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After prodding from Elon Musk, ADL says South African ‘Kill the Boer’ song could be seen as ‘call for violence’
(JTA) — The Anti-Defamation League expressed concern about a South African song calling to “Kill the Boer” after Elon Musk repeatedly prodded the group to speak out — the latest in an ongoing tiff between the Jewish civil rights group and the billionaire.
Late last month, a video of a left-wing South African politician leading a rendition of the song spread across Musk’s social network, which is popularly known as Twitter. The lyrics to the song, which originated as an anti-apartheid chant, include the words “Kill the Boer, the farmer,” a reference to white South Africans. The politician, Julius Malema, chanted those lyrics into a microphone along with the crowd at a large rally, pointing his finger like a gun.
Malema has since shared posts on the network, now known as X, saying that the chant is meant as a “struggle song” and is not meant to be taken literally, a position echoed by historians of apartheid. But voices on the right in South Africa and elsewhere — including Musk, who was born there and lived there until age 17, shortly after apartheid’s end — have called for the song to be condemned.
“They are openly pushing for genocide of white people in South Africa,” Musk posted on July 31. Addressing the president of South Africa, he wrote, “@CyrilRamaphosa, why do you say nothing?”
Far-right activists have alleged for years that white South African farmers are being killed in large numbers. Scholars say that claim is false, but in 2018 it was endorsed by then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson and, subsequently, by then-President Donald Trump.
Those claims have resurfaced in the days since the video of Malema was posted, and Musk has turned his attention to the ADL, repeatedly asking the group publicly to condemn Malema. On Aug. 4, he posted, “Why do you say nothing, @ADL?” Four days later, he wrote, “They absolutely mean literal genocide. Why are organizations like @ADL silent?” On Wednesday, he wrote that he was “calling out NY Times & ADL in particular” for alleged racism in U.S. media against white people and Asians.
While the ADL generally focuses on combating antisemitism and prejudice more broadly in the United States, Musk’s needling of the group comes after months during which it has condemned his tweets bashing Jewish financier and philanthropist George Soros, as well as what it calls his lack of attention to hate speech on the platform. Musk has shot back, writing in May that “ADL should just drop the ‘A’” — which would make it the “Defamation League.” The group also called for a temporary ad boycott on Twitter, though it has more recently resumed buying ads on the platform, according to the Forward.
On Wednesday, the ADL responded with a statement on the song attributed to its CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt. “While it is a historic protest song that called for the dismantlement of the racist apartheid system in South Africa, its crude lyrics could be interpreted as a call for violence,” Greenblatt said.
The statement went on to say that “words matter, and people, especially those in public life, should refrain from expressions that invoke the threat of violence.” But it added that the discussion surrounding the song has prompted claims of “white genocide,” a term favored by white supremacists who falsely allege that there is a plot by non-white people to kill whites. Claims that Jews are out to destroy white people have fueled antisemitic attacks, including the synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh and Poway, California.
“Such wild charges have been used to excuse hate, to justify harassment and to rationalize violence,” Greenblatt’s statement said.
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The post After prodding from Elon Musk, ADL says South African ‘Kill the Boer’ song could be seen as ‘call for violence’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.