Diplomatic crisis deepens: Calls grow to close Israeli Embassy in South Africa

THE South African government should now shutdown the Israeli embassy after the expulsion of Ariel Seidman, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Israeli Embassy.

EFF leader Julius Malema made this call when addressing the first day of the party's 3rd National People's Assembly (NPA) in Boksburg, saying it was about time South Africa and the rest of the continent 'stood up to bullies such as US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu', whose 'violent and imperialistic nature has resulted in untold atrocities in Palestine and, recently, Venezuela'.

"We must stand together against imperialism and the dictatorship of Donald Trump. That thing of SA sending Ariel Seidman packing was a proper decision. This is the kind of decision we support as the EFF. However, we want the whole Israeli embassy to be closed down," said Malema.

The backdrop of Malema's comments stems from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) notifying Israel that Seidman was being deemed an undesirable person.

DIRCO spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri said the decision was in response to a series of unacceptable diplomatic misconducts that threatened South Africa’s sovereignty.

These included derogatory comments about President Cyril Ramaphosa made through official Israeli channels and a failure to communicate visits from senior Israeli officials.

Phiri stressed that such actions are not merely breaches of diplomatic decorum but also clear violations of the Vienna Convention, which safeguards these important international relations.

Israel retaliated by also declaring South Africa's senior diplomatic representative, Shaun Edward Byneveldt, persona non grata, giving him 72 hours to leave the country. Byneveldt, who is based in Ramallah, was accredited through Israel due to the country's occupation of the West Bank.

The country further accused South Africa of making "false attacks against Israel in the international arena” and taking “the unilateral, baseless step" against Seidman.

The DA has criticised Seidman’s expulsion, with party spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation, Ryan Smith, MP, saying diplomacy should be used to manage disputes without public escalation.

“Declaring a foreign diplomat persona non grata is among the most serious tools in a state’s diplomatic repertoire. It is typically reserved for espionage, security threats, or grave breaches of international law – not political disagreements conducted in the public sphere. When used impulsively, it signals instability rather than strength,” Smith said.

He slammed Dirco for failing to follow standard diplomatic protocol in its dispute with Israel, noting that the department did not issue a démarche to the Israeli embassy, a formal step to raise concerns and demand corrective action, before declaring Israel's chargé d'affaires persona non grata.

The decision to expel Seidman may result in South Africa being slapped with additional tariffs by the US, Israel's ally, according to Lesego Masisi, co-founder of Anti-Apartheid Movement for Palestine (SA chapter) led by Reverend Frank Chikane.

“They may also try to put pressure by applying coercive tactics to (President) Cyril Ramaphosa and the SA Government with the key strategic objective being the ‘voluntary’ withdrawal of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case against Israel,” he said.

South Africa took Israel to the ICJ in December 2023, accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Masisi said Pretoria's decision to expel Seidman was a necessary step to uphold international law after Seidman took David Saranga, a senior Israeli official, to visit AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo in the Eastern Cape without informing the government.

Masisi also cautioned that Trump's administration may expedite the process of removing South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and increase trade tariffs.

“This will affect American businesses operating in South Africa, which depend more on South Africa. This may create a trade and investment vacuum that will be quickly filled by other serious players in the international game, as the risk level of South Africa’s investment and trade climate is not internal, but intrinsically external,” he said.

Cape Times