In Praise of Palestine & South Africa

Support South Africa at the World Court

Indict Israel for Genocide

Join the Central Coast Antiwar Coalition at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse for music from Palestine and South Africa, readings from South Africa’s World Court filing, and speeches by local activists organizing global support for South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, the highest judicial body of the United Nations.

Background

On Jan. 11 and 12, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague will hold hearings on South Africa’s case invoking the UN Genocide Convention to charge Israel with genocide in Gaza. To support South Africa and Palestine during the hearings, the Central Coast Antiwar Coalition will hold a rally featuring Palestinian and South African tunes, local musicians on drums and saxophone, Palestinian and South African poetry, and speeches from Palestinian Halima Sophia Fadila and peace candidate Helena Pasquarella, challenging Salud Carbjal in the March 5th election for Congress.

“We want to uplift the work of South Africa in holding Israel accountable for genocide, ” said Marcy Winograd, co-chair of the Central Coast Antiwar Coalition. “This is a historic moment. The Nazi holocaust during World War II led to a near universal global resolve to say never again to genocide. Never again means never again anywhere. If we can’t stop a genocide livestreamed, in real time, then we are all in jeopardy and no one is safe. Israeli genocide has killed over 22,000 Gazans, 10,000 of them children, while Israel’s bombs have left 53,000 wounded, many of them orphans and amputees. Israeli genocide has uprooted two million from their homes without food and water, with no place to escape. We are in a position to save countless lives through the rule of law, so let us applaud South Africa for upholding the rule of law.”

The Central Coast Antiwar Coalition helped collect some of the 30,000 signatories to a petition launched by CODEPINK, a partner of the Central Coast Antiwar Coalition, to support South Africa at the International Court of Justice. Coalition members are participating in CODEPINK’s campaign to appeal to other countries’ governments to support South Africa’s filing at the World Court by submitting a Declaration of Intervention, which is analogous to a friend of the court brief. The CODEPINK campaign has seen dozens of grassroots peace ambassadors meet with UN Missions, DC ambassadors and consulate generals across the country. “South Africa is undertaking a principled and difficult stand against both genocide and the denial of its reality by one of the world’s greatest economic and military powers: the US,” added Omar Figueredo, co-chair for the antiwar coalition. “People in the US and around the world have been courageously bearing witness to Israel’s deliberate mass slaughter of Palestinians since October 7, while the US government and a minority of world states continue to deny the reality before the people’s eyes. Against this backdrop of denialism, South Africa’s complaint before the ICJ is all the more courageous and deserving of our praise and support.”