President of the RJC takes part in the International Jewish Conference in RSA
President of the Russian Jewish Congress Yuri Kanner has participated in the Conference of presidents of leading Jewish organizations of the USA and Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) in the RSA as a part of the joint delegation. The delegation was headed by the EAJC leader Alexander Mashkevich and president of the Conference Alan Solow.
The mission also included representatives of the World Jewish Congress, NCSJ, B'nai Brith, HIAS and several other Jewish organizations from America.
The extensive program included meetings with public and political leaders of Republic of South Africa. The delegation of Jewish leaders showed its great interest in the peculiarities of life in the country after the abolition of the apartheid regime. The delegation was interested in the political, economic and social aspects of life in the country, it’s past and present. Furthermore the delegation was introduced to the situation in the Jewish community life in RSA.
The agenda of the meeting with the leaders of the ruling party of South Africa - African National Congress of South Africa – included discussion on the policy toward Israel and Iran
President of Republic of South Africa (1989-1994), Nobel Prize winner Frederik Willem De Klerk spoke of the fall of apartheid regime, how Nelson Mandela was released. He also warmly recalled his consultations with M. S. Gorbachev. The delegation also visited the Apartheid Museum, which demonstrated the history of struggle against racial segregation and discrimination.
Representatives of the present government of South Africa held several meetings with the delegation. Vice-President of Republic of South Africa Dalia Motlande and Foreign Minister Sue van de Merwe described the modern history of South Africa, the changes toward democracy and the processes of "reconciliation" and equating the rights of all citizens of Republic of South Africa. Meetings with the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Jeff Radebe and Deputy Chief Judge of the Constitutional Court Mr. Moseneka were dedicated to the problems of establishing the constitutional order in South Africa, the formation of the Constitutional Court and process of election of judges.
Economic issues were discussed with the Reserve Bank of South Africa director Gill Marcus, who spoke about the current state of the economy of Republic of South Africa and its integration into the global economy. Cyril Ramafos, the representative of Black Economic Empowerment, spoke of the problems of black people entering the business environment.
In the course of the visit the delegation met with leaders of the African Jewish Congress. The meeting included representatives of Jewries from Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Swaziland, Republic of South Africa. Each of them spoke of the situation and the size of the Jewish community in his country.
The delegation was introduced to the Jewry life in South Africa while visiting the community center in Johannesburg (BeYahad) and in Cape Town. The Jewish donators support the project of Maafrik Tikkun in the poor settlement Mfuleni. It helps young orphans, AIDS patients and less educated people find the place in life with very poor starting conditions.
Photo: President of the RJC Yuri Kanner and Minister of Justice of South Africa Jeff Radebe
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