PRESS STATEMENT
You Can Kill the Messenger, But Not the Message
01 June 2022
The African continent’s largest full-time Palestine solidarity organization, #Africa4Palestine, South Africa’s ruling party, the ANC, the country’s largest trade union federation, COSATU and one of the country’s oldest political organisations, the SACP, have put up massive digital billboards in Gauteng depicting the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Locations include the entrances of Johannesburg CBD, Sandton CBD and Pretoria CBD.
The billboards have four large maps of Palestine showing Israel’s unlawful and increasing domination of Palestine. The maps are accompanied by the simple text: “Israeli theft of Palestinian land”
The billboards, running under the campaign “You Can Kill The Messenger, But Not The Message”, were erected following the Israeli murder of AlJazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh.
These “vanishing maps of Palestine” were chosen because they so plainly show Israel’s colonisation of Palestine over the years and are one of the clearest representations of Israel’s violation of international law. This madness has to end. We hope that the billboards will make more people aware of the plight of the Palestinians and the fact that the indigenous Palestinians now live on less than 20 percent of their former homeland due to Israel’s illegal occupation. Click here for more information on the vanishing maps of Palestine.
Similar billboards were erected in 2014 and sparked national controversy. At the time, the advertising company, Continental Outdoor Media, that put up the billboards was pressured by the Israeli lobby (the SA Jewish Board of Deputies and the SA Zionist Federation) to remove the billboards. However, #Africa4Palestine (represented by the Legal Resources Center) took the issue to court – and won. The company was forced to ignore the Israeli lobby and replace the Palestine billboards.
Having previously tried and failed, #Africa4Palestine does not anticipate any legal action from the Israeli lobby this time round – the Israeli lobby generally has a poor track record of winning cases in South Africa against the Palestinian solidarity movement.
———-*———-
INVITE TO JOURNALISTS AND MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA
Memorial Picket – Friday 3 June 2022 at 11h00
This coming Friday (3 June 2022) at 11h00, the ANC, SACP, COSATU, NEHAWU, the Embassy of Palestine, #Africa4Palestine and partners will be holding a symbolic memorial picket at the Israeli embassy in Pretoria (428 King’s Highway, Corner Elizabeth Grove, Lynnwood). The memorial picket is in remembrance of the Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh who was murdered last month by an Israeli sniper.
The organisers of the Friday memorial picket are making a special invite to journalists based in South Africa, not necessarily to cover the event but to join in remembrance of a member of the media who was killed for simply doing her job. Journalists, media houses and members of the public and urged to join.
ISSUED BY TISTESO MAGAMA ON BEHALF OF AFRICA4PALESTINE
#Africa4Palestine Director, Muhammed Desai: +27 (0) 81 353 0699
#Africa4Palestine Spokesperson, Tisetso Magama: +27 (0) 61 414 6348
AFRICA4PALESTINE
Suite 3 | Park Center | 75 12th Street | Parkhurst | Johannesburg
PO Box 2318 | Houghton | 2041 | Johannesburg
W: www.africa4palestine.com | E: info@africa4palestine.com | TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@africa4palestine_
www.facebook.com/africa4palestine | www.twitter.com/africa4pal | www.instagram.com/africa4palestine | www.youtube.com/africa4palestine
Africa4Palestine is a registered Non-Profit Company. Registration Number: 2020/549404/08
Africa4Palestine is a registered Section 18 Public Benefit Organization. Registration Number: 930071587
