Our thoughts are with the Jewish community in Germany as well as the families of all victims, following the heinous attack in Halle, Germany. The attack was aimed at a Jewish community attending Synagogue on the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur. Attacks on religious communities during prayer is becoming an increasingly familiar tactic by cowardly terrorists who are consumed by hate for the so-called “other”. This global phenomenon of radicalism can and should be dea

Combined with a memoir of growing up in apartheid South Africa before moving to the UK, Harold Behr reflects on the antisemitic legacy of one of Dickens' most notorious - and controversial villains Harold Behr Dr Harold Behr is a retired child psychiatrist and group psychotherapist. He emigrated from South Africa to the UK in 1970 . I became aware of Fagin when I was given the story of Oliver Twist in comic book form. This was one of many graphic stories published under the

I found a news article in The Star newspaper last week particularly eye-catching. It related how 21-year-old Antoinette Nthabiseng Thabapelo has initiated a programme, Adopt a Son. Her aim is to change the patriarchal narrative around boys in her community of Bekkersdal, west of Joburg. The programme involves providing mentors for serious, hard-working boys from underprivileged backgrounds between Grades 1 and 12. Thabapelo hopes that it will help the boys become better men b

In a thoroughly duplicitous and misleading statement issued on Friday, a small Jewish fringe group sought to create the impression that support for an academic boycott against Israel is a view that enjoys significant support in the South African Jewish community. They were commenting ahead of a UCT Senate meeting where a boycott of Israeli Universities was to be discussed. In a thoroughly duplicitous and misleading statement issued on Friday, a small Jewish fringe group sough

In January 1997, as chairman of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies, I was sent to London to take part in one of the most important meetings of the post-Holocaust era. After eighteen months of tortuous and often secret negotiations that occasionally flared up into much bitterness, the Swiss government had finally agreed to the establishment of a “Holocaust Memorial Fund”, the purpose of which would be to compensate Holocaust victims and their families and ensure that there was fu

Coinciding with South Africa’s Women’s Month, the SA Jewish Board of Deputies recently hosted a delegation from the Israeli peace movement ‘Women Wage Peace’. Consisting of two Jewish, one Christian Arab and a Muslim Arab woman, the delegation engaged with government, civil society, academia, business, young people and the media, sharing their important messaging of peace-building through dialogue. Yanir Grindler is the Political Liaison officer at the SA Jewish Board of Dep

On 16 June 2019, a new memorial for the victims of the massacre that took place near Birzai, Lithuania, was unveiled. Located in the Astravas Grove in the Pakamponys forest four kilometres outside the town, it is the third memorial in Lithuania to bear the names of the victims at the massacre site. 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 Johannesb

Welcome to the first Jewish Affairs ‘Quirks and Curiosities’ feature! It is envisaged that this will be a regular item looking at some of the more unusual, even eccentric aspects of the Jewish South African legacy. Located directly opposite the Sydenham shul, the Yad Aharon and Michael Jewish Food Fund has grown into one of Johannesburg Jewry’s most important social welfare organisations. Much of the wherewithal for carrying out its mission comes from donations in kind from

“The ten fateful years between 1939 and 1948 changed the Jewish people and the course of Jewish history (M E Katz)” It was during this disruptive, destructive and chaotic decade for European Jewry that, in a historical contradiction, there was a flowering of creative and brave leadership in the South African Jewish community. To quote Katz again, “The instrument that emerged to meet the educational needs of Jewish group life in the open society of the post war western world w

In the Auschwitz Infirmary A line of naked stick-men; he in front Eyes longingly a pair of chamber pots, When told to, on the one he’s told to, squats, In sixty seconds, though, can only grunt. By squirting out a dysenteric mess His aim (excuse the pun) had been to stayIn the infirmary a further day; Instead, he’s kicked aside and told to dress. Another, with his entrails in a knot That tightens every second, quells a howl, Loses the bid to cow his brimming bowel, Sullies a N

David Saks is Associate Director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and editor of Jewish Affairs. He is the author of a number of books on South African political, military and Jewish history, including Boerejode: Jews in the Boer Armed Forces, 1899-1902 (2010). Editor’s note : To mark the centenary of the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, Jewish Affairs devoted its Spring 1999 issue to examining the Jewish role in the conflict. The issue quickly became one of the mos

To create lasting peace, women’s voices are critical. Men alone won’t bring about peace and it’s about time that we all realise that. This is not just opinion - it’s in the numbers. From conflict prevention and conflict resolution to post-conflict reconciliation, studies have borne out that women’s meaningful participation in peace processes significantly increases the likelihood of a negotiated settlement lasting longer than 15 years. ‘Meaningful participation’ does not simp

Attention students: Make sure to check your university timetables. If any of your exams clash with Shabbat or Chagim, email us at sajbd@sajbd.org

Keeping an Eye on Things Reflections and stories from my experience as an election observer. Elections are a special time. They bring with them optimism, excitement, and new horizons. In our country they symbolise hard fought for and cherished free talking to fellow South Africans whom we would normally never meet, while waiting in a queue to vote. We laugh together, moan and commiserate about the long wait, but also reminisce about the magical 1994 election. It is a great le

Watch Irene Fainman, a survivor of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp, when she testified to what she and other victims of Nazi tyranny experienced during the war - at Westpark Jewish Cemetery on Yom Hashoah.

Zev Krengel writes in the Sunday Independent. His piece is a response to Zane Dangor who questioned whether Jewish leadership were using criticism of Israel to silence debate. In this article Krengel applies the “Duck test” as an indication of antisemitism. It is pretty obvious why racism remains such a hot topic in this country. We acknowledge that it still exists and that it urgently needs to be dealt with. The nuance comes in with the definitions around racism. Things such

Standing on the piazza of the Wits University Great Hall during the annual Israel Apartheid Week, I often wondered whether equating anti-Zionism to anti-Semitism was, after all, no more than a clever tactic used by Israel advocates to defuse a difficult discussion. US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s recent series of comments and tweets have made me seriously reconsider my assumption. Her sentiments, which were once beyond the pale in our public discourse, are being heard with grea

Join in this year’s Great Debate and engage with leaders from five political parties as they discuss issues pertinent to the community. Make your voice heard by sending your questions to yanir@sajbd.org or tweet your questions using #MakeUsCount. 11 April7:30pm 11April7:30pmCyril Harris Community Centre, Great Park SynagogueQueries: 011 645 2504Limited spaces available Email yanir@sajbd.org with your name and ID number to book your seat.

This year, Human Rights Day coincides with the Jewish festival of Purim. While the two events appear to have little in common, in actuality, there are numerous interesting parallels between them. The Purim narrative, based on events recorded in the Book of Esther, abounds with human rights themes. The festival commemorates how a plot to massacre the entire Jewish population of the Persian Empire was thwarted through an extraordinary chain of events which in retrospect could o

Academic freedom should be embraced, defended and never be taken for granted. This was the consensus at a meeting between representatives from Stellenbosch University (SU) and the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) at the University on Friday, 25 January 2019. The meeting was convened following the withdrawal of several Israeli academics from a conference, entitled Recognition, Reparation, Reconciliation: The Light and Shadow of Historical Trauma, held at SU towards the end