To view the latest Jewish Affairs issue online  click here Jewish Affairs - Chanukah 2016 - PDF - 7.69MB) . Whereas the Rosh Hashanah issue 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 thr

It began with a now notorious Facebook comment by Penny Sparrow likening black beach-goers to monkeys, and most recently surfaced in the form of "kill a Jew" graffiti at Wits University during the #FeesMustFall protest. It would seem that for many, the best way to respond to any form of racism is by answering in kind. Such tit-for-tat abuse has merely seen the anger in our country being fuelled further, with the South African Hate Crimes Commission cautioning us not to "fight

t began with a now notorious Facebook comment by Penny Sparrow likening black beach-goers to monkeys, and most recently surfaced in the form of "kill a Jew" graffiti at Wits University during the #FeesMustFall protest. It would seem that for many, the best way to respond to any form of racism is by answering in kind.Such tit-for-tat abuse has merely seen the anger in our country being fuelled further, with the South African Hate Crimes Commission cautioning us not to "fight r

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies' phones have not stopped ringing, and glowing messages have been sent on email, social media and, of course, while queuing at the shops, over Shabbat tables and in our internal and external meetings. It is not often that we attend functions with three presidents: president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma; former president of SA, Kgalema Motlanthe; and president of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder. Then there were the other dignit

The antisemitic graffiti (‘Kill a Jew’ and ‘F*** the Jews’) that appeared in Solomon Mahlangu House yesterday is indicative of the ugly racism that has unfortunately surfaced during the student protest.  We note that this follows a Jewish student being called a `Mother-f***ing Jew’ on Wits campus a couple of weeks ago. The Dean of Students has confirmed that the graffiti has been removed and that an investigation to ascertain the perpetrators is underway. Hate-filled graffiti

The SAJBD requested space to air their views on the Women's boat to Gaza. Here we give David Sak's that opportunity.

Race has unfortunately emerged as a rallying issue in this campaign, again causing polarisation and division on our campuses and in our society. Dear Community member The SAJBD is aware of the tensions and the serious challenges on our campuses throughout our country.  Our team is monitoring and assessing the situation on an ongoing basis with the many stakeholders including the University authorities, lecturers, students and SAUJS. As in the past months, race has unfortunate

South Africans from different walks of life have applauded the decision by Minister Malusi Gigaba and the department of Home Affairs to prohibit Pastor Steven Anderson and 17 of his associates from visiting this country.

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) and the IUA / UCF, together with the Israeli people and the broader international community, joins in mourning the passing of Shimon Peres, visionary world statesman, peace activist and inspirational founding father of the State of Israel. In a political career spanning more than seven decades, Peres combined selfless service to his own country and people, with striving for peacefu

On Sunday, the SAJBD Gauteng Council and the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre (JHGC) held a joint function in memory of legendary human rights activist and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. What lent additional significance to the occasion was that it was the first joint event to be held in the JHGC’s newly completed premises in Parktown. The Board was very much involved in the establishment of the JHGC, and since then has collaborated with it on a number of memorable.

A capacity crowd at Beyachad last night was enthralled by Rabbi David Rosen’s account of the extraordinary revolution in Jewish-Catholic relations that has taken place over the past fifty years. Rabbi Rosen, one of the world’s foremost Jewish leaders in the field of inter-faith relations, was in the country last week to participate in the fiftieth anniversary commemorations of Nostra Aetate, a landmark declaration in which the Church decisively turned its back on more than fi

Reports of violence, intimidation, and hate speech directed against lesbians, Jews and whites during the protests at Wits University yesterday are distressing. While the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) is sensitive to the myriad serious issues facing students in this country, it is never acceptable to target minority groups and inflame hatred. According to comments and photos on Twitter, a student claims: “They strangled me, choke-slammed me, threatened me. Aft

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has made a submission for this year’s Constitutional Review, focusing on issues of ‘hate speech’ and how the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) could be made more effective in addressing them. The SAJBD is of the view that racist hate speech is of itself damaging, and this is not fully covered by the current definition. Rather, the SAJBD believes that at present, the definition is overly narrow since it proscribes advocacy of

Over the past year, we have seen an escalation of hate speech being disseminated through social media. The authorities, to a large extent, have struggled to truly address this trend. It is for this reason that the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) supports the Portfolio Committee on Communications in its undertaking to amend the Film and Publications Act, 1996. However, the SAJBD is of the view that the extremely complex nature of the electronic media cannot be effectively

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies mourns the loss of Bertie Lubner, who passed away this morning. Bertie was an extraordinary man contributing to so many worthy causes. His vision and leadership were responsible for the creation and development of some leading South African NGOs such as Afrika Tikkun and the Field Band Foundation. Whether in the business, philanthropic, educational, Zionistic or Jewish communal fields, he has made a huge contribution to poverty allev

In a letter to its colleagues and students, the Senior Executive Team from the University of the Witwatersrand has described as “devious” the action of the Wits Palestinian Solidarity Committee’s booking of the lawns under the pretence of other activities. It was stressed that the students had deliberately misled the university management, and that this had far-reaching consequences: “This kind of disruptive, deceitful action cannot be dealt with through security,” the letter

Early this morning, the South African Jewish community lost one of its most loved and respected members with the passing, at the age of 98, of Advocate Jules Browde, an eminent member of the Johannesburg Bar and a long-serving human rights activist and Jewish communal leader. In the course of a career stretching over more than half a century, Browde acted for Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo, as well as other anti-apartheid activists, and was a founder member of Lawyers for Hu

The SA Jewish Board of Deputies notes that the Hawks have arrested four terror suspects on charges of contravening the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorism Act.  We further note that that included in the alleged targets were Jewish installations.  Terrorism is a global challenge that affects many countries, including our own.  We appreciate efforts by our authorities to monitor and prevent incidents of terrorism, and we will be monitoring the current situa

Following the horrendous terrorist attacks at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, the SAJBD today sent condolences to Turkish Ambassador Esener expressing our heartfelt sympathy and solidarity with all the people of Turkey at this difficult time. The SAJBD condemns the heinous murder of innocent civilians at the Ataturk Airport. Our thoughts are with the families who lost loved ones and our prayers with the injured for their full recovery. The SAJBD joins in the Turkish governme