Dozens of people, many of them health workers, picketed outside Red Cross Hospital on Thursday.
Dozens of people picketed outside the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Rondebosch, Cape Town on Thursday. It was one of several hospitals where members of Healthcare Workers 4 Palestine-South Africa (HCW4P-SA) protested, calling for the protection of the Global Sumud Flotilla. The flotilla is attempting to deliver aid to Gaza.
They also demanded boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, including the suspension of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) from the World Medical Association (WMA).
A letter by HCW4P-SA addressed to South African health care institutions states: “Over the last two years, as Israel’s destruction of Gaza has accelerated, these appeals have intensified. The death toll now exceeds 65,000 officially recorded deaths.”
“History provides us with guidance. During the era of apartheid, international boycotts were critical in isolating South Africa and in pressuring its medical and scientific institutions to align with global ethical norms,” the letter states.
“The Commonwealth Medical Association rightly expelled South Africa for its medical complicity in racist policies while the World Medical Association, to its ongoing shame, failed to take appropriate action.”
Professor Usuf Chikte, coordinator of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), called for sanctions against Israel. “We want Israel to be isolated. It is a pariah state.”
He called for South Africa to follow the example of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who has expelled Israeli diplomats.
On Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters off the coast of Gaza reinforces Israel’s continued “violation of international law and infliction of suffering, including starvation, on the Palestinian people”.
“This action also violates an International Court of Justice injunction that humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow unimpeded,” he said.
Those detained included Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela. Activist Greta Thunberg’s boat was also intercepted by the Israeli navy.
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