Fallen ANC stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was remembered at a Jewish freedom celebration at the synagogue in Glenhazel.
Ben Swartz of the South African Friends of Israel and the South African Zionist Federation equated the South African struggle for liberation to the bondage and enslavement of the Jews in Egypt more than 3 000 years ago under the powerful rule of the pharaohs.
Read: A fiery send-off for the mother of the nation Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
The ANC veteran was remembered for her forthright approach and confronting the apartheid police whenever they committed brutalities against the defenceless black majority in their struggle for freedom.
“Winnie was the courageous voice and symbol of the oppressed in South Africa,” he said.
“She suffered horrendous injustices at the hands of the apartheid regime, just the same way that Jews were treated in Egypt and whatever form of torture and banishment she endured, Winnie never forgot her people and she soldiered on.”
Born in Mbizana in the Eastern Cape, Madikizela-Mandela died on 2 April at the Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg after a short illness and was buried at the Fourways Memorial Park.
He also paid tribute to another fallen struggle icon and first minister of social development Dr Zola Skweyiya who died on 11 April.
“These are just some of the many people who fought for the freedom we enjoy today, one of whom is former President Nelson Mandela, who would have turned a 100 years old this year…”
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