Open letter to US government regarding visit of Dr Naledi Pandor
To: The United States Secretary of State
Honourable Marc Rubio, Washington, D.C., USA
Subject: Urgent Concern – Naledi Pandor’s Planned Entry into the United States
Dear Honorable Secretary of State Rubio,
I am writing to raise serious concerns regarding Dr Naledi Pandor, the former South African Minister of International Relations and current Chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Dr. Pandor is scheduled to appear publicly in Wisconsin on 14 November 2025.
I respectfully request you to consider whether Dr Pandor’s activities and rhetoric warrant action before her scheduled appearance. Some problematic aspects of her conduct are briefly mentioned.
Dr Pandor as foreign minister played a key role in the genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2023. In a three-month window preceding South Africa’s 29 December 2023 ICJ filing there was a tightly sequenced diplomatic alignment with actors already promoting the same narrative. Pandor travelled to Tehran for bilateral meetings with Iranian officials. She and President Ramaphosa had diplomatic meetings with Qatar in Doha. In December 2023 she participated in the “Solidarity with Palestine” conference convened by Mandla Mandela in South Africa. Public records and reports confirm that Palestinian factions affiliated with the PFLP, Hezbollah, Fatah and Hamas were present.
In her visit to the United States in mid-2025, Pandor appeared at events organized by the Chicago-based NGO Justice for All and was promoted and hosted by Nihad Awad, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and a board member of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN). CAIR has been widely documented by congressional investigations and U.S. court documents as an entity established out of early Muslim Brotherhood-linked organizations in North America
It was at the behest of Dr Pandor as chair of the Foundation who invited US sanctioned Francesca Albanese, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, to deliver the prestigious Nelson Mandela Foundation 23rd Annual Lecture on October 25, 2025, in Sandton, South Africa.
Dr Pandor has repeatedly stated that “armed struggle may become a necessity” and that Muslims are “permitted to engage in jihad when necessary.” She made these remarks at high-profile events and has previously been photographed in direct conversation with senior Hamas officials. Shortly after the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, she also held a call with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, expressing support for what that group called the “Al Aqsa Flood battle.”
Her rhetoric and documented contact with sanctioned figures are not matters of free expression but indicators of alignment with extremist networks. Allowing a former minister who has endorsed violent jihad and engaged with terrorist actors to address audiences in the United States poses clear risks of incitement and public disorder.
As Chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Dr Pandor continues to use an institution with American-linked donors and partners, including major foundations and corporate sponsors, to advance politically radical messaging. This creates reputational and potential compliance risks for U.S. entities associated with her programs or appearances.
Given the precedent of the U.S. expelling South Africa’s ambassador in 2025 for inflammatory conduct, I respectfully ask that your office bring this matter to the attention of the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security. It is reasonable to request a review of her planned entry into the United States in the interest of public safety and diplomatic integrity.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Nowosenetz
Retired Advocate (High Court of South Africa)
Fulbright Scholar (USA)
Tel Aviv, Israel