H.R.4051, The Addressing Hostile and Antisemitic Conduct by the Republic of South Africa Act of 2025

H.R. 4051 was introduced on June 17, 2025 by Representative Greg Steube (R-FL). It is currently pending before the House Foreign Affairs and Judiciary Committees, and has no cosponsors.

Related legislation: N/A

Bill Summary: H.R.4051 would prevent the U.S. Government from providing direct assistance to the Government of South Africa absent a certification that the Government has ceased its support for international legal actions against Israel, and taken certain steps to address concerns about corruption and diplomatic practices. It would also require the applications of Global Magnitsky (GloMag) sanctions against any current or former South African official who uses their office to "unjustly" target the State of Israel, promotes or implements "antisemitic" policies, or engages in gross corruption. The bill requires an annual report on actions taken by South Africa that target "the State of Israel, Jews, or Jewish Institutions," and a summary of U.S. assistance provided to South Africa.

Context: Since its emergence from a racist apartheid system (a system that, for most of its existence, was most closely partnered with the United States and Israel), the Republic of South Africa has become a pioneer in the pursuit of global justice and accountability, most prominently as lead plaintiff before the International Court of Justice seeking a ruling on whether Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide. This role should be unsurprising given the previous advocacy of modern South Africa’s greatest leaders such as the late Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu for equal rights in Israel and Palestine, and by targeting South Africa for its stance on Palestinian rights, H.R. 4051 misuses the label of antisemitism to suppress international human rights advocacy.

As a leading voice of the Global South, and one of the most abundant sources of rare earth minerals, South Africa is a potentially important U.S. partner in the fields of international security, diplomacy, technology, and global health, but has also hedged against its relationship with the U.S. by becoming a core member of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) grouping, and loss of U.S. influence in South Africa would provide significant opportunities for the diplomatic and military strategies of the People's Republic of China.

In addition, following on from sanctions that the U.S. has already placed on officials of the International Criminal Court, this Bill is essentially a sanctioning of a country that brings to the international justice system a case that puts Israel’s actions in the spotlight. The effect of this bill will be to create a chilling effect for any country that seeks to use the international system to pursue justice, not only undermining that system, but also providing a precedent for America’s adversaries to introduce sanctions against countries that attempt to seek justice for wrongs carried out by their partners or proxies.

American Values Analysis: Ironically in this context, it was Archbishop Desmond Tutu who once wrote, “…the Israeli government is placed on a pedestal and to criticise it is to be immediately dubbed anti-Semitic. People are scared in the US to say ‘wrong is wrong’ because the pro-Israeli lobby is powerful – very powerful.” This Bill constitutes an extension of efforts to silence criticism of Israel and the unconditional military support the U.S. provides it, and therefore runs directly counter to American values of the pursuit of justice and equality.

American Interest Analysis: This Bill, if enacted, would not only further undermine the viability of the international rules based order by enforcing a bias into the system, but would also increase the likelihood that South Africa – with its leadership in the global South and its previous rare earth resources – would prioritize its relationships with America’s adversaries over its partnership with the United States.

A New Policy’s Recommendation: Oppose

A New Policy opposes H.R.4051 because it undermines the international rules based order and is likely to cause lasting harm to one of the United States’ most important strategic partnerships.

For more information please contact: Josh Paul, info@anewpolicy.org, (202) 770-0055