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Human rights organization Africa4Palestine reacted bitterly after Supreme Court Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng “declined” an invitation to meet to discuss his breach of the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) code of conduct over his pro-Israeli comments.
Earlier this month, the JCC found Mogoeng guilty and ordered him to unconditionally apologize for engaging in a political controversy through his remarks at an online seminar hosted by The Jerusalem Post on June 23, 2020.
Africa4Palestine’s discontent follows Mogoeng’s refusal to meet with them on two occasions, the last of which was at the weekend. Mogoeng’s office did not respond to a statement from the organization on Monday, saying She had reached out to Mogoeng because she really wanted to compromise with him.
“The president of the Supreme Court proclaims that he is a defender of dialogue and yet he does not want to participate.”
They accused Mogoeng of intimidation, saying that he has been on public platforms making outlandish statements and hurling insults.
“It would appear that the Chief Justice does not appreciate the human rights concerns of the Palestinian people and is blind in his support for the Israeli regime. It confuses a complaint within the JSC rules with ‘disgrace’ ”.
Last week, TimesLIVE reported that Mogoeng had chosen appeal against a JCC decision.
the Sunday Times reported in June of last year that Mogoeng had made the statements during a webinar organized by the Jerusalem Post newspaper.
In comments to his webinar, Mogoeng appeared to base his pro-Israel stance on passages from the Bible.
Mogoeng participated in a webinar titled Two bosses, one mission: to confront apartheid of the heart with South Africa’s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Warren Goldstein, hosted by The Jerusalem Post.
The moderator, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief Yakoov Katz, asked Mogoeng about his love for the Jewish people, for Israel, for the state of Israel, and his thoughts on the strained diplomatic relations between SA and Israel.
In a long reply, Mogoeng began by acknowledging that the political direction taken by SA was binding on him, as would be any other law.
“Therefore, what I have to say should not be misinterpreted as an attempt to say that the political direction taken by my country in terms of its constitutional responsibilities is not binding on me. But just like a citizen, any citizen has the right to criticize SA’s laws and policies or even suggest that changes are necessary, and that’s where I come from, ”he said.
TimesLIVE has reached out to Mogoeng’s spokesperson Nathi Mncube for comment and the story will be updated once he responds.
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