JERUSALEM — The Jewish community of South Africa is generally optimistic about Wednesday’s election of the new government under African National Congress leader Thabo Mbeki, regarding the vote as having less to do with the Jewish community than with the larger social issue of blacks and whites.
Mbeki was expected to replace President Nelson Mandela, who is retiring.
“This election is not a Jewish issue at all,” said Julius Weinstein, former chairman and life president of the South Africa Zionist Federation, who now lives here. “Jews are not affected by this election, so you can’t say, ‘Is it good for the Jews or bad for the Jews.’ The question is, is it good for South Africa or bad for South Africa? Jews are not involved in the situation at all. This is a question of black/white.”
One reason South Africa’s second democratic election is not an issue for Jews, Weinstein said, is that “there are a number of Jews in leading positions in the African National Congress, and Jews have supported the ANC — not all of them, but many — throughout its struggle for the past 50 years.”
Weinstein checked off some of the high-profile Jews in the government, including the deputy defense minister, the deputy finance minister and the chief justice of the Constitutional Court.
Suzanne Belling, managing editor of the South Africa Jewish Report, agreed that the issue is one of blacks and whites, adding that the Jewish community must adapt better to the changes that have occurred in the country.
“I don’t think Mbeki is looking at the Jewish community any differently from the white community,” Belling said from Johannesburg. “Our fate will be the same as the rest of the white community.”
She said the Jewish leadership in South Africa is very positive about Mbeki, who addressed the South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies conference two years ago. But she added that South Africa’s Jews must “listen to his message and become involved in the numerous upliftment projects, and narrow the discrepancies between the haves and the have-nots in this country.
“The Jewish community tends to have a bit of myopia because it thinks it is living in the old South Africa, and it can just carry on the way it was and not get involved,” Belling said. “But the message from the leaders and rabbis is that Jews have to become involved in the new South Africa.”
Weinstein said the main problems are the same for all South Africans: increasing crime and unemployment, and the downgrading of economy. “These are the danger points. The ANC has been in power for five years, and Mandela has been a great international leader, but unfortunately the situation in South Africa is deteriorating and this is the real danger. And this government will have to do something about it and very urgently.”
Marlene Bethlehem, national chairwoman of the Board of Deputies, told the Jewish Report that she is hopeful for the country’s future “because, based on the experience of the Board of Deputies with Mbeki, I think we will see strong leadership from him.
“Eighteen months ago, the whole cabinet voted, in the absence of Mbeki, to pursue an arms deal with Syria. When he returned to the country, the Zionist Federation and board went to see him and put forward why we thought the deal was a problem. I’m not suggesting we influenced his decision, but he put it on the back burner and the proposed deal did not go through.”
Russell Gaddin, a member of the board, said some are nervous and uncertain because they don’t know enough about Mbeki.
“When I met with him, I was struck by his strength,” he told the Report. “He is a born leader and will deal with the issues in South Africa. We need to understand that over the last five years, the government has undergone a tremendous learning curve. They’ve now got their priorities in line and I am confident they’ll be able to deal with crime and the economy.”
Gerald Leissner, past president of the Board of Deputies, said there is no need for Jews to fear for their democratic rights, and that the issue of crime will be solved once the government works toward reducing unemployment and creating more jobs.
“What’s happened in the past five years has been both positive and encouraging,” he told the Report. “Crime and jobs are interrelated — we need to create more jobs and then the levels of crime will reduce. The ANC and the government are really democratic and there is, therefore, no problem regarding democracy.”