Roedean in turmoil tennis match sparks anti-semitism row: Jonathan Katzenellenbogen

Key topics:Roedean cancels tennis match after parental pressure against Jewish schoolSchool head admits pressure but blames “academic workshop” for cancellationKing David seeks apology; Roedean faces reputational and legal risks.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Jonathan Katzenellenbogen*.Roedean, a pricey private all girl’s school in Johannesburg, has tied itself in knots over an incident that has the smell of deep anti-Semitism.Last week on Tuesday, girls’ tennis teams from King David, a Jewish school in Johannesburg, arrived at Roedean to play a scheduled match. Upon arrival they were told that the match had been cancelled.The day before the match, the Roedean head, Phuti Mogale, called the King David head, Lorraine Srage to say she was facing pressures from some Roedean parents about playing tennis against a Jewish school. But Mogale later phoned King David to say the match was on and that she would be at court side to deal with any heckling.After the King David team arrived, Roedean said an email had been sent cancelling the match. But King David says it received no such email. Roedean now says that there might have been a miscommunication.Roedean’s statements about the incident have been full of denial and obfuscation. It has said that the match had to be cancelled because of a “compulsory academic workshop.”.Read more:.UCT controversy threatens academic freedom and research partnerships: Kenneth Kgwadi.King David would like to see an amicable settlement with Roedean. It wants an unequivocal apology for an anti-Semitic action from Roedean, and an agreement to play sport against each other in the future.The big problem Roedean has over its denial is that there is pretty much the equivalent of a smoking gun, which directly contradict its excuses. The King David head recorded the phone call with her Roedean counterpart. When Srage told Mogale that the conversation was being recorded, Mogale voiced no objection. It is in that conversation Mogale points to parental pressure not to play a Jewish school.In the recorded conversation, Mogale admits to “signifiant pressure from parents” to not play a Jewish school.The Roedean head says the parents, “are basically saying because of the stance the government took (against Israel) we are supposed to support that.”That admission presents a mammoth problem for Roedean.So, the school is in full panic mode and has called in “an independent party” to review the allegations and an “independent facilitator” to address student concerns.These have all the appearances of delaying tactics rather than any real effort to address the issue of allegations anti-Semitism at the school. Roedean denial is in the face of the admission by its head that there was parental pressure not to play tennis with Jews. It’s quickest and most honest way out of its predicament would be a simple apology. It is painting itself into a corner, which could mean serious consequences for the school. Trying to wiggle out of this one with a statement along the lines of oh we mean Zionists, not Jews will not work.Any attempt by Roedean to move away from its stance would mean that heads would have to roll for, at the least, for poor judgment, and the denial in the face of the smoking gun. And it is highly possible that Roedean could find itself in long-running spectacles before a court and the Human Rights Commission. That would do immeasurable damage to its reputation.Roedean’s statement rejecting, “unequivocally any allegation of anti-Semitism or discriminatory conduct,” was accompanied by pious reiterations of their deep commitment, “to diversity, inclusion and mutual respect.”On its face, this commitment forbids Roedean parents from shunning a rival school purely on account of their ethnic and religious character. The parents need to be told that it is impossible for them to generalise about the views held by individual King David students on Gaza and Israel. Further, these parents should be reminded that interacting with other faiths and beliefs is a way of building tolerance.Mogale’s admission that there was parental pressure not to play a Jewish school is an admirable and honest admission. But then she caved in to that pressure.All that makes Roedean’s excuses very flimsy. In its statement on Sunday, Roedean said, “we were unable to field a team for the fixture due to prior school commitments, including compulsory academic workshop.”Why did the Roedean head say to her King David counterpart that the match could go ahead, and then not even inform them of the cancellation.Why would there be a “compulsory academic workshop” on the afternoon of a long-scheduled tennis match?Anti-Semitism is probably a big problem at Roedean, as it is at other schools and institutions, particularly in the wake of Israel’s response to the attacks on October 7th.But there is also a big problem with leadership with no spine at Roedean. In a better world Mogale would have stood up against those refusing to play King David by invoking the school’s vaunted commitment to diversity and tolerance.In her conversation with Srage, Mogale seems to be seeking advice from Srage on how to deal with the pressure. She sounds out of her depth, precisely because the only and easy answer is to show backbone.The staff are probably under intense pressure from some parents and students, as admitted by the school head. That is precisely why there is a need for backbone. Roedean’s Head should have confronted the parents who wished to not play King David on political grounds. She should have explained that the school’s commitment to diversity, and tolerance, does not allow the parents to select the teams against whom the school should compete.There is a further big issue. Are students who have no objection to playing King David allowed to speak their minds and free to compete?.Read more:.TCS: Roedean School and the lingering legacy of elite antisemitism.I should declare my stake in this. I am an old time liberal, but also a Roedean old boy and Jewish, In the early 60s, boys were accepted into the first two grades. Every school morning for two years, before we sang hymns, I was told to comb my hair and pull up my socks. And a number of times, I was taken by the scruff of my neck, placed over a teacher’s lap and given a hiding.Despite the hardships, I felt fully accepted as a member of the Roedean community.Today, I doubt if my two sisters and I would be fully accepted at the school.This incident is plain ugly..*Jonathan Katzenellenbogen is a Johannesburg-based freelance journalist. His articles have appeared on DefenceWeb, Politicsweb, as well as in a number of overseas publications. Katzenellenbogen has also worked on Business Day and as a TV and radio reporter and newsreader. He has a Master's degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management..This article was first published by Daily Friend and is republished with permission