Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

This South African fitness queen has been charged after allegedly claiming Hitler was “innocent” and “f*cking Jews are greedy as f*ck” on Instagram.

Fitness model Simone Abigail Kriel has been charged with posting antisemitic and inflammatory messages online in now-deleted posts after a report was filed by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD).

Kriel, 28, who lives in Pretoria, is alleged to have made the offensive posts on 16th May.

Local media report the fitness fanatic is accused of writing: “The f*ckin Jews are greedy as f*ck and they will wage war against countries and races, based on lies and deception to get what they want.”

As well as another post reportedly reading: “It was the Jews that bombed, raped, sodomised and burned all people in Germany alive. Hitler innocent. Our history has been twisted to favor the Jews without question.”

And a third post is alleged to have read: “There is a special place in Hell for them and not even that is good enough for what they are doing to this world!”

The SAJBD’s national vice-chairperson, Professor Karen Milner, whose name was used for the charges, said the alleged comments were both criminal and dangerous, adding that antisemitism often rises in times of uncertainty and economic downturn.

She added: “It is at such times that conspiracy theories tend to flourish, and all too often Jews end up becoming the scapegoats.”

The group’s associate director David Saks claimed they had written to Kriel at the time with a deadline for removing the posts and asking for an apology, but she reportedly refused.

He added that Kriel “is really not sorry for what she’s done”.

Her Instagram page has since been deleted and local media report she lost her role as a brand ambassador for fitness group PSN Lifestyle in the wake of the allegations.

Saks said Kriel had previously dated a Jewish man but had changed her views after coming across conspiracy theory videos online.

Local media report her as saying the videos led her to believe “the Holocaust was a set-up, executed by Hitler’s men, at the cost of millions of Jewish lives”.

It is unclear if a trial date has been set.

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