SAJBD chair elated at protection order against Nazi sympathiser

“Relief and elation” describes the emotions of Professor Karen Milner, the Gauteng chairperson of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) on obtaining a final protection order against Nazi sympathiser and white supremacist Jan Lamprecht last week.

“It was a combination of the two,” she told the SA Jewish Report after having to endure several hours and at least six closed court proceedings sitting uncomfortably close to the man who made her fear for her safety in online posts after she laid crimen injuria charges against him a year ago.

“I felt positive that the magistrate recognised the clear racism and antisemitism of his utterances and writings, especially during this time of rising global antisemitism,” she said.

While waiting for their case to be called on Thursday, 29 July, Milner felt an eery chill in the corridors of the Randburg Magistrates Court as she read through some of the pages documenting his vile antisemitic and racist views.

“His comments online had become quite personal, so there was a certain amount of discomfort when I saw him sitting there,” she said.

As she went through some of the legal documents in preparation for the case, she said there was also a “level of disbelief that I was sitting next to someone who could think such things and hold views that were so unbelievably appalling”.

It was hard to grasp that she was within spitting distance of the ordinary looking, middle-aged man who had displayed such unmitigated hatred in his writings and on his website.

“There was a sense of unreality, and you wonder what kind of person would say these kinds of things,” Milner said.

Lamprecht openly and unashamedly despises Jews, gays, blacks, and all people of colour.

His appearance is nondescript, “someone you’d walk straight past in the street and not for one second think he looked like a typical Nazi sympathiser or neo Nazi”, said Milner.

It’s difficult to believe Lamprecht, who admires Adolf Hitler, has remained under the radar for so long, especially when you listen to some of his home-made videos posted online.

In one recording, Lamprecht lauds Charleston Church mass killer Dylann Roof for “popping off some blacks”.

A quick glance through his website reveals a man who loathes Jews, saying things like “Hitler was too nice to them”. He refers to Jews as “the race of shit”, “racial enemies”, “lying scum”, and “those liberals”.

He tells his supporters that the practice of Judaism should be made illegal like the Spaniards did in 1492.

“We cannot co-exist with them,” he has said.

He also calls the COVID-19 pandemic the “scamdemic”. He wore a mask at last week’s court appearance, but those present noticed how frequently it slipped beneath his nose.

Lamprecht, who has worked in information technology, calls black people “Bravos”, refers to President Cyril Ramaphosa as the “Black Jew”, and to politicians as “Bravo Rulers”. He calls Israel “That Middle Eastern Country”.

According to the SAJBD, the magistrate commended Milner for pursuing justice.

The SAJBD welcomed her judgment, saying, “It was found that the website owned by Lamprecht devalued the Jewish community and other racial groups. The consistent, unashamed nature of his website led Professor Milner to fear for her safety. She was the one person who was sufficiently identifiable in the threats from him and his followers. He nevertheless continued to publish his antisemitic and racist comments, and while the results were foreseeable, he never desisted from doing so.”

Consequently, the magistrate confirmed the interim protection order, and added further conditions with a view to protecting Milner from any future harassment.

Milner said she was grateful for the unwavering support of Advocate Laurance Hodes, attorneys Ian Levitt and Nick Kourie, as well as SAJBD National Director Wendy Kahn.

“They provided me with this circle of protection, for which I’m very grateful,” she said.

“Not once has Lamprecht shown an iota of remorse or regret – on the contrary,” said Milner.

Around Rosh Hashanah last year, Milner was unnerved when she received a threatening email. It was full of hate and vitriol directed at her and Jews.

She had a feeling it was linked to the charges of crimen injuria that she had laid a few months earlier against Lamprecht, an English-speaking “ex-Rhodesian” who has spewed anger at Jews and others for numbers of years on social media.

When she clicked on his white supremacist, pro-Nazi website to see where the email may have originated, she saw a photograph of herself posted on his website, HistoryReviewed, along with her personal details and disparaging comments about her. It became clear how one of his online supporters got her email address.

It was a “horrible” email, she said, not from Lamprecht himself, but related to the criminal case against him.

At the time, Milner said it was “unsettling” and “disturbing”, especially since this post elicited further “disturbing” comments from some of Lamprecht’s supporters.

It resulted in Milner applying for a protection order against him.

Lamprecht’s inciteful videos help to spread inflammatory material. He lauds lone-wolf white supremacists, including Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue mass shooter Robert Bowers.

Milner said she was “hugely relieved” that the final protection order had been granted, and that however stressful it had been, she didn’t regret taking the action she did.

Levitt, said, “This is a huge victory, and well-worth the fight in spite of the length of time the case took.” He cautioned antisemites and racists, that “no matter how long it will take, our resolve is strong, and we will show you that there are consequences to your hatred”.

Milner said she was absolutely delighted that once again, the South African courts had recognised that hate and antisemitism have no place in our society, and that those targeted would be protected.

There are still reams of racist, antisemitic articles on Lamprecht’s websites, and dozens of videos posted online on his channel.

He blames Jews “across the Western world” for censorship and interfering in freedom of speech “all under the guise of combating hate speech”.

A further criminal case against Lamprecht is still to be heard.