Chief Rabbi of South Africa Warren Goldstein hailed US President Donald Trump’s actions against the country and said South Africans should welcome the Trump administration's interventions in South Africa’s affairs.

In an X post on Sunday, Goldstein revealed that he had just returned from Israel, where he met senior government officials. He stated that he presented a “strategic” outlining the case for the country to engage with South Africa, adding that the “balance of forces” was in Israel’s favour.

“The document I presented made several key points: that while Israel has won the military war in the Middle East, South Africa continues to prosecute the ideological war on the global stage and for this reason Israel needs to remain engaged with South Africa’s people; that the vast majority of South Africans are conservative Christians, who are not aligned with our government’s anti-Israel efforts and are, therefore, natural allies of Israel.

“That following the ANC’s dramatic loss of support in the 2024 elections followed by the Trump victory, the balance of forces has shifted in favour of Israel establishing a constructive relationship with South Africa.

Goldstein praised the Trump administration's executive order against South Africa, adding that it transformed global politics regarding South Africa.

“President Trump’s recent executive order has made three critical points…

“The first is that Trump has accused South Africa of, and I quote: “reinvigorating its relations with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements… this poses national security threats to our Nation, our allies, our African partners, and our interests.” These actions of the South African government are even more serious than its actions on behalf of Iran to delegitimise Israel at the ICJ, which are also mentioned in the executive order.

“What is apparent is the extent to which President Ramaphosa’s government is acting against South Africa’s national interest - by supporting and allying itself with Iran, a violent dictatorship, the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, a regime that has common cause with the very Jihadi groups actively threatening South Africa’s security and that of the entire region.

“By contrast, Israel can and should be a key economic and security ally for South Africa, helping the entire Southern African region defeat the Jihadi forces which continue to maim, kill and terrorise people from Mozambique and across the continent. How can it be in South Africa’s national interests to ally with Iran whilst prosecuting Israel at the ICJ.”

warren goldstein

Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein hails Trump’s actions against South Africa