Understanding SAJA: What It Is, How to Join, and the Principles That Unite Us.

ACROSS SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, Jewish communities are increasingly asking one same question: how does a synagogue become part of the Sub-Saharan African Jewish Alliance (SAJA)? The question has become more urgent as the organization continues to grow beyond its original founding members and expands into new countries and communities.

As Secretary of SAJA, I believe it is important to provide a clear answer.

Upon its formation, SAJA had nine founding countries: Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Ghana, and host Cote dlvior. Since then, the alliance has continued to expand, with members now also in Kenya, Gabon, Congo DR, and South Africa. More recently, there has been outreach from Angola and Somaliland, both of which have made enquiries about how to join the growing alliance.

SAJA was created to connect Jewish communities across Sub-Saharan Africa through cooperation, representation, cultural exchange, sharing of resources, and mutual support. As regards the reason for its formation, it was never intended to function as a gatekeeper controlled by a small circle of individuals. Instead, it was designed as a continental network where communities could participate through transparent structures and recognised national leadership.

That distinction matters

SAJA IS NOT A POLITICAL ORGANIZATION.

It is worth stating plainly: SAJA is not a political body, and it was never built to serve political ambition. The alliance exists for religious life, promoting unity, and community development—not for the pursuit of office, influence, or personal standing. No individual holds authority in SAJA because of who they know or what title they claim; authority rests in recognized structures, agreed upon by its pioneering member communities, and open to review.

This matters because networks that are built around shared faith and shared history are only as strong as their resistance to eventually being repurposed for other ends. When politics enters a religious alliance, communities stop being partners and start being constituencies. SAJA’s founders understood the importance of this principle, which is why the alliance was built around national representation and continental cooperation rather than around any single office or personality. The moment the alliance is treated as a stepping stone for personal or political advantage is the moment it stops serving the ultimate purpose it was created for.

A DECENTRALIZED MODEL, BY DESIGN

Recently, a worrying trend has begun to emerge in some quarters, where communities are encouraged to view SAJA membership primarily as a pathway to grants or financial assistance. This misunderstanding risks creating expectations that no organization can responsibly guarantee.

In reality, joining SAJA does not automatically qualify a synagogue or community for grants, funding, salaries, or financial support. Donor decisions remain independent and are based on their priorities, project evaluations, number of members in the beneficiary community, and approval processes. Communities should therefore join the alliance because they believe in its mission of African-Jewish cooperation, and not because they have been promised money.

The strength of SAJA lies in its decentralized model. For example, the current SAJA president serves from Zimbabwe, while the vice president serves from Uganda. In Nigeria, the secretary and treasurer also hold continental responsibilities. These officers, together with other national representatives and heads of working committees, have the authority to help expand the network within their respective countries through established procedures rather than personal control. No single figure sits at the center of the alliance, but instead, responsibility is spread deliberately across countries and communities so that no one voice can speak for all of SAJA, and no one gatekeeper can decide who belongs.

This approach has already produced tangible results. During my visit to Uganda in November 2025, both the Kwania Jewish Community in the north and the Nalubembe Jewish Community in Eastern Uganda said they had heard about the organization and wanted to become part of the SAJA network. The vice president, the top-ranking principal in the country, fully informed, confirmed their appeal and interest, and their application was approved.

In Kenya, following my visit during Passover, two mountain communities joined the Sub-Saharan African Jewish Alliance in a historic celebration. Thus, the Kehilat Yisrael Synagogue and the Elburgon Jewish Community become the first ones to join the alliance in Kenya more than two and a half years after the creation of SAJA. In the Molo Jewish community, another location in the Kenyan Rift Valley, community members hinted at their willingness to join the growing alliance during one of my speaking tours at Hanukkah of 2025.

Nigeria provides another example. Although eight communities attended the inaugural SAJA 2022 conference that helped launch the organization, additional Nigerian synagogues have since started joining through the recognized continental leadership structure. This demonstrates that the organization continues to grow beyond its founding membership and remains open to eligible Jewish communities across the continent.

TRANSPARENCY AS PRACTICE, NOT SLOGAN

The organization’s website reflects this same philosophy of transparency. Because instead of concentrating information in a single office, SAJA provides dedicated web pages for each member country, documents ongoing food security projects and activities, and allows members and intending communities to access information about the alliance, its working committees, and even a WhatsApp link to request to join some of these departments. The goal is to make participation more accessible, not less.

For communities interested in joining, the process is straightforward. Synagogue leaders and Jewish organizations should contact the appropriate SAJA representative in their country or the continental principal leaders. Membership is based on participation in the alliance and commitment to its goals, not on financial promises or personal relationships with any leader.

To date, there has been no recorded instance of a synagogue leader reaching out to an authorized SAJA representative and being refused. Every community that has approached the alliance in sincere faith, through the recognized structure, has been welcomed.

IN CONCLUSION: A GATEWAY, NOT A GATEKEEPER

A gatekeeper decides who is deemed worthy to enter, right? However, a gateway simply opens the way through. SAJA was never intended to become the former. It was designed to become the latter—a passage, not a checkpoint.

The future of African Jewish unity will not be determined by who controls access to opportunities, nor will it be shaped by political manoeuvring dressed up as leadership. It will be determined by whether SAJA remains faithful to the principles upon which it was founded: transparency over secrecy, cooperation over competition, decentralization over centralization, democracy as opposed to dictatorship; and shared purpose over personal ambition.

Haven travelled to Jewish communities in Uganda, Kenya, and across Nigeria while helping expand the alliance, I remain convinced that Africa’s Jewish future depends on building networks of trust rather than a system that encourages manipulative politics. I think that members deserve accurate information, open participation, and a fair, transparent membership process—from the first expression of interest to final approval.

Just as it was envisioned at its founding in Abidjan, SAJA belongs to every Jewish community in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its mission is not to concentrate authority in one office, but to unite communities around a shared vision of cooperation, mutual respect, and collective progress