Last Thursday, a series of cultural and educational events to mark 175 years of Jewish life in South Africa culminated in the opening of a superb new exhibition on what it has meant to be a Jewish South African over the generations. The SAJBD Cape Council partnered with the SA Jewish Museum in putting together the exhibition, which has been a remarkable success and which we hope to bring up to Johannesburg eventually. I endorse our Cape Chairman Eric Marx’s remarks on the occasion, when he cited the famous injunction in Pirkei Avot not to separate oneself from the community and went on to stress how our strength as a Jewish community has always been on how unified and well-structured we have been, whilst at the same time playing our part in the wider society.
Recent Articles
Above Board 27 August
Desperate Dangor’s antizionist rant
In recent weeks, the SAJBD has observed a rise in increasingly hostile efforts to challenge the perspectives of our community organisations and silence “mainstream” Jewish voices. In this case, “mainstream” Jewish refers to community members who are traditionally Jewish in observance (be it orthodox or progressive), and Zionist in orientation. Yet, the discourse has shifted, increasingly framing Zionism itself as beyond acceptable bounds, thereby deeming aligned groups inherently problematic. What stands out, however, is that the campaign against mainstream Jewry is increasingly desperate, incoherent, and too often driven by a quest for attention rather than substantive dialogue.
Unpacking Holocaust Inversion: A Deep Dive into Jewish Plurality and Ideological Battles
Unpacking Holocaust Inversion: A Deep Dive into Jewish Plurality and Ideological Battles
Above Board 21 August 2025
Last weekend, I had the privilege of attending and presenting at Limmud, an event that over the years has truly become a cornerstone of our communal calendar. It stands as the most invigorating platform we have for exploring the rich diversity of Jewish views and topics that shape our community, dealing with issues that simply aren’t addressed with such depth and openness in any other forum.