True story: the Jewish community built this nation

There are some weeks that seem like years, and some years which seem like weeks. 

All in all, we are just ordinary people living through extraordinary times. 

In a few weeks from now, the G20 will meet here in South Africa and begin its heady discussions. It will be a tsunami of words; a collection of photo opportunities; and a competition for media attention. It’s a perfect little bubble in an ocean of decay. 

Outside of the plush interiors of the five-star hotels will still be the true reality of South Africa, the traffic lights which won’t work; the poor who are hungry; the youth, who are unemployed; a government paralysed by state-sponsored corruption; and 27 000 South Africans who will be murdered in their homes this year. 

This is the harsh reality, and no amount of talking at the G20 will change the bitter lives faced by most South Africans every single day. 

This isn’t the country we want, and certainly not the South Africa we deserve. And so, we have a choice to accept it or proactively change the country into “Mzansi Strong”. 

Though many say the South African Jewish community needs to improve its public relations, in reality, a small group of South Africans has had a profound impact on the development of our nation. We need to pierce the veil over that truth. 

In politics, human rights, the arts, business, entrepreneurship, and the professional world, we will tell you 11 stories of remarkable South Africans, people who have led and built this country, and there are hundreds or thousands more stories still to tell. 

Yuval Harari, probably the greatest thinker of the modern era, teaches us that human history advances when we all agree on common stories: the story of G-d, which allowed us to live together in a rules-based society; the story of money, that somehow a piece of paper or coin had value that allowed us to trade; and the story of human rights, which after the horrors of World War II convinced us to believe that all humans were somehow entitled to equal rights, equal opportunity, and the right to live in peace, freedom, and dignity. 

Harari’s lesson to all of us is that humans learn by storytelling, and our job is to tell the stories of what South Africa needs to be Mzansi Strong. 

The problem is that our community doesn’t have an “Intel Inside” sticker that tells the world that it lives within the engine of good that we do. So, I want to highlight just a few projects, many of them winners of Jewish Achiever Awards to explain to all who dare to listen what our community has done for South Africa. 

Shall we start with Operation Hunger, co-founded by the Union of Jewish Women and led by Ina Perlman which fed more than two million people in the dark days of apartheid; Ikamva Labantu, led by Helen Lieberman, which touches more than 32 000 people each year; operates in 486 preschools in Khayelitsha; runs 28 after school clubs and 17 seniors clubs; or Afrika Tikkun, led by Marc Lubner, which serves more than 45 000 people from cradle to career, running the most sophisticated early childhood education curriculum in South Africa, educating more than 20 000 children, placing 9 000 people in jobs, and running post-secondary school education. 

The Moshal Scholarship Foundation has graduated 1 275 students through university with scholarships and psychosocial support; the Kaplan-Kushlick Foundation has provided 727 university scholarships; The Angel Network and Glynne Wolman have provided more than 30 million meals and built 90 homes over the past 10 years; and Khaya Lam and the Feldmans, the Sacks, and Markmans have given 21 000 families title deeds to their own homes. 

Sivan Yaari and Innovation: Africa have provided fresh clean drinking water to one million South Africans and six million people in Africa; Taddy Blecher and the Maharishi institute, have graduated more than 21 000 university graduates with free tertiary education; Robbie Brozin and the Jozi My Jozi team are re-imagining what all of Johannesburg could be; the David and Tracey Frankel Foundation is running its NextUp project in Olievenhoutbosch in Tshwane; the Jewish National Fund is leading in environmental education and food gardens in Mamelodi; the Kirshes have funded more projects than anyone can count in South Africa; the Victor Daitz Foundation is the second largest charitable trust in the country; and what about what the Ichikowitzes have done for the country. 

I could go on all night. Not to mention CAP’s improvement of security and targeting of criminals; and CAP Green’s efforts to improve the neighbourhood; ORT, which does STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) and computer education in our schools; and the Gordon family and Wendy Appelbaum, who have built hospitals, art galleries, and business schools and funded our universities. 

Our community has done more in real meaningful terms for South Africa than anyone else. 

But let those in power not take us for granted, we do what we do out of love for our country. Do not treat us in a way that is unrequited and allows our love to wane. 

Mzansi Strong will be built through partnerships with those who wish to build an inclusive, prosperous South Africa that genuinely tackles its problems. That’s why the Jewish Achiever Awards is delighted to partner with Investec. 

Investec Bank was started by five young Jewish entrepreneurs from Benoni, who built a global brand which represents the best of our nation to the world. In the days when I was a lowly law clerk, Lacky Kaplan, now chairperson of Investec Private Bank but then a partner at Werksmans, would invite me into his office and make me tea. The friendship with Kaplan has been replicated into the true and enduring friendships which we have with Fani Titi, Cumesh Moodliar, Nick Riley, Lesley-Anne Gatter, and many others of the Investec team here tonight. 

These awards are a family, and our other sponsors are very much part of the DNA of the Jewish Achiever Awards: the Ellerine family; the Lubner family; the Kirsh family; the Ichikowitz family; the Mann family; Europcar; Sydney Back Wines; Diageo; and Johnnie Walker are all part of the magic that makes tonight so special to our community. 

Tonight isn’t about public relations; it’s an evening of storytelling. It tells the tale of how one small segment of South Africa unencumbered by its size has had a profound impact on the lives of every South African. It’s a story of heroes and role models. It’s an evening of inspiration of how to make Mzansi Strong.” 

Howard Sackstein, Chairperson, Investec Jewish Achiever Awards committee