Allan Horwitz of South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP) addressed a packed venue in Lenasia, Johannesburg. [Picture: Ponty Moletsane / Salaamedia]
Five months into the War of Extermination in Gaza, and there is much more that the South African government can do for Palestine. That was the message from Allan Horwitz of South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP) on Wednesday.
Horwitz spoke at an event in Lenasia, Johannesburg, on the eve of the sixth month since Apartheid Israel launched attacks on Gaza. Present was Dr Naledi Pandor, minister of international relations.
“For the past five months, we have witnessed a terrible calamity. We have witnessed catastrophe for the people of Palestine. We have seen genocide in front of us, genocide in realtime and we see that the world has largely been silent,” said Horwitz.
The genocide, now entering its sixth month, has killed at least 30 717 people and injured just over 72 000 others. Negotiations for a ceasefire before Ramadan reached an impasse when Israeli negotiators did not show up at talks in Cairo on Tuesday.
SMread: Israeli negotiators no-show at ceasefire talks
More can be done
Despite a bold move by the Pretoria regime to haul its counterparts in Tel Aviv before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) late last year, activists for the Palestinian cause believe more can be done. In fact, they say, more needs to be done.
“Since the very first Gazan wars in 2008, we have struggled to reach our government and appeal for a stronger voice and action, particularly with BDS – boycott, disinvestment and sanctions,” said Horwitz.
He further hoped to see that the government “stops the flow of money to Zionist Israel, stops the flow of Jewish citizens of South Africa who go to fight in Israel and [stops] the Zionist propaganda which has been put out in the Jewish education system”.
Until those measures were achieved, he suggested, not enough would have been done to help the Palestinians. South Africa enjoys a flourishing trade relationship with the Zionist regime, which according to the Israeli embassy was valued in excess of a billion United States (US) dollars each year.
For her part, Pandor vowed to continue standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine. “We will not desert Palestine until [they achieve] freedom and their state, equal with us. We will continue to support their just cause,” she said.
She also seemingly took a swipe at the US and powers in the Global North: “We believe in what is called multilateralism. We don’t believe in unipolarity, that there are one or two powerful governments in the world who think they can tell the rest of us what we should do. We don’t support that.”
