Screeching South African Jews: Jews united in anxiety

(005875.811-:E-000062.43:N-AC:R-SU:C-30:V)   

Charisse Zeifert says Jewish identity has strengthened post October 7th in face of increased antisemitism

27 February 2025

It feels like being a Jew in today’s world carries a heavy responsibility. “We’re united once again in anxiety”, said my brother, prior to the first set of hostage releases from Gaza. The fear and dread we experienced since the morning of October 7, 2023, continues.

It always needs stating that the war between Israel and Gaza is horrific, and that every innocent life lost is a tragedy. Jewish suffering does not negate Palestinian suffering and vice versa. Compassion is needed for all as the ramifications of the war are felt throughout the world.

Here in South Africa, the Jewish community has always been close-knit. That is not to say that we are homogenous. Indeed, the opposite is true. But post-October 7, we have become even closer, and our Jewish identity has strengthened in the face of increased antisemitism and attempts to marginalise our voice.

The attempts to silence us take on a predictable pattern of behaviour. That formula is as follows: There is a strong Jewish / Israeli voice or presence that is deemed, “Zionist” or “enabling Zionists”. While Zionism has recently deliberately been reconstructed as a slur, the actual meaning of Zionism is the Jewish right to self-determination in our ancestral homeland, formally established by the UN in 1948.

Yet, once the “Zionist target” has been established, the anti-Israeli lobby publicly campaigns against it. They use tactics such as calls for boycotts, media campaigns, demonising, doxxing, protesting, intimidation and threats. This anti-Israel lobby claim to talk on behalf of all South Africans. This campaign results in shutting down any alternative voice as well as denies Jews to connect to our biblical homeland.

So, when the Ophthalmological Society of South Africa (OSSA) invited Israeli Professor Didi Fabian, an expert in ocular oncology to speak at their conference to be held in Sandton in February, the anti-Israel machinations flew into action. The result of their lobbying was that OSSA wrote to Fabian to rescinding the invite.

This time, however, things turned out differently. There was a huge backlash from the OSSA members. They refused to allow a small group with a narrow destructive agenda to use a medical conference aimed at upskilling ophthalmologists in SA for their own political purposes. OSSA then took a principled stand and put the matter to the vote. 82% of its members voted in favour of Fabian being re-invited to speak at the congress, which he did. And while Prof Fabian spoke on how his work can help vulnerable children around the world, one of those protesting the talk was Mandla Mandela. The same Mandela who was disallowed to travel to the UK because of his close ties to Hamas.

This is but one example of many where Jews have been targeted. Who can forget the decision by Cricket South Africa (CSA) in January last year to remove David Teeger of his under-19 captaincy? In a sport-mad country, CSA was prepared to jeopardise the team because they didn’t like the idea of the leader being Zionist. Essentially, the anti-Israel lobby (and yes, that includes the fringe Jews, without which any anti-Israel platform would not be complete) are promoting Jew-hatred. We have seen this play out continuously since October 7.

Despite the weighty responsibility we feel as Jews over the past 16 months having to witness this blatant hatred of Israel, we appreciate that there are some silver linings to our dark clouds. The first is that succumbing to intimidation and bullying is not an inevitable result. All that is needed is principled leadership and good people to stand up for what is in the best interests of all our citizens. As in the case of OSSA, it is encouraging that there were those who could stand up against sinister intentions for the benefit of all South Africans.

Second, we can take comfort in the fact that we have a constitutional democracy that allows for freedom of association. Third is that, although South Africans are constantly being harassed into placing the interests of a foreign conflict ahead of our own, while being told that this is in our best interest, we are not falling for it. And finally, we are emboldened by the fact that South Africa celebrates diversity. While the majority of South Africans have never met either a Jew or an Israeli, there is genuine mutual respect for different religions. Sadly, it is in this milieu that the anti-Israel lobby are actively trying to create Jew-hatred.

It is the same Jew-hatred that is on display each time Hamas releases the hostages in a staged theatrical spectacle. The latest images of the release of Bibas family coffins on a stage in front of a celebrating crowd, was a sharp and painful reminder of October 7 attack. The psychological terror is further enhanced upon learning that Hamas had prolonged our pain by not releasing the true body of Shiri Bibas. So, once again, the Jewish community experienced heightened emotions. The responsibility of being Jewish remains. Yet, we are now more united than we have ever been and know that we have friends.

Source: https://www.politicsweb.co.za/opinion/jews-united-in-anxiety?utm_source=Politicsweb+Daily+Headlines&utm_campaign=4755e032c3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_02_26_06_05_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-081dc45e8d-140246843

jlamprecht