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South African Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils speaking with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. (AP)
Last update - 10:06 31/05/2007
South Africa's largest trade union seeks to boycott Israel
By Cnaan Liphshiz, Haaretz Correspondent

South Africa's largest trade union federation will launch a campaign against "the Israeli occupation of Arab lands" this week, demanding that Pretoria impose a boycott on all Israeli goods and break diplomatic relations. South African Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils, who is Jewish, told Haaretz that he actively supported the initiative - which contradicts the policy of his own cabinet.

The president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), Willy Madisha, announced the launching of the campaign last week in Johannesburg, calling on the government to cease all diplomatic relations with Israel after its attacks on Palestinian leaders.

"The best way to have Israel comply with United Nations resolutions is to pressure it by a diplomatic boycott such as the one imposed on apartheid South Africa," Madisha said. Cosatu belongs to a recently-formed coalition of organizations operating under the banner "End The Occupation."
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Kasrils' anti-Israeli organization Not In My Name belongs to the coalition working toward an embargo on Israel. This runs contrary to South Africa's official stance, and to President Thabo Mbeki's decision to strengthen trade ties with Israel. Mbeki, who heads the ANC ruling party, even appeared as a guest at Israel's Independence Day celebrations in Durban last month.

Kasrils, a member of the ANC, told Haaretz that his support for severing all ties with Israel was not in opposition to his cabinet's policy. "Cosatu is an ANC ally in the coalition against the Israeli occupation. Most elements of this coalition call for boycotting Israel, although the ANC does not," he said.

"We respect their right to encourage people to boycott Israeli goods. As a South African consumer I personally will not purchase Israeli goods until Israel changes its present policy regarding the Palestinians."

Cosatu's spokesman, Patrick Craven, said Kasrils was involved in directing the campaign for imposing a political and economic embargo on Israel. "This is intended to include the diamond trade," he added.

Craven acknowledged that his organization's primary objectives did not pertain to the Middle East, noting that while Cosatu's main goal was improving the material conditions of its 1.8 million members, "it could not stand idly by as Israel perpetrated atrocities in Palestine." Adding that he anticipated "some short-term damage" to South Africa's economy following the boycott, Carven said the damage was "vastly outweighed by the importance of stopping injustice."

The campaign that Cosatu has helped mount will begin Friday, with sermons in South Africa's mosques on "the plight of the Palestinian people". The Christian organizations of the coalition will begin addressing the issue in churches Sunday.

The organizers intend to picket across South Africa next week, including a picket by members of parliament and a candlelight vigil outside the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg. The ANC ruling party has called for a parliamentary debate on "Israeli occupation."

Campaign activists will also hold pickets outside selected stores selling Israeli goods. The events will culminate in mass marches and rallies on Saturday, June 9, both in Cape Town and Johannesburg
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  1.   kasrils.Remember Flavius Josephus? 02:51  |  bat yam 31/05/07
  2.   Then there were two 02:57  |  Chris 31/05/07
  3.   Good! One apartheid down, another to go! 03:02  |  Jan 31/05/07
  4.   Who Cares? 03:02  |  Semsem 31/05/07
  5.   Israel - Are You waking Up ? 03:03  |  chet 31/05/07
  6.   Israel paying the price of supporting apartheid 03:03  |  Ginger 31/05/07
  7.   Kasrils is a brave Jew indeed 03:07  |  Donna 31/05/07
  8.   White South Africans are besieged! 03:13  |  Ano 31/05/07
  9.   South Africa silent on muslims committing genocide in darfur 03:26  |  Seth 31/05/07
  10.   South Africa 03:29  |  Meni 31/05/07
  11.   Bat Yam & Ginger 03:34  |  spikeTelAviv 31/05/07
  12.   Twisted View of Reality 03:40  |  Sheldon 31/05/07
  13.   Ano in Pretoria 03:42  |  wibism 31/05/07
  14.   we must get aggressive against these racist bigoted group 03:45  |  ralph 31/05/07
  15.   maybe time toi buy french products boycott s. africa 03:45  |  ralph 31/05/07
  16.   SA debt to Israel should be repaid first , only than 03:46  |  Sal 31/05/07
  17.   "The best way to have Israel comply with United Nations---" 03:48  |  PETER SM 31/05/07
  18.   HAARETZ Kasrils was born Jewish, his beliefs are uberleft 03:51  |  PETER SM 31/05/07
  19.   Another White South African 03:59  |  Terry 31/05/07
  20.   Boycott 04:01  |  Civilisation 31/05/07
  21.   Let South Africa drown in its growing violence and poverty 04:05  |  Maya 31/05/07
  22.   To Chris, Jan, Semsem, Chet, Ginger, Donna 04:08  |  Barry 31/05/07
  23.   Kasrils is no Jew. No Jew in his right mind would ever be 04:14  |  Steve 31/05/07
  24.   Wibism and the World`s Destruction 04:20  |  Barry 31/05/07
  25.   s.a.ignorance-Israels weakness 04:23  |  DOV KORET 31/05/07
  26.   SA and Israel 04:30  |  Barry 31/05/07
  27.   Let me see if I`ve got this straight 04:30  |  Mark 31/05/07
  28.   To Barry 04:31  |  SpikeTelAviv 31/05/07
  29.   OIL OIL OIL 04:37  |  TOBIA 31/05/07
  30.   Donna Thank you 04:38  |  Danite 31/05/07
  31.   To Sal and other racists 04:39  |  david 31/05/07
  32.   Ronnie Kassrils is truely, a modern day hero! 04:43  |  Maureen Ann 31/05/07
  33.   South Africa 04:47  |  Brod 31/05/07
  34.   PETER SM (Post No. 18) 04:58  |  Johnny Weintraub 31/05/07
  35.   Reply to Steve (Post No. 23). 05:07  |  Johnny Weintraub 31/05/07
  36.   Leave Ronnie alone 05:22  |  Elvis Kasrils 31/05/07
  37.   Leave Ronnie alone 05:22  |  Elvis Kasrils 31/05/07
  38.   Elvis Kasrils 06:00  |  Connie 31/05/07
  39.   Uncle Tom Kasrils 06:09  |  Remy Martin 31/05/07
  40.   Donna Mengele? 06:11  |  Rulon Harper 31/05/07
  41.   Kasrils - Hobnobbing with Hamas and Iranian leaders 06:14  |  Tod Zuckerman 31/05/07
  42.   South African Hypocracy 06:23  |  John Phee 31/05/07
  43.   KASRILS, YOUR COMPARISON IS SPURIOUS! 06:26  |  Leon 31/05/07
  44.   THE `New" South Africa give them time to achieve total anarchy 06:29  |  PETER SM 31/05/07
  45.   J.Weintraub.Doctrinaire Communist Jews were some of Stalins worst 06:32  |  PETER SM 31/05/07
  46.   Fallwell Said The Anti-Christ Would Be A Jew 06:36  |  Yosemite 31/05/07
  47.   Bravo to South Africa`s Largest Trade Union 06:40  |  Timothy 31/05/07
  48.   SA, who cares?! But we remember ... 06:42  |  Avraham 31/05/07
  49.   #38 Well golly day, Connie, got to that gnawing job 06:56  |  ballistic 31/05/07
  50.   Kasrils 07:02  |  Michael Bergman 31/05/07
  51.   Split the world now! 07:02  |  Judge 31/05/07
  52.   trade union 07:03  |  rico 31/05/07
  53.   #36 never... 07:07  |  misha 31/05/07
  54.   KAPPO KASRILS! 07:08  |  Citizen 31/05/07
  55.   #7 South Africa should be ashamed 07:16  |  Fortunee 31/05/07
  56.   #45 Throw away your computer 07:18  |  Laila 31/05/07
  57.   CuttheBS 07:19  |  Shlomi 31/05/07
  58.   #45 Bravo to the South African government Timothy 07:28  |  Mark 31/05/07
  59.   Kasrils 07:38  |  Garry 31/05/07
  60.   Response to 45 07:41  |  Ros 31/05/07
  61.   Blacks memories 07:42  |  tshabalala 31/05/07
  62.   MAUREEN IN AUSTRALIA 07:48  |  gary 31/05/07
  63.   Why these reprehensible boycotts? 07:50  |  Esther 31/05/07
  64.   TIMOTHY.Will boycotts&sanctions make Arabs accept UN resolutions& 07:51  |  PETER SM 31/05/07
  65.   And have the hypocrites boycotted Zimbabwe already? 07:55  |  Dan 31/05/07
  66.   Let Historical Facts Do All the Talking 07:56  |  Kenneth Mathabane 31/05/07
  67.   Response for Ginger #6 07:59  |  Esther 31/05/07
  68.   It`s Payback Time 08:01  |  Walid 31/05/07
  69.   SA Trade Union Hippocracy 08:05  |  Ron Erez 31/05/07
  70.   Here we go again 08:05  |  D.R. Zukerman 31/05/07
  71.   Leon 08:13  |  Walid 31/05/07
  72.   Thank you South Africa 08:14