Attack on pro-Palestine family, EFF KZN chair’s remarks draw criticism amid call for calm

KwaZulu-Natal EFF chair Mongezi Twala has been criticised for comments he made after the appearance of a murder accused in an apparent hate crime at the Durban magistrate's court. 

Twala was addressing a crowd outside court after Grayson James Beare, 44, made a brief appearance on Tuesday on charges of murder and attempted murder of a family believed to support Palestine.

Dressed in shorts and a golf shirt, Beare — the estranged, adopted son of South African businessman Julian Beare — is alleged to have stabbed a woman , her husband and son at their Glenmore home on Sunday.

The woman died, and the husband and son are recovering from their injuries. A fourth person, a teenager, was unharmed. TimesLIVE Premium has not disclosed the name of the family to safeguard the minor witness.

After Beare's matter was adjourned, Twala said: “Starting from today we cut the ugly throats of the Jewish,” and “we must cut the head of the snake,” to which members of the crowd said “thank you”.

“It cannot be that we have people of other ethnic groups murdering our innocent people. This is the same thing that is happening in Palestine. This cannot happen in South Africa. We want one united society which lives in harmony,” said Twala.

Twala warned if the incident was not addressed, it could spill over into larger society.

“This racist imbecile must suffer the consequences and rot in jail for the rest of his life. This is genocide levelled against the people of Palestine, and we are with them, whether it's done by the Jewish or white racists,” said Twala.

He vowed the party stood in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

“The people of Palestine have done nothing. It's just land disposition. It's just those greedy hypocrites who want to invade Palestine because of the riches in Palestine. We are not going to fold our arms,” said Twala.

The South African Jewish Board's Prof Karen Milner criticised Twala's comments, saying the call for violence against the Jewish community was “unacceptable” and the board would be investigating a case of hate speech against him.

She said the SAJB condemned the attack on the Durban family and trusted the justice system would deal with the attacker.

“Beare’s actions and views do not represent the Jewish community in South Africa,” said Milner.

She said their organisation was committed to promoting human rights, fostering intercultural dialogues and ensuring safety and the wellbeing of the communities.

Milner said it was clear from the video that Beare was not mentally sound when he committed the murder.

She said Twala's comments came in the wake of a statement issued by Africa 4 Palestine, who called Jews “violent” and “aggressive”.

“As can be seen by the scenes outside court, this is an inversion of the truth, inflammatory and dangerous. It is appalling and unacceptable that a tragic situation has been turned into a vilification campaign of the broader Jewish people,” said Milner.

She added it was also “totally reckless, bigoted” and inappropriate to hold all the members of the religion responsible for the reprehensible act of an unstable individual.

“We again express our sympathies to the friends and family and call on all leaders to not further inflame an already volatile situation,” said Milner.

United Palestine secretary-general Imraan Subrathie, who was also present at court, described the attack as a “deliberate” act of terror.

“We are saddened that someone would go to the home of an innocent civilian. It is a sombre day for us that someone who stands for humanity gets killed. This is unacceptable,” said Subrathie.

He said the woman that was killed had been unwavering in marching against oppressed people and her only sin was standing up for justice.

He said their movement respected the law and called on the courts to expedite the process.

He said they were appealing to the courts to deal with the matter with sensitivity and to indicate barbarism, disrespect and racism would not be tolerated in South Africa.

“We are sending a compelling message and appeal for calm and to respect the court. Let us not stoop to the level that others have stooped to. We are peaceful activists, and we would follow the law,” said Subrathie.

He said they remained hopeful that justice would be served for the family and the Free Palestine movement.