Johannesburg Mayor Lauds Role Played by Jewish Women in So. Africa

Jewish women are playing an important role in South Africa, Boyce Eager, Mayor of Johannesburg, stated in addressing the 13th national conference of the Union of Jewish Women of Southern Africa, attended by delegates from all parts of the country.

Not only were Jewish women faithfully serving their own community, but they were participating in all branches of public service in South Africa, and rendering splendid service to a variety of causes, said the Mayor. He noted especially the valuable part they played in welfare work in Johannesburg. “The Union of Jewish Women is held in high esteem not only by the Jewish community, but also by the general community,” the Mayor declared.

Mrs. S. Mackenzie, president of the National Council of Women in South Africa, and Mrs. J.M. Raath, president of its Afrikaans sister organization, the Suid-Afrikaanse Vroue Federasie, testified to the cordial relationships that had grown up between their organizations and the Union of Jewish Women, and the goodwill promoted between Jew and non-Jew as a result. Both looked forward to the continuance of the close cooperation between the Union of Jewish Women and their organizations.

Mrs. Sylvia Silverman, national president of the Union of Jewish Women for the past four years, reviewed the progress of the organization in her presidential report. She said the Union now had some 60 branches in centers all over the country, from the large cities to many small country towns. Branches pursue a variety of work — participation in fund-raising for projects sponsored by the Union at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; the Women’s Campaign for South African Jewry’s United Communal Fund, the financial backbone of the Jewish community’s main organizations; participation in welfare activities, both Jewish and non-Jewish; promotion of interfaith goodwill; and extension of Jewish knowledge and consciousness through the Union’s adult education division.