SOUTH AFRICA | President of the South African Board of Jewish Deputies, Chair of the Africa Australia Jewish Congress, and WJC Vice President Mary Kluk discusses the precarious circumstances South Africa has faced since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and shares some the proactive resources the Jewish community has managed to consolidate through the galvanization of community leadership in the country in recent weeks to help contend with the crisis and the accompanying uncertainty.
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Jewish Congress is fully committed to supporting our Jewish communities across the globe as they confront the unprecedented challenges caused by this global crisis and are doing everything in our power to ensure that all Jews everywhere, individually and as communities, are secure, defended and protected as we all go through the vulnerabilities of what we hope and pray will be a short-lived new reality.
The COVID-19 crisis has forced Jewish communities across the globe to redirect their activities to the digital sphere to enable them to provide critical up-to-date information and resources on urgent matters: the supply and accessibility of kosher for Passover food; religious rulings pertaining to video conferencing to conduct a virtual Seder; guidelines for burials and mourning practices while in isolation; and important, potentially life-saving community updates.
Our communities and the members of the WJC’s Jewish Diplomatic Corps have truly embraced the ancient Talmudic principle of Kol Israel Arevim Zeh la-Zeh, all Jews are responsible for one another.
For more on how COVID-19 is impacting the Jewish world, please click here.
