Andrew Feinstein

Andrew Feinstein     (politician, author, researcher, activist)
Born	1964-03-16 Cape Town, South Africa
Citizenship	South Africa
Alma mater	King's College (Cambridge), University of California at Berkeley, University of Cape Town
Religion	Jewish
Spouse	Simone Sultana
Interests	• arms trade • ANC • South Africa
Party	African National Congress, Labour Party
Member of the National Assembly of South Africa In office 1994 - 2001

Andrew Josef Feinstein (born 16 March 1964) is a former South African politician who currently resides in the United Kingdom.

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.

Politics

A member of the African National Congress (ANC), his political life began when he served as 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. He was succeeded by Geoff Doidge in both positions.

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."

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.

Defending Jeremy Corbyn on Channel 4 News (from 8:26mins)

Publications

• 2009 - After the Party A Personal and Political Journey Inside the ANC
• 2011 - The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade

 

Quotes by Andrew Feinstein

Page	Quote	Date	Source
"National security"	“Human nature being what it is, the MICC comprises avaricious individuals who seek to gain private benefit at public cost. But the idea that all the players knowingly conspire to mastermind so intricate a system is difficult to prove, and unnecessary. Instead corruption among defence contractors, Representatives in Congress and the military brass is standard operating procedure camouflaged by an incestuous labyrinthine system and the primacy of 'national security'. Not only do the corrupt actors need to be held to account but, as importantly, the system needs to be untangled.<a href="#cite_note-10">[10]</a> To further understand this entanglement. I met Chuck Spinney, a life-long Pentagon insider who experienced this labyrinth on a daily basis for over two decades. He produced a vast body of work explaining how the Pentagon really operates. His efforts culminated in the wrath of all the participants in the MICC but saw him featured on the cover of Time magazine.”	2011	The Shadow World
SDS	“The United States, while announcing record levels of foreign military sales, effectively pulled the plug on the international arms trade treaty being negotiated at the UN in July 2012, despite at least ninety countries wanting to sign up to an adequate, if not inspiring draft text.”	9 August 2012	The Shadow World
SDS/Activities	“The United States, while announcing record levels of foreign military sales, effectively pulled the plug on the internernational arms trade treaty being negotiated at the UN in July 2012, despite at least ninety countries wanting to sign up to an adequate, if not inspiring draft text”	9 August 2012	The Shadow World

 

Event Participated in

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
International Festival of Whistleblowing Dissent and Accountability	8 May 2021	8 May 2021	Internet	Whistleblowing event held in 2021.

 

Related Document

Title	Type	Publication date	Author(s)	Description
Document:Fears over conflicts of interest at top of watchdog probing Labour anti-semitism	Article	16 July 2019	Phil Miller	So why would the EHRC decide to investigate Labour for anti-semitism, when the polls showed it had actually dropped, and not probe the Conservatives or UKIP, whose members displayed Islamophobia?

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