African Outpost
OL
Botswanas Jewish community is small, but on the rise.
MOIRA SCHNEIDER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Ca e Town, South Africa
t's not clear if his country's Jews
will ever need the favor, but at
least Festus Mogae will have a
shofar to lend for High Holiday
services.
The African Jewish Congress, which
was in Botswana to meet with con-
stituents, also met with Mogae,
Botswana's president, and presented him-
•
with the ram's horn.
The AJC, which. is affiliated with the
World Jewish Congress, was founded by
the South African Jewish Board of
Deputies in 1992 to look after the inter-
ests of the small and far-flung Jewish
communities of sub-Saharan Africa.
The makeup of Botswana's 70-person
Jewish community — the youngest
organized Jewish community in Africa
and the only growing one — has
changed considerably over the years.
At one time, it consisted largely of
transient Israelis. Today, the majority are
former South Africans who have made
their homes in the capital city of
Gaborone, largely due to financial
incentives provided by the government
and its "zero tolerance attitude to
crime.
At the "very cordial" Dec. 1 meeting,
AJC President Mervyn Smith told
Mogae that the group felt it was impor-
tant to ask African leaders to stand solid-
ly
terrorism and to be vigilant
b
, against
0
against attacks on Jews and Jewish insti-
tutions.
"The president assured us that com-
bating terrorism was a priority of his
country, that the Jewish community had
always been held in high regard in
Botswana and that his government
would not tolerate any form of anti-
Semitism," Smith told JTA upon his
return to South Africa.
1
Israeli Ties
Botswana's government enjoys good
relations with Israel, partly because
many of its members have attended vari-
ous training courses in the Jewish state.
In addition, an agreement was reached
with Israel in 1995 under which Israeli
agricultural experts are helping to devel-
op Botswana's largely barren desert land.
12/26
2003
66
Also attending the meeting were
Botswana businessman Michael
Goldberg and Richard Lyons, the only
Jew who is currently a "Motswana,"
or full citizen of the country.
A prominent lawyer who recently
was appointed honorary consul for
Israel, Lyons maintains close relations
with Mogae and his government, as
well as with the parliamentary opposi-
tion.
Botswana Jews hold religious servic-
es in a specially designated room in
Gaborone's only fully kosher home,
but the community is keen to build a
synagogue. At the meeting, Goldberg
and Lyons asked that land be given to
the community for this purpose, and
Mogae said the government would
consider the request.
As the visit to the president took
place on World AIDS Day, much of
the discussion centered on the coun-
try's policies on the disease. Botswana
has the world's highest known rate of
HIV-AIDS infection, with around 33
percent of the population affected.
"I congratulated
the president on
their very progres-
sive program to
combat AIDS,"
Smith said.
Mogae went into
detail on the coun-
try's policies, the
difficulties they
have with AIDS
orphans and moth-
er-to-child trans-
mission of the
infection and other
issues, Smith said.
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Good Relations
Smith said the
Members of the African Jewish Congress meet with Botswana's president, Festus Mogae, fourth fiom
community did
left, and local Jewish leaders.
not appear to be
concerned about
press asking "minyan makers" to contact
performed a bat mitzvah the day before
the future of Jewish life in Botswana,
them
elicited an encouraging response.
the
AJC
visit.
and "in fact went out of their way to say
Before
long, a community newsletter,
Silberhaft
and
Murray
Simon,
an
that the relations between them and the
regular
services and social events were up
Arnerican
who
was
in
Botswana
to
assist
local Muslim community were very
and
running.
with
educational
projects,
were
responsi-
,good."
Today, Botswanas Jewish community
ble for getting organized Jewish life off
The community doesn't have its own
is
one of the few where he has been
the
ground
at
the
beginning
of
the
rabbi, so Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, the
required
to officiate only at celebratory
1990s.
AJC's South Africa-based spiritual
life
cycle
events, Silberhaft noted.
Their
advertisement
in
the
Gaborone
leader, officiates at life cycle events. He