Gauteng Council gets going with new executive

At the first post-conference Gauteng Council meeting on 24 August, Professor Karen Milner was elected chairperson, and Harold Jacobs and Dani Mofsovitz vice-chairpersons. I congratulate them on being entrusted with these important leadership positions, and look forward to working with them in their upcoming two-year term of office. All three have been an intrinsic part of the Board’s core work.

Professor Milner, in addition to heading up the council’s anti-racism campaign and involvement in counselling initiatives introduced to alleviate stress and depression during the lockdown, has been intricately involved in the Board’s more serious antisemitism cases. We wish her and the new council continued success in addressing the key challenges that the community is facing and will face as we progress into the post-COVID-19 era.

Adjusting to life under level-two lockdown

From the time the hard lockdown began to be eased, the Board has placed great emphasis on guiding the community in terms of maintaining a continued high level of care and vigilance. As the old saw has it, we are by no means out of the woods yet, and will not be for some time to come. The risk, indeed likelihood, of a second wave of infections as South Africa gradually gets back to “normal” is something we must all keep constantly in mind and adjust our behaviour accordingly.

For our part, meetings by communal leaders to discuss best practice going forward continue to be held regularly, as always with the participation of medical experts. At the last meeting, the discussion centred on the impact of the new regulations with the move to level two, especially in the context of the reopening of shuls and schools. Last week, National President Mary Kluk, Gauteng Council member Sheri Hanson and National Director Wendy Kahn also met with the South African Union of Jewish Students and Zionist Youth Council leadership to look at a campaign for behavioural change around COVID-19 with younger community members. On the national stage, Kluk continues to represent the community on the COVID-19 Ministerial Advisory Committee on Social and Behavioural Change. Alongside our work within the Jewish community, our partnership with the Angel Network in supporting critical humanitarian projects to alleviate the economic impact of the pandemic is also ongoing.

We commend the way in which the reopening of the shuls last week was implemented. In particular, all credit is due to Professor Efraim Kramer, who has travelled the country and worked tirelessly to create protocols and work with communities to implement safer ways to attend shul. Beyond attending shul, it remains crucial for all of us to adhere to the rules of social distancing, mask wearing, and hand hygiene in every single interaction.

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