By Wardah Wilkinson – Johannesburg

On Saturday, South African activists, including the South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP), mobilized to voice their dissent against Israel’s war and complete siege of the Gaza Strip.

Addressing the crowd at the Palestinian Solidarity Alliance SA at the Zoo Lake in Johannesburg, Rina King, spokesperson for the SAJFP, emphasized the group’s refusal to have their faith associated with supporting apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.

The SAJFP joins many South Africans and the international community in protesting against Israeli apartheid practices.

According to King, the United States and the United Kingdom support and facilitate the actions of the Israeli government.

“These countries have supported Israel’s apartheid policies financially, militarily, and diplomatically, just as they supported apartheid in South Africa,” she explained.

King further added that “the SAJFP calls for an immediate ceasefire”.

“We Demand that the South African government sever diplomatic relations with Israel, just as many governments did with apartheid-era South Africa, King said, adding:

“We support the South African government’s call for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate war crimes and genocide in Palestine.”

The group also demanded that the South African “government goes further and uses its influence in multilateral bodies and networks, such as the African Union and BRICS, to encourage other governments to adopt a similar approach towards the ICC,” according to King.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

– Wardah Wilkinson is a South African journalist. She contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.