Pro-Israel protest disrupted in Cape Town

CAPE TOWN – A pro-Israeli protest at the Sea Point Promenade in Cape Town on Sunday was disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters. Buses of protesters for Israel were sent away after the police started using stun grenades and water cannons to disperse a group of the counter-protesters for Palestine. When reporters arrived, there was a standoff between protesters and police in riot gear. There was a heavy police presence, with City law enforcement and SAPS officers present before either protest started. Four people were arrested.

Sunday’s clashes followed a massive but peaceful protest in support of the Palestinian people on Saturday. Tens of thousands of people marched through Cape Town city centre calling for the closure of the Israeli embassy and for the Western Cape government to condemn Israel as it did Russia. On Sunday there were only about a hundred pro-Palestinian protesters. A few dozen pro-Israel supporters, mostly from Christian churches, had arrived but they decided to call off their protest following the clashes.

Reverend Barry Isaacs, a convener of the protest for Israel, said the police were there because of the City, not at their request. Abeedah Adams, a member of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC), said that unlike other marches for Palestine, the counter-protest had no link to any official organisation. “It was more spontaneous: people responding to the posters and the media about the pro-Israeli protest.”

“I think there’s a very strong sentiment that we can’t allow that kind of Zionism. It’s not welcome in the City of Cape Town,” she said.

Both sides inflamed the situation on Sunday. GroundUp saw one of the pro-Palestinian protesters grab an Israeli flag from a pro-Israel protester. Pro-Israeli protesters also attempted to antagonise the pro-Palestinian protesters. Much shouting ensued and there were some clashes. Police used stun grenades to attempt to disperse the group involved in the scuffle.

A section of the pro-Palestinian crowd shouted down leaders’ calls to step back. Protesters also shouted at the police, comparing them to the apartheid-era police force. Police had to intervene when a small group of pro-Palestine protesters tried to harass a protester for Israel who was in a wheelchair. Pepper spray was also used at one point.

This was one of many protests in Cape Town over the past month in response to Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Armed militias from Hamas entered Israel and killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and are holding over 200 people hostage in Gaza. In response, Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip, killing more than 11,000 people, including more than four thousand children. It has also intensified its years-long blockade of Gaza, often preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the area.

“Our concern is for the innocent Palestinians that have died just as much as the Jewish people,” Isaacs told reporters. “We want to pray for peace and to find a solution.” He called for politicians to find common ground, but said that Israel had a right to defend itself in response to the 7 October attack. By Ashraf Hendricks, Matthew Hirsch and Ella Morrison