The moral battleground between South Africa’s stayers and leavers

While the exodus to Israel and elsewhere has gained intensity, there are still many with no plans to leave. How do the stayers really feel about the leavers?

“To stay or to leave has been a question that has vexed our community for decades, because most of us are patriotic South Africans who would love nothing more than to watch future generations of our families enjoy and build this magnificent country.”

So says Mary Kluk, Vice President of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the political voice and human rights lobby of South African Jewry and the umbrella body of its communal organisations.

Yet there’s no denying the challenges South Africans face – be they economic, political, or crime-related – and the resultant high rate of emigration. In the face of ever-rising aliyah numbers – with an estimated 500 South African Jews departing for Israel this year – and continued emigration to counties throughout the diaspora, both those who leave and those who stay experience mixed emotions.

“In the past you had questions around people being annoyed that others left or stayed – natural feelings on both sides – but I don’t think it’s as acute now as it was in the 90s,” says Benji Shulman, director of public policy for the South African Zionist Federation.

During the early 1990s, marked by the abolition of apartheid and the beginning of ANC political rule, many white South Africans left the country, fearing a violent transition, or one that would offer limited opportunities for white citizens. Conversely, those who stayed had hope in a future marked by political and racial freedom. People on either side of the fence were dramatically divided.

Yet, there have been fluctuating waves of emigration for decades. “Emigration patterns of Jewish South Africans have always tended to be fragmented, both geographically and temporally,” Shulman says. “Those who leave during different waves of emigration are not necessarily very aware of one another and also end up in very different places.”