Street renaming aimed at humiliating US – Kunene

The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has criticised a proposal by the Johannesburg City Council to rename Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive, saying the move was ill-advised and an attempt to humiliate the US as Khaled belonged to a Palestinian organisation designated as a terror group by the US. The US Consulate-General in Johannesburg is on Sandton Drive, notes Business Day. Kenny Kunene, PA deputy president and Transport MMC in the Johannesburg metro, said the proposal was an attempt to ‘humiliate the US by making their diplomats and officials carry business cards with Leila Khaled’s name on them. The American consulate’s website will bear Leila Khaled’s name’. This was not only a needless provocation of the world’s number one superpower, but also self-sabotage by South Africans, he said. ‘The US is our second-largest export partner, and the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which allows for duty-free access to the US market for many SA exports, is up for renewal. There are many in the US Congress who would like to see SA excluded from it next year, and this foolish act will only provide them with fodder against us,’ said Kunene.

The motion to rename Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive was hailed as strengthening a twinning agreement and memorandum of co-operation Johannesburg has with the Palestinian city of Ramallah the Business Day report notes . ‘This move was seen as an expression of the city’s commitment to diplomatic relations with the people of Palestine, building on the strong ties established through the donation of a statue of Nelson Mandela to the city of Ramallah in 2016,’ the council said in a statement. The SA Zionist Federation (SAZF), the umbrella body of all Zionist and pro-Israel organisations in the country, described the proposal as ‘deeply divisive and directly contravenes the city’s own street renaming policy’. ‘Leila Khaled gained notoriety as the first woman to attempt an aircraft hijacking in 1969. Another failed plane hijacking by Khaled involved her accomplice throwing a grenade at passengers, and shooting a crew member, though the grenade failed to detonate. To venerate violence and honour such an individual is an affront to peace-loving South Africans, including the Jewish community in Johannesburg,’ the SAZF said. The proposal to rename Sandton Drive is open for public comment until 18 October.