SA Jews for Free Palestine to join march in solidarity with people of Palestine

South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP) is expected to join hands with various other organisations in Cape Town on Saturday in solidarity with Palestinians caught up in Israel-Gaza war.

The SAJFP joined the Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa (MJC), the African National Congress (ANC) the South African Communist Party (Cosatu) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) at Community House, in Salt River, Cape Town, on Thursday to announce plans for the march in solidarity with Palestine.

March not anti-Jewish

During the meeting, parties reiterated that the march is not anti-Jewish.

Jamie Rosengarten of  SAJFP said they believe the ongoing war is not a religious issue.

“You don’t need to be religious to be here. I think just as people who exist what we can see is happening is a genocide and we know it quite explicitly. This is not a factional dispute, this is a moral dispute, we are against apartheid and we are against genocide.”

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Double standards

Meanwhile, as the war in Palestine continues, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor has accused the International Criminal Court (ICC) for having double standards about Israel’s attack on Gaza.

Pandor was speaking outside parliament on Tuesday after delivering a statement in the National Assembly saying she had expected that the ICC would have issued an immediate arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahau, who has really been the person fuelling all this violence, we see being perpetrated against innocent Palestinians.

“We have said that the ICC, which was very quick to act when the territory of Ukraine was occupied by Russia, are now silent at this time because it is Palestinian people. We regard this as a double standard and we do call as the Palestinian authority has done, on the ICC to declare itself on this matter and recognise the crime and harm that has been caused,” Pandor said.

Ceasefire

Pandor called for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East, saying the actions by Israel and Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu are a violation of international law, including the UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions and all its protocols.

Officials in Gaza confirmed the death toll from Israeli attacks has reached more than 10 000, many of whom are women and children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The attack came after Hamas launched a surprise attack on 7 October, leaving 1 400 people – mostly civilians – dead, according to Israeli officials.

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