At last year’s Heritage Day carnival in Pretoria, a wide array of communities, reflecting the rich diversity of the South African population, joined in marching from the CBD to the Union Buildings. Each community, ours included, had its own float, but all were part of one big march, moving together towards a common destination. As I have often stressed, this is one of the great things about post-1994 South Africa. We live in a country that sees no contradiction between being.

The year 1994 was a euphoric time for all South Africans. We celebrated the values of democracy and human rights and we spoke of Madiba magic, the rainbow nation, and of course Ubuntu. Life was good. We had avoided civil war and bloodshed and, in the main, crossed the bridge unscathed into the New South Africa. Fast forward 22 years and, as 2016 was only a few days old, our rose tinted glasses cracked and we were confronted with a very frightening reality. Although we had tho

On July 18 1994, a suicide bomber drove a car filled with hundreds of kilograms of explosives into the Jewish community’s AMIA building in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eighty-five people were killed and hundreds were injured. The AMIA bombing (proceeded in 1991 with the attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires where 29 civilians died) became one of the precursors of the wave of global terror that has swept the world and escalated in decades since then. Last month, I particip

At the time of writing this, concerns about the threat of global terrorism are at an all time high in light of the many attacks that have been carried out over the past few months. Hardly a day goes by now without hearing of at least one attack somewhere in the world, whether in war-torn Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, or in France, Belgium, Germany, and other European countries, in the United States or in Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia or other parts of our own continent. Thankfully,

While 2016 was still in its infancy and we were surfacing from the holiday euphoria, we got the news that has shaken our precious democracy; that racism was well and thriving in our country. Penny Sparrow broke the bubble with her ‘monkey’ comments, followed closely by Steven Hart, Velaphi Khumalo, and Nicole de Klerk. Sadly, I suspect that by the time this is published there will be many more. The SAJBD issued a statement voicing that the hate-filled language that was emergi

June the 16th stands out in our psyche and hearts as an historical milestone. It was a day that changed our country and each one of its citizens forever. Just as Americans remember where they were when JFK was assassinated, or when the planes hit the World Trade Centre, so do South Africans remember vividly the day that the horrific brutality of the Apartheid force came down on protesting schoolchildren. The image of the dying Hector Pieterson, one of the most iconic photogra

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

In September, local anti-Israel activists made a presentation to the International Relations and Cooperation Portfolio Committee in...

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

As stressed in previous columns, the Board maintains close links with international Jewish communities and organisations. This week, our...