Attacks on Cape Union Mart by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and other anti-Israel groups are not an example of freedom of expression.
They are defamatory, hateful campaigns of intimidation and antisemitism that threaten not just one of South Africa’s oldest brands but also the livelihoods of 3,000 people and their families. These include employees at 118 Cape Union Mart, 82 Old Khaki and 37 Poetry stores.
Cape Union Mart executive chair Philip Krawitz has become a focal point of this intimidation, with threats to his life and family becoming so common that he has had to hire bodyguards and wear a bulletproof vest.
The allegations made by anti-Israel protesters are that Krawitz has associations with Israel and is therefore donating money to the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and the Israeli government.
Krawitz has denied these allegations, yet based on the scurrilous accusation that Krawitz “funds genocide”, the PSC and BDS hope to sink a business through lies and ignorance. But the accusation is not the real point. It is the pretext.
The truth is far simpler. Cape Union Mart is not being targeted because activists have found some nefarious link between its executive chairperson and the Israeli military. It is being targeted for the same reason BDS targets many businesses. Simply, it was founded by Jews, and members of its management are Jewish.
Since November 2023, and in limited protest action even before October 7, the PSC and BDS have been protesting at Cape Union Mart-owned stores. This campaign has escalated, with protesters intimidating customers, accusing Cape Union Mart of “funding genocide”, displaying swastikas and harassing employees.
Cape Union Mart is not being targeted because activists have found some nefarious link between its executive chairperson and the Israeli military. It is being targeted for the same reason BDS targets many businesses. Simply, it was founded by Jews, and members of its management are Jewish.
Jews are yet again being collectively blamed and targeted, as they have been for millennia. In this case that prejudice is being dressed up as activism. The war in Gaza is merely the latest excuse. Jews have been victims of violence, intimidation and exclusion since their exile from Israel, right up until they reclaimed their ancestral homeland in 1948.
But this campaign does not only threaten one community. It also threatens workers, employers and the broader economy. There are 118 Cape Union Mart stores. If the anti-Israel lobby gets its way, 3,000 people could lose their jobs. The consequences would ripple far beyond Cape Union Mart itself. These effects would be felt throughout the country at a time when South Africa desperately needs jobs, investment and wealth creation.
Krawitz is right to challenge these dangerous and fallacious attacks in court. As people who desire a prosperous South Africa, we should support him. Yet while Cape Union Mart is being attacked, the business community is nowhere to be seen. Activists are threatening a brand that has stood the test of time. And this is not new. The EFF targeted H&M. Bombs have been left at Woolworths stores.
South African businesses are increasingly finding themselves under attack. There needs to be greater solidarity among businesses against the legitimised and romanticised violence and intimidation pushed by these activists.
If a business can be targeted because its owner is Jewish, activists have created a precedent whereby capricious protesters can attempt to shut down any business for any hateful reason they can imagine. This is not the sort of environment that is conducive to economic growth, investment or job creation.
We should be protecting businesses and employers, not tacitly supporting the destruction of our economy because of strongly held views about a war taking place a continent away.
Business chambers, malls, politicians and the public should be defending the rule of law and policies that enable job creation. It should not matter whether Krawitz is a Zionist or not. He and Cape Union Mart need our support not only because he is a businessman who has been targeted because of his Jewish identity but also because every South African business deserves equal protection under the law, regardless of whether we agree with the owner’s views.
Standing with Cape Union Mart means standing for jobs, the rule of law, religious freedom and a South Africa where businesses can operate without fear. We cannot claim to care about job creation while remaining indifferent to activists targeting major local employers, harassing customers and celebrating the closure of productive businesses.
• Woode-Smith is a political analyst and author.
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