[1/2] Former South African president Nelson Mandela (R) and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (L) address the media after holding talks on the crisis in the Middle East May 3, 2001. It was a gesture as controversial then as South Africa's support for the Palestinian cause is today, but Mandela brushed off criticism. Last month, the ruling ANC backed a motion in South Africa's parliament to suspend diplomatic ties with Israel until it agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel has disputed the comparison with apartheid as a lie motivated by antisemitism, but many South Africans follow Mandela's lead. Some in South Africa's Jewish community criticise the ANC's stance, pointing out that Mandela himself eventually tried to build bridges with Israel.

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Persons: Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, Mandela, Arafat, S.Africa, Carien du Plessis, Mandla Mandela, Obed Bapela, Lebogang Mashile, David Saks, Ehud Barak, Ezer Weisman, Saks, Shafiek, Tim Cocks, Alex Richardson Organizations: South, Arafat ANC, ANC, Palestine Liberation Organisation, Hamas, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, Shafiek, JOHANNESBURG, Palestine, Johannesburg, South Africa's, South Africa, South