"Healthy diplomatic relations between South Africa and Israel should resume in the not-too-distant future, according to former South African chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng.
‘I am confident that with the prayers that are going on – there is a team that holds prayers for the peace of Jerusalem every Saturday back home – at one point, and I believe not far from today, that will become a practical reality,’ Mogoeng told The Jerusalem Post during his first visit to Israel on Tuesday.
‘I really can’t speak for the government...All I can say is this: The minute the overwhelming majority come to terms with the heartbeat of God regarding the relationship between our country and Israel, the easier it will be for their voice to be heard when it says, ‘Let’s have a healthy relationship between our country and Israel.’’
South Africa’s ANC government, traditionally a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, recalled its ambassador in 2018 following violence along the Israel-Gaza border and announced a year later that it had officially downgraded its embassy in Israel to a liaison office.
Mogoeng, a devout Christian who served as chief justice from 2011 to 2021, is in Israel with his wife, Mmaphefo, and a 90-member delegation from South Africa as part of the annual Feast of the Tabernacles..."