True heroes don’t badmouth others

As we enter the most significant weekend of the SA Jewish Report’s calendar, that of the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards, there is a great deal of anticipation about who will be crowned the heroes this year.

The theme of this year’s awards ceremony is “heroes”, and we certainly have a significant number of outstanding heroes among us. In truth, this year, it has become apparent that there are so many more than we could possibly give nine awards to.

During this incredibly challenging year, so many people stand out for going well beyond any expectation in fighting COVID-19 or the devastating fallout from the virus and the national lockdown.

As many of you are aware, the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards is the annual SA Jewish Report fundraiser. Our aim is to recognise and give kavod to the incredible people who make a real difference in society and in our community. They are all genuine heroes.

However, this past week, mainstream and social media focused on a 21-year-old white man wearing the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF’s) red beret, who mouthed off outside Brackenfell High School, upsetting almost everybody in his wake. His name is Jack Markovitz, the grandson of the former mayor of Cape Town, Leon Markovitz, and his wife, Anthula. The Markovitz clan are an iconic Jewish family in Cape Town.

In his rant, young Markovitz called the Democratic Alliance “a white supremacist party”, and claimed he was trying to rectify the situation by transferring generational wealth and land to disenfranchised people in the country. He said he believed the EFF should be doing more, taking their fight to Clifton and Houghton Park – where the rich whites live. He even called Nelson Mandela a sell-out. He insisted:, “We need to take the land from the white people and transfer it to the people of this country.”

Although he identified himself openly as the grandson of the former mayor of Cape Town, there was nothing in what the young red beret said, did, or intimated that had anything to do with him and his family being Jewish.

In fact, the reality may be that this young man – who claims to have been an EFF member since he turned 18 – may well not have any relationship with his Judaism. However, when push came to shove, it was the fact that he was Jewish that has been rammed down his, his family’s, and all of our throats on social media this week.

It’s astonishing! I guess, as Hitler taught us more than 70 years ago that you can deny your Judaism, but you can’t escape it, even if you want to.

I’m not sure what this young red beret was thinking when he spoke out, or exactly why he has found his home as a “sore thumb” in the EFF. He could hardly be more noticeable, but did he deserve the antisemitic lambasting he got? Of course not, nothing he did had to do with him being Jewish.

However, every one of us has our own personal identity and belief system. Some of us are closely aligned with the community, and some are not. Some find fault in general communal ways, and don’t get involved. However, as seen this week, no matter what we choose, we are so often lumped together as Jews whether we like it or not.

I recall many years ago, when I was working at the Zionist Record and was an End Conscription Campaign political activist, a group of us were arrested at a meeting.

That night, those arrested with me were called communists and a host of derogatory words, but just as soon as the police learnt where I worked, I was known only as the “f-ken Jood”. I was released the following morning, a whole lot wiser about how many people see us.

I’m sure young Markovitz has learnt a lot in a very short space of time too.

However, in spite of the fact that I have seen his face over the week with “hero” written underneath, this young man is no hero, not even close.

There are so many ways to protest and right the wrongs in this country. In my opinion, standing up and badmouthing white people, inciting further unpleasantness, and calling people names isn’t one of them.

Frankly, I do believe that this young man wants to do the right thing for the disenfranchised of this country and I respect his spark and commitment. However, I believe he has chosen the wrong way to make change happen.

Running certain people down to make others look good is no way to fix anything. I guess this is a theme that keeps coming up in our community.

Meanwhile, as we will celebrate on Sunday, there are those incredibly selfless human beings who just give of their time, money, energy, and commitment to help others. They avoid the limelight – much to our distress, sometimes – and simply dedicate their efforts to doing good for others.

And while we may often focus on the difficulties in our community and some of the ugliness we experience, these angels or heroes abound.

So much so, that this year at the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards, we will be honouring far more than nine winners. We have created, specifically for 2020, an honour roll to commend the many who have done so much good this year. And there were many…

While I’m talking about heroes, I have to salute Howard Sackstein, the chairperson of our board, for the endless work he has done behind the scenes of the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards. He’s not alone. There is the rest of the board and the incredible team who are about to make the impossible possible.

When we were discussing Absa Jewish Achievers earlier this year, so many were convinced it couldn’t happen because it has always been a magnificent big event, at which we all gather together to celebrate our winners.

This didn’t deter Howard, the team, the board, and the staff who worked tirelessly to make this now cyber event a reality. They pulled out all the stops, and made things happen against all odds.

This year’s awards evening will be different to what you expected or were used to, but you can count on it being spectacular.

I look forward to celebrating our heroes. I’m keen to put the tough part of what this year meant for so many of us to one side, and bask in the amazing achievements of those phenomenal people in our community. Kol Hakavod!

Shabbat Shalom and see you at Achievers!