Signatories named and threatened after UCT list leaked

South African opera doyenne Aviva Pelham was called an “ugly Jewess” and a “wh*re” in the comments section of a post shared on the Gift of the Givers (GOTG) Facebook page, after she was singled out as one of 300 alumni and stakeholders who signed a recent letter to the University of Cape Town (UCT), expressing concerns about its awarding of an honorary doctorate to GOTG founder, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman. 

This letter, with a list of its signatories and other private correspondence, was leaked to the press and others at the end of March. It was quickly used to abuse, harass, and dox people on the list. 

One signatory, who like most spoke anonymously for security reasons, says her correspondence with UCT was leaked, including her email address. She says the list was “shared to intimidate. It’s become a witch hunt.” 

Signatories and observers told the SA Jewish Report that the hate expressed towards signatories, including in major media outlets, demonstrates how local extremists persecute anyone who doesn’t agree with them. Some signatories expressed concern that Sooliman is becoming “untouchable”, saying this should concern all South Africans. 

A spokesperson from UCT Renewal, the organisation that submitted the letter to the university, says “the crux of our letter was to understand whether UCT considered Sooliman’s intolerant statements when they decided to honour him. 

“Either UCT considered these, and honoured him anyway, or UCT didn’t, and therefore didn’t have all relevant factors in front of them when making the decision. This speaks volumes as to where UCT is as an institution. It’s why stakeholders are questioning how the decision was made.” 

The Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies (Cape SAJBD) says it’s “deeply concerned” that the names of the signatories were “publicly disclosed without their consent, in what is already a highly polarised environment”. 

Cape SAJBD executive director Daniel Bloch says that “targeting individuals, including disseminating personal information, with the intent to expose them to harm, is unlawful”. 

The Cape SAJBD is particularly concerned that signatories are being subjected to harassment and discrimination. “We have already seen commentary directed at specific individuals that is deeply hateful and overtly antisemitic, undermining their dignity and safety. This is unacceptable and must be treated with the utmost seriousness,” says Bloch. 

When signing the letter, signatories indicated the capacity in which they added their name. While only a handful did so as “Jewish” or “Zionist”, the majority did not, yet they were all painted with the same brush by those who targeted them. 

“While Gaza burns, these Zionist South Africans target a man who feeds the hungry,” wrote local journalist Herman Lategan on social media, publishing the leaked list of signatories and correspondence, including email addresses. 

In response to Lategan, one anonymous user on X told South Africans to boycott two local Jewish mental health professionals because they signed the letter. 

One of those mental health professionals says, “I feel angry and sad that while exercising my constitutional right to protest peacefully, a total stranger attacked me in my professional capacity. This is hate speech.” 

Another healthcare professional, who is not Jewish, says several acquaintances condemned her for signing the letter. “This is fascism. I was exercising my democratic right, expressing my increasing discomfort with Sooliman’s statements,” she says. 

“In today’s South Africa, you are shut down and smeared if you don’t conform,” she says. “The lengths people will go to to suppress truth is staggering. It’s also concerning that we’re seeing debate shut down at UCT.” 

UCT Renewal is a civic initiative comprising members of the UCT community and broader stakeholders committed to strengthening institutional governance, academic freedom, and inclusive dialogue at UCT. In a statement issued after the leak, the organisation said that no signatory consented to the public release of their name, or to UCT providing emailed correspondence to the media. It did not publish the open letter publicly so that it could “protect the personal information of the signatories”. 

Despite this precaution, News24 published a version of the letter, including the names of approximately 300 signatories, appended to personal email correspondence from UCT academics to the vice-chancellor (VC). This has since been published online by other parties. 

The decision not to publish the names was “grounded in lived experience”, according to UCT Renewal. “Individuals who express dissenting views [on Sooliman and the Middle East] have, in documented instances, been subjected to harassment and boycotts.” 

It’s against this background that “UCT, as the only recipient of the letter, compromised the signatories by leaking their names”, according to the group’s statement. “There’s a reasonably foreseeable risk of harassment of these signatories”, including academic staff and students. 

This is because it is “the stated modus operandi of movements in support of Palestine to specifically target any person that they perceive to be aligned to Zionism or Israel”, continued the statement. 

UCT Renewal is coordinating access to legal assistance for any signatory experiencing harassment. Affected individuals are encouraged to use this support. 

UCT Renewal reaffirmed its commitment to open dialogue, but said this is compromised when “individuals are potentially exposed to harm for expressing lawful and reasoned views. UCT bears a responsibility to ensure that confidential communications are protected, members of its community are safe from intimidation, and institutional processes do not expose individuals to foreseeable harm”. 

Yet, an avalanche of hatred was directed at Pelham and others on the GOTG Facebook page. Users described signatories as “infiltrators”, “part of the Epstein ruling class pedo [paedophile] supporters”, and “ZioNazis”. One user said, “Never trust Jews, they are demons. They were influencing leaders long before Hitler started gassing these terrorists … read the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” 

The signatory whose correspondence with UCT was leaked said, “We see people being singled out, for example with [playwright] Mike van Graan’s open letter to Pelham, where he vilifies her, says despicable things about Israel, and implies that she supports ‘genocide’ because she signed a letter of concern about Sooliman. She’s done amazing things for South Africa, she’s the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, and a grandmother. Other people have been vilified and attacked. Who knows where this will lead?” 

The signatory is horrified that UCT has “allowed the leaking of personal information of its staff, who haven’t even been contacted by the VC to apologise or say he’s dealing with the leak”. 

Another signatory says the leak is “a dangerous attempt to silence dissent. It undercuts future initiatives of UCT Renewal, because participants will fear their names will be leaked.” 

The media “has missed the point. This isn’t about disagreeing with Sooliman’s degree, it’s about UCT leaking names of alumni, staff, students, and parents. If a corporation did that, there would be legal repercussions,” he says. 

UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola says UCT “notes with concern claims that a letter from a group of alumni has been leaked to external parties. The university is currently looking into the matter and is therefore unable to comment further at this stage.” 

News24 editor Adriaan Basson told the SA Jewish Report that it “published the communique because of the great public interest in the matter”. He emphasises that “no email addresses were published” by News24. “They were specifically blocked out by us. The petition/letters were circulated widely over Google Docs. It would have been naive to think the documents would not go public.” 

Asked about the subsequent harassment of signatories, Basson had no comment. 

There are people who have stood up to the hate. Deon Irish, an advocate at the Cape Bar, wrote on Facebook that he was “horrified” by the “unspeakable vitriol” hurled at Pelham, describing it as a “thuggish free-for-all”. 

UCT Renewal called on UCT leadership to conduct an urgent independent investigation into the leak. “We demand accountability from UCT, and insist for anyone found guilty of leaking the emails to be formally disciplined.” 

The Cape SAJBD also called on UCT to “urgently initiate a full, independent, and transparent investigation, and to hold responsible parties accountable in accordance with institutional policies and the law”. 

The organisation further urges media and commentators to “act responsibly by avoiding the unnecessary amplification of individuals’ names in ways that may place them at risk, and to respect the distinction between robust debate and the enabling of harassment”. 

The Cape SAJBD is providing support to affected individuals. “We are collating evidence and will consider all available avenues, including legal remedies, against those who engage in unlawful conduct,” says Bloch.