King Dalindyebo condemns expulsion of Israeli diplomat

AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo has described the expulsion of a top Israeli diplomat as an assault on the royal family and his nation. 

This was in reaction to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO)’s announcement on Friday that the South African government has declared Ariel Seidman, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Israeli Embassy, persona non grata and given him 72 hours to pack and leave the country.

Through his spokesperson, Ntando Dalindyebo, who is also his daughter, the king said this was an attempt to stop the Israeli government from assisting the nationals of AbaThembu with development, which the government was failing to provide.

She said the king developed a relationship with the Israeli government after Mthatha was hit by floods in May last year.

She said that when Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry senior official David Saranga, whom she referred to as an ambassador, came to South Africa, he was told about the severe flooding in the Mthatha area during his visit to South Africa.

She said Saranga came down to Mthatha to meet the king, and after witnessing the devastation, he donated R180,000 to the soup kitchen run by her mother. 

She stated that Saranga also promised to assist in developing water infrastructure, as the king informed him of the town's water crisis.

“Our relationship with the Israeli Embassy is the one that we hold very close to our heart, as they have managed to help our people in a way that the South African government has not been able to do.

“When they dismiss the ambassador, it becomes difficult for us not to see this as a personal attack on the kingdom.

“If they said he violated the protocol, why are they dismissing him now when Israel is in the process of bringing us water?” said Ntando. 

In a statement, DIRCO did not elaborate on its decision to send Seidman packing, except to say he violated diplomatic norms and practices, “which pose a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty”. 

“These violations include the repeated use of official Israeli social media platforms to launch insulting attacks against His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa, and a deliberate failure to inform DIRCO of purported visits by senior Israeli officials,” read DIRCO’s statement.

DIRCO said as a sovereign state, South Africa’s dignity is inviolable, adding that Seidman’s actions represented 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.  South Africa’s sovereignty and the dignity of its offices are inviolable.

“We urge the Israeli Government to ensure its future diplomatic conduct demonstrates respect for the Republic and the established principles of international engagement,” the department said.

Ntando considered that the King did not consult with the government authority about Saranga’s visit to the palace because he did not see the need to do so. 

She said the king told Saranga about the huge water crisis facing the Eastern Cape.

“He told him that we don’t have water in the Eastern Cape and our hospitals are in horrible conditions as they were last renovated 50 years ago.” 

She said some government officials and traditional leaders warned him about accepting donations from Israel, which was committing genocide against the people of Palestine.

“But my father saw it as unfair to say no to a donation that could help people in their time of need.  Then we welcomed the ambassador,” she said.

International relations expert Advocate Sipho Mantula said the South African government was within its rights to expel the Israeli top diplomat, who acted delinquently by undermining diplomatic conduct and protocol.    

Mantula suspected that the expulsion was in reaction to Israeli officials visiting Dalindyebo without informing the provincial government.

Mantula said that although the statement did not detail Seidman’s misconduct, the South African government must have monitored him due to the already frosty relationship between the two countries emanating from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case.

“Israel has been lamenting South Africa’s case at the ICJ. To come up with an allegation of insult and assault (on Ramaphosa), they (South African government) might have conducted an investigation and reached a decision to expel Seidman,” he said. 

He said that, being a close ally of the United States of America, Israel had different views from South Africa on how US President Donald Trump felt about Somalia and his invasion of Venezuela.

“Those are the issues that drive relationships among member states at an international level.” 

He said Seidman’s expulsion might worsen the already frosty South African’s relationship with the USA, which might bully South Africa for taking steps against Israel.

He said taking action against a misbehaving country was allowed by international law, which states that there can be no ignorance of how states should behave towards each other. 

“Even the protocols that are said to have been followed by the Israeli official who also bypassed the Eastern Cape provincial government,” he said. 

bongani.hans@inl.co.za