Mandla Mandela, the grandson of famed anti-apartheid icon and former South African president Nelson Mandela, has been deported from Israel following the interception by Israeli forces on Oct. 1 of the Global Summud Flotilla.
Mandela is an executive member of the Al Quds Parliamentary Committee for Palestine as well as a member of the flotilla’s executive committee.
Before the IDF interception, Mandela, like Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who also participated in the flotilla, prerecorded a message: “I’m a citizen of the Republic of South Africa. If you are receiving this video, it means that we have been intercepted and have been abducted by the state of apartheid Israel,” he said. “I call you to request our government to exert pressure for my immediate release.”
According to the Israeli Embassy in South Africa, Mandela and several other South African citizens were deported via Jordan.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa “demanded” the “immediate release” of flotilla participants, claiming that they had been abducted. Ramaphosa stressed that their “abduction” undermines efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.
South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola extended his gratitude to all involved in helping to secure the release of the detained activists.
The government reiterated its commitment to the safety and well-being of its nationals abroad.
Bilateral relations between South Africa and Israel have significantly soured in recent years following the African country’s filing a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians.
Speaking to JNS, co-chairperson of the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) Craig Pantanowitz said that “the SAZF denounces the so-called ‘Global Sumud Flotilla’ for what it truly is—a reckless political stunt aimed at provoking Israel, not delivering real aid to Gaza.
“The SAZF views Mandla Mandela’s participation as a shameful misuse of his grandfather’s legacy in support of Hamas propaganda, and notes that his arrest was the direct result of knowingly breaching a declared naval blockade. The SAZF calls on Mandla to take a page out of his cousins’ books, who met with the GHF to facilitate lawful aid deliveries—a genuine act of humanity, not theater,” he said.
Mandela’s granddaughters, Zaziwe Manaway and Zamaswazi Mandela, joined the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Oct. 4.
“Mandla Mandela, desperately trying to create a struggle persona for himself, has inserted himself into the flotilla stunt. Trying to hijack his grandfather’s legacy, he attempts to conflate Nelson Mandela’s 27 years of hardship on Robben Island to his few days of being detained pending deportation,” said national director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) Wendy Kahn.
“It is telling that his flotilla antics are more important to him than the lived realities of his people in the Eastern Cape, who are suffering with no jobs, no water and no food. The SAJBD believes that all efforts should be directed to the acceptance and implementation of the proposed peace plan and not on these sideshow events,” she said.
‘Misguided and morally bankrupt’
In a separate development, the South African Medical Association (SAMA) announced that it has suspended ties with the Israeli Medical Association (IMA). In its statement, SAMA said it:
• Demands the urgent release of all detained Palestinian medical personnel.
• Condemns the systematic destruction of Gaza’s health-care system and actively advocates for its immediate reconstruction.
• Condemns the use of starvation as a policy and the blockade of essential medical supplies, calling for their immediate cessation.
The SAZF’s Pantanowitz called the decision “misguided and morally bankrupt, and a betrayal of the Hippocratic Oath to save lives without discrimination,” adding that “if South Africans ever found themselves in crisis, we can only hope Israeli doctors would still show the compassion that SAMA has just abandoned.”
The SAJBD said that “instead of representing our country’s medical professionals, they chose political expediency over the interests of their members. This action will serve only to alienate members of the association, causing unnecessary division and creating rifts between professionals and communities in our country.”
The South African Association of Jewish Mental Health & Allied Practitioners called on SAMA to engage directly with the IMA to present its concerns, evaluate evidence and explore joint initiatives that advance shared ethical and humanitarian goals.
