KZN Council stands tall

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, but we are also present in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Gqeberha, and Pretoria. These smaller communities are often key in representing our voice and protecting our rights. That is true nowhere more than in KZN, where I joined National Director Wendy Kahn last week for the annual general meeting of the KZN Council of the SAJBD.

The national Board places great value on the KZN region. Over the past year, the community there has been bolstered and, despite its small size, delivers meaningful value for all South African Jewry. The AGM was a fitting moment to take stock of the remarkable impact of the SAJBD KZN Council.

At the meeting, I spoke about the importance of resilience, and no word better describes the state of the KZN community today. Wendy and I were heartened to see an active community leading our national body in so many critical areas. Over the past year, KZN has become a leading voice in interfaith engagement. It held its first Freedom Seder, hosted an interfaith Shabbat, and took part in a number of significant interfaith events and dialogues. The community has been active politically, too, welcoming the KZN premier, the mayor of eThekwini, and several other public representatives from this important province. Kol hakavod to outgoing KZN President Alana Pugh-Jones Baranov and her remarkable council.

The same commitment to being present was evident elsewhere this month. As part of the Board’s ongoing outreach and intercommunal work, our political and university liaison, Gabi Farber Cohen, attended two Women’s Month events. The first was the Gertrude Shope Women’s Peace Mediators Network Annual Assembly at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation in Pretoria. The second was the National Women’s Dialogue Celebration hosted by Unisa, SA Women in Dialogue, and UN Women. Both gatherings brought together women from government, non-governmental organisations, religious groups, civil society, and a range of industries to consider the role women can play in peacebuilding, advancing our country, and confronting the challenges facing South Africa, our region, and our continent. 

What was especially encouraging was the deliberate focus on South Africa and our own challenges. After several years in which so much of our attention has been drawn to international issues and global crises, it was refreshing to see organisations creating space for meaningful conversations about our own people, our own communities, and our own future. There is clearly a great deal of work to do but seeing diverse groups of women come together to find solutions and drive change is a welcome shift, and one that is both necessary and inspiring.