By Nurah Tape – The Palestine Chronicle 
“Under the guise of a ‘dialogue’, the goal of the event is to pave over the suffering of Palestinians by weaving new narratives about ‘the conflict’.”
A controversial conference in South Africa, aimed at discussing “Narrative conditions toward peace in the Middle East,” faced opposition from critics and civil society organizations. The conference, organized by the New South Institute under the banner of African Global Dialogues, was slated to run from September 18 to 20 at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg.
However, the conference organizers were denied permission to use Constitution Hill as a venue, with the BDS Coalition and other groups labeling it as an attempt at “genocide washing” and part of a Zionist propaganda narrative. Various speakers, including Israeli historian Benny Morris, faced backlash for their participation in the event.
The ANC Deputy Secretary-General and protesters criticized the conference, highlighting its potential to normalize Zionism and downplay the Palestinian cause. Despite the backlash, the organizers insisted that the conference would proceed, although details were yet to be confirmed at the time of publication.