Kennedy introduces bill to hold South Africa accountable for anti-U.S. actions

WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced the U.S.-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act, which would require a full review of America's relationship with South Africa in light of its government's alignment with U.S. adversaries, support for Hamas and several antisemitic actions following the October 7 terror attacks.

"America's foreign policy should always put American interests first. The South African government has chosen to cozy up to Russia and China while making shameful, antisemitic attacks against our ally Israel. This bill holds South Africa accountable and ensures our relationship is serving U.S. national security-not undermining it," said Kennedy.

The chronically mismanaged government of South Africa has repeatedly acted against the interests of the United States and its allies, particularly by using its role on international bodies to advance outlandish anti-U.S., pro-Russia, pro-Hamas and pro-China narratives.

In particular, South African officials have inflamed tensions with the United States by appointing Ebrahim Rasool, a radical official who hosted senior Hamas officials in South Africa and described President Donald Trump as "a white supremacist," as its Ambassador to the United States. Its government has further glorified anti-Israel terrorists, blamed Israel for the October 7 terror attacks and threatened to arrest and strip the citizenship of Israeli-South Africans serving in the Israeli Defense Forces.

The South African regime has also repeatedly aligned itself with U.S. adversaries in Europe and Asia, hosting joint naval exercises with Russia and China and allowing a U.S.-sanctioned Russian cargo ship to dock on its shores. It has benefited extensively from China's belt-and-road initiative, becoming reliant on Chinese-linked firms that the United States has restricted due to national security threats.

In response, Kennedy's U.S.-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act would:

• Require a comprehensive review of the bilateral U.S.-South Africa relationship and a certification from the President on whether South Africa undermines U.S. national security interests.

• Require a classified list of South African government officials and members of South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress, eligible for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act.

• End South Africa's eligibility to benefit from the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

Full text of the bill is available here.