INTERMARRIAGE remained a problem in South Africa, despite the incidence being lower than in other parts of the world. The best way to combat this was through education, Rosh Beth Din Rabbi Moshe Kurtstag, said in his Beth Din report at the Union of Orthodox Synagogues' biennial conference in Johannesburg at the weekend.

Communal discipline was needed to implement Beth Din rulings, he said. One example of this was the decree that those who had married out should not be given honours in shul.

"This way people learn that there are consequences to their actions," Rabbi Kurtstag said.

He said the nature of South African society protected local Jewry from moves to ban shechita, because the challenge would inevitably land in court where the validity of African rituals could also be questioned.

One of the highlights of the past two years were the "first fruits" of the Dayanut programme, when Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein, Rabbi Anton Klein and Rabbi Meir Trepp, graduated as dayanim earlier this year after eight years of study.

Chief Rabbi Goldstein told the conference that members of the community knew that if they had a complaint against an organisation, they could approach the Office of the Chief Rabbi.

In most cases these turned out to be simple misunderstandings, though on rare occasions greater intervention was needed to resolve the dispute.

His office was also the point of contact between the broader religious community and South African Jewry. He had fostered good relations with other religious leaders through interfaith organisations in the country.

Personal contact within the community was also important and during the past year he attended 84 communal events and visited 61 shuls.

The Chief Rabbi said those visits gave him an opportunity to get a feel for what was happening "on the ground" in the community, as well the chance to spread a Torah message to all parts of the community.

The Office of the Chief Rabbi also provided a neutral space for organizations to come together and work on projects for the benefit of the community.

This had been particularly evident in the Sinai Indaba, held immediately after Shavuot, and the Generation Sinai project in schools.

The latter in particular had been an outstanding success, with schools across the country participating. Parents had joined their children at school for a session of Torah learning. About 9 000 learners and 4 000 parents had participated in the programme, and the feedback had been overwhelmingly positive.

The Chief Rabbi also established the Beit Midrash programme, which provides more Torah learning for interested learners at King David Linksfield, King David Victory Park and Herzlia. A formal "Memorandum of Understanding" was signed between the schools and the chief rabbi, ensuring the continuity of the programme.

"A guiding principle of my work is to seek to address the real issues and problems that affect the day-to-day life of South African Jews," the Chief Rabbi said. The best example of this was the CAP initiative, which has now been rolled out into less affluent neighbourhoods as well.

Referring to the investigation into the price of kosher chickens last year, Darren Sevitz, executive director of the UOS, said there had been only one kosher chicken abattoir, because applicants had been unable to meet UOS kashrut standards.

Since then, however, another applicant had approached the UOS and had been granted a licence and there were now two kosher chicken abattoirs.

Rabbi Boruch Talberg, who holds an honours degree in business and finance, has been appointed general manager of the kashrut department. He has introduced measures to streamline the department's procedures and cut costs, without compromising standards.

Staff at the UOS maintained their high morale and increased their productivity even AFTER being told in November last year that there would be no bonuses or salary increases for them.

Sevitz said that telling staff about their salaries was one of the most difficult things he had ever had to do.

"It made good mathematical sense to freeze salaries; we'd immediately save about R1 million. But it's not all about maths. There is also the human factor."

Sevitz paid tribute to the staff and thanked them for their support and understanding.

Jackie Sifris, the outgoing chairman, said the UOS was not exempt from the recession and minimal growth seen in the business environment in South Africa and worldwide.

There was no growth in licence fees or shul affiliation fees and an increase in general expenditure, resulting in losses which had to be covered through fundraising.

Jonathan Levitt, the outgoing treasurer, said there was a healthy debtors to creditors ratio.

The most significant operating expense during the past financial year was for the development of new kashrut software, to replace the current system which was outdated and unable to integrate with modern technology.