Academic maligns SA Jewry with ‘dangerous conspiracy theories’

Jewish academic Dr Alexander O’Riordan described the South African Jewish community as a producer of “settler terrorists” that go to Israel to commit violence. He also claimed that the community was “infiltrated” by Israel, and is a haven for violent youth.

O’Riordan wrote this in an opinion piece published in Daily Maverick on Monday, 11 September. In the piece, titled “Terrorism in Israel has a new face, and it’s not what it used to be”, O’Riordan claimed that Israel recruited “settler terrorists” through Jewish youth movements “namely Netzer Maginim [now Netzer], Habonim Dror, Betar, and to a different extent, Bnei Akiva.”

He went on to say, “Zionist youth movements were able to infiltrate the synagogues and temples and recruit youth activists and organisers in support of Israel.”

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) referred to O’Riordan’s piece as “ridiculous” and “barely coherent”, and said it amounted to a “conspiratorial fantasy”.

In the piece, O’Riordan describes the Community Security Organisation (CSO) as a “youth movement” that “excelled where all the others failed – it organised young Jewish adults and was associated with getting Jews to marry one another”.

“The unwritten rules [of the CSO] are that to be a Jew means to carry arms and defend the community interests against outsiders. A new Jewish identity was shaped by being armed and willing to use violence,” O’Riordan wrote.

A South African academic who now lives in Denmark, O’Riordan also claimed that “early this week, a Scandinavian diplomat was confronted by a group of violent South African settlers in Hebron”. When the SA Jewish Report asked O’Riordan how he knew these people were South Africans, he said, “The Scandinavian diplomat told me first hand he was confronted by South African settlers in Hebron.”

South African Zionist Federation National Chairperson Rowan Polovin said, “This is a despicable attempt by an anti-Israel activist to delegitimise an organisation that ensures the safety and security of Jews in South Africa, as well the Zionist youth movements that underpin our community.”

SAJBD Associate Director David Saks said, “When the issue concerns a particular religious and ethnic community, moreover, making sweeping statements that seriously misrepresent the nature, beliefs, and activities of that community is not only presumptuous, but often defamatory and sometimes even dangerous.

“Such is Alexander O’Riordan’s baffling and frequently incoherent attempt to draw linkages between what he refers to as ‘settler terrorism’ in the West Bank and the actions and ideology of certain Jewish organisations in South Africa, specifically the Jewish youth movements,” wrote Saks.

“Also bizarre is his portrayal of the CSO, a body comprising professionals and volunteers who work to enhance security at Jewish installations and events, but which O’Riordan portrays as being both emblematic of and a vehicle for a new culture of violence that the Jewish youth in South Africa is supposedly embracing. This ridiculous caricature, aside from being palpably untrue, is demeaning to Jewish South Africans in general, and is at least borderline inflammatory,” Saks said.

O’Riordan holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Cape Town, is an associate faculty of Royal Roads University in Canada, and is a political analyst who works on a freelance basis largely advising the United States government, European Union, and United Nations institutions on development co-operation.

He told the SA Jewish Report that he didn’t understand why his OpEd was so offensive. Asked where he got his information from, he said, “The information I cite regarding the South African Jewish community, its youth movements, and CSO is corroborated from three sources, two of which were present at a South African Jewish Board of Deputies meeting with the Jewish youth groups, including the CSO.

“In this meeting, the CSO representative stated that any Jew not willing to do the CSO defence training and stand outside of shul and defend the shul isn’t a Jew,” he said. “The debate ensued that Jewish identity shouldn’t be defined by a willingness to carry a gun and/or radio on Shabbat, at which point the CSO was defended for its success in producing Jewish marriages, where the other youth movements had a poor track record thereof.”

SAJBD National Chairperson Professor Karen Milner said, “The SAJBD was able to obtain a right of reply to the article [in Daily Maverick], written by David Saks, in order to publicly refute the most ridiculous and egregious claims made by the author.

“Furthermore, the SAJBD has requested a formal meeting with Daily Maverick’s opinions editor to express our disappointment that Daily Maverick chose to publish an ill-conceived, barely coherent article which seeks nothing more than to malign the South African Jewish community and its institutions.

“It’s worrying that we have been put in a position where we must do so,” she says. “Had Daily Maverick done some fact-checking and applied the most basic editorial standards, it would have understood that an article, ostensibly criticising settler violence, was just a conspiratorial fantasy about our community. The article itself is nonsensical, and we expect more from Daily Maverick, which prides itself on offering factually reliable news and quality journalism.”

“We’re exceptionally proud of the Zionist youth movements in South Africa,” Polovin said. “They are woven into the fabric of our wonderful South African Jewish community, and have been a key part of South African Jewry virtually from the start. The movements fall under the wide tent of Zionism, and offer a range of perspectives on Israel, Jewish culture, religion, history, and identity. They ensure the next generation of leadership.”

In the SAJBD’s right of reply, Saks laid out why O’Riordan’s theories about the youth movements, the CSO, and the community are “sinister conspiratorial thinking”. “As the saying goes, ‘a little knowledge is a dangerous thing’,” he said. Too easily it can lead to people presuming to make authoritative pronouncements on issues they barely understand and getting things dead wrong.”

Several people commenting on the article online criticised O’Riordan’s article. “Yes, Jewish violence and intimidation in Israel exists, but suggesting it is fed from a pipeline of South African Zionists is the ramblings of a conspiracy theorist,” said Michael Sandler. “There are many Jewish institutions and people who work to limit intermarriage, but it’s laughable to count the CSO among them. Their sole focus is protecting Jews from terrorism and other violence or crime. That’s it. And they do it well.”

Malcolm Datz wrote, “The mind boggles that someone can pen an article of such unsubstantiated drivel, and Daily Maverick publish it without first checking the facts. Clearly, no research has gone into any of the organisations mentioned, not of their political or cultural standpoints, or the purpose and roles they play within the Jewish community and their contribution to society at large. This is the hallmark of an agenda, with an all-too-common narrative of gaslighting Jews.”

The SA Jewish Report repeatedly approached Daily Maverick editor Branko Brkic and opinions editor Tony Weaver for comment. Brkic didn’t respond. Weaver first referred the SA Jewish Report to Saks’ right of reply, then suggested that, “you approach Alexander O’Riordan for comment, as this was an ‘opinionista’ [opinion piece.]”

When the SA Jewish Report emphasised that it was asking Daily Maverick to respond to the community’s concerns about the OpEd, Weaver suggested that the author of this story submit her own opinion piece.

A local media expert, who asked not to be named, said, “Daily Maverick made a decision to carry this, so it should be able to tell you how and why it made that decision. It isn’t just a platform open to everyone – it decides what to carry and what to leave out. And in terms of the press code, it’s accountable for those decisions.”

https://www.honestreporting.com/settler-terrorists-academic-smears-south-african-jewish-community