Written by: Bafana Modise,
National Spokesperson, South African Friends Of Israel (SAFI)
Article source: Supplied
The South African Friends of Israel (SAFI), is delighted and pleased that following a SAFI hosted best-practice visit to Israel for 22 members of the Patriotic Alliance (PA) late last month, the PA has undertaken to leverage their position within the Government of National Unity to increase South Africa’s trade and economic relationship with Israel.
The best practice visit to Israel, motivated by the PA’s desire to understand why Israel’s economy continues to thrive, explored various aspects of water security, agricultural sustainability, and technological innovation where Israel has implemented significant projects in this regard throughout Africa.
“The lessons drawn from these sectors have empowered the PA political leaders with the knowledge and tools to implement similar solutions back at home, acting as engines for socio-economic upliftment,” says Bafana Modise, spokesperson for SAFI.
“The delegation also met with various Israeli entities that have been set up exclusively to assist countries in need, whether in addressing local diseases, access to water or disaster relief, and lamented the fact that due to the South African government’s hostile relationship with Israel, these entities do not operate within the country.”
Israel is a world leader in desalination, managing to source 85% of its drinking water from these infrastructure projects. The PA were able to see first hand how an arid country like Israel was able to solve its water issues, and could fundamentally assist a water-scarce South Africa with its various challenges.
Where it concerns agriculture, Israeli-designed systems account for 50% of the world’s low-pressure irrigation systems, while 86% of its wastewater is reclaimed for agricultural needs – the highest percentage in the world. Further to this, Israeli companies have installed more than 350 desalination plants in nearly 40 countries, cutting desalination processing costs by half,” says Modise.
Modise added that “visits to various businesses in Judea and Samara (the West Bank) demonstrated how Israelis and Palestinians work and exist in harmony. The PA delegation also met with Sodastream, who expressed how they had to relocate their operations from the West Bank to Israel due to pressure from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. This resulted in many Palestinians losing their jobs and livelihoods.”
Israel has successfully reduced its unemployment from 15% to 4% while under war, and is a healthy startup nation, managing to attract $12 billion in venture capital funding.
Where it concerns the high-tech and semiconductor industry, Israel is considered one of the world’s most innovative digital environments, home to over 800 innovative companies, while 250 are launched every year.
“The PA, which acknowledges that the Christian community constitutes more than 80% of the South African population, stands with Israel and its right to existence. Visits to biblical and historical sites confirmed that the majority of South Africans retain a deep spiritual connection with Israel. The PA expressed disappointment over the absence of a South African Embassy, which makes it more difficult for South African Christians to travel”, commented Modise.
Additionally, the PA members paid tribute to the 51 members of the Cape Corp who fell in 1918 while assisting the British armed forces to liberate Jerusalem. A moving ceremony was held at their burial site to commemorate the significant contribution of South Africa’s coloured community to the establishment of the state of Israel.
“The PA delegation marveled at the Israeli people’s zest for life, despite being in the midst of a war – on two occasions the delegation was forced to evacuate into a bomb shelter due to missiles from enemy fire. Visits to the sites of Hamas’ barbaric attack gave the PA first hand evidence of how Hamas perpetrated sub-human atrocities on a massive scale in their genocidal attempt to destroy Israel and its people,” Modise expressed.
Despite this, the delegation could not believe how the South Africa media had distorted Israel. After traveling through many areas of Israel and the Palestinian territories, the PA members did not observe anything that was vaguely similar to Apartheid, and instead witnessed a society where people of all races and religions are fully integrated and coexist.
“The conclusion from the visit was categorically clear: the PA delegation walked away in full agreement that Israel has the knowledge, skills and technology to significantly uplift the lives of all South Africans and confirmed their party’s support for renewed engagements with the country as soon as possible. South Africa indeed has much to gain and nothing to lose with resetting its relations with Israel,” Modise concluded.
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Date published: 13/06/2025
Feature image: Members of the Patriotic Alliance (PA).
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