The Trump administration said Ebrahim Rasool, South African ambassador to the United States, Persona Non Grata, accusing him of making hostile remarks to America and its president. Pretoria judges this decision “regrettable” and calls for respect for diplomatic uses.
Muslim and veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle, Rasool is a fervent defender of the Palestinian cause. He played a key role in the South African complaint against Israel in front of the CIJ for genocide in Gaza, denouncing the occupation as “apartheid”. His return to Washington in January was already controversial due to his pro-Palestinian activism.
Before his expulsion, he struggled to obtain appointments with American officials. According to Semafor Africa, he was already marginalized by the Trump administration, which accuses the ANC of discrimination against whites.
Trump and his allies, including Elon Musk, criticize a South African law on the expropriation of land, qualifying it as “anti-white”, while it aims to correct the inequalities of apartheid.
Rasool’s expulsion illustrates a policy hostile to the voices criticizing Israel, while reactivating a racial reading of South African tensions. Pretoria refuses to give in, but the fracture with Washington seems irreversible.
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