Gift of the Givers founder, Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman, has commended the South African government for taking Israel to the International Court of Justice in the Hague on charges of genocide.
Sooliman says with international support the people of Palestine will eventually be free.
“The world needs to know that Palestine is not alone. World powers, world governments, Zionists can all stand together in the interest of Israel but the world’s masses have come out for truth justice and humanity. What’s going on in Palestine is a massacre. It’s not an alleged genocide; it’s a genocide; it’s straight and clear and you know where we stand … (we are) supporting South African government and people across the world and it’s simple; if we were in that situation, people would support us. This is a just cause,” says Sooliman.
Sooliman has added that the South African Jewish Board of Deputies is relying on an outdated narrative in its concerns about what it says is antisemitism driving the South African government’s case.
“The Jewish Board of Deputies should find a new narrative. That’s outdated. It makes no sense. Israel’s got no case. Netanyahu is a high terrorist in the world right now. They are part of this genocide, the murder and the killing of innocent people. They should find something else to talk about.”
The Jewish Board of Deputies released a statement earlier this week accusing the South African government of double standards in not handing over then President of Sudan Omar Al Bashir and its stance on Russian President Vladimir Putin who is facing an arrest warrant from the ICC for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Struggle cleric, Dr Allan Boesak, says ongoing protests inside the country have forced the South African government to launch its legal application.
“It’s very clear to me that the South African government has been very reluctant over the last three months to do what was necessary to be done. The people are the ones who stood up, march after march, put their demands on the table as to what should happen. The South African government has not yet responded. They have taken the very important step, the laudable step to take apartheid Israel to the International Court of Justice,” Boesak says.
Thousands of people, including children, have been killed in the conflict between Israel and Hamas since October 2023.
Boesak, who’s a fierce critic of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, says he has faith that the ICJ will rule in favour of the South Africa.
