SAJBD hosts conference in Sandton to recognise great work

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies hosted its annual national conference at the Sandton Shul on 20 August.

Spokesperson for the board, Charisse Zeifert said, “In 1986, at a time when key apartheid laws were still in force and South Africa was wracked by political unrest that impacted severely on black education, Molly Smith and Lesley Rosenberg were instrumental in establishing and subsequently heading up the Mitzvah School.”

The school has assisted schoolchildren from Alexandra to complete their final year of schooling, achieving stellar results. The conference also saw numerous students from the school’s previous year’s attend.

In her speech, Rosenberg said, “What started for us as a ‘Mitzvah’ for one year in 1987 has turned into a 30-year dedication with huge rewards for everyone involved.”

“Over the past, about 10 out of 12 years, we achieved a 100 per cent pass rate. We not only have a high pass rate, but more importantly, have achieved a high number of bachelors or university passes. This enables the learners to go onto tertiary education. Last year we had one learner who obtained seven distinctions.

“It has been my privilege to be part of the lives of young people who have made their way in life in spite of their difficult backgrounds.”

The event also hosted Advocate Thuli Madonsela, who gave a speech entitled ‘On re-imaging our democracy’. Madonsela said that it is incumbent on all of us to stand up where those in government have forsaken the original ideals we had for our democracy, and to reimagine our democracy.

Community member John Moshal and long-time board staff member, Shirley Beagle received the Eric Samson Mendel Kaplan Communal Service Award. Moshal was honoured for his work with the JAKaMAR Trust, a Moshal family humanitarian foundation set up by himself and his wife, Anna, which runs various projects including numerous HIV/Aids training projects and scholarship programmes in KwaZulu-Natal.

Edited by Stacey Woensdregt

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