Thabo Mbeki's Soft Diplomacy on Israel: An Analysis of South Africa's Conflict Resolution Initiatives, 1999-2008

South Africa-Israel relations began in 1949 and were raised to legation in 1950. By this time, the relations were informal, with South Africa having no direct representation in Israel. The relations were elevated to the ambassadorial level in 1975. During the 1980s, Israel was one of the states that had cordial political and economic ties with apartheid-South Africa. The preceding development sparked criticism against Israel from the United Nations and other international organisations for her contribution to the perpetuation of apartheid regime. The advent of democracy in South Africa brought changes in the relations between the two countries. With human rights and democracy being the bedrock of the post-1994 South Africa's foreign policy, a change in South Africa-Israel relations was inevitable. This study examined South Africa's foreign policy towards Israel under Thabo Mbeki. A qualitative research approach in the form of document analysis was used for data collected. The preliminary results of this research article revealed that the Mbeki-led administration's engagement with Apartheid-Israel was informed by a soft diplomacy of respect for human rights and Palestinian freedom. The study concluded that the Mbeki-led administration never had friendly relations with Israel.