A rich and rousing conference

Following the previous Sunday’s Affiliates meeting, the second leg of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD’s) Gauteng Council conference for the community at large was held on Thursday, 10 November, at the Sandton Convention Centre.

A capacity audience, which included a range of political, civic, and religious leaders and diplomats, thoroughly appreciated the rich and diverse programme put together for the occasion. Highlights included the much-anticipated keynote address by the United States special envoy for monitoring and combating antisemitism, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt; an enthralling video on how the Bongani Masuku hate-speech case folded; and a panel discussion on that case with four members of the legal team involved. To this can be added outgoing Chairperson Harold Jacobs’ insightful overview of the events of the previous two years and the work of the Gauteng Council during this time. We also took the opportunity to honour community activist Clive Mashishi for his ground-breaking initiative to educate and raise awareness about antisemitism in the communities within which he works, as well as for the partnerships that the Board and The Angel Network have forged with him in the social-upliftment field.

Ambassador Lipstadt’s address was the culmination of an exceptionally busy few days in the country. The Board helped organise parts of her programme, which included official diplomatic receptions in Cape Town and Pretoria, speaking at community events, engaging with academics, lawyers, and law students at the University of the Witwatersrand, and media interviews. I had the opportunity to participate with her and Professor Milton Shain in a panel discussion on contemporary antisemitism in the local and global context hosted by the Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Cape Town. We’re deeply grateful to Lipstadt for the exceptional efforts she made on our community’s behalf, and I would further like to thank and commend the US Embassy for all it did to make her visit such a success.

Tribute to two outstanding Jewish civil servants

It was our sad task last week to pay tribute to two esteemed colleagues in the world of Jewish communal service: Michael Schneider and Goldie Goldsmith. At first glance, it would appear that they were very different to one another. Michael, after being forced to flee into exile because of his anti-apartheid activities, went on to become chief executive of the Joint Distribution Committee, one of the world’s foremost Jewish welfare organisations, and at the time of his retirement, was secretary general of the World Jewish Congress. Goldie, by contrast, always worked quietly and unobtrusively behind the scenes, initially on behalf of Arcadia and subsequently for many years as part of the SAJBD administrative staff. In vital respects, however, Schneider and Goldsmith, indeed, had much in common. In their respective areas of responsibility, both displayed the same qualities of professionalism, dedication, and integrity. Both, moreover, combined a commitment to fulfilling their own duties with readiness to support and assist their colleagues wherever needed. In their own way, each added significant value to their respective organisations, for which they gained the respect, trust, and abiding friendship of all they worked with. They will be remembered and very much missed.

• Listen to Charisse Zeifert on Jewish Board Talk, 101.9 ChaiFM, every Friday from 12:00 to 13:00.