Board of Deputies and Zionist Federation meet with Paul Mashatile

The Jewish leadership of South Africa commends the South African government’s continued commitment to supporting a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian question. It further welcomes its confirmation that it does not have a policy of supporting boycott campaigns against the State of Israel.
In a meeting held in Cape Town yesterday with senior representatives of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies and SA Zionist Federation, Minister of Arts and Culture Paul Mashatile clarified that, notwithstanding certain remarks attributed to him by the media, neither he nor his government supported anti-Israel boycotts. Mashatile further reiterated the Government’s long-standing position of support for a two state solution, with Israel and Palestine as independent States existing side by side.
It was agreed at the meeting that current efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestine conflict should be supported, and that South Africa should continue to use its experience of how it brought about a peaceful negotiated settlement to assist with finding a lasting solution in the region.