The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has expressed alarm at reports of a planned demonstration outside the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre, organised in response to the centre’s engagement with the Israeli Embassy.

The organisation said that while peaceful protest is a constitutional right, the intent and tone of the planned action amount to targeted harassment and antisemitic incitement.

The Board identified the organisations behind the protest as South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP), Africa4Palestine, the Palestine Solidarity Alliance, and BDS South Africa.

The SAJBD said: “These groups represent a broader campaign of anti-Jewish activity in South Africa, which continues to disguise its agenda under a pro-Palestinian guise. Through co-ordinated campaigns of harassment and intimidation, they have repeatedly targeted Jewish institutions, businesses, and individuals, attempting to silence or coerce those who do not conform to their worldview.”

The SAJBD said the planned protest mirrors a disturbing international pattern in which anti-Israel activism increasingly manifests as hostility toward Jewish individuals and institutions.

It added that the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre is a space dedicated to education, remembrance, and dialogue and should not be targeted for political protest.

The organisation urged authorities, civil society, and political leaders to condemn acts of intimidation and safeguard the rights and safety of South Africa’s Jewish community.