News
Taking on SAUJS leadership
Rachel Raff is the newly-appointed South African Union of Jewish Students national chairperson. She grew up in the heart of Jewish Johannesburg as the oldest of seven children. She went to Torah Academy Primary, Beis Yaakov High and did her matric at Eden College.
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What are you studying at Wits and what drew you to this career path?
I started my B Com degree with the intention of majoring in accounting, as I have a passion for maths. I soon realised maths and accounting were almost totally unrelated, so I decided to follow my more artistic side and switched to marketing. It was a great way to incorporate an aspect of humanities in what had seemed like a really dry B Com.
What do you see yourself becoming once you have qualified?
Marketing for Birthright (a SAUJS annual trip to Israel which ignited my Jewish identity and is something I can speak of at length).
How do you feel about being Jewish and a Zionist and how do these feature in your life?
I have a very strong Jewish identity and am a proud Zionist. It is a daily feature in my life as each day I am learning something new, engaging with someone different, participating in dialogue on different aspects of Jewish identity and Israel.
What drew you to take on a leadership role in SAUJS?
My Birthright trip to Israel where I returned with a passion for the Land of Israel and a strong Jewish identity. It is this passion that started my involvement in SAUJS, as I believed in being an active member on and off campus.
How does this impact on your life and what does it mean to you right now?
Less time studying and more time planning parties and combatting BDS.
But aside for that it’s really important to me right now. Through my time in SAUJS I’ve been given exposure to local and international issues and been able to be further involved in the Jewish community. I’m excited to further relationships and take SAUJS to the next level of Jewish and South African activism.
What do you believe will be your biggest challenge as SAUJS national chairperson and why?
Providing exposure to unaffiliated students as to what SAUJS’ aims and objectives are and getting them involved (we aren’t just a body that reschedules exams written on Shabbos!).
How do you plan to tackle Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) in general?
This is tough to comment on at the moment; we are currently working on our IAW counter-programme. It takes months of preparation.
BDS is very strong on campus. How does this impact on SAUJS and how do you believe it is best to deal with it?
It inversely affects SAUJS, as BDS incites students to have a negative and distorted view of Israel and thus their Jewish peers. I think it best to deal with this with a more proactive approach by educating students through interfaith collaborations, allowing for a wholesome view of Jewish morals and values.
How do you think the university authorities should be dealing with BDS and IAW?
While I do believe in freedom of speech, I don’t believe the BDS are using IAW to engage in discourse, but as an opportunity to incite hate. What occurs during IAW by the BDS is anti-Zionism which equates to anti-Semitism and should not be tolerated at any university. Essentially, the BDS campaign is one that is used to promulgate hatred against Israel and thus should be cancelled by the university authorities.
What are the implications of IAW and BDS for Jewish students in SA and internationally?
A myriad of implications; I could write an essay, but I’m worried about spac