South Africa: Efforts to hold Israel accountable for killing children not ‘anti-Semitic’

South Africa’s efforts to hold Israel accountable for killing countless Palestinian children in Gaza is “not anti-Semitism”,  Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said yesterday

Speaking during an event marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in Pretoria, Lamola added that “any criticism of Israel cannot be considered anti-Semitism.”

Questioning the person responsible for the countless bodies of children found in the rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli bombs is not an act of anti-Semitism, but a profound call to the conscience of humanity, and a call for justice

he explained.

Anti-apartheid activist and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela’s statement that “South Africa will not be free until Palestine is free,” summarises South Africa’s stance on the Palestinian issue, Lamola added.

He stressed that his country’s solidarity with the Palestinian people did not begin last year, as some are promoting, nor was it at the behest of another country.

A just and fair solution to the Palestinian issue is a prerequisite for achieving peace and security in the Middle East, he explained, describing the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 2023 as “genocide”.

South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023, accusing Tel Aviv of failing to uphold its commitments under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

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