Arellano Israel on Wednesday slammed as \u201cdisgraceful\u201d the South African parliament\u2019s decision to downgrade Jerusalem\u2019s embassy in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,25],"tags":[104],"class_list":["post-4943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-express","category-zenger-zone","tag-africa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t