This week one our international allies, the Good Shepherd Collective, is visit South Africa for #Week4Palestine (May 1-7, 2025), which is being organized by another one of our international allies, #Africa4Palestine. On this occasion, we would like to take the opportunity to highlight these two outstanding anti-zionist and anti-colonial organizations that have been committed allies and collaborators in advocating for the liberation of Palestine.
The Week4Palestine is a week-long series of 100+ events in 10 countries, dedicated to raising awareness, fostering solidarity, and advocating for justice and liberation for the Palestinian people. The events include marches, talks, educational workshops, cultural performances, rallies, and more. This year’s theme is Red Card Israel, the campaign to exclude Israel from international sporting bodies and organizations such as UEFA and FIFA. It follows the successful sporting boycott against apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, calling for a similar united front against Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism, which has systematically denied Palestinians their basic rights, including their right to participate in sports.
The Good Shepherd Collective
The Good Shepherd Collective was formed in Palestine in 2017 in response to the restrictive NGO system and its inability to meet the needs of the moment. GSC understands oppression as rooted in the systems and laws guiding civil formation and order. As such, GSC is an anti-zionist, anti-colonial, and, by definition, anti-capitalist organization. GSC is committed to resisting injustice and dismantling the structures of settler-colonialism. They advocate for justice through a process of decolonization that ushers in a future where the material resources and political process are decoupled from capitalist systems of control and returned to the indigenous peoples.
They challenge existing political formations and help to usher in new emergent groups to confront liberal thought and praxis. Rejecting neoliberal identity politics, they prioritize decolonial and anti-zionist critique. Our mission is to shatter oppressive systems and fight for the true liberation and justice of Palestinians.
Africa4Palestine
#Africa4Palestine is a human rights organisation lending solidarity and support to the Palestinian people (and their progressive Jewish Israeli allies) living under Israeli occupation. The organization is involved in awareness raising initiatives, legal campaigns, enhancing government and political relations between Palestine and countries on the African continent as well as strengthening people to people relations between Palestine and Africa.
The organisation was formerly known as BDS South Africa (which was established in 2009), however, in 2020, following an incredible decade of BDS successes and victories in South Africa, BDS South Africa, after consultation with its partners, rebranded and broadened its mandate to become #Africa4Palestine.
At the time, BDS South Africa was recognised by the Palestinian leadership, the Israeli government and within South Africa as one of the most active and significant organisations working on Palestine solidarity in the world. #Africa4Palestine, having the same Board Members, Staff and Governance Structure but with an expanded mandate.
#Africa4Palestine operates from their head office in Parkhurst (Johannesburg) maintaining our work in South Africa but also, in line with our broadened mandate, actively forging relations beyond South Africa with other solidarity groups, trade unions, political formations, and human rights organizations on the African continent.
#Africa4Palestine is a registered NPO and PBO and a member of South Africa’s largest Palestine solidarity coalition, the NC4P.