The South African Jewish Board of Deputies denied today press reports published abroad that Prime Minister B.J. Vorster slurred the Board in a recent speech in which he allegedly referred to it as a “secret society.” A statement by the Board said that a careful reading of Vorster’s remarks made it clear that he did not intend criticism of the Jewish Board of Deputies when he likened it to the Broederbond.
“Mr. Vorster claimed in essence that the Broederbond was an Afrikaaner organization which promoted the interests of the Afrikaans-speaking community, just as the Board of Deputies and the Hellenic organizations promoted the interests of their respective communities,” the Board’s statement said.
The Board noted that the analogy drawn by Vorster between the Broederbond and the Board of Deputies and other organizations and the propriety of his mentioning the Board of Deputies in that context have been called into question by various political leaders and sections of the press in South Africa.
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