Jewish MPs have work cut out for them in parliament

TALI FEINBERG

“South Africa has always been a home for the Jewish community. Nothing has changed, nor will it.  South Africa belongs to all who live in it, without exception,” continues Breytenbach. “The Jewish community is integral to life in South Africa, and we will continue to fight against anti-Semitism wherever we find it, here and elsewhere. We will work hard to ensure that South Africa continues to make space for religious freedom as guaranteed in our Constitution. South Africa has a great future ahead for all of us,” she says.

Breytenbach is not sure yet where she will focus her energies, as there are no guarantees and this is an entirely new Parliament. “It is the prerogative of the leader of the DA as to who his shadow cabinet will be, but I would be very happy to serve again as shadow justice minister. It is my area of expertise, and there is a lot of unfinished work to be done.”

She is disappointed that many South Africans voted nationally for the African National Congress (ANC) in recent elections, while voting for the DA provincially. “It remains to be seen whether the ANC is capable of self-regulation and correction, but the innumerable misdeeds committed by the ANC and its senior members or enabled by them beggars the imagination. It is therefore disappointing that it has been granted yet another opportunity, while the DA, where it governs, governs demonstrably well.”

At the same time, she knows that the DA has a number of challenges to tackle. “We need to consolidate after a disappointing and long election campaign. We have a big responsibility as the official opposition to hold the government to account, and to ensure that we work together with all parties where possible in the interests of all South Africans. Time is a luxury that we do not have. We must start rebuilding after the devastation of state capture immediately. Our biggest challenge will be to pick up the pieces, and start working hard towards the next elections in 2021, in the best interests of all South Africans.”

Bergman says he is honoured once again to serve the DA and the constituencies he represents. “The slate starts clean, and it is the leader’s prerogative as to which portfolio I will serve. However, I have really enjoyed and felt productive in international relations. I have made great inroads into meeting the ambassadors and governments of other countries, and representing the DA and parliament on SADC (the South African Development Community), IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union), Liberal International, and the Africa Liberal Network.”

He says the DA’s biggest challenge is that, “We grew too big too quickly, and have been under immense pressure to deliver in the metros that we now govern. It is important for us to communicate more of our successes here, and to continue the mission of building a united South Africa.”

To the Jewish community, especially to those who are not feeling hopeful about South Africa’s future, he says, “This country has been here before, in the 1980s, in terms of looming junk status, high interest rates, and near bankruptcy. We are a resilient country, and have been mentioned by world leaders as well as the rebbe [Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson] as the most prosperous place to live in the future.”

Regarding the election results, Bergman said he “called it” beforehand, so he was not shocked, but he was disappointed. “I believe racial polarisation had a lot to do with the right and left growing in popularity, which means that parties in the centre need to introspect a lot more on how to make minority groups feel at ease.

“However, the real disappointment was not what people voted for, but rather that people did not vote or spoilt their ballot. This reflected a growing trend of disgruntled voters that have lost faith in any party delivering to them.”

Ultimately, Bergman feels that, residents are not getting “bang for their buck” when it comes to services. However, he says we need to appreciate that the DA in a working coalition has been at the helm for just more than two years. Places like Tshwane and Johannesburg were sinking ships in terms of debt, infrastructure decay, and corruption. The party has stabilised the finances in both, and made unprecedented investment in infrastructure in areas that never enjoyed capital expenditure.

“We have also begun the long, tedious process of trying to weed out some corrupt and inefficient officials that occupy positions that are material to visible service delivery. We ask our residents to please be patient with us as we make sure that by 2021, we are seen as the clearest party to deliver services that residents in Cape Town and Midvaal are accustomed to.”

Bagraim is excited about being elected to Parliament once again, “as I want to continue focusing on the labour portfolio. At this point, I haven’t been assured that I will take the portfolio, but it makes sense as much of the legislation is still in the process of being formulated and tackled.”

Bagraim is particularly worried about the future of South Africa “as it does look like the ANC and the EFF [Economic Freedom Fighters] do have 67%, enabling them to change the Constitution as per the last debate on property. I know that there was a strong move for everyone to vote for Cyril [Ramaphosa] in the elections, enabling him to have enough power so that he could protect his position. This, of course, has backfired in that we have now given the party enough support with the EFF to be able to change the Constitution.”

New MP Hicklin says it feels “daunting” to be joining Parliament, and “I will be forever humbled by the faith the DA has placed in me to represent it in the national assembly.”

She hopes she will be able to work in the health portfolio, which has been her passion since she wrote the first HIV/AIDS awareness brochures in the 1980s.

She agrees with her Jewish compatriots that the DA needs to do some introspection and soul searching on how its expectations missed the mark, and why. “While other parties played on racial and nationalist polarisation, the DA was calling for a stable middle ground. This might not have been the outcome that the majority of South Africans were looking for.”

However, she feels that Jews have a future in South Africa “without a question of a doubt. But, we need active citizenry and participation from every person – in particular the Jewish community. Diaspora Jews understand all too well that the legacy of oppression takes generations to unravel. This country is still reeling from our apartheid past, and as Jews, we need to fight for everybody who faces any form of oppression. Most importantly, Jews have a particularly responsibility for tikkun olam – repairing the imperfections of our world.”