Herzlia High School has finally broken its ‘silence’ pertaining to the moral dilemma it faced in the Kay Motsepe School Championship this upcoming weekend in Saldanha Bay.
The debutants in this year’s competition exceeded all expectations by winning the under-14 boys section in the district final recently in Matroosfontein.
They were going to represent the Cape Metro province at the provincial finals taking place (22 to 24 September) this weekend at the Saldanha Bay Stadium.
However, these dates clash with their religious calendar as it happens to coincide with Sabbath – a religious period where Jews are not allowed to participate in any other activity except prayer and worship.
The school has in turn written to the Western Cape Education Department to have their fixtures rescheduled to Sunday (24 September), however, the WCED responded that due to logistical reasons, it was unfortunately impossible to make alternative arrangements at the 11th hour.
Although Herzlia has accepted its fate, they have appealed to the WCED, Safa Western Cape and the broader society, to be mindful of their religious calendar for future events.
The school acknowledges that there are some valuable lessons that can be taken out of their ‘tragedy’ of not being able to represent the province at the final this weekend.
“It is to not only consider Muslim and Christian schools, but all other faiths (including Jewish, Seventh Day Adventist etc.),” was the school’s response to No Bones with Jones.
“For many decades the WCED has accommodated Herzlia in many sporting code leagues by arranging matches during the week, for which we are grateful.
“We also want to participate in all sports at the highest levels and appeal to all schools to accommodate us on days other than the Sabbath.”
Herzlia has also emphasized due to the sensitive nature of the situation, they have been willing to cooperate with the sponsors and stakeholders to find common ground.
“We do not wish to create controversy or unhappiness and therefore approached the matter with humility and dignity.
“We sincerely hope that going forward the organisers will take all faiths into account and arrange play-offs that include multiple schools during the week,” the school’s statement further stated.
The Jewish community school also understandably admitted that they are “saddened” that they are unable to represent the province at the finals.
“We will continue to engage with the Western Cape Department of Education, SAFA and other role players, to ensure that football continues to flourish here in the Western Cape and that all students are given an equal opportunity to compete at the highest levels.”
Meanwhile, Safa Cape Town’s Commercial Affairs Committee, consisting of Justin Asher and Ian Pakoe, met with Herzlia to assist and facilitate the process and has highlighted that this should never happen again in the future.
“The important takeout from this experience is that there has been a positive engagement and a respectable dialogue, between all parties, on a sensitive matter, and I’m sure this experience will be taken into account when planning future school tournaments,” said Asher.
