Note to Editors: Please find attached letter by Mr Juan Antonio Larroy Rodriguez, a survivor of the Lod Airport Massacre.
The South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) has revealed a devastating firsthand account from a survivor of one of history’s most brutal terrorist attacks, directly challenging the City of Johannesburg’s proposal to rename Sandton Drive after Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist Leila Khaled.
In an emotional letter to Johannesburg Municipal Manager Floyd Brink, Juan Antonio Larroy Rodriguez details the horror of watching his girlfriend Carmen and 16 other Christian pilgrims murdered before his eyes during the 1972 Lod Airport massacre – an attack orchestrated by Khaled’s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
“Carmen was shot multiple times, including in the head,” Rodriguez writes in his letter, describing how what should have been a peaceful pilgrimage to the Holy Land turned into an unimaginable nightmare. “I still carry these memories, these wounds, decades later.”
The City of Johannesburg is currently considering honoring Khaled – notorious as the first female airplane hijacker in history – by renaming one of its major thoroughfares after her.
“This letter serves as a chilling reminder of who Leila Khaled really is,” says Rolene Marks, SAZF National Spokesperson. “While Johannesburg rightfully seeks to create a more inclusive public sphere through its renaming policy, Khaled represents the absolute antithesis of the values our democracy was built upon. She has no connection to our city or country, and continues to advocate for violence and extremism to this day.”
Marks emphasizes that South Africa, a nation working to overcome its own violent past, cannot justify celebrating a figure who has dedicated her life to terrorism. “Our constitution upholds the fundamental right to life. Honouring someone who has repeatedly violated this basic human right sends a dangerous message about who we are as a society.”
The SAZF joins Rodriguez in calling for the City to abandon this proposal and instead consider honoring one of the many South African heroes who have genuinely contributed to building a more peaceful, inclusive and democratic nation.
“There are countless South African heroes whose names could grace our streets,” Marks concludes. “Why would we choose to honor someone whose only claim to fame is spreading terror and death?”
