Why Did Elon Musk Just Kick Nelson Mandela’s Grandson Off X?
X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, suspended an account owned by the grandson of former South African President Nelson Mandela on Friday.It is currently unclear why the social media platform, owned by Elon Musk, banned Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa. The company has issued no statement regarding its decision to restrict the South African politician’s speech, but the timing is questionable.Mandela has spent the last week making multiple public appearances in support of Palestinian liberation, quoting his grandfather ahead of his voyage aboard a Freedom Flotilla trip sailing to Gaza from Turkey with the intention to provide more than 5,000 tons of aid to the war-torn enclave.“He regarded the Palestinian struggle as the greatest moral issue of our time,” Mandela said in a speech posted on social media Friday, referring to his grandfather while donning a keffiyeh. “He made a commitment to the Palestinian people by saying that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people.”Nelson Mandela’s grandson talks about his grandfather’s fight for a free South Africa – and why he’s supporting Palestinians facing genocide by Israeli forces. He’s joining the Freedom Flotilla ships as they attempt to break through the Israeli blockade to deliver aid to Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Ts7rF5aBW6— AJ+ (@ajplus) April 26, 2024In a separate statement issued on Thursday, Mandela explained that the “Freedom Flotilla for Gaza aims to draw the attention of the international public to the atrocities, genocide and war crimes being committed against the people of Gaza.”So far, the departure of the flotilla of ships has been waylaid due to a bevy of ship inspections triggered by an Israeli pressure campaign, reported Al Jazeera, even though a retired U.S. Army colonel and State Department official organizing the flotilla said the ships had already passed all of their inspections and were ready to set sail.In order to reach Gaza, the flotilla will need to break through an Israeli blockade originally set in place in 2007. Previous efforts to break the blockade by humanitarian missions have ended in death. In 2010, the six-vessel Freedom Flotilla I was intercepted by Israeli forces, who boarded the ships via helicopters and speedboats on international waters, shooting and killing nine activists.Having eyes on the flotillas is critical for their safety, according to one of the aid shipment’s organizers.“We’re trying to get all eyes on the Flotilla to make sure the world knows and Israel knows we’re coming so that they can’t fire a missile on us and say it was unintentional,” Huwaida Arraf, a Palestinian-American attorney and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, told Al Jazeera.
X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, suspended an account owned by the grandson of former South African President Nelson Mandela on Friday.
It is currently unclear why the social media platform, owned by Elon Musk, banned Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa. The company has issued no statement regarding its decision to restrict the South African politician’s speech, but the timing is questionable.
Mandela has spent the last week making multiple public appearances in support of Palestinian liberation, quoting his grandfather ahead of his voyage aboard a Freedom Flotilla trip sailing to Gaza from Turkey with the intention to provide more than 5,000 tons of aid to the war-torn enclave.
“He regarded the Palestinian struggle as the greatest moral issue of our time,” Mandela said in a speech posted on social media Friday, referring to his grandfather while donning a keffiyeh. “He made a commitment to the Palestinian people by saying that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people.”
Nelson Mandela’s grandson talks about his grandfather’s fight for a free South Africa – and why he’s supporting Palestinians facing genocide by Israeli forces.
He’s joining the Freedom Flotilla ships as they attempt to break through the Israeli blockade to deliver aid to Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Ts7rF5aBW6— AJ+ (@ajplus) April 26, 2024
In a separate statement issued on Thursday, Mandela explained that the “Freedom Flotilla for Gaza aims to draw the attention of the international public to the atrocities, genocide and war crimes being committed against the people of Gaza.”
So far, the departure of the flotilla of ships has been waylaid due to a bevy of ship inspections triggered by an Israeli pressure campaign, reported Al Jazeera, even though a retired U.S. Army colonel and State Department official organizing the flotilla said the ships had already passed all of their inspections and were ready to set sail.
In order to reach Gaza, the flotilla will need to break through an Israeli blockade originally set in place in 2007. Previous efforts to break the blockade by humanitarian missions have ended in death. In 2010, the six-vessel Freedom Flotilla I was intercepted by Israeli forces, who boarded the ships via helicopters and speedboats on international waters, shooting and killing nine activists.
Having eyes on the flotillas is critical for their safety, according to one of the aid shipment’s organizers.
“We’re trying to get all eyes on the Flotilla to make sure the world knows and Israel knows we’re coming so that they can’t fire a missile on us and say it was unintentional,” Huwaida Arraf, a Palestinian-American attorney and co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement, told Al Jazeera.
