The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) is deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic killing of two Israeli Embassy staff members Aharon Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2025. We condemn this senseless act of terror in the strongest terms and express our heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of the victims. This tragic attack underscores the ongoing vulnerability of Jewish communities around the world, highlighti

The SAJBD was saddened to learn of the passing over the weekend of Issie Kirsh, business leader, philanthropist and trail-blazing pioneer of the independent radio industry. Issie began his business career in the sorghum malt industry, where he achieved much success before moving into the commercial radio field. A true visionary, he went on to establish a range of community radio stations serving the Indian, Jewish, and Portuguese communities and thereafter the Soweto urban ma

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies is appalled by the statement issued by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), following the attack on Member of Parliament (MP) Emma Powell during their Cape Town event on South Africa’s G20 strategic goals last week. SAIIA’s statement acquiesced to the bullying and intimidation, blamed the victim, deflected responsibility, and sided with the perpetrators of this ambush against Powell. SAIIA’s mission statement

On this day : 10 May 2024 The SAJBD protested against Naledi Pandor on her call to import antisemitism and violence against Jewish students onto SA University campuses. She was speaking at the opening the Global Anti-Apartheid conference. Original Face Book post 10 May 2024 Peaceful Jewish protesters were forcibly removed from the entrance of the Sandton Convention Centre (SCC) earlier today (Friday 10 May). The protestors were members of the South African Jewish Board of Dep

Read the SAJBD’s response to an antisemitic article published in the IOL. The IOL article was full of cherry picked facts, and anti Jewish tropes. A week later IOL has still not published our response in the same platform as the original article, therefore we have published the response in PoliticsWeb. Read the article here

The SAJBD notes a rant by Mehmet Dag, identifying SA Jewish leadership by name and calling for them to be arrested and our Jewish organisations to be shut down. We recognise this for what it is; yet another desperate attention seeking exercise by Dag. Dag has devoted his time to spewing hate against various groups of South Africans. He has numerous legal charges against him, both by Jewish and other SA organisations, and individuals. We trust that these matters will appear sh

The SAJBD sends its condolences to the Catholic community in South Africa and globally following the passing of Pope Francis this morning. We recognise Pope Francis' commitment to interfaith dialogue. Our leadership were privileged to participate in a meaningful engagement with the Pope at the Vatican in Rome in 2022.

MAGEN DAVID’S ARE BACK UP. The SAJBD have engaged with the leadership of Pick n Pay following their removal of the Magen David in the Pesach food aisle in the Norwood store. We shared with them the hurt felt by our community of the Magen Davids (Stars of David) and they expressed their deep regret that they were removed. They have subsequently returned the Jewish symbol to their rightful place. Pick n Pay further expressed that there was never an intention to cause hurt and t

"Contrary to what is often claimed, no credible Jewish leader equate any criticism of the State of Israel with antisemitism, that is, hatred towards people of the Jewish faith and/or ethnicity. Pretty much without exception, all accept, as per the formulation of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, that “criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic”. What, then, would be the case when the above-mentioned

It is 18 months since Hamas brutally murdered my friend Vivian Silver in her home in Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7, 2023. I travelled to her home last month to pay tribute to her. For over a decade I worked with Vivian where she trained hundreds of South African government and civil society leaders in community development, agricultural development and cooperatives at NISPED and at her beloved Be'eri. As a founder of Women Wage Peace we brought a group of Muslim, Jewish and Chr

Wendy Kahn , National Director of the SAJBD, received the Moses Award for leadership at this year’s Jewish Africa Conference in Cape Town. Recognized for her tireless work, she’s been a driving force in safeguarding Jewish life within South Africa’s vibrant community. In her heartfelt acceptance speech, Wendy highlighted the how inspired she is to see the formation of a united 'African Jewish' bloc, bringing together communities from across the continent. She also celebrated

The SAJBD was delighted to celebrate Greek Independence Day with the Hellenic Federation of South Africa at Saheti School. It was wonderful to experience the cultural vibrancy of the South African Greek community. While our communities have distinct histories, we share the experience of being vibrant minority groups in South Africa, contributing to its rich diversity.

We congratulate the IFP on their 50th anniversary. We were delighted to attend the celebration.

This Friday, 21 March, marks Human Rights Day in South Africa. The day was chosen as it is the anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre of 21 March 1960, one of the darkest episodes of the Apartheid era. On Human Rights Day, South Africans remember those who lost their lives during the struggle to bring freedom, democracy, and equality for all in our country, and commit themselves anew to safeguarding the hard-won rights and freedoms we all enjoy today. We wish everyone a publ

There has been much confusion, following last week's failed motion to rescind the renaming of Sandton Drive by the Johannesburg City Council. We would like to clarify as follows: There remains no decision to change the name at this time, and the status remains as per our statement issued on this matter on 29 November 2024: "The outcome appears to reflect a willingness by the political parties in the City of Johannesburg to explore alternate solutions to the renaming of Sandto

Yesterday, a motion was raised in the Johannesburg City Council to rescind a decision to rename Sandton Drive. The motion was defeated. The SAJBD will continue to vehemently oppose the renaming of Sandton Drive after a plane hijacker and member of a recognised terror organisation. In this regard we have worked tirelessly with all our friends in the Johannesburg City Council and we will continue to work with them to find a solution that will unite and not divide.

Friends and enemies: ADL probes rise in antisemitism. Article by national director Wendy Kahn in the Jewish Report. Read article here

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) notes with contempt the attack on the South African Jewish community in Parliament by Al Jama-ah. On 4 March, Al Jama-ah tabled a Motion without Notice in which they accuse the SAJBD, the 121 year-old democratically elected representative body of the Jewish community, of curtailing freedom of speech. We note the irony of their statement, as it is the anti-Israel lobby that is doing whatever they can to threaten Jewish voices,

Over the past few days our National Director Wendy Kahn along with Adam Charnas and Simone Sulcas participated in this year’s @adl_national conference #NeverIsNow. Wendy Kahn represented the South African Jewish Community in a high level discussion with her counterparts from around the world. She has been among speakers such as Gal Gadot, David Schiller, Montana Tucker, Sheikh Moafaq Tarif, @capesajbd Jonathan Grennblatt, each sharing their insights into ways to combat the ha

Jews United in Anxiety writes Charisse Zeifert, deputy director of SAJBD, in Politicsweb. She says Jewish identity has strengthened post October 7th in face of increased antisemitism. Read article here