Ariel Seidman, the Israeli chargé d’affaires who was expelled this week, had come to be seen as a serial offender by the South African government, which had previously rebuked him for publicly criticising President Cyril Ramaphosa. The last straw for Pretoria was a trip to the Eastern Cape in January by Israeli diplomat David Saranga, who visited two government hospitals and the Walter Sisulu University without giving Dirco prior notification. Saranga also had meetings with AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, who has formed close ties with the Jewish state.
The Israeli embassy posted on X that the hospital visits were to discuss co-operation with the Sheba Medical Centre, Israel’s largest hospital. Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane condemned the visit, telling the Daily Dispatch that such engagements undermined South Africa’s constitutional processes and the country’s sovereignty in conducting international relations. Dirco said on Friday it had given Seidman 72 hours to leave the country following a “series of unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice which pose a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty”.
Minister Ronald Lamola’s spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said Seidman’s actions represented “a gross abuse of diplomatic privilege and a fundamental breach of the Vienna Convention”. They have systematically undermined the trust and protocols essential for bilateral relations. South Africa’s sovereignty and the dignity of its offices are inviolable.” Saranga is reported to have made more than one visit to South Africa.
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According to government sources, the Israeli embassy ignored the established protocol that the host country be notified in advance of visits by foreign officials. When a senior official from the capital comes to the host country, you have to inform the host country and who they will be meeting “When a senior official from the capital comes to the host country, you have to inform the host country and who they will be meeting,” one source said. “We put out a notice to all diplomatic missions to kindly inform the department when there are formal visits… They [Israel] did it again, and they didn’t inform us this time.” The source said Sangara’s activities — he apparently offered Dalindyebo Israeli humanitarian aid following flood damage — amounted to a calculated campaign against the government. “Pretoria views these under-the-radar visits, specifically a controversial meeting with King Dalindyebo, as a strategic move to bypass the central government and stir public resentment.”
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