Dr David Hirsh and Charisse Zeifert explain why the BDS call for Judge David Unterhalter to not be accepted as a Constitutional Court Judge are antisemitic. Read here

Over Sixties COVID Vaccine Registration helpline: The COVID Vaccine Registration process for over sixties is now open for registrations as of 16 April at 4pm. The registration link is https://bit.ly/3sn8YIV To register you will need:· Your ID/passport number· Phone number· Medical aid number (if you belong to one)· Address If you have trouble registering NO PROBLEM. Contact the SAJBD Helpline for assistance and we will talk you through it. SAJBD Over Sixties COVID Vaccine Reg

BDS shows its antisemitic colours by using classic antisemitic trope by asking for Jewish candidate to be excluded from public service. When calls are made for Jews who serve on the Jewish community’s democratically elected representative body to be excluded from public service it amounts to gross antisemitism. South African BDS Coalition, in yet another shocking display of bigotry and intolerance, called for a Jewish candidate for appointment to the Constitutional Court, Jud

We wish our Muslim friends “Ramadan Mubarak". May you have a spiritual and meaningful Holy month.

Please join us on FB on Friday 9 April at 12 noon as we commemorate the Six Million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. See Kevin Ritchie’s beautiful article on what you can expect here Join us as #WeRemember. Yom Hashoah ONLINE. Posted by South African Jewish Board of Deputies on Thursday, April 8, 2021

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) extends its sincerest condolences to the Royal Family and the Amazulu nation on the passing of King Goodwill Zwelithini. In a reign spanning half a century, King Zwelithini was the recognised representative leader whose royal stature embodied the greater history, heritage and culture of the Zulu people in South Africa. Appointed to that position at the height of the apartheid era, he helped to unite and encourage his follower

Warrant of arrest authorised for Nazi sympathiser Jan Lamprecht Yesterday (11 March 2021) the Randburg Magistrate’s Court authorised a warrant of arrest for the breach of the interim interdict against white supremacist and Nazi sympathiser Jan Lamprecht. This follows an application by Prof Karen Milner, Gauteng Chair of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) for an interim protection order which was granted against Lamprecht. Warrant of arrest authorised for Nazi sympathiser

Kathy Munro reflects on the life, achievements and lasting influence esteemed architect, architectural historian and heritage activist Clive Chipkin (1929-2021). Kathy Munro is an Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand. Trained as an economic historian, she enjoyed a long career as an academic and in management at Wits. She is a member of the Board of the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation and a docent at t

Dead Sea Scrolls authority Simon Berg look at the compilation of the Jewish sacred scriptures and considers the accuracy of their transmission down the centuries. Simon Berg , a sales manager for a multinational pharmaceutical company, has written and lectured extensively on the Dead Sea Scrolls. His book Insights into the Dead Sea Scrolls – A Beginner’s Guide (2009) provides a concise, scholarly overview of the subject. . “And even if we had an autograph copy of, say, the Bo

Scion of a scholarly Lithuanian family, J W Behr devoted himself to strengthening the knowledge of Hebrew in South Africa. Dr Harold Behr is a retired child psychiatrist and group psychotherapist. He emigrated from South Africa to the UK in 1970. . I have often felt that the passing of my father, Jacob William Behr, deserved to be marked by more than just the statutory notification plastered on the notice board of his apartment block in Netanya. His heroic efforts to introduc

As her diaries reveal, Lord Balfour's niece Blanche Dugdale was also a devoted campaigner for a Jewish state Glenda Woolf , a frequent contributor to Jewish Affairs , is a novelist and essayist whose articles and stories on Jewish themes have appeared in Jewish publications worldwide. Her novels, published under the name Gita Gordon, include: South African Journeys (2002), Flashback (2007), Mystery in the Amazon and Scattered Blossoms (both 2008) and Guest House (2012).

Leonard Suransky reviews Jack Hoffman's new novel about growing up in Johannesburg in in the 1950s and '60s Dr Leonard Suransky is (Emeritus) Head of Department, International Relations, and co-founder of Webster University, Ghana, Accra. As someone who lived through the Johannesburg of the 1950s and 60s, I recommend Jack Hoffmann’s novel, He Does Not Die a Death of Shame , to anyone from that era. Why? The author has a remarkable memory for the fine details of those heady da

Sorrel Kerbel reviews of The Lithuanian Slaughter of its Jews, a grim record of Lithuanian culpability in the Holocaust based on the testimony of 121 survivors Dr Sorrel Kerbel, D.Phil (UCT), is editor of Routledge Encyclopedia of Jewish Writers of the Twentieth Century , 2003 and 2010 , and a contributor to the Memorial book of Rakiskis , Rokiskis Lithuania, Bakalcuk-Felin, M, Jewishgen.com , 2018. . And if I were to light a yellow candle, it would serve to remember and hon

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) mourns the passing of Eric Samson, a great son of South Africa. Eric was a visionary leader and nation builder and a man of unsurpassed generosity, one whose multifaceted legacy will benefit our country long into the future. Innumerable organizations and individuals benefited from his support throughout his life. This was true not just for the South African Jewish community, of which he was a devoted member, but for the peopl

Honey Gluckman is a former lecturer in the Department of Educational Studies at JCE, now the Education Faculty of Wits. Her subjects included Philosophy of Education, with an emphasis on Critical Analysis. She is today part of the ‘Granny Program’ run by the Chevra Kadisha, assisting young black learners in acquiring language skills using educational games she has developed. Feature image: Front cover of From Sembel to Gilgil, reissue of the Book of Imprisonment and Exile (pu

'The poet laureate of the Jewish people', Isaiah was both a recorder of and participant in an extraordinary epoch in early Jewish history. Bernard Katz, a frequent contributor to Jewish Affairs is a Chartered Accountant who does freelance corporate finance advisory, investigations and sits on several boards. . The rise of Assyria, destruction of Israel and siege of Jerusalem The opening verse of the Book of Isaiah places the life of the prophet Isaiah in its historical setti

Dear Community Members We hope and pray for a successful and inspiring year for our Jewish Community. Unfortunately, we find ourselves once again approaching the year with trepidation. The COVID pandemic still remains at the forefront of our minds and determines our decision making. The second wave has swept through South Africa, and affects us all. Many of our schools have taken the decision to delay the start of the school year with the aim of containing the spread of the v

The SAJBD mourns the passing of Holocaust Survivor Mascha Schainberg. We got to know Mascha when she travelled to Poland in 2015 to represent South Africa at the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. She was a true inspiration to all who met her. We extend our condolences to the her family. Below is a tribute from the SAJBD’s Yom Hashoa’s 2015 commemoration. I was absolutely devastated to learn about the passing of Holocaust Survivor, Mascha Shainberg. I met Mascha

SAJBD welcomes Mcebo Dlamini apology Today (14 December), the former Wits SRC President Mcebo Dlamini and the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) engaged in mediation facilitated by the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). The mediation took place at the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre (JHGC). This was in response to comments made by Dlamini in 2015, in which he showed admiration for Adolf Hitler and delved into stereotypical antisemitic tropes about Jews. The SAJBD

The SAJBD joins the global Jewish community in mourning the sudden passing of former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks , z"tl. The SAJBD joins the global Jewish community in mourning the sudden passing of former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks , z"tl. Combining formidable intellectual gifts with exceptional abilities as a writer and communicator, Rabbi Sacks devoted himself to bringing the moral, ethical vision of Judaism not just to his fellow Jews but humanity at large. At a