Despite the position of the ANC and a few loud voices, anti-Semitism in South Africa is far lower than we're led to believe. It's no secret that South Africa is one of the main voices driving the global anti-Israel and anti-Semitic charges, but what may be surprising is how many South Africans do have a heart for Israel and the Jewish people.
A recent Pew Research Center poll[1] found that 34% of South Africans polled have a favourable view of Israel, while 52% have a negative view. The results showed that while many countries are opposed to Israel, South Africa is far from the worst, with Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands all being less favourable towards Israel. In fact, the results show that, among the 24 countries surveyed, South Africans are the fourth most favourable towards Israel. This goes to prove what we intuitively know to be true, that while the official position of our government is against Israel, this does not represent the view of many of our people.
Countless Christians across South Africa have a heart for Israel and the Jewish people, but listening to the media, we would never know. I am reminded of what the Lord said to Elijah at a time when Baal worship in the land of Israel had become the norm: 'Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.' (1 Kings 19:18). And our recent Rosh Hashanah gift basket outreach is proof of this.
Christians across Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town came together to assemble and distribute 2,000 Rosh Hashanah gift baskets to the Jewish communities in their cities. More remarkable than the baskets themselves was that each basket was accompanied by a handwritten letter of love and support. The outpouring of love deeply impacted the Jewish community, who, just like the rest of the country, are led to believe that anti-Semitism is the default position in South Africa.
A recent incident in the Johannesburg Jewish community highlighted the threat but also the reality of anti-Semitism. On a Friday afternoon, shortly before Shabbat, two explosive-like devices were found in the heart of the Jewish community, one outside a Kosher grocery store and the other diagonally across the road outside a school. The community was immediately put into lockdown while security organisations worked alongside the police and bomb disposal units to contain and remove the threat. Synagogue services were cancelled, and the whole community was on high alert for fear of a larger attack.
As soon as we got word of the incident, we contacted those in the community we had met during the gift basket outreach to assure them that we, along with Christians throughout the country, were standing with and praying for them. Fortunately, the police responded swiftly; the bomb disposal unit removed the devices, and the threat was over. However, in the most bizarre turn of events, those devices were not explosive, and this was not an anti-Semitic incident at all.
Following a thorough investigation, it was discovered that the devices were actually parts of a specialised commercial battery that had been discarded by an informal recycler. It turns out that he had found the battery on his regular route collecting recyclables. He thought the battery could have value, but after the first of two scrapyards rejected it, he broke it open to try and sell the inner components at the second, but they too rejected it. As his trolley began to fill up while working his way through the suburbs of the Jewish community, and became unstable, he discarded the pieces of the battery, which then led to the scare in the community.
What was believed to be a clear message of threat and fear to the Jewish community has turned out to be nothing more than a bizarre sequence of events that couldn't be scripted if one tried.
While there are very real incidents of anti-Semitism in South Africa, and there are many in this country who would gladly see the end of Israel and the Jewish people, there are still many thousands who have not bowed the knee to Baal, so to speak.
Thank you for your faithful support and prayers, which enable and empower us to stand with the Jewish community and show them the love of the Father that we have through Jesus, the Messiah.
In Yeshua, our Prince of Peace,
Rob Berman