There are many positive aspects in South Africa

Martin Zagnoev

It is therefore not surprising that depression and anxiety are common in the Jewish population. After all, our people have been through so much.

Yet it has not all been as bad as we often assume. There have also been good times. And we have contributed so much. It would need an entire history book to describe what our tiny nation has contributed to the world. In spite of this we often get stuck in pessimism even if it is not the entire picture.

Following the Holocaust, a lot of our people came to believe in the worst and assumed that such a thing is commonplace, even if it was by far the biggest tragedy to befall us. Here in South Africa, many fled the country often citing what happened in Germany and imagining it would happen here.

However, it has been a generation since democracy was introduced here and we are still enjoying equality, religious freedom and a high standard of living. In fact, we are experiencing a massive religious revival not seen anywhere else in the world. Many say yes but what about all the crime?

Yes, Johannesburg did have the highest homicide rate but that was in 1994 and it has fallen dramatically since then. Nowadays there are some North American cities with a higher proportion of murders.

Furthermore, GAP has reduced contact crime by about 90 per cent.

“One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” In the past, apartheid propaganda led us to believe that the ANC were terrorists and many were terrified by the armed struggle, leading some to seek greener pastures overseas.

Since then South Africa has surprised the world by achieving peace, while terrorism has reared its ugly head overseas, instead.

In 2013, Avigdor Lieberman, a leading member of the Israeli government, warned us of an imminent pogrom in South Africa and that we had better rush to Israel. Fortunately this and other negative expectations have not materialised.

For many Jews, to criticise Israel is to hit a nerve. After all, she is associated with our very survival. Yet this panic is often an overreaction.

It is true that members of the government have sided with the Palestinians who are their historical allies, but leading members of our community have always found them to be helpful and supportive.

Finally, Hitler and other anti-Semites should not be the ones to form our opinions and influence us towards depression, anxiety and panic.

Sunningdale Ridge, Johannesburg