MEGAPHONE-mouth Megan Choritz appears to have become a permanent installation outside Cape Town’s Holocaust Museum. An institution that deals exclusively with the past and which has nothing to do with Israel as such, is being picketed on a weekly basis by the Qatari-based ‘Jews for a Free Palestine’ (JFP) and Palestine Solidarity Campaign PSC), leading to outrage amongst the local Jewish community.
The reason for the picket are allegations of genocide involving an inversion of the events surrounding 7/10. You can read my piece debunking the UNHRC findings whose starting premise is: “On 7 October 2023, Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza“.
The groups claim the Holocaust Museum, rather than dealing with past issues like most museums, should instead be on the front-line driving current affairs and intervening in politics where necessary. The demands are entirely without basis and are offensive given the sensitivity of the subject matter in which 11 Million Jews under then Nazi occupation were subject to what is known as the “Final Solution” with some 6 million perishing.
Choritz, is the founder of Theatre-Sports Cape Town, which for years was an all-white affair, her claims to be combating apartheid are nonsensical. Those who claim free speech on her behalf should be reminded that Choritz is not exactly a proponent of debate. In the late nineties she was part of a mob that ejected this writer from Cafe Ganesh for having the temerity to read a poem by punk icon Kathy Acker.
In August PSC Protesters were ordered to stop harassing customers outside Cape Union Mart stores and preventing them from going into the shops. The Western Cape High Court issued the order on 5 August in a significant step towards stopping unlawful behaviour by the group.
Meanwhile the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) demonstrates how out of touch it is, by urging communities to support PSC newly launched ‘Lawfare Defence Fund’ as legal action against such misguided activism continues.
“The PSC has appealed to masajid nationwide to dedicate their Jumuah collections on Friday, 26 December, to help cover mounting legal costs.”
MJC President Sheikh Riad Fataar claims “the initiative is crucial as Zionist groups continue to challenge the PSC in court in an effort to silence criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza.