Call exclusion of Jews what it is: antisemitism

Last week I attended a conference in Dublin, hosted by the World Jewish Congress, alongside government representatives from 38 countries who make up the Special Envoys and Coordinators Combating Antisemitism (SECCA), and the Jewish communal leaders accompanying their envoys. As South Africa doesn’t have an envoy, I alone took up the seat next to our flag at the table. 

When friends and family heard I was bound for Dublin, they looked at me puzzled. Why would you want to go to Ireland? A fair question given the hostility of the Irish government and the antisemitic incidents in the country. It reminded me of the Jewish groups that had contacted me after 7 October asking whether they should cancel their trips to South Africa because of the ANC government’s stance on Israel. I encouraged them to come. Firstly, because I still believe that most South Africans don’t share this hostility, and secondly, and very importantly, because we need to support Jewish communities in these countries. We need to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. 

There were also two practical reasons the envoys chose Dublin for their SECCA meeting. It was hosted by the European Union (EU), whose presidency is currently held by Ireland, and the focus was antisemitism on social media and in artificial intelligence (AI). With Dublin a hub for these platforms, it was the logical venue. 

Alongside fellow delegates, I visited TikTok’s Transparency and Accountability Centre and met with those responsible for content policy at Meta, building contacts so that I can effectively raise and address issues that arise in South Africa. I was able to share specific local context, which is pivotal to analysing content that comes out of our environment. We also engaged with the executive chairperson of Ireland’s media regulator, and with Professor Yuval Shany of the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford, on the international legal issues around AI, today and going forward. 

It was at a cocktail party hosted by the Irish presidency of the EU at Iveagh House, home of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, that antisemitism was laid bare before envoys, communal leaders, diplomats, and Irish officials. 

In his address, Maurice Cohen, president of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, told a story that epitomised the very struggle we had gathered to confront. Earlier this year, while preparing for the conference, the organisers had booked 70 rooms for delegates at the Herbert Park Hotel. Once hotel management learned that the conference would address antisemitism, they had asked him whether the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would be present. A shocked Cohen had explained that it was a conference on antisemitism and had nothing to do with Israel or the IDF. The rooms were cancelled. 

In his powerful speech, Cohen asked, “How quickly does the word ‘Jewish’ change a conversation? How easily does a gathering about antisemitism become associated with the Israeli army? And how quickly can people who were welcome when they were simply 70 hotel guests become something rather different once they are known to be attending a Jewish congress?” 

He continued, “Contemporary antisemitism doesn’t always arrive wearing the language of the past. It doesn’t always announce itself with a slur, a threat, or a placard. Increasingly, it can present itself as a question, a precaution, a policy, a request for clarification. It begins by treating Jewish identity as evidence of political allegiance. It turns Jewish people into representatives of a foreign state, Jewish gatherings into security concerns, and ordinary acts of welcome into decisions requiring special permission. That is the danger of antisemitism today: not only that it excludes Jews, but that it makes their exclusion appear reasonable.” 

On the flight home, I thought deeply about Cohen’s remarks, and about the conversation we’d had over a Guinness just before I left. I reflected on similar issues in South Africa. Different circumstances, the same rationalising of discrimination and exclusion. 

In February 2023, SA Rugby Union (SARU) president Mark Alexander cited security concerns as the reason for rescinding the Israeli team’s invitation to compete in the Mzansi Challenge. Despite complaints filed with World Rugby over the violation of its rules and regulations, and SARU’s failure to substantiate any security threat, the Tel Aviv Heat were excluded. 

Similarly, Cricket SA (CSA) stripped David Teeger of the captaincy of the U19 Cricket World Cup team citing “security concerns”. When the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) met with CSA chairperson Lawson Naidoo and his leadership team, they failed to provide any credible security threat. Again, just a cover story for exclusion. 

In September 2024, the New South Institute’s Africa Global Dialogue brought together renowned thought leaders from around the world, from diverse backgrounds and with different perspectives, to address the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A vicious campaign was launched to vilify the conference and pressure speakers and attendees to withdraw, and Constitution Hill cancelled the venue at the last moment. Conference organiser Professor Ivor Chipkin observed that Constitution Hill’s cancellation “betrayed its commitment to free expression, but also emboldened those who seek to suppress ideas that they find offensive or challenging”. 

Ireland and South Africa pride themselves on their hard-won democracies. But to truly embrace these values, they need to uphold the principles of diversity and the protection of minorities. 

Speaking at the Dublin community’s 7 October commemoration before the SECCA conference, Dr Alexandra Herzog, from the American Jewish Community, said, “A democracy cannot be truly pluralistic if minorities feel they must hide part of themselves in order to belong.” 

We have to fight back to retain our spaces, whether in Ireland, in South Africa, or in the growing number of countries trying to exclude us from public life. I know that the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland will not accept the antisemitic move, and I can assure you that the SAJBD will continue to fight every attempt at exclusion. 

• Wendy Kahn is national director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies.