A mediation meeting between Deputy Minister of International Relations Marius Fransman and the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) failed to take place when the Deputy Minister informed the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) that he would not be attending after all. The meeting, the date of which had been mutually agreed upon a month before, was scheduled to take place under the auspices of the SAHRC on Friday, but when the SAJBD representatives arrived, they were informed not only that Fransman would not be attending but that he had no interest in participating in any future mediation process. [read more]
The recent past has been a busy one for Board lay leaders and professional staff in terms of participating in international Jewish events. Currently, National President Zev Krengel and senior professional staff from Johannesburg and Cape Town are in Washington DC for the American Jewish Committee Global Forum. Thereafter, Cape Executive Director David Jacobson will be attending the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding’s 3rd Delegation of Muslim and Jewish Leaders from Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. Last week a member of our national professional staff, Steve Gruzd, represented us at the Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism in Israel. During his stay, he also met with the incoming Israeli Ambassador to South Africa Arthur Lenk and with the World Jewish Congress. [read more]
The Swazi Observer, Swaziland http://www.observer.org.sz/index.php?news=51487
29 May 2013
By Fanyana Mabuza
Geoff Ramokgadi (fourth from left) with members of the South African Jewish community during the congress in Budapest, Hungary
Recently Geoff Ramokgadi, a local black Jew, was invited to a 14th World Jewish Congress Plenary Assembly in Budapest, Hungary.
The congress was held in support of Jewish and Roma gypsies, oppressed and threatened by that country’s Fascist Jobbik Party, which has vowed to oust them from their motherland for the simple fact that they are a minority. [read more]
Israeli artist David Wakstein
Last Tuesday, I joined various Board and Jewish community members in attending a talk at Wits University on the topic “Coexistence – finding the Middle Ground” by a Jewish and a Druze artist from Israel, David Wakstein and Asad Azi. The event, hosted by Wits Professor of Comparative Religion Moruti Ledwaba, enjoyed the fullest support of the Wits leadership and went ahead without incident. I warmly commend Professor Ledwaba and Natalie Knight for putting this event together. Taken in the wider context of what has transpired on Wits campus this year, it sent a forthright message that the Wits administration stands firm in its stance not to boycott Israeli (or any other) academics and was a heartening demonstration of the university’s commitment to providing a forum for free, constructive debate on its premises. We look forward to participating in similar such events in the future. [read more]
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