ANT KATZ

פְּרִידָה

The SA Jewish Board of Deputies issued a statement today in which it said it “mourns the loss of Bertie Lubner who passed away this morning”.

Bertie, says the Board’s national director Wendy Kahn, “was an extraordinary man contributing to so many worthy causes.  His vision and leadership were responsible for the creation and development of some leading South Africa NGO’s such as Afrika Tikkun and the Field Band Foundation.”

“Whether in the business, philanthropic, educational, Zionistic or Jewish communal fields, he has made a huge contribution to poverty alleviation, capacity building and education in our country,” said Kahn, PICTURED RIGHT.

---

Jewish Report

SA Jewish Report’s non-executive chairman, Howard Sackstein, said this afternoon that “Bertie has been the rock of our community. He was of the original founders of the Jewish Report and has remained an active director,” said Sackstein, PICTURED BELOW. “Bertie guided us through turbulent times and providing constant advice and measured leadership.”

Bertie “will be sorely missed by everyone,” said Sackstein. “Our hearts go out to Hilary and the entire Lubner family. South Africa will be much poorer without Bertie’s leadership.”

---

Life chairman

Bertie was also the Honorary Life Chairman of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies and served on their National Executive Council for several decades. “His warmth, insight, humour, anecdotes and valuable input at our meetings, will be sorely missed,” said Wendy Kahn today.

“May his memory be a blessing to his family and all who had the good fortune of engaging with him.”

---

Multiple awards

Bertie received many prestigious awards, including the State President’s Award for Meritorious Service and the Order of Meritorious Service – Silver, and was honoured at the SAJBD conference in November 2015, when he was presented with the Eric Samson Mendel Kaplan award for Community Service, said Wendy Kahn, “for his lifetime of commitment to our community and our country”.

For his work on behalf of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, she said, he received an honorary doctorate and a Lifetime Achiever’s Award.

“On one of the occasions when he was being presented with an award, he stated: ‘One should never expect to be rewarded for doing the right things. The reward in one’s own soul is far greater,’”  said Wendy in her statement on behalf of the community.

“Throughout his life, he was true to this stirring maxim, making him a source of inspiration to all he has known.”