South African Jews Are Elated by Overwhelming Vote for Reform

South African Jews are elated by the overwhelming 68.7 percent “yes” vote for political reform in Tuesday’s nationwide referendum on the country’s future.

Although South Africa’s 118,000 Jews are little more than 2 percent of the population, they played a disproportionate role in support of President F.W. de Klerk’s appeal to the white electorate for a mandate to continue reforms aimed at abolishing apartheid and achieving a non-racial democratic society.

The results in urban areas, where most Jews live, showed up to 85 percent support for the government’s policy.

The results were announced regularly throughout Wednesday, culminating in a speech by de Klerk, who declared: “Today we have closed the book on apartheid.”

The strength of South African Jewry’s commitment to reform was evident when its representative body, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, urged a “yes” vote, the first time in 44 years that it had taken a stand on a political issue.

Members of the Jewish community were highly visible at polling stations throughout the country both as workers and voters. At the 11th hour, the Chabad movement of Lubavitcher Hasidim called for a “yes” vote.

There was a feeling of relief among many Jews. They had feared that a majority vote against reform would be seen as a victory for right-wing extremists, who are known for their anti-Semitism, and might force Jews to emigrate.

‘GREAT VICTORY FOR HUMAN DECENCY’

Mervyn Smith, national chairman of the Jewish Board of Deputies, congratulated President de Klerk on his “landslide victory” Tuesday.

“It is a vote for a positive future, for all in South Africa. The president has now been given a mandate to continue with meaningful negotiations,” he said.

“I am particularly pleased that the far right, with its neo-Nazi posturing, has been firmly put in its place,” Smith added, referring to the opposition Conservative Party’s strident appeals to whites to reject reform.

After the “yes” victory, Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the Jewish community had been “extremely positive” in its attitude toward the referendum.

“It is a great victory for human decency and common sense, and makes the new South Africa a real prospect,” he said.

Seymour Kopelowitz, national director of the Board of Deputies, said it is “time for all to heal the wounds and hurt of the past in order to work together to build new South Africa.”

Helen Suzman, a former member of Parliament for the opposition Progressive Party and a veteran in the struggle against apartheid, stressed in a South African Television interview Wednesday that the voters had rejected the bitter lesson of the apartheid policy. They had faced up to reality and taken the future into their hands, she said.

Suzman explained that South Africans want to get back to investment, economic growth and jobs. “White South Africans are sick and tired of isolation,” she said.