Moving news

Was there anyone in our community who didn’t have a reaction to the announcement that there was a good chance that King David Victory Park was going to shut down? I’m not surprised. I certainly did, and I went to King David Linksfield. My children did spend time at Victory Park, but that wasn’t why I reacted. Even people who had never set foot on the Victory Park campus reacted.

I have heard rantings about how unfair and wrong it was. People are hurting. People are angry, as is their right. However, I don’t believe there is a “baddie” in this situation. Nobody meant to harm anyone.

I can only imagine how difficult a decision it was even to contemplate this move. I wouldn’t have liked to have been Rabbi Ricky Seeff or anyone on the South African Board of Jewish Education (SABJE) because having to do this is not a nice job. It’s fraught. Of course, people involved were bound to be upset. And nobody likes being the bearer of potentially bad news or having to make this kind of decision.

I do believe that the board and Rabbi Seeff are doing what they believe to be in the best interests of this community. They don’t want to upset people, and they especially don’t want to lose people. They are clearly going to do everything they can to make the move from Victory Park to Linksfield as easy, pain-free, and happy as they possibly can.

It wouldn’t make sense any other way. They want to keep Jewish children and their families within the Jewish education network. And there are many plans to make things better for everyone at Linksfield. So, I’m not trying to undermine anyone’s feelings, which are all real, but let’s give the SABJE a chance.

In five years’ time, this will be a memory, and the anger and hurt some people feel will be history because this is just part of the churning of the wheel of our community in South Africa.

My own abiding feeling about this is one of sadness.

It’s sad when a vibrant and energetic school that’s so much a part of our community closes. Victory Park has its own soul, which is different to Linksfield, just like any brother and sister would be. Or like any two people. And just like siblings, they experienced rivalry, but when the chips were down, they were sibling schools, and they stood up for each other against other schools.

Other people, especially the unofficial king and queen of Victory Park, Jeffrey and Barbara Wolf, really tell the story of this beautiful school with such chein and chutzpah. Memories abound, and we try to capture them over time. We need to make sure that whatever happens, we never forget the awesomeness of King David Victory Park.

Having said that, in December 2020, Herzlia in Cape Town closed its Constantia campus. People were angry and upset. Again, that was their right. And it was their right to voice their feelings and make their own decision about the closure.

However, five years later, I wonder what the impact was on their lives. Is it still such a significant issue? We, too, will move on from this whatever way it pans out.

What has made me angry this week was the South African Muslim Network demanding that KwaZulu-Natal newspapers not write about Afrika Tikkun. Seriously!

I don’t understand the targeting of any organisation that does good. However, Afrika Tikkun has nothing whatsoever to do with Israel, which is the claim. Though it was started by Jewish people and there are Jewish people involved, it’s 100% about helping millions of underprivileged South Africans. It has everything to do with uplifting South Africans. I’m flabbergasted that anyone could take issue with an organisation that has done more than any other in this country to better the lives of this country’s people.

It just so happens that our late, great president Nelson Mandela was the patron-in-chief of Afrika Tikkun, and considered its work to be a “miracle”. He was so impressed by how this organisation found practical and sustainable solutions to uplift disadvantaged communities in South Africa, especially in youth development.

Targeting this organisation can only harm South Africa, for no other reason than antisemitism. Just because there are Jewish roots to this company, trash it, why don’t you?

It’s much the same as targeting Philip Krawitz and those protesting against Cape Union Mart. Who loses? South Africa and its people. Can I say, if these protesters did succeed in destroying his business, thousands would be without work and an income. Guess what, those people who will be without work aren’t the Krawitz family, nor the Zionists these protesters appear to hate so much. It will harm ordinary working South Africans.

Would that these people who hate us so much thought just a bit before they attempt to target, discredit, and destroy South African Jewish-founded businesses. The reality that they don’t seem to understand is that our love of this country is greater than their hatred for us. And because of that, we will prevail, and we will do our best for this country, but we won’t accept what they are throwing our way. Not now, and not ever!

Shabbat shalom!

Peta Krost

Editor