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When Donald Trump began his second term as president, he had a strong advocate in South Africa’s head Rabbi.

Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein stated in February that South Africans “ought to embrace the Trump administration’s efforts” regarding the nation’s matters, commending the president in this regard.

widely distributed video message

.

An outspoken detractor of the South African government, Goldstein supported Trump’s stance against South Africa due to

cooperation with Iran

and its

new land expropriation law

, which Goldstein thinks will decelerate the nation’s progress.

already sluggish economy

.

But since Trump decided to admit some white South Africans into the United States as refugees — the only refugees he is letting in — Goldstein has changed his tone. He told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he sees the move as a “mistake.”

“It is wrong to think that the problems that saw white South Africans take up residence in the U.S. are unique to the white community,” said Goldstein. He challenged the Trump administration’s contention that the Afrikaners — a minority that arrived in South Africa in the 17th century whose members led the country’s system of apartheid until its end in 1994 — are being singled out for persecution and what

Trump called “genocide”

because of their identity.

Similar to Jewish leaders in the United States and beyond, Goldstein navigates a precarious path concerning a U.S. president who frequently espouses pro-Israel sentiments yet implements policies that numerous Jews find objectionable. While some American Jews appreciate the focus placed on combating campus anti-Semitism by this administration, others fear that their criticism of educational institutions may be excessively severe, clumsy, and antidemocratic.

In South Africa, where Jews have a strong connection to Israel, Trump’s overall support for Israel is appreciated. However, this position has also conflicted with local political dynamics there as well.

Milton Shain, an emeritus professor of South African Jewish history at the University of Cape Town, said the overwhelming majority of South Africans — Jews and non-Jews alike — were perplexed by the idea of some Afrikaners receiving refugee status. He called the rhetoric about a genocide against Afrikaners “absurd” and speculated that there could be a connection between Trump’s policy and South Africa’s decision to

file genocide charges against Israel at the International Court of Justice

.

It appears to me that the Trump administration aims to single out South Africa for bringing Israel to the International Court of Justice,” Shain stated. “This is the sole rationale I can conceive behind such an unusual and prolonged effort.

But even before the war in Gaza that led to South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, both Trump and his South Africa-born advisor Elon Musk hurled accusations of

“genocide”

and

“the large scale killing of farmers”

at South Africa. Their claims are based on documented attacks against white farmers and the complaints

repeat a group of South African white nationalists

. Although the farm attacks have persisted for years, they represent a small percentage of the country’s

high violent crime rate

, which affects all parts of the population.

Goldstein said Trump has wrongly framed South Africa’s economic, social and political challenges in racial terms. He pointed to a

poll

by the Social Research Foundation, which found that 67% of Black South Africans wanted their children to live and work abroad for a better future.

The first group of 59 Afrikaner refugees arrived at Dulles International Airport on Monday. They were greeted with fanfare by Trump officials, including the Jewish deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau, who

compared their journey

to his father’s escape from Nazi-annexed Austria in 1938.

Some migration assistance organizations in the United States have stated that they are ethically against relocating the recently arrived Afrikaners.

The Episcopal Church

announced on Monday that it would be concluding its long-standing collaboration with the federal government for resettling refugees. The organization cited its “firm dedication to racial justice and reconciliation” as well as its “longstanding connections with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.”

The American-based Jewish refugee assistance group HIAS announced that they will back Afrikaners as they settle into their new homeland. However, HIAS President Mark Hetfield informed

The New York Times

It was not appropriate that this group was chosen for admission.

“We are deeply troubled that the administration has closed the door on thousands of refugees who were previously cleared by the Department of Homeland Security, despite court orders directing the White House to allow many of these individuals entry,” stated Hetfield.

On Monday, Trump stated that he was open to accepting Afrikaners even though he held an anti-migrant position, as these individuals were

victims of a “genocide.”

He

suspended resettlement programs for other refugees around the world almost immediately

after taking office.

White South Africans, of whom

about half

are Afrikaners, comprise some 7% of the country’s population and own about

78% of private farmland

. Research shows white South Africans collectively have roughly

20 times the wealth

of Black South Africans.

South African Jews are a small minority within the white minority, and their ranks are shrinking — after peaking at 120,000 in 1970, the population has declined to less than 50,000. Many Jews have connections to Israel and feel isolated by the frayed relations between Israel and South Africa. Some, said Shain, worry about being identified by their government as allies to its foreign adversaries.

“I believe Rabbi Goldstein’s supportive comments [of Trump] are problematic,” said Shain. “Jews are rapidly being identified as a fifth column, like the far-right Afrikaners, working against the interests of the country by cozying up to the Trump administration.”

Goldstein’s support for Trump drew criticism from other members of the local community. Journalist Anton Harber wrote an essay in February titled “The Chief Rabbi who lost his soul,”

writing

, “Something is very wrong when a Chief Rabbi sings the praises of political and business figures without mentioning their neo-Nazi affiliations.” Harber referenced a gesture by Musk that

drew comparisons to a Nazi salute

and his

increasing backing for Germany’s extreme right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party

as well as Trump’s previous actions

interacting with conspiracy theorists who hold anti-Semitic views

.

Shain and Goldstein concurred that Jewish South Africans share similar worries with the broader population of South Africa.

violence

,

corruption

, poverty alongside elevated unemployment rates. Numerous young Jewish individuals are

leaving South Africa

for opportunities elsewhere.

The issues confronting the community mirror those faced by the nation,” Goldstein stated. “As South Africa experiences economic growth and prospers as a whole, the Jewish community will benefit similarly.


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