FORMER Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has apologised for his controversial pro-Israel comments, which he made during a webinar in June last year.
In the comments made at a webinar hosted by the Jerusalem Post, Mogoeng said that he was under an obligation as a Christian to love Israel and pray for Jerusalem’s peace, which means that country’s peace.
”If I curse Abraham and Israel, the almighty God will curse me too. I cannot do anything, as a Christian, other than love and pray for Israel because I know hatred for Israel by me and for my nation can only attract unprecedented curses,” he said at the time.
But the Judicial Conduct Committee ordered Mogoeng to apologise for his remarks, citing him for misconduct, stating that he had, among other things, involved himself in political controversy by commenting on, criticising and proposing changes to the official policy of the South African Government towards Israel.
The Committee also found that Mogoeng had participated in an extra-judicial activity which was incompatible with confidence in or the impartiality or independence of Judges, by expressing a view on the diplomatic relations between South Africa and Israel, and that he had accepted an appointment that was inconsistent with an independent Judiciary by agreeing to participate in the webinar.
While Mogoeng appealed the ruling, human rights and Palestine solidarity organisation #Africa4Palestine (which had taken Mogoeng to task over his remarks) lodged its submission with the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) in a bid to oppose the appeal.
It described the appeal by the former Chief Justice as a “classic case of a straw man argument.“
In his apology released on Thursday, Mogoeng said: “Individually and together with my judicial colleagues, I have over the years made orders and expected all, presidents, to comply with them and they did.
“I am now forced by the law – the order of the lawfully constituted Appeal Panel of the Judicial Conduct Committee to apologise unconditionally in terms of the prescribed apology. And because I am not above the law, I hereby apologise as ordered…“
He added that following his appeal on other aspects of the ruling by the committee, he had not maintained that he would not apologise.
He added: “This is what I said at the prayer meeting as correctly quoted at para 89 of the Appeal Panel’s decision: I would never refuse to apologise for or retract what I believe to be wrong, however correct I might have initially believed it to be.”
“Even if it is a 10-years-old child who would have helped me to so understand. I would apologise to him or her for the wrong I would then be convinced I have done to him or others. But, I will never apologise for or retract what I believe to be correct.”
“I would never, no matter how many millions, how many presumably or actually, influential people say so. I would never, unless forced by the law, align myself with principles or values repugnant to my sense of what is just, right or wrong.“
Mogoeng, however, pointed out that he was not ordered to renounce his Christian values.
“I have not been ordered to renounce God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and my faith in Him; I have not been ordered to renounce the Holy Bible; I have not been ordered to renounce prayer; and I have not been ordered to renounce my love for Israel and Palestine and my love for the Jews and the Palestinians as well as my love for all people,” he said.
Political Bureau