Radical Black nationalist politician Julius Malema, founder of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, has vowed to fully support Hamas if his party wins a majority in the upcoming election. Malema, who has previously stood in solidarity with Vladimir Putin and called for the genocide of White farmers, is now pledging to supply the Gaza-based militant group with weapons for its ongoing war with Israel.
According to the Middle East Media Research Institute, Malema made his pledge of support for Hamas in late October, but reports of his comments did not circulate internationally until this week.
“There is nothing wrong with what Hamas did,” Malema declared during a televised protest outside the Israeli embassy in the city of Pretoria. “When you are oppressed, the only option you have is to fight, and that is what Hamas is doing. They are fighting for their freedom.”
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Drawing parallels between the October 7 attacks on Israel and South Africa’s own revolutionary history, Malema continued:
Mandela did the same thing, [he] took up the guns, and fought for the freedom of the people of South Africa. When you are oppressed, you only have one option. Confront the enemy and shoot to kill, do not kiss the enemy. Why do you want to kiss the enemy?
People came and took the land of the Palestinians. Every year, they extend their occupation. When you look at the map of Palestine, there is nothing left of the land in Palestine. The people of Palestine have got nothing to lose but their chains…Condemning Hamas is an act of cowardice.
I heard some fools saying we can’t compare Hamas with Mandela – they are the same…There is nothing wrong with what Hamas is doing.
Malema also addressed the political ambitions of the far-left, Marxist, pan-African EFF in the coming year. For the first time since its founding in 2013, the radical party is poised to take a controlling position in the South African Parliament. The EFF was the nation’s third-largest political party in the 2019 elections, taking over 10 percent of the vote. It has only grown since then, and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) may lose the majority for the first time ever.
In the event that his party is successful, Malema plans to make his support for Hamas a matter of official policy:
The EFF – when it takes over next year – is going to arm Hamas and make sure Hamas has got the necessary equipment to fight for their freedom.
Comrades, we are not only going to arm Hamas, we are going to remove this [Israeli] embassy, because we can’t stay with murderers in the same area, and breathe the same air with people who kill innocent people.
While the EFF awaits the election later this year, one of Malema’s lawyers, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, is representing South Africa in a case with the International Court of Justice charging Israel with genocide in Gaza.
Related: South Africa Accuses Israel of “Genocide” in Gaza, Files Case with World Court
Ironically, Malema himself has been charged with inciting genocide in his own home country.
In late July, led an arena full of supporters in a chant of “Kill the Boer,” an Apartheid-era struggle song that celebrates the murder of White Dutch farmers (Boers) who colonized South Africa in the 17th-19th centuries.
Though Malema and his defenders argue that the song is entirely metaphorical, the infamous “Farm Murders” have claimed the lives of more than 2,500 White farmers in recent decades. Despite the high death toll, the South African government refuses to acknowledge or address the problem.
The 2024 general election in South Africa will begin within 90 days of the end of the current Parliamentary term, which concludes in mid-May.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer covering politics, culture, and business for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X (Twitter).
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