Ministers chant support for Palestine at soccer ‘friendly’

Three South African government ministers and the president joined in the controversial antisemitic Palestinian rallying cry, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free!”; and “Free Free Palestine!” at a soccer match in Cape Town at the weekend.

This before television cameras and thousands of supporters at the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town, marking the start of a friendly match between the Palestine national football team and a local invitational side.

Donning keffiyeh and videoed for the world to see, South Africa’s top politicians, including President Cyril Ramaphosa; Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola; Sports, Art and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa; and Department of International Relations and Cooperation Minister Dr Naledi Pandor, gathered before thousands of people to show their solidarity with Palestinians, as if there was nowhere else to be.

“The African National Congress [ANC] continues to abuse South African institutions to drive its pro-Hamas activities,” said Rolene Marks, the spokesperson for the South African Zionist Federation. “Sport historically has been a tool to unify South Africans. Instead, the ANC has used it to support Hamas and its Iranian allies.”

The Palestine national football team received a heroes welcome last week as crowds thronged the airport to welcome it to South Africa, the country that accused Israel of genocide in the International Court of Justice. The reception almost matched fans at OR Tambo International Airport on 14 February welcoming back Bafana Bafana from Ivory Coast after finishing third in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

The visiting team played against a Western Cape XI invitational team in the “Football 4 Humanity” match initiated by little known non-profit organisation Sports Stepping Stones in partnership with the South African Football Association (SAFA) Cape Town.

Addressing the crowd ahead of the match, Ramaphosa chanted, “Free Free Palestine!” and thanked supporters for coming out to support the people of Palestine.

“Today, we celebrate humanity, friendship, but we’re also here to signify our support as the people of South Africa for the struggle of the Palestinians. We want to say the majority of people in this country and the governing party of South Africa, support the people of Palestine.”

This sentiment has been vehemently denied by thousands of South Africans including Jewry, who have consistently said the ANC’s views on Israel don’t represent the people of South Africa.

Said Marks, “At the event, the destruction of Israel was called for through the chanting of ‘From the river to the sea’. Evidently, no soccer clubs could be found to play against the Palestinian team, and an invitational 11 had to be put together for the match.

“Yet the ANC is opposed to South African clubs like Orlando Pirates playing against Israeli teams. Clearly, the ANC shouldn’t support Hamas in the name of ordinary South Africans.”

Not too long ago, the ANC expressed its support for a decision by the South African Rugby Union to disinvite an Israeli rugby team from playing in a local rugby tournament over alleged security concerns.

The party said at the time, “We hope this decision will serve as a reminder to Israel that its illegal occupation of Palestinian land is an injustice that shouldn’t be tolerated.”

The City of Cape Town provided Athlone Stadium for the football match at no cost. When asked about this, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said, “The team was invited here by SAFA and the national government. SAFA asked us to zero rate the cost of the stadium hire, which we often do for touring sports teams. And we did so again in this case too.

“The visit was an opportunity to show support for peace, humanity, and the hope for a two-state solution. It was also an important opportunity to address the massive campaign of disinformation that has been waged against the city by political opponents looking cynically to capitalise on this war for local political gain, which has been very effective.”