Cape Town - Former ANC Western Cape chairperson Marius Fransman has been ordered by the South African Human Rights Commission to apologise to the Jewish community.
Fransman has a month to apologise.
In 2013, Fransman, who was at the time still the provincial chairperson and deputy minister of international relations, claimed during a radio interview that Jewish businessmen were “undermining transformation”.
He said Jewish South Africans were benefiting at the expense of the black community, in particular, the Muslim community.
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) lodged a complaint, citing that their rights had been infringed upon.
Commission spokesperson Gail Smith said one of the statements made by Fransman were: “I want to let the Jewish Board of Deputies [unclear] that they are undermining our transformation of the inner city and on the Cape Flats and with the disadvantaged community.”
On March 20, 2013 the commission received communication of a complainant that Fransman’s utterances violated the Jewish community’s right to equality and their right to human dignity.
“The complainant was offended and deeply concerned by Fransman’s view that the SAJBD lacks loyalty to South Africa and that the SAJBD furthers the agenda of a foreign power...” and “of working to undermine initiatives aimed at uplifting non-white South Africans,” Smith said.
Smith said the commission found that Fransman’s statement did not demonstrate a clear intention to be hurtful or harmful or to incite harm, promote or propagate hatred in terms of the Equality Act.
“Therefore, the statements of Fransman did not constitute hate speech,” she said.
The commission did, however, find that Fransman’s statements violated the SAJBD’s right to dignity under section 10 of the constitution, Smith said.
“Accordingly, the commission directs that the respondent [Fransman] furnish the complainant with a written statement acknowledging and apologising for the injury he had caused to the dignity of the SAJBD, and affirming his commitment to the values expressed in the constitution within one month of the date that this finding is communicated to the parties,” Smith said.
Fransman could not be reached for comment after several calls and texts to his personal assistant Vanessa le Roux.
SAJBD national chairman Shaun Zagnoev in a statement said the ruling provided a useful addition to existing case law that helped to clarify where the boundaries lay between freedom of expression and constitutionally prohibited hate speech.
“It sends an unequivocal message that there is no justification for propagating hatred and making threats against fellow South Africans, irrespective of one’s political views [including on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict],” he said.