Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za
3-minute read | 03 September 2025 | 16:48 CAT

📸 All eyes on the Sumud Flotilla – 40 boats, One Mission: break the siege on Gaza.

On 1 September, Radio Islam International spoke with Professor Jared Sacks, solidarity activist, Jewish South African writer, and member of the Sumud Flotilla sailing to Gaza. With a PhD in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Dr Sacks brings both scholarly expertise and a lived commitment to the fight for Palestinian freedom.

Dr Sacks’ decision to join the flotilla stems from a deeply personal reckoning. “Growing up in a community that teaches you to love Israel above all else then finding out that what you’ve been taught is not actually the truth changed everything for me,” he explained. “Realising that what is happening in Palestine is being done in my name as a Jewish person, it felt like something I needed to take up and oppose.”

The Sumud Flotilla represents a global collective effort to challenge Israel’s 18-year blockade of Gaza. With nearly 40 ships sailing together, the mission combines humanitarian intent with political symbolism. “This is not just about aid, it’s about challenging a system of colonisation,” Sacks said. “If we act as a large collective, we have a bigger chance of having an impact.”

Critics dismiss such flotillas as symbolic gestures. But Sacks drew a sharp comparison to South Africa’s liberation struggle: “In the 1970s, Apartheid seemed unbreakable. Yet 1976 became a turning point. Any struggle against oppression starts with acts that seem hopeless. The Apartheid designation is not only valid for Palestine, it’s worse.”

At the time of the interview, Sacks was in Tunis, awaiting favourable weather to join vessels departing from Barcelona. He acknowledged the risks, interception, abduction, and harassment by Israeli forces and insisted that silence was not an option.

For South Africans and the global public who feel powerless, Professor Sacks offered both hope and a challenge: “Not everyone needs to board a ship. But signing petitions, protesting, donating, and amplifying Palestinian voices all matter. Each act contributes to a stronger collective. Together, we can create a tsunami of resistance.”

As the Sumud Flotilla pushes forward, its activists carry a defiant message across seas: solidarity is not passive. It is active, global, and unyielding in the face of injustice.

Listen to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up with Annisa Essack and Professor Jared Sacks.