Johannesburg, South Africa – The South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) is outraged at the reckless disinformation spread this week by President Ramaphosa and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) concerning the so-called “Global Sumud Flotilla.”
South Africans were told that passengers had been “abducted” in “international waters.” This is a lie. The word “abducted” is not the language of diplomacy, it is the language of Hamas propaganda, now echoed shamelessly by our own government. What happened was the standard interception of a deliberate provocation into a declared naval blockade. To repeat activist slogans as fact is a disgrace.
And let us be clear about the obscenity of this language. On 7 October 2023, Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel, massacred 1,200 people, and abducted more than 250 innocent civilians, men, women, children, the elderly, dragged into tunnels, beaten, raped, and held in darkness as hostages. Those are real abductees. Today, nearly two years later, 48 hostages remain in captivity, with only 20 believed to still be alive. Their families live with unending anguish. To compare these victims of terror with publicity-hungry flotilla activists who knowingly sailed into a blockade, were detained, and will be deported under law, is not only false, it is a moral insult to the hostages and their families.
This flotilla was never about humanitarian aid. Italy, Greece, and even the Vatican offered to take the cargo and deliver it neutrally to Gaza through the Catholic Church. Israel agreed. The flotilla organisers refused, because confrontation, not compassion, was their goal. That rejection exposed their true intent, political theatre designed for headlines. Israel has also uncovered documentation in Gaza directly linking the flotilla’s funding and leadership to Hamas via its foreign arm, the PCPA, exposing that the mission was not independent but intentionally tied to terror actors. The timing of their arrival in Israeli waters, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, was no accident. It was a calculated act of provocation and deep disrespect toward the Jewish people and the world’s only Jewish state.
South Africans should also note who was on board. International celebrities boarded the flotilla precisely because their presence guaranteed maximum publicity. In particular, Mandla Mandela on several occasions has publicly supported the October 7 attacks, and has hosted Hamas officials in South Africa. Mandela has exploited his grandfather’s name in service of Hamas, trading on his lineage to bash Israel while standing shoulder to shoulder with terror-aligned groups. Allegations continue to swirl about the significant funding backing such “activism.” Whether or not money changed hands, the incentives for spectacle are clear.
Meanwhile, a real path to peace exists. President Trump’s comprehensive 20-point proposal, welcomed internationally, demands the return of all hostages within 72 hours, delivers scaled humanitarian relief, and provides the only credible framework to end the war. The flotilla’s organisers rejected it outright, proving they want conflict to drag on.
DIRCO’s behaviour in this episode has confirmed what many already know, it has become little more than a Hamas propaganda outlet. And Pretoria’s irrelevance to real diplomacy was once again exposed when South Africa was excluded from the Trump peace plan entirely. The world is working toward hostages freed and aid delivered, South Africa is working toward headlines.
The SAZF stands firmly with Israel in defending its people and its coasts. We reject the lies, the propaganda, and the performative stunts. South Africans deserve a government that speaks truth and works for peace, not one that parrots terrorists and cheapens the suffering of true abductees.
