South Africa is preparing to “put away the megaphone” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, predicting that President-elect Donald Trump may not look favorably on the country's anti-Western foreign policy stance.
South Africa's new ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasul, told South Africa's Daily Maverick that the country needs to consider its trade interests and therefore need to scale back some of its rhetoric on issues such as the Gaza war. spoke.
daily maverick reported Earlier this month:
In an interview with Daily Maverick, Rasul said he was well aware that serving as SA's ambassador to the US would be much more difficult this time around, under a president who is “probably in full-blown populism”. spoke. So I'm not going to go there thinking it's business as usual…I understand that we need to completely recalibrate. ”
To do so, the government needed to rebalance its own values and foreign policy interests.
As South Africa continues to pursue a case accusing Israel of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), it must keep in mind the possible consequences, Rasul said.
“[W]We took it to the point where others accused us of going too far. Therefore, we intend to continue to defend this case, but for now we have faith in our legal team, trust in the evidence we have presented before the ICJ judges, and hope that the ICJ judges will come up with a sustainable and fair resolution. Let's trust that. You need to put away your megaphone now. ”
As Breitbart News noted, South Africa is seeking an update to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), making it one of a group of African countries that enjoy privileged access to the U.S. market under the act. . But its foreign policy stances, such as its support for Russia's war against Ukraine and support for various African tyrants, have often clashed with American interests and values. Both Democrats and Republicans have indicated they could run into trouble the next time AGOA is up for renewal before the end of fiscal year 2025 next September.
Rasool said he will work to convince President Trump and the American people that AGOA is in their interests. He said South Africa has potential in common with President Trump in that it prefers the United States to China as a trading partner and South Africa also opposes war in general, whether in Eastern Europe or the Middle East. .
“[Y]We have to speak in a way that doesn't speak against the self-imagination of Americans and the imagination of Donald Trump,” Rasul explained.
Additionally, South African-raised entrepreneur Elon Musk persuaded President Trump of the need for trade with South Africa, a source of many rare and valuable minerals needed for a variety of space and space applications. He added that he hopes that he will do so. Technology in general.
Mr. Rasool served as an ambassador in a very different political environment for several years during President Barack Obama's presidency. He is also a former premier of the Western Cape province, where Cape Town is located. Although he is considered one of the voices of moderates within the African National Congress, which has ruled South Africa for 30 years, he has often sided with the party's extremists on Middle East issues and promoted anti-Israel policies.
The fact that he is at least openly softening his country's position is a sign of Trump's influence over foreign policy, which is already being felt in the weeks before his January 20 inauguration. There is.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
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