Governing ANC is vocally pro-Palestine while main opposition DA remains neutral on the Gaza war, which may affect voters on May 29.
Cape Town, South Africa – “We cannot allow supporters of baby killers to talk to us,” a furious resident of Surrey Estate in Cape Town shouted as he heckled the speaker at the podium.
The man was one of hundreds of residents of the mostly Muslim suburb who had gathered for a pre-election panel discussion early in May, where representatives from 10 political parties sought to lobby support.
When Riad Davids, the representative for the Democratic Alliance (DA) – South Africa’s liberal, centrist main opposition party that is considered a steadfast supporter of Israel – took to the podium to make his pitch to residents, he was booed.
The audience shouted and jeered, preventing him from delivering his message and seeking to force him off the stage.
The South African government’s support for Palestine has become a common theme in debates leading up to the May 29 general elections and expressions of solidarity with the people of Gaza have featured during the campaigns of various political parties.
The governing centre-left African National Congress (ANC), which has historical links with Palestine, has publicly condemned human rights violations under Israeli occupation and has taken Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing it of genocide in its war on Gaza.
The official opposition DA, however, did not support the government’s decision to haul Israel to the ICJ and has been criticised by some for its stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict since the war began in October.
Although the DA has historically shown support for Israel, it says its position is one of neutrality.
But in this instance, the disdain from the community was palatable as angry residents insisted that the DA was complicit in condoning genocide in Gaza.
“It is sad that in a Muslim area, where we have a Muslim audience, you want to deny someone the opportunity to speak,” Davids pleaded with the audience.
As he persisted, the angrier the crowd became with loud chants of “free, free Palestine” ringing in the community hall. Two Palestinian flags were waved every time the crowd heckled him.
While the angry residents of Surrey Estate were venting their frustration at the DA representative, a few kilometres away in the suburb of Rylands, another working-class majority Muslim suburb in Cape Town, President Cyril Ramaphosa was addressing residents at a public meeting.
There, the president arrived wearing a keffiyeh and maintained an unapologetic position for the ANC’s support for the people of Palestine.
‘ANC stands in solidarity with Palestine’
Ramaphosa said his government will look at visa waivers to make it easier for Palestinians travelling to South Africa.
“We will make an exception so that our brothers and sisters from Palestine can come here, not only as refugees but for a variety of reasons,” he said to applause.
“The ANC stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine,” read the banners on stage behind the president.
It was not an unusual sight. The ANC has consistently expressed its solidarity with Palestine during election campaign events.
This past weekend, the ruling party and government representatives also participated in the first Global Anti-Apartheid Conference for Palestine held in Johannesburg, which aimed to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people.
At the event, international relations and cooperation minister, Naledi Pandor, reiterated the government’s view that Israel perpetuates apartheid against the Palestinians and called for tougher action against it.
“There can never be peace if the Palestinian people are not free … We should be ashamed that 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza,” she said during the conference attended by government representatives and activists.
Days earlier, during a national May Day rally commemorating Workers’ Day, the ANC led a march in Cape Town in solidarity with Palestinians.
“You, as workers, need to join this fight to fight for those who are oppressed around the world. And today as South Africa, we have stood up for the rights of those in other parts of the world [who] are currently being subjected to torture, to violence and genocide,” Ramaphosa implored the country’s workers.
“And that is why as a country and yes, as an alliance, we have stood firm in our support for the people of Palestine. And that is why we say ‘we want Palestine to be free’,” he said to applause.
The ANC has long compared Israel’s policies against Palestinians to the brutal apartheid regime’s actions against Black South Africans before democracy in 1994.
However, some have more cynically suggested that the party was further leveraging the issue this time around to help it gain support among certain groups of voters.
While the ANC may benefit electorally from its support of Palestine, its position on the issue has been consistent, an analyst told media.
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