South African Jews protest plan to name street in front of US Consulate in Johannesburg after notorious Palestinian terrorist

The South African Zionist Federation says it has lodged a protest with the South African government over plans to rename a street in Johannesburg that houses the US Consulate after a notorious Palestinian terrorist.

The SAZF says that plans to rename Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive violate South African law that calls to protect diplomatic sites and prevent the impairment of their dignity.

“This proposal, which would force the American Consulate to change its address to that of an individual classified as a terrorist, is a diplomatic insult that could have far-reaching consequences for South Africa’s international relations and investment,” the statement says.

Leila Khaled was part of a team that hijacked TWA Flight 840 on its way from Rome to Tel Aviv in August 1969. A year later she participated in the attempted hijacking of an El Al flight from Amsterdam to New York City as part of the Dawson’s Field hijackings, a series of simultaneous hijackings carried out by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Khaled was arrested in London, where the El Al pilot diverted the plane, and later released in exchange for hostages from another hijacking. She lives in Amman, Jordan.