Open Letter to the Speaker of the South African Parliament re bias in Germansponsored Parliamentary researcher programme

06 July 2025

Cape Town

Honourable Speaker

We write to you with grave concern regarding the integrity and independence of the South African Parliament, following the exposure of a deeply troubling question in the application process for the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Parliamentary Research Programme, a German-funded initiative run in partnership with Parliament.

As documented in the attached application screenshot, applicants are required to respond to the question: “Israel has a right to exist.” This is posed alongside basic queries about South African governance in what is purportedly a research placement for Parliament. Young South Africans and human rights advocates are outraged, as this question constitutes a political litmus test and a dangerous intrusion of foreign ideological agendas into our democratic institutions.

“This question is completely irrelevant to a research placement in Parliament and amounts to ideological screening,” said one applicant. “It is deeply inappropriate, especially as Israel faces global scrutiny for its genocidal campaign in Gaza.”

Since October 2023, Israel’s military has killed over 55,700 Palestinians, displaced over 90% of Gaza’s population, and targeted hospitals, UN staff, and journalists. Despite this, Germany, through arms sales and political support, has defied the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice in shielding Israel from accountability.

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security has recently condemned German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s statement of 18 June 2025, in which he praised Israel for “doing the dirty work for all of us” about airstrikes on Iran that killed over 900 people, including civilians. The Institute warns that such rhetoric from world leaders normalises war crimes, dehumanises entire populations, and undermines international law. It calls on Germany to uphold its constitutional and international obligations, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law2.

KAS, affiliated with Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union, has been described as an instrument of German imperial soft power, advancing pro-Western foreign policy, suppressing critical thought, and promoting apartheid apologism under the guise of democratic education. “To ask South Africans to affirm the ‘right to exist’ of an apartheid state as a condition for entry into a parliamentary programme is unconscionable,” said the applicant. “It is nothing less than an attempt to criminalise solidarity with Palestinians and enforce silence around Israeli crimes.”

Human rights activists note that Palestinians have an inalienable right to selfdetermination, as affirmed by international law. They argue that Germany and its affiliated institutions like KAS are violating their legal obligations by shielding Israel, and that third-party states, including South Africa, are duty-bound not to aid or abet the Israeli regime.

This requirement is not only a violation of international norms but is in direct contradiction to South Africa’s own constitutional and employment policies. Section 9 of the Bill of Rights guarantees equality and prohibits unfair discrimination based on belief, conscience, or political opinion. The Employment Equity Act further bars any employment practice that discriminates on these grounds. By demanding applicants declare their stance on a foreign state accused of war crimes, the KAS programme undermines the very principles of non-discrimination and freedom of conscience at the heart of South African democracy.

Moreover, South Africa’s constitutional commitment to academic freedom and freedom of scientific enquiry is clear: “High quality scientifically sound ethical research relies on the ability to exercise the freedom to research, write and speak robustly and professionally, without fear or favour on any topic…” The imposition of ideological screening not only violates these freedoms but also threatens the independence and credibility of research conducted for Parliament.

Given this requirement, the integrity of any researchers appointed by this organisation will be called into question, their role in Parliament will be distrusted, and their access to Parliament will be scrutinised. The presence of such a political litmus test signals that researchers are selected not for their competence or commitment to South Africa’s constitutional values, but for their willingness to conform to a foreign agenda. This undermines the legitimacy of parliamentary research, erodes public trust, and risks making Parliament complicit in the global whitewashing of apartheid.

We therefore call on you, Honourable Speaker, to urgently investigate the KAS application process and remove any politically biased questions; review the terms of all foreign-funded parliamentary programmes; affirm the right of South Africans to express solidarity with Palestine free from ideological vetting; and ensure that Parliament is not complicit in the global whitewashing of apartheid.

South Africa’s moral standing in the world rests on its history of opposing apartheid. That legacy must not be undermined by allowing foreign actors to promote Zionist propaganda and silence dissent in our democratic institutions.
We await your urgent response.
Sincerely,

For media enquiries, interviews, or supporting documentation, please contact:

Usuf Chikte – 082 877 9522
Jaamia Galant – 079 231 4273 Martin Jansen – 082 870 2025 palestinesouthafrica@gmail.com