Interfaith leader violently attacked by anti-Israel mob

Bleeding profusely from her hands after being viciously attacked by an anti-Israel mob on Friday, 27 September, Cape Town academic and interfaith leader, Dr Azila Reisenberger (72), continued to hold an Israeli flag and stand calmly as the mob hurled antisemitic abuse at her.

Reisenberger, who faced shouts of “Jews must go away”; “Jews must all die”; and “Pity they didn’t finish Jews off in Europe”, opened a case of assault with the South African Police Service (SAPS), and then went to a doctor who cleaned the wounds, bandaged them, and prescribed antibiotics to prevent infection. Two weeks later, she still doesn’t have full function in her hands, and it’s painful to move them. She was also hit in the face, and is still bruised.

Born and raised in Israel before moving to South Africa in her 20s, Reisenberger decided to support her Christian Zionist friends who have been standing outside Parliament in support of Israel every Friday for 25 years. When she arrived, she saw they had chosen not to do so that week as they had been viciously attacked the previous week. She decided that she would still stand with her Israeli flag, but as soon as she got out of her car, anti-Israel protesters, who also now protest there weekly, tried to rip it out of her hands, injuring her.

The mob surrounded her, pushed her, destroyed her flag, and hurled abuse, but Reisenberger remained calm, telling them that just because they were shouting, it didn’t make their words true. She told them she understood that they felt they need to stand with their brethren like she stood with hers, but there was no need to be abusive or call for the other side to be killed. “You can wave your flag, and I can wave my flag,” she said. But the mob showed their true colours by forcing her flag from her hands and setting it alight.

However, this sprightly grandmother simply took out another, bigger flag and continued to hold it with steadfast resilience. She walked across the road, but was followed by the mob, who continued to surround her, prod her with flags, be abusive, and try to provoke her.

The police arrived, and advised her to leave as it was too dangerous, but she refused, saying that to do so would impinge on her freedom of expression. Parliamentary guards arrived, and ensured the mob returned her flag to her – it wasn’t fully burnt. The guards then protected Reisenberger while taking photographs of the mob.

After standing calmly for an hour but still bleeding, Reisenberger chose to leave when she was ready. Since that day, she has faced harassment from anonymous emails. However, she says, “I’m not scared of anything. I want to tell everyone, especially the younger generation, to stand up for what you believe in. I was happy to stand alone with my flag. You don’t need other people to join you if you know you need to do something. If you believe in something, just do it. Maybe that’s the Israeli way.”

An established author, respected women’s rights activist, academic, marriage officer, and interfaith leader, Reisenberger says she’s shocked at the vile and extremist anti-Israel rhetoric she’s seeing in academia and women’s rights spaces.

As a long-term lecturer in Hebrew literature, gender, and sexuality, and gender and religions at the University of Cape Town (UCT), she’s horrified at former colleagues now calling for the eradication of Israel – her homeland – and spouting hatred and conspiracy theories on social media.

She believes that the interfaith connections at UCT have been eroded, and she has friends who were once close colleagues who have turned their backs on her. She’s deeply concerned about the extreme narrative at UCT. “The discussion is no longer about peace, it’s about annihilation of the Jewish state. These are thinking people, yet they don’t recognise the evil, the horror,” she says.

Reisenberger’s daughter, Tali Anderssen, says she and her family were away at the time, “and didn’t even know my mom was going to go to Parliament until she told us afterwards. I was proud that she was going to support the longstanding Bridges for Peace group that regularly stands outside Parliament. My mom has been friends with many of them for years, as they have such a wonderful, peaceful love for Israel. Unfortunately, she was alone that day, and it’s horrifying that she could be so blatantly assaulted in front of the precinct, with no real intervention. There’s been such thuggish behaviour by pro-Palestinian groups, and seemingly no recognition that any other views are allowed other than their own.”

Adrienne Jacobson, the chairperson of the Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies (Cape SAJBD), says, “The previous week, also outside Parliament, the same aggressive pro-Palestinian group attacked an elderly Christian man, stealing his Israeli flag, slapping him in the face, and kicking him in the stomach. He, too, sustained injuries and will also be opening a case with the SAPS. There’s also a video of the incident.

“The Cape SAJBD condemns in the strongest terms the deviation from the South African ethos of peaceful protest into physical and verbal assault by certain pro-Palestinian groups,” says Jacobson. “Freedom of expression is a constitutionally enshrined right of every South African, and for these groups to deny individuals these rights and compound this by committing criminal acts, is unacceptable. We have engaged with SAPS and the City of Cape Town to act against these hoodlums and ensure that they don’t attack anyone else in the future. We may have differing opinions about the Middle East, but it doesn’t validate or justify the use of hate speech and violence.

“We call on our government leaders, including the African National Congress [ANC], to condemn the violence against fellow South Africans. Regardless of the ANC’s political position against Israel, it must support its own citizens’ constitutional rights to freedom of expression.”

South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) spokesperson Rolene Marks says, “The SAZF condemns the attack on a Jewish woman outside Parliament with the contempt it deserves. We call on authorities to take swift action to investigate and prosecute this crime.

“We urge the government, the ANC, and President Cyril Ramaphosa to refrain from their repeated anti-Israel statements that are devoid of fact, and serve only to increase volatility and division within South Africa and do nothing to bring peace to the Middle East,” Marks says. “By choosing to accuse Israel falsely of genocide at the International Court of Justice, the government has created an environment that’s not safe for Jewish people in South Africa. It should refrain from repeating falsehoods against Israel, and ensure that South Africa is a place that’s safe and accepting for all who live in it, including Jews.”