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To: Minister Parks Tau, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, and the Honourable Mzwandile Masina, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition

Petition to Parliament: Act Against Apartheid Israel, Stop Fuelling Oppression!


[Update: 15 June 2026] This petition has been delivered to Parliament on the 15 June 2026. Thank you for your support. We will keep you updated.

Act Against Apartheid Israel!

We, concerned South Africans, call on Parliament to act decisively against apartheid Israel by ending coal and strategic exports.

We call on Parliament to impose sanctions, support a UN anti-apartheid committee, and enforce South African law against unlawful participation in the Israeli army.

We uphold South Africa’s historic commitment to justice, liberation, and international solidarity.

This online petition runs alongside a physical petition, which has collected more than 15,000 signatures as of 1 June 2026. Both online and physical petitions will be submitted to the Speaker of the National Assembly. [1]

Why is this important?

  1. We support South Africa’s commitment to human rights, international solidarity, and the struggle against oppression everywhere. 

  2. South Africans know from our own history that international pressure, sanctions, and global solidarity are not symbolic gestures. They are powerful tools that can help end injustice.

  3. In 2024, Colombia took a principled and courageous decision to immediately end exports of coal to Israel [2][3]. This action cut off approximately 40% of Israel’s coal supply, directly impacting the energy resources that sustain Israel’s assault on Gaza—an assault which many legal experts, human rights organisations, and states have recognised as genocide.

  4. However, when Colombia acted in solidarity with the Palestinian people, South Africa-based coal exporters rapidly increased their shipments to Israel, effectively replacing Colombia as a supplier [4]. In doing so, these exporters undermine international efforts to isolate Israel. They materially enable the ongoing devastation of Gaza.

  5. South Africa showed moral leadership by taking Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the IDF’s attacks on civilians in Gaza. We are proud of this principled action, which reflected the values of our Constitution and our historic commitment to ending oppression. Yet our leadership is undermined when South Africa’s resources are used to sustain the same violence we condemn.

  6. We cannot condemn oppression while we enable it through trade. We cannot undermine global solidarity against Israel’s systematic and continued destruction of life in Palestine. 

  7. We call for urgent discussion and concrete action to achieve:
    1. The immediate end to trade in South Africa’s natural resources to Israel, especially where such trade aids Israel’s military capacities.
    2. The implementation of appropriate sanctions against apartheid Israel, consistent with South Africa’s constitutional values and its obligations under international law. 
    3. Active support for the re-establishment of an anti-apartheid committee at the United Nations, drawing on the historic precedent that helped isolate apartheid in South Africa.
    4. The full and consistent application of South African law to citizens who serve without authorisation in Israel’s army.

  8. These measures must be accompanied by strong domestic leadership. We call on the government to take proactive steps to protect jobs and livelihoods as trade patterns change, including through export diversification, import substitution, industrial planning, and direct state support.

  9. We believe these steps are necessary to align South Africa’s actions with its stated commitments to human rights, justice, and liberation.

We hereby petition Minister Parks Tau, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, and the Honourable Mzwandile Masina, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition, to take forward this submission and to engage meaningfully with its proposals in order to uphold South Africa’s commitments to human rights and international solidarity.


References

1. Petitions to Parliament. https://www.parliament.gov.za/petitions

2. South Africa boosts coal exports to Israel after Colombia by Sudarshan Varadhan, Wendell Roelf and Steven Scheer for Reuters, 16 December 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africa-boosts-coal-exports-israel-after-colombia-ban-2025-12-16/

3. Coal and South Africa's complicity in the genocide in Gaza by Imraam Bucus for Mail & Guardian, 25 June 2025. https://mg.co.za/thought-leader/2025-06-25-coal-and-south-africas-complicity-in-the-genocide-in-gaza/

4. SA is now Israel’s largest coal supplier, following Colombia’s ban by Ethan van Diemen for News24, 18 December 2025. https://www.news24.com/business/climate-future/energy/sa-is-now-israels-largest-coal-supplier-following-colombias-ban-20251218-0818

Image credit to Seena Mavaddat.

How it will be delivered

The petition will be delivered to the Speaker of the National Assembly, as a petition under the National Assembly Rules. It will then be presented to Minister Parks Tau (Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition) and the Honourable Mzwandile Masina (Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition).

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Updates

2026-07-08 22:09:14 +0200

We have reached a huge milestone. This week, Honourable Andisiwe Kumbaca tabled our petition with the Speaker of the National Assembly. With the combined online and physical petition, more than 21,000 signatures were included. The petition has also been submitted to the Private Office of the President, along with the legal brief prepared by the BDS Coalition. We are in the process of scheduling a meeting with Minister Parks Tau, to take place near the end of the month.

The online petition will remain open until we meet with Minister Tau, so we can provide the most updated figures. Thank you so much for your support in this journey.

2026-05-09 13:00:01 +0200

Supporters attended "Say Palestine: Online Discussion with South Africans for Gaza"

2026-04-08 15:30:40 +0200

Thank you everyone for your support over the last month. We move from strength to strength, with nearly 3,000 online signatures and more than 4,000 collected physically through canvassing. From everyone we've connected with, the message is clear: we cannot condemn oppression while enabling it through trade.

We aim to table the petition with the Speaker of the National Assembly in early May. We will also send a delegation of progressive stalwarts to discuss the details of the petition with Minister Parks Tau (Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition) and the Honourable Mzwandile Masina, who chairs the relevant portfolio committee in Parliament. We need your help securing as many signatures as possible. It must be clear that South Africans across the country are deeply concerned.

Please share the petition widely. If you can help collect physical signatures, or would like booklets to use at an event you're organising, please get in touch.

2026-03-26 14:56:43 +0200

Onward! We are now at nearly 6,000 signatures (physical + digital).

On Monday, the South African BDS Coalition delivered a superb dossier to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, provided a detailed factual and legal argument why we must stop coal exports to Israel - and how it is within Minister Tau's powers to do so. You can access the report here: https://www.sabdscoalition.org/sitepad-data/uploads//2026/03/Fuelling-Genocide-23.3.26.pdf

We're gaining more and more momentum. Keep pushing!

2026-03-03 20:59:27 +0200

1,000 signatures reached

2026-03-02 11:09:48 +0200

500 signatures reached

2026-02-26 21:14:49 +0200

100 signatures reached

2026-02-26 14:50:57 +0200

50 signatures reached

2026-02-26 13:21:55 +0200

25 signatures reached

2026-02-26 12:35:09 +0200

10 signatures reached