I WAS once a member of a Johannesburg congregation headed by an American-born rabbi, Norman Bernhard. He was a fine man and was my rabbi and my friend. Then, one day, he suddenly dropped me.
Months later I met him by chance and he explained his mysterious disappearance from my life: his work permit had been withdrawn, and he had learnt from government officials that it was because of his sermons against apartheid and his friendship with me.
As he had abandoned me, I assumed he had also stopped speaking against apartheid.
The same Rabbi Bernhard congratulated Percy Yutar from the pulpit on being appointed to a high legal office. I protested and Bernhard said he had to do it because, as the rabbi, he could not “take sides”.
My reply was he knew from what I had been privately telling him what a government lickspittle Yutar was; I accused Bernhard of “collaboration”.
This, clearly, is not the same Rabbi Bernhard, American-born and head of a Johannesburg congregation, whose admirable letter describing his consistent and courageous opposition to apartheid was published in your newspaper last week. – Benjamin Pogrund, Johannesburg
BRIEFLY
IF my memory serves me well , the use of race for the purpose of gaining access to scarce resources like land for private ownership was supposed to be a punishable offence in the new South Africa. Today it pays to be ethnic if you want to claim land. It pays to be a “Griqua”, as opposed to being a “Cape coloured” or just a “kleurling”.
Why does it seem like race is on the rise in the not-so-new South Africa? Have we all lost copies of the Freedom Charter, or is it some form of collective amnesia? When people said the new world order meant the world under the control of a racist hegemony, I thought it was a joke. Today I know it is at our doorstep. – Pat Dooms, Hillbrow
WHAT is happening to the three scientists’ Virodene drug? The scientists revealed what could be a great discovery, of great relief to people affected by Aids.
The government and medical organisations are raising doubts about the validity of the drug and have stopped the scientists from continued testing, even though people have sworn the drug has brought some improvement in their health. These scientists are only asking for a quarter of what the government approved for Sarafina II. We should give them a chance.- Gladwell Thobile Ndzube, Guguletu
BUSINESS MAIL’S well-informed article by Professor Rob Davies (March 27 to April 3) told the truth about the few economic benefits we may have from qualified membership of Lom.
I am particularly anxious about Spain’s demands for its fishing vessels’ access to South African fishing grounds. We have to prevent Spain getting access to our fishing grounds. Fish was known as South Africa’s cheap food but is today more expensive than meat.
I am glad Namibia refused Spain’s demands. Foreign vessels come to our fishing grounds with steel rakes, rob our fishing grounds and leave our people to starve. I trust Minister Pallo Jordan will attend to this matter. – Ray Alexander Simons, Cape Town
AS a former ANC member, I align myself with General Bantu Holomisa’s initiative to start a new party. The ANC has not only failed the masses, delivered nothing of its promises (the RDP and Masakhane are nothing more than public relations exercises) and allowed rampant crime to engulf the country, but has also shown a very ugly face of authoritarianism and corruption.
If people continue to support the ANC just because it is the ANC, we will drift into an authoritarian one-party state. – GJ Selikow
ENDS