South Africa: Jewish body unhappy about envoy recall
4 June 2010
The recall of South Africa's envoy to Israel leaves the Jewish community in South Africa with a "great sense of discomfort", says Zev Krengel, chairperson of the Jewish Board of Deputies.
South Africa is recalling Ismail Coovadia from Tel Aviv following the Israeli attack on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian relief to Gaza, Ebrahim Ebrahim, the deputy international relations minister, said on Thursday.
"This recent Israeli aggression of attacking the aid flotilla severely impacts on finding a lasting solution to the problems of the region," Ebrahim said.
Krengel told the Mail & Guardian the recall "is a source of major concern to us". The board of deputies is "uncomfortable that the government has chosen to do this without a full investigation into the attacks. It is a knee-jerk reaction that is unprecedented for this country," he said.
This is only the second time South Africa has recalled an ambassador since 1994. The first was during Nelson Mandela's presidency when Nigeria executed human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.
"The government has chosen to do this when South Africa's ambassadors in other hotspots around the world are still there," Krengel said.
Earlier this week Ebrahim's deputy, Sue van der Merwe, called in the Israeli ambassador to South Africa and issued a démarche -- a diplomatic expression of displeasure. The last resort would be to kick out Israeli's ambassador to South Africa, but the government is not considering that at the moment, insiders say.
Trade union federation Cosatu has urged the South African government to break all diplomatic ties with Israel.
South Africa hopes that recalling its ambassador will "force [Israelis and Palestinians] to go back to the drawing board" and explore ways of finding each other, an international relations department source told the M&G.
"We are not alone; many other countries feel the same way we do. We monitor the situation and hope things don't take a turn for the worse," the source said.
The Jewish Board of Deputies has requested a meeting with the department to discuss the government's decision.
