Port Elizabeth attorney Maureen Jansen has joined the ranks of South Africans who have found themselves in trouble over discriminatory comments made on social media.
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) yesterday lodged a complaint of hate speech against Jansen with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in the Eastern Cape for allegedly referring to Jews as “monsters” who should be “exterminated”.
The Facebook post at the centre of the complaint was made early last month.
It read: “Bloody Israelis should be exterminated along with all the ‘Jews’ everywhere who support Israel by action or silence. The Semites of the Torah are long gone. These monsters are Jewish converts, not Semites.”
Jansen said she could not confirm that those were her words because her Facebook account had been locked and she could not access it.
But she did not deny making the remarks.
“I have made statements on Facebook. They would have related to some kind of atrocity happening in the West Bank or Gaza.”
SAJBD chairman Jeff Katz said it was important to name and shame Jansen in light of the recent slew of racist remarks on social media.
“Such hate-mongering goes beyond defaming and threatening any particular group of people; they go against the culture of non-racialism on which our democracy is founded.”
Former KwaZulu-Natal realtor Penny Sparrow, Standard Bank chief economist Chris Hart and Gauteng sports, arts, culture and recreation department official Velaphi Khumalo have all come under fire recently for making racially charged comments on social media.
SAHRC spokesman Isaac Mangena confirmed that a complaint had been laid against Jansen and said the complaint was being assessed before an investigation could begin.
Jansen said she had received more than 200 threatening phone calls.
Katz said the SAJBD did not condone any unlawful action taken against Jansen or anyone else.
Jansen was in the headlines in 2012 over an alleged race row between her and attorney Brian Maqungu.
Jansen called Maqungu a “pig” during a maintenance meeting, but denied her remarks were race-related.
PE lawyer in trouble over anti-Jews
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) yesterday lodged a complaint of hate speech against Jansen with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in the Eastern Cape for allegedly referring to Jews as “monsters” who should be “exterminated”.
The Facebook post at the centre of the complaint was made early last month.
It read: “Bloody Israelis should be exterminated along with all the ‘Jews’ everywhere who support Israel by action or silence. The Semites of the Torah are long gone. These monsters are Jewish converts, not Semites.”
Jansen said she could not confirm that those were her words because her Facebook account had been locked and she could not access it.
But she did not deny making the remarks.
“I have made statements on Facebook. They would have related to some kind of atrocity happening in the West Bank or Gaza.”
SAJBD chairman Jeff Katz said it was important to name and shame Jansen in light of the recent slew of racist remarks on social media.
“Such hate-mongering goes beyond defaming and threatening any particular group of people; they go against the culture of non-racialism on which our democracy is founded.”
Former KwaZulu-Natal realtor Penny Sparrow, Standard Bank chief economist Chris Hart and Gauteng sports, arts, culture and recreation department official Velaphi Khumalo have all come under fire recently for making racially charged comments on social media.
SAHRC spokesman Isaac Mangena confirmed that a complaint had been laid against Jansen and said the complaint was being assessed before an investigation could begin.
Jansen said she had received more than 200 threatening phone calls.
Katz said the SAJBD did not condone any unlawful action taken against Jansen or anyone else.
Jansen was in the headlines in 2012 over an alleged race row between her and attorney Brian Maqungu.
Jansen called Maqungu a “pig” during a maintenance meeting, but denied her remarks were race-related.
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