Muslim fundamentalists, chanting slogans such as “Kill the Jews” and “Death to America,” marched to the Israeli Embassy in Cape Town last week to protest the killing of their co-religionists in various parts of the world, including “Palestine” and Bosnia.
Outside the embassy last Friday, Israeli and U.S. flags were smeared with red paint. Protesters then set fire to the flags.
On Monday, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies Monday condemned “in the strongest terms” the “racial hatred and intolerance” expressed in the Muslims’ chants, especially “Kill the Jews.”
“We are shocked and disgusted at this naked racialism in South Africa,” said Simon Jocum, chairman of the Cape Council of the board. “This incitement to racial murder cannot be tolerated and we call on the authorities and all fair- minded people to condemn it immediately.”
Jocum said the protesters’ conduct had no place in South Africa and “grossly offends” the spirit of the country’s new constitution.
“If left unchecked, such conduct will destroy the fabric of our society and any hope for a culture of tolerance and reconciliation in a democratic non-racial South Africa.”
He said the burning of the Israeli flag was particularly offensive of all Jews.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
