Sixty leaders from fifty countries visited beautiful Cape Town for The World Jewish Congress National Directors’ Forum 2017 conference, taking in this beautiful city and getting to know this remarkable community. The group were exposed to Jewish outreach visiting the Afrika Tikkun Centre in Mfuleni.

The WJC National Directors visited Herzlia High School to learn about Jewish education in South Africa.

SAJBD President Mary Kluk joined 16 Jewish leaders from around the world participating in a week long programme as guests of the Federal Republic of Germany entitled `Jewish Life In Germany’. Pictured here are the delegates, members of the Federal Foreign Office including Mr Felix Klein and Maram Stern Deputy CEO for Diplomacy WJC.

The WJC National Directors visited the Astra Centre which provides sheltered employment.  They visited the impressive workshop and had lunch at the Centre’s restaurant, Coffee Time.

The World Jewish Congress National Directors’ Forum for 2017 was held in Cape Town.  Sixty leaders from fifty countries visited beautiful Cape Town for their annual conference, taking in this beautiful city and getting to know this remarkable community. The opening event was held at Leewenhof, the magnificent residence of the Western Cape Premier, Helen Zille.

We are pleased to inform you that the Rosh Hashanah 2017 issue of Jewish Affairs has been posted to our website. To view previous issues from Pesach 2009, click here . The printed version will be mailed to subscribers shortly. As always, your assistance in widening the reach of the journal by forwarding these links to those who may be interested would be much appreciated. There are two main themes in this issue, both concerned with the two events that defined the 20th Century

View the Mngxitama Affidavit here:

The SAJBD wrote to the Vice Chancellor of the University of Pretoria following a report of antisemitic graffiti on a noticeboard in the Humanities Building, including Nazi Swastikas and calls for all Jews to be gassed. The University responded to our letter, “The University of Pretoria condemns any form of discrimination and hate speech and will not hesitate to act against anyone found guilty of this type of behaviour. When the University became aware of a notice board that w

The SAJBD is appalled by the crassly offensive, demeaning and hurtful comment made this morning by Black First Land First (BLF) leader Andile Mngxitama. In a tweet, Mngxitama wrote, “For those claiming the legacy of the holocaust is ONLY negative think about the lampshades and Jewish soap.” With this ugly, jeering remark, Mngxitama has portrayed not just the deliberate murder of Jewish people but even the supposed reduction of their remains to everyday objects as something to

For the vast majority of South African Jews, the visit last week of a multi-party delegation of Israeli Members of Parliament (Knesset) has provided a welcome message of hope. It is a reminder that despite the destructive efforts of extremist factions aimed at perpetuating division and conflict, it remains possible for people of good will to find common cause with one another through dialogue and constructive engagement. Members of the Israeli delegation, which comprises Nach

A delegation of Israeli Members of Parliament (Knesset) is currently on an official visit to South Africa. The delegation has met with leaders across the South African political spectrum, including with the ANC, DA, Cope, ACDP, IFP & FF+. The delegation also met with Jewish and Christian organisations, as well as the Business community.  The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) and South African Zionist Federation (SAZF), representing the overwhelming majority of So

Since its initial conceptualisation in 1919, the historic Durban Jewish Club has been not only the centre of Jewish communal life in Durban, but a frequently used public space for the broader society. The building itself, "surrounded by bush, rippling dunes of corrugated white sand mingled with ochre earth", was officially opened on 4 May 1931. Since then, it has been host to generations of people, with a history that has witnessed wars and political unrest, conferences and p

Determining where the boundary lies between legitimate freedom of expression and prohibited ‘hate speech’ can never be an exact science. During the flurry of debate that took place around the controversial Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill earlier this year, this was something that came through especially strongly. Err too much on one side, and victims of genuinely hurtful and insulting verbal abuse are left without a remedy; err too much on the oth

“COSATU has got members here even on this campus; we can make sure that for that side it will be hell” “COSATU is with you, we will do everything to make sure that whether its at Wits University, whether its at Orange Grove, anyone who does not support equality and dignity, who does not support the rights of other people must face the consequences even if it means that we will do something that may necessarily cause what is regarded as harm…” “…The following things are going

The 50th anniversary of the Six Day War has elicited widely differing responses. Some have celebrated the young Jewish state’s decisive victory over its enemies, while others have deplored the commencement of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, captured from Jordan and Egypt, respectively. Given the aims and ideology of her organisation, it was hardly surprising to see the Media Review Network’s Suraya Dadoo adopting the latter approach (Colonial arrogance cages al

Today, the 29th June 2017, the Equality Court, sitting at the South Gauteng High Court, found in favour of the South African Human Rights Commission (the Commission or SAHRC) acting on behalf of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), in a matter against Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) International Relations Spokesperson Bongani Masuku, as first respondent and COSATU as second respondent, for statements Masuku had made in February and March 2009,

The SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) welcomes the judgment handed down in the Equality Court this morning confirming that COSATU International Relations Spokesperson Bongani Masuku was guilty of hate speech against the Jewish community. The case was brought by the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) after Masuku refused to comply with its ruling on a complaint lodged by the SAJBD in 2009. In his judgment, Mr Justice Moshidi declared the impugned statements by Masuku to be “

Lord Joel Joffe, who passed away in London earlier this week at the age of 85, was a leading human rights lawyer. He was best known for the prominent role he played during the famous Rivonia Trial of 1963-4 as the legal defense team’s attorney. Amongst the leading anti-apartheid activists that he represented in the trial were Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada. After the trial, Joffe settled in the UK, where he gained further renown for his human rights and phil

Within hours of hearing about the devastating fires raging through Knysna , South Africans countrywide were provided with a range of options of how they could help those most effected.  Within the Jewish community, the SAJBD, working closely with its Cape Town office and the Garden Route Jewish Association, took the lead in assessing the needs of the communities and providing support.  The SAJBD Cape Council offered counselling and support to victims, while the monetary colle

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) welcomes the renewed commitment by the ANC to supporting peace initiatives aimed at resolving the Israeli – Palestinian conflict.  On Sunday 11 June, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Chair of the ANC NEC subcommittee on International Relations Edna Molewa, and ANC NEC subcommittee member on International Relations and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane reiterated their commitment t