The Kasrils Affair: Jews and minority politics in post-apartheid South Africa

In 2001, on the heels of the disastrous Durban racism conference and the terror attacks of 11 September 2001 in the United States, South African cabinet minister Ronnie Kasrils launched a declaration calling on South Africans of Jewish descent to protest against Israeli policies towards the Palestinians. In so doing, he launched a furious debate within the Jewish community.

The debate caused the leadership of the Jewish community to shift its political strategy, from the politics of open debate towards the politics of influence. The Jewish experience resembled that of other minorities and interest groups whose leaders came to be seen as ‘representing government in their respective communities rather than the community addressing themselves to government’, in the words of historian Hermann Giliomee.

The Kasrils Affair: Jews and minority politics in post-apartheid South Africa:

• Documents the Kasrils declaration and its implications both for the Jewish community and South African politics in general.
• Places the Kasrils affair in the context of South African Jewish history and of the ‘new antisemitism’ facing Jews around the world.
• Gives an ‘embedded’ account of events, based on public commentary and interviews with South African Jewish leaders.