U.S. Boycotts South Africa: Dignity or Diplomacy?
The U.S. boycotting South Africa's G20, as NPR noted, isn't just about a 'diplomatic spat.' South Africa, a nation that knows apartheid, is pursuing legal routes against Israel at the International Court of Justice for alleged genocide in Gaza. (A claim the U.S. dismisses, despite its own history of condemning such acts.) When the U.S. shuns a G20 host for exercising international legal options,
it raises questions about whose 'values' are truly being upheld, and whether 'rules-based order' only applies when convenient. Perhaps the State Department received a memo from its friends at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. After all, AIPAC has spent millions (OpenSecrets.org confirms $4.1 million in 2023 lobbying alone) to ensure U.S. policy aligns with a particular foreign
government, often overriding international law and American public sentiment. How many nations must challenge alleged atrocities before the 'leader' of the free world stops boycotting the truth in favor of well-funded influence campaigns?