End the genocide. This was the call of thousands of people who took to the streets of Cape Town in support of the Palestinian people.

The protest against Israel united Christians, Jews, and Muslims… The call for a free Palestine also united the African National Congress (ANC), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), National Freedom Party (NFP) and Al Jama-ah. They all condemned Israel for its war on Palestine.

Demands included an immediate cessation of hostilities and the pursuit of a two-state solution.

ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula says, “Our government has shown signs of movement but we are saying President Ramaphosa we appreciate but you must move faster. The Embassy of Israel must close down in SA.”

ANC MP, Mandla Mandela adds, “The Embassy in Israel must be shut down now. We don’t want any delays in the consultation processes.”

The EFF and NFP place emphasis on the support for Palestinians from outside the Muslim community.

EFF MP Nazier Paulsen says, “This is a fight against the oppression. We must continue that fight and we mustn’t only march for Gaza when the bombs are dropping.  Palestine has been occupied for 75 years and for the past couple of years, we have been voting for a Zionist political party here in the Western Cape.”

NFP MP, Shaik Emam says, “This is not about Muslims, Christians, and Jews. We have our Christian brothers, our Jewish brothers and our Muslim brothers and sisters here. Today in sloops with the course of the palpitations people weekday is happening in Palestine is a holocaust; what is happening in Palestine is genocide.”

Some Jews joined the pro-Palestine march, saying they remembered the genocide against the Jews.

SA Jews For Palestine’s Mervyn Bennun says,  “That is why I, a Jew, support the struggle of the Palestinian people. Free Free Palestine!!!”

The march ended at the Western Cape Legislature, protestors wanted to hand over a memorandum to Premier Allan Winde.

“Allan Winde will never come here. He will never come here, because he’s got his bread buttered on both sides. You can never have your bread buttered on both sides. The DA is exposed for what it stands for.”

The march was organised by the Muslim Judicial Council, in conjunction with the South African wing of the pro-Palestinian group, Al Quds.  They will march on retailer K-Way and arms manufacturer Paramount in Cape Town, next week.

Bombardment of Gaza

The Dean of St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, Michael Weeder, has condemned the bombardment of Gaza by Israel that has led to a humanitarian crisis in the territory.

Weeder was speaking at the mass protest organised by the Al-Quds Foundation in Cape Town to stop what they call the “genocide” on the Gaza Strip since the Hamas surprise attack on Israel on October 7.

He delivers a message on behalf of the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba. “We need to call out the shameful partisanship of Western powers in this conflict and to commend countries which have suspended their diplomatic ties with Israel and to call on those countries to review diplomatic ties with countries which are supplying arms. If only the world leaders would invest half as much money and energy into peacemaking as they invest in war, we would have peace.”

Source: SABC News

Photo: VOCfm