Antisemitism in South Africa: The Influence of False Narratives and Conspiracy Theories

Origins of Conspiracy Theories

People are willing to believe such absurd statements because they rely on a long history of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories. One of the initial and most dangerous theories was that Jews conspired to kill Jesus. This, in turn, spawned many other conspiracy theories. Once a person begins to believe that a certain people are responsible for the killing of the Son of God, they are ready to believe that this people are capable of anything: that they are connected to the devil, that they poisoned the water supply and deliberately spread diseases, that they stole and desecrated the Eucharistic bread, or that they sacrificed Christian children for the Passover matzah. All these theories served as a pretext for the murder of Jews in the Middle Ages.

Modern Antisemitic Ideas

Although some modern conspiracy theories have roots in this old tradition—especially the notion that Jews are bloodthirsty and insensitive—Mohamed Nour's crazy ideas about the football referee reflect a newer set of ideas rooted slightly more than a hundred years ago. These new concepts were systematically developed in an antisemitic fake and forgery published in 1903.

'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion' claims to contain the 'plans' of Jews to control the world. Examples of such plans include the intention of Jews to undermine the morality of the non-Muslim world, control the global economy, manage the press, and ultimately destroy civilization itself. The absurd ideas about Jews popularized by the 'Protocols' have proven strikingly persistent. According to this line of thinking, Jews represent a power-hungry cabal that plans to control and undermine the surrounding world. They act as puppeteers whose hidden hands secretly control events. They are blamed for everything—from referee decisions in football matches to the ups and downs of the global economy.

The Situation in South Africa

A similar phenomenon is observed in South Africa. The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development of South Africa, Mmamosolo Kubayi, recently tried to explain the surge in xenophobia and foreign killings as an 'external destabilization campaign.' She linked this campaign and the March protests to the South African case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Apparently, this 'external destabilization campaign' (which is widely seen as a reference to Israel) is provoking xenophobic protests and attacks as a cunning attempt to tarnish South Africa's reputation in human rights and show that 'South Africa is not a country with moral authority to protect human rights.' Thus, these shadowy foreign forces are allegedly trying to undermine the ICJ case.

This echoed the equally scandalous statements made by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, a month ago, according to which 'given South Africa's role in the international arena, including our case at the ICJ, one cannot rule out state and non-state actors attempting to undermine South Africa's status in human rights.' This was again a clear reference to Israel and, presumably, to Jewish puppeteers controlling the situation.

Public and Expert Reaction

No evidence has been presented for these absurd claims, and it is unnecessary because they are based on age-old fantasies. Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, founder of the March and March movement, stated that claims of any Israeli involvement in her campaign are deeply offensive because they diminish the self-reliance of Black South Africans by suggesting they cannot organize without foreign support. She also insists on the baselessness of these claims. Instead, the campaign, it is argued, is fueled by poverty, unemployment, and poorly managed immigration policies and practices.

However, it is obvious that the lack of evidence and the absurdity of these claims do not matter. Nazis used similar fantasies with great success. Hitler relied on the 'Protocols' to argue that Jews were responsible for Germany's defeat in World War I and the spread of communism. The fiercely antisemitic Nazi newspaper 'Der Stürmer' warned of a Jewish program of world domination, accusing Jews of destroying the social order and claiming that Jews desired war while the rest of the world desired peace. Nazi propaganda systematically depicted Jews as 'subhuman' beings, carriers of disease, as a violent threat (calling them bandits and terrorists), as a parasitic race, and as conspirators planning world control. In posters, speeches, films, and radio programs, the Nazis demonized and dehumanized Jews. It was said that all Jews were accomplices in an international conspiracy to enslave the non-Muslim world. Nazi propaganda presented its attack on Jews as a struggle between good and evil. This ultimately led to the murder of six million Jews in the Holocaust.

Comedians mocked claims that Jews controlled the weather, banks, the entertainment industry, that 'Jewish money' explained election results in America, and that Jews were responsible for Covid-19 and the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center. Unfortunately, millions of people around the world take these statements extremely seriously and fervently believe them. Antisemitism is indeed vigilant.

Context and Current State

In this context, it is worth remembering that Jews constitute 0.2% of the world population and 0.08% of South Africa's population. Nevertheless, the global surge in antisemitism following Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has given many reason to raise these antisemitic statements again and proudly display them. We have seen horrifying examples of this in South African public life and on social media. And now senior members of our government are also using them. Predictably, many will deny the antisemitism inherent in the statements of these two ministers and their supporters. They will say they are accusing Israel, not Jews. But these statements are essentially deeply antisemitic. The Jerusalem Declaration of Antisemitism, often presented as a more progressive definition allowing criticism of Israel, clearly indicates that such statements are indeed antisemitic. In Guideline 2, it calls the 'idea that Jews are connected to evil forces' in relation to the concept of a 'Jewish conspiracy, in which 'Jews' possess hidden power that they use to promote their own collective agenda to the detriment of others,' as 'classic antisemitism.' In Guideline 6, it states that applying symbols, images, and negative stereotypes of classic antisemitism (as described above) to the State of Israel.

As Professor Milton Stein wrote: 'The historical hand may have withdrawn, but the Jew's 'hidden hand' remains.' Unfortunately, Mohamed Nour, Mmamosolo Kubayi, Ronald Lamola, and many others seem to agree with this.