Andrew Feinstein
| Andrew Feinstein link Amazon Companies House Twitter (Politician, author, researcher, activist) | |
|---|---|
| File:A J Feinstein.jpg | |
| Born | 16 March 1964 Cape Town, South Africa |
| Citizenship | South Africa |
| Alma mater | King's College (Cambridge), University of California at Berkeley, University of Cape Town |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Children | 2 |
| Spouse | Simone Sultana |
| Interests | arms trade, ANC, Palestine |
| Party | African National Congress, Labour Party, Independent |
Former South African politician who authored Shadowworld, an expose of the global arms trade. | |
Andrew Josef Feinstein is a former South African politician who currently resides in London in the Holborn and St Pancras constituency of Labour leader Keir Starmer.[1]
Andrew Feinstein stood as an Independent candidate in the UK/General election/2024 in a bid to unseat Starmer. Feinstein came second (out of twelve candidates) with 7,312 votes. Starmer was re-elected with 18,884 votes.[2]
Personal life
He was born in Cape Town to Ralph Josef Feinstein and Erika Hemmer. He graduated from Wynberg Boys' High School in 1981, and received further education at King's College, Cambridge, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Cape Town. He married Simone Sultana on 18 December 1993, and has a son and a daughter. His interests include reading, classical music and theatre.[3]
Politics in South Africa
A member of the African National Congress (ANC), his political life began when he was a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and an advisor to Gauteng's then-MEC of Finance, Jabu Moleketi, from 1994 to 1996. He also worked as an economic advisor to then-premier Tokyo Sexwale. He was elected as a member of the South African Parliament's lower house in 1997.
During his time in office, he served on the Finance Committee, and chaired the sub-committee that drafted the Public Finance Management Act (Act 1 of 2000), as chair of the ANC study group on public accounts and the ANC's official spokesman on the National Assembly's public accounts committee. Feinstein was at the time referred to as "one of its most vocal and talented MPs", who argued that a thorough investigation into the South African Arms Deal had to be done. However, he resigned in 2001 when the ANC refused to launch an unfettered investigation into the matter.[4] He was succeeded by Geoff Doidge in both positions.
In the UK
Andrew Feinstein now resides in London, where he is Executive Director of Corruption Watch UK and chair of the AIDS charity Friends of the Treatment Action Campaign, and lectures and writes on South Africa and the global arms trade. He is now considered an ANC dissident and critic, with his memoirs, "After the Party A Personal and Political Journey Inside the ANC" being severely critical of the political culture of the ANC.
In 2011 Feinstein published "The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade", an investigation into the global arms industry published internationally by Penguin in 2011 and 2012 and in the United States by Farrar, Straus, Giroux. The Washington Post described the book as "A comprehensive treatment of the arms trade, possibly the most complete account ever written."[5]
Corbyn supporter
In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, Andrew Feinstein signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in the UK/2019 General Election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."[6][7]
In an interview with Jon Snow of Channel 4 News on 29 October 2020, Feinstein defended Corbyn after he was suspended from the Labour Party following publication of the EHRC report into antisemitism.[8]
Desmond Tutu's friend
On 4 January 2022, nine days after Desmond Tutu's death, his friend Andrew Feinstein presented a Double Down News video on YouTube entitled "Desmond Tutu, Jeffrey Epstein and Keir Starmer's Labour Party" and subtitled "Friend of Desmond Tutu Exposes Dark Side of British Labour Party".
Feinstein begins:
"Archbishop Desmond Tutu, because of his views on Israel, would be expelled from Keir Starmer's Labour Party."
And in a televised message, the Archbishop concludes the video:
"Let's send a message to governments that a critical mass of people want to see an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and oppression of its people. By acting together, we can break cycles of injustice and the occupation, and build a new world based on our common humanity and justice. Support freedom for Palestine. Peace. Shalom. Salaam."[9]
Israel closes Al-Jazeera
On 5 May 2024, Andrew Feinstein posted on X:
- "‘Netanyahu government votes to close Al Jazeera channel in Israel’
- "Just like apartheid South Africa, Israel believes it can hide its racist, brutal actions from the world. SA failed & Israel is failing.
References
- ↑ "Jewish former S African MP Feinstein will stand against Starmer in Holborn St Pancras"
- ↑ "UK election 2024: Labour leader Keir Starmer's vote share slashed by Gaza protest vote"
- ↑ "Andrew Feinstein Who's Who"
- ↑ "Statement by Andrew Feinstein MP"
- ↑ "The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade"
- ↑ "Vote for hope and a decent future"
- ↑ "Coogan and Klein lead cultural figures backing Corbyn and Labour"
- ↑ "Labour suspends Jeremy Corbyn over anti-Semitism report comments"
- ↑ "Friend of Desmond Tutu Exposes Dark Side of British Labour Party"
- ↑ "Netanyahu government votes to close Al Jazeera channel in Israel"