Rosh Hashanah 2009 - South African Jewish Board of Deputies

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JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2009men and women whose objective in life is to rescueas many Yiddish books as possible from death byneglect. They find their purpose in life by the nobleproject of collecting volumes of Yiddish works byliterally going from house to house and apartment toapartment in Jewish neighbourhoods. There theyrequest permission to load their rented truck withtomes by famous authors, regardless of the conditionof their booty. Often, these books had been rotting inattics or basements for years, uncared for and mouldy,ready for the dumpster.Occasionally, these young people would comeupon real prizes: books by Sholem Aleichem, SholemAsch, I.L. Peretz, and other celebrated Jewish writers.Such ‘finds’ made the arduous work doublyworthwhile.According to Viktor Frankel and otherphilosophers, having a worthwhile goal in life is oneof the most important ingredients of living a moralexistence. Such existentialists as Karl Jaspers, Jean-Paul Sartre and Paul Tillich emphasize that the‘commitment’ or ‘project’ is paramount in choosingthe summum bonum. In fact, the atheist wing ofexistentialism considers the choice of a project theonly salvation open to man in an indifferent world.Thoughts of this kind come to mind as one reads thepages of this wonderful book.Nor does the reader have to be Jewish to appreciatethis inspiring tale. Just as it is not necessary to beJewish to like “gefilte fish” or to be Italian to care forpasta, so it is of no importance to be of the Jewishpersuasion to find value and great humour inOutwitting History. Yes, humour: for many of thevisits this team of cultural heroes paid to Jewishhomes are not only moving but also highly amusingbecause of the receptions they frequently experienced.The dialogue between the collectors and the donorsof the books, more often than not held in Yiddish, isalmost always funny. In such cases, it must beadmitted, some knowledge of the Yiddish language,with its hilarious jargon, is of course advantageous.The claims made in favour of the book on thepages preceding the Foreword are justifiablyimpressive. The reader will find them neitherextravagant nor prodigal - on the contrary. Theadventure the team undertook is both praiseworthyand heart-warming. Readers with a sentimentalfeeling for the Yiddish language will not only applaudthe cause behind the venture but also the pricelessstyle of the author. This reviewer favours publicrecognition of the young people who gave theirenergy and time to the effort of salvaging a culturaltreasure. No wonder the Israeli leadership, which atfirst sought to discourage Yiddish as allegedlycompeting with Hebrew, has begun to have secondthoughts.Aaron Lansky, Outwitting History, Algonquin Books ofChapel Hill, 2005, 245pp.ON THE CONTRARY - LEADING THE OPPOSITION IN ADEMOCRATIC SOUTH AFRICA*Ralph ZulmanAt a launch of this book in Johannesburg, theauthor Tony Leon said that, if nothing else, it wouldprove useful for throwing at an intruder. On theContrary - Leading the Opposition in a DemocraticSouth Africa is indeed a very bulky tome, running tosome 766 pages divided into five distinct parts,together with an introduction, appendix, notes,numerous photographs and an index. It is, however,certainly much more useful than simply as a bulkyobject to throw at a would-be intruder.On the Contrary provides a fascinating insightinto the very active career of Tony Leon, leader of theOfficial Opposition in South Africa for eight years.Destined from early life as the son of a High CourtJudge to make a major impact as an ironclad liberal,he has confronted the challenges of change head-on,leaving the political arena strewn with defeatedMr. Justice Ralph Zulman is a long-serving memberof the editorial board of and contributor to JewishAffairs.adversaries and of old-style conservatives content tolet human rights slip for the sake of an easy life.Nelson Mandela described Leon’s contributionto democracy as being enormous, writing to him:“…you have far more support for all you have donethen you might ever read about”. When Leon retiredfrom Parliament in February 2009, fellow MP, RyanCoetzee commented that history would rememberhim for his singular achievement in coming veryclose to being indispensable in the creation of acritical opposition in South Africa.In the introduction, headed “On GoldenNotebooks”, the author states that the title of thebook came to him as he pondered why it was that hehad spent all his political life in opposition, as it were,and that the book consisted of “a pulling together ofmy personal threads, background experiences,political impulses, and my rather definite views onSouth Africa and the wider world it shares, after my22 years in public life.”Part One, headed “The Path to Leadership”, is55
JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2009divided into five chapters (incidentally, each chapterof the book commences with an appropriate quotationfrom such well-known figures as Winston Churchill,Saul Bellow, Albert Camus, Karl M, TheodoreRoosevelt and Chief Justice Ismail Mahomed). Inthe first, Leon describes his origins and background.Himself a third generation South African, his rootsare firmly Litvak. Most of his forebears can tracetheir origins to the Pale of Settlement, created in1791 by Catherine the Great. His maternalgrandfather, Samuel Herman (Sam), was one of ninechildren born in Kovno, Lithuania. He arrived inCape Town in 1912. Shortly after the First WorldWar, the Hermans moved to Johannesburg. Sam andhis brother-in-law, Louis Traub, established asuccessful firm of wholesale wool merchants, Herman& Traub. The family first lived in Saratoga Avenuein Doornfontein, a suburb which at the time attractedmany Jewish immigrants. In 1923, Sam marriedRachel Kowarsky, whose family had immigrated toSouth Africa from Vilnius, Lithuania. In 1929 Leon’smother, Sheila Jean, was born. She married Leon’sfather, Ramon (Ray), in March 1954. Ray, then anadvocate, was later to become a judge in Natal. Hisforebears were not dissimilar in origin to those onLeon’s maternal side. Leon’s parents divorced in1965. His mother was married three times and hisfather twice. Leon married Michal, a divorcee, in2000.Leon attended King David High School,Linksfield, for a short time. Previous to this, he hadbeen exposed in Natal to a completely seculareducation. He had learned his barmitzvah portion byheart using a tape recorder and, on High Holidaysattended, largely unwillingly, the Durban synagogue.He says that he identified later in life with a famousBritish politician Lord Keith Joseph who, on beingasked about what sort of Jew he was, responded,“…minimally practising but maximallyacknowledging”. Leon certainly respondedmaximally as a Jew, vigorously defending Jewishcauses and fighting strongly against antisemitismwherever he encountered it. He was a frequent speakerat functions organised by the SA Jewish Board ofDeputies, amongst many other Jewish organisationsIn Chapter Two, entitled “Dancing withDialectics”, Leon describes his close on twenty-yearinvolvement with the University of the Witwatersrandand the rebuff of his attempts to become president ofthe Student’s Representative Council. He deals withhis brief entry into the practicing legal profession asan articled clerk, his interaction with leading membersof the Bar and his time in the South African army andnavy.Chapter Three begins with the author’s entry intopolitics. This commenced with his victory in aFebruary 1986 by-election for the JohannesburgCity Council. He stood against another Jew, SamBloomberg (National Party), and succeeded by amere 39 votes in a poll of 31%. His career inmunicipal politics culminated with his victory, againover another Jew, M Rosen, in October 1989, by anoverall majority of 1599 and his subsequent electionas leader of the Progressive Federal Party in theCouncil. The chapter also deals with Leon’s clasheswith the veteran, and greatly admired, Jewishpolitician, Harry Schwarz.Chapter Five chronicles some of the author’sactivities, flowing from what he describes as the “theBattle of Houghton” and ends with his unopposedelection, with acclamation, as the single leader of theDemocratic Party. He won the nomination to representthe Houghton constituency despite opposition fromthe late Helen Suzman. The latter had occupied theseat for many years and favoured Irene Menel for thenomination. Suzman complained that “Mr Leon’slobbying effort to achieve nomination madeTammany Hall look like a teddy bears’ picnic”. Sherepeated the remark in the 1994 update of hermemoirs. Leon never responded in public, butregarded her comment as “grossly unfair, inflatedand unjustified”. Although 1989 propelled him intonational and parliamentary politics, Leon continuedto immerse himself in his civic leadership role.Part Two of the book deals succinctly, in twochapters respectively headed “New South Africa,New Leader” and “Constitutional Palimpsest”. InPart Three, the reader is treated to the author’sincisive and detailed discussion of the followingtopics: Zimbabwe, corrosion in the corridors ofparliament, the judges, the media and “the Lady”(Winnie Madikizela-Mandela). Part Four describesLeon’s role as Leader of the Opposition and hiseventual handover to Helen Zille.In the final part of the book, Leon presents hisviews on the future. His comments on Jacob Zuma(bearing in that the book was written before thecharges against Zuma were withdrawn in April 2009)are of particular interest. He writes: “In the event ofZuma being prosecuted successfully, even his deathdefyingpolitical skills may well not be sufficient toensure his presidential candidacy in 2009. ShouldZuma prevail, most South Africans have no clearidea where he will lead the country. For some, thewords ‘President Zuma’ are an unnerving prospect”.It would be most interesting to hear Leon’s viewsupon the withdrawal of the charges.The author concludes the book with the followingprophetic words:Whatever shape South Africa’s new leadershiptakes, immense challenges have to be met. Dowe want to be nostalgically remembered as afading footnote in world history, commemoratedfor one big thing we got right in 1994 - but witha sense of aching possibility about opportunitieslost, dreams deferred and goals missed sincethen? Or will we become, perhaps, againstexpectation, a success story of renewal, takingour place in the front row of winning nations,applying thoughtful policies and best practiceswith equal measures of good governance andself- restraint, transcending the divisions andiniquities of our history? …The future isimperfect, but it is ours to make.56
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