South Africa 2002-3

 

While antisemitism in South Africa remained at a low level, the total number of antisemitic incidents recorded in 2002, 40, was nevertheless more than double that of the previous year. While they consisted mainly of written or verbal abuse, there were also a few violent incidents. Anti-Israel protests, while attracting fewer participants than in the previous year, were sometimes violent and were marked by antisemitic manifestations. Jewish leaders acted to prevent the 2002 UN World Summit on Sustainable Development from becoming a platform for anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda, as happened at the 2001 UN World Conference against Racism in Durban.

 

THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

South Africa has by far the largest Jewish presence on the African continent, numbering approximately 85,000 out of a total population of some 43 million. Most Jews live in Johannesburg (55,000) and Cape Town (18,000), while other main centers are Durban (2,700) and Pretoria (1,500).

The Jewish community, which peaked at about 120,000 according to the 1980 census, has been in steady decline since the mid-1970s. Political and economic instability and increasing violence during the last two decades of minority white rule were the main causes of the outflow. The exodus of Jews, as well as of other South Africans, has continued since the introduction of non-racial democracy in 1994 due to an unprecedented rise in crime, the introduction of affirmative action policies in the labor market favoring black applicants over white and concerns over declining standards in the areas of public health and education. Another factor has been the political and economic crisis in neighboring Zimbabwe, including racially-motivated discrimination against sections of the white minority population, which has reinforced fears that the white minority in South Africa may be destined to receive similar treatment.

The Jewish community is widely perceived as being particularly prone to emigration, although there is no evidence that the proportion of Jews leaving the country is significantly higher than that of other ethnic groups. Emigration has significantly weakened the community. Rationalization and consolidation initiatives have been instituted in all major centers to ensure the continued running of the various communal organizations, including Jewish day schools and homes for the aged. Despite its diminishing numbers, the Jewish community remains cohesive and well-organized, with a highly developed network of educational and welfare institutions.

The recognized Jewish civil rights organization is the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), which monitors levels of antisemitism in the country and takes action where necessary.

The ruling party in South Africa is the African National Congress (ANC), which controls two-thirds of the seats in the 400-member House of Assembly. While critical of Israeli policies, the ANC has also condemned terrorism and called for a peaceful solution to the conflict. In 2002, the government acknowledged that the previous year’s World Conference against Racism had been marred by the propagation of antisemitism and extreme anti-Israel rhetoric and apologized to the Jewish community.

 

EXTREMIST PARTIES AND HATE GROUPS

Islamic Extremism

There are about one million Muslims in South Africa. Islamic extremist movements tend to have small but militant followings, which are active mainly in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces. They include Qibla, which has ties with the Lebanese Hizballah, and the Islamic Unity Convention (IUC).

The Muslim Judicial Council, while generally regarded as a relatively moderate Muslim voice, has nonetheless come out with some extreme statements regarding the Middle East conflict in recent years. In March, its more militant stand was manifested in its recognition of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hizballah as "legitimate freedom fighters for the liberation of Palestine.”

The Media Review Network (MRN), a Muslim media advocacy group which overtly promotes the ideologies of Muslim extremist organizations the world over, remained active and vocal during 2002, although to a somewhat lesser extent than in the previous year. The MRN has established various front organizations such as the Free Palestine Campaign. While generally steering clear of blatant expressions of antisemitism, the MRN continues to propagate Holocaust denial material on its website.

 

The White Right

Once considered a spent force, the white extreme right was once again in the news following the detonation of nine bombs in one night in the mainly black township of Soweto outside Johannesburg, at the end of October. A tenth bomb damaged a Bahai temple in Bronkhorstspruit. One woman was killed in the blasts, although it appears that the attacks were intended to cause property damage only. Subsequently, there were bomb attacks on bridges in the Eastern Cape. A number of suspects had been arrested by the year’s end. In addition, a right-wing bomb attempt on the World Summit on Sustainable Development (see below) was thwarted. Despite concerns over the re-emergence of the white right-wing, it was believed that Jews were a low priority on their target list.

The most explicit expression of pro-Nazi sympathies on the part of the white right was the holding of a Nazi theme party at a nightclub in Edenvale, bordering Johannesburg, in September. The event included the display of swastikas and the club staff dressing in Nazi uniforms. Pro-Nazi graffiti has reportedly surfaced in Edenvale in recent years.

 

ANTISEMITIC ACTIVITIES

Violence and Vandalism

A total of forty antisemitic incidents were recorded in South Africa during 2002, mainly instances of written or verbal abuse, but also some violent acts. The most serious case of antisemitic violence took place in Johannesburg in September when four Jewish youths were abused by several ‘colored’ men at a gas station, and then shot at as they were pursued in their vehicle for several kilometers. One of the Jewish youths was slightly injured by broken glass.

Anti-Israel protests turned violent on 2 September when about 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators sought to disrupt an address to a mainly Jewish audience by Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. The event took place at the Johannesburg College of Education campus of the University of the Witwatersrand. Jewish guests were subjected to both verbal and physical abuse, with the demonstrators throwing bottles and stones, rocking guests’ cars and blocking off the entrance to the venue. One protest banner read “Down with South African Zionists killing Palestinians.” Protestors reportedly jabbed at the visors of policemen, chanting “Jew lovers!” The demonstrators were forcibly dispersed by police with batons and water cannons and 16 were arrested. Various allegations of police brutality were made and the SAJBD was accused of instructing the police to break up the demonstration (see below).

A noteworthy instance of vandalism was the desecration of a number of graves in the Pinelands and Strand Jewish cemeteries in Cape Town, discovered at the end of December. No damage to the adjoining non-Jewish graves was reported. The incident received widespread coverage in the South African media and was condemned by a number of religious leaders. Three incidents of antisemitic graffiti on Jewish institutions were recorded during the year.

 

Threats and Intimidation

Antisemitic harassment directed against individuals or institutions most commonly took the form of anonymous hate mail. Seventeen such incidents were recorded, of which nine were addressed to Jewish institutions and the remainder to individuals, usually those associated with Jewish organizations. Subject matter included Holocaust denial and Jewish conspiracy theories.

There were ten reported cases of verbal abuse and/or threats directed against Jews. These included an incident in Port Elizabeth, where about 30 Muslims in an open truck drove past the synagogue shouting slogans such as “Free Palestine” and “Death to the Jews” through a bullhorn.

The Cape Town Jewish Community Center, where an Israeli army officer was due to have delivered a lecture, received an anonymous bomb threat from a number confirmed by a police spokesperson as belonging to a fax machine in Parliament. No bomb was found and the caller was not traced.

The SA Zionist Federation received a threatening phone call a few days prior to an Israel solidarity rally in Johannesburg in May. The caller warned that he might attend the rally and “kill all the Jews.” The aliya departments in both Johannesburg and Cape Town also received threatening e-mails about this time.

Several times during the month of June an anonymous caller phoned the King David School in Johannesburg and said a bomb had been planted at the school.

 

Propaganda

The Media

While the print media was generally free of overt anti-Jewish sentiment, a number of columnists exploited the intense anti-Israel mood in the country to extend their attacks to denigrating Jews in general. The most overtly anti-Jewish article in the mainstream press was probably “The Jewish Question, according to Marx” by Mandla Seleoane, which appeared in the Eastern Province Herald of 10 April. The writer, a researcher in the Democracy and Governance Research Program of the Human Rights Research Council, used the anti-Jewish writings of Karl Marx to argue that so long as Jews persisted in the view that they were unique and God’s chosen few, they could not hope for acceptance by the rest of humanity. The article went on to level charges regarding the “extermination” of Palestinians by the Israelis.

Another diatribe by columnist and program manager for the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in Gauteng Province Michael Worsnip, entitled “Conned by History,” appeared in the Pietermaritzburg-based Daily News of 20 May. Amongst other claims, Worsnip asserted that Jews were willing to go to any lengths to prevent their future oppression, even if it meant “killing every Palestinian on the planet... even if it means blowing up children on their way to school, even if it means riding tanks over people in wheelchairs.” Israel was a “monster,” he claimed, and people were too afraid of “Jewish votes and Jewish bucks” to bring it to heel.

A third article that elicited numerous complaints appeared in the magazine Engineering News in February. In “Anyone for a Fifth Crusade,” Phillip Lloyd wrote that “they” treated the land of Israel as if it were “divinely given to them alone and disregard the fact that it is holy to Christians and Muslims as well.” He accused the Israelis of failing to recognize that they were “the beneficiaries of a generous gift” and of “kicking dirt in the donors’ faces ever since.” He suggested in conclusion that perhaps it was time for the launching of a “fifth Crusade” to bring Israel to heel. Following strong complaints from, amongst others, South African Jewish organizations, the editor subsequently repudiated the sentiments expressed in the article.

Periodic reports of antisemitic statements on radio were received. This kind of anti-Jewish propaganda was difficult to monitor and even more difficult to respond to, particularly as it took place mainly in the context of call-in shows, with members of the public participating. A typical example was the contribution of a caller named Imram from East London on the Tim Modise show, who disputed that the Jews were blessed by God and were in fact a cursed race and killers of prophets, which was why they were persecuted wherever they went. Modise replied that in order for there to be harmony, the categorization of groups as “cursed” or “blessed” had to stop.

There was much talk on Islamic radio stations in the Western Cape against people who were volunteering for Israel, thereby freeing Israeli soldiers to go and “kill Palestinians.” One caller suggested attacking those volunteers when they returned, before being cut off by the host.

Following the above-noted confrontation between police and pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the address given by Shimon Peres in September, numerous allegations were made on radio talk shows that the SAJBD and its “private army” (a reference to the Community Security Organization, a Jewish civil protection organization run under the auspices of the Board) had collaborated with the police in ill-treating the protestors. These included a claim, made on the Cape Town Muslim community Radio 786, that the police had threatened a veiled woman with rape on the instructions of the Board.

 

The Internet

A local Muslim website (http://www.sycon.co.za/users/wtc) was reportedly disseminating a variety of antisemitic material, inter alia, referring to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the myth of the 4,000 Jews who did not turn up for work at the World Trade Center on 11 September, and promoting the theory that Israel was behind the attacks. The website of the radical Islamist MRN (http://www.mediareviewnet.com/) intimated that 11 September was a Zionist plot and posted sundry Holocaust denial material.

 

Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism and Criticism of Israeli Policy

The only remark by a public figure that had antisemitic overtones was made, ironically, by Ronnie Kasrils, the Jewish Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry. Kasrils wrote a letter in his capacity as minister to the Sunday Times (13 Oct. 2002) calling into question whether former Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Per Ahlmark had the credentials to criticize UN weapons inspector Hans Blix since he “serves on the board of UN Watch with many Jewish leaders and former US politicians.” Kasrils, with some cause, later accused the newspaper of severely misrepresenting the intent of his letter through injudicious editing.

Several anti-Israel protest marches took place across South Africa during 2002. These were generally fairly small when compared to some of the demonstrations of the previous year during the World Conference against Racism (see ASW 2001/2). In 2001, such marches attracted as many as 20,000 people, whereas in 2002 it was rare for more than 500 protestors to take part in any single event – except during the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), when several thousand pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched alongside various other lobby groups, including anti-globalization protestors and Green activists.

The most inflammatory sentiments were expressed during a march organized by Qibla in Cape Town at the end of November. While there were only about a hundred participants, there were two boys dressed as suicide bombers. Slogans included “One American tourist, one bullet” and “Death to Israel, death to Sharon.” US and Israeli flags were burned. The march took place on the 55th anniversary of the 1947 UN partition resolution which led to the establishment of the State of Israel.

Antisemitic sentiments were in evidence at a pro-Palestinian demonstration organized by local Muslim leaders in Port Elizabeth on 13 April, a sabbath, and attended by about 600 people. Amongst the placards carried was one reading “Hitler six million Jews – Why not more?” The organizers wanted to march past the synagogue but were denied permission.

A group of protesters gathered outside the home of the Israeli ambassador, who was hosting an Independence Day celebration. The demonstration was organized by the newly-formed Palestinian Solidarity Committee, a small but active, vociferous group that was particularly in evidence during the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Placards displayed slogans such as “Stop South African Zionist mercenaries fighting in Israel” and “Zionism = Nazi = Racism.” Several protesters were arrested after refusing a police instruction to disperse.

At a Palestinian solidarity rally in Cape Town, addressed, amongst others, by government minister Ronnie Kasrils, pamphlets were handed out calling for a boycott of all “Jewish and American companies... and movie cinemas.” Other pamphlets urging a boycott explained that “each rand used to buy American and Israeli goods becomes bullets which are used to kill our brothers, sisters and children in Palestine.” The word “Jewish” and “Israeli” were used interchangeably.

Reports were received that a Muslim radio station in Johannesburg had called for a boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses, listing their names and the products they sold. Further, the website of the Palestine Solidarity Committee announced that it was compiling a list of Israeli products sold in South Africa and of companies that strongly supported Israel.

 

RESPONSES TO RACISM AND ANTISEMITISM

Public Activity

The SAJBD, together with the SA Zionist Federation, set up a Media Response Team to deal with to attacks on Israel and Jews. The group, made up of professional staff and volunteers, published about one hundred articles and letters, called in regularly on radio talk shows and occasionally appeared on television.

The SAJBD’s five year-long legal battle with Radio 786, a Muslim community radio station in Cape Town run by the IUC, suffered an unexpected setback when the acting chairman of the Broadcasting Monitoring and Complaints Committee of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) ruled that there was “no coherent basis” for the Board’s complaint. The case arose following an hour-long program broadcast by Radio 786 on 8 May 1998, which featured many instances of antisemitic conspiracy theorizing and Holocaust denial. The controversial ruling was considered to have trivialized the Holocaust, which it referred to as a “Second World War program.” As of mid-2003, the decision was under review, at the behest of the Board. The Board was successful in its application to have the matter reviewed and ICASA agreed to a hearing being held. The IUC has since appealed against the ruling.

On 19 August, Radio Islam broadcast an interview with visiting author and speaker Imran Husayn, and on 23 August it broadcast a news commentary by one of its own employees on suicide bombers in Israel. A local Jewish doctor lodged a complaint with the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA), which was upheld. The BCCSA found that by quoting an Islamic text out of context, which referred to killing the Jews, the broadcast had amounted to hate speech. Insofar as the commentary was concerned, some of the language was also found to amount to hate speech.

 

The World Summit on Sustainable Development

A major effort was launched by South African Jewish leaders to rally world Jewry into preventing the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in Johannesburg in August/September 2002, from turning into a platform for antisemitic and anti-Israel propaganda, as happened at the World Conference against Racism in Durban. A preparatory meeting was held in Jerusalem, where the SAJBD was mandated to coordinate the activities of the Jewish caucus, mobilize the local Jewish community and discreetly warn major summit figures and senior government officials against allowing a repetition of the events that took place in Durban. This was also ensured by the participation of several leading Jewish figures in the planning stages of the conference.