Cachalia’s conscience on Palestine should be commended
3 November 2023
Ghaleb Cachalia, the DA MP, should be commended for having the courage of his convictions to speak out against the genocide being perpetrated by the State of Israel against Palestinians.
Like many South Africans of his age, who experienced apartheid, Cachalia relates to the struggles of Palestinians for freedom and dignity. His party leader, John Steenhuisen, on the other hand, clearly doesn’t.
Steenhuisen yesterday kicked Cachalia out of his shadow cabinet for expressing his views on Palestine.
Apparently the only person in the party allowed to speak about Palestine is its shadow minister of international relations. According to Steenhuisen, by speaking out against the genocide, Cachalia had shown disregard for the DA and undermined his leadership.
The only inference to be drawn from Steenhuisen’s response is that DA believes Israel has the right to bomb innocent Gazans, withhold basic services including critically needed medical supplies, and forcibly remove those Gazans it has not been able to kill.
Instead of hiding behind the non-statements of its shadow minister for international relations, whose objective in chief appears to be not to offend the State of Israel (or the party’s funders, perhaps), the DA should clearly explain where it stands to its supporters.
Does it believe Israel has the right to perpetrate genocide or not? And, if it doesn’t, why snap at Cachalia to sit down?
Cachalia, meanwhile, must either resign on principle or quietly accept his designated DA role as a servant in his master’s kitchen, do what he’s told and leave the important issues to more important people.
The GOOD Party calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The genocide must end. It’s a matter not only of justice but also of values and common decency.
We call on our members and all good South Africans to spread this message, whether they are designated spokesmen and women or not.
Issued by Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament, 3 November 2023
