ANC stalwart Mathews Phosa lauds Jewish community for role in liberation struggle
South Africa is free today from the shackles of apartheid because of the contribution of the Jewish community, says ANC stalwart Mathews Phosa.
ANC stalwart and former first Premier of Mpumalanga Dr Mathews Phosa has lauded the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) for the role it played in the liberation struggle.
Phosa was speaking at a gala dinner to mark 120 years of the existence of the board and forthrightly told a packed Wanderers Club venue that the board had contributed remarkably to the struggle to topple the apartheid regime.
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“The Jewish people not only contributed immensely to the liberation but also played an unparalleled role in the development of this country through their values of non-racialism and inclusivity which still epitomise the values of a democratic South Africa.
“They often told us that emancipation from apartheid bondage would not be given but would be through blood, sweat and tears but as a young leader, I later realised that violence brings the worst out of us and peace brings the best out of us,” Phosa said.
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Phosa urged the Jewish community to continue to support the shared vision of the country, resent divisiveness and continue on the road to a united South Africa as one nation, saying, “Let the spirit of peace and unity prevail and let the spirit of Ubuntu continue to prevail.”
Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis of London in the United Kingdom, who is also a former South African resident, congratulated the Jewish community in South Africa for its unwavering 120 years of service to its community and the broader South African community under exceptionally trying times and circumstances under apartheid.
“We [the Jews] must continue to play our role as the beacon of light for all nations of the world and pray for peace and the salvation of the innocent souls in troubled lands,” Mirvis said.
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