TALI FEINBERG
The poster also featured a picture of Maimane at “the iconic old Synagogue” in Cape Town and said that “Jews killed the Prophets, some even killed the Lord Jesus” and “they fail to please G-d and work against all humanity”.
Anti-Semitism expert Professor Milton Shain called the poster “quite horrific” and explained why it was classic anti-Semitism: “The poster speaks for itself. Jews are the enemy. No pretensions about a right wing Israeli government or Zionist extremists or, for that matter, Zionism.
“The biblical passage is quite medieval – and, of course, an appeal to Christians to join in the struggle against Jews. We will get more of this as the election approaches. Linking the DA to Israel in an attempt to get the so-called Muslim vote is something that goes back to the time of Tony Leon.”
The poster appeared after a week in which South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel and politicians slammed Israel for its actions on the Gaza-Israel border.
At a protest in Cape Town, ANC politicians linked the DA with Israel. ANC Deputy Secretary-General Jessie Duarte said that “the DA’s constituency sends money to Israel’s killing machine in our name”.
No political party claimed responsibility for the poster by the time of going to press, and the ANC in the Western Cape distanced itself from it. Yonela Diko, the ANC Western Cape’s media officer, said: “It is inappropriate to call Mmusi Maimane a Jew Boy. We can all make our political points without insults. However, his relationship and support for Netanyahu, the current Israeli leader who has an evil messianic zeal that only accords human value to his own and not to others, puts him on the wrong side of history and makes him an enemy of the South African people.”
DA MP Darren Bergman said the poster should be condemned for bringing anti-Semitism into local politics. “The ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters are behaving recklessly and exploiting emotions that are already flared. This is a time when leadership and reasoning should come to the fore. We should all be seeking peace, and not antagonising for war.”
Charisse Zeifert, head of communications at the SA Jewish Board of Deputies, said on Wednesday night that the board was aware of the poster, but it was reluctant to comment until further investigation. “We are looking into it. We need to apply our minds and understand what is actually going on here before commenting,” she said.
