JPOST: South Africa’s softening stance toward Jerusalem

The Jerusalem Post reports:

The South African government is pushing to deepen its ties with Israel, in spite of persistent calls by its citizens to sever ties with the Jewish state.

At the heart of a new warm breeze from Pretoria is a growing trade imbalance, in which the two countries have gone from a parity situation in 2009 to one where Israel exports to South Africa almost four times as much as it imports, according to the South African Embassy.

“We are all serious about moving things forward,” South Africa’s Ambassador Sisa Ngombane told The Jerusalem Post.

He spoke in the aftermath of a visit to his country by Foreign Minister director-general Dore Gold. It was the first time in a decade that someone in his post had visited South Africa.

The two countries have diplomatic ties that stretch back to 1948, when South Africa was among the first nations to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

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