Despite the backlash over his visit to Israel late last year, AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo remains defiant, telling his detractors to “go to hell”.
Addressing journalists at his Enkululekweni residence where he hosted senior Israeli diplomat David Saranga on Thursday, Dalindyebo described himself as a friend of the West and of US President Donald Trump, while calling Israel his “second home”.
The king said he was an ally of Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ambassador Saranga is the Digital Diplomacy Bureau director at the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs.
The meeting, which was also attended by the chief executives of some large public hospitals in Mthatha, culminated in Israel and Saranga committing to fund infrastructure projects in the AbaThembu kingdom.
These include initiatives to improve public health care, as well as access to clean water and sanitation.
“My relationship with Israel is simple. I am a Christian; I am the younger brother to [Jesus] Christ,” Dalindyebo said.
“Israel is the home of Christ, the home of Christians.
“Besides, it was the Israelis that came to me, extending an olive branch during our desperate time when we suffered from floods [in June 2025].
“I asked for no assistance. They saw from their hearts that they need to give us help and from that help, they are now extending to give us more help.”
He insisted that “there is no president or premier that can stand [against] any nation that wishes to help the people of South Africa. If that person does so, that is a witch.”
An Israeli delegation which visited Mthatha in the aftermath of the floods reportedly donated more than R175,000 to assist flood victims.
Towards the end of 2025, Dalindyebo spent a week in Israel after being invited and hosted by the country’s foreign affairs ministry — a move that drew widespread condemnation of the outspoken monarch.
His political party, the EFF, also announced that it had terminated his membership.
When questioned by the media about whether his actions undermined SA’s foreign policy, Dalindyebo blasted the ANC’s stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict, accusing the party of siding with Palestinians without conducting its own fact-finding mission.
On Thursday, Dalindyebo insisted he remained a loyal member of the EFF, suggesting that party leader Julius Malema could leave and find another political home if he had a problem with him.
He said his main concern was that South Africans should receive proper health care.
“If you look at the [UN] global goals, at number three it says good health and wellbeing.
“We would describe freedom as having access to land, minerals and peace.
“I believe the best form of freedom is access to health, good services and have a protected nation,” he said.
During the meeting with Saranga, the king also raised concerns about SA’s education system.
He said the government was supposed to ensure every citizen was educated at no cost, but that only educated people were now enjoying the rewards of freedom.
“When everybody is enlightened, has access to education, then true freedom will be on our doorstep.
“There is no point in freeing people that are ignorant, people who have no knowledge cannot take care of their assets and wealth,” he said.
He maintained there was nothing wrong with him supporting Israel despite SA’s stance on the conflict with Palestine.
The king accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of standing in the way of initiatives that could improve the lives of South Africans.
“Israel is coming with water on my land, water that we have been desperate for, for many years.
“Freedom is not just being allowed to exercise rights, that is empty freedom,” he said.
He said true freedom meant having access to land, wealth, free education and proper health care.
Saranga told journalists Israel would invest its best technology, personnel and expertise to assist the people of Mthatha and surrounding areas.
“The king was in Israel in December and now we here. I hope very soon we can continue on this.
“We Israelis are very fast, that is why we are here,” he said.
Daily Dispatch
