Sprawling Anti-Israel Rallies Hit London and Cape Town
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Tens of thousands of people protested Israel’s operation against Gaza in both London and Cape Town.
Demonstrators in central London marched though the West End shopping area and on to Hyde Park for a rally on Saturday.
It is the third major demonstration on behalf of Gaza in London in the last month. Organizers said 150,000 people participated in the rally, though police declined to give exact figures.
British politicians against the operation also participated in the demonstrations.
Also on Saturday, a similar rally in Cape Town in South Africa reportedly drew between 30,000 and 50,000 people. Protesters carried signs with phrases such as “Israel is an apartheid state” and “Stop Israeli murder.”
The protesters marched through the center of the city to the national parliament. A group of Jews also marched with the protesters, carrying signs reading “Jewish not Zionist.”
Nelson Mandela’s grandson, South African lawmaker Mandla Mandela joined the demonstration promising he would take the crowd’s demands to Parliament. “Our freedom is not complete without the freedom of Palestinians,” he said, quoting his grandfather.
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