The Star newspaper printed the following editorial on 17 December 2015
FREEDOMS bring with them obligations – not to impinge on other freedoms. It’s a lesson that has often had to be relearnt in the last 21 years as South Africans come to terms with the fantastic gift that is our constitution. We can protest, we can worship, we can think what we like, marry who we want, but we may not foment race hatred or incite war. This should be a guiding light for all societies, but particularly here in South Africa, a nation forged in the cauldron of fear and loathing.This week, Durban Equality Court magistrate Aletta Moolman ordered maverick campaigner Snowy Smith to apologise sincerely to the South African Jewish community for the hate-filled emails he has been sending out and for his Holocaust denialism – and to desist. Smith has 10 days to comply. It’s a timely message for South Africans at large as reconciliation often appears to fray – and a long overdue censure for Smith.
We dare not forget. We dare not let history repeat itself. Six million Jews were slaughtered in the Nazi Holocaust. The world has seen other genocides since, particularly in Africa.
There is no place for racism, whether it is xenophobic or anti-Semitic, in this country – ever.