South Africa’s government defends chants of ‘Kill the farmer!’ but insists that Israel is committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza.
At a massive Johannesburg rally in July 2023, Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party, grabbed the microphone and began to chant. “Kill the Boer! The farmer!” he bellowed. The crowd of 100,000 joined in the song, an old “anti-apartheid” ditty titled “Kill the Boer,” a reference to the white Afrikaner population of South Africa who are the descendants of Dutch settlers centuries ago. Progressive activists and academics immediately insisted that the song, in which the refrain “shoot the Boer” appears 20 times, should not be taken “literally”—although the crowd did not appear to be aware of this as they pointed their fingers in the air like guns for each chorus.
