Terrorism alert leaves Rabinowitz shaken but undeterred

Popular comedian Nik Rabinowitz was “shaken and unnerved” when he woke up last Thursday, 27 October, and saw his name splashed on the warning that his forthcoming Johannesburg comedy act could be the target of a terrorist attack.

“My agent called me the night before about a News24 journalist who wanted to speak to me about my show being a possible target,” he said.

Rabinowitz said he was busy preparing for an online Zoom shiur on his Barmitzvah portion and didn’t respond. After the shiur, Rabbi David Masinter, who had arranged the shiur, called him to say that while there had been some chatter about the forthcoming gay pride parade taking place in Sandton on Saturday, there was nothing known about his show being a possible target.

“That set my mind at ease a bit,” he told the SA Jewish Report.

However, the next morning, he woke up to read it on the news, and he was having to field calls and do radio and television interviews.

“Initially, I thought it must be a rumour,” he said, “but there was still a need to take precautions.

“My show was 72 hours after the so-called attack was due to take place, starting on 1 November.”

In a bid to find out more information, the exasperated comedian contacted the journalist who wrote the story, who assured him that his unnamed sources were legitimate.

“A mad 48 hours ensued, with the most amount of press I’ve done for a show in a long time,” he quipped, setting the record straight that he didn’t set this up as a publicity stunt to promote his show.

“It’s a little bit bizarre when you land up on Japanese news. People were calling me from all over the world asking, ‘Are you ok? Are you still alive? We just heard the news, what’s going on?’”

“I was, like, let’s just ride the wave of this madness,” he said. He posted a photograph on Instagram of himself lying flat down on a stage saying: “For safety reasons, this is how I’ll be performing in Joburg next week. Shout out to ISIS and @News24 for additional publicity. #GonnaBeABlast #TooSoon?”

On a serious note, Rabinowitz said there was some “fallout” with his family, which he had to face.

“I had to tell my kids because I was concerned someone might tell them at school, and my wife was overseas so she was concerned,” he said.

He said his 10-year-old was particularly unnerved.

“I was quite shaken in the beginning, I was like, ‘What the actual…?’ I had a couple of wobbly moments, and the following two nights, I was like, ‘What if this is real? What would this be like?’ That’s the point of these things. They’re designed to make us afraid, and we can’t let them win, but obviously, we have to take the necessary precautions.”

The comedian had forwarded the previous night’s message from the journalist to Daphne Kuhn from Sandton Theatre on the Square, where Rabinowitz’ comedy act was due to open the following week. According to him, Kuhn thought he had made it up and was joking.

“She thought I’d written it, and she said, ‘Oh my word Nik, you’re such a scream’,” he said (in a Joburg Jewish woman’s accent).

Little did Kuhn know that he was actually being serious, and the last thing her intimate theatre needed was talk of a terrorist threat in the area, having only just started experiencing sold-out shows post the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I heard about Nik’s show being a potential target only when I read about it in the paper,” said Kuhn this week.

“News that Nik’s show could be a possible target was unfounded and ridiculous because his show was due to open only a few days later,” said Kuhn. She arranged extra security precautions for the weekend shows and tried to allay patrons’ fears as best she could.

“Everyone was thoroughly checked at the door with names and tickets, and extra security personnel were employed and deployed,” she said.

“We lost 50 bookings for the last shows of The Beauty Queen of Leenane on Saturday, 29 October, because some people were worried, but thankfully, our jazz concert the following day was full,” said Kuhn.

Johannesburg was in turmoil last week as news of the United States embassy’s security alert spread across the city. The warning stated, “The US government has received information that terrorists may be planning to conduct an attack targeting large gatherings of people at an unspecified location in the greater Sandton area of Johannesburg, South Africa, on 29 October 2022.

“There is no further information regarding the timing, method, or target of the potential attack. The US embassy has advised staff to avoid crowds of people and other large public gatherings in the greater Sandton area of Johannesburg during the weekend of 29-30 October 2022.”

Meanwhile, the security upheaval caused by last week’s terrorist alert rippled through state security, with numerous lessons learned and red flags raised.

President Cyril Ramaphosa criticised the US for failing to discuss the terror alert with local authorities.

Security expert Jasmine Opperman told the SA Jewish Report that there were many lessons learned. “The weekend has come and gone. Terrorism hasn’t come and gone. The region’s vulnerability to terrorism is on the increase. We cannot sit back and relax now. If ever there was a need for intelligence services, investigation services like the Hawks to proceed in prioritising reports related to terrorism, it’s now.”

She said security forces were able to implement appropriate security measures, but questioned whether this would have been possible without due warning and intelligence.

“Effective intelligence liaison is of utmost importance in countering terrorism. The lack of effective co-ordination resulted in hysteria, questions, and fear this is exactly what we don’t want to see when the word ‘terrorism’ comes up as a forewarning,” she said.

Intelligence services need to streamline the process of liaison with global intelligence structures “irrespective of political differences”, Opperman said.

Professor Hussein Solomon, senior professor of political studies and governance at the University of the Free State, said the events of the past week were troubling. “Bilateral relations between South Africa and the US have soured. It’s worrying. Some media reports said South African security officials believe that the US scuttled an ongoing terror investigation.”

According to TimesLive, the US alert “blew up” a six-week antiterrorism operation by security authorities. “Of course, one doesn’t know what’s true. However it bodes ill,” Solomon said.

The Community Security Organisation this week reiterated that according to its information, “the threat remains credible”.

“It’s highly likely that nothing happened because of the wide-ranging publicity and strong security presence around greater Sandton and our community over this period. We know that radicalised individuals and groups exist in South Africa and could choose to carry out an act of violence at any time. Therefore, proactive and effective security should be part of our daily lives, with every community member being actively involved. The stronger our security, the less likely we are to be targeted.”

Meanwhile, Rabinowitz says he has new material to work with following this “brouhaha”, and while his Joburg show is almost fully booked, there’s still time for Capetonians to book for his show at the Baxter from 17 to 19 November.