What all anti-Semites agree on is that Jews have excessive power that they use to secretly manipulate global events for their own nefarious purposes On November 1 2005 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing January 27 as international holocaust remembrance day. That date was chosen because it was on that day in 1945 that the Red Army liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest and most infamous of the death camps set up by the Nazis during World War 2. This y

The Jewish community's political behaviour during the apartheid years has long been the subject of vociferous debate. 25 years after South Africa's transition to democracy, Jewish Affairs editor David Saks revisits the issue. David Saks is Associate Director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and editor of Jewish Affairs. This article is adapted from his presentation at Limmud in Johannesburg on 18 August 2019. Even before South Africa’s transition from white minor

#IM STAYINGInspired by the South African Jewish community Over the past few weeks, a new movement has emerged on social media: #ImStaying – with almost 800 000 members at this point. The Facebook Page provides daily inspiring and uplifting stories of fellow South Africans who have experienced the special and positive aspects of life in our country. I have my own #IMStaying story which I am choosing to share on this platform. On the 20th of September, my cousin, Adam Rabinovit

SAJBD KZN Council President Jeremy Droyman and Council member Mike Caminsky met with the editor of the Sunday Tribute, Mr Sandile...

SAJBD KZN Council President Jeremy Droyman and Council member Mike Caminsky met with the editor of the Sunday Tribute, Mr Sandile Mdadane, this morning to discuss the misleading street poster and newspaper headline that appeared in that paper earlier this week. The front-page read, “Rabbi lures youth to lair”. Mr Droyman shared that Mr Mdadane was extremely warm and receptive. He apologised for the error and will formally do so in print in the upcoming edition. He also offere

Last week the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced the results of a survey it had conducted on attitudes toward Jews in 18 countries,...

Last week the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced the results of a survey it had conducted on attitudes toward Jews in 18 countries, including South Africa. The SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has analysed the report, considering its finding against its own research data, as well as that of other organisations such as the Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Cape Town. The SAJBD has an excellent working relationship with the ADL, one of the world's old

The SA Jewish Board of Deputies is saddened by the passing earlier today of Sir Donald Gordon. For his phenomenal achievements in both the business and philanthropic fields, Donald Gordon was truly a living legend. As a business leader who founded the global insurance giant Liberty International, he was far-sighted, bold and innovative; as a philanthropist, his unstintingly generosity led to the establishment of a range of outstanding institutions and foundations that have be

This Friday, the UCT Senate will once again meet to discuss the UCT Academic Freedom Committee (AFC) motion to impose an academic boycott...

On Sunday night, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) hosted its 50 th national conference in Johannesburg. Held every two years, these gatherings are an opportunity for the community to connect to honour members who had done so much either communally or for the greater South Africa – like the late Johnny Clegg, who we honoured this year – but also to take stock of where we are. This year we were fortunate to have a panel discussion comprising veteran business

This Friday, the UCT Senate will once again meet to discuss the UCT Academic Freedom Committee (AFC) motion to impose an academic boycott against Israel. This is an initiative of the Palestine Solidarity Forum at UCT and is linked with the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions against Israel (BDS) movement. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the democratically elected organisation that formally represents the overwhelming majority of Jews, categorically rejects this propo

Isaac Reznik (1936-2019), dubbed South African Jewry's 'Living Encyclopaedia' left a lasting mark in multiple areas of Jewish communal life. David Saks reflects on the varied, busy life of this unique personality. Isaac Reznik, who died on 25 October 2019 at the age of 83, was a unique figure on the Jewish communal scene. Whether as a journalist, editor, photographer, historian, radio host, Jewish communal professional, book dealer, political and social welfare activist, arch

'My Friend Joey' 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 U.S. and Latin America, as well as in Jewish Affairs Joey Cla

Part of the legacy of the Anglo-Boer War are the innumerable artefacts made by Boer POWs in captivity. Gwynne Schrire looks at the Jewish background of one such item, along with those of other examples of memorabilia from the conflict. Gwynne Schrire, a veteran contributor to Jewish Affairs and a long-serving member of its editorial board, is Deputy Director of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies – Cape Council. She has authored, co-written and edited over twenty books on aspect

Acclaimed historian Richard Mendelsohn relates how immigrant Jewish storekeepers were also victims of the British 'scorched earth' tactics during the Anglo-Boer War. Richard Mendelsohn is Emeritus Associate Professor of History at the University of Cape Town. His books include the award-winning Sammy Marks: ‘The Uncrowned King of the Transvaal’ , The Jews in South Africa: An Illustrated History , the first major general history of South African Jewry in fifty years (co-author

COMICS View the glass case, of doughnuts and baguettes. Behind the cigarettes, of my father’s front store, stood a newsstand, with two comic types. English slim ones Sunny Story booklets. American ones piled high. Captain America on front side. His round shield, weighing a ton. Red stripes & stars, blazing like a sun. Simple paper pictures entertain Dad’s sons. America so far away, would protect everyone. One summer’s night, my brothers walked to a neighbour’s home. In their

From 1943 to 1966, Herber House provided boarding facilities for Jewish children, mainly from the country areas, attending schools in Johannesburg. This is the 2nd part of former HH resident Stuart Buxbaum's history of the institution. Stuart Buxbaum holds an honours degree in Sociology from Wits University (1970) and an honours in Judaica from UNISA (1984). After working in the social research unit of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies in the early 1970s, he farmed for many y

The SAJBD calls on our government to condemn in the strongest possible terms the ongoing rocket attacks directed against Israeli citizens over the past twelve hours. Thus far more than 170 rockets have been indiscriminately and relentlessly shot into towns and cities in the centre of Israel, home to more than a million civilians. Thirty-nine residents have been injured, including an 8-year-old girl. There’s never any justification for the deliberate targeting of innocent wome

SOMEONE ON THE CEILING Charlotte Cohen 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. She is a regular contributor to Jewish Affairs. This story was first published in the SA Jewish Times Rosh Hashanah Annual, 1994. I loved visiting my grandmother when I was a child. The reason was simple. She spoiled me rotten: She took me to matinees. She played rummy with me. She

Bernard Levinson is a distinguished South African poet whose work has appeared in numerous scholarly publications and anthologies, including Jewish Affairs. Professionally, he is a psychiatrist based in Johannesburg. In the Pesach 2017 issue of Jewish Affairs , he describes being on the spot after Dillinger was killed. John Dillinger. That’s who I am. I am John Dillinger spread flat against the wall of our small tenement. I slowly edge to the window. I lift a corner of the cu