South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has called for an end to what it says are threatening protests at Jewish places of worship.
The SAJBD says a small group of protesters aligned with anti-Israel organisations over-step the acceptable conduct for freedom of speech during protest actions.
It claims there have been threats of violence and intimidation during these protests in the last two months.
The board’s Cape Town Executive Director Daniel Bloch says, “The protests are supposed to be what is happening in a conflict between Israel and Palestine, we’re the Jewish Board of Deputies, we protect the civil rights of the Jewish community in South Africa. So if they do want to protest about Israel, they should go to the Israeli Embassy in Pretoria and take on their fight there.”
The Spokesperson for the Palestine Solidarity Network, Martin Jansen, says the numbers at the protests, are deliberately small.
Jansen says, “We are demanding the SA Board of Jewish Deputies, the SA Zionist Federation, and all these organisations to immediately end their support of Israel, firstly. And secondly to condemn all the human rights atrocities committed by the Israeli regime and the Zionists in general particularly obviously in Israel and they should support one democratic state for all people living in historic Palestine, including the illegal and unlawful state of Israel.”
