The South African Jewish Report (SAJR) has been expelled from the Press Council of South Africa (PCSA), following a refusal to act on rulings against it.
The ruling stems from a complaint laid on behalf of the South African Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Coalition (SA BDS Coalition) and the General Industrial Workers Union of South Africa (Giwusa) over a report carried on October 2020. It reported on a cartoon carried on the BDS Facebook page, which depicted an overweight capitalist greedily devouring money, and calling for a boycott of Clover products. A majority share of Clover is owned by Milco, a subsidiary of the Central Bottling Company, which is an Israeli enterprise.
The author of the article, Tali Feinberg wrote, that the BDS movement ‘has always insisted that it isn’t antisemitic, but the newly-formed SA BDS Coalition … showed its true colours this week by posting what clearly looks like an antisemitic cartoon on its Facebook page.’
While the ruling dismissed a number of claims made in the complaint, the ruling found against the SAJR on the question of whether it had accurately portrayed BDS as anti-Semitic. As a sanction, the ruling required the paper to publish an apology: ‘South African Jewish Report is directed to apologise to the SA BDS Coalition for portraying both in the headline and in the story, as fact, that the cartoon was anti-Semitic – and, in this process, labelling them as anti-Semites or being anti-Semitic.’
The SAJR refused to do so, and attempted to leave the PCSA. Judge Phillip Levinsohn, chair of the council, said: ‘The SA Jewish Report then attempted to withdraw from the Press Council rather than publish the rulings. You cannot do that. It is a great pity that we have had to expel them, but we cannot tolerate a member of the Press Council wilfully refusing to obey rulings of the Press Ombud and the Chair of Appeals.’
This was the first instance in which the PCSA has expelled a member.