The South African minister for foreign affairs issued a statement here Tuesday expressing concern over recent incidents of anti-Semitism in South Africa.
The incidents included the burning of an Israeli flag and the display of Nazi flags at a right-wing rally in Pretoria last month.
Foreign Minister Roloef (Pik) Botha said that the incidents, occurring at a time when the government is striving to promote reconciliation in Africa, should be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
The most serious incident occurred Feb. 10, at a rally in Pretoria of the far right-wing Afrikaner Resistance Movement, commonly known by the Afrikaans abbreviation AWB.
During the rally, a Star of David was ceremonially burnt. Original Nazi flags, not the copy of them sported by the right-wing movement, were paraded. Men wearing Nazi-style brown shirts chanted anti-Semitic slogans and waved anti-Semitic placards. The slogans linked the Jews to the Communists and blamed the Jews for all the ills of South Africa.
A delegation from the South African Jewish Board of Deputies met here Tuesday with the commissioner of police, Gen. J.V. van der Merwe, and with the head of the security police, Lt. Gen. S.J.J. Smit.
The four-member Jewish delegation, which included a member of Parliament, discussed the Jewish community’s serious concern over the incidents. Van der Merwe assured the delegation that the matters were receiving attention at the highest level.
JEWISH RALLIES IN TWO CITIES
Jews held mass meetings last week in both Cape Town and Johannesburg to affirm their resolve to combat anti-Semitism.
“The Jewish community of South Africa will not tolerate acts of anti-Semitism in this country or any other country,” said Julius Weinstein, president of the South African Zionist Federation.
The gatherings were convened by both the Zionist Federation and the Board of Deputies, to display community solidarity and unity with Israel.
South African Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris told a packed hall of 2,000 Jews in Johannesburg, “Let the insults prompt us to help build a new South Africa.”
The Jews of South Africa have also had to contend in recent weeks with negative statements from the left wing of the political spectrum.
Nelson Mandela, the African National Congress leader freed from prison last month, angered many here by embracing Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat and disparaging the South African Jewish community.
Prior to that, Jews were insulted by comments and actions of Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu during a Christmas visit to Israel. After a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum, Tutu said Jews should forgive the Nazis for their murderous deeds.
Rabbi Harris told the rally, “Seldom before have Jews been so insulted by both the right and the left in South Africa.”
He said, nonetheless, that “Mandela is not Arafat. Many of us believe that it is important for Nelson Mandela to succeed.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
