Roedean’s Antisemitism Scandal Is Not Over: It Is Just Beginning

Roedean School in Johannesburg is currently embroiled in a rapidly escalating antisemitism scandal that mirrors the radicalisation patterns seen on elite American university campuses in recent years and may trigger similar consequences. Incredibly, the school seems intent on doubling down.

The controversy stems from a leaked audio recording, revealing that the school lied about its reasons for cancelling a tennis match against King David Linksfield, a Jewish school. While Roedean claimed scheduling conflicts, the recording suggests the real reason was a reluctance to compete against Jewish students.

This scandal has sparked outrage, with King David accusing Roedean of antisemitism and asking for an apology. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies condemned Roedean’s behaviour, calling it blatant prejudice”.

But rather than an apology, Roedean has launched a fusillade against the Jewish school, saying its behaviour was “unfortunate” and unethical “with little care for the young people involved,” even as Roedean admitted its own students “had reservations about playing the fixture”.

Roedean’s response is dangerously reminiscent of the failure to confront radicalisation seen on university campuses in the United States (US), where antisemitism has increasingly been condoned under the guise of political activism. Universities across the United States have witnessed antisemitic rhetoric growing within student groups, and many of those university administrations have been slow to intervene.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a civil rights group, the US has seen a 344% increase in antisemitic incidents over the past five years and an 893% increase over the past 10 years, with the number reaching “the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents 46 years ago”.

The ADL said: “Incidents on college and university campuses rose more steeply than those in any other location. In 2024, ADL recorded 1 694 antisemitic incidents on college campuses, which is 84% higher than in 2023. Campus incidents comprised 18% of all incidents, a larger proportion than in any previous audit.”

The rise of violence, hate, and intolerance on those campuses usually followed periods of deliberate student radicalisation.

In this regard, Roedean’s earlier attempt to engage an extremist Islamist group, Ummah Heart, in 2023 has featured strongly in analyses of what has gone wrong on the campus of that school. The group has been accused of promoting hostility toward Jews, suggesting a troubling pattern of ideological radicalisation within the school.

The consequences for many of the universities that tolerated and defended similar radicalisation and antisemitism have been severe and ranged from reputational, financial, legal, and even criminal repercussions. The dereliction of leadership and lack of moral clarity on those campuses led to what some analysts called a “donor revolt”, while members of boards of governors were subject to particular scrutiny for their apparent acquiescence. Roedean’s board of governors includes some of the most prominent business and corporate leaders in the country.

Sources that have reached out to The Common Sense following its first reporting on the scandal have said that many in the broader school community are appalled at the revelations and the behaviour of key staff and many pupils, but that the board seems unwilling to act to address their concerns.

What seems certain is that, as the fallout deepens and spreads, the damage to the school’s standing and reputation will be severe.