Based in part on her own research, this review essay by Veronica Belling looks at a fascinating new biography of an very unusual Jewish woman Dr Veronica Belling is the author of Bibliography of South African Jewry (1997), Yiddish Theatre in South Africa (2008), and the translator of Leibl Feldman's The Jews of Johannesburg (2007) and Yakov Azriel Davidson: His Writings in the Yiddish Newspaper, Der Afrikaner, 1911-1913 (2009). She is a regular contributor to Jewish Affairs.

We are delighted to publish an extract from Dominique Malherbe's acclaimed new book on a remarkable Jewish woman and her relationship with one of the icons of Afrikaans literature. The following extract is taken from 23-27 of Searching for Sarah: the Women Who Loved Langenhoven by Dominique Malherbe, Cape Town: Tafelberg, 2021. JA thanks Tafelberg for permission to include here. . One of the first people I contacted in my search for Sarah was Elsa Joubert, the well-known, pr

Journalist, author, Jewish communal professional, Suzanne Belling was an outstanding, and largely unsung, servant of the community she knew and served so well. David Saks is Associate Director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and editor of Jewish Affairs. . The untimely passing last November of veteran journalist, author and Jewish communal professional Suzanne Belling was yet another sad loss for South African Jewry in a year that had already seen – whether due

To the Editor of The Star newspaper The past few weeks have seen campaigns of intimidation and threats to members of the Jewish community and any other South African who has dared to express a view contrary to the narrow narrative of the anti-Israeli lobby groups. Any hint that there is another perspective to the conflict and that there is any culpability by Hamas has been met with by aggression and demonisation. It has been no different with Redhill School. The `Redhill Alum

The SA Jewish Board of Deputies has been dealing with the anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment in the country, but it didn’t count on the bias it found in mainstream media, explains Charisse Zeifert. Media’s version of truth as strange as Japanese fiction https://www.sajr.co.za/medias- ...

Ivan Kapelus holds a BA, LLB from Stellenbosch University and an LLM (Tax) from Kings College, University of London. He has an extensive legal and international tax planning background. His books include Reflections on a Visit to Lithuania" (2009) and From the Baltic to the Cape - the journey of three families (2013). . Introduction I crave your indulgence! I would like to start this discussion in the middle, as it were, by quoting from a four thousand-word article by Dr H F

Over the past two weeks we have seen an orchestrated campaign to silence and intimidate fellow South Africans who are supportive of Israel. The campaign attempts to “cancel” anyone who holds a different view, suggesting there is only one side to the conflict. One of the concerns that the SAJBD has had since the outbreak of violence in the Middle East two weeks ago, is the fall-out between fellow South Africans. Many of us, to a greater or lesser extent, hold strong views abou

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks” a quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, sums up Jessie Duarte’s rant outside the Israeli Embassy yesterday. · “And I want to make it clear that we aren’t against people of the Jewish religion.” · “Our movement is not against and I want to repeat it because Israel has already said that I am antisemitic. I can just say that that is the most stupid thing to say.” · “Tomorrow they’ll have in the newspaper how antisemitic we are. We are not an

Dear Mr President In your letter earlier this week you reassured us that, “ as South Africa we are committed to being part of international efforts aimed at reviving a political process that will lead to the establishment of a viable Palestinian state existing side-by-side in peace with Israel, and within internationally recognised borders .” We would be delighted if this was truly the intention of our government. Our experience of South Africans and our transition to democra

For the past week rockets fired from Gaza have rained down on Israeli towns in the south of Israel. Yesterday, it was Jerusalem’s turn to be targeted. Rockets are indiscriminate. They imperil the lives of all who live in the Holy City, whether Jew, Christian or Muslim. We call on Govt to be even-handed & to condemn rocket fire targeted at Israeli citizens For the past week rockets fired from Gaza have rained down on Israeli towns in the south of Israel. Yesterday, it was Jeru

Two distinguished Jewish members of the British establishment find themselves at loggerheads in the early years of the Palestine Mandate. 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 20

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has approached the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for a meeting to discuss the discriminatory and unconstitutional manner in which two Jewish candidates for judicial positions were treated during the recent JSC interviews. During these interviews, it was patently obvious that even being associated with the representative body of South African Jewry could jeopardise the candidates’ chances of being appointed. We request tha

Idealism, disillusionment and survival - for Joseph Glazer, moving to Stalin's Soviet Union was an adventure that quickly became a nightmare. Boris Gorelik is a Russian writer and researcher and faculty member at the Institute for African Studies - Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. He has an MA in linguistics from Moscow State University (2001). . Two man, a Russian and a South African, video-chatted for hours. Although Ilya and Bradley had never met before, they had eight

True freedom requires being protected by the confines of just and prescribed laws', while retaining our ability to choose. Charlotte Cohen explores this fundamental Jewish concept in the concept of the Pesach festival. Charlotte Cohen is an award-winning short story writer, essayist and poet, whose work has appeared in a wide variety of South African publications since 1973. This story was first published in the Pesach 2010 issue of Jewish Affairs. Each Jewish festival seem

Harold Levy, with wife Cynette's crucial support, ran his optometry practice for 65 years until his Covid-enforced retirement. Steven Mark Katzew is a Johannesburg-based advocate. He grew up in Virginia and attended High School in Welkom, Orange Free State, going on to study Law at Rhodes University, Grahamstown. His articles on South African Jewish sporting personalities have appeared in Soul Sport and Jewish Affairs. But for the advent of the Covid 19 pandemic, my father-i

'The curious case of Dr Isaac Newton Levi', as related in this new short story by Clark Zlotchew Dr Clarke Zlotchew is Distinguished Teaching Professor at State University of New York. He is the author of seventeen books, including anthologies of short fiction, translations from the Spanish of short stories and poetry by Nobel Laureates and literary criticism of Spanish and Latin American authors. His short stories have appeared in both his Spanish and English versions in the