"We are conveying the message that Israel is an apartheid state," said the Cosatu international secretary Bongani Masuku at the a protest in front of the American consulate in Killarney, Johannesburg, January 2. A crowd of around 1,000 people had gathered to protest Israeli air strikes on Gaza. The protest was also directed against U.S. military hardware supplies to Israel. A speech was also held by a South African Council of Churches general secretary Eddie Makue. SACC was one of the most important civil society organizations during the anti-Apartheid struggle, and has conducted solidarity work for Palestine (based upon their own experiences of oppression under Apartheid) for several years.
The protest was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee.
In a separate statement, issued on the same day, the new opposition party Congress of the People strongly condemned the Israeli aggression. Their statement read; "There can be no justification for the wanton killing of civilians in particular women and children who are the worst affected by Israel's military escalation."Sources: 1, 2, Some links on the COPE split: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
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