South African Jewish Report Newspaper

28/03/2025

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has challenged the African National Congress (ANC), its partner in the Government of National Unity (GNU), on its right to dictate international affairs policy or for the president to appoint ambassadors unilaterally.

In the wake of the expulsion of Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool from the United States (US), the DA called for a “formal review of foreign policy at Cabinet level”, which included the adoption of a consensus-based approach to the appointment of ambassadors. This is according to a statement issued on 19 March by Emma Louise Powell, DA spokesperson on international relations and cooperation.

“The ANC, a 39% party, no longer enjoys an outright majority and is no longer at liberty to single-handedly determine South Africa’s foreign policy agenda without consulting its partners in government,” read Powell’s statement. “South Africa’s foreign policy must now be driven by an unwavering commitment to our country’s domestic growth, rather than being dictated by the ANC’s historical and fraternal allegiances.”

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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has challenged the African National Congress (ANC), its partner in the Government of National Unity (GNU),

27/03/2025

Pollak gets 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 as the 𝐔𝐒 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥 as his 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫 to Pretoria.
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The 𝑺𝑨 𝑱𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 telling you the stories that others are trying to hide!
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27/03/2025

NOT FOR SENSITIVE READERS

“Jewish people murder, r**e, and eat children,” claims aspiring South African comedian Thomas Torr in a recent YouTube video. He is one of four Capetonians that the Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies (Cape SAJBD) is taking to the Equality Court, and his case will be heard on 23 April.

Torr’s antisemitic ideas are so depraved, he has been banned from TikTok. In a range of YouTube and now deleted TikTok videos, he rants that Jews are cannibals, paedophiles, and subhuman.

He often repeats the idea that Jews are a “Bronze Age cult” that don’t belong in the modern world. “You know those people who follow that Bronze Age cult that was started by f*cking Moses? They’re savages, they’re barbarians, they’re subhuman, they need to have their human rights stripped,” he says. “It’s a savage, barbaric cult that centres around ra**ng and eating children. There are people [Jews] on your block who get a delivery of Palestinian child meat every week.”

He says a “really fun way to get yourself arrested in a public space” is to say, “Kill the Jews.” He thinks Jews endanger themselves by existing, and it’s no fault of the person who harms them. “They’re so brainwashed, they will literally put their children in danger of being killed. If a child thinks that he’s part of the chosen people, maybe that child would be better off in the afterlife.”

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“Jewish people murder, r**e, and eat children,” claims aspiring South African comedian Thomas Torr

27/03/2025

Leo Brent Bozell III, nominated by United States (US) President Donald Trump as the next US Ambassador to South Africa, is a good friend of Israel and undoubtedly a strong supporter of his own president’s policies.

The nomination this week was a surprising twist of events, not least of all because of the deteriorating relationship between South Africa and the US. It was published on the US Congress’s official website on 25 March. If it is approved by the US Senate, Bozell will soon be heading to Pretoria.

Bozell’s views on Israel are so open that the photograph on his X account is of the Israeli and US flags flying, and his portrait photo has a large Star of David superimposed on it.

Dr Matthew Dallek, historian and professor of political management at George Washington University, told the SA Jewish Report from the US, “Brent Bozell will bring an iron-clad loyalty to Donald Trump to the ambassador role. That means that he will likely continue to attack South Africa for allegedly being ‘hostile’ to white people, for being an allegedly ‘failed country’, and for being far to the left and something of a new foe to the US.”

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Leon Brent Bozell III, nominated by United States (US) President Donald Trump as the next US Ambassador to South Africa,

26/03/2025

🌟 Download our latest issue, free & online now! 🌟
Filled with news, opinions & insights you don’t want to miss, including…

🚨 Cape comedian who says ‘Jews m*rder, r*pe & eat children’ taken to Equality Court by SA Jewish Board of Deputies
🌍 DA pushes for overhaul of SA’s foreign policy in light of US’ Rasool expulsion
⚠️ Ramaphosa steps in to Sandton Drive renaming debacle
🍷 SA kosher wine grows up, gets noticed
🏛️ Israel influencer shocked by antisemitism at UCT
🎾 Cape tennis star Jacqui Boyd wins SA Masters Tennis Nationals

… and much more!

𝑫𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒚: https://bit.ly/sajr27march1

26/03/2025

“South Africa stands at an unprecedented fiscal and political crossroads. The 2025 Budget, finally tabled by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on 12 March, has ignited a political crisis.

For the first time in South Africa’s democratic history, a national Budget lacks guaranteed majority support in Parliament. The Democratic Alliance (DA) has refused to rubber-stamp African National Congress (ANC) tax hikes, pushing instead for spending cuts and market-friendly structural reforms. This standoff hasn’t only heightened tension within the Government of National Unity (GNU), but raised fundamental questions about its viability.

The 2025 Budget reflects the government’s struggle to balance fiscal prudence with the pressing social needs of a country plagued by economic stagnation, crumbling infrastructure, and deepening poverty.

This Budget comes at a time when South Africa can least afford policy paralysis. The recent cancellation of R8.5 billion a year in aid from the United States (US), the imminent loss of tariff-free access to the US export market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and sky high public-sector debt levels have left our economy in a precarious position. Though encouraging private sector-led investment growth remains our only viable path to prosperity, the ANC has regrettably chosen to focus on plugging holes rather than implementing the bold economic reforms the country desperately needs.”

- Michael Kransdorff, chief executive of the Institute for International Tax and Finance and a Harvard trained economist.

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South Africa stands at an unprecedented fiscal and political crossroads. The 2025 Budget, finally tabled by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

26/03/2025

“As March 2025 marches on, my mind takes me back to 2020, to those milestone dates that still bring back such vivid memories of the COVID-19 pandemic. For me, it started even earlier, and five years later, in ways big and small, positive and negative, the effects can still be felt.

Autumn leaves lay on the ground, our Purim posters were still on our classroom walls. We said goodbye not knowing that “a few weeks” would turn into two years of a new reality.

My colleagues in primary and high school environments agree that the effects of COVID-19 on our students are difficult to ignore, from delays in certain academic areas to a worrying reliance on phones and devices. The most worrying of course is the lack of socialisation that resulted from months behind closed doors where being with friends was always behind a screen. Now, many kids are battling to communicate and interact appropriately face to face.”

- Caron Levy, head of school at King David Rosabelle Klein Nursery School.

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As March 2025 marches on, my mind takes me back to 2020, to those milestone dates that still bring back such vivid memories of the COVID-19

25/03/2025

The United Nations (UN) – an organisation founded to uphold peace that has been turned into a brutal weapon against Israel – is on its way out, according to Israel’s former ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan.

“The UN isn’t just a failure, it’s a disgrace. Since 7 October 2023, the UN has reached an all-time moral low,” he told a packed Cape Town audience at the South African Zionist Federation’s “Let’s Talk – Zionist Connect” conference on Sunday, 16 March.

Having represented Israel between 2020 and 2024 at the UN, Erdan is recognised for being fearless in confronting the indefensible he found at the UN.

“The Free World is finally waking up to the disaster that is the UN,” he said. Already, UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) has been defunded by President Donald Trump and other key European allies, and the United States (US) administration has pulled out of the Human Rights Council, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), and the World Health Organization.

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The United Nations (UN) – an organisation founded to uphold peace that has been turned into a brutal weapon against Israel

24/03/2025

Last week’s council resolution by the City of Johannesburg to vote against the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) motion to rescind the renaming of the monumental Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive doesn’t mean that all the processes have been met for the renaming. The vote was all about the motion being brought forward by the DA.

The issue has caused a lot of confusion among residents of Johannesburg, who are vehemently opposed to the renaming of Sandton Drive after Khaled, a terrorist who doesn’t have any connection to their beloved city. It’s not only a wasteful, futile exercise, it’s also a political miscalculation by the African National Congress (ANC) which is focusing on agitating the United States (US) and Israel at the cost of its citizens.

The Patriotic Alliance (PA) and ActionSA have made it clear in the past – and they haven’t changed their position – that they wouldn’t support the renaming of Sandton Drive. However, this issue has become a political football, and these two political parties are of the view that the DA is using it to find political currency. But, the fact that the PA and ActionSA didn’t support the motion brought by the DA doesn’t mean that they approve of the renaming of Sandton Drive.

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Last week’s council resolution by the City of Johannesburg to vote against the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) motion to rescind the renaming of the monumental

24/03/2025

The leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Johannesburg City Council this week demanded that the mayor secure an urgent public apology from a council member following his antisemitic tirade in chambers targeting DA councillor Daniel Schay.

DA caucus leader Councillor Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku sent an official letter to Executive Mayor Dada Sello Morero on Monday, 17 March, calling for Tebogo Nkonkou, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development, to apologise to Johannesburg and in particular the Jewish community within seven days.

Echeozonjoku wrote the letter after witnessing an ugly display of antisemitism in council chambers on 13 March during the same session which included a failed motion by the DA to rescind the renaming of Sandton Drive after known terrorist Leila Khaled.

Schay, who wears a yarmulke and a blue-and-white tie featuring a Star of David, was subjected to verbal abuse from fellow councillors, who objected to the Israeli-South African flag and white peace dove sticker on his laptop. Schay said he was repeatedly interrupted during his speech by Councillor Tefo Raphadu, who objected to the graphics on Schay’s laptop. Then in a particularly vile outburst, Pan African Congress of Azania councillor Nkonkou invoked Adolf Hitler’s name, reportedly chanting, “We want Hitler!” Then, an Economic Freedom Fighters back bencher Alfred Telekoa also chimed in, followed by loud chants of “Free, Free Palestine!”

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The leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Johannesburg City Council this week demanded that the mayor secure an urgent public apology

23/03/2025

The University of Cape Town’s (UCT’s) top decision-making body, its council, had the chance on 15 March to cancel its anti-Israel boycott motions adopted in 2024, but it purposely chose not to.

Had it taken that chance, it would have saved the university from a haemorrhage of funding, with two thirds of donor funding reportedly being cancelled since adopting the resolutions.

Instead, it chose to keep the resolutions, continuing on a path to self-destruction. The decision comes after UCT was hit by the Trump administration’s cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and as individual donors reportedly abandon UCT in light of the resolutions.

“This self-inflicted crisis threatens vital resources and undermines UCT’s global standing,” says South African Zionist Federation spokesperson Rolene Marks. “It exposes the ideological capture of its leadership at the direct expense of academic freedom, financial stability, and student welfare. Council members have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the university, yet some are wilfully disregarding this obligation. Their hatred of Israel outweighs their responsibility for UCT’s future.”

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The University of Cape Town’s (UCT’s) top decision-making body, its council, had the chance on 15 March

21/03/2025

On Human Rights Day, South Africans generally enjoy a day off with family to celebrate the human rights we are granted by our Constitution.

“Well, all those except our right to security, equal opportunity, or autonomy,” said 19-year-old Yona Treger, a Biomedical Sciences student at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).

Though South Africa may hold itself up as a protector of human rights, some youngsters within the Jewish community think that in recent years, this has fallen by the wayside.

“The chutzpah that South Africa has to pride itself on human rights is immense and the fact that we accept it is shameful,” said Treger. “The government of South Africa has done nothing to uphold human rights. In its notorious case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, it stated that Israel was cutting off electricity and water and this was ‘calculated to bring about the physical destruction’ of the Gazan people. Why then does it cut off South Africa’s water and electricity every other week? Does it wish to bring about the physical destruction of South Africa? Or possibly just our rights and dignity?”

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On Human Rights Day, South Africans generally enjoy a day off with family to celebrate the human rights we are granted by our Constitution.

20/03/2025

Joel Pollak is not sorry he 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐒 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐛. With Ebrahim Rasool 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 of the US, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕?
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Read this 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤’𝐬 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 of the 𝑺𝑨 𝑱𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 here: bit.ly/sajr20march
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𝑾𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒂𝒕 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒅.

20/03/2025

Against the backdrop of South Africa’s Budget crisis and its rapidly declining relationship with the United States (US), South Africa’s National Treasury designated a further R37.2 million to fund the government’s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

This pushes the government’s expenditure on the case to more than R130 million. The R37.2 million was allocated from the department of the presidency, with Treasury saying that “the presidency is representing South Africa in the case before the ICJ, against Israel”.

Ray Hartley, research director of local think tank The Brenthurst Foundation, says, “The South African government is doubling down on a disastrous policy route that has already severely damaged its relationship with the US, a key trading partner. The absence of any such allocation for countering the real genocide taking place in African countries such as Sudan suggests that this is a political and not a moral choice.”

In November 2024, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola insisted that South African taxpayers were paying for the ICJ case, and that it wasn’t being financially backed by any foreign funder. But on 17 March 2025, Ann Bernstein, the executive director of think tank the Centre for Development and Enterprise, warned that “South Africa has run out of money”, and if it continues its current policies, it will drive the country into a bigger crisis.

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Against the backdrop of South Africa’s Budget crisis and its rapidly declining relationship with the United States (US), South Africa’s National Treasury designated

20/03/2025

Joel Pollak isn’t sorry that he’s cost South Africa’s ambassador to the United States (US) his job. And Tony Leon, former Democratic Alliance leader and former ambassador to Argentina said that the expulsion of Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool from Washington is “not a hiccup in the relationship as President Cyril Ramaphosa characterised it, but a full-blown crisis. It’s the lowest point in US-South Africa bilateral relations in recent or indeed living memory.”

The South African-born Pollak told the SA Jewish Report that he felt “indifferent” about getting Rasool fired, “though hopeful that the South African government will understand that its policies must change”.

Pollak broke the story on the ultra-conservative Breitbart News Network that Rasool had publicly called President Donald Trump a racist and a supremacist in a webinar. Within hours, Rasool was declared persona non grata by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on X and booted out of the country. Rubio referenced Pollak’s piece in deciding to expel Rasool, a former Western Cape premier and ambassador in Washington, D.C. from 2010 to 2015, who lasted a mere two months in this his second stint. Where does this leave bilateral relations? And how might it affect the Jewish community in South Africa?

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Joel Pollak isn’t sorry that he’s cost South Africa’s ambassador to the United States (US) his job.

19/03/2025

🌟 Download our latest issue - free & online now! 🌟
Filled with news, opinions & insights you don’t want to miss, including…

💰SA treasury gives presidency further R37.2 million to spend on ICJ case
🏛️ UCT again chooses anti-Israel resolutions, despite threat of US withdrawing funding
🛑 DA demands apology after Jhb councillor says ‘We want Hitler!’
⚠️ Political potholes continue over Sandton Drive renaming
🩺 Looking back at the pandemic, 5 years on

… and much more!

𝑫𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒚: https://bit.ly/sajr20march

19/03/2025

The recent signing of an agreement between the Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History in Vilnius and the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation creates huge educational possibilities for Lithuanians and South African Jews, many of whom are of Lithuanian descent.

In his two years as the director of the museum in Vilnius, Dr Simonas Strelcovas said he had encountered reticence from people in Lithuania about confronting the past and the possible role they had played in some of the worst atrocities committed against Jews in Lithuania.

Strelcovas was in Johannesburg on 2 March to sign a memorandum of understanding to allow the institutions to collaborate to educate people in South Africa and Lithuania about their rich history.

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The recent signing of an agreement between the Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History in Vilnius and the South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation

19/03/2025

Nearly half of all adults worldwide hold elevated levels of antisemitic attitudes, according to the latest Global 100 survey conducted by the ADL (Anti-Defamation League).

Last week, I attended the ADL’s annual conference titled “Never is Now”, where this alarming finding was explored to understand the spike in global antisemitism and how communities in the United States (US) and internationally are dealing with this upsurge.

Some of the trends that we have observed in South Africa are consistent with other countries. In the past 17 months, all our communities have battled intimidation in the workplace, in academia, in professions, healthcare, arts and culture, and on the streets.

- Wendy Kahn, national director, South African Jewish Board of Deputies

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Nearly half of all adults worldwide hold elevated levels of antisemitic attitudes, according to the latest Global 100 survey conducted by the ADL