“Divine Retribution?” South African Chief Rabbi Slams Ramaphosa After White House Showdown | Watch

South Africa’s Chief Rabbi, Warren Goldstein, has issued a fiery rebuke of President Cyril Ramaphosa following a controversial White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, framing the diplomatic encounter as “divine retribution” for South Africa’s genocide accusation against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The May 21, 2025, meeting between Ramaphosa and Trump, described by observers as an ambush, quickly devolved into a confrontational spectacle. Trump, seeking to spotlight alleged racial violence in South Africa, presented videos of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema chanting “Kill the Boer,” an anti-apartheid song, and repeated debunked claims of “white genocide.” In a theatrical move, aides wheeled in large television screens and dimmed the Oval Office lights to showcase the footage, prompting widespread criticism of the stunt.

Rabbi Goldstein, however, viewed the moment through a theological lens, calling it a case of “biblical justice.” In a widely circulated audio commentary, he said, “This moment, this humiliation felt biblical. It felt like divine retribution.” He argued that Ramaphosa’s public embarrassment was symbolic payback for the South African government's decision to accuse Israel of genocide at the ICJ, a charge he called a “lie” and a “defamation of an entire nation.”

“Ramaphosa and the ANC stood on a different global stage and falsely accused the Jewish state of genocide,” Goldstein declared. “And now, in front of the whole world, they themselves are being accused of genocide.”

While Trump’s assertion of “white genocide” has been widely discredited; of the 26,232 murders in South Africa in 2024, only 44 involved farming communities, and just eight victims were farmers, yet Rabbi Goldstein focused instead on the broader epidemic of violence plaguing the country. He cited Talmudic teachings to highlight the moral cost: “Every day 70 worlds are destroyed. Every day 70 South African lives are brutally cut short.” Goldstein blamed this on a systemic failure by the ANC government, arguing that it had broken its social contract by failing to protect its citizens. Since 1994, he noted, more than 650,000 South Africans have been murdered.

Ramaphosa maintained composure during the Oval Office ambush, stating that “Kill the Boer” is not a reflection of government policy. He emphasized that violent crime in South Africa affects all racial groups. The chant “Dubul’ ibhunu” originated during the 1980s anti-apartheid struggle and has been the subject of repeated court scrutiny. While initially declared hate speech in 2011 by the Equality Court, a 2022 Johannesburg High Court ruling overturned that decision, determining that the song did not incite hatred against white people and was to be interpreted as political expression.

The Constitutional Court declined to hear an appeal, a decision that deeply disturbed Rabbi Goldstein. “Everyone knows it is wrong except the judges of the constitutional court who just a few weeks ago ruled unanimously that ‘Kill the Boer, kill the farmer’ is neither hate speech nor incitement to violence,” he said. “This judgment casts a shadow on the integrity and legacy of the constitutional court.”

Goldstein’s most pointed remarks, however, were directed personally at President Ramaphosa. “You will appear in the full glare of the light of truth before your creator, the Almighty himself, the only true judge. In the heavenly court, you will stand accused of presiding over the human suffering of all those who were murdered on your watch.”

As South Africa continues to defend its ICJ case against Israel, one that has drawn condemnation from pro-Israel advocates and accusations of hypocrisy, Rabbi Goldstein’s standing up against South Africa’s foreign policy stance offers a rare light of support for Israel against growing Anti-Semitism worldwide.