For two weeks in June/July, my family and I celebrated my nephew’s bar mitzvah in Israel. What an incredibly moving experience – and the first time since my own wedding that our entire immediate Bloch family was together. Aside from the spiritual and religious connection at the Kotel, the amazing local cuisine and the stunning sites, the hot sweltering summer heat was exhausting, humid and muggy (not for my wife but more for me). And then we came home to a cold Cape winter chill with heavy rains, flooding and icy winds. My body was certainly blowing hot and cold, and the chance of catching a cold is almost a certainty.
Google defines ‘hot and cold’ as alternating between two opposite states, being enthusiastic or interested one moment and uninterested the next. Just like the weather in Tel Aviv and Cape Town, going from one extreme to the next, so has the political, social and economic landscape in South Africa.
Pre-May 29th, we had a failing economy, a poor performing leadership structure, no clear vision, high rates of antisemitism, high unemployment – and more. Now whilst several of these issues will not be rectified or solved in the immediate future, we have seen some glimpses of hope.
Our currency did recover ever so slightly post the elections and then again with the announcement of the Government of National Unity. The ZAR recovery however, did nothing to soften the blow when buying a cup of coffee and a pastry in Tel Aviv – at 40 Shekels (R200), each sip of coffee burnt a hole in my wallet! There have also been mixed feelings from political parties and members of the public with regards to our President’s cabinet announcements. One notable change was the appointment of Ronald Lamola, our previous Minister of Justice, to the department of International Relations and Cooperation. Whilst we are all glad to see the back of Naledi Pandor, Minister Lamola will need to prove himself and show South Africans that our foreign policy is more than just Palestine.
I attended Minister Lamola’s first official briefing on Thursday, 11 July, and it was quite positive hearing what the department will be focusing on in the near future. Whilst the Minister confirmed that South Africa will continue with its ICJ case, Israel was not the centre of discussion and only took up a few minutes of the entire two-hour session. And, Minister Lamola was not donning any Palestinian clothing – although one person in the crowd wore a keffiyeh. Hopefully this means that our government will focus its attention on helping the citizens of South Africa.
The anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric also blows hot and cold. Whilst the general rhetoric in government has come to a standstill and perhaps the weather may be to thank for the cessation of protests, we have seen UCT implementing an academic boycott against Israel – something which we know will not be taken lying down, and our partners and I will engage further with UCT on this matter. This is not simply a Jewish issue but a much larger problem which will affect all students and academics.
On social media, things are also up and down with some of the usual suspects continuing to hurl their verbal abuse against Israel whilst others have perhaps taken a holiday break and will resurface soon.
We have all experienced high levels of angst, fear and hurt over the past few months; however, things seem to be calming down slightly. We know this is not the end. As Israel continues to defend itself from Hamas and as the State continues to find a way to rescue the hostages, the war will continue and with it the anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric too. However, the Cape SAJBD will also continue to fight against the haters and protect our Jewish way of life at home.
Cape SA Jewish Board of Deputies website: www.capesajbd.org, Instagram, and Facebook page.
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