South Africa bans US documentary over Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism

South Africa’s Film and Publication Board has banned the distribution of the US-made documentary Hebrews to Negroes: Wake up Black America, ruling that it amounts to incitement to cause harm, BusinessDay reports.

The board issued a “refused classification” ruling, under which the distributor must remove the film from all platforms in South Africa, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) said. Those found in possession of or distributing the work are liable for hefty fines or imprisonment, BusinessDay reports.

The three-hour-plus film, produced by Ronald Dalton Jnr, asserts that the Holocaust was a falsehood, the board said in a government notice. It found that the film serves to trivialise “immense suffering” and perpetuate anti-Semitism, and that its text comparing Jews to “parasites among the nations” is “an egregious act of dehumanisation”.

“The content, as presented, incites hatred and spreads dangerous misinformation, failing to provide the objective and informed perspective required for a bona fide documentary,” the board said, adding that by denying the Holocaust the film “fundamentally fails” the historical-accuracy criterion for a bona fide documentary.

The board found incitement on five grounds: promoting Holocaust denialism; the dehumanising comparison; promoting anti-Semitic views; the frequent and unmitigated use of racial slurs, which it said constitutes hate speech; and inciting hatred and spreading dangerous misinformation. It also found that the film amplifies tropes about Jewish power, control and greed, including false claims that Jews control the media, and disputes the identity of modern Jews.

The ban followed a formal complaint from the SAJBD, which was alerted to the film in June 2023 when it was screened at the Soweto Theatre. The board’s ruling sends “a strong message that the right to freedom of expression does not amount to a licence to defame and propagate hatred against an entire group of people simply because of who they are and what they believe”, the SAJBD said.

Sources

• BusinessDay: “SA bans documentary over Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism” — https://www.businessday.co.za/news/2026-10-26-sa-bans-documentary-over-holocaust-denial-and-anti-semitism/
• BusinessTech: “South Africa bans documentary resulting in fines or jail if you watch it” — https://businesstech.co.za/news/5-things/881341/south-africa-bans-documentary-resulting-in-fines-or-jail-if-you-watch-it-and-government-going-after-light-bulbs/