South Africans in solidarity with Palestinians: ‘I have lived under the yoke of apartheid and I recognize the things that are happening there now’

A group of about 150 pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in a field on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Their T-shirts and banners contain texts such as ‘Liberate Palestine, boycott apartheid Israel’, ‘United against apartheid Israel’ and ‘Stop the genocide, apartheid and expulsion’.

The organization of this protest is in the hands of the South African branch of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (SA BDS) movement, which declared at the beginning of this century that Israeli Zionism is tantamount to racism.

Dressed in a red shirt, the shaven-headed Mametlwe Sebe stirs up the crowd. The union president shouts into the microphone: ‘Amandla!’ His fellow demonstrators raise their fists in the air. Their answer resounds belligerently: ‘Awethu!’ This slogan in two parts means ‘Power to us’ in the Zulu and Xhosa languages [het volk]!’ and was the motto of the resistance groups during apartheid, as well as of the current ruling party ANC.

The front demonstrators carry dolls wrapped in red-stained sheets as a symbol of the children killed in Gaza.

“It is simply apartheid, the way the Palestinians are now oppressed in Israel. I have lived under the yoke of apartheid and I recognize many of the things that are happening there now,” 41-year-old Moshoeshoe Selonyane justifies the comparison with South African history in his pamphlet.

Human rights organizations

Human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International also speak of apartheid, because Israel, among other things, detains Palestinians without trial, expels them from their land, deprives them of the right to move freely and limits their access to the political system.

The ANC government is standing up for the Palestinians internationally. For example, on October 30, it called for the prosecution of Israel for war crimes and crimes against humanity and wants an investigation into whether the country is guilty of genocide. International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor has announced the withdrawal of all diplomats from Tel Aviv due to Israel’s “continued killing of children and innocent civilians.” In October, the same minister caused international outrage by calling Hamas directly, claiming to offer humanitarian aid to the citizens of Gaza.

Intimate bond

The ANC has had a good relationship with the Palestinians since the 1970s. The then South African freedom movement and Yasser Arafat’s PLO (Palestinian Freedom Organization) found each other in their struggle against their oppressors and helped each other, especially in political and diplomatic areas.

Even after apartheid, the close bond with Palestine continues. In 1997, Nelson Mandela, as President of South Africa, spoke on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and emphasized the solidarity: “We know all too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

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To show their support, the ANC, like the opposition party EFF, which split from the ANC, organized demonstrations in various cities last month. Thousands of supporters showed up and marched to the Israeli embassy in Pretoria and the consulate in Durban, among others, to demand the expulsion of the ambassador.

Boycotts

But the demonstrators who gathered on the outskirts of Johannesburg this Monday have doubted the sincerity of the ANC. They march to a conference center where the government is sitting down with the United States to discuss the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the main US trade program with the continent. The front demonstrators carry dolls wrapped in red-stained sheets as a symbol of the children killed in Gaza. An artist wears a bloody suit and a pig mask. In his hand he holds a suitcase with the text ‘Genocide Joe [Biden] loves apartheid Israel’.

in 1997Nelson Mandela We know all too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians

When the massive police presence stops the procession, the protest turns into a sit-in. Roshan Dadoo, chairman of SA BDS and former anti-apartheid activist, takes the floor. “The United States gives money to Israeli oppressors, we will betray the Palestinians if our government makes a trade deal with the Americans.” She added: “The Palestinians stood in solidarity with us by boycotting South Africa’s apartheid regime, now it is time for us to do the same for them.”

The method of boycotts, sanctions and withdrawal of investments put enormous pressure on the South African apartheid regime at the time. Their athletes, such as the rugby and cricket teams, were no longer allowed to participate in international competitions, international banks refused to grant loans to South Africa and supermarkets removed South African products from their shelves.

Workers

But researcher and sociologist Ran Greenstein, at Wits University of Johannesburg, doubts whether this will work with Israel. “The BDS coalition is trying to copy the strategy of that time, but the fall of the South African apartheid regime was mainly because black workers resisted and shut down the economy. Israel is not nearly as dependent on Palestinian workers.” He adds: “In addition, Israel receives support from influential countries such as the US and European countries. As long as they do not participate, there is little chance that the Palestinians will achieve the same as the South African liberation movement.”

Dadoo disagrees. “In South Africa it also took thirty years for the sanctions and boycotts to bring down the regime. Every time Israel takes military action, we gain support. Our victory over apartheid is an important symbol, it shows that there is hope for Palestinians.”

“The Palestinians stood in solidarity with us by boycotting the South African apartheid regime, now it is time for us to do the same for them,” said a protester in Johannesburg this weekend. November 1, 2023. REUTERS/Nic Bothma/File Photo