Denying existence of anti-Semitism in SA harms the entire social fabric

Deafening silence. No solidarity, no support, no offers to publicly stand shoulder to shoulder. I have to speak out. For no matter where you stand on the tragic and complex conflict in the Middle East, surely there should be no question that hate directed at Jews simply for being Jewish should not only be acknowledged but denounced?

Yet today it seems there is indeed a question when it comes to antiSemitism. Jews in SA are seemingly not to be believed about the rise in Jew hatred since October 7. We are told we are intentionally weaponising antiSemitism to silence support for the Gazan people, or any criticism of the state of Israel.

As someone who is heartbroken at the situation facing both the innocent people of Gaza and Israel, and prays for a just and lasting peaceful resolution to the conflict, this is simply not true.

When our own minister of justice & constitutional development, Ronald Lamola, says on international television that “in SA there is no threat, harm ... to Jewish people. There is no antiSemitism in SA”, he is not only factually incorrect but his words create an environment that questions the seriousness and truth of the Jewish community’s research and lived reality.

Would we question xenophobia, or homophobia, or Islamophobia in the same way? When did it become acceptable to diminish the concerns of a minority group?

Lamola was not alone in his dismissal of anti-Semitism. In recent weeks I have scrolled, astounded, on SA social media seeing countless posts by leading journalists and thought leaders calling on my community to furnish proof of anti-Semitism and casting doubt on the veracity of our official statistics and reports.

“Really glad to see renowned SA journalists, commentators and others pushing back against this lie. It is a lie... Where is this ‘rise in anti-Semitic [incidents’?] Or do you mean support for civilians in Gaza? Why is that antiSemitic? Would love to see the data”, said a well-known SA journalist on X.

When another user on the platform shared an anti-Semitism report from the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), the community’s umbrella representative body upholding Jewish civil liberties and monitoring antiSemitism, she responded dismissively, “Ah, the Jewish Board of Deputies, there it is.”

While our society has evolved to the point where we believe victims of gender-based violence, recognise the systemic racism against black South Africans and bear witness to the afrophobia experienced by refugees, it seems the Jewish community is not to be trusted.

It is true that SA has historically had relatively low levels of anti-Semitism in comparison to many other countries.

Incidences were usually confined to verbal abuse, hate speech and vandalism. But, sadly, our community knows all too well that a flare-up in the conflict between Israel and Palestine results in a spike in incidences of antiSemitism at home. And the number of anti-Semitic acts reported since October 7 tells a shocking story.

Anti-Semitism has skyrocketed in SA, as it has around the world. Of the 182 anti-Semitic incidences reported to the SAJBD in the first 11 months of 2023, 63% occurred after October 7. Distressingly, 6% of these attacks involved physical violence. From a Johannesburg rabbi being forced off the road, to my own Durban community’s cemetery being defaced, to someone being spat on as they walked into shul. Yet our justice minister says no antiSemitism exists in SA. Tell us, minister, are Jews making this all up?

More shocking to me even than Lamola’s statement has been the silence by many in civil society, especially those who position themselves as leaders in monitoring and combating hate. They are nowhere to be seen. Despite being a founding and steering committee member of the Hate Crimes Working Group (HCWG) since its inception in 2009, the network has not formally reached out to the SAJBD or publicly condemned the rise in anti-Semitism. This, in my view, is a dereliction of its duty.

As the Jewish community’s representative on that body, I had the privilege of being involved in the first discussions that led to its creation. In the years since, as a steering committee member and then as co-deputy chair, the Jewish community stood alongside refugees, the LGBTQ+ community and others, drafting media releases and speaking out against terrible incidents of hate while advocating for hate-crime laws. We did this not for any ulterior motive but because it is the right thing to do in a democratic society and contributes to building a future where human dignity and equality for all are realised.

Yet, in my own community s time of

down.’I crisis, we have been let trusted that just as the HCWG and other forums have spoken out on all forms of hate, our colleagues, friends and allies would speak out on anti-Semitism. It seems I was wrong.

What concerns me most are Lamola’s words at The Hague on the day of the International Court of Justice hearings: “In SA we have a number of Jewish people, doing business, living with us, and they also attend their churches in peace”. Jews in SA are not living with you, minister, we are an active and proud community with a long history in our country. Jews in SA are not “doing business” here, but are integral contributors to the economic life and upliftment of our country.

“They”. “Us” and “them”. When we talk about groups of people in our society as others, as outsiders, we open up a space in which they are cast as separate and not fully belonging. This is the beginning of dehumanisation. As the late UK chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks said: “The hate that begins with Jews does not end with Jews.” Downplaying Jewish concerns of hate ultimately damages the entire social fabric and hurts all South Africans.

Violence and atrocities start with words and dehumanisation. Questioning the Jewish community’s experiences of anti-Semitism does not contribute to a just and long-lasting peace in Israel and Palestine, and othering one group of people does not show solidarity with another.

Just because many in the local Jewish community may hold differing views on the Israel and Hamas war to those of the government and some in the media does not mean they do not deserve to have their rights protected.

Despite the silence from some parts of civil society, my community will continue its work in fighting all forms of hate and discrimination. I will do so not only because of my belief in putting the principles of our democracy into action, but because these values are deeply intertwined with my Jewish tradition and beliefs.

I pray for an end to the terrible war in Israel and Gaza; for those innocent civilians on both sides of the conflict who are suffering unimaginable horrors, and for the release of the hostages.

Closer to home, I pray South Africans live up to the principles enshrined in our constitution, which afford freedom, dignity and protection to all those who live in our beautiful country.

MORE SHOCKING THAN LAMOLA’S STATEMENT HAS BEEN THE SILENCE BY MANY IN CIVIL SOCIETY