Scapegoating, stereotyping, and conspiracy theories

Looking for scapegoats in troubled times is intrinsic to the conspiratorial world view, and since Jews feature so prominently in such thinking, it’s common for them to be blamed even for issues that have nothing to do with them.

The backlash against the recent chanting of “Kill the Boer” and similarly problematical slogans at an Economic Freedom Fighters rally was yet another example of this. It took only a controversial tweet by someone who happens to be Jewish to result in a spate of invective against our community, showing once again how deeply the belief that global Jewry is orchestrating the destruction of the white races through their black proxies is ingrained in our country. Typically, the names of famous Jewish anti-apartheid activists were trotted out as “evidence” of how Jews seek to corrupt and overthrow white civilisation by promoting communism, liberalism, multiculturalism, and other race-mixing ideologies. One also saw the usual dehumanised, hook-nosed caricatures of Jews gleefully manipulating blacks into fighting this anti-white race war on their behalf. That reaction was predicated on the notion of collective guilt, whereby Jewish community members are seen not as individuals who think and act in their own distinct ways but as part of a homogenous whole. The essence of bigotry, in fact, is the attribution of innate negative character traits to people on the basis of their membership of a particular group, whether defined along ethnic, religious, or similar such lines.

The fact that many of the offensive posts originated overseas also showed how notions of a Jewish plot against whites is largely driven by right-wing white supremacist movements abroad, particularly in the United States. Robert Bowers, who last week was sentenced to death for the murder of 11 worshippers at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, was inspired by precisely such reasoning. However, as an offensive tweet about Jewish lawyers by US rap artist Cardi B recently showed, antisemitic stereotyping isn’t unique to any particular group. In fact, there has been a growing number of similar such incidents aimed at creating tension between the black and Jewish communities in the US, and that’s starting to play out in South Africa as well. All this underlines the ongoing importance of Jewish representative groups around the world continuing to build bridges of friendship and understanding with the wider community so as to debunk these and other negative stereotypes, while also building partnerships in combating bigotry in all its forms, regardless of who the targets are.

Gwakwani centre creates new opportunities

Had it not been for our relationship with the University of Johannesburg (UJ), with which the Board regularly engages on Jewish-student issues, the remote Limpopo village of Gwakwani would never have come to our notice. It was through these engagements that we learned how UJ has since 2014 adopted the village and introduced various sustainable resources for the upliftment of the people in the area. This led to the Board’s partnering with UJ in establishing an education and resource centre that among other things includes uncapped Wi-Fi; computers (donated by Investec); and books for the local Hanyani school. Charisse Zeifert, the Board’s head of communications, headed up the project and last Friday, travelled to Gwakwani to participate in the official opening of the centre, aptly named Nga Tshumisano (Let’s work together). The venture was clearly branded as a Jewish initiative, and has generated enormous goodwill towards our community among those who until now would have had little or no meaningful contact with Jewish people. It has further helped cement the excellent working relationship we have with UJ, which we look forward to building on in the future.

• Listen to Charisse Zeifert on Jewish Board Talk, 101.9 ChaiFM, every Friday from 12:00 to 13:00.