March in Pretoria Demands End to Israeli Genocide
by dave Friday, Jul. 28, 2006 at 9:54 AM

PRETORIA, 28 July 2006. Over a thousand people marched today in Pretoria to protest Israeli genocide in Palestine and Lebanon. The march—organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee [PSC]—ended with a rally at the Israeli Embassy. Speakers from the Lebanon, Jewish Voices, PSC, Cosatu, Anti-Privatisation Forum, and more called for an end to the current slaughter of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, as well as an end to Israel’s system of apartheid, the apartheid wall, and the release of thousands of political prisoners...

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PRETORIA, 28 July 2006. Over a thousand people marched today in Pretoria to protest Israeli genocide in Palestine and Lebanon. The march—organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee [PSC]—ended with a rally at the Israeli Embassy.

Speakers from the Lebanon, Jewish Voices, PSC, Cosatu, Anti-Privatisation Forum, and more called for an end to the current slaughter of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, as well as an end to Israel’s system of apartheid, the apartheid wall, and the release of thousands of political prisoners.

The first speaker, from Jewish Voices, stated explicitly that the march was also in solidarity with the thousands of Israelis who do not support their government’s criminal actions, and that the demonstration was therefore not anti-Semitic, but against Israel’s state oppression and terror. The speaker also called for a “new Middle East” that includes Israelis and overthrows imperialism.

Placards and t-shirts from the PSC, APF, and others made it clear enough:

“From Iraq to Palestine, Occupation is Colonialism,”

“Stop Collective Punishment,”

“USA, UK, Israel: The Real Axis of Evil,” and

“Stop War Crimes and Genocide. Who’s the Terrorist? (depicting Israeli missiles destroying homes in Lebanon).

The march also sought to hold the international community—particularly the United States and United Kingdom—accountable for the genocide they are allowing diplomatically and actively supporting militarily.

The South African government was called upon, once again, to end its support for Israeli apartheid by withdrawing its ambassador, prosecuting South African citizens fighting in the Israeli armed forces, sanctioning the state of Israel, and stopping Denel from servicing and providing Israel with war machinery.

Willie Madisha of Cosatu once again called upon the workers of South Africa to actively seek out and boycott Israeli products in order to reciprocate the assistance from workers of the world in bringing down South African apartheid.

As a police-watch footnote, SAPS was out in force with hippos and shotguns. No direct confrontation with protestors took place, though the police, as usual, carefully filmed the crowd.

See video and stills of the march at http://southafrica.indymedia.org/news/2006/08/10864.php

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