South African Jews Trying to Deal with Racial Unrest, Tensions

The racial unrest in South Africa confronts the country with the problem of restructuring its race relations. But South African Jews cannot be bound, any more than other communities, to a particular line of action, Dr. Ellen Hellman, a social anthropologist, told a meeting of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies. She is past president of the Institute of Race Relations and a former chairman of the Board’s public relations committee.

Hellman noted that during the past 10 weeks “we have had ample evidence of the frustration and anti-white feeling of young Colored and Black people, especially the educated elite.” There has been acknowledgement of the need for change not only from liberal quarters but from Afrikaan institutions and leading Afrikaaner businessmen who are critical of the government and in favor of change, Hellman said.

She noted that some moves have been made in recent years toward desegregation but more are needed while the government has given the Black community no indication that they are contemplating major changes.

MANY JEWS IN PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENTS

“South Africa must realize that the fiction of a white homeland which occupies 84 percent of South Africa’s total land area and in which whites constituted 26 percent of the population in 1970, cannot be upheld,” Hellman said. She noted that many individual Jews have been active in progressive social movements and special tribute must be paid to the Union of Jewish Women which has provided social services for Black communities over the years.

But while there are many lines of activity for South African Jews as individuals, there is no sphere of action for the community as a whole, represented by the Jewish Board of Deputies, “simply because there is no program acceptable to the community as a whole,” she said. “One cannot bind Jews any more than other communities to a particular line of action,” Hellman said.

However, she said it was time to re-issue an appeal to Jewish businessmen and to all employers to equalize salaries for equal work and to introduce medical aid and pension schemes for their Black employes where these are not already operating.

“For the individual, the practice of commitment to change is unlimited” and “we must also seek opportunities for meaningful social contact, especially where there is a basis of shared interests,” she said. She also noted another aspect to be kept in mind was that young Black radicals look to the Organization for African Unity (OAU) with its Arab participation for their inspiration.