Cape Town – Thousands of people joined the march on Saturday in solidarity with Palestinians who are under siege from Israeli air and ground strikes that have left more than 10 000 people dead in just over four weeks.
The massive march in the CBD included various organisations who jointly demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where nearly half of the victims of the bombings were children.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign Cape Town (PSC CT) said it stands with faith-based organisations, civil society, political parties, and human rights groups in demanding an immediate cessation of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the continued violence and displacement in the Occupied West Bank.
“Today, we march to the provincial legislature to hand over a detailed memorandum to Honourable Speaker Daylin Mitchell,” said the PSC CT.
The PSC CT memo makes the following demands:
- 1. That the Western Cape Government pledges unequivocal support and solidarity with the people of Palestine, just as they stood by the people of Ukraine.
- 2. That the Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde, condemns the atrocious war crimes of Benjamin Netanyahu and promises to arrest him, just as he promised to arrest Vladimir Putin.
- 3. That the Western Cape Government condemns the apartheid state of Israel just as it condemned the Russian Federation and the Premier condemns the United States of America for its hand in the mass killing of innocent people.
- 4. That the Western Cape Government condemns Israel as an apartheid state.
- 5. That the Premier, Alan Winde, supports the calls for the expulsion of the ambassador of Israel and closure of the embassy as a concrete solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine.
- 6. That the Western Cape Government facilitates a humanitarian effort of aid and donations by itself and those organisations and individuals who wish to make such donation.
- 7. That the Premier of the Western Cape pledges to cut all ties with the State of Israel, especially projects undertaken by municipalities in the Western Cape, specifically in the City of Cape Town.
- 8. The premier and his government must endorse the boycotting of all Israel products in South Africa and call for the withdrawal of such goods from the shop floor.
- 9. That the Premier and any members of his administration decline all invitations to meet and/or host officials and organisations from the apartheid State of Israel and/or organisations who fundraise for it, especially events held at Leeuwenhof.
- 10. That the Premier of the Western Cape calls for the prosecution of SA Zionist organisations, their leaders, and supporters for actively promoting apartheid Israel.
- 11. That the Western Cape Government condemns those who leave South African shores to join the Israeli Defence Force and calls for their prosecution.
The PSC CT said it also calls on the Western Cape Government to distance itself and take measures against schools, such as Herzilia, which encourage their students to join the IDF and regularly sing the Israeli national anthem.
“As members of the Cape Town community, we want to hold our provincial government accountable to the values espoused by the Constitution of South Africa,”‘ said the PSC CT.
“We want to remind our provincial government that statements are hollow without concomitant action and in order to live in a truly transformed South Africa, we must oppose all forms of racism, bigotry, discrimination and oppression.”
The PSC CT said Zionism stands for everything South Africa is against – segregation, dispossessing indigenous people of their land, killing innocent people, and restricting access to basic rights on the basis of race.
“Zionism is racism and we want to make it very clear that Zionism has no place in South Africa,” said the PSC CT.
“We call on the provincial government to make Cape Town a hostile space for Zionism.
“In a global context, South Africa believes in the principles of state accountability and justice.
“‘We are outraged by Israel’s callous, deliberate killing of thousands of innocent people, many of whom are children.”
The PSC CT said Israel’s tactics of starvation, attacking civilian sites like schools and hospitals, air strikes of white phosphorus and cutting of electricity and internet connections are illegal under international law.
PSC CT said Israel’s “murderous regime” must be charged with war crimes.
“We are deeply disturbed by the West’s enabling of this genocide through its financial and military support of Israel,” said the PSC CT.
“We believe the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, and every other country in support of Israel are co-perpetrators in this genocide and the crimes against humanity perpetrated in Palestine.
“‘e stand united with a collective of gravely concerned citizens and organisations in Cape Town and across South Africa, calling for very clear, urgent action: Stop the genocide. Ceasefire now.”
Meanwhile, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has accused the SA Government of siding with Hamas after it issued a demarche to the Israeli ambassador to South Africa, Eliav Belotserkovsky, over his comments about South Africans in support of the plight of Palestinians.
In a related development, the SAJBD said it applied for a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to ascertain what exactly was discussed between the SA International Relations Minister, Dr. Naledi Pandor, and the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, during their recent phone conversation.
Last month, SAJBD lambasted Pandor for allegedly offering support to Hamas, an accusation the department has strongly refuted.
The ongoing air and ground strikes by Israelis that continue to kill innocent Palestinians are in response to the Hamas surprise attack in Israel on October 7 that left at least 1 400 people dead.
More than 200 others were taken hostage by Hamas.
Israel insists there will be no ceasefire until the hostages are released.
