OPINION: With FW de Klerk’s passing, we should commit ourselves to fighting racism again
South Africa's chief rabbi Warren Goldstein reflects on the death of South Africa's last apartheid-era president
Warren Goldstein is the chief rabbi of South Africa
I will never forget how moving it was to watch the broadcast of President FW de Klerk’s speech at the opening of Parliament in February 1990, where he announced the dismantling of the apartheid laws, the freeing of Nelson Mandela and the opening of formal negotiations that led to the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994.
I distinctly remember the profound sense of hope that filled the country, as de Klerk found the courage to repudiate the racist policies that he himself had supported throughout his career as a senior politician in the National Party, which created and perpetuated apartheid.
He had to find the resolve to smash the idols of racism that he and his party had worshipped for decades.
Together with his partner, and later fellow Nobel Peace Laureate, Nelson Mandela, he defied the odds to give birth to a vibrant constitutional democracy through peaceful negotiations against all the predictions of a racial civil war.
Mandela and de Klerk taught us that if both sides truly desire peace, it can be achieved through mutual respect and good faith negotiations. They guided their followers to make the painful compromises so desperately needed to forge the new South Africa – a diverse nation with a shared vision founded on equality, dignity and freedom for all.
As Mandela said on de Klerk’s 70th birthday: “If we two old or aging men have any lessons for our country and for the world, it is that solutions to conflicts can only be found if adversaries are fundamentally prepared to accept the integrity of one another.”
De Klerk’s passing is an appropriate moment to reflect on the power of mutual respect and commitment to peaceful negotiations to resolve any conflict, no matter how bitter, and to rededicate ourselves to the mission expressed in Pirkei Avot, of “loving peace, pursuing peace and loving all people”.
It is also a moment to reflect on the evil apartheid system, and to reaffirm the equal dignity of all human beings.
The Divine teachings of our Torah have, for thousands of years, guided us to grasp the evil of racism long before it became so widely accepted. Right from the beginning, we learn that all of humanity is descended from Adam and Eve.
The mishna boldly declares that it is for the very purpose of eradicating racism and attitudes of racial superiority that God created all human beings from one common father and mother – to emphasise that we are indeed all brothers and sisters.
But it goes deeper than biology and heredity. The Torah says that we are created in God’s image; that our souls are in some way a reflection of the Divine.
This is captured in Pirkei Avot, which says: “Beloved is the human being created in God’s image” – in other words, the essence of every human being is a Godly soul.
The end of apartheid is a crucial chapter in the story of humanity’s embrace of these sacred values. Let us seize this moment of de Klerk’s passing to recommit ourselves to these values, which we can never take for granted, and which are often under assault in different parts of the world.
Let this be a moment for all of humanity to rally together as brothers and sisters to reaffirm and rededicate ourselves to mutual respect and dignity for all, and to strive for peace for all humankind.
Warren Goldstein is the chief rabbi of South Africa
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
