Hate speech: We need more than ‘trimming of the branches’

STAFF REPORTER

The meeting was convened by the SAJBD which has in recent years engaged on a regular basis with the Minister on matters of community concern. In 2014, the ruling ANC instituted a “Suburban Task Team” to engage with various minority communities, with Masutha being assigned the Jewish community.

In his address, Masutha reflected on the ongoing prevalence of hate speech in the country and what the ANC government was doing about it, the need to accelerate the process of transformation and the ANC’s unchanged commitment to promoting a society of inclusivity in which the contribution of every sector was acknowledged and valued.

Regarding the racism question, he said that the real root of the problem was the enduring problem of institutionalised, structural discrimination and the huge social disparities this was causing. So long as these root causes were not addressed, dealing with hate speech incidents would amount to little more than a trimming of the branches.

Subsequent questions from the floor in the main focused on issues relating to anti-Semitism, the local terrorist threat and the South Africa-Israel relationship. Masutha believed that anti-Semitism was not widely prevalent in South African society, with relatively few people knowing anything about it.

One way in which the Jewish community could address the negative perceptions that do exist is to foster an awareness of what Jews have contributed to South Africa, especially in the liberation struggle. 

With regard to the recent arrests of four local terror suspects, Masutha said that while in this instance the Jewish community had been specifically identified as a target, terrorism is something that knows no colour, religion or political allegiance, and therefore should be seen as a threat to everyone.

It is a global problem that the international community has to deal with together, said Masutha, and South Africa is very much committed to playing its part in this. Asked why Hamas, an avowedly terrorist organisation, was invited to visit South Africa last year if this is the case, he explained that if peace is to be achieved between Israelis and Palestinians, a solution that brought all players on board had to be found.   

In terms of the South African-Israel relationship, Masutha said that government wished to avoid schisms within the population, and hence preferred to preach a message of inclusivity rather than taking a hard line against either side.

He conceded that in times of heightened conflict in the Middle East, it is difficult to advocate even-handedness against more hardline anti-Israel elements within his party, since Israel is routinely seen in the role of an all-powerful bully.  

SAJBD Chairman Jeff Katz commented that during the 2014 Gaza conflict the government, in the face of enormous pressure internally and externally to sever ties with Israel, had instead embarked on a process of renewed engagement with the aim of playing a role in resolving the conflict.

Since then, there has been regular and meaningful interaction between the two governments, including the ongoing work of the Presidential envoys to Israel and Palestine and the visit to South Africa earlier this year of Israeli Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold. 

SAJBD National Director Wendy Kahn introduced the Minister while National President Mary Kluk delivered the thanks and concluding remarks.