PRESS RELEASE: Stance of ANC Alliance on BDS boycott of “Apartheid Israel” and support for retail sector boycott welcomed

14 SEPTEMBER 2014

The South African Palestine solidarity and human rights organisation, BDS South Africa, together with all peace and justice loving peoples involved in the Palestinian struggle against Israeli oppression welcomes, embraces and supports the recent statement issued on Friday 12 September by the ANC-led Alliance in solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine (see below this press release or click here for full ANC Alliance statement). The ANC-led Alliance is made up of South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC) together with the South African Communist Party (SACP), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African National Civics Organization (SANCO).
 
The Secretariat of the ANC-led Alliance (Alliance Secretariat), consisting of the secretaries and deputy secretaries of all Alliance partners, met on Friday 12 September. The Alliance Secretariat meeting was attended by, amongst others, Gwede Mantashe (Secretary General, ANC), Zwelinzma Vavi (General Secretary, COSATU), Solly Maphaila (Deputy General Secretary, SACP), Robert Tsikwe (Deputy Secretary General, SANCO). During this Friday 12 September meeting the Alliance Secretariat discussed organizational and political matters as well issues pertaining to matters of international solidarity. In a statement issued after the Alliance Secretariat meeting on Friday, the Alliance Secretariat said that: "As the Alliance we are now heightening our campaign aimed at boycotting and isolating Israel as a state founded on the basis of apartheid, which according to international law and several UN conventions is a crime against humanity."

The Alliance Secretariat went further to explain that: "We  therefore pledge ongoing solidarity with the people of Palestine and will enhance our support for the boycott, disinvestment and sanctions (BDS) initiatives against the State of Israel."

In a concrete move bound to have major ramifications, the Alliance Secretariat further called on South African transport sector workers: "at South African docks and airports to neither offload products from Israel nor upload products bound for Israel.”

Finally, the Alliance made a call to all South African retail sector workers "to refuse to handle or package products manufactured in or originating from Israel.” 

Kwara Kekana of BDS South Africa commented: “The support for the Palestinian BDS campaign by the Alliance is welcomed and in particular, we as South African civil society welcome the call by South Africa's ruling party and its Alliance on retail sector workers not to handle Israeli goods. BDS South Africa together with other organisations are currently running a boycott campaign against South African retail giant Woolworths due to its 12 million rand Israeli trade relationship (#BoycottWoolworths). We trust that Woolworths workers will heed this call to refuse to handle Israeli goods just as how workers in the international community had refused to handle South African goods during Apartheid.”

Kekana also explained that: “Pro-Israeli organisations in South Africa like the SA Jewish Board of Deputies and SA Zionist Federation often try to suggest that the ANC, COSATU, SACP, SANCO and other organisations only pick and focus on Israel. This is not true as evidenced by the recent statement of the Alliance Secretariat which covered the Alliance’s support for the oppressed people of Swaziland, Lesotho as well as the people of Palestine. The support of the Palestinian struggle is a human rights issue and part of the ANC, COSATU, SACP, SANCO’s and our larger principle of progressive internationalism. The Israeli lobby’s continual whining about Israel being singled out is baseless."

ISSUED BY MUHAMMED DESAI ON BEHALF OF BDS SOUTH AFRICA

BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS AGAINST ISRAEL in SOUTH AFRICA (BDS SOUTH AFRICA)
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Statement of the Alliance Secretariat
12 September 2014
 
The Alliance Secretariat, consisting of the secretaries and deputy secretaries of all Alliance partners, met on Friday 12 September in its regular meeting and discussed organizational and political matters. The meeting also discussed issues pertaining to State/ public Institutions and matters of International Solidarity.
 
The Alliance Secretariat agreed as follows:

On the Creative Industry
The Alliance support the call made by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) for a complete black-out of Generations, from15-22 September. This will demonstrate to the producers and owners of the soap opera that the people of South Africa support the actors in their call for an end to the exploitative practices in the creative sector.
The Alliance further calls for a fundamental overhaul of the creative sector and for workers in the industry - actors, musicians and technicians - to organize and be given support in their struggles to enjoy full workers' rights as enshrined in the constitution.
As a country we can no longer allow creative workers to die as paupers when producers continue to amass millions and live a life of opulence at the expense of workers.
 
The Alliance urges the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to address the lack of real transformation in the commissioning and production of SABC programmes as well as the content that has to reflect a true South African story. The time to transform the creative sector is now.
 
The Alliance is calling on members of the public to join the planned Alliance march to the SABC offices and the offices of all the identified culprits, who think they can exploitcreative workers without consequences.
 
On Swaziland
The Alliance calls for the release of comrade Mario Masuku and all other political prisoners in Swaziland. South Africa must confer refugee status on those fleeing from political persecution in their home-country. We urge the people and government of Swaziland to speedily move towards democracy.
 
On Lesotho
The Alliance urges the speedy resolution of the conflict and challenges in Lesotho as this affects the people of Lesotho and the whole Southern African region adversely.
 
On the Middle East
As the Alliance we are now heightening our campaign aimed at boycotting and isolating Israel as a state founded on the basis of apartheid, which according to international law and several UN conventions is a crime against humanity.
 
We therefore pledge ongoing solidarity with the people of Palestine and will enhance our support for the boycott, disinvestment and sanction initiatives against the state of Israel. The Alliance further calls on transport sector workers, at South African docks and airports to neither offload products from Israel nor upload products bound for Israel. We also call on retail sector workers to refuse to handle or package products manufactured in or originating from Israel.
 
Statement issued by Gwede Mantashe: Secretary General, ANC, Zwelinzma Vavi: General Secretary, COSATU, Solly Maphaila: Deputy General Secretary, SACP, Robert Tsikwe, Deputy Secretary General, SANCO, September 12 2014

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