‘Tide is turning against Zionist Israel’
● As Israel intensifies its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, former government minister Ronnie Kasrils says the tide is turning against Tel Aviv, while Johannesburg hosts an international conference seeking to advance the Palestinian cause.
The three-day Global Anti-Apartheid Conference for Palestine, which ends today, is expected to adopt a declaration and plan of action in support of Palestine.
The UN’s General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Friday in favour of Palestine’s bid for full membership of the international organisation — a move seen by many as a sign Israel is becoming isolated on the world stage.
Kasrils, one of the speakers at the conference in Sandton, told the Sunday Times yesterday that pro-Palestine protests at US universities were a sign the world was “turning against a Zionist Israel”.
“You see this in so many different ways — [in] the resistance of Palestinians [and] ... globally in this outpouring of protests, because people are seeing this cruelty. You see it profoundly in the country that has been supporting Israel and allowing this — the US
— [in] this rebellion of students, which is extremely exciting,” Kasrils said.
Kasrils described the conference as a “profound” move by South Africa, which had also benefited from a global movement against the oppressive apartheid regime.
“You can see from the collection of people here from all over the world — including top leadership from South Africa, given our history and the importance of the antiapartheid movement globally — that it’s really time to act against colonial-apartheid Israel,” Kasrils said.
Hundreds of delegates from a wide range of countries — including Canada, Turkey, Germany, Brazil, India, the UK, the US and Sri Lanka — took part in the conference. The plenary venue was full for most of Saturday, and some attendees were forced to follow the proceedings from an adjacent overflow room at the Sandton Convention Centre.
Minister of international relations & cooperation Naledi Pandor, who spoke at the opening of the conference on Friday, described South Africa hosting the conference as a “watershed” moment that signified the start of a global movement in support of Palestine.
Pandor said it was an effort that came “at a pivotal moment for Palestinians, who are fighting for their survival amid mass starvation, [a] military onslaught, and unspeakable war crimes and atrocities”.
“It has never been so urgent for the progressive forces around the globe to come together in a collective effort to exert maximum pressure to end the genocidal campaign under way in Gaza, and to end the apartheid system of Israel and the occupied territories, which is worse than what we experienced in our own country,” Pandor said.
She called on progressive forces to push for the right of the Palestinian people to selfdetermination, as well for the right of refugees in the diaspora to return to their homeland.
“South Africa is of the view that the international community has an obligation to find a comprehensive and just resolution to the Palestinian issue. So far, the traditional approach to conflict resolution has failed to achieve peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict,” she said.
Pandor said there was a need to pursue a different approach that used human rights as the basis for resolving the conflict.
“The Palestinian experience evokes memories of South Africa’s own history of racial segregation and oppression. As oppressed South Africans, we experienced first-hand the effects of racial inequality and discrimination, and we identify fully with the struggle for freedom and self-determination in Palestine,” Pandor said.
She said that for many decades South Africa benefited from international solidarity, which formed one of the four pillars of the struggle against apartheid. The other three were mass mobilisation, armed operations, and underground organisation.
“These pillars [highlighted] the plight of oppressed South Africans worldwide, thereby putting a spotlight on the then government and [amplifying] the clarion call for action in various multilateral bodies,” Pandor said.
She said the inaugural meeting was “rightly hosted in South Africa as a launch pad to consolidate international efforts to bring down apartheid Israel”.
“On a governmental and political level, we would suggest that the conference as a collective, as a matter of priority, consider a role for front-line states, [just] as the liberation movements in South Africa [did] in our struggle for freedom and democracy,” Pandor said.
Other speakers included Anglican archbishop Thabo Mokgoba and anti-apartheid activist Rev Frank Chikane.
The South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) accused the South African government of supporting Hamas and described the conference as a “hatefest”.
SAZF spokesperson Rolene Marks said the conference was “hosting speakers who have expressed support for the internationally designated terrorist group Hamas and celebrated its attacks against Israelis on October 7”.
Marks said the SAZF condemned “the South African government’s endorsement of this hatefest taking place”, as the conference was “designed to delegitimise Israel on the world stage” and brought together “individuals who have glorified the deadly Hamas attack on Israel”.
“The conference fails to acknowledge Israel’s right to self-defence after Hamas initiated a war on October 7 by entering the country, killing more than 1,000 people, and taking more than 250 hostages — more than 130 of whom remain in captivity,” she said.
Marks accused the South African government of “allowing itself to be influenced by foreign agendas [and] continuing to show support for terrorists and countries that stand against Israel”.
“This stance puts it at odds with the US, one of its most significant trading partners ... ironically, this conference is taking place at a time when Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have begun normalising relations with Israel and distancing themselves from Iran-backed terrorist groups such as Hamas.”
Delegates broke into different workshops yesterday to discuss possible plans of action, which are expected to be adopted by the conference.
Another speaker, Namibian justice minister Yvonne Dausab, told the Sunday Times it was important for Namibia and South Africa to be at the conference, as both countries fully understood the impact of apartheid.
“We also understand that, after benefiting from international solidarity, we can’t stand idle and watch Palestine ... go through the kind of colonisation they’re going through,” Dausab said.
She said the mood at the conference showed that people were already tired of having another talking shop and wanted a programme of action.
The memorandum and declaration that will be adopted at the end of the conference today is expected to be handed to the South African government through the president’s office.
Global conference on ‘colonial-apartheid’ Jewish state expected to adopt declaration and plan of action in support of a free Palestine