Galloway and Ridley bring Palestine solidarity message to Cape Town - IOL

Former British MP and leader of the Workers Party of Britain George Galloway and journalist Yvonne Ridley addressing the media in the Bo-Kaap during the Power Tour.

‘Colonialism never died; it just took a different form’.

This is according to British politician George Galloway addressing the media in Cape Town on Wednesday. 

Galloway and journalist Yvonne Ridley are currently on their Power Tour, which aims to raise awareness of the plight of the people of Palestine and broader human rights issues. It comes at a moment when South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice has placed the country, and other allies, at the centre of the global debate.

Speaking to the media, Galloway emphasised that the plight of Palestinians was not their own, but that of everyone who was witnessing the genocide.  

Galloway and his wife are currently living in exile after they were detained and questioned by counter-terrorism police at London Gatwick Airport in September 2025, following a trip to Russia.

He explained how his wife was grilled by armed officials over her fingernails that were painted in Palestinian flag colours. Galloway is also running his election campaign from South Africa. 

“This is genocide because it is the intention for Palestinians to disappear,” he said. 

Galloway, who worked with the ANC during the apartheid era, said that during apartheid, the regime needed the Black people for its workforce and customer base; however, Israel wants Palestine without the Palestinians. 

He said Palestinians were chased out of their own country with the threat that their lives would be taken, and it was shameful that three generations of Palestinians were living in refugee camps. 

“Colonialism never died. It just took another form. In the case of Palestine, they [Israel] don’t just want things like oil and gas; they want the country but without its people.”  

Galloway stated that those who still supported Israel did so due to a moral obligation due to the holocaust. 

Galloway said those speaking out against Israel are immediately called out for antisemitism, which is defined as prejudice, discrimination, or hatred directed against Jewish people.

However, he could never be antisemitic because during his time in Cape Town while undercover for the ANC, every room he stayed in, meal he enjoyed, and every rand he had in his pocket came from Jewish activists. 

“Antisemitism is a real thing because it led to the holocaust,” he said, but urged people not to use the term loosely, saying it was dangerous to do so. 

Ridley described being detained by Israeli forces while visiting a girls' school in Palestine. She explained how the Israeli soldiers took her hearing aid and removed her batteries. 

Ridley said media houses had failed to remain true to their journalism craft, citing the BBC’s one-sided reporting of the genocide as ‘disappointing’. She urged the media not to lose their journalistic integrity and report the facts as seen, and emphasised the importance of words in the current climate. 

“South Africa wrote the book on resistance, rising up and using words,” she said. 

Ridley said she was aware that South Africa was still exporting coal to Israel and urged South Africans to go to the depots and halt the practice. 

Galloway said the problem is "the sickness of ideology in Zionism". 

Speaking of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said: “The logic of believing you are a supreme people leads to even more of an extremist.” 

Galloway said America was no more than Israel’s proxy. 

“Trump signed off on 2,000 bombs to go to Israel. And for what? There are barely two bricks left in Palestine. These bombs are for tents!” he said. 

Ridley said Zionism was growing in the Western Cape. 

“Zionism gets out, spreads, eats everything. It destroys everything. This is what is happening now in the Western Cape. Zionism is growing and spreading in South Africa. The last thing South Africa needs is another colonisation,” she said. 

Ridley encouraged South Africans and the government to continue the fight for a free Palestine. 

“Netanyahu knows the end is coming. That doesn’t mean that is the end of Zionism,” she said. 

“I don’t know what is in the DNA of the Palestinians, but they have hope,” Ridley said. 

While there may be talk of giving up by those around the world, Galloway said the Palestinians show no sign of giving up. 

“They all say they have faith in their God. They say God is sufficient. I see no signs of Palestinians giving up. I don’t believe it will happen. If they did. We would have ourselves to blame,” he said. 

Despite the extensive loss suffered in the past three years, Galloway said Palestinians continue to marry and have children, and, whether in exile or still in the country, their children still refer to themselves as being from Palestine. 

Galloway said history would harshly judge those who remain silent on the genocide of a nation. 

“We will live in a time when everyone will claim they were on our side. It happened with the Germans. It happened with apartheid in South Africa. Soon no one will say 'I foolishly supported Israel',” he said. 

Galloway said attitudes around the world were changing and political figures were now realising which side they needed to support.