OUR ANCESTORS, WHO CAME TO THIS
COUNTRY FLEEING PERSECUTION, NOT
KNOWING THE LANGUAGE OR CULTURE,
OFTEN HAVING LEFT THEIR FAMILIES
BEHIND, WORKED HARD AND MADE IT. I
THINK WE NEED TO GET OVER OURSELVES,
PUT IN THE EFFORT, AND MAKE AMAZING
THINGS HAPPEN. PAUL HARRIS
Schlosberg says, in all likelihood, children
who have difficulty getting into the courses
of study and universities they want in
South Africa would almost certainly not be
accepted into similar programmes elsewhere in the world, as such things are very
competitive everywhere. Harris compares
the situation to playing a match on an uphill field – one team starts out playing uphill, but at the half, the teams switch sides
and then it’s the other team’s turn to have
that uphill disadvantage. And Harris
echoes Schlosberg’s sentiments, “The really
exceptional people do get into university
programmes. In most overseas environments, you have to be exceptional to get in
– it’s not a cake walk anywhere.”
Garber says, “In the private sector, top
people have no difficulty in finding employment. Yes, the bar has been raised and the
challenges are higher, but it’s still possible
to get into universities and get the right
jobs with the right experience, qualifications, skills and, above all, tenacity.” Sieff
agrees, “There are a multitude of options
and opportunities for good students and
the world is increasingly a small place… online local and international universities offer a high standard of education,” and are
another option that can be pursued.
APPRECIATE WHAT WE
HAVE HERE
We also need to focus on how good we’ve
got it here in many ways. Sassoon maintains, “South Africa is a great place to raise
children. It has so much to offer in terms
of community, open spaces, climate, domestic help, affordability, etc.”
“It’s the warmth, the cohesiveness, and
the harmonies that exist within the Jewish community of South Africa that separates us from the rest of the world,” explains Garber.
And Schlosberg adds, “With the exception
of Israel, there’s not a Jewish community
anywhere else in the world which operates
in greater freedom, with less interference,
with less general expressions of anti-Semitism and under more respect than ours in
South Africa. Perhaps, the American Jewish
community may, on the face of it, have similar advantages, but there’s a huge assimilation rate there and, for that reason alone, I
rate our community as being far superior.”
Sieff notes, “We are blessed to have a
highly competent and effective community structure looking after our current and
future needs.”
And Kluk echoes this, “South Africa
continues to be a very good place for Jews
to be,” with levels of anti-Semitism that
are “strikingly low in comparison with
other major Diaspora communities, and a
place where Jews can with relative ease
and safety… live full, open Jewish lives
while still fully participating in the affairs
of the wider society.”
Harris tells his own children, “I give you
roots and I give you wings. The wings can
go wherever you want, but at the end of
the day, there’s a lot to be said for having
roots. Roots make for happiness, stability,
and camaraderie. Don’t forget your roots.”
THE MARTIANS ARE COMING…
TO DINNER
Schlosberg tells how some time ago, he
and his wife were having dinner in a garden with some other couples. Throughout
the evening, at one time or another, they
spoke about “the many negative issues
that we have to deal with in South Africa,
which on their own, are very irritating and
all of which, with decent governance,
could have been avoided or improved”.
It was a beautiful summer evening. Either
one or both of the spouses in each couple
had good, safe jobs. All of the families were
going on nice summer holidays, some local,
some abroad. They all drove nice cars, which
were parked in the street. They were sitting
outside in a garden with no armed guards
hovering around. None of them were going
to be escorted home by armoured vehicles.
All of their children were in good schools –
mostly private, but at least one was in a government school. All Schlosberg could think
of was, “If a Martian suddenly landed next
to us and heard our complaints and knew
about what the rest of our lives were like,
the Martian would think he’d landed in a lunatic asylum!”
Maybe we just need an alien invasion to
help us see things more positively. JL
IF A MARTIAN SUDDENLY LANDED
NEXT TO US AND HEARD OUR
COMPLAINTS AND KNEW ABOUT WHAT
THE REST OF OUR LIVES WERE LIKE,
THE MARTIAN WOULD THINK HE’D
LANDED IN A LUNATIC ASYLUM!
JONATHAN SCHLOSBERG
JEWISH LIFE QISSUE 87 13