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South Africa’s ambassador to the US is struggling to secure crucial meetings in Washington at a time when Pretoria needs to mend relations with Donald Trump’s White House.
Ebrahim Rasool, a veteran diplomat who also served as South Africa’s ambassador to Washington during the Obama administration, was appointed back to the post in November. But he has failed to secure routine meetings with State Department officials and key Republican figures since Trump took office in January, Washington and South African government insiders told Semafor, drawing frustration in Pretoria.
Rasool is likely to have been frozen out for his prior vocal criticism of Israel, a South African diplomat, based in Washington, told Semafor. “A man named Ebrahim, who is Muslim, with a history of pro-Palestine politics is not likely to do well in that job right now,” said one of them. While South Africa brought a case against Israel to the International Court of Justice in December 2023, accusing it of genocide in Gaza, Rasool is nevertheless widely considered to be among the government’s most ardent pro-Palestine voices.
Neither Rasool nor a spokesperson for South Africa’s government could immediately be reached for comment.
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