Thousands show up to show their Solidarity for Palestine

By Cindy Witten
09 January 2009

Thousands of people marched through central Cape Town yesterday in protest against the Israeli attacks on the Gaza strip. Leaders of Muslim groups say that South Africa should sever ties with Israel.

Shaheed Mahomed of the Workers International Vangard League says that the organisation seems to differ with many leaders, saying they do not believe that the attacks have a religious basis.
“We are very happy about the 15 000 people who came out. What was very interesting is that even though there were mostly Muslims, there were also a number of Christian and Jewish participants as well. I think that was a very useful and strong development for us,” he said.

Meanwhile, the SA Zionist Federation and SA Jewish Board of Deputies have reportedly appealed to the South African government to take on a fair approach, with the hope that South African leaders will convince Palestinian leaders to enter into negotiations with Israel.