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Push for ‘Revolutionary Precinct’ In Joburg

by Zahid Jadwat

Should Sandton Drive be rechristened ‘Leila Khaled Drive’, it will intersect with Winnie Mandela Drive to form what Al Jama-ah’s president, Ganief Hendricks, calls a “revolutionary precinct”.

In 2018, council members gave the nod to rename the street, which houses the US consulate, after the Palestinian politician and activist. The public has until 16 October to submit comments and representations to the City of Johannesburg.

“It will be nice if Leila Khaled Drive intersects with Winnie Mandela Drive. That precinct would be a very revolutionary precinct,” said Hendricks in an interview with Salaamedia.

“We all know what Winnie Mandela did for the freedoms that we enjoy today. We also know that Leila Khaled highlighted the struggle of the Palestinians and she has played a very important role, even in their legislature, over the years, to end the occupation.”

Khaled made history in 1969 when she became the first woman to hijack an aeroplane. She was 25-years-old when she participated in the diversion of TWA Flight 840, which was travelling from Rome to Tel-Aviv.

The proposal has not come without controversy. Pro-Israel groups have voiced their disapproval. The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) played down her role in the Palestinian cause.

”As much as Khaled could be seen as a freedom fighter in a thin slice of South African society, her fight has been for the Palestinian cause, not for the development of Johannesburg,” said ACDP councillor Norman Mkhonza.

But Hendricks said those who supported the renaming of the street, to create a “revolutionary precinct”, were standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

He said: “By supporting the renaming, they are showing their compassion for every child in Gaza that has been killed, every woman that has been killed … This will create awareness of the sufferings of the Palestinian people.”

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Picture via Liberation School.

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