Several organisations held a silent demonstration outside the Holocaust Museum in Cape Town today, marking three years since the October 7 attacks and drawing attention to the ongoing humanitarian impact of Israel’s military assault on Gaza.
The demonstration was organised by Mothers for Gaza, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, South African Christians for a Free Palestine and South African Jews for a Free Palestine.
Participants displayed the names of Palestinian children who, according to organisers, have been killed during Israel’s assault on Gaza. The demonstration was followed by a solidarity walk through Cape Town’s CBD, with participants carrying a shroud bearing the names of Palestinian children.
The procession stopped at churches across the CBD that support Palestine before concluding with a vigil at St George’s Cathedral.
Speaking outside the Holocaust Museum, Imam Rashid Omar highlighted the significance of the demonstration coinciding with the birthday of the late Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu.
Omar said the demonstration also sought to acknowledge the lives lost on October 7.
“In the same way that we grieve the thousands and thousands of children, Palestinian children, being killed in Gaza, we don’t even have enough material to put all of their names. We also think about the innocent Jewish children who were killed on October 7th, because all children are children of God, and they are innocent. And from the Islamic faith, there is a very beautiful saying: كل مولود يولد على الفطرة. Every human being is born pure with a natural inclination towards God, and every life is precious,” Omar said.
Reverend René August said participants felt compelled to speak out against what they described as genocide.
“I think for me it’s important to speak out because I believe that God created all people in God’s image. And when lives are being violated, then we have a duty, a responsibility, and an ethical obligation to speak out against it. We are deliberately standing outside the Holocaust Museum because genocide is genocide, and genocide is evil. Genocide is not a solution to getting anyone’s way. And so, we need to make an effort to speak out against it because this is the work of being a human being,” said August
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Photo: VOCfm
