GNU parties divided on removal of Israel’s top diplomat in South Africa

A sharp divide has appeared within the Government of National Unity (GNU) following the Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s (DIRCO’s) decision to expel a top Israeli diplomat. 

DIRCO announced that the South African Government declared the Israeli Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires persona non grata on 30 January, giving the diplomat, Ariel Seidman, 72 hours to leave the country. 

The African National Congress (ANC), whose deployee, Minister Ronald Lamola, is in charge of the department, celebrated the move.

However, co-governing partners, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Freedom Front Plus (VF+), condemned it, calling it “reckless escalation” and “detrimental conduct.”

Additionally, Spokesperson for the Patriotic Alliance (PA), Steve Motale, told Newsday that the PA is against the decision.

The drastic measure was taken after Seidman and the Israeli Embassy undertook “unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice, which pose a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty,” DIRCO said. 

These alleged violations include the repeated use of official Israeli social media platforms to launch “insulting attacks” against President Cyril Ramaphosa. 

Most recently, following an announcement from the United States President Trump that the US would boycott South Africa’s G20 Leaders Summit, Ramaphosa posted a statement, warning that boycott politics is not effective. 

The Embassy, headed by Seidman after Israel recalled its formal ambassador in November 2023, praised this as “a rare moment of wisdom and diplomatic clarity” from the president.

The ANC regarded this as “undiplomatic and disrespectful” conduct. 

Furthermore, the embassy is accused of a “deliberate failure to inform DIRCO of purported visits by senior Israeli officials.”

Earlier in January, the Israeli Embassy posted on the social media platform X that Israeli representatives visited the Eastern Cape to discuss assistance in water, health and agriculture. 

“Such actions represent a gross abuse of diplomatic privilege and a fundamental breach of the Vienna Convention. They have systematically undermined the trust and protocols essential for bilateral relations,” DIRCO said in a statement.

Israel promptly retaliated against South Africa by declaring its senior diplomatic representative, Minister Shaun Edward Byneveldt, persona non grata and giving him 72 hours to leave Ramallah in the Israeli-controlled West Bank.

This marks the height of South Africa’s long-time deteriorating relations with Israel.

South Africa has not had an ambassador in Israel since 2018. In November 2023, Israel recalled its ambassador to South Africa, leaving just a Charge d’Affaires.

The ANC celebrates

ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu celebrated the decision, praising the department for its “firm and principled stance” and affirming South Africa’s sovereign right to manage its international relations. 

“The decision follows repeated and unacceptable violations of diplomatic conduct that undermine South Africa’s sovereignty and disrespect its highest office,” Bhengu said. 

The party further condemned the expulsion of Byneveldt from Israel, saying that the measure of declaring a diplomat persona non grata should be exercised in good faith, not in retaliation or as a tool of political obstruction. 

The party said that Byneveldt was accredited to the State of Palestine and not Israel, calling his removal a misuse of Article 9 of the Vienna Convention. 

“The ANC reaffirms its support for a principled foreign policy anchored in international law, multilateralism, and the defence of South Africa’s dignity and sovereignty,” the party said 

On the other hand, the VF+ responded to the declaration, calling it “further proof of the ANC’s unilateral and detrimental conduct.”

VF+ is stunned

“The Freedom Front Plus is stunned by the decision,” said party leader Corné Mulder.  “Given the fragile relations between South Africa and the United States (US), DIRCO’s action against Israel – the US’s major ally – is wilful and provocative.”

The leader said that the VF+ and other GNU parties were not consulted on the decision.

“Taking such a drastic step while decisions regarding AGOA are still to be finalised is downright unwise. It jeopardises economic ties, jobs and investment at a critical time for the country,” Mulder said. 

The party added that removing Seidman on the basis of the allegation around senior diplomatic visits lacks substance, as the Individuals from Israel visited South Africa in their personal capacity.

“The ANC does not have sole discretion in the GNU regarding South Africa’s foreign policy.”

ANC is shooting South Africa in the foot – DA

The DA supported the stance taken by the VF+, adding further weight to the claim that no other GNU parties were consulted about the declaration. 

“Declaring a foreign diplomat persona non grata is among the most serious tools in a state’s diplomatic repertoire,” said the DA’s DIRCO Spokesperson Ryan Smith. 

“It is typically reserved for espionage, security threats, or grave breaches of international law – not political disagreements conducted in the public sphere.”

The DA claims that DIRCO did not issue a démarche to the Israeli Embassy, as per standard diplomatic protocol. 

The party accused the ANC of taking the drastic measure due to political irritation following the Israeli mission’s visit to the Eastern Cape, and not due to any genuine security concern. 

“Rather than confronting its own failures at home, DIRCO, fully captured by the ANC, chose to provoke an international dispute abroad. This only unnecessarily heightens diplomatic tensions and places South African trade squarely in the firing line,” said Smith. 

Smith added that this is part of a broader pattern in which the ANC inserts South Africa into global conflicts and turns foreign policy into a vehicle for ideological posturing and not pragmatic national interest. 

Party leader John Steenhuisen has requested a GNU Lekgotla on South Africa’s foreign policy direction, saying that the ANC cannot be allowed to use international relations to “shoot South Africa in the foot.”

“Foreign policy must serve prosperity, stability and national interest, not political theatrics,” Smith concluded.