South African Jewish Leader Says There is No Jewish ‘angle’ in the Forthcoming Parliamentary Electio

Denis Diamond, executive director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, rejected “any attempt to gratuitously introduce a Jewish ‘angle’ into party politics or electioneering” in the parliamentary elections to be held in South Africa on Wednesday. In a statement issued on the eve of the elections, Diamond said:

“The South African Jewish Board of Deputies, speaking on behalf of the Jewish community of South Africa, has often proclaimed that it is a cardinal principle that Jews participate in politics as individual citizens and not as members of a national or religious group. Just as it believes that there should be no such thing as a Jewish question in politics, so it strongly deprecates any attempt to gratuitously introduce a Jewish ‘angle’ into party politics or electioneering.”

This same principle was restated by David K. Mann, president of the Board of Deputies, at a recent meeting of the organization. It received wide media publicity.