From pro-Palestinian protester to leader of an Israeli advocacy organization: "I saw the truth for myself"
Bpene Bi was a political activist who often used the slogan "From the river to the sea," but one visit to Israel changed everything he thought about it. Now he heads an Israeli advocacy organization in South Africa and brings politicians and leaders here so they can "see for themselves": "The policy against Israel is based on historical alliances."
Bpene Bi, a 33-year-old from South Africa, was a student and political activist who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and believed that Israel was an apartheid state. The turning point came in 2016, when he visited Israel along with other student leaders and discovered, according to him, a significant gap between the picture he knew in South Africa and the reality he encountered in Israel.
Bi says that at that time he participated in protests against Israel, where, among other things, the call "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" was heard. According to him, events were also held at universities in South Africa as part of "Israeli Apartheid Week." He explains that as a member and political activist in South Africa, the anti-Israel position was largely taken for granted, partly due to the policies and historical alliances of the ruling ANC party. "I was sure that Israel was an apartheid state," he said.
But the turnaround came during a visit he made to Israel a decade ago. "We saw the truth for ourselves, and we found ourselves questioning what we thought were facts all these years," he said. During the visit, he was exposed to a reality where Jews and Arabs work together, share common spaces, and participate in the political system. For someone who grew up in South Africa and knew the historical significance of the apartheid regime up close, he says, this encounter caused him to re-examine the comparison between Israel and South Africa.
Since then, Bi has visited Israel several more times and began working in South Africa to promote direct acquaintance with Israel. He works with Christian communities, political figures, and traditional leaders, and brings politicians, members of parliament, and leaders from the Christian community to Israel so they can see it for themselves. Today, Bi heads the activities of the "Israel-is" organization in South Africa. The organization works to promote Israel's image through meetings and human stories. At the same time, he manages activities on social networks for Israel, which, according to him, has gained more than 200,000 followers and has been exposed to millions of South Africans.
In recent days, the "Israel-is" organization sent an advocacy delegation to South Africa, which lasted a week and included 15 events and meetings with more than 1,300 people. The delegation took place in cooperation with South African Friends of Israel, the advocacy organization that Bpene heads; they are partners in the delegations that regularly go to South Africa from "Israel-is," and Bpene is their contact person there. The delegation included Habtam, an Israeli activist of Ethiopian descent, Fouad, an Israeli Muslim Arab who engages in advocacy, and Miriam, an Israeli Christian of Lebanese descent. The three met with students, Christian communities, local organizations, and media outlets across South Africa, and told their personal stories about Israel and the complexity of Israeli society. The goal was to reach audiences who partly know Israel mainly through political and media discourse, and to bring them into direct contact with Israelis who come from different backgrounds and present a broader and more complex picture of society in Israel.
According to Bpene Bi, there is currently one South Africa in the political arena and another among parts of the public. While the South African government leads a harsh line against Israel, Bi argues that most of the public in the country is mainly occupied with internal problems, including employment, the state of the economy, and the electricity crisis, and does not see foreign policy as a central issue in their lives. "South Africa is currently indifferent to the war. Foreign policy is not really the issue here in South Africa," he said. According to him, the anti-Israel position of the leadership is related, among other things, to historical relations with countries and struggles from the apartheid era, and does not necessarily reflect the positions of all citizens.
Bi also refers to the status of the Jewish community in the country and argues that despite the picture sometimes painted by the media and demonstrations, Jews and supporters of Israel continue to lead full lives in South Africa. According to him, "What you see in the media and what you see at pro-Palestinian marches is not everything that is happening on the ground. You see that with these pro-Palestinian marches, even the marches themselves are more of the Muslim community. It is not our people on the ground."
Bi's story takes on additional meaning against the backdrop of the tense relations between South Africa and Israel since October 7 and the sharp debate in the country over the war. While the South African government has adopted a harsh position against Israel, and even accused it of war crimes in the Gaza Strip, Bi works together with elements in the Jewish community and with pro-Israel organizations in an attempt to present a different picture to the locals. "There is no hostility on the ground against Israelis and Jews, but there is a clear government policy based on historical alliances against Israel. The Jews are very free here," he concluded.
