2003

Stand
tall

Mendel Kaplan, circa 2003

A Centenary Call to Arms

When Mendel took the stage at the Board of Deputies’ Centenary Congress, no one expected a tame speech, and they were not disappointed. Mendel tore into the room.

From the very start, Jews were integral to Johannesburg’s rise—never outsiders, never second-class. So why were they acting like it now? South African Jews had a choice: stand tall as “citizens of South Africa” or stay silent and lose respect.

The specific issue was government’s restrictions on money transfers to Israel—a right every other nation enjoyed – but the larger one was the place of Jews in the New South Africa.

Mendel’s speech at the Centenary Conference, 5-7 September 2003.
Mendel’s speech at the Centenary Conference, 5-7 September 2003.
Mendel’s speech at the Centenary Conference, 5-7 September 2003.
Mendel’s speech at the Centenary Conference, 5-7 September 2003.
Mendel’s speech at the Centenary Conference, 5-7 September 2003.
Mendel’s speech at the Centenary Conference, 5-7 September 2003.
Mendel’s speech at the Centenary Conference, 5-7 September 2003.
Mendel’s speech at the Centenary Conference, 5-7 September 2003.
Mendel’s speech at the Centenary Conference, 5-7 September 2003.

Standing Tall

After the 1993 Oslo Accords, Israel seemed to be on the brink of peace with Palestine, and global acceptance. But the Second Intifada (2000) shattered that progress.

The South African government’s response unsettled the Jewish community. Money transfers to Israel were blocked, Jewish donors were outraged, and frustration turned to discomfort.

A letter from Moshe Gur to Mendel, dated 8 September 1994.

Mendel had seen it coming. Before the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban in 2001 he predicted it would devolve into an “outpouring of hate against Israel and the Jewish people.” When it did, he condemned the Jewish world’s weak response.

And South African Jews were tiptoeing around their own government. Enough was enough. Mendel demanded the World Jewish Congress create an International Media Watch, a global watchdog against media distortion. Jews had to fight back.

Mendel’s speech in 2003 was a rebuke. The Jewish community had a choice: find its confident voice or resign to timidity and vulnerability.

A letter from Mendel to Edgar Bronfman, dated 6 September 2001.

Cast of Characters

Mendel at 67

Honorary President of the World Keren Hayesod Board of Trustees, Honorary Life President of SAJBD & SABJE, Chairman of the Executive of the WJC. The ‘Godfather’ of the community.

Milton Shain (b. 1949)

Director of the Isaac and Jessie Kaplan Centre, UCT. Scholar of South African Jewish history and antisemitism.

Malcolm Hoenlein (b. 1944)

Executive Vice Chairman, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations.

Avi Beker (1951-2015)

Secretary General of the WJC, political scientist.

Organisations

South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD)

Established in 1912, the SAJBD acts as an umbrella organization representing South African Jewry in public and political arenas. Its mandate, for over a century, includes safeguarding Jewish interests and addressing community needs.

The World Jewish Congress (WJC)

Founded in 1936, the WJC is an international federation representing Jewish communities and organisations in over 100 countries. It advocates for Jewish rights, combats antisemitism, and promotes solidarity and dialogue worldwide.