Special Jewish Affairs issue marks 175 years of Jewish life in SA

The Rosh Hashanah issue of the Board’s journal Jewish Affairs has just been printed and will shortly be accessible on our website. It is a special bumper issue devoted to looking back on 175 years of Jewish life in South Africa, and provides a valuable addition to the growing literature on our remarkable community. 2016 also marks the 75th anniversary of Jewish Affairs itself. It first appeared in mid-1941, as a monthly bulletin through which the Board could communicate with its constituency, and has since come to be widely recognised as being the Jewish community’s leading historical, cultural and current affairs journal. Since 1999, it has been edited by our Associate Director David Saks, and from the beginning of 2009 has also been available electronically.  

We are very proud of our journal, but need our community’s support for it to continue. I invite anyone who is not a subscriber to please consider becoming one. A subscription to Jewish Affairs also makes a meaningful Yom Tov gift, whose benefits can be enjoyed long after the giving. For more information, contact Shirley on beagle@sajbd.org.

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.

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.