The South African anti-apartheid cathedral that’s now a pro-Palestine hub
Al Jazeera
As Israel’s war on Gaza enters a second year, weekly vigils at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town call for peace.
Cape Town, South Africa – At the corner of a main intersection in the heart of Cape Town’s city centre stands the oldest cathedral in Southern Africa.
Every Wednesday for more than 52 weeks, a sombre crowd has gathered on the stone steps outside the towering Gothic building, many with placards and Palestinian keffiyehs, as they call for an end to Israel’s more than yearlong war on Gaza.
“We are all suffering from secondary trauma watching the brutality, but we find peace in each other,” said Imam Rashied Omar, a Muslim religious leader at the Claremont mosque just south of the city.
Beside him on the stairs of St George’s Cathedral is a multicultural mix of antiwar demonstrators – including Christian and Jewish activists. Megan Choritz from South African Jews for a Free Palestine, an organisation working towards a just and peaceful end to the conflict, also joins the vigil every week.
“We have been meeting for more than 50 weeks … We have been consistent, no matter the rain, to show our solidarity for the people of Palestine,” Omar told Al Jazeera.
