Charisse Zeifert writes for News24

Keeping an Eye on Things

Reflections and stories from my experience as an election observer.

Elections are a special time.  They bring with them optimism, excitement, and new horizons.  In our country they symbolise hard fought for and cherished free talking to fellow South Africans whom we would normally never meet, while waiting in a queue to vote.  We laugh together, moan and commiserate about the long wait, but also reminisce about the magical 1994 election.  It is a great leveller.

At the time of writing, together with our National Vice-President Zev Krengel, I am in Israel, where we have participated in a number of high-level meetings aimed at providing updates on recent political developments in South Africa, sharing information pertaining to our own community and getting perspectives on the current political situation in Israel. This will form the basis of my next column. 

Nahum Goldmann Fellow Programme nurtures Jewish leadership

The recently concluded Nahum Goldmann Fellowship Programme (NGFP), which this year was held in Israel, once again brought together a broad range of up-and-coming young Jewish leaders from around the world for an intensive period of Jewish learning, discussion and sharing of experiences and perspectives. As always, participants found it to be an extremely enriching and inspiring experience, particularly in the opportunities it provided for engaging with Jews from completely different backgrounds.