The South African Chapter of the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) born out of the Global Anti- Apartheid Conference against Israel’s settler-colonial and apartheid regime held in Sandton in May 2024, issues an urgent call to conscience and action. As the rogue Israeli state wages an unrelenting war of annihilation against the Palestinian people—from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea—the world cannot look away. With the blood of thousands of children, women and civilians staining its hands, Israel has transformed Gaza into open-air killing fields of Palestinians. They do it in a cruel and barbaric way, without any conscience. This is not a conflict. It is a genocide.

What we are witnessing is state-sponsored terrorism. Hospitals, homes, mosques, churches, schools, universities, food sources and water infrastructure have been bombed. Borders have been sealed. 2.3 million people have been locked up in an area which is roughly the size of Washington D.C., turning it into the largest open-air prison in the world, as the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu said. Doctors have been killed. Journalists have been targeted in numbers we have not seen before. People are undergoing surgeries without anaesthetic due to the denial of medical supplies. Starvation is used as a weapon of war. This is cruelty beyond comprehension— carried out with impunity and backed by global powers who were once haunted by their own genocidal past.

The leaders of Israel now openly declare their goal: to wipe out the Palestinian people and seize every inch of land. And the United States, along with several European nations, are complicit— not just through silence, but through active military and political support. We say: those who enable genocide are themselves guilty of genocide and must be charged in terms of the UN Genocide Convention.

Across the world, millions have already risen. We honour the courageous voices that have taken a stand in the face of genocide: from students occupying campuses in the United States and massive street protests in London, Paris, and Berlin, to daily demonstrations across cities in the global South—including right here in South Africa. We acknowledge and salute the artists, academics, faith leaders, celebrities, and ordinary citizens who have refused to be silent. Their defiance in the face of pressure and intimidation has reignited global solidarity. Their voices give strength to a growing movement. Their courage reminds us that collective action has the power to bend the arc of history toward justice.

WE CALL ON THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE MAJOR EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

People of the USA and Europe: your governments act in your name. Their hands are stained with the same blood. If you remain silent, you are complicit. Break the silence. Stand up. Speak out. Mobilise. The shame of enabling genocide must not be passed on to another generation.

TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY:

Now is the time to act. Not tomorrow. Now. Join the global South and all peace-loving nations in standing behind South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel under the UN Genocide Convention. Demand justice. Demand an end to the occupation. Demand freedom for Palestine.

TO SOUTH AFRICANS

This is our moment to honour the legacy of struggle. Unite behind our government’s efforts at the ICJ. Demand economic and political sanctions against Israel. Stop all coal exports to Israel. We call on every community, town, city to organize protest actions against this cruel act of Israel and those who support them. We call on every sector, organisations, and movements to organize activities within their entities. We also call for a national protest action by all South Africans together – because silence in the face of genocide is betrayal. It would indicate a loss of our humanity.

WE WILL NOT FORGET

To preserve the memory of this unspeakable atrocity, the SA Chapter of the AAM will establish a Genocide Memorial and Museum in South Africa dedicated to the Palestinian people. This will be a space of truth, remembrance and resistance. A Working Committee has already begun the groundwork.

WE CALL FOR A GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR PALESTINE

To those across the world committed to justice and peace: now is the time to unite. From the streets of South Africa to the squares of Europe, to the alleys of Istanbul and the mosques of Indonesia, the churches and temples—let us come together in one unstoppable river of resistance. The AAM SA Chapter calls for the formation of a Global Steering Committee as a matter of urgency to consolidate the momentum of the Global Anti-Apartheid and Alliance Conferences held in South Africa, Denmark, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and other parts of the world. We must launch this Global Movement within the next six to nine months.

WHAT MUST BE DONE – NOW

Until that global alliance is launched, we urge all solidarity movements—trade unions, faith- based organisations, student groups, artists, businesses and ordinary citizens—to take the following actions:

• Campaign for comprehensive boycotts, disinvestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel and complicit companies.
• Demand an immediate arms embargo.
• Mobilise workers to refuse to handle goods to and from Israel.
• Isolate the Israeli regime and its allies through mass protest, consumer boycotts, and international solidarity.

In the name of justice, in the name of peace, in the memory of all lives lost—let us rise, together, and say: NEVER AGAIN MEANS NEVER AGAIN.

Issued by: The South African Chapter of the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM)