EDITORIAL | Grow a backbone and be decisive on Israel, Mr President

While SA’s doublespeak on its relations with Israel may have caught the attention of many, it is a symptom of a much bigger problem. 

A spectre of indecisiveness has paralysed government. Many thorny issues are left unresolved for far too long. They fester and unleash needless confusion. For businesses, they make long-term planning near impossible. 

Take the land issue. After the ruling party’s stalemate with the EFF on expropriation without compensation, what is being done? Ditto economic inclusion of the previously marginalised. Issues of migration have had to morph into xenophobic violence to get some attention and even then it’s still anyone’s guess what the country’s direction on this is.

The latest saga on Israel is not as complex as it is made out to be. What is required is a decision by government on whether it wants to maintain relations with that country.

Much of the opprobrium is caused by government having appeared to be clear on its desire to disassociate from Israel when it publicly, if not vituperatively, tried to stop Miss SA Lalela Mswane from competing in the Miss Universe contest recently held there. 

It’s not so much that government vacillates; it is the hypocrisy behind the vacillation that rubs many up the wrong way.

“The atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians are well documented, and the government, as the legitimate representative of the people of South Africa, cannot in good conscience associate itself with such,” the government said. 

It’s actions, though, negate its words.

Just as people tried to make sense of the stance, President Cyril Ramaphosa gleefully accepted Israeli ambassador Eliav Belotsercovsky’s credentials in Tshwane. 

We can’t say we are surprised. Trade relations between the two countries (Israel imports R2.5bn, with SA exporting more than R3bn in goods) and our economy struggling not only to come out of junk status, but to create jobs for an increasingly desperate population make the outcome somewhat predictable. Economic considerations almost always trump politics. 

It’s not so much that government vacillates; it is the hypocrisy behind the vacillation that rubs many up the wrong way. 

Why climb mountain tops to disassociate and denounce Mswane while accepting Israel’s ambassador with a smile? The ANC elective conference that ushered in Ramaphosa’s administration adopted a resolution to immediately and unconditionally downgrade SA’s embassy in Israel to a liaison office. 

The Israeli government and South Africans, especially businesses, don’t deserve the policy confusion they’re subjected to. 

The ANC government must implement what its conference resolved to do and save all of us the rigmarole or indicate clearly that this resolution will not be implemented. All it will take is for our leaders, especially Ramaphosa, to develop a backbone and be decisive. It’s what leadership requires.