Jewish Community Center Targeted in Attempted Terror Attack in Cape Town
Joel Pollak / Breitbart News
A Jewish community center in Cape Town was targeted in an attempted terror attack last Friday, which was foiled when an explosive device was found on the building grounds before it had detonated.
The center houses the community’s main institutions, and is across the street from the historic Gardens synagogue.
The South African Jewish Report reported:
Cape Town Jewry was exposed to what experts have called “terrorism” for the first time in many years when an improvised explosive device (IED) was thrown into the Jewish community offices precinct in Gardens, Cape Town, last Friday, 6 December 2024.
The IED was discovered undetonated on the property at 10:30. The property contains offices for most Jewish community organisations, including a women’s group, a youth movement, a fundraising organisation, and a Jewish newspaper.
…
As soon as the IED was discovered, law enforcement was notified. “SAPS [South African Police Services] K9 and Bomb Disposal Unit members investigated the discovery, and after the object was declared safe, it was removed for further investigation,” says SAPS spokesperson Colonel André Traut.
The Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Dr. Warren Goldstein, condemned the attempted terror attack, and called out local officials for failing to speak out against it.
“As of this recording,” he said Tuesday, “there has been no public word to the best of my knowledge said on statements issued on behalf of the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa; the premier of the Western Cape [province], Alan Winde; or the mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis and that itself speaks volumes. It’s a disgrace.”
[Mayor Hill-Lewis was reported to have spoken out later that day, albeit in conditional terms: “Should the SAPS investigation confirm that this was an attempted attack on the Jewish community, I know I would speak for all Capetonians in condemning such an attempt in the strongest possible terms.”
South Africa has accused Israel of “genocide” in international tribunals, and Cape Town in particular has a large and vocal anti-Israel movement.
A large anti-Israel protest had been scheduled to be held outside the Jewish community offices earlier this week.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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