Reconciliation and Healing: A South African Jewish Perspective

outh African politics has seen However, even Orania has now many unusual incidents over been brought into the new South Af- S the years, but none could rica. The situation arose when Presi- match the visit of President Nelson dent Nelson Mandela invited Mrs. Mandela to Orania in August 1995. Venvoerd to join a lunch with the Orania, a small town in the midst of spouses of other previous heads of the vast upper Karoo, is the place to state of South Africa. She declined be- which the white bittereinders ("bitter cause of her advanced age and the dis- endersn-those not willing to recon- tance to Johannesburg. Then, as a cile with the new order) of the apart- newspaper account put it, "faithful to heid era fled to avoid integration. The the Boer tradition of hospitality, she group included Betsie Venvoerd, the threw in a proforma invitation of the 94-year-old widow of Hendrik Ver- 'drop-in-for-tea-if-you're-ever-in-the- woerd, former president of the Na- area' variety. She apparently failed to tional Party of South Africa and the appreciate she was dealing with a man principal architect of apartheid. The who engineered a people's freedom group hoisted the flag of the 19th- from a cup of tea."' century Transvaal Boer Republic, President Mandela promptly ac- erected a statue of Hendrik Venvoerd cepted Mrs. Verwoerd's invitation on a nearby hill, and placed a "strictly and came to Orania. Orania's civil private" sign at the entrance to the leaders gathered in their Sunday best settlement. as the new president of South Africa

Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan is Associate Rabbi at Congregation Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He also teaches in the Department of Hebrew Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is a Research Fellow at the Center for Jewish Studies at UWM. From 1994 to 1997 he served as Rabbi at Temple Israel, Green Point, Cape Town, South Africa, and was a Research Associate at the Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies and Research at the University of Cape Town.

76 Spring 1999 The Reconstructionist arrived via a South African Airforce the former East Germany-that one Puma helicopter. Mrs. Verwoerd must open all the files and bring all greeted him on the steps of the nearby the dirt out into the open before the community center and, after a cup of nation can move on. "Only psychiat- tea and a number of speeches-Mrs. rically ill persons disassociate them- Verwoerd requested that Mandela selves from the past," she said, and consider the concept of an Afrikaner they "end up with severe mental prob- Volkstaat with sympathy-they took lems. We cannot afford a national a tour of the town. When they psychotic state as a basis for a future reached the statue of Hendrik Ver- South Africa. We have to come to woerd and Mandela saw the smallish terms with our past, warts and all- stone features of the man who, during and forgive but not forget."3 his life, had cast such a huge shadow The process of healing emotional over the lives of tens of millions of wounds was recognized in the Torah. South Africans, he blurted out, In parashat Vayigash (Gen. 44: 18-47: "You've made him very small." 27) Joseph orders that his goblet be Let the Reconciliation Begin placed in the knapsack of his youngest brother, Benjamin. After the brothers Whether intentional or not, the begin their trek back to their father in sentiment expressed in this light- the land of Israel, Joseph sends Egyp- hearted comment gives- some indica- tian officials after them, searches tion as to what is needed before South them, and has them arrested. The Africa can move forward with confi- brothers plead with Joseph to spare dence, tackle the sensitive issues of the Benjamin, and Judah begs Joseph to past, and embark on the process of enslave him rather than Benjamin. healing. Apart from the ability to be They stress to Joseph, whom they able to look back with forgiveness and have not identified as their brother, compassion, healing takes many that if they return without Benjamin, forms. In South Africa an entire na- their father will die of grief. Joseph is tion is now trying to heal the wounds touched by this outpouring of emo- of more than 40 years of oppression tion, and he tells his attendants to and discrimination. leave him alone with his brothers. As In a fervent appeal for a focus on soon as the attendants leave, he reveals healing, Mamphela Ramphele, Vice his identity to them: "I am Joseph" Chancellor of the University of Cape (Gen. 45:3). Town, spoke of the tremendous diffi- It is crucial to recall that these are culty of managing the process of tran- the same brothers who had stripped sition from authoritarian rule to de- Joseph of his "amazing technicolor mocracy, saying, "South Africa needs dreamcoat" and had thrown him into healing as a matter of urgency."2 a pit to be eaten by a wild animal or However, in order to heal, she said, die of thirst. Then they sold him into one must learn about what has hap- slavery, fully cognizant of the fact that pened. This was what was learned in the fate of a slave in Egyptian society

The Reconstructionist Spring 1999 77 was usually a tragic one (Gen. 37:l- run in the fields near his mother's hut, 40:23). free to swim in the clear steam that When Joseph reveals his identity to ran through his village, free to roast his brothers, the brothers are stunned mealies under the stars and ride on the and terror-stricken. This was the broad backs of slow-moving bulls.* brother they had left to die and then Mandela writes that it was only sold into slavery. Surely he will want when he began to learn that his boy- revenge. Joseph, however, is com- hood freedom was an illusion that he pletely conciliatory. He tells them, "I began to hunger for that freedom. At am your brother Joseph, he whom first he wanted freedom only for him- you sold into Egypt. Now, do not be self, and then for his family. But then distressed or reproach yourselves be- he began to hunger for the freedom of cause you sold me hither; it was to his tribe, the Xhosa people. Then, in save life that God sent me ahead of prison: you" (Gen. 45:5). This amazingly reconciliatory atti- It was during those long and tude has puzzled readers over the cen- lonely years that my hunger for turies. How could Joseph behave so the freedom of my own people civilly-in fact, warmly-to the same became a hunger for the free- brothers who had acted callously and dom of all people, white and cruelly toward him? black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor This is a remarkable parallel to the - - response of Nelson Mandela to Betsie must be liberated just as surely Venvoerd. Mrs. Venvoerd, of course, as the oppressed. A man who did not play any active role in Man- takes away another man's free- dela's imprisonment, but she certainly dom is a prisoner of hatred, he symbolizes the white opposition of is locked behind the bars of blacks that was institutionalized for so prejudice and narrow-minded- long in South Africa. Just as their ness. I am not truly free if I am meeting was a gesture of understand- taking away someone else's ing between these two individuals, freedom. Just as surely as I am many South Africans believe that ev- not free when my freedom is eryone in the nation must make simi- taken from me. The oppressed lar gestures. and the oppressor alike are Mandela has consistently provided robbed of their community.5 a model for this; he stresses the need In a remarkable statement of accep- for healing and reconciliation tance and tolerance, Mandela writes throughout his written works and that when he left prison, he wanted to speeches. In a memorable passage in free both the persecutor and the per- his autobiography, Mandela writes secuted: that he was not born with a hunger to be free. He was born free-free in ev- When I walked out of prison, ery way that he could know. Free to that was my mission, to liber-

78 Spring 1999 The Reconstructionist ate the oppressed and the op- Much of the South African public pressor both. Some say that has accepts the need for catharsis and now been achieved. But I trusts the leadership of the TRC's know that that is not the case. chairman, Anglican Archbishop Des- The truth is that we are not yet mond Tutu. For many years, during free; we have merely achieved and after apartheid, Tutu has been the the freedom to be free, the focus of hope for racial justice in right not to be oppressed. We South Africa. Since his ordination in have not taken the final step of 1961, he has been a leading- voice of our journey, but the first step reason, compassion, and faith during on a longer and even more dif- the dark years of apartheid oppres- ficult road. For to be free is not sion. As a president of All Africa Con- merely to cast off one's chains, ference of Churches and in many but to live in a way that re- other roles, Tutu has been a defender spects and enhances the free- of human rights not only in South dom of others. The true test of Africa but throughout the continent. our devotion to freedom is just In 1995 the Archbishop addressed beginning6 my congregation, Temple Israel in Green Point, Cape Town. Spealung The Truth and eloquently and with great humor, it Reconciliation Commission was clear that he had prepared his re- marks specifically for a Jewish congre- To initiate the formal healing and gation. In particular, he quoted from reconciliation process, President Man- the prophets, citing the obligation of dela established the Truth and Recon- all to seek out justice and fight against ciliation Commission (TRC), which injustice. Tutu remarked that if he was created in 1995 and is expected to and his fellow Christians took this continue its work through 1999. The message seriously and applied it to the goal of the TRC is to: struggle against apartheid, then the real "fault" lies with Jews-for having- . . . provide for the investiga- given such morally inspiring senti- tion of the nature, causes and ments to the world. The moral assault extent of goss violations of hu- on the evils of apartheid had been man rights which occurred fought and won. The almost miracu- during the conflicts of the past. lous transformation had been at- It will also attempt to restore tempted and had been successful be- the civil and human dignity of yond anyone's greatest hopes. victims and will grant amnesty In general- the new South Africa is a to those who have committed country full of people of good will and certain political crimes. In this with a sincere desire to achieve recon- way the Commission will seek ciliation. However, it is clear to most to promote national unity and observers that the reconciliation pro- reconciliation.' cess must be paired with an equally

The Reconstructionist Spring 1979 79 important goal, the redistribution of all South Africans, is on track and resources to equalize the gross eco- shows signs of delivering-albeit nomic inequities that were created slowly-on its many promises.10 As and/or reinforced under apartheid. early as 1995, for example, just one Since the transition from apartheid to year after the elections, more than democracy has been made, a great deal 28,000 people had been employed has been accomplished, accomplish- through affirmative-action programs; ments that skeptics had said were im- four million residents had been given possible. Indeed, the very fact that access to potable water; 6 14 municipal forces that had been locked in appar- service upgrading projects were mak- ent irreconcilable conflict had found a ing life much more comfortable for way to negotiate a path to a demo- more than three million people; chil- cratic constitution has been a tremen- dren, pregnant women, and lactating dous success in itself. mothers had received free health care; Further, the specter of a potential three-and-a-half million children were civil war has disappeared from South being fed daily; and housing projects Africa's vision of its future. For and other infrastructure developments whites, none of the worst-case sce- were being built." narios have come to pass. In particu- These efforts are consistent with lar, no large-scale nationalization of the underlying values of Judaism, as property has occurred. This in itself is expressed by authors such as Michael a major accomplishment, because Lerner. Lerner has written that Juda- most South African blacks have abso- ism presents the world with a chal- lutely nothing. Further, there were no lenge. According to Lerner, Judaism mass attacks on whites. This fear of preaches that the world can and violent retribution underlay the tre- should be fundamentally changed. He mendous sense of doom that many believes that our central goal is tikun whites felt. There was not even a gen- olam, the healing and transformation eral increase in the rate of taxation.' of the world.12 Indeed, various Jewish The Mandela government has been communal organizations have become working to equalize the health care involved in the reshaping of South Af- system for the vast majority of people rica. In his testimony before the TRC in the country by getting running wa- in November 1997, Chief Rabbi Cyril ter into homes, introducing nutrition Harris cited a number of programs programs for some five million under the broad umbrella of tikun, a chronically malnourished children, Hebrew word meaning "repairing" or using health care resources for pri- "trying to put things right." These in- mary care rather than expensive op- clude the Mitzvah Bin, where Jewish erations, and promoting affordable housewives buy extra food and deliver health care for the mass market.9 it to a synagogue distribution center, to The Reconstruction and Develop- be given to the hungry. Welfare projects ment Programme, which the govern- include helping support a home for the ment states will create a better life for mentally and physically handicapped in

80 Spring 1999 The Reconstructionist Alexandra Township and a similar come the epicenter of protest against home in Johannesburg. An agricul- apartheid in the 1970s, and many of tural project at Rietfontein is based on these protests had ended with beatings the principle of empowerment.I3 and, inevitably, arrests. Other tikun projects include solar At this induction religious leaders heating development, water preserva- from at least seven faiths-including tion, and crop planting There are ed- African traditional clerics and Chris- ucational programs in schools in black tian, Moslem, Hindu, Jewish, and neighborhoods, pre-school enrich- Buddhist clergy-presided over the ment programs, adult literacy pro- service and gave their blessings to the grams, and teacher training programs. commissioners in a dedication and Jewish business people are also sharing blessing ceremony. The service began their entrepreneurial and banking with Minister of Justice Dullah Omar skills with young people. Harris con- lighting a candle of peace while the cluded with, "It is our job as religious congregation, composed of members people to try to apply the anti- of a great number of faiths and philo- dotes . . . to display the best that hu- sophical perspectives, sang the historic man beings can do to fellow human American civil rights movement pro- beings . . . . If Apartheid was divisive, test song "We Shall Overcome." In- the antidote is building bridges, and cluded was the third verse, which is so coming togetherpa togetherness relevant in the South Af rlcan' context: which will spell the great future of our "The truth will set us free someday 1 country. ~14 Oh deep in my heart I do believe we shall overcome someday." The Induction of the TRC The seventeen commissioners of the TRC represented a wide cross- It is my belief that the miracle that section of the South African popula- has occurred in South Africa over the tion, with most of the country's racial past few years can give us all a re- groups represented. At the induction, newed hope that we may yet live to each of the seventeen commissioners see healing throughout the world. was called by name, came forward, and This belief was reinforced during my received a candle and an olive branch. years in South Africa, where I served Each candle was then lit from the peace as rabbi at Temple Israel in Green candle, and the seventeen commission- Point, Cape Town, from 1994 to ers stood in a semi-circle facing the con- 1997. One of the greatest honors I gregation. The religious leaders, ac- received there was the invitation to be companied by ten-year-old Carmen one of the religious leaders inducting Esau of the Sea Point Primary School, the commissioners of the TRC in a then read the words of dedication: service in St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town on 13 February 1996. We call upon you who have The venue was especially appropriate, been appointed as commis- for St. George's Cathedral had be- sioners of the Truth and Rec-

The Reconstructionist Spring 1999 81 onciliation Commission to ac- terms with the past. To do this, Man- knowledge and recognize as a dela said, the task of the TRC would sacred trust the awesome re- be to deal with cases of gross human- sponsibility that has been given rights violations and to ensure that the to you. We pledge you our truth was laid bare. support and give you our bless- Mandela said he was confident that ing in the task that lies before the commissioners, together with the you. And we ask that, in your entire nation, would succeed in build- work for truth and reconcilia- ing national unity and reconciliation tion, you will be guided by a through confronting rather than wisdom greater than your own, avoiding this sensitive but important a wisdom that knows and en- history of apartheid repression: compasses all truth. Will you We are building a nation of dedicate to carry out unity and reconciliation, and the task that has been en- while some hold the view that trusted to you wirh the highest the past is best forgotten, un- integrity, with impartiality and covering the truth is an essen- compassion for all, for the pur- tial step for us to move to- pose of healing our nation? gether into the future as a nation; we all suffered, so as a The commissioners responded with "I nation we want to redeem and will," and the congregation pro- reconstruct ourselves. claimed, "Go forward in the light of truth, with our blessing." The reli- Reactions to the Establishment gious leaders then blessed the com- of the TRC missioners simultaneously in a stream of blessings. The establishment of the TRC was The chairman of the TRC, Arch- based on the final clause of South Af- bishop Desmond Tutu, then spoke of rica's interim constitution, thus pro- the tremendous task facing the TRC. viding a historic bridge between the He became so emotional that he past of a deeply divided society char- added, "I don't tend to be speechless, acterized by strife, injustice, terrible as you know, but I am tongue-tied conflict, and untold suffering, and a because I think all of us have been future founded on democracy and the quite overwhelmed by what has hap- recognition of the human rights of all. pened here." The South African society of the fu- Then President Nelson Mandela ture would promote the peaceful co- addressed the gathering, stating that existence of all South Africans-black, the whole of the South African nation white, colored, Indian, and all others. had suffered and that the only way for Further, in contrast to the policy pur- all the people of the country to come sued by the apartheid government of together as a united nation of peace creating divisions among racial groups would be for everyone to come to in order to control them. the new

82 Spring 1999 The Reconstructionist South African society would pursue an opportunity to relate their own ac- peaceful coexistence. count of the human rights violations However, in order to have peaceful they suffered. Finally, at the conclu- coexistence, the TRC has recognized sion of the process, the TRC compile that it is terribly important to achieve a comprehensive report not only de- a reconciliation among the various tailing the crimes and atrocities of the groups that were deliberately played past but also recommending measures against the other during the apartheid to prevent the violation of human years. This reconciliation must go rights in the future. hand in hand with the economic re- Many South Africans, white as well construction of society, which re- as black, understood the vital role that sulted in the planning of the recon- uncovering the crimes of the apart- struction and development program heid government could have in mentioned earlier. The establishment achieving national reconciliation. of the TRC has led to ongoing discus- Others, however, feared that the in- - - sion and debate among South Afri- vestigation would only inflame ha- cans about how exactly to achieve the tred. A number of Orthodox rabbis reconciliation and healing that most held this latter view. Rabbi Ivan South Africans hunger for. Lerner, Senior Minister of the Clare- The objectives of the TRC are to mont (Orthodox) Hebrew Congrega- promote national unity and reconcili- tion in Cape Town, wrote to one of ation in a spirit of understanding. The Cape Town's major newspapers, the TRC has been mandated to try to es- Cape Times,that "the Truth Commis- tablish as complete a picture as pos- sion will only serve to divide and dis- sible of the causes, nature, and extent tract South Africans from the critical of human rights violations committed and vital business of securing a future since 1 March 1960, shortly before for ourselves and our children." ' the Sharpeville Massacre. Its attempt This letter initiated considerable was to include the antecedents, cir- controversy in the South African cumstances, factors, and contexts of press, prompting Lerner to write sev- all human rights- violations. Further, eral rejoinders." In another letter, he the TRC has the power to grant am- stated that if Archbishop Tutu could nesty to people who are willing to urge Jews to forgive Nazis for the make full disclosure of any knowledge murder of six million Jews-because they may have had about acts associ- the Bible advocates and encourages ated with political objectives. Interest- reconciliation and forgiveness-then ingly, this amnesty was not based on a Tutu should apply the same standards prerequisite of expressing remorse. to those guilty of racial crimes in Another task of the TRC is to es- South Africa's past.17 However, it is tablish and make known the fate or my view that this ignores the crucial whereabouts of victims of the apart- fact that the TRC is charged precisely heid repression. The TRC would also with establishing the evidence in order provide a forum to give such victims to understand the past. The TRC has

The Reconstructionist Spring 1999 83 the authority to grant amnesty to the order of the day. Only by bringing most types of political criminals. to the fore the horrors of past human Thus, it is not a vehicle for persecu- rights- violations and abuses and com- tion and revenge, but rather one for ing to terms with them, will it be pos- historical research and forgiveness. sible to establish the rule of law and Lerner further wrote that an am- culture of human rights.'"' nesty needed to be granted for all Further responses to Lerner's com- events that occurred in the apartheid ments were quick in coming. The years and that investigation of such Reverend Peter Storey, bishop of the crimes would not make any contri- Central District of the Methodist bution whatsoever toward reconcilia- Church in Johannesburg, wrote that tion and unity. He feared that the Lerner's criticism of the TRC "dem- TRC would stir up the anger and ani- onstrates how dangerously this enter- mosity of the many groups who are prise is being misunderstood."" Sto- "still uncomfortable with ANC [Afri- rey wrote that Lerner's thesis-that can National Congresslmajority rule." South Africa's fragile, political miracle Rabbi Lerner recommended that was in danger of being shattered by a Archbishop Tutu and President Man- political circus that would divide dela jointly urge that the TRC be dis- South Africans from each other-was banded before any significant "dam- exactly what propagandists from the age" is done. apartheid regime wanted everyone to Lerner's letters stirred up heated believe: that the TRC was an obstacle debate among both leaders in the to reconciliation rather than a vehicle broader community and ordinary citi- for it. zens concerned for the future of the Storey admitted that the TRC was country. Three leading Jewish intel- a risky venture, and it could go badly lectuals, Professors Milton Shan and wrong, but for the very opposite rea- Sally Frankental of the University of sons that Lerner gave. Storey argued, " . Cape Town, and Professor Jeremy it is an immensely courageous at- Sarkin of the University of the West- tempt to deal honestly, rather than ex- ern Cape responded immediately, say- pediently, with the process of cleans- ing that the proposition that the TRC ing and forgiveness."20 The Bible and will have harmful consequences dem- later theological expositions agree that onstrates ignorance of the TRC's ob- reconciliation with God as well as jectives and capabilities. Such a view, with other people can only happen they believe, is based on the notion when we have remembered our sin, that burying the past will have no and repented fully. negative consequence, as if distancing Storey also argued that Rabbi oneself from the past allows it to dis- Lerner made the fundamental mistake appear harmlessly. "Without the pro- of confusing forgiving with forgetting cesses envisioned in the workings- of Using Lerner's own example of the the Commission," they wrote, "re- Holocaust, Storey wrote that it is very venge, anger and resentment will be important that the world not forget

84 Spring I999 The Reconstructionist the horror of the murder of millions our awareness of the suffering of Jews, noting that it is frightening we caused in the past. Unless how numerous right-wing ideologues the whole, ghastly litany of have attempted to deny that the Ho- past wrongs is brought to the locaust ever happened. Storey argued surface in a way that cannot be that if the greatest crime in human deigned, these wrongs will history can be denied, how much continue to seep out like bur- more the crimes of apartheid? I sup- ied toxic waste into our news- port Storey's argument. It seems to papers for decades to come.21 me that moving on without a full dis- closure of the past will only leave the Among the other responses to terrible anxiety of the past unresolved, Lerner's challenge was the Cape Times and this can only produce dissonance editorial: and conflict in the future. Finally, Storey argued that the Rabbi Lerner's letter reflects TRC offers the possibility of a double the concerns of a significant healing for the past. Unlike the section of conservative white Niirelnberg trials after World War I1 opinion, but a section which, or the Eichman trial in Israel in the regrettably, is almost wholly early 1960s, the TRC offers the of- out of touch with feelings in fenders the opportunity to confess and the black community. The be granted amnesty. This is why Sto- commission's main concern is rey titled his article "Truth Commis- to establish the historical truth sion's Forgiveness is Amazing Grace." and place it on record . . . . Ac- Possibly the most controversial of knowledgment of the truth is Storey's comments was the following: needed if reconciliation is to be genuine and lasting.22 When many white South Afri- cans speak enthusiastically about The Cape Times argued that one of our "miracle," they refer not so the most crucial purposes of the TRC much to the liberation of our was to help the families of black vic- land from bondage as to the tims, who may not know what hap- fact that it happened with so pened to their loved ones, to learn the little inconvenience to them- circumstances of their deaths. This selves. may help to ease the pain of loss and They didn't feel the bond- restore the dignity of the memories of age. They lived comfortably those who died. Further, the acknowl- with apartheid and feel little edgment of the truth of what hap- discomfort now. The degree to pened to these victims may help fu- which any white South African ture generations of South Africans to can truly celebrate our libera- be alert to such abuses and avoid them tion (and beconle part of our in time. new nation) is in direct ratio to Another intellectual in the Jewish

The Reconstructionist Spring 1999 85 community, Gerald Gordon, a legal distinguished Professor Charles Villa- scholar and writer of literary fiction, Vicencio, professor of religion and so- also responded to Lerner's arti~le.~"ciety at the University of Cape Town, Gordon seconded Storey's view that who wrote that true reconciliation is a Lerner's error was that he has con- deeply spiritual exercise that cannot fused forgiveness and forgetfulness. bypass the passion of the past. He Gordon wrote that if Lerner had re- wrote that in both Christianity and lied on what Archbishop Tutu told his Judaism this process involves the ac- Israeli hosts when he visited Jerusalem knowledgment or confession of pilt, in 1989-that the time was well over- genuine remorse, commitment to due for the Jews to forgive the Nazis change, and restitution. This repen- and the same standard should be ap- tance is the formula for real forgive- plied to those guilty of South Africa's ness. Villa-Vicencio also wrote that racial crimes-then he had misunder- while Lerner's eagerness to forget the stood Tutu's message. According to haunting memories of the apartheid Gordon, Archbishop Tutu meant that years will only offer temporary relief, Jews should not forget what the Nazis such amnesia will, in the long term, did in the Holocaust, but only that bury the burden of the past, and this they should forgive. is likely to erupt each time the nation Gordon also suggested that if Lern- experiences a racial, social, or political er's advice were to be followed, there crisis. 24 might be very little documentary evi- In his later letters, Lerner wrote dence of the apartheid crimes, and that a small, nonpolitical commission this might enable apartheid revision- made up of internationally respected ists to present warped and distorted jurists who have served on various hu- views of South African history. Ac- man rights commissions would have cording to Gordon, the only real way been preferable to the TRC. He of preventing the actual story of what doubted whether anyone who had happened from becoming a vague and lived in South Africa in the apartheid imprecise memory very quickly was to era could be objective about the po- commit it to a proper recording litical events that had occurred. through the gathering of historical Therefore, a truth commission com- data. The two main methods to gather posed of South Africans-who would these data are either through prosecu- inevitably use the data gathered- for tions in a court of law or establishing political purposes-was inappropriate a commission to hear evidence on the regardless of their particular positions crimes of apartheid from both those on political issues during the apart- who committed apartheid crimes as heid era. Rather, he believed that a well as those who suffered from those commission sponsored by the United atrocities. Clearly, he wrote, the best Nations, with the specific task of only course of action was the establishment gathering information, would be far of the TRC. more effective than the TRC. Another response came from the Certainly there were a number of

86 Spring 1999 The Reconstructionist writers who supported Lerner's views. that he understood the political rea- One such writer attacked the writer of sons that led to the establishment of the editorial in the Cape Times for his the TRC, but that there was nothing description of Lerner's position: in the constitution or in South Afri- can law that requires the victims to To dismiss his views as typify- forgive the perpetrators of apartheid ing "conservative white opin- crimes. Schoon wrote, "I am a victim ion" is impertinent. To state of heinous abuse. My wife and daugh- that he is out of touch with the ter were murdered by a self-confessed feelings of the black commu- killer of the apartheid regime,"27 nity is presumptuous. To lec- Schoon's comments highlighted ture a rabbi on the Holocaust the difficulty of attempting to achieve is so arrogant it leaves one a quasi-religious function through a speechless.25 civil institution. In a country that had The Process Begins been torn by strife and conflict along- racial lines and in which untold suf- Despite this controversy, as the fering occurred as a result of terrible TRC became operational, most injustices perpetuated by the govern- South Africans hoped that it would ment, the process of healing must, produce positive results. Almost im- inevitably, transcend a strictly legal mediately, the TRC began dealing basis. Nevertheless, when Marius with a number of sensitive issues. One Schoon wrote, "There is no feeling of was forgiveness. On Sunday, 31 forgiveness in my heart,"28 many sym- March 1996, Archbishop Desmond pathized with his feelings. His wife Tutu stated on prime-time television and daughter were murdered, and the that the victims of apartheid atrocities person responsible had confessed to should use Good Friday to forgive the crime. The natural inclination was those who had murdered their loved to want to see such a person punished, ones. At least that was how some of and it was understandable that Schoon the victims interpreted his remarks- did not want to place forgiveness before in particular, well-known Afrikaner justice. anti-apartheid activist and victim A second area of some concern was Marius ~choon.~' the feeling, in certain quarters, that Schoon wrote that: (1) as a reli- real reconciliation could only happen gious leader, Archbishop Tutu was if it went hand in hand with the pro- entitled to make an appeal of this na- cess of social and economic transfor- ture to those in his church; (2) as the mation. This meant that reconcilia- chairperson of the TRC, however, he tion berween whites and "non-whites" should not impose Christian ethical must be linked to far greater job op- values as the law of the land; and (3) portunities for those groups that had that Tutu's remarks moved toward been discriminated against under the the imposition of Christian views on apartheid regime. ~inisterof Justice all South Africans. Schoon also wrote Dullah Omar warned at a "Report

The Reconstructionist Spring 1999 87 from the Truth Commission" work- said, "The blacks are intent on blam- shop in Johannesburg: "The danger ing everything on apartheid. Why that arises is that the values of the old can't they start looking forward and order will continue to live on in the accept that they are making a mess of new democratic order and dominate the country. You can't blame every- this new ~rder."~' thing on something that happened so Omar pointed out that whites still long ago." dominated all aspects of society and Officially, however, the South Af- that true reconciliation would not be rican Jewish community went on rec- possible until there was substantial ord as supporting the work of the movement toward a more equitable TRC. In November 1997, Marlene economic order. This was a very seri- Bethlehem, Chairperson of the South ous point, because since the African African Jewish Board of Deputies, and National Congress (ANC) was voted Chief Rabbi Cyril E. Harris addressed into power, many whites have felt eco- the TRC. Speaking about the attempt nomically vulnerable, and an aggres- to pinpoint the failings of the various - - sive link between a moral reconcilia- groups concerning their collective be- tion and a dramatic change in the havior during the apartheid years, economic order would certainly. -put a Harris pointed out that the Jewish great strain on inter-race relations in community did not initiate apartheid, the new South Africa. that many Jews did not agree with apartheid, and that almost everyone in Jews and the TRC the Jewish community had a certain Jews, like most white South Afri- degree of awkward tension about cans, do not see the connection be- apartheid. However, he added, most tween media accounts of the TRC's members of the Jewish community work and their own lives. They want benefited from apartheid.30 to be left alone to live their quiet sub- Harris also noted that many Jewish urban lives, and they find jarring and individuals were not silent; they upsetting the constant intrusion of de- fought hard against apartheid and bate and discussion about the legacy were and are prominent in most of the of apartheid. This is true not so much anti-apartheid movements. He cited because of what it says about the suf- significant Jewish participation in fering of blacks but because of what it various protest groups, such as the threatens to do to their comfortable Five Freedoms Forum, the Jews for and complacent lifestyles. Justice (Cape Town), Jews for Social During my recent visit to South Justice (Johannesburg), and the Black Africa I frequently heard remarks like, Sash (national). However, Harris "We've been through four years of noted that the apartheid regime was this cathartic process of listening to an oppressive government, and the how awful apartheid was, but how Jewish community saw itself as a very much more are we going to have to small community surrounded by tolerate? It's enough!" One person much larger forces. Following the Ho-

88 e Spring 1999 The Reconstructionist locaust, if Jews felt afraid of govern- community to do everything ments, there was certainly justification possible to oppose apartheid. for that fear. Because of the Holo- Distancing oneself from the caust, and other such persecutions, anguished cry of the majority Jews all over the world have.a hyper- and myopically pursuing one's sensitivity to survival. own interest can never be mor- Nonetheless, Harris continued, the ally justified.32 silence of so many can connote acqui- Harris concluded by explaining escence and accommodation. He ar- that for him the pivotal issue of the gued that one of the most terrible TRC is how to turn what they are things about apartheid was that it so taking testimony on, the inequities of desensitized generally decent people the past, and turn it toward concrete to the fact that millions of other advantage for the future. The reason people were suffering so much. Harris that he believes that South African stated, "They were used to apartheid, Jews and all people in South Africa they accommodated themselves to it, must endeavor to understand the fail- they acquiesced in it."31 ings of past is so that people can be- Harris stressed that this did not come aware of their responsibilities in mean that he was condoning the si- the present in order to help repair the lence of the Jewish community during damage and to build a better future. It apartheid but that he was simply at- is not in spite ofthe past that we must tempting to explain it in order to ask do better today, but rather because of for others to understand the motiva- the past that we must do better to- tions and the background. He said: day."33

The Jewish community in Toward the Future South Africa confesses a collec- Despite the controversies about the tive failure to protest against work of the TRC, I believe that most apartheid. The situation here South Africans are still hopeful about was not one where the human the process of reconciliation and heal- rights of the minority were af- ing. One of the key ingredients of this fected-that in itself would process is forgiveness. I believe most have been wrong. It was one in would agree with the sentiments of which the human rights of the Archbishop Tutu on the topic of for- vast majority were systemati- giveness, written in a foreword to a cally and forcibly denied and collection of articles called Exploring was a monstrous aberration. Forgiveness: The entire thrust of Jewish moral teachings, together with Forgiveness is one of the key the essential lesson of Jewish ideas in this world. Forgiveness historical experience, as the is not just some nebulous, most consistent victim in the vague idea that one can easily world. should have moved the dismiss. It has to do with unit-

The Reconstructionist Spring 1999 89 ing people through practical For example, the TRC has tried to Without forgiveness develop a process that involves re- there is no future . . . . For- membering, recounting, and record- giveness is taking seriously the ing, but also that involves repenting, awfulness of what has hap- resolving and reconciling. The idea pened when you are treated that justice must be meted out has unfairly. It is opening the door been relegated to the back row. In or- for the other person to have a der to achieve the healing that is felt chance to begin again. With- to be the highest priority for the soci- out forgiveness, resentment ety, the needs of the victims and their builds in us, a resentment families for absolute justice have been which turns into hostility and given a lower priority. As Archbishop anger. Hatred eats away at our Tutu has repeatedly stressed, the well-being. In Africa we have a Christian theme of forgiveness has word, Ubuntu, which is difficult been given prominence. to render in Western lan- However, forgiveness is not just a guages.34 Christian theme, it is a core concept in Judaism as well. As Jews remember One thing is for certain however: every Yom Kippur, there is a process despite the trepidation with which of absolution and atonement that many South Africans approach the leads to forgiveness and some degree possibility of true reconciliation and of closure. Those who have done healing, the need for forgiveness is a wrong are encouraged to recount the core element of any hope for the fu- full details of their passive or active ture. Forgiving is incredibly difficult crimes to the TRC and are therefore in the best of circumstances, and the involved implicitly, although not ex- current South African situation is far plicitly, in a process of teshuvah, re- from the best of circumstances. Nev- pentance. Their names and their acts ertheless, it is remarkable to see the and their confessions are made public, tenacity with which almost all of the and for many of the victims this pub- parties in the South African ethnic, lic confession of crimes by the per- religious, and racial mix have perse- petuators may have to serve as a very vered with the forgiveness process. partial form of justice. Because the The idea is that forgiveness, in politics need for forgiveness as a healing pro- as well as in interpersonal relation- cess leading- to true reconciliation is ships, must be an ongoing process felt to be the most important emo- rather than something that is to be tional need for South African society applied at one place and at one time. as a whole, many of these victims, as The notion of forgiveness as a process British journalist Brian Frost states,

rather than an event appears to be a " . . . may have to live with their scars lesson that all of the groups instinctu- and their stains for the rest of their ally sense and have worked on over lives."35 thk last four or five years. It can bc hoped, however, that the

90 Spring 1999 The Reconstructionist emotional sacrifices that so many in- Income Earners," Johdnnesburg Star, 24 June dividual South Africans may have to 1998, 20. 10. Joseph Aranes, "RDP Firmly on Track," make will be more than compensated Argus, 21 December 1995, 6. for by the successful healing process 1 1. "State of the Nation: How 1995 Shaped that may bring about a unified effort South Africa's Future," Sunday Independent, toward tikun ohm, the repairing of 24 December 1995, 8. the world. In the South African case, 12. Michael Lerner, Jewish Renewal: A Path to Healing and Transformation (New York: the last four or five years have seen a G. P. Purnam's Sons, 1994). very literal process of the repairing of 13. Cyril K. Harris, TR.C.-Religious Com- South African society, such as bring- munity Hearings: Oral Submission by Chief ing potable water to millions who Rabbi C. K Harris on TRC: 8/11/1997 and Questions and Answers That Followed, 1-6. never had it before. Such concrete 14. Harris, 1. steps to improve the quality of life for 15. Ivan Lerner, "Trurh Commission Will all are the direct result of putting for- Serve to Divide Nation," Weekend Argus, giveness above justice. 13-14 January 1996, 20. The South African experience 16. Ivan Lerner, "The Truth Commission should fill every Jewish heart with the Should Be Stopped before It Becomes an Obstacle to National Reconciliarion," Sunday hope that people of all backgrounds Independent, 21 January 1996; and "Truth can work together to overcome big- Commission Will Serve to Divide Nation," otry and political repression and to Saturday Argus, 13 January 1996, 9; Rabbi Lerner also published an identical article in make a better tomorrow for all of the the Cape Tirnes. people of South Africa. If reconcilia- 17. Ivan Lerner, "Truth Commission Will tion and healing can be accomplished Serve. . . ," 9. in one country, perhaps it can be ac- 18. Milton Shain, Jeremy Sarkin, and Sally complished all over the world. Frankental, "Sourh Africa Must Reconcile with Past," Saturday Argus, 20 January 1996, 19. 19. Peter Storey, "Truth Commission's For- 1. David Beresford, "Guess Who's Coming giveness Is Amazing Grace," Sunday Indepen- to Tea," Mail and Guardian, 18-24 August dent, 28 January 1996, 10. 1995, 12. 20. Storey, 10. 2. Mamphela Ramphele, "Changing Sourh 21. Srorey, 10. Africa: A Plea for a Focus on Healing," 22. "Why South Africa Needs a Truth Com- South Afiican Outlook (October 1992), 131 - mission," Cape Times, 15 January 1996, 6. 134. 23. Gerald Gordon, "Confusion over For- 3. Ramphele, 132. giveness and Forgetfulness," Cape Times, 18 4. Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom January 1996, 8. (London: Little, Brown and Company, 24. Charles Villa-Vicencio, "Forgiveness Is 1994), 750-75 1. More Than Amnesia," Cape Times, 22 Janu- 5. Mandela, 75 1. ary 1996, 8. 6. Mandela, 75 1. 25. G. R. Pauw, "Trurh Commission Leaders 7. "The Trurh and Reconciliation Commis- Show a Regrettable Bias," Cape Times, 22 sion," Mail and Guardian, 12-1 8 January January 1996, 8. 1996, 10. 26. Marius Schoon, "It Is Not for Tutu to 8. "Merging the First and Third Worlds," Ask Me to Forgive the Killer Who Murdered Economist, 2 May 1998, 42. My Wife and Daughter," Sunday Indepen- 9. "Increase in Quality Health Care for Low- dent, 7 April 1996, 9.

The Reconstructionist Spring 1999 91 27. Schoon, 9. 34. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, foreword to 28. Schoon, 9. Exploring Forgiveness, ed. Robert D. Enright 29, John Yeld, ''Whites Still Dominate- and Joanna North (Madison, Wisconsin: Omar,,, Weekend Argus, March 1996, 6, University of Wisconsin Press, 1998), xiii- XIV. 30 Harris, 1. 35. Brian Frost, Struggling to Forgive: Nelson 31 Harris, 3. Mandela and South Afiica k Search for Recon- 32. Harris, 5. ciliation (London: Harpercoilins, 1998), 33 Harris, 5. 216.

92 Spring 1999 The Reconstructionist