Sense and security at matric Rage

As experts ease parental concerns around possible antisemitism at the upcoming Matric Rage Festivals in Ballito and Plettenberg Bay, the Jewish Community Security Organisation (CSO) has advised attendees to de-escalate any potential confrontation.

Holidaymakers in general are also being urged to make wise decisions.

“Hopefully nothing will happen, but I’ve never seen the world in the state that it’s in,” said Nicole Nathan, whose daughter will attend the Ballito Rage Festival which begins this weekend. Her main concern, she said, was how any potential antisemitism among students on Rage would be dealt with. “Those attending have only just finished school, and things happen on a rugby field with swearing and fights, for example, and I wasn’t sure of the security situation at Rage.”

Yet her concerns, shared by some matric parents, were largely put to rest by both the organisers of Rage and the CSO.

Replying to an enquiry from Nathan, Ballito Rage Festival organiser Brendan Keen stressed that festival organisers understand the importance of creating a secure and inclusive environment.

“Our team works closely with professional security personnel and local authorities to ensure a high standard of security throughout the festival,” Keen said. “The event is categorised by South African Police Service [SAPS] as a medium-risk event, which means that not only do we have security plans in place, but these plans have also been vetted, checked, and signed off by SAPS. Additionally, SAPS plays an integral role in our operations, with a dedicated team onsite, running our Venue Operations Centre to assist with any potential issues.”

In terms of health and safety for attendees, there are medical tents on site, and Rage works with the Red Frogs, a volunteer support network for students. Among other offerings, the Red Frogs walk attendees home safely should they not use provided transport, help out in difficult situations, and provide counselling. Keen also expressed his willingness to connect with the CSO should the need arise.

Ahead of a CSO Rage briefing hosted on 27 November around the dos and don’ts of the festival, Steve Goldberg, the chairperson of the CSO, told the SA Jewish Report, “The concern isn’t only about Rage,” he said, “it’s about being Jewish in a post 7 October world. While for adults, it might be easier as they’ve thought about it before, for kids going on Rage, it might be one of their first experiences of adulthood, independence, and of not being in a purely Jewish environment.”

Yet he stressed that Rage appeared to be well organised and managed. Asked for his main tips, Goldberg said attendees need to be sensible.

“If someone is being antisemitic towards you, you’ve got a choice to make: to take the high road or the low road. The high road would be to de-escalate it, report it to the relevant authorities, and to make sure that you can continue to enjoy Rage with as few issues as possible. The low road is always violence, which we never encourage anyone to engage in, and we absolutely would discourage violence among kids on Rage.”

The CSO isn’t aware of any specific antisemitic threats over the holidays, he said, but it’s always on alert. “Our CSO office in Durban is well aware of Rage, and there will be resources and experts on standby. I’ve got two of my own kids going on Rage, so whatever I’m cooking, I’m going to eat it too.”

Goldberg reassured holidaymakers in general, saying that CSO protectors would travel throughout the country during the season. “We know exactly who’s where, and we have a plan,” he said. Though CSO Cape Town is independent from CSO Johannesburg, the branches work closely together.

Ronen Klugman, the director of Plett Rage, said that though antisemitism at the festival isn’t a concern, he’s prepared to deal with it should the need arise. “I’m a proud Jew, and my business partner is Jewish. At Rage, there’s zero tolerance for any hate speech, including antisemitism. We don’t really ever have these issues though. These kids all know each other, they all play sport together, and if incidents are to happen, they will occur on the sports field. If it happens, though, I’ll address it, I promise you.”

Highly trained security personnel familiar with managing the movement of big crowds will be overseeing the festival, with all events meeting mandated security regulations, Klugman said. Medics and ambulances are also on site, he said, stressing the need to wear sunscreen and drink enough water, common health concerns. The Red Frogs will also be around to provide security and emotional support. Though there’s a full turnkey transport solution for attendees travelling to festival grounds, a group of local volunteers called the Shepherds also drive around at night in branded vehicles to fetch stragglers.

The festival employs internal and external security officers, Klugman said. “The outside safety officer pulls together law enforcement, police, disaster management, and all the private security companies, and they operate out of one command communication centre.” The team gets daily security updates, and sees camera footage.

“The amazing thing about this event is they arrive as school kids, and they leave as students,” Klugman said. “There’s such a beautiful thing that takes place where you’ve got thousands of 18-year-olds all celebrating the exact same moment in their life together.”

Brothers Jesse and Benno Leibowitz, who attended Plett Rage last year, just months after the 7 October massacre, said they didn’t encounter any antisemitism. Most of the attendees were Afrikaans, they said, and their being Jewish didn’t come up at all. “The only ‘incident’ was when we overheard an Afrikaans girl telling her friends about how Israel was completely right in the war,” said Benno.

As for this year, Nathan said she felt a lot better after engaging with Rage organisers and the CSO. “I believe that if there’s a threat, the CSO will hear about it and deal with it. The kids just need to be aware as well,” she said.