Every now and then a court case comes along and shakes the foundations in its aim to set a legal precedent.
One such example is the landmark ruling in the case of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies vs COSATU’s (Council of South African Trade Unions) Bongani Masuku, for hate speech against the Jewish community in South Africa’s Equality Court.
The case took eight years to reach its final verdict and presiding judge, Justice Moshidi declared Masuku’s statements to be “hurtful, harmful, incite harm and propagate hate as envisaged in section 10 of the Equality Act 4 of 2000.”
The case has its origins in a complaint lodged with the SAHRC by the SAJBD in April 2009. The complaint related to various threatening and abusive statements made by Masuku against Jewish South Africans who supported Israel. In December 2009, the SAHRC upheld the complaint, concluding that the remarks in question indeed constituted hate speech against the Jewish community and directing Masuku to apologise. When Masuku, backed by COSATU, refused to do so, the SAHRC approached the Equality Court to get its ruling enforced.
Threatening Jews or Zionists in 2017 is just NOT acceptable and now there is a legal precedent that has been set and hopefully this will extend far beyond the borders of just South Africa.
Bongani Masuku – Found Guilty of Hate Speech against the Jewish community
Who is Bongani Masuku?
It all began in 2009 during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead when the Jewish state defended itself against rockets and mortars fired from Gaza into the southern part of the country. Masuku made his hate-filled comments at Wits University and stated that COSATU would target and cause harm to South African families who had members serving in the Israeli defense force and that Jews who continued to stand up for Israel should “not just be encouraged but forced to leave South Africa”.
Bongani Masuku, who was the spokesperson for COSATU’s International relations committee, was effectively one of the first people to threaten Jewish students on a university campus. He sparked a nefarious and dangerous trend, where it became part of campus discourse to single out, discriminate and often threaten pro-Israel or Jewish students. He made these comments at one of the very first Israel Apartheid Week events. This annual event is nothing more than a global hate fest which offers anti- Semites a cover and an excuse to embark on a campaign of intimidation and lies and Masuku was one of the original, dangerous trendsetters.
He threatened to mobilise COSATU members on campus to make life there “hell” for people he called “Zionists”. He continued to advocate violence, “with immediate effect” against families in SA whose children had moved to Israel and served in its army and harm against people who lived in Orange Grove, identified as a Jewish neighbourhood, who did not agree with him about Israeli politics. On a website, Masuku wrote about the overwhelming majority of Jews, who in one way or another identify with Israel, as though they were supporters of racism and fascism. He said those Jews he defines as “Zionists” should be forced out of SA.
To emphasise his point against Zionist Jews – including those living in SA -he wrote that Hitler was their friend. He threatened to make the people in SA, whom he defined in this way, drink “bitter medicine”.
Nice guy, that Masuku!
In their initial response, COSATU inferred that there were “good Jews” (i.e. those that do not identify as Zionists” and “bad Jews”) (the rest of us who proudly support Israel).
legal landmark
After a 7-day grueling trial at the equality Court, Justice Moshidi ruled that Masuku’s comments were indeed, tantamount to hate speech and the excuse that he was criticizing “Zionists and not Jews” would just not cut the mustard. The real winner was the fact that the chasm between Zionist and Jew was closed and these identities were recognized as almost being mutually exclusive. When you criticize or threaten Zionists, it refers to Jews and the wolves can no longer hide behind their sheepish excuse that it is not.
SAJBOD national Director, Wendi Kahn, stated that this ruling sends a resounding message to the BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) movement that it is no longer open season on Jews and hiding behind the excuse that they mean Zionist is no longer credible. In fact, Justice Moshidi called into question the nature of “expert” testimony from one of Masuku’s witnesses, claiming he was too “partisan”.
Masuku has thirty days from the ruling to issue an unconditional apology to the Jewish community for his comments and any harm that may have befallen them as a result of what he said. To date, he is refusing to and is seeking an appeal. Should he appeal, the case will go to the Constitutional Court.
One thing is for sure, this case has now established a basis for anti-Semitic hate speech and will hopefully embolden other communities around the world that NEVER AGAIN will Jews allow for hate speech and discrimination with 
impunity.
