Gauteng Council Conference

A little over three weeks remain until the SAJBD’s Gauteng Council conference, to take place in the Sandton shul hall on 15 August. While the programme has still to be finalised, the overall theme will primarily be on looking back on and celebrating 175 years of organised Jewish life in South Africa. Highlights will be an address by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth and a DVD presenting a whistle-stop journey through our community’s colourful history. A special presentation will be made to the Edelstein family to pay tribute to the late Dr Melville Edelstein, one of the unsung heroes of our community who tragically lost his life during the 1976 Soweto Uprising. We will also be presenting a new award, for services in the realm of social upliftment on behalf of the wider society. Fittingly, it is named after the late Bertie Lubner, who throughout his remarkable life rendered such outstanding service in this area.     

We hope to see as large a turn-out as possible for what we are sure will be a  memorable celebration of our Jewish community and what it has achieved. For more information, contact Roseanne on sajbd@sajbd.org.

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Above Board 27 August

Desperate Dangor’s antizionist rant

In recent weeks, the SAJBD has observed a rise in increasingly hostile efforts to challenge the perspectives of our community organisations and silence “mainstream” Jewish voices. In this case, “mainstream” Jewish refers to community members who are traditionally Jewish in observance (be it orthodox or progressive), and Zionist in orientation. Yet, the discourse has shifted, increasingly framing Zionism itself as beyond acceptable bounds, thereby deeming aligned groups inherently problematic. What stands out, however, is that the campaign against mainstream Jewry is increasingly desperate, incoherent, and too often driven by a quest for attention rather than substantive dialogue.

Above Board 21 August 2025

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