Voices
Beware the danger at the gate
South Africans may see something of their own history in Robert Bowers, the killer of 11 Pittsburgh Jews in their synagogue on Saturday. He shouted that he “can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered”. For him, Jews are outsiders coming to take over his beloved America.
GEOFF SIFRIN
Adult South Africans will remember the alarmist cry the Nationalist government sounded about the swart gevaar. This was the “black danger” they claimed was at the gates waiting to come in and slaughter white people. Whites collectively had to man the barricades, it said.
South Africa’s painful history is based on the horrible things you can do when you define another people as malicious outsiders. The whole structure of apartheid was built on seeing blacks as a danger to white society.
Robert Bowers saw Jews as outsiders who had to be stopped by any means. His comments on the right-wing GAB website, which regularly features conspiracy theories and extremists, include, “Why hello there HIAS! [Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society]. You like to bring in hostile invaders to dwell among us?”
For Bowers, the equivalent of the South African swart gevaar was an American “Jew-threat”. His hatred of Jews was not about individuals. When he opened fire, he shouted, “All Jewish people must die.”
He was probably influenced by statements by United States President Donald Trump, who has referred to African countries as “shithole countries”, and has stigmatised Mexicans, refugees, Muslims, and Africans. Trump claims Americans are under threat from outsiders.
Nobody has accused the president of being an anti-Semite, but amid the resurgence worldwide of hate speech and authoritarian regimes, his rhetoric fills people with resentment and fear.
Where does South Africa stand on an issue like this? An undercurrent of xenophobia exists, aimed at Indians, Muslims, as well as Africans from other countries such as Somalia. It has, at times, surfaced violently and chaotically. People have been killed in their homes, shops, and in the streets. Xenophobia is an ongoing threat simmering under the surface.
For Jews, there have been unpleasant anti-Semitic incidents, particularly on social media, but no direct violence or anything like what Bowers did.
On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the Pittsburgh attack, and called for society to refrain from anti-Semitism. But that doesn’t exclude the possibility that an extremist might see Jews as representative of the white establishment, and try to do something similar to Bowers.
Being an outsider is the most tragic theme in Jews’ long history, leading indigenous populations to turn on them, including sending them to gas chambers.
Some people are more positive about this condition, believing that being an outsider is a source of Jewish genius. They believe that not being allowed to truly “belong” in a society gives you perspectives others don’t have.
Why do bigots like Bowers get so enraged at Jews? One thing which makes them seem sinister to him is that from the outside, they look just like others in mainstream society. The same goes for homosexuals who, on the surface, appear like anyone else. So, the bigot becomes outraged at discovering it, as if he has been hoodwinked by some subversive being.
On the other hand, blacks, Asians, Indians, as well as people with disabilities are immediately apparent.
America has been the most Jew-friendly country in history, although it feels a little less friendly now. South Africa too, has been good to its Jews. But if America could produce a Robert Bowers, South Africa could also do so.