A say in the matter

This weekend, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) will hold its Great Mayoral Debates. These traditional pre-election events give our communities in Johannesburg and Cape Town the chance to hear directly from the mayoral candidates and their parties, and to hear them address our concerns. The Johannesburg debate will take place on Sunday evening, 11 October, and will be moderated by journalist-writer Mandy Wiener. 

Democracy is about more than voting. It requires engagement, participation, and a commitment to the ideals of our Constitution, and the SAJBD is one expression of that. As the representative body of the community, the Board is tasked with engaging government and political parties from across the political spectrum. The Board is itself apolitical, which allows us to sit down with any party we need to. So many of our community’s concerns are dealt with at local, municipal, or provincial level, and in the era of coalitions, those governments are often made up of a number of smaller or less well-known parties. That is why it matters so much that we hear from the broadest possible range of voices, and that the Board keeps close, friendly working relationships with as many leaders and parties as possible. 

Many of us remember the queues of April 1994, winding around school halls and church grounds, with people waiting for hours in the sun to make a mark on a piece of paper. Thirty-two years on, we should hold onto that spirit and see voting once again as a privilege, one that most South Africans were denied for most of this country’s history and that so many around the world still do not have. Democracy does not promise that our preferred candidate will win, or that every councillor will deliver. What it does promise is that we have a say, and that those who govern us must come back and ask for our support again. That promise holds only if we use it. Local government is where democracy comes closest to home, in the water that comes out of our taps, the lights in our homes, and the state of the roads we drive on, and a single ward can be decided by a handful of votes. I cannot overstate how important it is to exercise this privilege and make your mark at the ballot box. 

The debates are open to everyone, and I would encourage you to register and join us on Sunday. Bring your questions. Whether your concern is safety, service delivery, or the way our city is run, this is a rare opportunity to put it directly to the people who want to govern us, and to judge their answers for yourself. Come with an open mind and listen carefully. Then, when the day comes, go and vote. 

Finally, although I have written an OpEd on this topic in this week’s paper, it would be remiss of me not to mention the third anniversary of 7 October. The Board set up seven activations at key locations across the country, each displaying seven facts about that day. In doing so, we made a clear statement that, despite so many attempts to hijack this day from us, we remain committed to telling the truth about what happened. October 7 was a horrific terrorist attack in which innocent Jews were murdered, raped, tortured, and kidnapped. It was unprovoked. Rape and murder are not resistance.