By Iqbal Jassat
On the days leading to the 77th year of the Nakba which has not ended yet, South Africans were shocked to discover that a peaceful protest at a football event in Pretoria was violently and forcefully disrupted by police officers.
Video footage and eye-witness accounts reveal disgusting and horrifying behaviour by members of the SA Police targeting solidarity activists who included elders, women and children.
What could be mistaken for the brutality of the era of apartheid that was despised, opposed and overcome, regrettably the overwhelmingly violent police conduct occurred in full public view three decades later in democratic South Africa.
The persecution led to the unlawful detention of 5 activists including a minor, whose plight grabbed the attention of the public demanding their release.
Dubbed as the #Loftus5, their successful bail application by a team of dedicated legal professionals resulted in their release. This has not only been welcomed as a lawful conquest of unjust police conduct, but in a wider context is viewed as integral to Palestinian solidarity on the eve of the Nakba.
The harrowing experience of the #Loftus5 may not match the pain and suffering of Palestinians on the receiving end of Zionist atrocities as the genocide continues, but do remind us of the pressing need to remain relentless in pursuit of freedom and justice for Palestine.
The spirit of defiance by South Africans from all walks of life across the country to challenge defenders of Israeli terrorism, whether they belong to political formations such as the Democratic Alliance (DA) or Zionist lobby groups, is testament of their commitment.
More importantly, it reflects the inspiration they receive from the unceasing resistance of Palestinians despite unprecedented escalation of the bloodshed in Gaza.
The 77th commemoration of the Nakba is marked this year in which the Al-Aqsa Flood launched on 7 October 2023 has undoubtedly changed the world -irrevocably.
The global #RedCardIsrael campaign which hundreds of peaceful protestors undertook at Loftus Versfeld during the Malawi/South African soccer match, coincided with events recalling the Nakba as a historic struggle of epic proportions.
The #Loftus5 reaffirmed that South Africa’s solidarity movements stand with and salute the resistance, steadfastness and determination of Palestinians to free themselves from decades of Zionist occupation and oppression.
That the struggle will meet hurdles, unjust police brutality, unequal judicial oversight, inconsistent government policies and malignment, as the price to pay to confront Zionism and imperialism.
The bloody scenes at Loftus brought to the surface reminders that the violent expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands was accompanied by a spree of murder, rape and destruction.
Questions raised about the dubious role of Israel in training and equipping South Africa’s police units in so called “riot control”, including the infiltration of Zionists within SAPS, require probes and answers.
To overlook or sidestep these troubling questions may allow intrusion of the country’s law enforcement agencies by foreign forces involved in the genocide in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank, to remain unchecked.
Commemorating the Nakba makes it imperative to ensure Zionist footprints that endanger South Africa’s sovereignty, are not only exposed but also uprooted.
If the country’s commitment to hold Israel accountable at the International Court of Justice as well as the International Criminal Court is resolute and unwavering, it has to extend to fully embrace the goals of Palestine’s resistance.
At the core of the Palestinian revolution is to uproot the settler colonial entity and establish a liberated Palestine from the river to the sea.
During the ongoing Nakba, the past 77 years, Palestinians have held onto the keys of their homes and their identities with an unyielding determination to overcome and return home – where they belong.
From Samidoun Prisoner Network, we are urged to remember that the imperialist-Zionist genocide has taken the lives of at least 53,000 martyrs in Gaza alone, displaced two million, and wounded over 120,0000.
Daily, the ongoing Nakba is visible on the screens of the world, in the destruction of hospitals, the slaughter of children, the targeting of entire families in schools, refugee camps, mosques, churches and residential buildings.
“And yet we also bear witness to the unparalleled heroism of the armed resistance and all of its forces inside Palestine and throughout the region, who every day confront the tanks and warplanes of the occupier with their guns, rockets, missiles and explosives, with iron will, deep faith and commitment and love for Palestine and its people.”
The #RedCardIsrael campaign and the heroic #Loftus5 have in many ways become symbols of resistance, reminding us of the inverted red triangle as symbolic of resolute opposition to injustice and rejection of oppression.
Zionism is a feeble construct, unable to withstand the power of truth and justice. As Israel takes stock of the reasons why it has failed to obtain any of its military goals, apart from killing babies and despite weaponising starvation, the reality its war criminals face is the inevitability of a humiliating defeat.
Iqbal Jassat
Executive Member
Media Review Network
Johannesburg
South Africa
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