The organisation is currently pursuing similar cases with the commission against individuals suspected of hate speech and antisemitism.
The SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has welcomed a ruling by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), ordering Cosatu’s former Western Cape leader Tony Ehrenreich to apologise in writing for remarks he made about the Jewish community.
In a 2014 Facebook post, Ehrenreich called for retaliation against the SAJBD and other “Zionist supporters” over the deaths of civilians in Palestine.
The commission ruled that the comments were hate speech and subsequently gave him one month to issue out an apology to the organisation.
“The commission is of the view that the post in question can be reasonably construed to demonstrate a clear intention to promote hatred of the members of the [SAJBD]‚ as is prohibited by Section 10 of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act. Here, the commission found that the [social media post] amounted to hate speech‚” read the ruling by the commission.
The ruling also noted that in his post, Ehrenreich used language which, in essence, called for war against members of the targeted group.
“The SAJBD welcomes the SAHRC ruling. It sends an unequivocal message that there is no justification for propagating hatred and making threats against fellow South Africans, irrespective of one’s political views (including on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)”, said SAJBD National Chairman Shaun Zagnoev.
Zagnoev said the ruling provided a useful addition to existing case law that helped to clarify where the boundaries lay between freedom of expression and constitutionally prohibited hate speech.
He added that the SAJBD would continue pursuing similar cases, to ensure that those who make threats against the Jewish community are brought to book.
Thabo Baloyi
t.baloyi@politicalanalysis.co.za