S. Africa's Jews praise president's greetings

Motlanthe wishes for country's Jews to be "inscribed in the Book of Life."

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
MOTLANTHE 66 (photo credit: )
MOTLANTHE 66
(photo credit: )
South African Jews have been encouraged by "warm and appropriate" messages from the country's new leadership regarding both the Jewish community and the Middle East, according to the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD). In his first week of office, newly appointed President Kgalema Motlanthe sent Rosh Hashana greetings to the Jewish community. Motlanthe noted "the renewal that comes with Rosh Hashana," and said that, in this spirit, the South African government and nation "proclaim to the Jewish community that you have earned your place in the South African nation as equal citizens... On the occasion of Rosh Hashana, we are committed to living together in peace and harmony with our Jewish brothers and sisters. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life." In a statement issued on Tuesday, SAJBD's national director Wendy Khan noted that the Jewish community has a long-standing relationship with Motlanthe, who has participated in numerous Jewish communal forums over the past several years. Following a recent meeting with the Board, ANC President Jacob Zuma had sent a letter reiterating that his party "categorically supported a two-state solution as a model of peace between Israel and the Palestinians," that it recognized Israel's right to exist as a sovereign state, and that it would "similarly promote and encourage the establishment of a viable Palestinian state at the earliest possible time." These principles, Khan noted, were also broadly echoed by Foreign Minister Dr. Dlamini Zuma in her remarks to the UN General Assembly on September 29. Zev Krengel, chairman of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, noted that while times of transition were always difficult, recent events had reflected a healthy democracy in action. He expressed optimism over the future working relationship between both the new government and the ANC and the Jewish leadership, in building, as Zuma had expressed it, "a more united, prosperous and successful South Africa."