Idiotic City of Johannesburg Embraces Terrorism

In a staggering display of moral bankruptcy and intellectual collapse, the City of Johannesburg is actively considering renaming one of its most prominent streets, Sandton Drive, to “Leila Khaled Drive.” For those unfamiliar with Leila Khaled, she is not some benign cultural figure or local hero. No, she is a Palestinian terrorist best known for hijacking planes in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a group with an open agenda of violence and the obliteration of the Jewish people.

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So, here we are: a city, in 2024, debating whether to honour a figure whose notoriety stems from the cold-blooded terrorism she inflicted on the world. The very fact that this proposal has reached a point of public consideration tells us something deeply unsettling about Johannesburg’s political class, One can expect it I suppose, with a previous mayor stating “We stand with Hamas, Hamas stands with us, together we Palestin [sic] and Palestin [sic] will be free. Without souls, without our blood, we will conquer Al AQSA,” whilst posing with a Hamas flag and an AK47 rifle. This is no longer just about bad governance or misguided politics—this is about an outright embrace of terrorism and extremism.

Former Johannesburg mayor Thapelo Amad defended a post he uploaded on X where he voiced his support for Hamas while holding a rifle, with a Hamas flag behind him. (Thapelo Amad/X (formerly known as Twitter))

Let’s get one thing clear. Khaled’s “activism” wasn’t about peaceful protest or diplomacy; it was about hijacking airplanes, holding innocent people at gunpoint, and terrifying civilians to advance a radical political cause. Celebrating someone like Khaled is not just an affront to South Africa’s Jewish community—it’s an affront to decency itself. Since when did targeting and terrorizing innocent civilians become an admirable trait worth celebrating in one of Africa’s most important cities? How is this supposed to fit into the fabric of a country that, at least on paper, values peace, reconciliation, and human rights?

If that weren’t enough, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the terrorist organization to which Khaled belongs, has a history that should make any city, particularly one that prides itself on inclusivity, recoil in horror. The PFLP has explicitly advocated for the murder of Jews, not just in Israel, but globally. This is not some vague or outdated rhetoric from the past—these are principles they still stand by today.

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And yet, Johannesburg, in its wisdom, is contemplating honouring someone who actively supported and carried out violent missions in the name of this genocidal ideology. It’s worth asking the city council how they sleep at night knowing they are seriously entertaining the glorification of someone who endorsed the murder of innocent civilians, purely based on their ethnicity and religion.

Let’s not mince words here: renaming a street after Leila Khaled is a direct slap in the face to South Africa’s Jewish community. It is a deliberate provocation that should outrage anyone who values justice and reason, regardless of their background. Anti-Semitism is alive and well across the globe, and Johannesburg is now considering lending its name to the cause, with this renaming acting as a de facto endorsement of Khaled’s actions and the anti-Semitic rhetoric of the PFLP.

Have we learned nothing from history? In a time where anti-Jewish violence is rising globally, where attacks on synagogues are increasingly common, and where Holocaust denial has re-entered mainstream discourse, Johannesburg is contributing to this madness by signalling that figures like Leila Khaled are somehow worthy of honour.

But this decision also reveals something much deeper about Johannesburg’s political elite: a gross misunderstanding of values. This is a city that has, for decades, tried to position itself as a hub of progress, inclusion, and modernity. Sandton, in particular, is home to some of the largest corporations and financial institutions in Africa. Yet, what does it say about this city that it would so eagerly align itself with someone whose entire legacy is built on destruction and division?

This isn’t a case of localism gone wrong, where a town decides to name a street after some obscure but harmless figure. This is a global miscalculation. The name Leila Khaled is synonymous with terror, extremism, and a chilling indifference to human life. And Johannesburg, instead of choosing to reflect its identity through positive, peaceful figures, chooses to align itself with the legacy of a hijacker and her violent agenda.

One would think that Johannesburg’s leadership would at least have the basic foresight to understand the consequences of this decision. The message they are sending to their own citizens, to international investors, to tourists, and to the global community is clear: “We are a city that has no problem honouring terrorists.”

If this renaming is allowed to proceed, it will set a dangerous precedent. Who’s next? Will we start naming streets after Osama bin Laden because he, too, “stood for a cause”? Will we start celebrating those whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents in the name of political correctness?

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South Africa is a country still grappling with enormous challenges: rampant corruption, economic stagnation, and widespread poverty. The last thing it needs is a political class that adds fuel to the fire by honouring terrorists under the guise of “activism.” Johannesburg must stop this absurdity in its tracks before the city’s name becomes synonymous with moral idiocy and an endorsement of violence.

Johannesburg’s proposal to rename Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive is not just an embarrassment—it’s a moral outrage. It is a betrayal of the values that should define any functioning society: respect for human life, opposition to extremism, and an unwavering stance against terrorism. It is time for the people of Johannesburg, and indeed all reasonable individuals, to stand up and reject this absurdity before the city becomes a global laughingstock for embracing the legacy of a terrorist.