Your Excellencies,

Friends,

The people of South Africa are with you today as you lay to rest a great man and celebrate a remarkable life that altered the moral direction of a nation and inspired the conscience of the world.

We are here to join you as you say farewell to a man who carried the message of hope from the streets of Chicago to the streets of Johannesburg.

Today we are also here, as South Africans, to claim Reverend Jesse Jackson as one of our own. We lay claim on him today because he laid claim on us first.

You may ask: how can a son of South Carolina belong to the people of Soweto?

How can a man born into the segregated American South be claimed by the people of a faraway land that was bedevilled by a racist system of apartheid?

We will tell you how. We will tell you why.

Belonging is not determined by the soil on which you were born.

Belonging is determined by the soil on which you choose to join the fight against an evil racist and oppressive system.

In the long and painful years of our struggle, when the voices of our people were often silenced, Jesse Jackson chose to belong to us by raising his voice against apartheid on our behalf.

When our cause was ignored, and many would look away he stood firm in solidarity with us.

He looked at a people he had never met and said: their pain is my pain. Their chains are my chains. Their struggle for freedom is my struggle.

And for this, the people of South Africa remember him not as a distant friend, but as a brother in the struggle for justice and freedom.

That is why we proclaim that he is ours too.

Jesse Jackson was an African. We lay claim to him because he was an African. Pledging his solidarity with our struggle made him one of us.

An African. An African American.

He epitomised the image that was depicted by one of the key founders of the African National Congress, Pixley ka Isaka Seme, who delivered a most famous speech in 1906 when he was a student at Columbia University.

He said: “I am an African, and I set my pride in my race over against a hostile public opinion… The brighter day is rising upon Africa. Already I seem to see her chains dissolved.”

That speech captured the spirit of African pride and hope. This is what Jesse Jackson meant to South Africa and Africa. Hence we stand here today and say he also belongs to us.

Jesse Jackson stood with the people of South Africa during our darkest hour. He told the world that the struggle for dignity in the United States of America was inseparable from the fight against apartheid and injustice in South Africa.

When Jesse Jackson reminded the United States that its strength lies not in exclusion, but in the beautiful diversity of its people – black and white, rich and poor, urban and rural, workers and farmers, immigrants and the forgotten – we were inspired by his message and embraced the universal values of diversity, inclusion and equity that he preached.

Nelson Mandela and his comrades were hugely inspired by Jesse Jackson whilst they were serving life sentences on Robben Island as they observed how he carried our struggle for justice beyond the borders of the United States.

He was a voice — a voice that refused to be silenced when silence would have been easier. A voice that preached a message of hope from the streets of Chicago to the dusty streets of Soweto, that justice was not a privilege for the few, but a birthright for all.

His rallying call “Keep hope alive” became a compass for our struggle and gave us hope for victory over the evil of system of apartheid exclusion, division and oppression.

Jesse Jackson expressed his solidarity with the people of South Africa when he first visited South Africa in 1979, two years after the callous killing of Steve Biko in apartheid police cells. He drew massive crowds at rallies in Soweto, where he famously declared that: “This land is changing hands.”

When the Reagan administration chose “constructive engagement” – diplomatic language for doing nothing – Jesse Jackson chose unconditional solidarity with the oppressed majority in South Africa.

He became the most visible American political figure advocating for comprehensive pressure and economic sanctions against South Africa.

By placing South Africa at the centre of American electoral politics during his presidential election campaign, Jesse Jackson influenced millions of voters to confront apartheid as their moral responsibility too.

He led many marches here in the United States and in 1985 was arrested with his two sons, Jesse Jr. and Jonathan, outside the South African Embassy. As they were arrested, they sang “We shall Overcome”. It was a song that became part of our struggle and from which we drew inspiration.

He took the fight against apartheid global.

On the 2nd of November 1985, he marched with then ANC President Oliver Tambo, Anti-Apartheid Movement President Trevor Huddleston and more than 150,000 people – in what was one of the largest anti-apartheid demonstrations ever held in Britain – to demand sanctions against South Africa and the release of Nelson Mandela.

Not only did he march in the streets; he walked into the corridors of power.

He personally lobbied Pope John Paul II to visit South Africa and hasten change. He pressed Mikhail Gorbachev to cut all Soviet diplomatic ties with Pretoria. He challenged Margaret Thatcher to her face. She refused to budge, but he did not stop.

When Nelson Mandela finally walked free in 1990 after 27 long years of imprisonment, Jesse Jackson was there in Cape Town, witnessing a moment the world would never forget. He described the atmosphere as a “release of glee and joy,” as millions celebrated not only the freedom of a man, but the rising hope of a nation.

In 1994, he was present when Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first democratically elected President of South Africa. Jackson kept returning after 1994, when many of his contemporaries moved on.

We claim Jesse Jackson as one of our own because he never saw the struggle in South Africa as a distant or foreign cause, but as a struggle that belonged to him as well.

His greatest gift to the oppressed people of South Africa was the courage he gave us to believe that we must never surrender hope, that justice would prevail, and freedom would come.

He encouraged us not to lose hope in the face of oppression.

Not to lose hope in the face of injustice.

To have hope that ordinary people, standing together, would write their own history of triumph against apartheid.

The life of Reverend Jesse Jackson reminds us that the struggle for justice is never the work of a single lifetime. It is a long and noble journey carried forward across generations. It is a relay in which the torch of freedom is passed from one courageous hand to another.

Martin Luther King Jr. lifted that torch and gave the world a dream of justice and equality.

Jesse Jackson carried that dream forward with hope, keeping its flame alive in the hearts of those who refused to surrender to injustice.

And Nelson Mandela carried that dream into freedom, helping to build a rainbow nation where dignity and liberty could belong to all.

And so today that torch still burns. It is now in our hands – to guard it, to carry it forward, and to ensure that the dream of justice continues to light the path for generations yet to come.

Now we must ask ourselves how we can honour the life and memory of Jesse Jackson.

We honour him by carrying forward the values he lived for: justice, dignity, equality,

By committing to a lifetime of service to others.

By showing up when others look away from injustice, when they fear to stand up to power and when they walk away from suffering.

By pledging solidarity and using every opportunity to support the just struggle of others.

By ensuring that there is justice for all.

By keeping hope alive, as Jesse Jackson taught us.

Today we honour a man whose voice stirred the conscience of leaders and ordinary people, whose courage strengthened movements across the world, and whose faith never wavered even when the road was long.

To our mother, Mrs Jacqueline Jackson, to Santita, Jesse Jr., Jonathan, Yusef, Jacqueline, Ashley and the entire Jackson family:

We, the people of South Africa, are here to say thank you.

The African National Congress, with which Jesse Jackson worked closely, thanks you.

We are here not only in mourning, but in gratitude.

Deep, abiding, unrepayable gratitude.

You gave us your husband. Your father. Your patriarch.

You shared him across an ocean, across continents.

Across marches and prison gates and inauguration days.

When South Africa needed a friend in the corridors of power you allowed Jesse Jackson to be that friend.

His support meant that when our people were tear-gassed in Soweto someone in America was weeping with us.

It meant that when our leaders sat in prison cells on Robben Island, someone was standing in the capitals of the world, in Washington and in London, saying: Nelson Mandela and his comrades are not terrorists or criminals. They are freedom fighters. The world must listen and act.

We are grateful that on the day Nelson Mandela walked free – on that historic and miraculous day – Jesse Jackson was standing in the sunlight with us.

Not because it was required of him. But because it was in him to witness the emergence of the South Africa he had campaigned for, been arrested for, struggled for and prophesied about in Soweto in 1979.

We honour him for his enduring commitment, his expression of real love, sacrificial love.

The commitment he displayed did not wait to be invited. It made him simply show up.

Jesse Jackson showed up for South Africa.

Again. And again. And again.

Long after the cameras moved on.

Long after the sanctions were won.

Long after apartheid had been defeated and relegated to the ash heap of history he kept coming back.

To express its gratitude as a free nation, South Africa awarded him the Order of the Companions of OR Tambo.

But no medal, no honour, no citation is wide enough to express what Jesse Jackson gave and meant to us.

What he gave to us cannot be framed and hung on a wall.

It lives in our Constitution.

It lives in our freedom. It lives in the hearts of our people.

That is why we are here today: to carry of Jesse Jackson’s spirit home with us.

For the hope he nurtured, the courage he inspired and the solidarity he showed to our people must not end with this moment.

It must continue to inspire us in our shared journey to build a better life for all our people.

So, on behalf of sixty-two million freedom loving South Africans, we say thank you.

Go well, Reverend. Go well, Mkhulu.

The ancestors – Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Winnie Mandela and many others both here and in South Africa – have been waiting to embrace you.

And we, the people of the rainbow nation that you helped to build, salute you and we say: Amandla. Power to the People.

Rest in eternal peace.

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In remembrance of the former President and his passion to promote education, the Free State Provincial Government will commemorate the day with the official opening of the Qibing Community Library in Wepener on Friday, 18 July 2025.

Under the theme: “It’s still in our hands to combat poverty and inequality”, Free State Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae will hand over the library to the community and engage in a series of initiatives to give back to the community.

The state-of-the-art library built at the tune of R23 million will fulfil the information needs of the community. The library is envisaged to assist in uplifting the community through the provision of educational and skills development resources as well as access to information.

The well-furnished library boasts children and adult lending sections, as well as a computer room equipped with 18 computers, providing free internet access, e-mail, and word processing facilities.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” This powerful quote from former President Mandela calls on stakeholders to participate in efforts to improve the education of children and help the communities which are harshly affected by the realities of poverty.

Premier, MECs, government officials as well as local government representatives will engage on acts of kindness at the ECD centres and identified schools in Wepener, Van Stadensrus and Dewetsdorp to donate food, blankets, educational material and other essentials to make a difference in the areas.

In addition, the provincial departments and various parastatals will provide integrated mobile services to the community of Wepener. These include Home Affairs, SASSA, the Independent Electoral Commission, etc.

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A web of diplomatic tension in midst of potential opportunities

Whether Dr. Warren Goldstein, Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in South Africa, knows it or not, his recent Yom Hazikaron speech just added to the voices advocating diplomacy in improving SA-Israeli relations.

 The pain long borne by Israel, as a nation, dates back to Bible days when the do-or-die posture of a young Jewish Queen Esther made all the difference. She decided to appear before King Ahasuerus, her husband and a non-Jew, though it was unlawful and treasonable, but her action saved her race. She was ready to ask the king for the death sentence passed upon her people due to hatred to be quashed and cancelled. Queen Esther succeeded, and lives were saved.

Adolph Hitler, the maximum ruler, inflicted the most grievous genocide in history on the Jews in the 20th century; millions were murdered.

In the present day, according to Dr. Goldstein, the Chief Rabbi, Jews have been killed because they were described as ‘infidels’ by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and all the Jihadist forces in the region.

In addition, he advanced that ‘war is being wedged against Africa on different fronts by ideological brothers-in-arms of Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Boko Haram, Isis, and al Shabab across the continent.’

However, the delicate twist to this discussion is the entry of the United States President Donald Trump, a strong ally of Israel, who returned to the White House in January 2025.

It becomes a diplomatic deliberation perfectly standing on a tripod of three sovereign entities.

These three nations bound by history yet divided by conscience—South Africa, the United States, and Israel—locked in an intricate diplomatic dance. Their story is one of old wounds and new reckonings, where land, justice, and survival collide.

For years, their relationships have been shaped by hushed  alliances and public clashes, a tangle of pride, principle, and the relentless pursuit of moral high ground.

Today, as accusations of genocide still reverberates in courtrooms, debates over land reform ignite protests, and geopolitical rivalries heat, these countries stand at a crossroads. The stakes? Nothing less than their global influence, and reputations.

The shifting policies shaping fortunes of nations

Yet beneath the storm of grievances lies something fragile but undeniable: the faint pulse of possibility. Could common interests in humanity pave a path through the crises?

The Chief Rabbi in making his speech at the Yom Hazikaron event called on South Africa’s Government of National Unity to ‘send a South African Ambassador to Israel, and for Israel to send back its Ambassador to South Africa.’

This is not just a story of power plays and legal battles. It’s about nurses in Johannesburg scrambling to save HIV patients after U.S. aid vanishes, Palestinian families digging through rubble as South African lawyers fight for them in The Hague, and Afrikaner farmers clinging to land their ancestors seized centuries ago.

It’s about leaders playing down on pride and upholding the interest of ordinary people caught in the crossfire.

The conflict: not so at the beginning

Here, we unravel how these nations became adversaries, what fuels their clashes, and whether they can rediscover the courage to listen—not just demand. The road ahead is steep, but history reminds us: even the bitterest enemies can rewrite their stories.

The relationship between South Africa and Israel is a mixture of the past and present experiences. Decades ago, during the darkest days of apartheid, the two nations forged closer bonds—exchanging military expertise, even nuclear know-how—in the quiet ambience of closed boardrooms far from the prying eyes of the world.

But when Nelson Mandela took the breadth of freedom in 1994, ushering in a new dawn for South Africa, that alliance began to crumble. Mandela, a global symbol of resistance to oppression, could not look away from the plight of Palestinians. With the moral clarity of someone who had tasted apartheid’s cruelty, his government painted an unforgettable picture: Israel’s policies, he argued, mirrored the discrimination Black South Africans had endured.

The rift only deepened under President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose words carry the weight of a nation still healing from its own scars. “We cannot preach reconciliation at home while remaining silent abroad,” he declared in 2023, as South Africa took a bold step that stunned the international community.

Filing a landmark case at the International Court of Justice, the nation accused Israel of genocide in Gaza—a legal salvo that caught many unawares.

For South Africans, the move was not mere diplomacy; it was touching base with its own history. How could a country born from a struggle against state-sanctioned oppression turn a blind eye to Gaza? The accusations cut to the core of Israel’s actions, invoking the Genocide Convention that was viewed like light from different sides of a prism.

Many nations deliberately ignored the brutal attack of 7 October, 2023 when Hamas broke into Israel killing more than a thousand and taking hundreds hostage.

But not the US. It condemned the mayhem and supported the right for Israel to defend itself when the war against Hamas broke.

The Trump administration made no pretense of being comfortable with SA taking Israel to ICJ and lashed out consequently in diverse ways. It has frozen aid to support curtailing the scourge of HIV-AIDS among others, slammed tariffs, expelled South Africa’s Ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool citing Pretoria’s land reform policies, its alignment with Russia and China, and its criticism of Israel.

The February 2025 executive order halting aid over alleged racial discrimination against Afrikaners and ICJ case further strained relations between the US and SA.

Diplomatic middle ground in navigating possible solutions

Yet behind the legal jargon and geopolitical posturing lies a haunting question: Can two nations, both shaped by trauma and resilience, find a way to bridge the gap between them? Or will the ghosts of collaboration past forever overshadow the possibility of fresh understanding?

Chief Rabbi Goldstein believes that there is light at the end of the tunnel. He cites polls from the Institute of Race Relations, other think tanks, and the academia that show the people of South Africa want economic reform and growth. They also want a closer relationship between SA, Israel, and the West, he canvassed.

“The Government of National Unity needs to realize that it represents millions of Christians across South Africa and the interest of the people. It must take advantage of the pressure being applied by the US government to work with an incoming strong US ambassador. The SA government should realign with the West and the value of freedom and democracy and be one that speaks in the name of the civilized values of this country. There is a wind of Change in the air.”

Conclusion

Here comes the acid test for these three democratic countries to prove that compromises can be made without losing face. It becomes imperative to forge a new equilibrium that will require the willingness to bend backwards in the interest of peace in Israel, Gaza and the Middle East.

Mandela once said, “It always seems impossible until it is done.” In reality, all hands must be on deck to do the needful required to restoring human dignity.

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