Join us in protest outside the Centres in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and eThekwini on 7 October.
Statement – 7 October 2026
South Africa’s Holocaust & Genocide Centre’s purpose, in its own words, is to “commemorate the victims and survivors of the Nazi regime and the numerous genocides that happened before and since the Holocaust.” This being the Centres’ declared mandate, their silence on three years of genocide in Gaza is even louder.
The South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP) condemns the Centres’ refusal to acknowledge Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, despite public and private pressure to do so from organisations including SAJFP and our allies.
The evidence of Israel’s genocide on Gaza is overwhelming. It has been recognised by major international institutions, all credible human rights organisations, and the world’s leading genocide scholars, including those from Israel.
Israel has ignored, with impunity, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which issued three binding provisional measures ordering Israel to prevent genocidal acts and halt operations in Rafah. The United Nations (UN) Independent International Commission of Inquiry and the International Association of Genocide Scholars have also concluded that Israel’s assault meets the legal definition of genocide.
Human rights organisations have issued conclusive reports which determine that Israel is responsible for genocide. These include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, EuroMed, Human Rights Monitor, Doctors Without Borders, the University Network for Human Rights, Genocide Watch, B’Tselem (Israeli), and Physicians for Human Rights (Israeli), along with Palestinian groups like Al-Haq and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.
We call on all our comrades to join us in protesting against the Holocaust & Genocide Centre on October 7 2026 in South Africa’s three major cities at the following locations and times:
📍Cape Town: 10am, 88 Hatfield Street
📍eThekwini (Durban): 12pm, 44 KE Masinga Road, North Beach
📍Johannesburg: 16pm, 1 Duncomb Road, Forest Town
As Jews, we know what it means to carry the memory of genocide. We know the devastating consequences of indifference, dehumanisation and silence in the face of mass atrocity. The history of the Nazi Holocaust carries with it an ethical responsibility to recognise and oppose genocide wherever it occurs — especially when atrocities are being carried out and justified in our name.
As these Centres are dedicated to documenting, archiving and commemorating all victims and survivors of genocide, they state among their objectives that they seek to “draw attention to the dangers of indifference, apathy and silence”. This commitment cannot exclude the genocide of Palestinians.
To reject an overwhelming consensus and all available evidence of an ongoing genocide destroys the credibility of the Centres and their mission. Genocide denial is complicity.
Never Again means Never Again for anyone.
For more information, contact [email protected] or:
Daniel (Johannesburg) – 0610250740
Megan (Cape Town) – 0834403961