As dozens of world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, are gathering in Johannesburg on Tuesday to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela, the former South African president who died last week aged 95, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will miss the memorial service.
An Israeli official said Netanyahu had intended on attending the Mandela funeral, and Israel's embassy in South Africa had even begun making preparations. But the Prime Minister changed his mind after learning about the high cost, as well as special "security challenges."
The trip was estimated to cost roughly $2 million, including a charter flight for Netanyahu's entourage and a separate Hercules transport aircraft to carry security equipment.
A spokesperson for 90-year-old President Peres said ‘’the president will not be going to South Africa,” adding that he was recovering from flu. ‘’He’s taking his doctor’s advice not to travel. He really wanted to go.”
The Speaker of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Yuli Edelstein, or Justice Minister Tzipi Livni will represent Israel at the funeral.
Israel's relations with South Africa have been strained over the last years with officials comparing Israel's policy in the West Bank with the apartheid-era.
Last year, South Africa's government decided that goods imported from Israeli West Bank settlements cannot not be labeled "product of Israel."
In 2011, the University of Johannesburg became the world's first to impose an academic boycott on Israel.