There are moments in the history of nations which are not merely events – they are historic turning points. The announcement of a government of national unity anchored by the two largest parties in South Africa – the ANC and the DA – has the potential to be such a moment.

After 15 years of progress in repairing the ravages of apartheid post-1994, followed by 15 years of corruption and incompetence that have caused untold human suffering – the country is at a pivotal point.

The South African electorate have sent a clear message – that things cannot continue as they have, that we need a new beginning. To their great credit, the country’s political leaders have heard this message, and responded accordingly.

Cynics who claimed that our democracy would not survive an election that dethroned the ruling party were proved wrong. Things did not fall apart. The constitution held. Democracy held. The center holds - and now we have a government of national unity that has within its grasp the power and promise to usher in an era of national renewal and healing.

Now we must help them succeed.

The South African people must come together to support the government of national unity and hold them accountable, to ensure this turns out to be not simply a fleeting moment of hope, but an historic turning point that puts our country on a path of prosperity and peace.

This new world of power-sharing can be the dawn of an era of great prosperity and success and happiness for South Africa – provided our politicians show true, principled leadership.

Post-elections South Africa is a completely different country. For the first time since the advent of democracy, voters have decided not to give one party – the ANC – an absolute majority. The South African people have said that it is enough of one party exercising absolute power. The corruption must end. It’s time to share the power.

The place to begin is for the country’s two biggest parties – the DA and the ANC – to form a government of national unity, with other smaller parties with shared values joining the coalition. Together, the ANC and DA represent over 60% of South Africans, and SRF opinion polls show that the majority of the voters of both parties want this coalition.

But it's more than just the numbers – the ANC and DA also represent the widest diversity of South Africans, across all the so-called barriers of race, culture, language, ethnicity and economic status. And so, if this coalition is established, it will be a true expression of the South African dream of unity in diversity.

The coalition-building process will not be easy. For the partnership to work, the ANC will have to repent for its moral failings, set aside its obsessive anti-Israel politics that cost it many votes and focus wholly on improving the lives of the people of our country.

The suffering and humiliation of unemployment and poverty is a moral affront, and must be addressed with judicious policies that will set us on a path to economic growth. Service delivery must be in the hands of those who are most competent, not those with the best political connections. Above all, the leadership of the ANC and the DA are going to have to exhibit the highest form of leadership.

The Talmud’s vision of leadership is captured by this teaching: "I give you not power, but service." Service is the essence of great leadership. Political power must not be for self-enrichment or party patronage, but for serving the people.

The Talmud also teaches: “Any community dedicated to Heaven will endure, and one which is not dedicated to Heaven will not endure.” This means, for a society to be successful, its leaders must act not out of self-interest, but “for the sake of Heaven”, for a higher cause, for the greater good. If our politicians work together, setting aside self-interest and party interests, acting for the sake of Heaven, it can be a new beginning for South Africa – a chance to build a true rainbow nation, unified in all our diversity.

Through our votes we have spoken.

Now it’s the task of our political leaders to rise to the occasion.

And make history.

May God bless South Africa. Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika.

In expressing commitment to “never again”, Western leaders contradict themselves. The only thing that stands between Jews in Israel and another Holocaust is the immense strength of the IDF.

By seeking to weaken the IDF, those leaders are placing the Jewish people in mortal danger. In their relentless pressure on the IDF, and in withholding the weaponry Israel needs to fight the genocidal forces that pledge its destruction, Western governments are repeating their sins during the Holocaust, when they stood by as six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis.

President Biden halted a shipment of weapons to Israel. This follows his regular sanctions waivers for Iran releasing billions of dollars to that genocidal regime.

Let’s be clear. The war in Gaza is not one of retribution for October 7. It is to prevent the next October 7. And it's part of a regional war with Iran to prevent the next holocaust. Iran and its proxies have made their intentions clear. The only thing that stands between Jews in Israel and another Holocaust is the immense strength of the IDF.

Those that seek to neutralize or weaken the IDF are placing the Jewish people in mortal danger. The days of Yom Hashoah, Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut are bound together in a covenant of blood.

On Yom Hazikaron we remember the sacrifice and bravery of IDF soldiers who have given their lives defending the Jewish people. On Yom Ha’atzmaut, we give thanks to God for the blessing of a sovereign Jewish State.

And together, with God’s help, they ensure we will not have another Yom HaShoah.

Pesach is our moment to discover meaning in the utter bewilderment and shock that we as Jews have experienced since October 7. The barbaric attacks themselves. The Iranian bombardment. The massive surge in global antisemitism. Israel’s ongoing demonization.

The global obsession with the Jewish state. None of it makes rational sense. The very existence of the Jewish people is a mystery – we’re the only nation in recorded history to have survived mass exile, been scattered to every corner of the globe, and then regrouped and returned to their ancestral homeland. The clue to solving these mysteries is a single astounding fact: it was all predicted. Everything we have witnessed in Jewish history – even as it defied all conventional laws of history – was actually foretold to us thousands of years before it happened.

When we try to impose a rational explanation on our history – and on current events, October 7 and its aftermath – we get stuck. Because there is no rational explanation. Only a supernatural one. Foretold to Abraham, recorded in the Torah, imparted by our Prophets – and discussed at our seders for centuries.

We all know the famous words of vehi sheamda in the Haggadah: “Not only one arose to destroy us, but in every generation they rise up to destroy us – and the Holy One Blessed Be He saves us from their hands.” The message of the seder, and of vehi sheamda in particular, is that we are a miraculous people, born in Egyptian slavery and then liberated – amidst great miracles, signs and wonders – by God, Himself.

Any attempt to process Jewish history and Jewish destiny through the normal laws of history and politics leads to nowhere. The Divine framework as set out in the Torah is the only way to make sense of our supernatural history.

Within the texts of our Torah, we will find all the answers we seek. We’ll understand the Divine meaning and purpose of Jewish identity, the essence of antisemitism, the terrible pain and miraculous triumphs of our remarkable history and our even more remarkable destiny. At our seder tables we remind ourselves, like all the Jews who came before us, that our history isn’t haphazard. That there is a Divine plan.

That the pain and the redemption, the suffering and the miracles, the persecution and the liberation, are bound up with our Divine destiny.

Let this Pesach be a watershed moment for all of us. Let us rediscover the clarity, the understanding, the moral vision and spiritual memory we received from our Creator at Sinai – and that we need to navigate this post-October 7 world.

I just got back from Washington DC where I met with congressmen and senators, held engagements with media and think tanks, and spoke with key opinion makers and Jewish community leaders.

A centerpiece of my mission was to deliver a key opening address at the AIPAC congressional summit, drawing global attention to one of the most unnoticed stories in the world today – yet one of vital national security interest to Africa, the United States and Israel.

As chief rabbi of South Africa, I undertook a recent diplomatic mission to Israel amidst the hostility of the South African government and a breakdown in communications between the two countries. I met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and other senior government officials, assuring them of the support of the Jewish community and millions of non-Jews in South Africa.

The purpose of my trip was to establish a strong, parallel diplomatic channel between the people of South Africa and the Jewish state. I conveyed a message to the government and the people of Israel on behalf of the South African Jewish community, as well as millions of our fellow citizens throughout the country. I told them that the African National Congress government does not speak in our name and we stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel in its battle against the forces of evil. When I met with President Herzog, Foreign Affairs Minister Yisrael Katz and Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli, I reassured them that despite the ANC government’s morally repugnant support for Hamas and Iran, most South Africans have distanced themselves from the ANC’s position.

Millions of South African Christians pray for and support Israel. Israel has many allies and friends here in South Africa who are ashamed of their government’s support for terrorist regimes and despots. Moreover, the ANC’s support has sunk to 40% and is still falling. I sought to tell the government and people of Israel that the bond between the Jews of South Africa and Israel can never be broken, no matter what the ANC does.

As Jews, we speak the name of Jerusalem at every funeral, saying a special blessing to mourners: “May the Almighty comfort you amongst all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.” At every wedding, we recite the immortal verse, “If I ever forget thee, O Jerusalem.” Three times a day in our prayers, we pray for the redemption of Israel and Jerusalem. When we pray, we face in the direction of Jerusalem.

Zionism is an essential part of our Jewish identity. It’s part of our soul. Our connection to Israel began almost 4,000 years ago when God spoke to Abraham at the dawn of Jewish history. As a nation, we have maintained an unbroken presence in the land for more than 3,300 years—since the time of Joshua. Our connection to our land is older than that of any people on earth. Our bond with Israel is unbreakable.

Going forward, great efforts will be invested in building this informal diplomatic channel between Israel and South Africa until such time as a sound official diplomatic relationship can be re-established.

I undertake this task for the sake of our Jewish community, but also for the sake of South Africa, which will only benefit from a closer bond with the only democracy in the Middle East. In numerous areas of life in which the South African government has failed its people, citizens have stood up and come forward to make a difference. Here, too, with the country’s connection to Israel under threat, we must come forward, speak up and reinforce our connection with Israel. Those who can should visit to express solidarity.

The current foreign policy of the ANC government, which associates our country with the world’s worst terrorist states and tyrants, is not in the interests of the South African people. South Africa can benefit greatly from Israel’s innovation, people, technology and economy.

Most of all, it can benefit from the Divine blessings that flow into South Africa from Israel: The promise made to Abraham that those who bless Israel will be blessed. In our time, we have witnessed these Divine promises fulfilled. After 2,000 years of exile—no nation on earth has ever survived such a protracted exile—we returned to our biblical homeland.

Just as promised in the book of Deuteronomy: “Then G-d will gather you in from all the nations. … If your dispersed will be at the ends of heaven, from there the L-rd your G-d will gather you in and from there He will take you … and bring you to the Land that your forefather possessed and you shall possess it.” Our bond with Israel, forged in exile and sanctified by Divine promise, will never be broken. Am Yisrael Chai.

The International Court of Justice has delivered its interim judgment. Even a political body appointed by the United Nations General Assembly, whose members are mainly non-democratic states, couldn’t bring itself to order Israel to ceasefire, but we should not be grateful for that.

They had no moral right to order Israel to cease its just war of self-defense in the first place. What these so-called judges should have done is express the gratitude of the international community of civilized nations for the bravery and sacrifice of Israel’s young soldiers, who are going door to door to fight war to defeat the forces of barbarism in the Middle East, so that many of you listening to this, who live in the free world will not one have to do it yourselves in your own cities to protect your own children and grandchildren.

This is not 1938. It is 2024 and the Jewish people do not have to go on our knees to beg for the right to defend ourselves against those who seek to exterminate us.