The mayor of South Africa’s economic hub Johannesburg suspends a senior council member after she made a public declaration that the city was a “friend” of Israel.
According to a video of her speech, Mpho Phalatse, a councilwoman in charge of health, said at a weekend pro-Israel event: “I would like to declare that I am a friend of Israel and the city of Johannesburg is a friend of Israel.”
“We value you, we celebrate you, we appreciate you, feel at home…” she told participants at a conference held as part of a series of events organized by pro-Israel community and religious groups.
Mayor Herman Mashaba announced that he had decided “to suspend… Phalatse pending an investigation into the full and proper context in which those remarks were made.”
Mashaba says he was “disappointed” that the councilwoman attributed her personal sentiments to the city on such an “emotional and sensitive” issue.
— AFP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
