ON SUNDAY Heinz Winckler, a local Pastor, posted images of what appears to be a Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) demonstration outside Cape Union Mart, in Canal Walk, Cape Town. The demonstrators can be seen holding Pan Arab flags (common to Jordan, Palestine, Western Sahara), and placards claiming Operation Al Aqsa Flood never happened — “Israel killed its own, blames Hamas” read one placard.

Cape Union Mart, which has no branches in Israel, filed papers last month against PSC, over what they say are false claims the local franchise is  ‘genocide funder’.

In its application, Cape Union Mart asked the court to interdict/restrain PSC from harassing and intimidating customers and staff.

The application claims that the ongoing protests and boycott campaign at its stores have resulted in financial losses and reputational damage and urges the respondents to stop making claims that the retailer and its associated brands “fund genocide, killing children, or are complicit in the killing of children.”

Cape Union Mart’s legal advisor, Simone Sulcas was quoted as saying: “Cape Union Mart, together with its Executive Chairman, Philip Krawitz, categorically state that they have never donated funds to the Israeli army or Israeli government. More specifically, Cape Union Mart has never donated funds to any entities outside of South Africa, and its Executive Chairman has only donated funds for humanitarian purposes,” Sulcas said.

“Cape Union Mart fully respects and upholds the rule of law that governs all South Africans, which includes freedom of expression and the right to protest.  As such, Cape Union Mart emphasizes in its application that it does not seek an order preventing the protestors from expressing themselves. However, this must be done without the continued spreading of defamatory falsehoods and with due regard to the rights of Cape Union Mart’s customers and the general public not to be harassed.

In other news, PSC has released a statement opposing the existence of Israel and taking exception to the Konrad Adenauer Institute’s insertion of a requirement for donor funding, asking ‘South African applicants to declare “Israel has a right to exist”, a political litmus test for entry into our Parliament.’

Unlike PSC, South Africa’s founder, the late Nelson Mandela was adamant that both Palestine and Israel have a right to peaceful coexistence, and that his support for the Palestinian struggle did not negate the ANC support of the right of Israel to exist as a state for the Jewish people.