PAGAD leader tells Zionists ‘to hide’

The national coordinator of PAGAD (People Against Gangsterism and Drugs) vowed to “unleash the party of Allah on the shores of Africa” when speaking to a crowd waving Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad flags on the Sea Point Promenade on Sunday, 2 August. 

“We must say it loud and we must say it very clear today. To every Zionist, to every business that supports Zionism and oppression, to every politician, to every political party, to every human being who supports Zionism and oppression, you better find yourself a rock to hide under,” said Haroon Orrie. 

The South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) Cape Council has called on the South African Police Service and National Prosecuting Authority to investigate conduct and remarks at the gathering “for possible contravention of the Riotous Assemblies Act, the Intimidation Act, and the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act.” 

“Telling fellow South Africans to hide, before instructing a crowd to fight them, crosses a line that no democratic society can afford to ignore,” says its executive director, Joshua Schewitz. 

PAGAD is known for acts of terror it unleashed on South Africans in the 1990s. While the current group is small, Orrie expressed its ideology in the heart of the suburb where most Capetonian Jews live. 

He may have been alluding to the Hamas charter, which states, “Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out, ‘O’ Muslim, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.’” 

Orrie said, “We greet the leaders of the Mujahideen [those committing jihad]”, and went on to ask, “How many years do we want to wait for a directive, when Allah instructs you to fight in his cause?” The audience responded with “Allahu Akhbar”. 

Orrie went on to say that this “instruction” wasn’t given only to Palestinians and Iranians, but to “humanity”. He told the crowd, “We have to fight them wherever we find them, fight them bullet to bullet.” 

Orrie has previously been photographed wearing a Hamas headband, and in 2023 called for LGBTQ+ people to be punished with death. 

The 2 August demonstration was organised by several small organisations. Some women wore Hezbollah headbands and children were present. Participants stamped on Israeli and American flags, and held signs saying “Death to Israel” and “Glory to the martyrs, long live the resistance” with a Hamas logo. 

Leader of the organisation Cape Town Intifada, Uzair Mohamed, held a Hezbollah flag while addressing the crowd. “We fight with the intention to eradicate, annihilate, and destroy Zionist Israel,” he said to responses of “Taqbir!”, a declaration of support. 

His organisation supports terrorism, and publishes the inverted red triangle, a symbol of Hamas terrorist attacks, on its posts. 

On 2 August, he purposefully stood on a piece of cardboard with a Star of David. 

“It is us that must choose our battlefield,” he told the crowd. “The most important thing is bringing awareness [to] armed resistance.” 

He said there could “never ever” be a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. “They [Israel] are an illegal, illegitimate regime, and they must be destroyed.” 

He went on to praise “the martyrs” of Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and repeatedly shouted, “Death to Israel!” 

Four terrorism experts spoke to the SA Jewish Report about Orrie and Mohamed’s comments, but all four refused to be identified for security reasons. 

The first expert says he is “very concerned” for the Jewish community and Jewish-owned businesses in South Africa. 

“Money is still flowing from the African National Congress [ANC] to groups such as PAGAD, having originally come from Iran. For the ANC, this is a way of mobilising support ahead of the coming elections.” 

He explains that PAGAD members represent a significant number of voters in certain municipal districts. “PAGAD is becoming increasingly bold and dangerous. The repeated talk of martyrdom leads me to believe that the organisation is engaged in a renewed radicalisation effort in support of Hamas.” 

Through the local elections in November, “PAGAD may also be able to exert influence over the municipalities in which it supported successful candidates”, says the expert. “If Hamas and Hezbollah lose traction, South Africa could become a new frontier in Iran’s conflict with Israel.” 

The second expert agrees, saying the PAGAD statement is “a big escalation”, like a “declaration of war”. He says South Africa has become a “superpower” in the current “soft war” over the Middle East narrative, which means extremists might feel empowered. At the same time, the weakening of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran may make these groups more desperate, and this may also be why such rhetoric is coming to the fore. 

But the third expert says he thinks these groups won’t commit terror because “they have relative freedom in South Africa, and they wouldn’t want to lose that”. He believes the state would “crack down” on PAGAD if it acted, and therefore such a move would be risky. He also says PAGAD has lost support in the Muslim community. 

The fourth expert described Orrie as “militant” and active in PAGAD since its inception. He believes PAGAD could easily access explosives today. “If given the opportunity, they will revert to their old ways.” 

Terrorism expert Professor Hussein Solomon says the statements by Orrie and Mohamed are “incitement”. 

Counter-terrorism specialist Willem Els says the Jewish community should be “alerted” by the rhetoric. He says it’s concerning because it “moves into language that can be interpreted as endorsing violent actions”. 

Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies (Cape SAJBD) executive director Daniel Bloch says the statements “may reasonably be perceived as threatening towards a constitutionally protected religious community” because “Zionism forms an important part of the identity of a significant proportion of the Jewish community”. 

The glorification of violence and rejection of peaceful coexistence have no place in responsible public discourse, he says. 

While both the frequency of these demonstrations and the number of participants has declined, with this being only the second significant protest this year, “such conduct should never be normalised or dismissed”. 

The Jewish community “can be assured that these incidents have been documented and referred to the relevant authorities, and will continue to be closely monitored by the Cape SAJBD,” says Bloch. “We will not hesitate to pursue all appropriate legal avenues where the circumstances warrant.” 

The SAZF Cape Council condemned the gathering, where “terrorist organisations were openly glorified, and speakers delivered explicit threats and calls for violence”. 

Schewitz says the reference to “the party of Allah” was “an apparent reference, in context, to Hezbollah”. 

And Orrie’s speech was “an open threat, directed at businesses, political parties and individuals”. 

The presence of Hezbollah and Iranian regime flags alongside Orrie and Mohamed’s remarks “moves this gathering well beyond the bounds of legitimate protest”, says Schewitz. 

“A march at which Hezbollah flags are openly displayed, terrorist organisations are praised, and a speaker instructs his audience to fight Zionists ‘wherever we find them’ and ‘bullet to bullet’ isn’t ordinary political expression,” says Schewitz. “It’s intimidation and, in our view, constitutes incitement to violence.” 

The SAZF Cape Council has called on the South African Human Rights Commission to investigate whether the statements constitute prohibited hate speech under the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act.