BDS-SA head cleared of sexual harassment, but matter still simmers

NICOLA MILTZ

Desai, the director of BDS-SA, has been mired in a string of sexual-harassment allegations which have ruffled feathers within the Palestine solidarity movement, causing disunity and antagonism within its ranks.

This week, things came to a head after the release of a much-anticipated report by an independent investigator appointed by BDS-SA following the allegations of sexual harassment which surfaced in March this year.

Advocate Smanga Sethene from the Johannesburg Bar this week cleared Desai of sexual harassment allegations.

His findings were released in a report which said the allegations against Desai were “unfounded”. Furthermore, he found that there wasn’t “rational basis in law to take any disciplinary action against” Desai, sending shock waves through pro-Palestine and gender-activist circles.

The allegations go back to the night of 21 March at Sips Restaurant in Melville, Johannesburg. The Daily Vox reported that visiting American academic and pro-Palestine activist, Professor Sang Hea Kil, alleged that Desai sexually harassed her and two other women while they were visiting Johannesburg to attend a conference on Palestine, hosted by the Afro-Middle East Centre (AMEC), a research institute on Middle Eastern affairs.

The conference was followed by a study tour for 18 participants. The three women were part of that group.

On the night in question, Desai allegedly harassed the three women with hugs, kisses on cheeks, high-fives, light touches, and alleged “predatory” behaviour which was described by them as “invasive” and “annoying”.

Before returning to the United States, Kil laid a charge of sexual harassment at the Brixton Police Station.

According to Kil, Desai appeared visibly drunk when he and his BDS-SA colleague, Rashaad Dadoo, 22, “crashed” their table at the restaurant. Desai’s behaviour was repeatedly inappropriate, she said, making unwanted physical advances which made her feel uncomfortable.

According to her statement, Desai was “deeply drunk, very loud, and annoying”.

“I told him at one point I was old enough to be his biological parent, and point blank told him my age was 46. He said he was 33, and suggested that my age was no problem. I told him I wasn’t interested in people who were much younger than I was. His interest didn’t wane, only increased.”

At one stage, Kil said she “felt two hands touch her shoulders in a light massage”.

Meanwhile, Desai has consistently denied all the allegations against him.

The advocate’s report said, “Mr Desai admits he had consumed alcohol on the night in question and during the alleged incident. However, he denies ever sexually harassing any of the complainants. He contends… none of the complainants communicated her discomfort to him during or after the hugs and/or high-fives.”

Sethene said it was not clear why Kil “could not sternly inform Mr Desai to refrain and desist from what she considered to be an inappropriate predatory sexual behaviour”.

This week, lawyers representing Kil from the Women’s Legal Centre (WLC) expressed “great disappointment” in the investigation’s findings.

They said the WLC wrote to the board of BDS-SA to seek clarity on the terms of reference for the investigation, but received no response.

“Without advising us, our client was approached for the first time on 20 May 2019 via email by the investigator of her complaint. She was also advised that the investigation was taking place urgently, and was asked to confirm the content of her statements. No new or further questions were posed to her, and she was not given the option of an interview,” the WLC said.

On 27 May, Kil was advised via her attorneys that the investigation had been completed, and that the findings were that no disciplinary steps needed to be taken against Desai as his behaviour didn’t constitute workplace misconduct.

The WLC said it was disappointed in the legal findings, but was even more disappointed with its analysis.

“It shows a clear bias in favour of the perpetrator, and the investigator places the burden and onus on women to address sexual harassment and sternly resist it.”

It said it was a case in point of the importance of taking a victim-centred approach to dealing with sexual harassment.

“The report favoured an approach that heavily criticised as well as questioned the motives and the behaviour of the complainant against the standard of the ‘perfect victim’, implying and creating a narrative in many instances that the victims are over-reacting, or seeking attention.” This it said “has damaging effects on the victim”.

BDS-SA, however, welcomed the findings, and noted that the report was critical of the board for the “delay in pursuing the matter”.

From the outset, BDS-SA has been criticised by members within the Palestine solidarity movement for its handling of the matter. A statement issued on 8 April on behalf of several solidarity groups called on “organisations with a commitment to Palestinian solidarity and gender justice to actively distance themselves from the position adopted by BDS-SA”. They condemned the lack of a victim-centred approach.

The issue reached fever pitch this week when Na’eem Jeenah of AMEC expressed his dissatisfaction at the outcome on public radio.

Jeenah, who assisted the three complainants in the matter, said there was no resolution.

Speaking on Afternoon Drive with Joanne Joseph on 702, Jeenah claimed he was aware of ten women who accused Desai of sexual harassment. One of the women was an intern at BDS-SA, he said, who he said had become suicidal.

“Personally, I don’t think in any good conscience I could allow this matter to rest,” said Jeenah.

He refused to comment further when approached by the SA Jewish Report.

In response, Desai said, “The South African criminal justice system has cleared me, and an independent investigation has cleared me. It is unfortunate that you have people like Na’eem Jeenah suggesting that this issue is not over.”

Jeenah said that throughout the ordeal, BDS had not contacted him to provide or ask for developments on the case.

“BDS-SA has not communicated with us. We found out like everyone else on its website and social media.”

When the police closed its case on the basis of it being a “false case”, Jeenah said he did not understand why, and questioned what that meant.

He said none of the three complainants had been interviewed by the advocate handling the independent investigation.

Jeenah told 702, “Within the social-justice sector, this is another example of the prevalence of sexual harassment, and the lack of seriousness that sexual harassment is taken. This matter needs to be pursued.”

Desai did not respond to a request for comment at the time of going to print.