South Africa has taken the rare step of ejecting Israel’s top remaining diplomat in the country, ordering him to depart within 72 hours over what it says were repeated breaches of diplomatic norms and offensive conduct online.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation announced on Friday that Ariel Seidman, Israel’s chargé d’affaires in Pretoria, had been declared persona non grata, meaning he is no longer welcome to operate in the country. Officials accused him of undermining bilateral ties through social media activity that insulted President Cyril Ramaphosa and of failing to observe basic diplomatic protocol.
Seidman had been Israel’s most senior representative in South Africa since Israel recalled its ambassador in 2023.
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Israel responded swiftly. Within hours, its Foreign Ministry said on X that it had ordered the expulsion of a senior South African diplomat, Shaun Edward Byneveldt, instructing him to leave Israel within the same 72-hour window.
The latest exchange further deepens an already fraught relationship between the two countries. Tensions heightened after South Africa, a longstanding supporter of Palestinian rights, accused Israel of genocide in Gaza in a case filed at the International Court of Justice.
Israel has rejected the accusation outright and accused South Africa of serving as the legal arm of Hamas by pursuing what it described as a highly emotive case before the United Nations’ top court, according to AP’s report.
South Africa’s move against Seidman is also expected to draw attention from the U.S. The United States, a close ally of Israel, has been openly critical of the African nation under President Donald Trump.
The Trump administration has characterized South Africa as a supporter of Iran and Hamas and said it is pursuing an anti-American foreign policy, which South Africa denies.
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Relations between the U.S. and South Africa were strained further last year when the U.S. expelled South Africa’s ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, following remarks he made about the Make America Great Again movement, which he said was partly a response to a “supremacist instinct.”
In explaining its decision, South Africa’s Foreign Ministry said the expulsion of Seidman “follows a series of unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice which pose a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty.” It added that official Israeli social media accounts had been used to launch “insulting attacks” against Ramaphosa.
The ministry did not specify the content of the posts in question and said it would not provide further details.
It also accused Israel of deliberately failing to notify South African authorities about visits by Israeli officials. While no names were cited, David Saranga, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official responsible for promoting Israel’s image on social media, was in South Africa earlier this week.
The country said it had formally communicated Seidman’s expulsion to the Israeli government and urged it “to ensure its future diplomatic conduct demonstrates respect” for South Africa.
The decision has triggered criticism from sections of South Africa’s Jewish community. Karen Milner, chairperson of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, described the move as “a drastic move” taken on the basis of “a few tweets.”
