SABC betrays press freedom by punishing journalist for doing her job — SAZF

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) attacked editorial independence when it
suspended presenter Juliet Newell after an interview in which she challenged Dr Mamphela Ramphele, chair of the Archbishop Tutu IP Trust, who compared Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza to the Holocaust, says the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF), in a press statement released yesterday.

The SAZF statement continues: “In the interview, Dr Ramphele described events in Gaza as a ‘Holocaust’. That is an extraordinary and provocative claim. Under the widely adopted International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, drawing comparisons between contemporary Israeli policy and that of the Nazis is antisemitic, context considered, while criticism of Israel on the same terms as any other country is not. The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) Code requires that controversial statements be tested for accuracy and context. Ms Newell did exactly that, she challenged the assertion, signposted the existence of opposing views, and sought to inform viewers rather than inflame them. That is correct journalistic practice, and punishing her for it amounts to censorship by proxy.

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“By sidelining Ms Newell, the SABC has chosen appeasement over principle. It has sacrificed accuracy, fairness, and pluralism, and in doing so has failed to defend editorial independence. This capitulation chills free enquiry and narrows the space for honest debate in a constitutional democracy.

SA media establishment failures

“The silence of the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) makes matters worse. So does the Sunday Times’ public ridicule of Ms Newell. When industry bodies and leading titles fail to defend a reporter who upheld basic standards, they signal that intimidation works. The message to newsrooms is stark, do not challenge incendiary claims, it could cost you your job. The message to those making extreme anti-Israel or antisemitic statements is equally clear: say what you like, there will be no pushback.

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“That dynamic is dangerous. It normalises prejudice, corrodes the marketplace of ideas, and fuels a climate in which Jewish South Africans and other minorities face heightened risk. Words have consequences. A free press must test them against evidence.

“The Holocaust was a unique historical crime, the systematic extermination of six million Jews, and millions of others, by Nazi Germany. Comparing current events to the Holocaust is an extreme and malicious claim, designed to harm and hurt Jews, and to inflame prejudice. The Holocaust is not a rhetorical device to be repurposed for contemporary conflicts. Such analogies distort history and obstruct serious discussion of how Hamas’ tactics, and its deliberate endangerment of civilians, harm its own people and prolong the suffering in Gaza and the region.

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“The SAZF calls on the SABC to correct course, to subject this decision to a transparent and independent review, to issue a public apology, and to affirm that editors, not lobbyists, set newsroom standards. We call on Minister Solly Malatsi to make clear that the public broadcaster may not adopt partisan positions under external pressure. We urge SANEF and the wider journalistic fraternity to defend, without fear or favour, the right and duty of journalists to interrogate inflammatory claims.

“South Africa deserves a public broadcaster and media that informs with integrity and courage, not one that bends under pressure.”