South African activist came to Israel convinced it was an ‘apartheid state’ – what he saw changed his mind

A 2016 visit to Israel turned a South African activist, who had once embraced the “apartheid” narrative about the Jewish state, into a vocal supporter of Israel, after he said he saw firsthand a reality that differed sharply from what he had previously believed.

Bafana Modise, now 33, said that he previously participated in anti-Israel demonstrations and accepted the claim that Israel was an apartheid state. But after visiting the country, he said he began questioning the assumptions that had shaped his views.

“We saw the truth for ourselves and found ourselves questioning what we had thought were facts all these years,” Modise told Ynet News during a recent interview.

During his visit, Modise said he observed Jews and Arabs sharing public spaces, working alongside one another and participating in Israel’s political system. He said the experience led him to reconsider his previous comparison between Israel and apartheid-era South Africa, where laws formally enforced racial segregation and discrimination against the country’s Black majority.

Following the transformative visit, Modise became a pro-Israel activist and now heads activities for the Israel advocacy organization "Israel-is" in South Africa. The organization seeks to challenge negative perceptions of Israel by bringing South African Christian community leaders and lawmakers to Israel, allowing them to experience the country firsthand.

Modise also manages pro-Israel social media accounts, which he says have accumulated more than 200,000 followers and reached millions of people across South Africa. He also works with the advocacy organization South African Friends of Israel.

The South African government has adopted a strongly critical position toward Israel, particularly since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. The government has also pursued a case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice. A report has alleged that Iran helped finance South Africa’s legal case, although that allegation has been disputed and should be treated as such.

Modise argues that the government’s position does not necessarily reflect the priorities of most South Africans, many of whom, he says, are more concerned with domestic issues including economic difficulties and high crime rates.

“South Africa is indifferent to the war today. Foreign policy is not really the issue here in South Africa,” he said.

Modise attributed the government’s position toward Israel to historical alliances, political considerations and South Africa’s relationships with other developing countries. He argued that those policies do not represent the views of all South Africans.

He also distinguished the government’s position and the daily experience of South African Jews.

“What you see in the media and what you see at pro-Palestinian marches is not everything that is happening on the ground,” he said. “You see that with these pro-Palestinian marches, even the marches themselves are more from the Muslim community. This is not our people on the ground.”

“There is no hostility on the ground toward Israelis and Jews, but there is a clear government policy based on historical alliances against Israel. Jews are very free here,” he said.

At the same time, some South African Jews have left the country in recent years, with Israel, Australia and the United States among their destinations. The reasons for emigration vary and include concerns about security, economic opportunities and the future of the Jewish community.

Modise is also not the only prominent South African to publicly express support for Israel.

In December 2025, Xhosa King Ahlangene Sigcawu visited Israel, where he toured communities near the Gaza border that had been affected by the Hamas attack. During the visit, he condemned the attack and criticized the South African government’s position toward Israel.