South Africa bans screening and distribution of antisemitic film — Jerusalem Post

In South Africa, the Film and Publication Board (FPB) refused to classify the film Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America, prohibiting its broadcast and distribution in the country. According to the Jerusalem Post, South Africa became the first country to officially restrict the screening or sale of this film at the national level.

Grounds for the decision

The 2018 film promotes the theory that members of the Black Hebrew Israelites movement are the true descendants of the biblical Israelites, while modern Jews are allegedly not “real Jews.” The film also contains claims of an alleged international Jewish conspiracy aimed at deceiving Black people.

The FPB said that the film promotes hatred against an identifiable group and contains incitement to cause harm through Holocaust denial, dehumanization, and antisemitic statements. The regulator specifically drew attention to claims in the film that describe the Holocaust as a “fabrication” and characterize Jews using derogatory words.

The FPB also noted that a documentary film must meet the criterion of historical accuracy, and Holocaust denial contradicts this criterion.

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Possible liability

The ban does not apply to the book of the same title on which the film was based. The FPB made the decision not to classify the film in December 2025 following a complaint by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, and it was officially published in October 2026.

The FPB warned that knowingly publicly screening, broadcasting, distributing, selling, renting, or advertising the film may be punishable by a fine of up to 500,000 rand, imprisonment for up to five years, or both. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies welcomed the decision, stating that freedom of expression does not give the right to spread defamation and hatred against an entire group of people.

In June 2023, the film was shown at a theater in Soweto, after which the local Jewish community filed a complaint with the ombudsman. The film gained attention in October 2022, when NBA basketball player Kyrie Irving shared a link to it on X. He later deleted the post and apologized.