Dear Community

A document referring to an “Apartheid Bill” put forward by the Al-Jama’ah political party is currently circulating and has understandably caused concern and confusion.

As a clarification, the parliamentary communication refers to a “notice of intention to introduce a private member’s bill and invitation for comment”. At this stage no bill has been tabled. In bad faith, Al Jama’ah has proposed a notification of intention, without even including the wording of the proposed bill. It is devious to express an intention to put forward a 30-year-old international convention into SA law, without transparently sharing how it will be used. The SAJBD is fully aware of the antisemitic motives of this political party and their nefarious agenda behind this initiative.

The SAJBD regularly comments on proposed bills on behalf of SA Jewry and will do likewise if and when the wording of this bill is shared. Should Al Jama’ah attempt to insert their antisemitic and unconstitutional views into South African Law, we will oppose it, using the constitutional protections in our country.

Over the past days, the SAJBD has investigated and thoroughly consulted with parliamentarians and legal experts to fully understand this process and the proposed bill to ascertain the best way to respond. Although still in its early stages, such a bill has the potential to be weaponised, and we are closely monitoring it. If and when it is necessary, we will respond formally to parliament at the appropriate time to combat any threats of this nature and ensure the interests of our community are protected.

We will keep the community updated as developments on this unfold.

SAJBD Team