Antisemitism in South Africa: Jewish Board of Deputies Decides to Strengthen Its Organisation to Mee

A deputation of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, headed by its President, Mr. S. Raphaely, and including Dr. Charles Spiro, the Vice-President, and Messrs. Geffen and Tencharz, visited yesterday at Pretoria Dr. F. D. Malan, the Minister of the Interior in the South African Union Government, to convey to him the concern of the Board at the threat which he made recently (reported in the J.T.A. Bulletin of the 4th. inst.), that if the Jews of the country do not stop opposing the Immigration Restriction Law, the Government Party will hit back at them by awakening anti-Jewish hatred in South Africa.

In the course of the interview, which lasted for about two hours, Dr. Malan expressed to the deputation his appreciation of their sincerity and candour, and promised that he would publish his reply to their representations, together with the written submission which they had made to him.

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies has decided to expand its organisation throughout the country, for the purpose of building up a big organisation able to defend the status and the prestige of South African Jewry against the new menace.

Reference has been made at a meeting held here to protest against Dr. Malan’s utterances, to the fact that an antisemitic book published in London, a translation from a notorious German antisemitic work, contains a message sent to the publishers by Dr. Malan, lauding the book as a useful work, so it is not surprising, it was said, to find Dr. Malan expressing antisemitic views himself.

The book referred to is an English translation of a notorious antisemitic work by ex-Deputy Fritsch, the 77 year old German antisemite, who is the head of the Leipzig antisemitic “Hammer” publishing house, which published the German translation of Henry Ford’s “International Jew” and continues to circulate it despite Mr. Ford’s instructions since his recantation that the sale of the book should be stopped.

In 1926 ex-Deputy Fritsch was found guilty of libelling Herr Max Warburg and his partner, Dr. Karl Melchior, and he was sentenced to a term of imprisonment. He has been mentioned as a member of the Executive of the Antisomitic International, the other members of which were stated to be Professor Cuza, of Roumania, Deputy Franz Ulain of Hungary, Mrs. Nesta Webster, of England, and General Neschbolodov of Russia.

The English translation of the book is distributed in England by a disseminator of antisemitic literature calling himself the “Hammer Publication House.” The book and the message from Dr. Malan which it contains have been under consideration by the Joint Foreign Committee of the Board of Jewish Deputies and the Anglo-Jewish Association.