South African Human Rights Commission obo South African Jewish Board of Deputies v Masuku: The rejection of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition.

South African Journal on Human Rights

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism is routinely invoked to silence legitimate criticism of the State of Israel. According to the definition, comparisons of Israel to apartheid South Africa are antisemitic. Authoritative and compelling research and reports, which conclude that Israel is an apartheid state, are thus regularly disregarded as antisemitic hate speech. This has severely restricted principled pro-Palestine activism and a just resolution of the conflict. But, in South Africa, for no longer. In the 2022 case of SAHRC v Masuku, the South African Constitutional Court, the country’s apex court, considered whether comments accusing Israel of discriminatory apartheid practices constitute antisemitic hate speech. The Constitutional Court held that it does not. This essay discusses the judgment and its implications on the constitutional validity and political relevance of the Alliance definition.

Source: Published online

(Subscription required)

Share:

More Posts

South Africa’s case on the Right to Strike at the ICJ

On Monday 6 October 2025, Professor Halton Cheadle of Cheadle Thompson & Haysom Inc. together with Professor John Dugard, led by Ambassador Vusi Madonsela, will present South Africa’s case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the request for an advisory opinion on the Right to Strike under International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 87.

Labour Appeal Court upholds validity of Director-General’s security bond to suspend arbitration award enforcement

On 13 February 2025, the Labour Appeal Court handed down judgment in Director-General: Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment v The Sheriff, Pretoria North-East. The judgment concerned whether a security bond furnished by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment complied with section 145(7) of the Labour Relations Act. Section 145(7) permits a review applicant to furnish security to suspend the operation of an arbitration award pending the outcome of the application.

Essential Services Committee designates certain port services as essential services

On 26 February 2025, the Essential Services Committee designated certain port services as essential in terms of section 71 of the Labour Relations Act. The application was instituted by the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), the operating divisions of Transnet SOC Ltd. CTH acted on behalf of the TNPA and TPT.

Contact Us

How can we help?

Please fill in your details below and we will be in touch.