Johannesburg – A group of South African members of parliament and religious leaders have returned from a “fact-finding” visit to Israel.
Director Daniel Jacobi (SAFI) in South Africa (April 10, 2025) confirmed that the trip was made and described it as “a mission to discover historic facts to Israel.”
The confirmation took place the day after the good party asked about its “secret mission.”
Safi said the visit to Israel was the first by South African lawmakers (Parliamentary) since the October 7th massacre in 2023.
Hamas' attacks have led to the murders of more than 1,000 Israeli citizens, mourning a new chapter in the chaos in the region.
Jacobi lamented that more than 250 innocent, mostly Israeli civilians, among them babies, women, children and elderly, were lured to Hamas and Gazan. He said that some of the civilians accused were South Africans.
Director Safi said the bodies of those killed by Hamas remain in Gaza along with 58 hostages.
The visiting mandate included individuals from the Democratic Union (DA), Christian Democrats in Africa, Patriotic Union (PA), and South African religious leaders of Christian and Jewish faith.
The SA delegation that visited Israel included lawmakers who traveled in private abilities.
Jacobi said the visiting group had a week's journey to witness firsthand the human influence of the Israeli conflict.
He said the trip was intended to create an environment in which support for Israel was understood and openly accepted, without promoting anti-Palestinian stance.
The representatives visited the devastated locations of the Kibbuthaza and the Nova Music Festival. There, we heard tragic testimonies from survivors of the October 7th massacre.
Comments from representatives presented by SAFI in the statement include:
“The Rev. Bert Pretorius, president of the South African faith-based Union Community,” said:
“When God's people live together in unity, that's our hearts, that's our desires. That's why we are here today.”
MP Bridget Masango shared, “The trip was called a 'factual peace mission', but I couldn't prepare me for what I just witnessed.”
Patriotic Alliance MP Ashley Saurus declared:
“A state should not expect to tolerate terrorism as well as defined by what it does, but also by what it accepts.”
ACDP's Stephen Swart cited a German pastor who opposed Nazism, explaining the lack of support Israel has received in efforts to protect citizens today.
Pastor Brian Cauchy, representing the South African faith leader and the Christian Resurrection Church, added:
“We did the wrong thing. We sinned. We judged this historic Israel and its people in one of the most vulnerable moments in modern history.”
Vivian Maiberg, South Africa's President of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, commented:
“However, in the face of constant threats, Israel stands as the forefront of the battle for humanity.
“They are coal mine canaries and warn the world of rising danger.
“This trip allowed for a significant transfer of truth and equipped each representative to protect Israel and return home ready to speak with clarity and confidence.”
South African rabbinic chief Dr. Warren Goldstein concluded the trip by stating that all representatives exemplified courageous leadership.
“I would like to honour the representatives who sent a clear message to partners around the world who are Christians standing with Israel.”
Jacobi said that its influence expanded beyond diplomacy while the trip was rooted in a mission of truth and peace.
For millions of South Africans (who identify nearly 85% of them as Christians), Israel has deep spiritual significance, he said.
“Israel is a land of our shared biblical history, but it is also a modern country that navigates complex and dangerous geopolitical realities.”
Jackobi said: “This mission was about facts, not politics.”
“We heard from the survivors, we saw devastation, which is to stand up for truth, peace, and human dignity.
“The actions of the ANC-led government in the International Court of Justice do not reflect the truth of what happened here or the positions and beliefs of the majority of South Africans.”
Jacobi said the visit ended on Monday (April 7, 2025) and signed a contract for biblical unity at the Friends of the Museum in Jerusalem.
Safi is a grassroots movement representing thousands of South Africans (Christians and Jews) who support the continued ties and solidarity between South Africa and the state of Israel.
Safi's mission is to promote mutual respect, shared values ​​and people-to-people relationships.
However, Jackobi said the focus of this trip remains the living reality on the ground and the need for informed leadership in South Africa's international relations.
“The Congress's national unified government should not delay the reshaping of South Africa's foreign policy,” Jacobi said.
“Turn by conscience, compassion and a true desire for peace, not by wasted spending on international litigation, which has proven to be completely useless by supporting local peace talks.
“Faith-based diplomacy, through the accounts of true witnesses, is proven far more powerful to harmonize the pain and sorrow that those who are the sole desires to live in coexistence and peace.”
Earlier this week, Secretary General Goode Brett Herron said: “The South African government has consistently condemned genocide, but Israel has been in operation in Gaza and has filed a lawsuit against Israel in the International Court of Justice.
“At the point of extreme geopolitical and economic turbulence, government members should know that the constituencies they should serve are not their party constituencies, but all people in South Africa.
“The DA and PA have to tell South Africans what their MPs are doing in Israel, what they met, what they said to them about South Africa, who claimed they represent them and who paid for the trip.”
Heron said that a good party would like to know who paid for the trip, its political purpose, and whether it was notified to the South African government or parliament.
Meanwhile, reports from Gaza show that at least 50 523 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in the enclave, and 114 776 have been injured since October 7, 2023 to April 3, 2025.
Last year, on November 21, 2024, the United Nations Support International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Joab Gallant and former Commander Hamas, citing allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
