Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2014-07-21

A petition against the attacks on Palestinians in Gaza by Israel has been signed by Jewish South Africans.

In the petition, Jewish South Africans said: We, as South Africans of Jewish descent, strongly condemn the Israeli bombing of the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

Israeli attacks, with the stated objective of halting Palestinian rocket fire and destroying the military infrastructure of Hamas, have included heavy aerial, navy and tank bombardment of Gaza.

This aggression is in the context of a seven-year Israeli blockade of Gaza which has severely damaged health and sanitary infrastructure, destroyed employment opportunities and led to a severe shortage of basic necessities.

Israel justifies the operations using the deaths of three young Israelis in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank, whose brutal murders we deplore, but which cannot be a justification for state-sanctioned civilian punishment.

We deplore the continuing rocket fire aimed at Israel.

However, there is virtual unanimity that the scale of the Israeli assault is completely disproportionate.

The impunity with which Israel behaves cannot be tolerated any longer. We believe the time has come for the South African government to sever all links with Israel.

Signed

David Sanders, Leslie London, Judy Favish, Shereen Usdin, Neil Coleman, Raymond Suttner, Zapiro, Laurie Nathan, Max Ozinsky, Melanie Judge, Jane Alexander, Julian Reistein, Sharon Fonn, Jeff Rudin, Suzanne Rudin, Ed Wethli, Brian Hotz, Nathan Geffen, Bradley Bordiss, Robyn Patz, Alan Fine, Jared Sacks, Merle Dietrich, Dana Labe, Alison Swartz, Sue Goldstein, Leonard Shapiro, Heidi Grunebaum, Lorraine Purkey, Richard Hainebach, Marian Nell, Janet Shapiro, Tehillah Niselow, Ben Fogel, Robert Krause, Aliza Levi, Karla Green, Mark Kaplan, Zandi Sherman, Steven Robins, Meghan Finn, Ingrid Hurwitz, Paul Hendler, Audrey Blecher, Tali Cassidy, Mitchell Joffe Hunter, Renee Usdin, Linda Cooper, Melanie Alperstein, Lynne Lomofsky, Michael Moss, Jon Marc Seimon, Josh Budlender, David Fine, Jessica Sherman, Tony Tabatznik, Karen Lazar, Sheila Barsel, Laurel Baldwin-Ragaven, Mark Orkin, Vanessa Barlosky, Sheila Cohen, Laurine Platzky, Clive Emdon

– City Press

(Twitter: @Faizie143)