South African leaders demand immediate sanctions against Israel for genocide in Palestine

Religious and political leaders called for all diplomatic ties between South Africa and Israel to be cut to stop Israel's genocide in Palestine.

More than ten representatives from the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), the Al-Quds Foundation South Africa, and the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC), along with a coalition of South African civil society, trade unions, faith-based organisations, and political parties, spoke outside of parliament, where they delivered a memorandum on Saturday, September 27. 

Cedric Frolick, a member of South Africa's Parliamentary Group on International Relations, accepted a memorandum addressed to the speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa, Thoko Didiza.

He thanked the organisers of this "very important march".

"I recognise the religious leaders, political leaders, as well as the community of Cape Town that turned up this afternoon. 

Mr Frolick reiterated the words of former president Nelson Mandela, who said in 1997: "Our freedom will not be complete without the freedom of the Palestinian people".

He undertook to ensure that the memorandum would reach the speaker's desk, that it would be processed and responded to within 14 days.  

"As parliament, we subscribe to international law and we reject the selective application of international law by being well aware of the recently tabled report by the United Nations that indeed confirms that genocide is being committed in Israel," he said. 

Reverend Frank Chikane, chairman of the South African Chapter of the Global Anti-Apartheid Movement against Israeli settlement and apartheid regime, said: "We want the genocide to stop now. We want an end to the apartheid system of Zionism.

"We want to end the racist system of Zionism. We want an end to that regime that violates all the laws, international laws that we know of," said Reverend Chikane. 

He recalled that as South Africans during apartheid, "we missed genocide by inches".

"We were being killed here, we were being tortured. We were imprisoned," he said. 

Mr Chikane said just like there were no more apartheid supporters, now there should be no Zionist supporters. 

Activist Reverend Dr Alan Boesak said voters should ask themselves: "What is wrong with us?"

"No matter how you sugarcoat it. There is a genocide, and we are determined to stop it. The question is not just what is wrong with the DA but what is wrong with us that we still vote for the DA," he challenged. 

His comments refer to Helen Zille, the DA's mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, who on national television said: "genocide is a big word". 

Ms Zille was criticised by politicians and religious leaders for not knowing that "children have been dying every day in the hundreds", said Dr Boesak.

Last month, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel reported that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Commission urges Israel and all States to fulfil their legal obligations under international law to end the genocide and punish those responsible for it.

Reverend Edwin Arrison, reading a message from the Anglican church's Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, said: "The Anglican church has just called for the South African Football Association (SAFA) to call on the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to kick Israel out. Israel must get out of FIFA, out of the Union of European Football Associations.

"We've also called for support for The Global Sumud Flotilla, and it's important that we support that flotilla because they are on their way to Gaza, with food, medical equipment, and so on," he said.

"There comes a time when humanity knows that an evil will end, and that moment has come. We call it a Kairos moment. The occupation of Palestine will end. We do not know when, but we know that it will end. It will end because humanity will make it end. While governments across the world have neglected their duties to stand up against the genocide of the Palestinian people. Ordinary people, civilians have once again taken up the mantle for freedom just as they did against Apartheid South Africa," the Archbishop said.

The Archbishop also saluted Mandla Mandela, on the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza,  which includes doctors, activists, an author, and a disaster relief expert. Their mission is to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge the ongoing blockade.

President of the United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA) Maulana Abdul Khaliq Allie said resistance was legitimate. 

"Self-determination is the right way of going. We salute Hamas. We salute the jihad movement. The only language that the Zionists have ever understood is a jihad and resistance movement," he said.

Coordinator of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Usuf Chikte, read out the demands and emphasised that South Africa could not be neutral on genocide. 

"Our coal fuels Israel's war machine, our trade fills its coffers, and our silence gives it cover. This is a test of our integrity, Constitution, and historical duty. Our history and the ICJ oblige us to act not in words, but in deeds. We demand urgent action and a formal response within 14 days of receipt hereof,"said Mr Chikte.