Palestine solidarity during a genocide

The annual report by Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) – Cape Town chairperson, JAAMIA GALANT, is illustrative of how strong organisational capacity can yield effective results in solidarity with Palestinians.

SINCE the Palestinian Nakba of 1948, we have witnessed repeated periods of Palestinian massacres and the displacement of thousands of Palestinians – in Gaza, the West Bank and historic Palestine.

It is not surprising therefore that at many previous Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) AGMs we have heard the phrase ‘incremental genocide’ used to describe the violent occupation of Palestinian land by the settler colonial Zionist Apartheid state of Israel.

This discourse changed in 2023. This genocide is no longer ‘incremental’ but a full blown onslaught, as witnessed in Gaza since October 2023. For more than 200 days now, we have witnessed sustained bombing and destruction of Gaza resulting in the deaths of more than 35 000 Palestinians, of whom more than 14 000 are children and more than 9 000 are women. What we have witnessed on our TV screens and on social media has left most of the world in little doubt that Israel is indeed guilty of genocide against Palestinians. Health and education infrastructure in Gaza has been decimated with the clear intent of offering Palestinians no hope for a future and forcing them off their ancestral land.

The South African case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023 used this prominent platform to amplify genocide as the appropriate description for Israel’s actions in Gaza. It is now part of mainstream discourse to describe the actions of the Apartheid state of Israel as genocide. Despite the ICJ ruling in January 2024 that Israeli atrocities in Gaza constituted ‘plausible genocide’, Israel has continued its onslaught with impunity. Israel has remained intent on annihilating all of Gaza, blocking any access for meaningful humanitarian aid to the surviving and starving population. Israel has done all of this with the unyielding support of Western imperial powers, who are thereby complicit in the genocide against Palestinians. While all eyes have been on Gaza during this time, Israeli violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has continued, but has fallen somewhat under the radar.

And yet, despite the might of the Zionist bloc and despite the massacres and devastation surrounding them, the Palestinians continue to resist, and remain steadfast in their determination to end Israel’s illegal occupation of their ancestral land. The unwavering resistance of the Palestinians and their will to see a free Palestine, together with the almost live coverage of daily atrocities in Gaza, has also galvanised the world to mobilise in solidarity with the Palestinians.

What have we done and how did we respond as PSC-CT?

Established more than 20 years ago, PSC-CT has become one of the most recognised Palestine solidarity organisations in the greater Cape Town region. We have a good political and organisational history that has ensured a strong foundation and this has been demonstrated in recent years by the support that we get from partner organisations and a mass of followers that regularly attend our public activities.

It is not surprising then that the PSC has been one of the leading organisations in Cape Town to mobilise mass solidarity events with partner organisations in the aftermath of Israel’s attack on Gaza in October 2023.

Prior to the October 2023 onslaught on Gaza, PSC solidarity activities were ongoing and included public seminars and discussions with international Palestinian guests, as well as our annual Nakba Day rally in May, the June 16 youth day workshop and vigil for Jenin in July 2023. All of these events were well supported by partner organisations and the broader public.

However, post October 7, 2023, with attacks on Gaza dominating our news and social media platforms, the outpouring of solidarity for Palestine necessitated much more visible and direct protest actions and mass mobilisation, to which the PSC responded in different ways.

Mass marches and rallies

Our mass solidarity march and rally in Salt River in October 2023 brought thousands of people onto the streets of Cape Town in solidarity with Palestine. At this rally we first articulated our demands to expel the Israeli ambassador from South Africa and demanded that our government implement BDS against Israel and prosecute South Africans illegally serving in the Israeli Occupation forces.

These core demands have become our rallying call at all our public mass solidarity events since then. None of these demands have yet been met.

We recognise that the most powerful weapon of struggle we can use in our solidarity with Palestine is to continue to pressure our government to cut all political, economic and cultural ties with Apartheid Israel, and hope that other governments around the world do the same to isolate Apartheid Israel. At the mass marches and rallies in November 2023 and January 2024, we added calls for a ceasefire and for the free flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

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Localised solidarity protests

We identified the Hatfield precinct, where the Holocaust Centre and Israeli Consular offices are located, as a site for regular protests to confront local Zionists and call out their complicity in the genocide of Palestinians.

Similarly, we amplified the call for a boycott of Cape Union Mart (CUM) and identified CUM stores as sites for regular protests. These protests draw attention to the complicity of local Zionists like CUM owner Phillip Krawitz, who unreservedly support Apartheid Israel.

We also mobilised for frequent protest actions at the German and British consulates to call out the complicity of these western imperial states who are unwavering in their support of Apartheid Israel, and actively work to suppress criticism of Apartheid Israel.

Public seminars/ discussion forums/ book launches

Over and above the mass rallies and marches, PSC continued to host and support seminars and public discussion forums that reflected critically on the unfolding genocide and its implications for the quest for justice and peace for Palestinians.

They afforded us the opportunity to engage with a range of Palestinian voices that included Mads Gilbert, Haider Eid, Mustapha Barghouti, Alaa Hathaleen, Mansour Shouman, Mouhannad Ayyash, Ramzi Baroud, and Illan Pappe.

Cultural events

PSC partnered with youth and cultural activists to host a series of ‘First Thursday’ events that showcased art, crafts, music and poetry that celebrated Palestine. We also hosted a few film evenings that focused on films depicting the violence of Israeli occupation since 1948. These were well supported by youth activists.

Workshops

Post October 7, 2023, there was an outpouring of solidarity for Palestine and many young activists reached out to become involved in Palestine solidarity efforts.

PSC hosted a few activist workshops in early November 2023. The workshops gave an orientation to the work of PSC and identified a number of areas of solidarity action that people could get involved in. These included communication, popular education, litigation, BDS, and building organisation.

Following the workshops, groups self-organised and a very vibrant youth communication group emerged that provided much needed support to the PSC in mobilising for its various actions. Using social media platforms, they were responsible for bringing much more visibility to the solidarity actions of the PSC.

We also hosted a youth workshop on Land Day in March 2024. The workshop was attended by about 80 youth from Cape Flats schools, and focused on the significance of Land Day in Palestine.

Legislation and litigation

Despite all our lobbying of MP’s and political parties, a Bill drafted by PSC that seeks to legislate BDS against Israel has not been taken forward. The current climate could not be more conducive to pushing forward the adoption of such legislation. This is something that PSC should use to challenge all political parties who claim to stand in solidarity with Palestine – why do they not use the voices they have in parliament to call for BDS legislation?

The PSC legal action team has since 2016 been involved in putting together cases of South Africans illegally serving in the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). In 2024, PSC again submitted new cases to the NPA to be considered for prosecution. This is an ongoing and critical campaign that we must pursue until these illegal mercenaries are prosecuted and held accountable for their complicity in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.

The PSC also submitted affidavits against the actions of SAPS during the protests at the Newlands cricket ground in January 2024. These protests called for the expulsion of the captain of the under-19 SA cricket team, who openly expressed support for the Israeli occupation force at a public event. The affidavits are to be used to investigate the violent actions of the police which were deemed to have infringed on our constitutional right to protest.

Conclusion

History will record 2023/ 2024 as the Nakba of the 21^st century. As chair of the PSC during this time I can say without fear that I was privileged to be working alongside committed activists doing the best that we could to condemn the atrocities committed by Apartheid Israel in Gaza and elsewhere in Palestine; to express our solidarity with the people of Palestine; to pressure our government to legislate BDS against Israel; to call out all those complicit in the genocide of Palestinians; and to give hope to the people of Palestine that we believed that Palestine could be free from the river to sea.

I express my gratitude to all PSC members and the PSC Executive for remaining steadfast and committed to our solidarity work and support in building and strengthening the PSC.

CLICK HERE FOR A TIMELINE OF PSC-CAPE TOWN’S ACTIVITIES FROM JANUARY 27, 2023 TO APRIL 27, 2024

This is an edited version of the Executive Report presented at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (Cape Town) Annual General Meeting on Saturday April 27, 2024

This report first appeared in the May 3, 2024 print edition of Muslim Views.

Palestine solidarity during a genocide

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