MARY KLUK

We were accompanied at these meetings by our distinguished guest Professor Irwin Cotler, himself a former minister of justice in his native Canada and an internationally respected human rights activist and legal academic.

Through the Board, Professor Cotler also met with various leading figures in the legal fraternity, Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke and former Justice Albie Sachs, as well as with Democratic Alliance MPs.

At all these meetings, issues relating to Jewish security and combating hate crimes and anti-Semitism were discussed. As in previous visits, Professor Cotler made a strong impression on all he met through the wisdom, expertise and experience he brings in confronting these complex questions.

Saddened by Collins Chabane’s death

We were shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic passing of Minister Collins Chabane over the weekend. This has deprived not only South Africa of one of its most capable and dedicated leaders, but also our Jewish community of a good friend, one who was an unfailing source of advice, support and reassurance to the SAJBD.

I had the opportunity of meeting on a number of occasions with Minister Chabane and found him to be unfailingly warm and helpful. In our press statement, which featured in numerous media reports, we emphasised how this was reflective of his deep commitment to ensuring the peaceful co-existence of all South Africans.

Government not hostile to Jewish interests

There exists in our community an impression that government is hostile to Jewish interests, but I can state unequivocally from our own experiences that nothing could be further from the truth. Government representatives with whom we have met, have consistently shown an appreciation for what Jews have done and are doing to build up our country, and been very understanding of the concerns we have regarding security and anti-Semitism.

In addition to government meetings, we have also in recent weeks been engaging with constituencies with whom we had previously had little dealings and where in fact a fair amount of antagonism has existed. These include the Young Communist League, ANC Youth League, National Union of Mineworkers and the ANC Veterans association.

It has come as a pleasant surprise to find that notwithstanding our differences over the Israeli-Palestinian question, there is at the end of the day far more that unites than divides us.

We share the same vision for achieving a prosperous, just and united South Africa, and would like to find ways in which we can assist one another in furthering these goals.

That being said, it is a reality that Middle East conflict is a source of bitter contention within different sectors of the South African population and that increasingly, this is spilling over into overt expressions of ant-Semitism. The stance of the Board is that while we can agree to differ on the rights and wrongs of the conflict itself, using it as an excuse to threaten, denigrate or otherwise cause harm to our Jewish community is a red line that cannot be crossed. Here, too, I can confidently say that the Board and government are on the same page, and remain committed to working together to address such problems whenever they occur.