South Africa: UCT Vigil Marks a Year of War in Gaza

Protesters renew call for boycott

At least 50 people attended an interfaith vigil at the University of Cape Town on Monday evening to mark one year of war in Gaza and to call for a boycott of Israel.

People gathered outside Sarah Baartman Hall (formerly Jameson Memorial Hall).

The vigil, organised by UCT4Palestine, was intended to mourn “one year of intensive genocide in Gaza” and “75 years of Nakba against Palestine”. Prayers were said.

On 7 October 2023, about 1,100 Israelis were killed in an attack by Hamas. Since then, Israeli forces have killed at least 41,000 Palestinians in Gaza. According to Al Jazeera, at least 2,000 people have also been killed in Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Al Jazeera estimates that over two-thirds of the victims in the last year have been women and children.

Banners read “No education as normal ’til boycott is formal” and “Never again for anyone. Not in our name.” At one point, the South African anti-apartheid song Senzeni Na was played.

The vigil followed a march on Saturday to Parliament in Cape Town, where protesters called for the isolation of Israel.

Professor of Religious Studies Sa’diyya Shaikh said many people were “utterly shattered. We stand here today, in our state of mourning, grief, pain and sheer disbelief. We stand today remembering the lives taken, over 41,000 human beings murdered.”

She said thousands of people across the globe were mobilising and joining Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movements. “They are making demands on their governments … the tide is turning.”

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On Monday, Al Jazeera released a video of the names of the people that have been killed in Palestine in the past year. The video is an hour long.

An article published in The Lancet medical journal in July argues that many more people are likely to have been killed than the official estimate.

In a statement on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa “condemned the atrocities committed against civilians in Israel on 7 October 2023, as we have denounced the killing of civilians in any context.

“The majority of those killed over the past year are Palestinian civilians, largely women and children in the besieged Gaza Strip. It is alarming that more Palestinians are also being killed in the West Bank due to Israeli Defence Force military activities.

Ramaphosa reiterated the call for an immediate ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to reach those in need.

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