The 18th biennial congress of the Board of Deputies of South African Jews concluded here today following the adoption of a number of resolutions dealing with the domestic, international and Israel scene. I. A. Maisels was elected president, succeeding B.A. Ettlinger.
One resolution noted with satisfaction the abatement in South African public life “of what has been called the Jewish question.” However, the resolution recorded disappointment with the ban preventing Jewish membership in the Nationalist Party in Transvaal “which reflects an attitude of political differentiation toward a group of citizens.”
The resolution was adopted following a report by the executive council to the convention asserting that a welcome abatement of what has been called “the Jewish question” has been noticeable. Although there is still an “occasional distribution” of anti-Semitic propaganda in the country, the “overall impression is a satisfactory one and markedly different from the situation of some years ago,” the report said. It also mentioned the “friendly and sympathetic” attitude in South Africa toward the State of Israel.
The resolution expressed the conviction that the welfare of South Africa and its inhabitants is dependent on the promotion of democratic principles and practices in national life. The abatement of inter-group conflict and in racial prejudice is vital for the good the nation, the resolution pointed out.
DELEGATES DECIDE TO EXPAND LOCAL FUND-RAISING ACTIVITIES
The congress decided to continue the expansion of the United Communal Fund and the United Appeal for domestic needs. The decision stipulated that only persons contributing to these two funds can be delegates to the next congress of the Board of Deputies. Another resolution applauded the steady progress being made eye Israel and the self-sacrifice of the Israeli Jews in order to carry out the immigration program. The congress also pledged the continued financial and moral aid of South African Jewry for the task of “gathering in the exiles.”
The delegates expressed concern over the trend toward pardoning and releasing Nazi war criminals. They declared that despite any change in the world political scene, any “tampering” with the Nuremberg decisions was “nothing less than a betrayal of those who fought and died in the Allied cause, and any attempt to prevent the fulfillment of the legally imposed penalties is an outrage against conscience and the cynical surrender of fundamental rights.”
The ninth national conference of the South African Jewish Board of Education also concluded here today with the re-election of H. Garber as president and with recommendations for closer educational interchange between South African Jewry and Israel. The conference adopted a resolution stressing the importance of teaching Hebrew as a living language in Hebrew schools, and urging the extension of Jewish Day Schools. Projects considered at the parley included an exchange plan between South African and Israel Hebrew teachers and the establishment during the school holidays of a “Seminar in Reverse” at which visiting teachers from Israel will deliver lectures to South African Hebrew teachers.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
