Trump’s pick for ambassador to press SA over ICJ case against Israel
US Ambassador-Designate to South Africa Leo Brent Bozell says one of his priorities will be communicating objections to South Africa’s geostrategic drift from non-alignment toward America’s competitors, including Russia, China, and Iran.
He faced a grilling from senators during his confirmation hearing before Thursday's Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting.
Bozell told lawmakers that he will also press South Africa to end proceedings against Israel before the International Court of Justice.
In December 2023, South Africa brought a case to the United Nations' highest court in The Hague, alleging Israel's Gaza offensive breached the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Israel denies the accusation.
In rulings in January, March and May 2024, the ICJ told Israel to do everything possible to "prevent" acts of genocide during its military operations in Gaza, including by providing urgently needed humanitarian aid to prevent famine.
“I will advance the president's invitation to Afrikaners who wish to flee unjust racial discrimination. I will explore how we can support the South African government in making sure all South Africans can thrive free from the threat of violence,” Bozell said.
“I will support the president's call for the South African government to rescind its support for the expropriation of private property without compensation.”
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to ease the settling of white Afrikaners in the United Statesas refugees, saying they were fleeing a "terrible situation" in South Africa.
Shortly after, a group of 49 people left Johannesburg airport on a chartered flight to Virginia.
Under the eligibility guidelines published by the US embassy, applicants must either be of Afrikaner ethnicity or belong to a racial minority in South Africa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has repeatedly dismissed claims that Afrikaners were being persecuted and has told Trump that the situation "is not true."
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