(Author: Marlene Bethlehem, Vol. 69, No. 2, Rosh Hashanah 2014)
On 1 January 2004, I commenced my first term as the Jewish community representative on the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Commission (CRL Commission). Established in mid-2003 in terms of Act No. 19 of 2000, the purpose of the Commission is to safeguard the rights of South Africa’s many diverse ethnic, religious and cultural groupings and to build bridges of friendship and understanding between them. I was formally nominated to represent the Jewish community on it by the late Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris and the SAJBD, and was one of seventeen commissioners chosen out of some 300 nominees. Shortly thereafter, I was appointed by President Thabo Mbeki to serve as its first Deputy Chairperson1 during my first five-year term (2004-9) and in all served on the Commission for ten years and one month, completing my second term at the beginning of 2014.
Although appointed on a full time basis, other commitments prevented me from taking on this role, and hence I opted to serve on permanent part time basis, coming into the office every Monday and Tuesday. Personal responsibilities included arranging for the official CRL Commission launch at its Isle of Houghton premises, chairing the Programme Committee, convening both the Task Team for Staff Stabilisation and the Human Resource Team and arranging team-building exercises.
One of the Commission’s most memorable early achievements was to bring about reconciliation between the San and Nama in the Kgalagardi (Kalahari), who had been bitterly divided for over a century because of an incident in which 34 Nama children of mixed descent were murdered by the San. Another, later, accomplishment was being instrumental in ending the practice of using existing graves for new burials without first obtaining the permission of the relevant families. As a result of a lack of space for graves in KwaZulu-Natal, a practice of burying people on top of one another, without proper public consultation, had been instituted by a certain municipality. The Commission was able to deal successfully with this problem, with the result that the Premier of KZN instructed the municipality not to continue such practices. This was also made a national order through the SA Local Government Association (SALGA).
on top of one another, without proper public consultation, had been instituted by a certain municipality. The Commission was able to deal successfully with this problem, with the result that the Premier of KZN instructed the municipality not to continue such practices. This was also made a national order through the SA Local Government Association (SALGA).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] Marlene Bethlehem representing the CRL Commission at the launch of the annual Cycalive event, where learners from Torah Academy and other Gauteng schools cycle from Johannesburg to Durban as a community building and fundraising exercise. During me two terms of office, I represented the Commission at a wide range of local and international forums. These included meetings of South African Women in Dialogue, the South African Human Rights Commission, Independent Electoral Committee, National House of Traditional Leaders, Commission for Gender Equality, the 4th World Congress of Rural Women (held in Durban, 2007), the Lwlapanda Business Intelligence Institute and the African Ombudsman association. I delivered papers at a number of other events, including at the Lebach Institute for Jewish-Arab Coexistence through Education at Tel Aviv University (entitled “Changing Intellectual Landscape”), a Sukyo Mahikari Organisation symposium (“Early Childhood Development as a Nation Building Mechanism for Future Leadership”), a Johannesburg University Seminar on the Role of Women in Religion, where I presented the Jewish perspective, and the Union of Jewish Women International Seminar. I further participated in meetings with delegations from China, including the Cultural Affairs Department, of the British Council Human Rights Commissioners, from Angola, the Human Rights Commissioner from Ghana and the Charge D’ Affairs from Singapore. Inevitably, there were setbacks and disappointments as well. The biggest disappointment for me was the refusal of the plenary to allow my research on the “Role of Sport in nation Building” to be published, although I had obtained permission before I embarked on the contents. Many important lessons have been learned over the first ten years of the Commission’s existence, and these can and must be utilized for the progress and continuity of the CRL Commission going forward. The Constitutional mandate of the Commission continues to be as important today as it was when the Constitution was adopted in 1996. Cases of hate speech and lack of tolerance continue to be on the nations’ agenda. The importance of the development of diminished heritages is underscored by our turbulent history. Society needs to pause and think a little more carefully before swinging into self-righteous condemnation of other people’s cultural traditions and beliefs. There are no ‘superior’ or ‘inferior’ traditions. They’re just different.We must try to find ways in which to reaffirm the value of indigenous faiths and to make people aware of them. Rigorous interfaith dialogue is required. We must not be afraid of focusing on issues that divide us, but at the same time must debate them with honesty and respect. Finally, involvement calls for honesty, openness and above all, a readiness to compromise. Looking back on my ten years with the CRL Commission, while there were inevitable disappointments along the way, it was a wonderful learning and growth experience for me personally and a great privilege to have been able to represent the Jewish community. Not only was I able to make friends all over the country, but it made me, in a very meaning sense, truly feel like a complete South African. Marlene Bethlehem is a veteran of over forty years of Jewish communal service, including being the first woman to serve as national chairperson of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (1995-9). She is a long-serving member of the editorial board of Jewish Affairs. 
NOTES
