Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign: Letter of solidarity from South Africa

Worldwide Activism

Letter of solidarity from South Africa
Worldwide Activism, Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, November 20th, 2009

South Africa has been at the forefront of the BDS movement. Trade unions, student groups and other organizations within civil society have been extremely supportive; the refusal of COSATU to offload an Israeli ship in response to the Gaza massacre being one of the more well-known examples. While the South African government and business interests have been criticized for maintaining such strong links with the Israeli state and economy, solidarity groups in South Africa continue to support the Palestinian cause and pressure their government to change its ways.

On the occasion of the Week Against the Aparthied Wall, South African students sent the following letter in support of the BDS movement:

We send this letter with greetings from South Africa on the occasion of the 7th year of the Week Against the Wall. As those who fought against the injustices of Apartheid in South Africa and continue to challenge an unequal society, we acknowledge the importance of international support. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, its popular committees and member organisations, as well as the people of Palestine against Israeli Apartheid, oppression and repression. As students who organise on our campuses and in our communities we really felt embraced when we received a letter of support from the Palestinian Students Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI).

The looming existence of Israel’s Apartheid Wall continues to oppress and ghettoise the people of Palestine and we support all actions and initiatives that call for its destruction- not as an end in itself but as a broader campaign to overthrow a racist regime. We acknowledge that the wall is just one example of the gross human rights violations of the Israeli regime. Five years ago the International Court of Justice ruled that the Wall is illegal and has required that it be torn down and all laws and orders related to it be reversed. The Court has reminded the international community of its obligation not to render any aid or assistance to the Wall and to ensure the implementation of international law. To date, international governments have not promoted any tangible move towards the ruling’s implementation.

The Wits Palestine Solidarity Committee and the Palestine Solidarity Committee of South Africa champion and support the call for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions to be made against Apartheid Israel. This was the overwhelming international motion pressuring the Apartheid regime in our own country and must continue to be wielded against Apartheid Israel. Furthermore, we protest the repression of the Palestinian people who resist these walls daily and the criminalisation of activists who oppose these walls.

In Solidarity,

The Wits Palestine Solidarity Committee

The Palestine Solidarity Committee of South Africa