Jewish leadership meets with Mahmoud Abbas

MARY KLUK

For the reason, the SAJBD and SAZF issued a joint follow-up statement in which we explained more fully how and why the meeting came about and why we took the standpoint that we did in our media release. In summary, this emphasised the prior consultation that took place with the Israeli government, our commitment to dialogue over boycotts of any kind and our belief in a negotiated two-state solution as the best way forward in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.     

The full statement can be found online (https://www.facebook.com/SAJBD), and I invite everyone to read and think about it. This is one of the central issues for our Jewish community, and hence it is crucial for its members to understand what approach its leadership is taking, why it is taking it and, should they wish to do so, to comment themselves on the matter.      

Protecting and appreciating SA women

We are currently in the middle of the annual “16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children” campaign. Last week, National Director Wendy Kahn and I met with Susan Shabangu, Minister of Women’s Affairs, and she shared with us her thoughts on how to promote the status of women in our society.

Among other insights, she emphasised how much meaningful change is dependent on the attitudes and behaviour not just of women, but men as well. The importance of providing worthy role models from the older generation for younger women to follow and in general the need to celebrate the contribution that women make to society, was also discussed.

For our part, we pledged our support for the projects planned by her department and will hopefully be able to become involved with them when the time comes.

Message to our school-leavers

Umhlanga is alive with school-leavers who have descended on it for the traditional post-matric “rage”. Our kosher café at the Durban Holocaust Centre is seeing an increased influx of patrons, and this is sure to increase still further once the schools close and other holidaymakers begin arriving.

To our young visitors, I say welcome and hope that you will have a safe and fulfilling break after all your hard work. From now on, determining the course your lives will take, depends on choices that you yourselves make. One of those choices is how and to what extent you remain involved with the Jewish community, and with your Jewish heritage in general.

Whatever path you choose to follow, I hope very much that you will find ways to remain connected and, in due course, take your places as the next generation of Jewish leaders.     

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