Pharrell Williams performing at the 57th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, in Los Angeles. (John Shearer/Invision via AP Images)
(JTA) — Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside a concert in Cape Town, South Africa, by the American pop star Pharrell Williams.
Reports put the number of protesters in front of the GrandWest casino on Monday night at between 500 and 2,000. Organizers from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement had predicted that 16,000 protesters would attend, according to the South African Eye Witness News, or EWN.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have been agitating against Williams since he concluded a promotional deal with the major national retailer Woolworths over its trade ties with Israel. Woolworths denies sourcing produce from the West Bank or other disputed territories. The firm is not related to the U.S. chain F.W. Woolworth Company.
Concert organizers had filed a lawsuit against the local BDS branch to limit the number of protesters, but withdrew the legal action days before the performance.
Members of the African National Congress, which in recent weeks has threatened Jewish students who visit Israel and has called for a ban on dual citizenship to prevent its citizens from serving in the Israeli military, also joined the protest, according to EWN.
Williams is scheduled to perform in Johannesburg on Thursday.
