Premier Henrik Verwoerd, winding up his campaign on tomorrow’s referendum to determine whether the Union of South Africa should become a Republic, declared in Pretoria today that Israel was a country which had “learned to work with its hands as well as its head.”
“In a small land, mostly desert, a state had to be built which could become strong only if it could house large numbers,” he stated. “Man, woman and child built the future for that land and defended it with a weapon in one hand and a plough in the other.”
In a speech in Capetown he called upon the Afrikaaner and English sections to vote for a Republic. “I also appeal to those of other origins–Jews, Lebanese, Germans, everyone. You have chosen South Africa as your new land because you seek a future for your children. Vote for the republic so you can share in the future of your new fatherland,” he said.
These friendly references to Jews and to Israel were followed by attempts of sone opposition leaders to induce Jewish voters to vote against the republic proposal by bringing up the record of the Nationalist party during the Hitler years when the party followed an anti-Jewish policy..
Such efforts were deplored by well-known Jewish figures such as Nicolai Kirschner, former Zionist leader, and Isaac Goodman, president of the Johannesburg Jewish Guild, in press correspondence as falsely injecting a “Jewish issue” into the campaign “where none belongs.”
Mr. Goodman stressed that since attaining power in 1948, the Nationalist party had followed completely the policy of all prior Union governments of treating South African Jews as equal citizens without discrimination. The Board of Deputies of South African Jews previously issued a statement reaffirming that Jews voted as citizens and not as a group and that there was no Jewish vote.
Canvassers for both sides claimed promises of a “heavy Jewish vote” in the balloting tomorrow. It was indicated, however, that the estimated 60,000 South African Jewish voters would in general follow their various party affiliations in their vote with out any consideration for any “Jewish” vote.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
