Dear President Cyril Ramaphosa
Request for intervention with antisemitic post by Iranian embassy
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) draws your attention to a deeply offensive and antisemitic post by the Iranian Embassy in South Africa.
Hearing your words to the diplomatic community last week regarding respect and dignity required by foreign envoys in a country led us to approach you with this upsetting incident.
We believe that a foreign mission in our country, in their conduct, should have regard for the basic tenets of our constitution, human dignity, equality, and the prohibition of hate speech.
Depicting Jewish people as rats
The Iranian Embassy’s official X account published a digitally created image depicting a rat wearing a kippah (Jewish religious head covering) and payot (sidelocks) riding atop an eagle in flight, with the caption, “Who holds the reins?” The post text stated: “The US regime is implementing the policies of the Zionist regime.”
Depicting Jewish people as rats is imagery directly associated with Nazi Germany. This was a deliberate deployment of one of the most historically lethal forms of antisemitic propaganda. The kippah on the rat and his long traditional sideburns (“payot”) make the religious targeting explicit: this is not a critique of a government or a policy. It is the dehumanisation of a religious group.
The caption “Who holds the reins?” invokes the foundational antisemitic conspiracy theory – given infamous expression in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion – that Jews secretly control the governments and financial systems of the world. The suggestion that “the Zionist regime” directs the United States of America is a contemporary expression of this centuries-old canard.
It is the same logic that has historically preceded, and accompanied, genocidal violence against Jewish communities.
Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act
Our world-renowned hate speech legislation (Section 10(1) of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA, Act No. 4 of 2000) prohibits any person from publishing, propagating, or communicating words based on prohibited grounds, including religion.
The Constitutional Court has confirmed that this prohibition extends beyond written words to the ideas and non-verbal expressions behind them and that its purpose is to ban expression that reinforces patterns of discrimination, undermines the target group’s dignity, and exposes them to hostility and exclusion.
The rat-kippah image, published by a foreign mission with no legitimate artistic or public-interest justification, satisfies every element of that test.
Distress to our Jewish community
The SAJBD has already lodged a complaint against this image at the South African Human Rights Commission and stands ready to consult or assist the presidency in any way in providing further information if required. We are available for consultation at the earliest opportunity.
This has caused great distress to our Jewish community. Allowing the embassy of a foreign state to publish this content from South African soil – without protest, retraction demand, or consequence – undermines the country’s standing as a principled defender of human rights.
We ask for our government to respond with the following:
- A formal diplomatic protest to the Iranian ambassador, protesting this clear hate against a South African minority community and calling for a full apology to SA Jewry on the same platform.
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A public statement by the South African government unequivocally condemning this vehemently antisemitic image in violation of South Africa’s constitutional values.
South Africa’s Constitution was born from the determination that never again would any people be reduced to less than human. The content published by the Iranian Embassy is precisely the kind of expression that determination was meant to prevent. We call on your assistance in addressing this deeply hurtful incident.
Yours sincerely,
The Jewish Board of Deputies national chairperson Karen Milner and Zev Krengel, the president.
- The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has condemned an antisemitic post by the Iranian Embassy in South Africa, depicting Jewish people as rats wearing traditional religious symbols.
- The post promotes dangerous antisemitic imagery reminiscent of Nazi propaganda and perpetuates conspiracy theories about Jewish control over governments, violating South African hate speech laws.
- SAJBD has filed a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission and is urging President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene.
- The community demands a formal diplomatic protest to Iran, a public apology to South African Jewry, and a government statement condemning the hateful image in line with constitutional values.
- The incident has caused distress in the Jewish community and is seen as undermining South Africa’s commitment to human dignity, equality, and prevention of discrimination.
Dear President Cyril Ramaphosa
We believe that a foreign mission in our country, in their conduct, should have regard for the basic tenets of our constitution, human dignity, equality, and the prohibition of hate speech.
It is the same logic that has historically preceded, and accompanied, genocidal violence against
Our world-renowned hate speech legislation (Section 10(1) of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA, Act No. 4 of 2000) prohibits any person from publishing, propagating, or communicating words based on prohibited grounds, including religion.
We ask for our government to respond with the following:
- A formal diplomatic protest to the Iranian ambassador, protesting this clear hate against a
South -
A public statement by the
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South The Embassy
Yours sincerely,
