A busy year of breakthroughs

As 2022 draws to a close, the Jewish community can look back on a year that for all its challenges, has been replete with activity and achievement. It has been heartening to have witnessed the extraordinary revival of Jewish communal life in every sphere following nearly two years of enforced separation and disruptions. The community’s vigorous post-COVID-19 recovery testifies both to its vibrancy and fundamental resilience, and should give us all hope for the future, whatever it might bring.

This year has certainly been an exceptionally busy one for the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD). In this column, I have reported back on the wide range of activities we have been involved in, and while not all can be listed in this brief end-of-year overview, it’s certainly worth looking back on some of the highlights.

The year got off to the best possible start when the Constitutional Court upheld previous findings of hate speech by the South African Human Rights Commission and Equality Court against former Congress of South African Trade Unions International Relations Secretary Bongani Masuku. Among other important outcomes of this landmark case, the right of our community to identify with and express support for Israel without being subjected to antisemitic abuse was confirmed. Together with the address by Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, United States special envoy for monitoring and combating antisemitism, the video presentation on the Masuku case and panel discussion with the lawyers involved were the highpoints of November’s SAJBD Gauteng Council conference.

As the representative voice of South African Jewry, the SAJBD devotes much effort to leading the community in being an active, identifying part of South Africa’s democratic and human rights culture. In April, an exciting initiative in this regard came to fruition with the launch of Mensches in the Trenches, a book produced by the SAJBD to commemorate unsung Jewish heroes of the anti-apartheid struggle. I had the opportunity of sharing a platform with the author, Jonathan Ancer, at the two Johannesburg launches as well as the subsequent launch in Israel. One of the launches was held at our Freedom Seder, which proved again to be an effective and inspiring vehicle for sharing what our Jewish heritage has to teach about the universal values of freedom and human rights.

On the global front, the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions enabled us to reconnect with our overseas colleagues. Among the memorable events my Board colleagues and I participated in were the inaugural conference of the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, where I presented a paper on the Masuku case and its implications for international Jewry, and the recent historic meeting of the World Jewish Congress that was hosted by the Vatican.

Alongside these public events, the Board continued to carry out its normal everyday functions on behalf of the community. This included dealing with cases of antisemitism; engaging with the media to ensure that the community’s voice was heard on issues that concern it; addressing problems of university exams set on Shabbat or yom tov (nearly 100 such cases were resolved this year); and dealing with public enquiries relating to South African Jewry and its history.

At the close of yet another highly eventful year for South Africa and the world, we can now look forward to a well-deserved break. Accordingly, I wish you all a safe and happy holiday, and look forward to reconnecting with everyone in the New Year.

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