The Press Council of South Africa (PCSA) says it is unfortunate that the SA Jewish Report has responded to its expulsion by attacking the council’s integrity.

This comes shortly after the newspaper became the first ever publication to be expelled by the PCSA after refusing to obey a ruling made against it by Acting Press Ombud, Johan Retief, and the PSCA chair of appeals, judge Bernard Ngoepe.

The issue revolves around an article on the newspaper’s front page about a cartoon that appeared on the South African Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Coalition’s (SA BDS Coalition) Facebook page.

The cartoon was about the labour dispute at Clover SA and allegedly portrays a ‘greedy overweight man eating a pile of money while ‘the man on the street’ is drawn as a small, insignificant figure sitting in front of an empty plate with Clover products filling the rest of the frame.’

The newspaper published an article where it claimed that SA BDS Coalition showed its ‘true colours’ when using ‘what looks like an anti-Semitic’ cartoon and wording on its Facebook account.

In a report by the ombudsman, it states that the cartoon was accompanied by text including the phrases “Greedy bosses connected to apartheid Israel… Every reason to boycott Clover…”

The findings against the newspaper were made on complaints by SA BDS Coalition that they were wrongly labelled as anti-Semites and that the headline was misleading.

In his finding Retief says that although opposing sides could motivate the interpreting of the cartoon and wording as anti-Semitic or not, the issue revolves around editorial opinion published as fact in a news report and headline.

“The headline should have made clear it was an opinion not fact but instead it was published as hard news on the front page,” Retief finds.

The ruling ordered that the newspaper apologise to SA BDS for portraying its opinion that the cartoon was anti-Semitic as fact and thus labelling them as anti-Semitic.

Latiefa Mobara, executive director of the PCSA, says the SA Jewish Report was ordered to publish an apology by the Acting Press Ombud, Johan Retief, in January last year.

“They appealed the finding, but the Chair of Appeals, Judge Bernard Ngoepe, dismissed their application for leave to appeal in March. They were paid-up members of the Press Council at the time the ruling was made and had been members since 2018.”

The publication then attempted to withdraw from the Press Council rather than publish the finding against them, despite the obligation to give three years’ notice, in accordance with the Press Council’s Constitution.

“To refuse to publish the apology undermines the entire mediation and adjudication processes of the Press Council’s independent co-regulatory structure.

“We apply the Press Code objectively and those who join the Press Council are bound by and commit themselves to publish rulings by the Ombuds and the Chair of Appeals. They cannot simply resign from the Press Council because they have an adverse finding against them,” says Mobara.

Mobara says the PCSA cannot have members refusing to comply with rulings against them.

“This not fair to complainants and undermines the integrity of the regulatory processes of the Press Council. All South Africans are entitled to a media that is fair, responsible and accountable, acts with integrity and follows the Press Code.”

Peta Krost, editor of the SA Jewish Report, has in the meantime written in an online piece on the publication’s website that they “could never” obey the ruling.

“Though it may be difficult for those outside the community to understand, there’s no way we can in good faith apologise to this organisation, known throughout the Jewish world for being anti-Semitic.”