A Map of South Africa
A Map of South Africafile

As 56 people were killed and hundreds injured in waves of anti-foreigner violence throughout South Africa in recent weeks, local and international Jewish organizations are assisting the tens of thousands of foreign workers, mostly from Zimbabwe, forced to seek refuge from the rampaging mobs in churches, police stations and makeshift

Jewish schools and youth groups initiated fundraising and other humanitarian aid campaigns.

shelters.

Families fleeing the xenophobic violence, sparked by economic competition among the nation's poorest classes, have been left homeless, penniless and hungry in an extremely hostile environment. Witnessing this developing humanitarian crisis, South Africa's 80,000 Jews (out of a population of 40 million) have stepped in to provide assistance to the victims. An emergency coordinating center for the various aid efforts was set up in the Beyachad Building, the main communal facility serving Johannesburg's Jews.

Dozens of aid collection points have been set up in the synagogues of Johannesburg, where the violence started and reached peak intensity. Jewish schools and youth groups initiated fundraising and other humanitarian aid campaigns, which included the collection and round-the-clock distribution of foodstuffs among the victims of the violence. 

In a statement to the press, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) appealed for strangers to be treated with ubuntu, a Bantu word meaning "humaneness towards others."

Saying that the xenophobic attacks against non-South Africans were reminiscent of anti-Semitic pogroms, SAJBD National Chairman Zev Krengel told the media, "The brutal targeting of innocent people solely because of their origins are criminal, racist acts that strike at the very heart of the tolerant, peaceful and democratic society that South Africans are striving to build."

Bnei Akiva, Jewish Agency Distrbute Sandwiches

The South African branch of the international Bnei Akiva religious youth organization has been taking a central role in the Jewish community's humanitarian efforts with the assistance of the Jewish Agency for Israel.

In addition to setting up food and donation collection points, Bnei Akiva bought large quantities of bread, called upon its members to bring more bread and spreads to their local clubhouse, and to set up assembly lines for putting together sandwiches to be distributed among the refugees.

Hundreds of Bnei Akiva youth answered the call, bringing thousands of loaves of bread and spreads. After several hours of intensive work, a huge quantity of sandwiches was delivered to the many makeshift camps set up for the refugees of the violence in South Africa.

South Africa President Thabo Mbeki condemned the attacks and ordered an investigation into the events, after having sent the military in to quell the violence. Much criticism has been leveled at the government for its slow and inadequate response.

There are an estimated three million Zimbabweans in South Africa, most having fled to the country due to the economic and social crisis at home. A contributing factor is South Africa's extremely liberal immigration policy.