South Africa chief justice under fire for Israel remarks to ‘Post’
During the live webinar on Tuesday, Mogoeng lamented his country’s adoption of a lopsided attitude toward the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFSouth Africa's Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng gestures as he makes a ruling at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg, South Africa ,June 22,2017(photo credit: REUTERS/SIPHIWE SIBEKO)
The African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s governing political party, has called on the speaker of the parliament to censure Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng over his expression of support for Israel in a webinar hosted this week by The Jerusalem Post.During the live webinar on Tuesday, Mogoeng lamented his country’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.Mogoeng said that his nation’s history of forgiveness and understanding should have informed its approach to peace making, adding that as a practicing Christian he believed that those who curse Israel will themselves be cursed.Mogoeng took pains to emphasize that the policy of the South African government was binding upon himself and that he was not seeking to reject it.But, he said, as a citizen he was entitled to criticize laws and policies and suggest changes. South Africa Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein also participated in the Post’s webinar.“As a citizen of our great country, we are denying ourselves a wonderful opportunity of being a game-changer in the Israeli-Palestinian situation,” said Mogoeng.The comments stirred controversy in South Africa where the ANC - the party of President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa - issued a statement saying that Mogoeng had entered the arena of political commentary and could now be vulnerable in adjudicating matters of human rights."It was rather unfortunate for the Chief Justice to state that the 'South African government policy was binding upon himself and that he was not seeking to reject it', but then clearly and openly opposes it as a citizen," ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe told News 24."The Chief Justice is indeed a citizen, but he is the primary protector of the Constitution of SA and if the government was in violation of the Bill of Rights he and the Bench must defend the Constitution above all else and any other consideration, for this reason, his disagreement with the policy of the government is of grave concern where the main argument of the policy on Palestine is premised on human rights,” Mabe added.In recent years, the South African government has become increasingly hostile to Israel, and in particular through the security measures it has undertaken. In 2018, South Africa withdrew its ambassador from Israel and formally downgraded its ties following clashes on the Gaza border.In addition, #Africa4Palestine, a pro-BDS organization, said it was going to submit a complaint with South Africa’s Judicial Service Commission against Mogoeng.
