ANT KATZ

The meeting was facilitated by the Western Cape branch of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL).

Following this meeting and intervention by BDS-SA, COSAS Western Cape “has resolved to suspend the placing of pigs in various Woolworths’ stores but will continue advancing the #BoycottWoolworths campaign”, said COSAS in a media statement.

The students noted that they were also “adamant that they might reactivate the pigs head initiative if the bosses of Woolworths don’t end their relations with Israel”.

In a joint media statement by BDS-SA, ANCYL-WC and COSAS-WC, it was noted by the COSAS-WC PEC that “the #BoycottWoolworths Cosas Pig head initiative was militant, radical and that COSAS-WC does not believe that the media fairly covered their actions”.

COSAS are also “extremely angry at the attitude of the pig-headed Woolworths management”, and that their “logic behind the pig head initiative was not against particular people” – but rather an initiative against Woolworths.

While the students insisted that they “are an autonomous organisation” they expressed “huge respect” for ANCYL and BDS-SA. Their efforts, said the students, were motivated by “revolutionary love for Palestine”.

Respecting their elders

Out of “respect for BDS-SA”, said COSAS they would “postpone their Woolworths pig heads initiative, but reserved the right to resume it if Woolworths does not withdraw their trade from Israel. This will be evaluated on November 26 at the upcoming Woolworths AGM” they say, where they intend to “mobilise COSAS masses to support a protest” outside the AGM.

The students insisted that they remained “unapologetic but disciplined in their activism and campaign against the Woolworths pigheaded management”.

The BDS-SA delegation said that they “recognised that the COSAS Pig Head initiative was intended to support the #BoycottWoolworths campaign”, but felt concerned about “the pig head initiative” and viewed it as troublesome and that it was “threatening to marginalise supporters of the #BoycottWoolworths campaign”.

BDS also noted that that the students had helped place great pressure on Woolworths which, cooed BDS, “seems to squirming under pressure”. But, said BDS, “the pig head initiative should be stopped” and “other militant, but less offensive ways of supporting the #BoycottWoolworths campaign” could be pursued.

BDS-SA said it remained “hopeful that a major shareholder in Woolworths, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) would meet with BDS-SA and support the call for Woolworths to end its trading with Israel”.

COSAS, ANCYL and BDS jointly undertook in the meeting to, among other things, organise a major protest outside Woolworths offices during their upcoming AGM; request the ANC to ensure that the PIC demand that Woolworths terminate its relations with Israel, failing which the ANC should ask the PIC to withdraw as a shareholder.

BDS-SA felt that the focus should not be on the COSAS students, as it had been, but on the management of Woolworths “who are refusing to be on the right side of history”.

BDS blames “the increasing protests and boycott” against Woolies on “the arrogant refusal of Woolworths to meet with BDS-SA”.

Previously published on SAJR.CO.ZA

• 11 NOV: Students have wings clipped on pigs -BY ANT KATZ
• 05 NOV: Now everyone jumps onto the pig-wagon -BY ANT KATZ
• 05 NOV: Pig’s head incident: BDS implicated by association -BY NATHAN CHEIMAN
• 04 NOV: Bergman to ANC: Control pig-headed affiliates –BY ANT KATZ
• 04 NOV: From a pig’s head to Mauritian celebration-BY MARY KLUK
• 31 OCT: Jewish community says no to hate speech-BY ANT KATZ (great pics)
• 31 OCT: COSAS’ clowns are chasing their own tails -BY ANT KATZ
• 30 OCT: Cosas shows the worst anti-Semitic face -BY MARY KLUK
• 29 OCT: Cape Town anti-anti-Semitism demo Thursday -BY ANT KATZ
• 29 OCT: Woolies: Hooligans nabbed in Jhb, Cape Town -BY ANT KATZ
• 29 OCT: The dangerous politics of pigs’ heads -BY GEOFF SIFRIN
• 24 OCT: Board condemns pigs in ‘kosher’ counter -BY ANT KATZ