Fifty years ago, On June 16, 1976, thousands of young people in Soweto stood up against injustice. Armed with nothing but courage, they marched for their right to a better education and a better future. Many paid the ultimate price, including Jewish anti-apartheid academic Dr Melville Edelstein, who was killed during the Soweto Uprising. Today, the SAJBD led a delegation of communal leaders and youth representatives from Habonim and SAUJS to the national 50th anniversary comm

Cape Union Mart is a proudly South African business with a long-standing record of local manufacturing, job creation, and investment in South African communities. It has been subjected to sustained defamation, intimidation, and economic pressure because of the lawful views and public positions of its leadership. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) stands firmly in support of Philip Krawitz and Cape Union Mart as the Western Cape High Court hears this matter on

The SAJBD was proud to represent South African Jewry at the AJC - American Jewish Committee Global Forum 2026 in Washington, DC, alongside more than 2,000 Jewish leaders, diplomats, students and activists from around the world. A key highlight was engaging directly with senior representatives from TikTok, Meta, Google, YouTube and X on the challenge of online antisemitism and the need for greater accountability from digital platforms. The conference also underscored the resil

There has been much discussion around the current wave of Afrophobia. Alana Baranov, in her capacity as South Africa Country Director of HIAS, an international humanitarian organisation helping refugees, chats to Charisse Zeifert on Chai FM about the current situation. Listen to the interview here

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) together with the SAJBD Pretoria Council condemn in the strongest possible terms the vandalism and desecration of the Shree Pretoria Hindu Seva Samaj last weekend. We stand in full solidarity with Mr Sanjay Govind, the leadership of the Samaj, and the entire South African Hindu community in the face of this deeply troubling act, and have expressed our sympathies directly with Mr. Govind. This incident does not stand alone. It

🗳️ The SAJBD attended the IEC National Launch of the 2026 Local Government Elections. It was inspiring to witness the strong youth-focused vision driving this election campaign. One thing was made clear: democracy does not sustain itself — it depends on the active participation of every South African. Your voice matters. Your vote matters. 🇿🇦 We encourage all members of our community to register to vote on the link below as soon as possible and play an active role in shapi

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The South African Jewish Board of Deputies condemns the attack on the Holy Trinity Church in Braamfontein, and expresses its solidarity and support with the congregation and leadership, following the vandalism of their place of worship last week. A house of worship is a sacred space, and any attack upon it is not merely an attack on a building, but on the dignity of the people who gather there and on the values of a free and compassionate society. The SAJBD reached out to Fa

SAJBD Gauteng Chairperson, Danny Mofsowitz and National Director, Wendy Kahn met earlier today with Head of School Deanne King and Senior School headmistress Seipati Shiakallis of St Mary's School in Johannesburg to discuss threats to the school by anti-Israel activists to cancel a discussion by Klaas Mokgomole hosted by the Diversity and Inclusivity committee of the senior school. We were heartened by the school's leadership, who assured us that the session has been postpon

Rabbi David Shaw, member of the SAJBD and Rabbi of Sandton Shul, Wendy Kahn and Gabi Farber Cohen hosted a meaningful interfaith engagement, welcoming a group of seminarians from the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference led by Bishop Graham Rose. The group, currently in their eighth year of formation for the priesthood within the Catholic Church, are spending a semester focusing on interreligious dialogue. As part of this programme, they chose to visit a synagogue to

This week, SAJBD Vice President Mary Kluk and Chairperson Prof Karen Milner attended the World Jewish Conference in Geneva. Both hold leadership positions on the WJC. Prof. Karen Milner presented a session titled “Making Engagement Count: Community and Government Action on Antisemitism,” sharing the South African experience as a case study in navigating challenging - and at times hostile - political environments, while continuing to achieve meaningful outcomes through princip

We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the United Kingdom as they join fellow British citizens in confronting the growing antisemitism in the UK. We were deeply inspired by the words of Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis: “We will never lose our hope.”

On 9 May, outside the Durban Holocaust and Genocide Centre, anti-Israel activism crossed into political theatre. Unable to find an actual local branch of “South African Jews for a Free Palestine” in Durban, activists from the South African Palestine Movement simply put on SAJFP t-shirts themselves and protested outside a Jewish communal institution as “friends of” the organisation. Apparently, when there were no Jews available for the protest, the protesters improvised some.

The SAJBD strongly condemns today's terror attack in Golders Green, London, with the stabbing of two Jewish men. It is alarming to see the spate of antisemitic incidents targeting the British Jewish community, including arson attacks on synagogues, Jewish communal institutions, and Hatzola ambulances. We stand in solidarity with British Jewry as they face this ongoing barrage of hate. As Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said: "Words of condemnation are no longer sufficient. Th

We mourn the passing of Dr. Edith Eger - a Holocaust survivor, healer, and extraordinary voice of hope. In this video, captured during her address to the SAJBD Conference amid the uncertainty of COVID lockdown, she reminded our community that even in the darkest moments, we still have a choice: to find meaning, to choose courage, and to hold onto hope. Dr. Eger was more than a survivor she was a lesson in resilience, hope and healing. Her words and her life show us that heali