In 1935 the Nuremburg Laws drawn up by the Nazi’s delineated and defined Jews as aliens and deprived them of their German citizenship. Jews were defined as anyone descendant from 3 grandparents. First you identify the “enemy “and then you deal with them!

In South Africa today it is anathema to hold sentiments sympathetic to Zionism or supportive of Israel. Use by government officials of pejorative adjectives like “Apartheid”, “Racist”, “Colonialist”, “Genocidal” have been normalized when referring to the State of Israel. Zionists are regressive and repressive as opposed to the ANC which sees itself as “progressive”.  Zionists are the enemy of South Africa and there are many voices in powerful circles clamouring to deal with them.

The pernicious foundations for this odious attitude have always existed but were reinvigorated with the inauguration of the ANC’ s accession to power. The ANC views itself as a “revolutionary movement that overthrew “Apartheid” a racist and “reactionary” political system. So -called progressive movements have imbued South Africa as the “ground-zero” in the struggle against racism and slavery.  The anti-racism Conference in Durban in 2001 equated Zionism with racism and descended into an anti-Israel hate fest, ascribing all the world’s problems on Zionism. Violent action always starts with words, and these loaded words emanating from South Africa are imbued with extra sway.

Twenty-five years ago, Dr Neo Mnumzana, representing South Africa at the United Nations, said;

“Jews in South Africa come in many different political colours. There are those who belong to the Zionist movement and represent the same reality which is concretised in the state of Israel, and we disapprove of those members of the Jewish who have these Zionist affiliations.”

Since then the rhetoric has increased in tone and frequency. According to Professor Milton Shain, a leading scholar on anti-Semitism, “What was once considered unacceptable is now acceptable.”

Jewish schools have been criticized and targeted for closure because they are deemed to promote Zionist values. These threats against Jewish schools and institutions came close to realization when the Thulsie brothers, Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee), members of ISIS, planned a terrorist campaign to blow them up. These threats have required Jewish schools to take stringent security measures to ensure the safety to life and limb.

Some examples of similar threats made by leaders of a Community based organization in the townships of Cape Town, People against gangsterism and drugs (PAGAD) during a so-called “peace march” in November 2023 follow;

“The Zionists in this country mustn’t think they can walk freely in this country,”

“When we are going to unleash the Hezbollah, the party of Allah, they must run and they must hide under every stone they can find. The Koran is our constitution, jihad is our means,”

Pagad leader Abdus Salaam Ebrahim then roused the crowd, saying it was time to “decentralise” the war and “get involved”.

“We must go to their businesses. We must make sure that we target them the way they have killed our people. It doesn’t make sense for someone to leave this country and do his service in Zionist occupied Palestine and then we allow him to come back. We must make sure that we do the same things they are doing to us. If we are serious, then we must fight however we find them. We must boycott them, we must go to their homes, to their schools. We need to be serious if we say we’ll give our lives, our blood, and our souls. We must ask ourselves, are we ready to do it?”

This descent into what was unacceptable language has also come from many ANC Ministers and leaders. Fatima Hajaig  in her role as Deputy Foreign Minister referred to “Jewish money power” - a typical anti-Semitic trope. Tony Ehrenreich leader of Cosatu (a member of the tri-partite alliance) referred to Jews as owning most of the property in Cape Town, while also threatening Jewish owned businesses and encouraging Jews with Zionist leanings to leave South Africa.

The scaremongering of the ANC party aimed at the very existence of Israel is reminiscent of the period known as McCarthyism, in America in the nineteen forties and fifties. It was also known as the” Second Red Scare” because in 1946 Soviet Russia acquired the Atomic bomb. It was a woeful period in American history which marked the beginning of the Cold War between the democratic states (mainly of the West) and the Communist states (mainly Russia, China and the satellite states of Eastern Europe). In America McCarthyism (also known as Hooverism, (after J. Edgar Hoover, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation) was marked by a campaign of spreading fear against left leaning individuals and institutions such as labour unions.

The witch-hunting of so-called communists inaugurated a period of political repression that resulted in the incarceration of thousands of Americans with those identified as “spies” being executed. (as with the Rosenberg’s). The target then were Communists, the target of the ANC on the face of it, is the Zionist ideology, but make no mistake from the quotes in this article, are Jews!

Still fresh in our minds is the recent stripping of David Teeger, of the Captaincy of the Under 19 Cricket team for expressing his admiration at a private event for Israeli soldiers in the recent Gaza war. “Cricket South Africa has decided that David should be relieved of his captaincy for the (World cup) tournament”. The CSA statement went on to justify its stance, “This is in the best interests of all the players…..and David himself”. The weak-kneed collapse by CSA to threats of the BDS movement indicate a lack of backbone to stand up to anti-Semitic intimidation.

In 2022 when Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng uttered a very benign remark in which he said that South Africa was “depriving itself” of an opportunity to be a “game changer” in the Israel/Palestine conflict due to its pro-Palestinian stance. An outcry of anger aimed at the Chief Justice ensued. He was severely criticized and censured and ordered to apologize for misconduct for “criticizing and proposing changes to the official policy of the South African government towards Israel.” The vehemence of the reaction made it impossible for him to return to his post and led to his retirement.

In contrast there was a well-worn path of other Justices, such as Judge Seraj Desai, unapologetically aligning themselves with a pro-Palestinian viewpoint. When the Zionist Federation tried to hold Judge Desai to account, he not only refused to apologise, but doubled down on his pro-Palestinian sentiments

In the view of Ziyad Motala, a Professor of law, anyone with Zionist sympathies should be disqualified from occupying any position representing the state. According to him “Teeger’s speech was not mere offensive speech. Instead it was speech in support of Zionism, a political ideology of racism.” He used the same rationale to disqualify David Unterhalter from being considered for appointment to the Constitutional Court or the Supreme Court of Appeal.

A subtler manifestation of anti-Semitism was recently revealed in the selection process of judges for the Appeal Court, when the JSC repeatedly rejected David Unterhalter as a candidate for one of 4 vacant positions, despite him being eminently qualified and endorsed by Lawson Naidoo, Executive secretary for the Advancement of the South African Constitution.

He was interrogated for his past membership of the Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBOD), an organization representing and protecting Jewish interests and in particular fighting the growing menace of anti-Semitism. .SAJBOD, in contradistinction to the Zionist Federation does not have any specific Zionist role, but represents Jews of all persuasions.

Julius Malema, who sits on the selection board of the JSC has opposed Unterhalter’s selection on the specious grounds of his “subtly racist” leanings. We all know what racist leanings Malema had in mind. Malema who paints himself as a “revolutionary” views killing one’s opponents as fitting for a revolutionary has made his vehemently anti-Israel and anti-Zionist opinions very clear. He has threatened to support and supply Hamas with weapons and close not only Jewish businesses but all businesses that deal or import any goods from Israel.

In short shrift, Naledi Pandor, the current Foreign Minister, and a convert to Islam, has gone beyond threats to cut off all business and diplomatic links with Israel or companies dealing with Israel. She has led an international campaign to take Israel to the International Criminal Court in The Hague aimed at delegitimizing Israel and preventing it from defending itself from terrorist attacks. She has cut all diplomatic links with Israel and taken the vitriol against Israel to another level. She has identified those countries supplying arms to Israel and called on them to halt further supplies. She has said that ”I am living and breathing Palestine at the moment”. 

Even before she became a Minister, all visits to Israel and any contacts with Israeli leaders by any Civil servant were effectively banned. The ANC has imposed on its members and on the Civil Service a hermitically sealed echo-chamber of anti-Israel views that bar all from espousing any views sympathetic to Israel and that all must conform to.

Mandla Mandela, also a convert to Islam, who views himself as an upholder of the Mandela aura, has hosted Hamas leaders and has unapologetically made public his support for Hamas, when he said;

“We call on them to likewise rise to the occasion and support Hamas and the Palestinian resistance in fighting their oppressor and as we were able to collapse the apartheid regime of South Africa. We too will collapse the apartheid regime of Israel.”

Recently in February, 2024 Member of Parliament, Ahmed Manzoor Shaik Emam of the National Freedom Party said in Parliament “

“But let me give a loud and clear message to the Democratic Alliance: If you think that the people of this country are going to allow you to take this beautiful country, the city of Cape Town of ours, and hand it over to the Zionists, the city of Cape Town will be a bloodbath, I can assure you [of] that."

"We will not allow you to take this and sell it, sell your principles, your ethics, and values, like you have just pawned the land in the Western Cape to the United States and others. We will not allow you to make this a Jewish state!"

The ANC government has been completely silent about all these hateful and hurtful threats. It is in denial that anti-Semitism exists.  Edmund Burke’s words could not ring truer; “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” The Minister of Justice asserts that anti-Semitism doesn’t exist at all.

It is time to state unequivocally that these incendiary and inflammatory attacks of Zionism, go beyond the pale and are hurtful to Jews and make the continuation of Jewish life in South Africa untenable. It is also time to state unequivocally that Zionism and Judaism are as intricately linked as Islam is with the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Jews believe that “out of Zion come the law of the Torah”. Zion is mentioned on 2,000-year-old coins found recently in archaeological digs in the City of David. Jews pray, in the “Amidah” the silent prayer, facing Jerusalem for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the return of “the Davidic” throne in Jerusalem. Zion is the hill in Jerusalem where the grave of King David is located, making it and Jerusalem synonymous.

It is time to call the witch-hunt against Zionism what is really is-a witch-hunt against Jews and the continuity of a sustainable Jewish presence in South Africa. The fuse to determine the future of Jewry in South Africa has been lit and the clock is ticking!

Ben Levitas is former Chairman of the Cape Council of the SA Zionist Federation