South Africa shows Israeli envoy exit door, holding the line on national sovereignty

By Iqbal Jassat 

South Africa's groundbreaking move to declare the Zionist regime's envoy "persona non grata" and expel him from the country has been welcomed by Palestine's resistance and solidarity movements. 

This step is a crucial marker of the Ramaphosa government's principled stand to defend and uphold its sovereignty. Despite bullying and intimidation by the US, it stood firmly to resist Zionist attempts to undermine national governance. 

Following the crucial intervention it made at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the current decision is yet again a courageous position that requires solidarity from all political formations, civil societies, trade unions and human rights organizations. 

Having monitored the provocative conduct of the apartheid regime's deputy ambassador, Ariel Seidman, one is compelled to agree with DIRCO's (Dept of International Relations) decision to declare him persona non grata and give him marching orders to exit the country. 

The series of questionable actions by him is correctly deemed by the government as "unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice", posing a threat to the country's sovereignty. 

As Benjamin Netanyahu’s Hasbara (propaganda) agent, the mischief generated by Seidman was intolerable. The sheer audacity of using the apartheid regime's platforms to launch "insulting attacks" against President Ramaphosa became increasingly pugnacious. 

And in violation of diplomatic protocol, Seidman has been found to abuse privileges by interfering in provincial institutions without approval. 

Information in the public domain confirms that the Zionist embassy was accused of a "deliberate failure" to inform South African authorities about undeclared visits by senior Israeli regime officials that deliberately bypassed national government approval.

Israel’s defiance of international laws and UN Security Council resolutions, despite being a habitual rejection of civilized values and norms, will not be tolerated by countries that value independence. 

The message is clear. Impunity by Netanyahu and his arrogant agents will not go unpunished. 

Despite the fact that the decision is informed by South Africa's inalienable right to protect its sovereignty from foreign meddling, right-wing parties from the Freedom Front (FF Plus) to the Democratic Alliance (DA) have responded by throwing tantrums. 

Not surprising, nor unexpected. Right-wing solidarity with apartheid Israel, whether in South Africa or elsewhere in the West, is defined by being comfortable with racism, genocide and ethnic cleansing. 

They may dispute it. The truth is that for as long as they tolerate Israel’s inhumane conduct against Palestinians in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank, the stigma of being friends with a genocidal regime will remain. 

For them to be up in arms, alongside Israel’s local lobbyists, is not shocking. It is an expression of their distorted worldview - more in line with their warmongering "heroes", Trump and Netanyahu. 

Be sure that they would have begun lobbying for strong, punitive actions from the United States. After all, the myth of "white genocide" that has characterized the Trump administration's hostile attitude towards South Africa was manufactured by elements within right-wing camps. 

The absurdity of opposing a sovereign government's integrity and independence is not a diplomatic posture. It is provocative and insulting. No self-respecting South African should accept it. 

Press TV show host and British academic David Miller gave an excellent explanation of such ridiculously illogical positions in the context of the violent “regime-change” campaigns in the Islamic Republic of Iran: "When Mossad calls for riots and the Western left calls it a 'freedom struggle', something has gone disastrously wrong". 

Indeed, thugs who masquerade as "diplomats" in South Africa or "protesters" in Iran will remain a red line. If you cross it, you will face the consequences. 

While uncertainty prevails about whether Trump will bomb and invade Iran, we learn that the US is moving its THAAD ballistic missile defense to new positions in the occupied Palestine.

The question is what exactly is left of Israel, other than a large military camp, to defend?

The reality faced by the Zionist regime, whose key military, intelligence and financial hubs were severely damaged by Iranian missiles, is that it is morally bankrupt, economically damaged and politically weak. 

We learn that the entity’s Eilat port has filed for bankruptcy. Its biggest refinery in Haifa is running below 50% capacity, struggling to recover from the damage caused by Iranian missiles. 

Almost a million are jobless, and 800,000are  unemployed. 200,000 or more have fled to their countries of origin, never to return. Foreign investment has evaporated by as much as 70%. And Netanyahu faces serious charges of war crimes at the Hague, while suicide within the army of killers has become endemic. 

The narrative thus must be focused on why South Africa took the all-important decision to chuck Seidman out, not on concealing his weaponisation of regime-change operations. 

Iqbal Jassat is an executive member of the Media Review Network, Johannesburg, South Africa.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)

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