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Last weekend the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) elected a new Gauteng Council. Voting took place throughout the day at our Gauteng Council Conference,...
Three years ago this week, Simchat Torah, a day we set aside for dancing with the Torah, became the darkest day in Jewish life since the...
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...
The festival of Sukkot has always fascinated me. It is weird and wonderful. A non-Jewish colleague came to my house yesterday and I noticed her puzzled...
Last weekend the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) elected a new Gauteng Council. Voting took place throughout the day at our Gauteng Council Conference,...
A shana tova once again to our community. As we stand in the early days of 5787, it is worth pausing to consider what the year...
In July, a political commentator on Power FM stated that the Democratic Alliance had chosen Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille because “the Jews” were unhappy with Johannesburg. The...
It has been a week in which the South African Jewish community has stood in full view of the country, in the courts, on the street, and...
I was in my happy place last weekend. Together with hundreds of fellow participants, I attended the annual Limmud event in Johannesburg, following on from the Cape Town gathering a...
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) is a national body with a presence around the country. The majority of South African Jews live in Johannesburg and Cape Town,...
This weekend, we witnessed a momentous moment for our community. Rabbi Doron and Mrs Shelly Perez met President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings to express their appreciation...
Every so often, we get to open our doors and show gratitude to the people who have stood beside us. On Shabbat, the Board hosted an...
On Sunday 26 July, more than a hundred members of our community pulled on shirts that proudly declared “Jews 4 Jozi” and joined the tens of thousands who took part...
Last Friday, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) had a rare and important opportunity. We sat down with the heads and commissioners of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC),...
This week, alongside our incredible community volunteers, we packed and delivered hundreds of food parcels to members of the Congolese community in Johannesburg who are facing...
Inclusivity is a principle that the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), as the representative voice of the Jewish community as a whole, has always scrupulously abided by. Its affiliate...
Any relief we feel following 30 June should be qualified, as the rhetoric and intimidation left a sense of real fear across our country. We also need to...
There is a sense of anxiety that has gripped not only our community but all of South Africa this week. The fear that xenophobic violence will...
Next week, South Africa marks the 50th anniversary of the 16 June Soweto Uprising, a day that is a defining part of the moral architecture of this country’s history. Few...
This week, members of the Gauteng and Cape Town leadership of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) represented the South African Jewish community at the American Jewish Congress...
Every so often, a community does more than simply show up. On Sunday, 24 May, in Cape Town, ours did exactly that. British fitness coach and marathon runner Yoel Levy...
Last week brought concerning news from a place where young minds are meant to be nurtured and challenged. St Mary’s School in Johannesburg postponed an address by...
It is with profound sadness that we learnt this week of the passing of Abraham Foxman, former director of the Anti-Defamation League, tireless campaigner against antisemitism...
This week brought confirmation of something our community has long been anticipating: 4 November will be election day. Following the watershed national elections of last year, these municipal elections...
We are saddened to learn of the passing of Dr Edith Eger at the age of 98. Sent to Auschwitz at 16, she lost both her parents on...
This past week began, once again, with news that no community should have to absorb as routine. The firebombing of Kenton United Synagogue in northwest London,...
This is a week of profound communal significance. On Tuesday evening, we gathered to mark Yom HaShoah and, in doing so, made history. For the first...
Ambulances aren’t political. They save lives, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. Hatzolah doesn’t discriminate. In fact, no organisation better demonstrates the positive impact of Jewish communities on their surroundings than Hatzolah, a volunteer...
This week, the Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) hosted its once-vaunted Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW). Historically, IAW has been a source of...
It’s no secret that antisemitism has risen precipitously in the wake of 7 October 2023, subjecting Jewish communities worldwide to levels of open hostility not seen since...
This week, I’m writing from Australia, where I’m visiting family. While here, I’ve had the privilege of meeting with Daniel Aghion KC, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. Daniel and...
How swiftly the world can shift. Just last week, as we prepared to welcome Purim, I reflected on the festival’s powerful examples of women’s leadership. I...
Monday night marks the beginning of Purim, one of our most iconic and joyous festivals. Like so many of our holidays, Purim carries multiple layers of...
I had the privilege last week of representing the Jewish community at the State of the Nation Address (SONA). I attend this annual event with a sense of profound gratitude for our democracy...
The furore around the King David versus Roedean girls’ tennis match revealed so much about the nature of modern antisemitism, our experience of it, and our responsibilities as community members,...
This has been a difficult week for South African Jewry. On Friday, 30 January, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) announced via social media that Ariel...
For the first time since 2014, there are no Israeli hostages in Gaza. This is a momentous inflection point, marked by emotions as complex as they...
South Africa is fortunate to possess a robust constitutional framework safeguarding freedom of expression while drawing clear boundaries against hate speech. This delicate balance isn’t merely theoretical, it demands vigilant stewardship to...
As we welcome 2026, so many events have fundamentally changed our world. As a start, we were shattered to see our fellow community in Sydney became the victim...
The SA Jewish Board of Deputies expresses its deep solidarity with the Australian Jewish community following the horrific terror attack in Sydney during a Chanukah candle-lighting ceremony. ...
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