CHIEF Mandla Mandela on Friday called on Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng to withdrawn his statements expressing support for ‘apartheid Israel’ during a webinar hosted by The Jerusalem Post and South Africa’s chief rabbi Warren Goldstein.
During the live webinar on Tuesday, Mogoeng lamented his South Africa’s adoption of a lopsided attitude toward the Israel-Palestinian conflict and said that it would have greater influence if it displayed a more balanced approach.
“We call on Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng to retract statements attributed to him by Jerusalem Times (The Jerusalem Post) supporting apartheid Israel. We request him to uphold Madiba’s legacy of standing for human rights and unreservedly supporting the struggle of oppressed peoples and those living under occupation all over the world,” Mandela was quoted in the media on Friday.
“We strongly condemn Apartheid Israel’s colonial tendencies and demand an end to its illegal land grabs and settler expansion on Palestinian lands.”
The ANC has also slammed the remarks made by the country’s chief justice, saying he has openly supported the actions of the state of Israel.
“The esteemed chief justice entered the arena of political commentary which may make him vulnerable should he have to adjudicate a human rights matter in the future,” the ANC said in a statement.
“It was rather unfortunate for the chief justice to state that: ‘South African government policy was binding upon himself and that he was not seeking to reject it’ but then clearly and openly opposing it as a citizen.”
The EFF has also condemned remarks made by Mogoeng.
“We must unite in condemnation of the chief justice’s questioning of this campaign on the basis that African people have not done the same to colonisers. This is utterly wrong and historical. Anyone who has paid attention to how colonisation and apartheid were defeated would know that it was through international solidarity-based, among other things, on boycotts, disinvestments and sanctions,” the party said in a statement on Friday.
“There would have never been a Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng presiding over a democratic judiciary in South Africa if it were not for boycotts, disinvestment and sanctions against apartheid South Africa.”
(Compiled by Inside Politics)
