Third Jewish Africa Conference Concludes with Cape Town Declaration

Following three days of reflection and collaboration at the third Jewish Africa Conference (JAC), American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Mimouna Association, and American Sephardi Federation (ASF) issued the Cape Town Declaration, a joint call for increased unity among Africa’s Jewish communities.

The declaration highlights the importance of collaboration across the continent to achieve a peaceful and prosperous future, as well as the need to better protect African Jewish heritage and enhance these communities’ integration and visibility within the Jewish diaspora and the broader international community.

The groups were joined in this pledge by rabbis, scholars, community leaders, and diplomats from South Africa, Morocco, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, and the United States, who all participated in the conference.

“Central to the African Jewish experience are the values of dignity, decency, freedom, fairness, tradition, and community,” the declaration reads, in part. “Through centuries of survival despite persecution, exile, and privation, African Jewish communities are today models of identity, resilience, and hope.”

AJC, ASF, and the Mimouna Association have rich histories of working in Africa, with the Morocco-based Mimouna Association and the American Sephardi Federation focused on bridge-building in North Africa, and AJC’s Africa Institute—working in partnership with AJC Paris—active in both Francophone and English-speaking sub-Saharan Africa.

“AJC is proud to partner with Mimouna and ASF on this third Jewish Africa Conference and the Cape Town Declaration,” said AJC Africa Institute Director Wayne Sussman. “As we look toward the work we can and must do moving forward, we are bolstered by the themes of resilience, identity, and hope and inspired by how Jewish communities across the continent have preserved their heritage despite numerous and varied challenges.”

This was the first time the conference was held in sub-Saharan Africa, following previous gatherings in New York in 2019 and in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, in 2022.

Bringing together Jewish communities from across Africa and around the world, the conference also highlighted the importance of the Jewish diaspora engaging with African Jews, as well as the need for African Jews to strengthen allyship with non-Jews

“The summit once again demonstrated the vitality of Jewish Africa and the communities’ determination not only to preserve their common history, but also to integrate it into the global Jewish landscape further, share it worldwide, and build a future in which African Jews and the continent will thrive,” said AJC Paris Director Anne-Sophie Sebban-Bécache.”

The signatories of the Cape Town Declaration also “pledge[d] to establish a network uniting participants of the Jewish Africa Conference, African Jewish leaders, and Jewish diaspora leaders worldwide, with the aim of protecting African Jewish heritage and enhancing the integration and visibility of Jewish Africa within both the global Jewish and broader international communities.” 

They notably support the digitization of all African Jewish archives, with the aim of establishing a central repository of African Jewish life.

“In addition to bringing together Jewish communities from across the continent, the Jewish Africa Conference is also an opportunity to bridge the gap between Jews and non-Jews in Africa by creating an authentic space for emerging African leaders and researchers to discuss the past, present, and future of Jewish Africa, said El Mehdi Boudra, Mimouna founder and chairman. “This initiative is also a conference for the friends of the Jewish people in Africa.” 

“As Jews around the world prepare to celebrate Passover, the ancient Festival of Freedom rooted in the first African Jewish experience, the JAC highlights the beauty, depth, diversity, and vitality of contemporary Jewish communities across the continent,” said Jason Guberman, ASF’s Executive Director. “We are grateful to work with our partners, Mimouna Association and AJC, to increase connectivity between and with African Jewish communities as global hubs for innovation and inspiration.”

AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York City, 25 offices across the United States, and 15 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 38 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC's mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel, and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world.

Founded in 2007 by young Muslim students, Mimouna Association is a cultural non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Moroccan Jewish heritage. Over the years, its mission has grown to a national level, focusing on educating Moroccan youth about this vital aspect of their cultural identity. Through initiatives like the "Moroccan Jewish Days" and educational programs for high school and university students, the Association fosters awareness and appreciation for Morocco's diverse heritage.

The American Sephardi Federation (www.americansephardi.org) preserves and perpetuates the history, traditions, and rich mosaic culture of Greater Sephardic communities by creating scholarly and cultural conferences, producing publications and exhibitions, supporting research and scholarship, Bookhouse and the National Sephardic Library & Archives at NYC’s Center for Jewish History, the Sephardi House and Broome & Allen Fellowships, as well as representing the Sephardic Voice in the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and World Jewish Congress.