From pro-Palestinian demonstrations and accusing Israel of being an “apartheid state,” to leading pro-Israel propaganda activity in South Africa, Bfana B charts a political path completely opposite to that of nearly a decade ago, stressing that one visit to Israel in 2016 prompted him to reconsider ideas that he had considered for years to be “truths.”
According to a report by journalist Itamar Eichner on the Israeli website Ynet, Bfana B, 33 years old and originally from South Africa, was a student and political activist who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and was convinced that Israel was an apartheid state, before 2016 marked a turning point in his path, when he visited Israel accompanied by a number of student leaders.
Bee says that at that stage he participated in protests against Israel, during which, among other slogans, the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” was raised, while universities in South Africa were also hosting events within what was known as “Israeli Apartheid Week.”
He explained that, as a member and political activist in South Africa, the anti-Israel position was almost self-evident for him, especially in light of the policies of the ruling African National Congress and its historical alliances.
“I was sure that Israel was an apartheid state,” he said, before adding about the visit he made about 10 years ago: “We saw the truth for ourselves, and we found ourselves questioning what we thought throughout the years were facts.”
During the visit, Bee says he witnessed a reality in which Jews and Arabs work together, share the same spaces and participate in the political system. For someone who grew up in South Africa and knew firsthand the historical meaning of the apartheid system, this scene, according to his account, prompted him to re-examine the comparison between Israel and South Africa.
Since then, B has visited Israel additional times and initiated activity in South Africa aimed at introducing the public to it directly. It works with Christian communities, political figures and traditional leaders, and also organizes visits to Israel for politicians, members of parliament and leaders from the Christian community so they can “see for themselves.”
Today, Bee leads delegations in cooperation with “Israel-Is” in South Africa, an organization that works to improve the image of Israel through human encounters and stories. In parallel, he runs a pro-Israel activity on social media, which he says has gathered more than 200,000 followers and reached millions of people in South Africa.
In recent days, Israel-Is organized a week-long propaganda mission to South Africa, which included 15 events and meetings with more than 1,300 people. The mission was organized in cooperation with the “Friends of Israel in South Africa” organization, which is headed by Bee, and which regularly participates in the delegations that “Israel-Is” sends to the country, and Bee is its point of contact there.
The delegation included Habatam, an Israeli activist of Ethiopian origins, Fouad, an Arab-Israeli Muslim who works in advertising, and Maryam, a Lebanese-Israeli Christian content creator. The three met with students, Christian communities, local organizations and media across South Africa, and through their personal experiences presented their vision of Israel and the complexities of Israeli society.
The aim of the tour was to reach segments that know Israel mainly through political and media discourse, and to provide them with a direct meeting with Israelis from different backgrounds who present a broader and more complex picture of Israeli society.
Bfana B believes that today there is a “South Africa” at the official political level, and a different one among parts of society. While the South African government adopts a strong line against Israel, Bee claims that most citizens are mainly concerned with internal problems, including job opportunities, the economic situation and the electricity crisis, and do not consider foreign policy a central issue in their lives.
“Today, South Africa is indifferent to war. Foreign policy is not really the issue here in South Africa,” he said, considering that the leadership’s anti-Israel position is linked, among other factors, to historical relations with countries and conflicts dating back to the apartheid era, and does not necessarily reflect the positions of all citizens.
He also addressed the situation of the Jewish community in the country, saying that despite the image that sometimes appears in the media and demonstrations, Jews and supporters of Israel continue to live their lives normally in South Africa.
He said: “What we see in the media and what we see in the pro-Palestinian marches is not everything that is happening on the ground. We see that these pro-Palestinian marches are even in themselves closer to being marches for the Muslim community. This is not our people on the ground.”
Bee’s account comes in light of the tense relations between South Africa and Israel since October 7 and the intense controversy within the country regarding the war, while the South African government adopted a strong stance against Israel and accused it of committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip. On the other hand, Bee works alongside entities in the Jewish community and pro-Israel organizations to try to present a different narrative to the local audience.
He concluded by saying: “There is no hostility on the ground towards Israelis and Jews, but there is a clear government policy based on historical alliances against Israel. The Jews are very free here.”
Thus, a personal experience that began at the heart of the pro-Palestinian protests has been transformed into a tool in the narrative battle taking place within South Africa, as Bee attempts to separate the government’s official position from what he sees as a more complex social reality towards Israel.
