Thousands March to Parliament, Demand End to Gaza Genocide and Boycott of Israel

Palestinian Solidarity Campaign in motion...

By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief of The Azanian

Thousands of people filled the streets of Cape Town's city centre on Saturday, September 27, 2025, to demand an end to the war in Palestine and a boycott of Israel.

The march, organized by the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), the Al-Quds Foundation South Africa, and the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC), drew people from different civic, religious, and political groups.

Protesters gathered at the Muir Street Mosque in District Six before marching to Parliament, carrying placards that read "boycott apartheid Israel" and "You can't bomb the truth away". They chanted slogans, including "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."

At Parliament, speakers from political parties and religious leaders addressed the crowd. Reverend Frank Chikane thanked people for coming out in their numbers. The protesters handed over a memorandum to Cedric Frolick, Parliament's House Chairperson of Committees, Oversight and Public Participation.

The memorandum calls for Parliament and the South African government to:

- Shut down the Israeli Embassy

- End all trade and other relations with Israel

- Prosecute corporations "complicit" in Israel's violation of international law

- Prosecute South Africans who enlist in the Israel Defence Forces

- Outlaw Zionism as "a form of racial supremacy equivalent to apartheid"

The march was supported by Mothers4Gaza members and their families, who have been advocating for an end to the violence in Gaza. Irene Govender, of Mothers4Gaza, said, "We need the bombings to stop. The killing has to stop. The time for talking is over. We need to save the people of Gaza and Palestine."

Professor Usuf Chikte of the PSC echoed this sentiment, calling for a full boycott of Israel. "Israel is committing a genocide and practising apartheid. We are heeding the call, the desperate cry from Gaza, from the West Bank, from the occupied territories of the Palestinians," he added.

The march comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the UN General Assembly in New York, saying, "There is growing global consensus that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. As Palestinians continue to face genocide and famine, we have a duty to act."

The protesters' demands reflect the growing concern about the situation in Gaza and the need for international action to protect human rights and prevent further suffering.