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A South African man, who was recently granted residency in the U.S., posted a series of antisemitic tweets, including that Jews were “dangerous and untrustworthy”, according to multiple media reports.
Charl Kleinhaus, 46, from Limpopo, South Africa, landed in Washington on a chartered jet on Monday with his daughter, son, and grandson. They plan to resettle in Buffalo, New York.
He arrived with a group of 59 white South Africans, who were granted asylum in the U.S., after Trump deemed them victims of racial discrimination in their home nation.
“We just packed our bags and left,” Mr. Kleinhaus said after landing, adding that it was necessary for “safety reasons,” reported The New York Times.
On Monday, Trump was asked by reporters why the Afrikaners were given priority refugee status over other victims fleeing war or famine in Africa. The President simply said Afrikaners were being killed, without providing any evidence.
“It’s a genocide that’s taking place,” he said at the White House, adding that there was no favourability based on the colour of their skin, “[it] makes no difference to me,” he added.
Elon Musk, part of Trump’s inner circle, has peddled similar claims after he retweeted an aerial video showing roadside graves, which claimed each cross represented a murdered white farmer in South Africa.
“So many crosses,” Musk wrote above the video on X Tuesday.
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Kleinhaus, too, is an avid poster on X and often tweets or retweets far-right and pro-Trump content.
In a now-deleted tweet, posted in April 2023, and screenshotted by The Bulwark, the 46-year-old wrote: “Jews are untrustworthy and a dangerous group they are not Gods chosen like to believe they are. Where is the Temple that must be their concern leave is alone we all believe in the God of Abraham, Moses and Jacob! I almost said something ugly…”
The comment was in response to a video of Christians tussling with Israeli police on the way to the Church of the Nativity, reported conservative news outlet The Bulwark.
In tweets that are still available on his account, Kleinhaus posted a link to a clip showing a scuffle between the Israeli military and Christians while writing: “Jews attacking Christians !” on X, just five days after the October 7 attacks.
On the day of the deadly attack, Kleinhaus initially responded to the news by posting a link to an Al Jazeera video, taken a few days earlier, of what appeared to be Orthodox Israelis spitting on Christians, writing “Jews spitting on Christians!”
He also posted that “Israel is a terrorist state” on Facebook, along with a link to another video showing clashes that same day, reported The Bulwark.
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Several X users were quick to challenge Kleinhaus on X, accusing him of retweeting several antisemitic posts on the social media platform.
On Wednesday, the 46-year-old attempted to defend himself by claiming that he “copy and pasted someone’s post rather than retweeting it” as he had got into a spat with someone, adding: “I am myself from jewish descendants keep searching you will find the original.”
Kleinhaus confirmed that the X account belonged to him to The Bulwark.
According to the U.S. embassy in South Africa, to be eligible for the resettlement scheme in the U.S., someone must be of South African nationality, an Afrikaner or from a racial minority, and able to cite an incident of past persecution or fear of persecution in the future.
South Africa maintains there is no evidence of persecution or a “white genocide”, despite claims from Musk, on X.
The Independent contacted Kleinhaus and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
