Written by: Andre Viljoen
Article source: gatewaynews.co.za

Public participation platform Dear South Africa (DSA) invites you to have your say on the so-called “Apartheid Bill” devised by pro-Palestinian activists to provide a legal basis for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel and to prosecute those who stand with Israel.

The private-member’s bill sponsored by Imran Ismail-Moosa MP of Al Jama-ah party seeks to domesticate the 1973 UN Apartheid Convention, which South Africa signed last year, into South African law, inter alia to use claims by the UN’s International Court of Justice and human rights groups that Israel is an apartheid state as a basis for punitive legal action.

In an interview with SABC News in November last year Al Jama-ah leader Ganief Hendricks MP was clear about the agenda behind the proposed legislation. “Now that South Africa has signed the convention, there’s an urgency to have a law in Parliament, because you can’t punish people without a law,” he said.

He said the effect of the bill will be that members of Parliament or organisations or individuals outside Parliament who support Israel “could then be criminally charged and face the might of the law”.

He said: “They must be punished very harshly.”

DSA writes: “While South Africa already recognises apartheid as a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute Act (2002), this new bill seeks to establish it as a standalone crime with broader, specific definitions and extraterritorial reach.

“The Bill is explicitly designed to allow South African courts to prosecute individuals (including dual citizens) accused of committing or aiding apartheid acts anywhere in the world, with a clear focus on the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

Although introduced by Al Jama-ah, the bill is piloted on behalf of a “secretariat” of eight parties, including the ANC, EFF, MK Party, PAC, and GOOD. The DA, FF+, PA and ACDP, who have historically opposed describing Israel as an “apartheid” state, are expected to oppose the bill.

ACDP MP Steve Swart commented:”The ACDP is known for its pro-Israel stance and will strongly oppose this private member’s Bill, given what Mr Hendricks has said is its stated intention. We will not be intimidated from standing with Israel or discouraged from visiting and praying in the Holy Land.”

Vivienne Myburgh national director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), South Africa said:”This bill is an attempt to criminalise and prosecute those who defend and fight for Israel literally or in words. In effect it seeks to criminalise Zionists, those who believe in the rights of the Jews to their ancient homeland. Those who seek to attack Zionists are actually the racists!

“To accuse Israel of being guilty of practicing apartheid is duplicity of the highest level.
Israel’s laws endorse the protection of all who live in the State of Israel.
The human rights abuses in many nations world-wide should be the focus of SA and the international community’s “condemnation resolutions”.

“Israel is an example, which our nation should emulate in many areas, instead of singling her out for condemnation.”

DSA says: “The Bill represents a significant move to ‘weaponise’ South Africa’s human rights laws for international justice causes. While it has strong support from the ruling ANC and major opposition parties (EFF, MK), its practical enforcement will depend heavily on the NDPP’s willingness to authorise prosecutions and the courts’ ability to navigate complex international jurisdictional issues,” says DSA.

You can have your say — on the DSA website — by clicking on the following link: https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/apartheid-bill/ Comments close on December 14. All responses will be submitted to Parliament.

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Date published: 13/12/2025
Feature image: Dear South Africa

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