WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT...
The South African Jewish community enjoys a reputation for being well organised and generous with a deep attachment to Jewish traditional values and strong emotional bonds with the State of Israel. Numbering approximately 100 000, the community has contributed much to the development of South Africa, making its mark on every facet of public life, commerce, industry, science, medicine, art, music, philanthropy, sport and academia.
The central representative institution of the community is the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), to which most of the country's Hebrew congregations, Jewish societies and institutions are affiliated. It was formed in the Transvaal in 1903 to enable the Jewish community to deal with the challenges facing them after the Anglo-Boer War. A similar body was established in Cape Town in 1904, "to watch and take action, with reference to all matters affecting the welfare of Jews as a community"; the two entities merged into one body in 1912. It is the mission of the SAJBD to "work for the betterment of human relations between Jews and all the other peoples of South Africa based on mutual respect, understanding and goodwill. The SAJBD is committed to a new South Africa where everyone will enjoy freedom from the evils of prejudice, intolerance and discrimination."
The SAJBD counters adverse media coverage of matters concerning Jews and ensures that Jews enjoy the same rights as all other South Africans. Its examination of legislation likely to affect the Jewish community is of particular importance at present with the drafting of the new South African constitution. The Board maintains contact with other Diaspora Jewish communities around the world and supports those Jews who suffer discrimination, injustice and distress. It is committed to developing contacts with the wider community, providing them with information about the Jewish community, its life, history and beliefs. Anti-Semitic and racist activities are carefully monitored and exposed. Under the banner of TIKKUN, the SAJBD co-ordinates and facilitates outreach programmes in the community which are directed towards the upliftment of disadvantaged South African communities. As the central body for local Jewry, the SAJBD liaises with all Jewish communal organisations and communal leadership and encourages the continued functioning of a Jewish library, publications and archives. Selected institutions are also aided in providing scholarships, bursaries and grants to foster Jewish research and studies.
As South African Jewish community has always been an integral part of the population of South Africa and it is with enthusiasm that the Board views the current dynamic changes in the country. President Mandela and his Government of National Unity have made clear their high regard and esteem for the Jewish community. Anti-Semitism is not a significant threat, nor is it perceived to be one in the future, although the Board will continue to monitor and counter it. The SAJBD views the current peace process in the Middle East with optimism. South Africa now has full diplomatic relations with both Israel and the PLO.
sajbod@iaccess.za P. O. Box 87557, Houghton, 2041 Tel: (27) (011) 486 1434 Fax: (27) (011) 646 4940
HISTORICAL ROLE OF THE SA JEWISH BOARD OF DEPUTIES (SAJBD)
The central representative institution of the community is the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, to which most of the country's Hebrew congregations, Jewish societies and institutions are affiliated. Its biennial congresses (which decide the Board's policies and elect its president) constitute a broad cross-section of South African Jewry.
The Board was founded on the basis of separate entities in the Transvaal in 1903 and the Cape in 1904, "to watch and take action, with reference to all matters affecting the welfare of Jews as a community"; the two entities merged into one body in 1912.
The Board, as it is known, has intervened with the authorities to prevent Jewish immigrants suffering discrimination or disability on account of their religion. It has helped Jewish immigrants to become naturalised citizens. During the two world wars it assisted the South African war effort by attending to problems specifically affecting Jewish soldiers, as well as participating in the provision of comforts for the troops.
PRESENT DAY FUNCTIONS OF SAJBD:
1. OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES OF SAJBD
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies develops relations with opinion makers, leaders and the media. It protects the civil rights of Jewish people.
Another important aspect of the Board's work is the monitoring of anti-Semitism. To this end, a sophisticated data base has been set up to record and where appropriate to deal with local anti-Semitic incidents, and to monitor international trends in this field.
Domestically, the SAJBD renders a variety of services to the Jewish community to enrich and maintain Jewish life, including the provision of a variety of cultural programmes.
The Board has regional committees and offices in Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria. These regions are represented on a National Executive Council, which meets once every three months at the national headquarters in Parktown, Johannesburg.
2. RELATIONS WITH THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies welcomed the political changes in South Africa and the establishment of a non-racist, non-sexist and democratic government under the leadership of President Nelson Mandela. Political networking across a broad spectrum has ensured that Jewish input and representation on issues such as civil rights, welfare and education, occurs on an ongoing basis.
The South African government is committed to a future wherein every citizen is equal and the rights of individuals are protected. The government's commitment to human rights has positive implications for the Jewish community which is confident that its rights will be safeguarded.
The SAJBD has made representations on a wide range of constitutional matters and is also involved in lobbying against crime and violence. The future of South Africa is dependent to a large extent on the economy and on international investments in the country. The SAJBD is confident that the government's programmes of reconstruction and development, incorporating housing, the provision of jobs and the improvement of living standards for all will ensure that South Africa's future will be bright and prosperous.
3. SOUTH AFRICA - ISRAEL RELATIONS
The SAJBD views the peace process with optimism. South Africa now has full diplomatic relations with both Israel and the PLO. Subsequent to the accord signed by the Prime Minister of Israel and the PLO, a successful meeting with representatives of the SAJBD and a PLO leader was held. The PLO's commitment to a peaceful settlement and its desire to live peacefully with Jews was emphasised.
4. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies has maintained full contact with Jewish organisations abroad and has assisted in universal Jewish causes. It is a member of the World Jewish Congress and also has very close relationships with the Anti-Defamation League in New York, the American Jewish Committee, the American Joint Distribution Committee and the British Board of Deputies.
The SAJBD was instrumental in the establishment of the African Jewish Congress and with providing Sub-Saharan communities with assistance and support. The congress co-ordinates the cultural, religious and social activities of these communities. The inaugural conference held in Harare was attended by 150 delegates and observers from Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. A second one took place in Johannesburg in 1995.
5. RELATIONS WITH OTHER CONSTITUENCIES
The SAJBD has ongoing dialogue with the government as well as with the African National Congress, the National Party, the SA Council of Churches, the Trade Union movement and other bodies such as the Inkatha Freedom Party, Azapo and the Pan Africanist Congress. SAJBD is also part of the World Conference on Religion and Peace - South African Chapter (WCRP), an interfaith body. More recently it has held a number of meetings with the Muslim community.
The South African tour of the "Anne Frank in the World" exhibition was a major outreach endeavor of the Board for 1994/beginning of 1995. Presented in conjunction with the Royal Netherlands Embassy and in association with the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk, the SA Catholic Bishops' Conference, the SA Council of Churches and the WCRP, SA Chapter, the exhibition was shown in most major centres and attracted over 100 000 visitors. It was under the distinguished patronage of Dr Frank Chikane, the Hon Justice Richard Goldstone, Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris, Archbishop Wilfred Napier, OFM, Prof P C Potgieter, His Excellency Mr. Roell, Ambassador for the Netherlands, Mrs. Helen Suzman and the Most Rev D M Tutu, Archbishop of Cape Town.
It is significant that the exhibition was presented at a time when South Africa is attempting to deal with the horrors of its own past which, like those experienced by Anne Frank, are lodged in discrimination, racism and a denial of democracy. The exhibition's message was that the building of a better future for all South Africans can only be achieved through peace, harmony and equality, as epitomised in the legacy of Anne Frank.
ZIONIST FEDERATION
The South African Zionist Federation is the representative body through which Zionist work in the Republic is co-ordinated. The various Zionist groupings, organisations and societies are affiliated to it. Established towards the end of the last century, the Zionist Federation enjoys a status similar to that of the Jewish Board of Deputies. Its various departments deal with organisations and information, fundraising, youth activities, women's organisations and immigration to Israel.
South African Jewry is a committed Zionist community. Affiliated to the Zionist Federation are a number of Zionist youth movements, namely: Habonim, Bnei Akiva, Betar and Maginim, which conduct cultural programmes, organise youth activities and run highly successful summer camps. University youth are in addition represented by the South African Union of Jewish Students, which is affiliated to the Zionist Federation as well as to the Board of Deputies.
FUNDRAISING
The fundraising body for the South African Jewish community is the Israel United Appeal (IUA)/ United Communal Fund (UCF) which has regional offices throughout the country. Beneficiaries of the Fund include: Israel, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the Jewish Day School movement, the Union of Jewish Women, the Union of Orthodox Synagogues and the SA Union for Progressive Judaism.
Congregations and other bodies raise their own finances among their members through membership subscriptions and fundraising drives.
RELIGIOUS LIFE
In the main, South African Jews belong to Orthodox congregations with an approximate ten percent being affiliated to the Progressive movement. There is also a very small Conservative affiliation. These are autonomous bodies, each controlling its own affairs, with religious authority vested in the spiritual leader. Most of them, however, are also affiliated to representative organisations which endeavor to strengthen Jewish religious life.
The Union of Orthodox Synagogues of South Africa is the umbrella body for Orthodox congregations throughout South Africa. Within the Reform sector, the SA Union for Progressive Judaism is the co-ordinating body for Reform congregations. Rabbis have similarly established their own representative institutions.
In the last few years, the Ohr Samayach movement has gained considerable support, particularly amongst young adults in Johannesburg. It is indicative of the resurgence in orthodoxy and religious practice occurring within sectors of the community.
EDUCATION
Traditionally, Jewish education in South Africa was conducted by the Cheder or Talmud Torah (afternoon classes run by Hebrew congregations, which required the attendance of the children of members after their day's studies at Government schools). The creation of the Jewish Day Schools some fifty years ago combined general and Jewish education. Today the Talmud Torahs still account for some 4 000 pupils, mainly those attending government day schools.
The Jewish Day School system in South Africa is most comprehensive. Situated in the main urban centres, the day schools provide Jewish education from pre to high school. More than 60% of all Jewish children in South Africa attend these schools. Although all the schools have a broadly traditional religious orientation, some provide a more intensive orthodox religious education.
Nineteen Day Schools, affiliated to the South African Board of Jewish Education, have been established in the main centres. (King David Junior, Primary and High Schools, Linksfield; King David Junior, Primary and High Schools, Victory Park; King David Primary School Sandton; a total of 4 311 pupils in Johannesburg at the end of July 1995. United Hertzlia Schools in Cape Town with a total of 1 657 pupils at the end of July 1995; Carmel Primary and High Schools in Durban and Theodor Herzl Primary and High Schools in Port Elizabeth; a total of 856 pupils). These day schools provide a full education following the Government syllabus from the primary classes to matriculation and in addition teach Jewish studies (Hebrew language, Jewish religion, history and literature) as normal school subjects.
A more intensive Jewish traditional education is provided by the Menorah primary school and Yeshiva College (704 pupils), the Torah Academy (458 pupils), the Sha'arei Torah Primary School (171 pupils), Torah Emeth (55 pupils), Hirsch Lyons (89 pupils), Bet Ya'akov (83 pupils) and Meharsha Primary School (50 pupils), all in Johannesburg. (These figures were at the end of July 1995). There is also the Hebrew Academy in Cape Town.
The Progressive Movement maintains a network of supplementary Hebrew and Religious classes at its temples. These schools are all affiliated to the SA Union for Progressive Judaism.
The Jewish community has also built up an excellent network of Hebrew Nursery Schools, conducted according to the standards laid down by the South African Association for Early Childhood Education.
Whereas in earlier days, Hebrew teachers had to be imported, South African Jewry is today training many of its Hebrew teachers from its own ranks. The Rabbi Zlotnick Hebrew Teachers' Training Seminary in Johannesburg has graduated many teachers since its inception in 1948.
Mount Scopus, formerly the Jewish Students' University Programme (JSUP), combines traditional Jewish studies with university studies through UNISA (the University of South Africa) and operates in Johannesburg. Through the Department of Hebrew and the Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Cape Town, the Department of Hebrew at the University of the Witwatersrand and the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at Natal University in Durban, students are afforded an opportunity to study Hebrew and Jewish Studies at tertiary level.
An intensive post-school religious programme is offered by the Yeshiva Gedolah of Johannesburg from where graduates who have been ordained as rabbis are now serving the South African Jewish community. There is also a Lubavitch Yeshiva in Johannesburg serving the Chabad community.
WELFARE BODIES
Jewish welfare agencies exist in all the major centres. A number of institutions have been created for the aged, children and handicapped. In Johannesburg, Sandringham Gardens and Our Parents' Home accommodate aged members of the Jewish community, principally from the Transvaal. Beth Shalom in Durban caters for the Jewish aged of Natal and Highlands House in Cape Town accommodates the Jewish aged of the Cape Province. Arcadia Children's Home in Johannesburg and the Oranja Home in Cape Town cater to Jewish children in need of care. The Selwyn Segal Centre in Johannesburg attends to the needs of the physically and mentally handicapped. Similarly, Kibbutz Lubner and Hatikvah House, which are both under the centre's auspices, as well as the Kadimah Occupational Centre, cater for those who need sheltered employment. In Cape Town, Glendale provides for the mentally handicapped and sheltered employment. One of the newest welfare developments is a project called Tikkun. This project, sponsored by Jewish patrons, aims to become involved in reconstruction and development with disadvantaged South African families outside of the Jewish community.
COMMUNAL WORK
A major women's organisation is the Union of Jewish Women of South Africa which has branches throughout the Republic. Its policy is to render service to both the Jewish and to the broader community; to the South African people, irrespective of race, colour or creed, and to Israel. The participation of the UJW branches in welfare work is impressive. They are concerned with the needs of the underprivileged and undernourished, the aged, the mentally ill, the sick and the children. They express their concern in a variety of ways: introducing feeding schemes for the underprivileged of all races, such as soup kitchens for the supply of essential foods to crèches, nursery and primary schools and the provision of family centres. They provide transport to hospitals and clinics, assist in occupational therapy, arrange outings and entertainment for orphans and the aged, conduct a thriving Adult Education programme and are involved in the Hippy pre-school programme which is directed to underprivileged black children.
The spectrum of Jewish communal work is broad and includes specialist agencies like ORT, the SA branch of a world-wide organisation that focuses on the provision and improvement of technical and vocational training, as well as friendly societies and Fraternal Orders like the Hebrew Order of David and B'nai B'rith.
Specific interests are served by such bodies as the SA Jewish Ex-Service League and the Maccabi, the latter being primarily a Jewish sporting body through which teams from South Africa are sent (every four years) to participate in the Maccabiah in Israel.
Finally, a number of socially concerned Jews in 1985 established a group called Jews for Social Justice in Johannesburg and Jews for Justice in Cape Town in order to respond in an organised framework to the injustices which were part and parcel of South African society. They established links which have paved the way for the wider inter-community contacts which the SA Jewish community has since established. Though now defunct, these bodies were important manifestations of Jewish involvement in the struggle for justice. Recently an organisation named Gesher has been established as a vehicle for greater involvement in and contribution to South African society.
OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
As the example of the UJW shows, many people in the community are involved in development and welfare activities that improve the lives of our country's disadvantaged communities.
The ORT organisation previously mentioned has established the ORT-STEP Institute in Midrand which provides high quality courses in many aspects of technological education including science, mathematics and English, both for high school students and for teachers. The Institute is expanding its activities to several other cities.
OSSAC, the Oxford Synagogue Social Action Committee, runs a variety of classes in literacy and in various skills such as cookery and sewing. The Glenhazel synagogue and Netzer youth movement both run literacy schools.
There are also several foundations set up by Jewish entrepreneurs which have established technical schools and have supported many other social and educational institutions serving disadvantaged communities throughout South Africa.
THE JEWISH PRESS
There is a fortnightly newspaper, the SA Jewish Times, in addition to the Cape Jewish Chronicle, Hashalom in KwaZulu-Natal and the Pretoria Jewish Chronicle. Various other publications of a seasonal nature also exist.
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies also publishes an upmarket quarterly journal called "Jewish Affairs" which features articles of cultural and communal interest.
POLITICS
At present the south African Jewish community is well represented in the various judicial and legislative arenas. There are a number of Jews serving on the new Constitutional Court and several Jews have been appointed to various positions in government. This reveals the increased participation of the Jews in the institutions maintaining a new democratic South Africa.
EARLY JEWISH JOHANNESBURG
6 000 Jews - 10 percent of the total population - lived in Johannesburg nine years after the discovery of gold and the city's establishment in 1886. While some came from Britain and Germany, more than half were from Eastern Europe, particularly from Lithuania and Latvia.
Early Jewish settlers in Johannesburg flocked to Fordsburg, Mayfair and Doornfontein. These suburbs had many Jewish characteristics and families were found living near to one another. These were the days of wood-and-iron dwellings and the discomforts of early pioneering days. For many, the streets were not paved with gold but with poverty and there was a serious housing shortage.
The early Jewish community comprised a rather loose association of individuals who belonged to three groups: the early comers, mainly from Britain; the Germans and other continental Jews; and the East European Jews, mainly from the Baltic states and Russia. They were bound together in their common Jewish heritage and a warm-hearted kinship which found expression in wanting to help others less fortunate. But, as with Jewish communities elsewhere in South Africa, and especially at the Cape and in Natal, the drive to help one another was accompanied by the urge also to help the community at large.
In spite of the materialistic spirit that generally prevailed at the time, there were also a number of Jews who were deeply concerned about the future of Judaism on the goldfields. On the initiative of Emanuel Mendelssohn, the "Witwatersrand Goldfields Jewish Association" was formed on 10 July 1887. It purchased two building plots in President Street on 29 January 1888 for the purpose of erecting the first synagogue in the Transvaal. Ten months later, Mendelssohn laid the foundation stone of the new synagogue which became known as the President Street Synagogue, and he was its first president. Mendelssohn was at different times chairman or president of most of the cultural and religious institutions of Johannesburg. He was also part-owner of the 'Standard and Diggers News', and for some time its editor.
Many of the early Russian Jews worked in stores on the mines or as peddlers of commodities from old clothing to bottles and bags, cigarettes, eggs and fruit. Nevertheless, a number of Jews were also amongst the first wealthy prominent pioneers on the mines and in industry, trade and wholesale trade. Although there were household names like Lewis, Marks, Barnato, Joel, Albu, Phillips, Nellmapius and Lippert, the majority were small middlemen - trading in the towns and villages and working as farmers.
A special phenomenon was the growth of the Landsleit societies whose members derived from the same small village or shtetl overseas; and the firstcomers, who had established themselves to some extent, were eager to offer encouragement and financial help (sans interest or even security) to those who followed. Many of these societies survived for many years afterwards, and even today, over a hundred years later, there are societies not quite moribund. Among the earliest societies were the Ponevez which began its charitable work in 1899, the Kaidaner Society in 1900, and the Krakenowo Society, also of the same period.
Synagogue services in early Johannesburg days were carried out in the two main synagogues, the President Street and the Park. They were also held in such disparate venues as Fillis's Circus, the Masonic Hall, the Rand Club (ironically later alleged to have excluded Jews from membership) and the Theatre Royal.
As the town of Johannesburg grew, so did new Jewish organisations take root and flower. One of these was the Jewish Helping Hand and Burial Society, the famous Chevra Kadisha. It was formed in 1887 with the main objective of burying the first Jew to die in the Golden City. It soon developed into a social and economic force - in particular, the providing of aid to the needy.
An influx of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Latvia arrived in the 1890s and early 1900s. Bad times soon brewed - caused by the Jameson Raid in 1896, the re-election of President Kruger in 1898, and the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War in 1899. Economic and moral help was needed by many, especially among the new immigrants who continued to arrive. A soup kitchen was founded to feed both Jews and non-Jews, and at a later date, the Chevra Kadisha formed the Jewish Ambulance Corps which, during the Boer War distributed food rations to those Jews in Johannesburg who needed them. Two other notable new organisations for help were the Society for Visiting the Sick (Bikkur Cholim) and the Ladies' Benevolent Society.
In 1896 a Jewish Hospital was founded for Orthodox Jews who insisted on kosher food and who felt that newcomers from Eastern Europe would feel more at ease with Jewish food, fellow patients and Jewish doctors and nurses. The hospital was eventually incorporated into the Johannesburg General Hospital while the Kosher Kitchen committee still serves meals to this day.
Social clubs were formed as Jewish numbers grew. The Jewish Dramatic Society was formed in 1896 and the Jewish Guild founded in 1897. This was a town hungry for entertainment of every nature.
In 1890, a Jewish School was opened in Kerk Street, and by 1893, the enrollment was 84. These were the forerunners of the national Jewish Day School movement that was to educate scores of thousands of Jewish boys and girls to higher education - and later distinction in the professions.
In the last twenty years, Jewish families have become attracted to the Northern suburbs such as Killarney, Dunkeld, Wendywood, Gallo Manor and Glenhazel. Although they took their Jewish characteristics with them, one no longer hears, "Wos macht a Yid?" although the "Oi vay" was never lost. One no longer sees the cobblers, the tailors or the milliners but the Donny Gordons, Sol Kerzners and Raymond Ackermans have emerged. Jewish education is no longer carried out by the "cheder" across the road from the Great Synagogue in Wolmarans Street, but the majority of Jewish children are sent to the King Davids and other Jewish day schools. However, the contribution of early Johannesburg Jews to the city and their community remains.