South African school head dismissed after antisemitism row

The head of a leading South African private school has been dismissed following an antisemitism controversy sparked by the cancellation of a sports fixture with a Jewish school.

According to the SA Jewish Report, Roedean School’s Senior School Head, Phuti Mogale, left her post with immediate effect after a crisis meeting this week, with the publication reporting that she had in fact been dismissed earlier.

The development follows the emergence of a leaked audio recording – first revealed by The Common Sense – which appeared to undermine Roedean’s public explanation for cancelling a scheduled tennis fixture with King David Linksfield, a prominent Jewish day school in Johannesburg.

Roedean had said the match was called off because of prior academic commitments and compulsory workshops. However, the leaked audio suggested the decision was driven by pressure from within the school community not to play a Jewish school, linked to political tensions surrounding Israel.

In the recording, a Roedean representative refers to parental pressure and describes the situation as “presenting as a Jewish day school issue”.

King David pupils travelled to Roedean for the fixture on 3 February but never took to the court, according to the SA Jewish Report, and were ultimately turned away.

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies condemned the cancellation, with its national director Wendy Kahn saying: “What occurred between Roedean School and King David High School constitutes antisemitism.”

“The tennis fixture didn’t fall away because of prior school commitments or academic workshops,” she said. “It fell away because in the words of Roedean’s school principal, ‘It’s presenting itself as a Jewish day school issue’.”

The controversy has also drawn a response from the Commonwealth Jewish Council. In a statement, its president Lord Jon Mendelsohn said the refusal by Roedean to play King David Linksfield “after pressure from parents” would “only drive deeper divisions within South African society”.

“Discrimination against students on the basis of religion is a direct violation of these principles and has no place in sport, nor education,” he said, adding that antisemitism “will not be tolerated, not in sport and not in the classroom”.

King David Linkfield’s head of school, Lorraine Srage, said denying pupils the opportunity to compete based on religion was “deplorable”, adding that there was “no place in schools for any form of antisemitism, discrimination, or disinformation”.

Roedean issued multiple statements denying antisemitism, though these were criticised for inconsistencies over whether the fixture had been postponed, forfeited, or cancelled outright. The school has since said it is conducting an international investigation and engaging with the Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa.

Legal experts cited by The Common Sense have warned that civil – and potentially criminal – consequences could follow if unlawful discrimination were established.