It's Almost Supernatural

Campus Corner: When Hatred Comes to Wits

Anti-Semitic graffiti adorned walls and dustbins at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) this week in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern state of Israel or as the Palestinians call it, the Nakba (Catastrophe). Swastikas and slogans like ‘Jews Die!’, ‘Zion will Die’ and ‘Jews = Magen David = Nakba’ were scribbled in red paint.

The graffiti appeared after the Palestinian Solidarity Committee convinced officials to allow the graffiti wall to be used to debate the Israeli – Palestinian conflict.

It is unthinkable that in our multi-racial democracy, on one of the country's most liberal universities, such crude racism would be so openly displayed. The graffiti has now been removed but much more needs to be done. Those responsible for the promotion of this anti-Jewish hatred and vandalism on campus need to be found and charged. Moreover a public condemnation from the university must be issued.

The irony of these sorts of ugly incidents is that in addition to inciting hatred against Jews, they only serve to weaken the Palestinian cause. For it gives credence to the argument that pro-Palestinian activism has at its core some element of anti-Semitism.

Perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised when students are able to distribute this trashy incitement on campus.

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AMP Councillor Facing Allegations of Disgraceful Racism

The Cape Times reports that an investigation of Africa Muslim Party Councillor Badih Chabaan revealed allegations of toxic racism and anti-Semitism.

He is alleged to have called Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille a “coloured k***ir". Other allegations involve an intense hatred of Jews.

He is alleged to have said there was something about Jews that everyone “wants to f**k them” and it was “time for the Jews to be f***ed again”. Chabaan allegedly said the “final solution would be when five or six million Jews are bombed in one day” and Jews were “repressed and scared and slept with their eyes open for fear of being robbed”.

Chabaan denies all allegations. He claims that he does not hate Jews, in fact, all of his friends are Jewish.

Of the allegations that he made racial and anti Semitic comments, Chabaan said “My advocate and attorney are both Jews. My doctor is Jewish and all my friends and people I play cards with are Jews.”

Despite referring to black people as “k****rs” Chabaan reminded us that this is not apartheid South Africa.

Chabaan said he had been waiting since June to listen to the tape recordings and to read the affidavits of councillors. Never mind the city’s deadlines. This is not 1976 and the Speaker is not Jimmy Kruger (apartheid minister of justice and police). We want a reasonable time to study the tapes. We are entitled to a copy of the tapes. Without it we cannot conduct a proper defence.

We should refrain from automatically associating the Africa Muslim Party with these slurs because Chabaan is also alleged to be forming a new political party called the National People’s Party once the floor-crossing period is in play. That said, as Chris Roper explained, they're not exactly the party of tolerance: Africa Muslim Party ‘Full of Hate’

SA Silent on Ahmadinejad’s Call for Israel’s Destruction

Once again there is an eerie silence in the hall of the South African Department of Foreign Affairs in response to the Iranian president’s latest call for the eminent destruction of the Jewish state. In a speech over the weekend Ahmadinejad declared that

With God's help, the countdown button for the destruction of the Zionist regime has been pushed by the hands of the children of Lebanon and Palestine…By God's will, we will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future.

Once again Iran’s genocidal leader has expressed his desire for the annihilation of Israeli Jews. This comment serves to re-enforce the fact that Iran cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. It would be like giving fire to a pyromaniac. But South Africa continues to defend Iran’s right to develop nuclear technology.

To what lengths does the regime have to go before the South African government will criticise them? When they called for ‘Israel to be wiped off the map’ we remained silent; when they hosted a conference to deny the holocaust we remained silent and when the United Nations tabled a resolution to condemn this blatantly anti-Semitic action South Africa did not even bother to show up.

What has become of South African foreign policy? How can a government that was forged out of a struggle against racism remain silent in the face of Iran’s murderous anti-Semitism? Our refusal to speak out renders us complicit in Ahmadinejad’s incitement to genocide.

Update
South Africa were also silent on a UN Security Council vote establishing an international criminal tribunal to investigate the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

What Were Those Jews 'Really Doing'?

A letter to the Pretoria News by the chairman of the Pretoria Council of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies answers the ‘concerns’ of a letter writer who alleged that something sinister was taking place at the Pretoria cemetery last week.

The sinister event? It was nothing other than the commemoration of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust.

I refer to the letter by “Concerned Resident” headlined “Jews refused us entry to cemetery” (Pretoria News, April 20). It appears to be a deliberate attempt to inflame passions and cast aspersions on the Jewish community. It is devoid of truth. On Sunday April 15 the annual Holocaust memorial service was held at the Jewish section of the Rebecca Street cemetery. Because of previous unfortunate experiences and the presence of seven foreign diplomats, a representative from the Department of Foreign Affairs and other dignitaries, two marshals were placed at the main entrance to informally screen all arrivals and assist those unfamiliar with the locality They were instructed to be polite and non confrontational. ‘Concerned Resident’ arrived behind the vehicle of one of the ambassadors who had stopped at the entrance to identify himself. When ‘Concerned Resident’ then stopped he enquired about the presence of the diplomat and was told that this gentleman was attending a private function. During the 90 minute memorial service people arrived to visit graves in other sections of the cemetery. While the marshals enquired about their intended destination, none was denied entry as this would have been contrary to our undertaking with the Tshwane Metro Council. Concerned Resident claims that he as a ‘black person’ was denied entry. But he then admits that he drove into the cemetery and went about his business. He further claims that he had only 10 minutes to perform his ritual. All this is not only illogical but also a blatant lie as the marshals made no attempt to interfere with the activities of any visitor. On finally leaving the cemetery this gentleman whose identity is known from his vehicle number plate slowed at the gate and shouted,”You lied to me. It’s a f***** Jewish function.” Before this, one of the marshals had been called a “bloody Jew” by another female visitor. It is this very bigotry that unfortunately necessitates some level of security. In answer to the question by “Concerned Resident” – “What were they really doing?” - let me inform him that contrary to any conspiracy theories that he appears to harbour, we were doing what we do every year - mourning the murder of 6 million innocent Jews by people with an equally negative agenda. Finally, I wish to take issue with the Pretoria News regarding the misleading and inflammatory head line given to the letter from “Concerned Resident”. It labels Jews as guilty of taking this apparent action without making any attempt to establish the truth. A newspaper of this stature should know better. Victor Gordon, Brooklyn Chairman Pretoria Council SA Jewish Board of Deputies

SAJBD Responds to IAS Criticism

A couple of weeks ago we ran a post ‘Sweeping Anti-Semitism in South Africa Under the Carpet’ that was highly critical of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) for not publicising the disturbing findings of the South Africa Anti-Semitism report 2006 by the Institute of Contemporary Anti-Semitism and Racism at Tel Aviv University. This is their response:

You should really have consulted with the SAJBD before posting this item. Had you done so, you would have learned that, far from the SAJBD being unaware of the antisemitic incidents noted in the Tel Aviv University report, they were in fact the ones who provided the information in the first place (the SAJBD compiles annual reports for Tel Aviv University on antisemitism in SA). It really is a bit much that not only are others credited with the work that the SAJBD does, but also that that same work is then used to accuse us of not doing our job! So far as what the responses to the antisemitic incidents have been, these were not included in the report, the reasons being that the actual response process can be very long and involved (the Nussbaum's 'bomb threat' incident is still in the process of being followed up through the relevant channels) and because we prefer not to go public too much with our modus operandi. However, that does not mean that nothing is being done. For example, in the Durban night club stabbing, as well as with the above-mentioned Nussbaum incident, we were involved in assisting with laying charges, and the SAJBD is currently following up the latter case. In most cases, of course, the perpetrators of antisemitic incidents cannot be identified and it is not possible to do more than note them for the record. Whenever an opportunity of taking action presents itself, however, the SAJBD do not fail to take it. David Saks, Associate Director SAJBD

It should be noted that the website where we found the report did not credit the SAJBD with supplying the information. It just said that the report was compiled by 'Tel Aviv University' for the 'Institute of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism'. That is why we credited the report only to the Tel Aviv University.

We thank the SAJBD for making the effort to clear this up.

Sweeping Anti-Semitism in South Africa Under the Carpet

I have been waiting for weeks for the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and the South African Jewish report to publicize the findings of the South Africa Anti-Semitism report ,06 by the Institute of Contemporary Anti-Semitism and Racism at Tel Aviv University. And I will most likely continue waiting until the Messiah comes so I have decided to take the liberty of publishing its disturbing findings myself.

Last year South Africa recorded its highest number of anti-Semitic incidents since the commencement of detailed record keeping two decades ago. Seventy-nine anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in 2006, a more than three-fold increase on the previous year’s total. Incidents were also of a more aggressive nature, including verbal abuse, threats and intimidation (40 cases), assault (four), vandalism (seven, cemeteries mainly being targeted) and bomb threats (two).

The report attributes most of these anti-Semitic attacks to ‘the prevalence of strong anti-Israel sentiment within the mainstream South African political, media and NGO culture’. Radical organisations within the South African Muslim community such as the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), the Islamic Unity Convention and the Media Review Network were singled out as the major contributors to a more hostile atmosphere in South Africa towards Jews and Jewish institutions. This is a contention that we and many of our readers have often expressed.

I happened to be in London last year when a similarly shocking report about increased incidents of anti-Semitism in the United Kingdom was released. Immediately, the British Jewish community sprung into action. There was a major public outcry from a broad spectrum of British society. A bipartisan parliamentary committee was set up to monitor the situation and Prime Minister Blair stated on numerous occasions that he was personally tackling the problem. Of course it was a lead story in the London Jewish Chronicle (their ‘equivalent’ of the SAJR) for weeks with diverse opinions on the cause and an appropriate response. Many of these articles severely criticised the British Jewish Board of Deputies for not doing more to counter anti-Jewish views in the mainstream media. This is how an transparent and responsible community behaves.

So why was our response so different? I can’t believe that the leadership and professional staff of the South African Jewish community are so incompetent that they know nothing of these attacks. One can only conclude that there has been a deliberate decision to sweep it under the proverbial carpet. They have adopted a strategy of ‘Quiet Diplomacy’ in not a dissimilarly way to our government’s handling of Zimbabwe. And we all know what a success that has been.

Click below to see examples of the most severe anti-Semitic incidences mentioned in the report. Some we have covered and should be familiar to regular readers but unfortunately many of these incidents are first-time news to most of us.

ANC MP Cites Protocols of Zion as Credible Source

While we were away in December we missed this awful story in the M&G about an ANC MP who cited the Protocols of the Elders of Zion -- the infamous anti-Semitic forgery used by the Nazis -- as a credible document at an Iranian-sponsored academic seminar in Pretoria: Protocols rear their ugly head.

ANC MP Farida Mohamed asked a Jewish seminar delegate, Claudia Braude about the protocols.

Are the protocols still relevant to you in today’s time? How do we apply this balanced approach to reconciliation when we read them and they are totally the opposite?

Mohamed said she was unaware that the protocols had been exposed as a hoax. She said she had read the protocols on the internet but had not researched them.

Another delegate at the Pretoria seminar also questioned the authenticity of the Holocaust, citing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s dismissal of it as “a myth”. When the question of the Holocaust was put to our protocols peddling ANC MP she replied

“I don’t want to comment on something that I haven’t done research on. I wouldn’t want to be influenced by any scholar.”

Wow. I thought she doesn’t comment on things that she has not researched. Our MP readily accepts the reprehensibly anti-Semitic protocols as authentic but she won’t accept that the Holocaust occurred!

Mohamed is an ANC member of parliament. Is this the type of person that the ANC wants to have representing them?

With members who wont acknowledge that the Holocaust occurred but readily accept the legitimacy of the anti-Semitic protocols, you would have thought that last weeks UN resolution on Holocaust denial presented South Africa and the ANC with a perfect opportunity to set the record straight. But alas…

(Thanks Dan)

First Anti-Semitism Ruling in Equity Court: Victory Against Hate

Finally, after almost a year, the verdict is in on the first anti-Semitism case to be heard in the equity court in South Africa. Gerhard Barkuizen, the artist who painted a huge swastika on the wall of his home facing his neighbour was last week convicted of hate speech on the grounds that he knew his neighbour, Yaron Fishman was Jewish. Barkhuizen had also spray painted "Habrizo mamzer" on his wall. Loosely translated it means, "spiteful Hebrew bastard".

The affair has been mildly entertaining. In the previous update we learned that Barkhuizen contested his guilt by saying that the swastika was not aimed at his Jewish neighbour, but at…"the devil."

We also learned that Barkhuizen actually has a lot of empathy for Jews. He prays for them and "would like them to be saved". He was eventually forced to take the stand after efforts at mediation failed because he refused to apologise to his Jewish neighbour.

The Lowvelder has the story.

A local magistrate this week ruled that Mr Gerhard Barkhuizen's actions constituted hate speech. He could be forced to make a public apology and compensate Fishman. Fishman laid a complaint with the Human Rights Commission almost a year ago after he found that his neighbour had painted a swastika during the night with the words Habrizo mamzer on his wall. Loosely translated it means, "spiteful Hebrew bastard". Barkhuizen told the court earlier that he was an artist and painted the swastika during an artistic process. He said at the time that it formed part of a mural depicting World War II that he was working on. His legal representative argued that according to the constitution, Barkhuizen had the right to freedom of expression. The magistrate in his ruling said this freedom is, however, curbed by the constitution and the Equality Act that prohibits hate speech based on race, ethnicity and religion.

The sentence will be heard on June 29.

Well done to Yaron Fishman for standing up for himself and for the Jewish people who too often accept this atrocious behaviour.

Read my thoughts in favour of limitations of freedom of expression here. I basically argue that freedom of expression has its limitations which are grounded in the other freedoms that a liberal democracy provides. Most radicals from the left or right tend to see civil society principles in isolation of each other, when the reality is far more complicated than that. We are left with a common economic trade off of competing principles and you can't just select "free speech" ahead of other democratic principles without considering the impact the selection has on those other principles.

African Anti-Semitism

Generally, we present a Smoking Socks award to the writers of letters filled with tortured logic, but a letter in the Eastern Cape Herald yesterday deserves more serious consideration. The letter includes the common prediction that Jews will respond with cries of anti-Semitism – but we cannot allow that convenient tactic to prevent us from calling a spade a spade.

Anti-Semitism, like the HIV-AIDS virus, has a remarkable ability to mutate to survive in any environment. There have been so many different strains over the years. There is the Christian ‘Jews killed Christ’ variety, the Muslim ‘Jews are dhimis’ brand, the leftist ‘Jews control global capital’ kind, the capitalist ‘Jews are communists who desire to overthrow the global financial system’ type, The fascist ‘Jews are an inferior species’ sort and the anti-Zionist ‘Jews have no right to a state’ category etc. Many of them may today seem totally ludicrous, but in their appropriate context they were extremely influential ideas (often held by the most ‘enlightened’ members of society).

Anti-Semitism is not indigenous to Africa. I (perhaps naively) believe that the vast majority of black South Africans do not have a negative attitude towards Jews. Many black South Africans are deeply religious Christians. Like their evangelical counter-parts in America, they are squarely behind the Jewish state. Reverend Kenneth Meshoe of the African Christian Democratic Party embodies this large constituency.

Many Jews (mostly Left-wing) did play a disproportionately large role in the struggle. Many black South African political leaders acknowledge this and are grateful. Jews have also been very involved with the Zulu based black opposition party the IFP. Many of the top Zulu leadership in South Africa are extremely pro-Jewish.

That said, symptoms of a new strain of African Anti-Semitism have been spotted amongst Black Left-wing intellectuals in South Africa. The letter published in the Eastern Cape Herald this week encapsulates many of its features.

It is first and foremost virulently anti-American. It has an irrational hatred/fear of American power both economically and militarily. Everything from her founding to her fight for freedom abroad is portrayed as evil. As the letter points out

America is a country built on the enslavement of Africans and the genocide of Indians…The innocent children being born without limbs in Iraq have been sentenced before they were even born by the American uranium dumps during Operation Desert Storm (like father, like son). The Vietnamese are still being born with deficiencies directly linked with Agent Orange used during American aggression against Vietnam.’

Once having painted America as the most wicked of colonial forces in history, Jews are then thrown into the pot. As the letter writer explains

Any study of the Transatlantic slaving process will reveal that not only were Jews involved in the process, they ran the operation. As financiers and insurers of European maritime commerce, a commerce largely focused on the slave trade for three centuries, Jewish mercantile houses amassed vast fortunes in both Europe and North America, fortunes that were often inter-related by family and marital ties. In Europe "converses" operating out of Madrid and Seville handled the business of Spanish slaving. Jews openly operating in Amsterdam served the financial needs of Protestant slavers. In America, a flourishing Jewish financial community centred mainly in Newport, Rhode Island, financed and insured slaving voyage?

It’s not clear whether America is evil because of the role Jews have played in making it the only superpower or Jews are evil because they are tainted with American power. Nonetheless in this world view both Jews and America are intrinsically entwined in the pursuit of absolute power.

Jews were central in building America to the ruthless nation it is today. They know they are eternally indebted to the Jewish community.’

Why is this different from traditional Left-wing anti-Semitism? It has a slightly African twist. The goal of Jews through America or America through Jews is to enslave Africans. The writer asks

What does the Jewish community have to say about the Jews who were part of Hitler`s administration and who were neck-deep in the Holocaust? The European community must not take their family squabbles over material resources raped from the African continent and misrepresent them as something else. Even a closer look at the Second World War will tell you that it was nothing but Eurasians fighting over African resources.’

The letter writer then makes the preposterous accusation that Israel was

originally populated by Africans and millions of my ancestors had to die for that area to become the Middle East we know today

He claims Jews have covered up this unknown genocide and told Africa to forget about their history.

He ends this diatribe masked as intellectualism with a strong African nationalist plea.

Africans, do not forget your history for it is the clock that will tell you your time of day as a people. It tells you where you come from so as to tell you where you are and where you must still go.

It is easy for us to dismiss this as the ravings of a racist lunatic. I believe that would be a mistake. These ideas are extremely dangerous that were published in a mainstream South African newspaper. We need to fight this African strain of Anti-Semitism now while it is still weak. Later may be too late.

Write to the editor of The Herald and ask them why they have given so much space to a letter which unequivocally incites hatred. A scanned PDF of the full letter can be downloaded from this link. Notice how long this letter is. It's as long as a typical op-ed piece. Anyone who has ever written a letter to the papers knows how strict the editor generally is with the length of a letter. I have never seen a letter this long. What's going on at The Herald?

Letters to: theherald@johnnicec.co.za. The editor's name is Jethro Goko. Remember, if you want to be taken seriously you need to write a serious letter. Don't resort to the childish practice of name calling. Your complaint is serious so treat it with the respect it deserves.

Swastika Artist: It Was Aimed at the Devil!

We are still waiting for a ruling in South Africa's first anti-Semitism case to be heard in the equity court. Gerhard Barkhuizen is accused of painting a swastika on a wall facing his Jewish neighbour, Yaron Fishman. There was also Hebrew writing which, loosely translated, means "offensive bastard".

But while we still wait for a ruling, the swastika artist has kept us entertained - the antichrist, the devil, and the Israeli mafia are now all involved in this case.

The Lowvelder Newspaper reported that Barkhuizen, in his defence, said that he was an artist and that the swastika was painted to express his feeling on religion, politics, and history. At the time Barkhuizen said, he was "pretty fed up with the world we live in."

He commenced his studies to become a pastor in 2003 and said that the swastika was used as a symbol of the antichrist who was ruling the world.

Its just too funny...but there's more.

I did not know he (Fishman) was a Jew otherwise I would have explained to him that I did not mean it to be hurtful. Christians have empathy with Jews. We pray for them and would like them to be saved.

Fishman claims that Barkhuizen did know very well that he was Jewish. Barkhuizen later went on to claim that a letter of apology he wrote was written under duress because Fishman "and his Israeli mafia friends" threatened him.

Fishman denies the claim. It gets funnier

This was not hate speech because it was not aimed at Fishman, but at the devil.

Both legal teams have been granted leave to put their final arguments in writing after which a decision will be reached.

Watch this space.