The World Jewish Congress warned Thursday that anti-Israel sentiments across South Africa were deteriorating into anti-Semitism and threatening the safety of the local Jewish community. The WJC website quoted Mary Kluk, national chair of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and a vice president of the World Jewish Congress, as saying Jews were "being made to feel unwelcome in their own country." Speaking at a meeting of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation in the South African Parliament on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Kluk said, "Fostering hatred and division among fellow South Africans is harmful to our society and does nothing whatsoever to bring an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement closer." The punitive actions that had been presented previously by anti-Israel lobby groups to the committee would serve only to further drive a wedge between the two parties, she noted, adding, "It has been more than 20 years since democracy, but some organizations like BDS South Africa are intolerant of Jewish people. These protests are issues that are supposed to be about Israel. There are some Jews who associate themselves with the message of the BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] movement. We welcome their opinions, but calling for Jews to be fired from universities and be killed is not tolerance." Kluk commended the South African government's steadfast support for the two-state solution.
