PATRIOTIC Alliance (PA) Deputy President Kenny Kunene has vehemently defended his party and the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) recent visit to Israel – shrouded in apparent veil of secrecy — saying the country’s Government of National Unity (GNU) needs to recognise that every participating party in the coalition has its own unique manifesto.
A four-member delegation made up of two parliamentarians from the PA and two from the DA undertook a “fact-finding” mission to the Jewish state that has frosty bilateral relations with Pretoria.
The four comprised the PA’s Ashley Sauls and Lerato Mathopa and the DA’s Nicholas Myburgh and Bridget Masango. Details about who funded their trip remain unclear, and so too is whether Parliament had prior knowledge of the controversial trip.
SA has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, where more than 50 000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2003. Pretoria successfully took Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has subsequently issued a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a no-holds-barred interview with the Global South Media Network (gsman.co.za), Kunene said: “The mistake most politicians and journalists make is to assume that their enemies should be our enemies.”
Antagonism toward Israel is the foreign policy of the ANC and not the PA, Kunene argued. “We disagree with the ANC on foreign policy,” he stated. “We differ with the ANC on illegal immigration, on death penalty and Israel,” he said, before adding: “We successfully opposed the renaming of Sandton Drive after Leila Khaled (Palestinian freedom fighter).”
In a ferocious defence of Israel, the PA leader elaborated: “There is no apartheid in Israel in our view. When visited there with (PA President Gayton) McKenzie, we shared public facilities with everyone.” He said the country needed to heed Mandela's words to the effect that “we must learn to live together”.
The PA participated in the trip to Israel to find out first hand “what’s going on”. He pointed out that his party wanted to probe the conflict “on a number of issues, including what does the future hold for the area?” The trip to the Jewish state was undoubtedly “to show support for Israel”, Kunene said. “We as the PA have been very clear: We are the friends of Israel.”
He lambasted the ANC’s policy towards Israel, saying: “The ANC itself was supported by the Jews during the liberation struggle. The Jews went to prison with Mandela. They fought side-by-side with us.”
Stressing the need to recognise each party’s manifesto, Kunene said the PA never questioned the ANC when the party hosted Hamas inside the country post-October 7, 2023.
“We never make noise when they speak with Iran. We are an independent political party and others must respect our choices,” he said, before adding: “When we take power, we will strengthen the embassy of Israel in South Africa. We will strengthen the embassy of South Africa in Israel. The PA is no baby of anyone. Israel remains a friend of the PA,” he said defiantly.
Kunene further denied that the PA was funded by Israel. “We’ve not received any financial support from Israel. The evidence is out there. We support Israel out of principle.”
Kunene said the PA believed in a two-state solution. “We live here with our former colonisers, yet the ANC has never taken any step to change the situation. Hamas decided to go and kill innocent people at a concert in October 2023. That’s a fact. Those who criticise us must respect our choice.”