During these troubled times for our young democracy, the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) calls on all citizens to unite in confronting corruption and maladministration, protecting the Constitution and fostering a stable economic and political environment. It is undeniable that the principles of accountability and good governance are being seriously undermined and that the interests of isolated factions and individuals appear to be getting precedence over those of the coun

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies joins all South African in mourning the loss of Ahmed Kathrada, one of the founding fathers of our democracy and anti-Apartheid stalwart.  The heroism and self-sacrifice that he showed in taking a stand against injustice will be his enduring legacy.  Our condolences go to his family and friends.

All South Africans have an equal right to safety and security, regardless of where they might be living. This means that equal attention needs to be paid to addressing problems of crime and violence that occur outside the main urban areas.  Over half of South Africans still live in the rural areas of the country. Because of their physical isolation, together with the impoverished state in which most rural communities find themselves, they are particularly vulnerable to the ra

Confronted with the charge that Israel is equivalent to Apartheid South Africa, it is tempting simply to retort that it is probably the only country in the Middle East that is not an apartheid state. One could further make an ostensibly compelling case as to why this is so. Take the example of Iran, where the only non-Muslims allowed to become Members of Parliament are those elected by their respective communities to the five seats reserved for religious minorities. Does this

At the opening of this year’s “Israel Apartheid Week” (IAW), former President Kgalema Motlanthe warned the BDS organisers of the event against allowing antisemitism to creep into their campaign: “Antisemitic actions couched in the language of human rights, and disguised by its discourse cannot be countenanced. Such actions not only undermine the humanity of a people, and entrench a painful history, but also serve to undermine our commitment to principled and moral action. It

For the SA Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS) at Wits, this year’s instalment of the anti-Israel propaganda festival known as “Israel Apartheid Week” (IAW) got off to a predictably rocky start. On arriving on Monday morning to set up our stands on the section of the Great Hall piazza allocated to SAUJS, as per agreement with the University, we were aggressively confronted by Palestinian Solidarity Committee members, who attempted to remove or tear down our displays and jostled,

“Israel Apartheid Week will be a trap for Israel and will move us closer to the liquidation of the Zionist entity”. Thus did Radio Islam announce the launch of IAW earlier this week, and in all honesty, it was refreshing to hear the true purpose of that initiative presented in such clear, unambiguous terms. For IAW’s proponents, the key to Israel’s demise lies in pushing a global boycott campaign against it. As the thinking goes, just as white South Africa was brought to its

When can criticism of the State of Israel be regarded as fair and legitimate and can it be so extreme and unbalanced as to constitute, in practice if not always in intent, a form of antisemitism? For some, there is no such boundary. In their view, attacks on Israel and the Zionist ideology in general can never be equated to attacks on Jews per se, whether defined as an ethnic or as a religious community. Faried Esack clearly falls into this group. Indeed, as shown in his rece

Gauteng appears to be on the threshold of yet another outbreak of horrific xenophobic violence against foreign nationals. Already, there have been serious incidents of arson and looting targeting immigrants in both Johannesburg and Tshwane, while tensions are being further heightened by an upsurge in inflammatory rhetoric, particularly on social media.  Later today, a protest march against migrants is set to take place in Tshwane, which potentially can only serve to inflame t

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies urges South Africans, when commenting on issues of public concern, to avoid resorting to antisemitic hate speech, including sinister invocations of behind-the-scenes Jewish financial domination. It is becoming more commonplace for those in leadership to refer to “Jewish based entities” somehow being behind financial institutions and manipulating politics through economic power.  Conspiracy theories such as these thrive in societies e

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has sent its submission on the ‘Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill’ to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development for consideration.  The much awaited Bill aims to give effect to South Africa’s obligations, in terms of both our Constitutional and international human rights instruments, concerning racism and discrimination; to provide for the offence of hate crimes and hate speech; as we

The growing prevalence of hostile racial rhetoric, of which anti-Jewish conspiracy theories are just one part, poses a serious problem to the national well-being. You know that a society is in trouble when sinister invocations of Jewish financial domination show signs of gaining common currency. And you know that it is really in trouble when those in positions of leadership start talking in that vein. It is not just the innate irrationality of attributing extraordinary, as we

Last Monday morning started on a high-note, if you were listening to SAFM “Forum@8” with Sakina Kamwendo. The discussion was “Religious Tolerance”, and the five speakers, each representing a different faith community, were in agreement: South Africans need to be more tolerant of each other, leadership needs to ensure that the various faiths work together in synergy and education about one another is crucial. The Mullah expressed his appreciation that the respective faiths had

Writing on the political succession debate within the ANC (‘ANC's dirty war’, 15/1/2017), Setumo Stone reports that in certain quarters the candidature of Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is being opposed on the grounds that he is “in the pockets of the Jews” and “beholden to Jewish business interests” Implicit in this statement is a sinister suggestion of Jewish financial domination.  The problem with this, is that Jews are singled out and accused of manipulating political l

Last Monday morning started on a high note.  If you were listening to SAfm’s with Sakina Kamwendo. The discussion was “Religious Tolerance”, and the five speakers, each representing a different faith community, were in agreement: South Africans need to be more tolerant of each other, leadership needs to ensure that the various faiths work together in synergy, and education about one another is crucial. The mullah expressed his appreciation that the respective faiths had reach

A South African pioneer, he made huge contributions to business in this country, particularly in the field of BEE.  A philanthropist, he was involved with and commitment to, overcoming poverty and inequality.  Gerald played a prominent leadership role in several Jewish communal organisations,  including being a Chairman and President of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies, Joint Chairman Johannesburg IUA / UCF, Chairman of Beyachad, Trustee of the SA Holocaust Centre, Chairman of

Whereas the Rosh Hashanah issue of Jewish Affairs concentrated on the South African Jewish community and its history, to mark the community’s 175th anniversary, this issue has a more general focus, with articles looking at aspects of, amongst other themes, Diaspora Jewish history, Israel and the Holocaust. Veteran contributor Bernard Katz adds a new instalment to his “A Brief Journey through….” series of skilfully crafted potted histories of major European Jewish communities,

Earlier this year, I was privileged to spend Human Rights Day in Sharpeville. On the square where the horrific massacre took place 56 years ago, I stood next to a woman by the name of Maria Morake, who was a witness to the atrocity. Maria recounted to me her personal story of what happened on that day, 21 March 1960. She described what the square looked like, and the loud bangs that she heard. Since she was only a child, she did not immediately recognise the sounds as gunfire

In 2012, a bill was introduced in the parliament of South Africa calling for the labelling of certain Israeli goods as ‘Products of the Occupied Palestinian Territories’. Our community was outraged and raised the issue in many different forums: political,legal, and through street protests. At the height of our frustration, when we felt that our voice was not being listened to, I had the great privilege of being introduced by Sol Cowen to the wonderful Joan Fubbs, an exception

At the time of writing, Shavuot is just a  few days away. On Motzai Shabbos, thousands of community members will be coming together in shuls and batei midrashim throughout the country for the traditional Tikkun Leil learning programme. It all provides a dramatic contrast to the first Jewish communal prayer service in South Africa, held on Erev Yom Kippur, 1841, in the home of Cape Town businessman Benjamin Norden. The congregation on that occasion consisted of just 17 worship