Dozens of BDS protesters and other anti-Israel activists raided a store in the Sammy Marks industrial park in Pretoria, South Africa, causing thousands of dollars of damage. They were protesting because the store sold products made in Israel. At the end of the riot, Pretoria police arrested 21 teens between the ages of 16 and 18.
What began as a planned protest, accompanied by signs with slogans like, “Israel is the Devil’, turned into a riot as they entered the store and began destroying merchandise and equipment, throwing rocks, attacking employees, and looting.
Ynet reported that the industrial park is named after Sammy Marks, a famous South African Jewish financier. The Woolworth chain of stores has long been a target for boycott advocates, who in the past placed a decapitated pig’s head at the entrance to a branch which sells kosher meat.
Pretoria police said the teens would be brought before a judge and then released to their homes under strict limitations.
It would appear that other groups joined forces with BDS. On their Facebook page, COSAS called for people to participate in the protest turned riot. In a chilling statement, they said the next target will be the Israeli Embassy:
“This business of capitals and petty bourgeoisie must close shop. The Congress of South African students is prepared to lead and participate in this struggle as long as some of the people killed in Palestine are school children, with the remaining ones living in fear and most of the time denied the right to education. The next stop will be the Israel Embassy in South Africa, this embassy must be shut down until they free the people of Palestine in their country and restore peace and stability.Issued by the Congress of South African Students.”
Source: JPUpdates
