THE SA JEWISH BOARD OF DEPUTIES
FREEDOM for all
The Freedom Charter celebrates its
diamond anniversary
BY WENDY KAHN
Former president Kgalema Motlanthe, Leon Levy, mayor Parks Tau, and Zev Krengel
THE FAMOUS WORDS OF THE FREEDOM CHARTER,
formerly adopted at the Congress of the
People in Kliptown on 26 June 1955, start
with: “We, the people of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to
know: that South Africa belongs to all who
live in it.” This visionary document became
the cornerstone of our country’s Constitution and ultimately the foundation of our
democracy.
The Freedom Charter is as relevant today
as it was 60 years ago and is something
that we at the SAJBD refer to frequently
when asserting our rights to hold certain
views and beliefs.
We were privileged to have as our keynote speaker former president of SA Kgalema Motlanthe, who, in his address, made
mention of many prominent members of
the South African Jewish community who
suffered so much for the liberation of the
country. One name he mentioned was
Leon Levy, one of the five signatories of
the Freedom Charter and the other speaker on the night.
Levy shared with us his vivid memories
of that day in Kliptown, when this pivotal
document was signed: “Sunday 26 June
was a bright and clear winter’s day. Early in
the morning delegates from every province
in the country began to arrive, first in
28 JEWISH LIFE QISSUE 87
small numbers and then in large groups.
The size of the assembled crowd rose to
between 2 000 and 3 000 delegates. There
was much to discuss about the future type
of society for South Africans. There was
the draft of a freedom charter, which was
crafted from thousands of demands written on scraps of paper at hundreds of
meetings held in factories and farms,
townships, rural areas, universities and
wherever people lived or worked.
“They talked in many different languages and in their own way about the right to
vote and stand for election, equality for all
national groups, sharing the wealth of the
country, and the land for those who work
it, equality before the law, human rights,
work, and education, housing, peace and
friendship, and so on.”
He described the Freedom Charter as
enduring, “as a democratic beacon which
proudly belongs to all of us”.
Motlanthe spoke about the Torah:
“Among the holiest books in Judaism is a
moral blueprint on how to live a good and
honest life. Not only is it a book about laws
governing a person’s relationship with G-d,
but it is also about laws relating to how to
treat other people. It addresses fundamental values such as the sanctity of life, justice
and equality, kindness and generosity, the
value of education and social responsibility.
Interestingly, these are the values the Freedom Charter champions. In this regard, I
am confident that the Jewish community
will continue in the vein of the above
names to make this a better country for all
its people and posterity.”
Mayor Parks Tau, who also attended the
event, called on the Jewish community to
work with him in achieving the goals of
the Freedom Charter.
A few days after this moving and memorable event, the SAJBD was invited to attend the Freedom Charter 60th Anniversary celebrations in Kliptown. It was such
a privilege celebrating this milestone with
South Africans whose lives were changed
by that powerful document; albeit only 40
years later. Joining in with the singing
and dancing of this special occasion, we
watched as our country’s leadership arrived to pay tribute to the principles of
the Freedom Charter.
Our community, along with all South Africans, need to celebrate and cherish the
principles of this document and remember always that “South Africa belongs to
all who live in it”. JL
Wendy Kahn and Karen Milner and at the Freedom
Charter Celebration in Kliptown
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