05-December-2013 - SA Jewish Report

218 SA JEWISH REPORT Community Columns6 December 2013 –- 17 08 January June 2012 2014AriellahRosenbergORT JETBusinessMentorshipManager.I am honouredand humbled tobe appointed chiefexecutive officer ofORT SA. I have workedat ORT SA, the NGOin education andvocational training,whose vision is“Educating for Life”, for the past 10 yearsand have come to appreciate the importanceof education for the upliftment of thepeople of South Africa.As Benjamin Disraeli noted: “Upon theeducation of the people of this country, thefate of this country depends.”According to the World Bank Report, theeconomic growth of a country is affectedpositively by its quality of education.“Education is more than luxury; it is aresponsibility that society owes to itself,”said Robin Cook, American physician andnovelist.A column of ORT South AfricaThe vision is for ORTSA to expand itsimpact and scaleIt is for this reason that ORT SA, throughits divisions of Educator Empowerment,Jewish Entrepreneurial Training (JET),Vocational & Enterprise Development andthe IT Academy together with ORT SA Cape,play a very important role in South Africa.The sound, professional reputation thatORT SA has built up over the years, hasonly been made possible by the generouscontributions and support of funders,donors, networks of volunteers andprofessionals.My vision for ORT SA is that it expandsits impact and scales up its work, both at aprovincial and national level.If you want to join this remarkableorganisation as a volunteer, supporter ordonor, or even if you just want to send yourcomments and suggestions to me, pleasedon’t hesitate to e-mail ariellah@ortsa.org.za or find me on Twitter on @Ariellah,Please join ORT SA on the FacebookCommunity Group.This column is paid for by ORT SAI am not just abright spark.Above BoardMary KlukNational ChairmanA column of the SA Jewish Board of DeputiesLooking back on 2013This being the last issueof the SA Jewish Reportfor 2013, it is appropriateto look back on theyear that was and whatI believe to have beenthe main achievementsof the SAJBD duringthat time.As always, it wasby no means an easyyear. For the Board’sleadership, every dayis a challenge, with difficultdecisions havingcontinually to be made on a range of complexissues. There were, naturally, some disappointmentsand not a little frustration on occasion,but at the end of it all we are gratified by themany things we were able to accomplish.At the beginning of April, many months of effortby the Board and other organisation it hadpartnered with came to a satisfactory conclusionwith the resolution of the long-runningWest Bank labelling dispute.Cabinet’s final ruling on how goods fromJewish areas of East Jerusalem and the WestBank should be labelled in future, was fully inline with our submissions to Government thatthe wording of such labelling be neutral anddescriptive rather than having a political biasagainst Israel.Another good outcome to something thathad a very bad beginning, was the resoundingresponse to the Yossi Reshef debacle, where arecital by the Israeli-born pianist was broken upby anti-Israel demonstrators.With the full support of the university, thiswas followed up by the Israeli Daniel Zamir jazzquartet performing in the Great Hall, which waspacked to capacity for the occasion.It sent out a powerful message that neitherour community nor the university itself willtolerate infringements on its right to freedomof expression on campus.At the time of writing, a ruling has been madeby the disciplinary enquiry against 11 studentsinvolved in the Reshef affair, and formal sentencingwill be made later this week.Especially memorable was the success of theBoard’s 110th anniversary gala dinner. Amongthe 450 guests who joined in celebrating thismilestone, were many government ministers,religious leaders, members of the diplomaticcorps, journalists and civil society representativesfrom a wide range of NGOs.It was a heartening demonstration of theesteem in which both the Board and the Jewishcommunity is held throughout society.Some issues that we have been grappling withare still ongoing. During the year, Deputy MinisterMarius Fransman made a number of offensiveand inflammatory public remarks aboutthe Jewish community and its leadership. Thematter is now being adjudicated upon by the SAHuman Rights Commission, following a formalcomplaint lodged against him by the Board.On a more positive and proactive note, theBoard recently kicked off what will be a series ofevents relating to next year’s elections and thecelebration of 20 years of democracy in SouthAfrica.This included a national voter registrationcampaign and collaborating with the RabbiCyril Harris Community Centre in hostingthree highly successful book launches focusingon issues very much of concern to us as SouthAfrican citizens.I look forward to reporting on the many excitingevents we have planned in the new calendaryear. In the meantime, I thank all those whohave rendered such invaluable support to myselfand the Board in general during the past 12months and wish everyone an enjoyable, fulfillingand safe end-of-year break.• Listen to Charisse Zeifert on Jewish Board Talk,101.9 ChaiFM every Friday 12:00 - 13:00.This column is paid for by the SA Jewish Board of DeputiesWIZO pays tribute to itsdedicated stalwartsLAUREN PHILLIPSAt Grant Thornton, we don’t just recruit brain power. We also look forsustainable energy that keeps our bottom line growing.We recruit people with a passion for business, who combine reason and instinctto give the kind of advice that makes a real difference to the organisationsthey work with. They know it’s about more than just the numbers, it’s aboutenjoying tough challenges, seeking out opportunities and adding real value toour clients by unlocking their potential for growth.Visit www.gtcareers.co.za to find out more.www.gt.co.za© 2013 Grant Thornton South Africa. All rights reserved. Grant Thornton South Africa is a member firm ofGrant Thornton International Ltd (‘Grant Thornton International’).Annette Price and Marcia Parness havebeen made joint honorary life presidentsby WIZO Johannesburg, for their life-longcommitment and dedication to WIZO, atthe organisation’s culminating functionfor the year at Inyoni Creek. The functiontook place on November 19.A welcome address was given by NavaGonen (chairman of WIZO Johannesburg).Lorraine Rosmarin and Lee Joffe wereappointed as additional joint honorarylife vice-presidents, together with MusheKirsh, for their vital contribution to WIZOSouth Africa.Tamar Lazarus (president of WIZO SA)handed out the prestigious Rebecca Sieffawards for long service and commitment.The recipients were Zee Bergman;Wendy Roth; Sheila Bogatie; andLorraine Shein, for 40 years’ service;Joyce Chodos-Kruger; Elaine Smith; JaneLevitas; and Zelia Abramson for 50 years;and Annette Price for 60 years.A special tribute was paid to peoplewho have been exceptional supportersof WIZO and who contributed eitherwith their valuable time, expertise, orwith generous donations throughout theyears.Eileen Wainer entertained the audienceand the occasion ended with the singingof Hatikvah.Annette Price; Tamar Lazarus; and Marcia Parness.Photo by Joe YudelowitzJewish Report_bright_spark.indd 12013/11/04 3:21 PM