Antisemitism has no place here, says Cape Town mayor

“As mayor of Cape Town, and on behalf of our city, I want to say clearly that antisemitism has no place here.” 

These are the words of Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis at the final night of Chanukah candle lighting at the Marais Road Shul in Sea Point on Sunday 21 December. 

“Only a week ago, Jewish families gathering in peace and joy at a Chanukah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach were met not with goodwill, nor with tolerance for difference, but with violence borne of hate,” Hill-Lewis said. 

“What should have been a moment of community and laughter became a moment of fear and tragedy. My friend Tony Leon commented to me last week that ‘Antisemitism is a light sleeper. It is woken again by any disturbance in the world’. 

“That is the truth, and we are seeing it all over the world at the moment,” he told the community gathered at the Sea Point shul. 

He made it clear though that in Cape Town, hatred of “any person or community based on nothing more than who they are, has no place”. 

He said: “The candles we light tonight are not just wax and flame. They are a declaration. They declare that darkness does not win. They declare that hatred, no matter how loud or violent, cannot overcome the power of light.” 

Hill-Lewis spoke of how the festival of Chanukah is the story of perseverance against great odds, of deep faith, and of a people who refused to allow their light to be extinguished. 

He said it was a story of not only divine intervention, but of human courage and determination. The mayor maintained that the Jews who lit the temple’s menorah all those years ago did it even though logic told them the oil wouldn’t last. “They chose faith over fear,” he said. 

“History shows us that this was not a single moment. Again and again, across centuries and continents, there have been attempts to extinguish the Jewish community – to silence its prayers, and to intimidate its people into hiding their identity.” 

Hill-Lewis went on to say that like the oil in the temple, “this community has endured. It has burned longer and brighter than anyone could have predicted, sustained by faith, memory, community, and a commitment to life. 

“Here in Cape Town, that flame burns brightly still,” he said. 

“Albeit a small community, our city’s Jewish community is an integral part of the fabric of this city. You have contributed immensely to shaping our culture, our economy, our arts, and our civic life,” he told those at the shul. “You belong here – not conditionally, not temporarily, but fully and permanently. 

“Let me say this without hesitation: the lamp of the Jewish community will never go out in Cape Town,” he said. 

“Cape Town is a city that has always been associated with certain values: So long as I serve in this office, our city will demonstrate a steadfast devotion to the values that have made us such a great city: The values of openness, a welcoming spirit, an acceptance of all people, of every religion, every race, every culture, and every creed.” 

The mayor spoke of Cape Town being Africa’s most cosmopolitan city, with a proud history of living side by side, working together, and standing up for one another. He added that to build a prosperous South Africa, these valued must be defended. 

Hill-Lewis maintained that Cape Town’s diversity is a strength not a weakness and that “extremism, in any form, threatens the very foundation of a free and peaceful society”. 

He went on to say, “May the candles of this final night of Chanukah show us that even the smallest flame can push back the deepest night. May they strengthen our resolve to stand together against hatred of any stripe. 

“And may they carry a message from Sea Point to Sydney, and far beyond: that the light still burns, that goodness can be found everywhere, and that hope cannot be extinguished,” he said.