JEFF KATZ
Together with other Jewish organisations, we have been involved in putting together his programme while in the country. Mr Mayer has been particularly successful in using social media as a positive, constructive platform through which to disseminate views and information on Israel and international Jewry.
His insights will certainly be of value to us, given how much of our attention today is necessarily bound up with using, monitoring and, where necessary, taking action concerning what appears in social media.
UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day – 2016
On Wednesday, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the 11th since the United Nations designated January 27 for that purpose, was marked by commemorative events throughout the world.
To participate in the occasion, the Israeli Embassy brought out Professor Dina Porat, chief historian at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and an internationally acknowledged expert on issues relating to contemporary Jewry and anti-Semitism.
Our professional leadership had the opportunity of meeting and spending some time with her during her stay. The SAJBD has a long association with Prof Porat, mainly through the Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Anti-Semitism and Racism at Tel Aviv University, which she headed for a long time.
We regularly provide the Institute with reports and statistics on anti-Semitism in South Africa and in turn have found the comprehensive database it provides to be invaluable in assessing and evaluating the situation in South Africa, compared with those of other countries.
South African Jewry – 175 years
As featured in last week’s SA Jewish Report issue, preparations are underway to commemorate 175 years of organised Jewish life in South Africa. The Cape Council of the SAJBD is already very active in this regard, given that Cape Town is the ‘Mother community’ of South African Jewry.
A series of events – co-ordinated to engage the community, civil society and government – will take place throughout the year. Their purpose, as the Cape Council’s monthly bulletin to the community expresses it, will be to “showcase the Jewish community’s great commitment to and involvement in the development of South Africa”, while also using the occasion as an opportunity to “address how our community, together with fellow citizens, will continue to add to the growth of a free, democratic and prosperous South Africa”.
Among the events being planned are a lecture series highlighting Jewish contributions to various aspects of South African life and an exhibition on the community’s history at the South African Jewish Museum. While the events will largely be Cape Town-based, we hope in the course of the year to ensure that this milestone is appropriately celebrated throughout the country as well.
- Listen to Charisse Zeifert on Jewish Board Talk, 101.9 ChaiFM every Friday 12:00 – 13:00
