JOHANNESBURG—The head of the Likud branch in South African Sergio Kowensky was shot dead earlier this week in a suburb of Johannesburg, according to the South African Jewish Report.
‘’The initial fears were that this could have been the work of anti-Israel fanatics, given that Kowensky spent his entire life dedicated to Zionist ideals, with an intense passion for the well-being of the State of Israel,’’ the paper wrote.
Shortly after midday last Tuesday, Kowensky arrived at his workplace in Benrose, a Johannesnburg suburb. Before he had time to realise that his life was in danger, he had been shot several times, and left for dead on the side of the road. The assailants did not take his car, his wallet, or his cellphone before fleeing.
Kowensky, 67, was an outspoken supporter of Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and was not afraid to speak his mind on matters related to Israel. He represented Likud on the South African Zionist Federation management committee.
One of his friends, Mike Fisher said he was not shy to speak his mind on Israel, and was known to members of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Kowensky grew up in the small town of Moisés Ville in the province of Santa Fe, which was founded by Eastern European and Russian Jews escaping persecution in 1889.
His late parents, Zaidel and Leah, were Holocaust survivors who came from Belarus. According to the family, Leah was a partisan and had the nickname “The Fighter Girl”, which has been acknowledged by Yad Vashem.
Representatives of South Africa’s Jewish community recently reported an uptick in anti-Semitic rhetoric in real life and on social media. “A flurry of viciously antisemitic and threatening attacks have been made against South African Jews, both on social media and in direct face-to-face encounters,” the South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies said.
Passengers awaiting their suitcases from an El Al flight into South Africa were called “wicked Jews” at the airport by a man who ranted against them from across a luggage belt at O.R. Tambo International Airport near Johannesburg. Also, a mural with a German flag and a swastika was painted on a Johannesburg wall.
South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies Chairman Shaun Zagnoev said he was following up on the incidents, which have “generated great anxiety and anger in the Jewish community.”
“The posts show how easily radical anti-Israel sentiment can spill over into hateful slurs and threats against Jewish people in general,” the Board said. the statement said. “We are being told that we are ‘scum,’ ‘rats,’ ‘bastards,’ ‘pigs,’ ‘swine’ and ‘fat-nosed f**ks. We are further being warned that ‘our time is coming’ and that ‘the Holocaust will be a picnic after we are done with you.’’