New bill wants South Africa to stop trade with Zionist regime

Member of Parliament Mandla Mandela has endorsed a bill that would make it illegal for the South African government and private sector to have trade or diplomatic ties with Israel.

The Implementation and Protection of Palestinian Solidarity Rights Bill is a citizen’s bill, written by human rights attorney Ziyaad Patel and endorsed by Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s grandson, who is one of the ruling party’s parliamentarians.

The bill was discussed at an online seminar on 20 March organised by the South African Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Coalition as part of Israeli Apartheid Week. The initiative launched in 2004 and features annual global protests and seminars to build support for the global BDS campaign and highlight Israel’s apartheid policies against Palestinians.

Mandela said the bill was a “long overdue and worthy contribution to our collective efforts to mobilise all sectors of society towards our mutual goals of ending the occupation, right of return of all Palestinian refugees, freeing of all political prisoners, stopping expansion of illegal settlement and securing the right to free political determination for all citizens of occupied Palestine”.

A summary of the bill says it aims to “construct a legally enabling framework which converts the political rhetoric of South Africa’s governing political party, the African National Congress and/or other such political parties into tangible support for the international Palestinian Solidarity Intifada”.

While the “BDS movement has breathed new life and impetus into the struggle for Palestine”, there were still “contradictions and failures” in the South African government’s approach to Palestine, such as “the denial of visa free status to Palestinians whilst apartheid Israel enjoys such privilege, the security status of [Israeli national airline] El Al at OR Tambo International Airport and … the movement of financial services and goods to apartheid Israel”, said Mandela.

“I am in full support of the draft bill. BDS is the most powerful tool in the hands of the Palestinian people and of activists in the solidarity movement,” he added.