- SA Jewish Report

TOPOL IS ALIVE AND WELL
AND LIVING IN TEL AVIV / 8
JMS’ NEW SEASON KICKS
OFF WITH 10 CONCERTS / 12
BOOKS: CAN
THERE BE
TOO MUCH
HAPPINESS? / 13
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Friday, 12 February 2010 / 28 Shevat 5770
Volume 14 Number 5
Silencing the New Israel Fund - is
Israel destroying its democracy?
PAGE 10
‘I TELL YOU CYRIL,
IT’S THE TRUTH!’
The Shoah’s resonance
with Namibians / 3
YOUTH / 18-19
SPORTS / 24
Cyril Ramaphosa and Alan Solow, Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish
Organisations. Solow was in Johannesburg as part of a delegation of 70 including leaders from the
United States and Euro-Asian regions. This group is the most high profile Jewish delegation ever to
visit the African continent. The group is still in the country and full coverage of their visit will follow in
next week's issue. (PHOTO: ILAN OSSENDRYVER)
Harry Schwarz SAKS: SA Jewry’s
passes on / 4
golden age? / 11
LETTERS / 14-15
CROSSWORD & BRIDGE / 20
Chief Rabbi, Anglican Archbishop
discuss SA’s moral state / 9
COMMUNITY BUZZ / 7
WHAT’S ON / 20
2
SA JEWISH REPORT
12 - 19 February 2010
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Honourable Abe Abrahamson (Hon. Life
President), Stan Kaplan (Chairman)
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Mr Justice Meyer Joffe
(Chair, editorial comm)
KASHRUT
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Is religion still relevant?
CYBERSPACE, outer space, inner
space. Genome maps, globalisation, going to Mars. Smart cards,
smart bombs, stem cells and cell
phones.
There is no denying it. We live
in a new age. Science fiction has
become scientific fact. And the
question is asked: In this new
world order, with science and
technology changing the way we
live, is religion still relevant? Do
we still need to subscribe to an
ancient and seemingly long obsolete code of laws when we are so
further advanced than our ancestors?
This question reminds me of little old Hymie Levy of London
who somehow found himself
attending a cocktail party in the
company of aristocracy. Poor
Hymie was completely out of
place mingling with the lords and
ladies of British royalty and high
society.
One Duchess was so irritated by
this ordinary Jew’s presence that
she confronted him directly.
Oozing sarcasm, in her finest elocution, she let on to Hymie: “Did
you know that my family traces
its lineage back to the very people
who were personally present at
the signing of the Magna Carta”
Hymie Levy was unfazed. He
gave a little shrug of his shoulders
PARSHAT
MISHPATIM
Rabbi Yossy Goldman
Sydenham Highlands
North Hebrew
Congregation
and whispered straight into the ear
of Her Haughtiness: “Un Mein
Zayde Moishe vos poisonally present by de giving of de Tzen
Commendments!”
Have the Ten Commandments
passed their sell by date? Are faith
and doubt, murder, adultery, thievery, lying and jealousy out of fashion? Notwithstanding all our marvellous medical and scientific
developments, has human nature
itself really changed? Are not the
very same moral issues that faced
our ancestors still challenging our
own generation?
Whether it’s an ox cart or a
Mercedes, road rage or courteous
coexistence is still a choice we must
make.
Looking after aged parents is not
a new problem. Whether it was
Adam and Eve or Michael and
Sheryl, the grass somehow always
seems greener on the other side.
For some inexplicable reason, the
other guy’s wife, house, horse or
Porsche still seem more attractive
and desirable than our own.
The very same issues dealt with
in the Bible - sibling rivalry, jealous
partners, and even murder - are
still the stuff of newspaper headlines today. So what else is new?
Has anything changed?
Yes, today we have astronauts
and space stations, laser beams
and laptops but the basic issues
and choices human beings must
face, remain identical. Once upon a
time the question was: Do I hit him
with my club or slice him up with
my sword? Today the question is:
Do I call up the nuclear submarines or send in the guided missiles?
Technology has developed in
leaps and bounds. Fantasies of yesterday are reality today. Communication, automation and globalisation have altered our lives dramatically. But the core issues, the basic
moral dilemmas have not changed
one iota.
We still struggle with knowing
the difference between right and
wrong, moral or immoral, ethical
or sneaky and not even the most
souped-up computer on earth is
able to answer those questions for
us.
Science and technology can do
wonders for humankind. But they
can also blow us all to kingdom
come faster than Attila the Hun
could have ever imagined. Science
and technology answer How and
SHABBAT TIMES
February 12/28 Shvat
February 13/29 Shvat
Mishpatim/Shekalim
Starts
18:15
18:19
18:15
18:20
17:50
18:15
Ends
19:25
20:17
19:19
19:37
19:48
19:37
Johannesburg
Cape Town
Durban
Bloemfontein
Port Elizabeth
East London
What. They do not address the
question of Why.
Why are we here in the first
place? Why should I be nice to my
neighbour? Why should my life be
nobler than my pet Doberman’s?
Science and technology have
unravelled many mysteries that
puzzled us for centuries. But they
have not answered a single moral
question. Only Torah addresses
the moral minefield. And those
issues are perhaps more pressing
today than ever before in history.
Torah is truth and truth is eternal. Scenarios come and go.
Lifestyles change with the geography. The storylines are different
but the gut level issues are all too
familiar.
If we ever needed religion–or in
our language, Torah–we need it
equally today and maybe more so.
May we continue to find moral
guidance and clarity in the eternal
truths of our holy and eternal
Torah. Amen.
At Kibbutz Lubner, nurturing
soul and growing self-esteem
TZIVIA GRAUMAN
CHEVRAH KADISHA GROUP
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
KIBBUTZ LUBNER, located in
Olifantsfontein, Midrand, is so
much more than a successful kibbutz-style working farm. In addition to producing a range of vegetables and delicacies, Kibbutz Lubner
grows self-worth - a truly priceless
commodity.
Not so long ago, for 15 Kibbutz
Lubner residents this manifested
in their Level 1 NQF Horticulture
certification.
Kibbutz Lubner provides accommodation and facilities for 22 intellectually disabled adults in an
Israeli kibbutz-like environment
where they have the opportunity,
tools and training to farm plants
and vegetables.
Since 1978, residents have lived in
the renovated farmhouse, thriving
on the dignity of their work and the
pride and joy that ensue from producing food from the earth.
Kibbutz Lubner is a Selwyn
Segal facility, under the auspices of
the Chevrah Kadisha. More than a
place, Selwyn Segal is a concept - an
ideology encompassing protection
and hope, where special people
deserve special care.
These values extend to Kibbutz
Lubner, where residents, who have
milder challenges than those in the
Selwyn Segal Centre and who are
physically able to work independently, assist with numerous aspects of
the outdoor farming operation and
the preparation of food products.
The residents enthusiastically
help out with the daily routine of
kibbutz life, such as preparing
meals, running the laundry, tending
to the gardens, doing maintenance
work, as well as working in the onsite food factory.
The kibbutz produces vegetables
that will be used by the residents as
well as in the production of food
products. Residents in the Selwyn
Segal factory produce delicious
items including marmalades, jams,
Jewish delicacies, horseradish and
veggie chips, which are sold in
Kibbutz Lubner residents work in the
on-site food factory
and produce a range
of delicacies that are
distributed in a variety of supermarkets.
(PHOTOGRAPH SUPPLIED)
supermarkets throughout South
Africa, thus generating revenue for
the Selwyn Segal. In true Israeli
kibbutz style the “farmers” receive
all their daily needs as well as a
wage.
“This instils dignity in each individual,” says Saul Tomson, group
revenue director. “The kibbutz fosters independence and self-esteem
through meaningful employment.
“It encourages the universal concepts of pride and accomplishment,
and is a model that can be duplicated, with key learnings leveraged in
other local communities.”
The horticulture training, conducted by an accredited assessor
under the National Qualifications
Framework (NQF), included instruction regarding landscaping
and gardening and how to grow
seedlings, plants and vegetables.
Residents, under the direction of
the kibbutz maintenance manager,
also learned how to build pathways
and fishponds and to plant exotic
flowers, foliage and shrubbery.
A greenhouse tunnel is being
Joshua Granville loves working
in the Kibbutz Lubner fields.
Joshua has swum the Midmar
Mile 12 times. (PHOTOGRAPH: JUSTINE BROZIN)
used on the kibbutz premises
where residents are involved in the
watering and harvesting of plants
that are then distributed throughout the Chevrah Kadisha.
“Kibbutz Lubner’s operational
process extends far beyond producing agricultural and food products,” says Ursula Cowen, the kibbutz housemother and residence
manager.
“Just as cultivating a seed
requires special care, patience and
love, so too does nurturing a soul.
And this is what we aim to achieve
at the farm. It’s a place where selfesteem flourishes.”
The wrong UJW number
The explosion at Telkom’s
Yeoville/Hillbrow depot two
weeks ago, has left the Union of
Jewish Women’s offices at 1 Oak
Street, Houghton, without telephone, fax or e-mail connection.
On top of it, Glenda’s cell number supplied to us, was wrong.
Until such time as the electricity problem has been resolved, the
public is requested to contact
Ann at the office on 072-479-5852
with regard to general queries,
and Glenda on (the correct) number, 084-407-9409, in connection
with Kosher Mobile Meals.
12 - 19 February 2010
SA JEWISH REPORT
Harold Pupkewitz (left) and Mervyn Smith with Namibian President Hifikepunye
Pohamba.
Holocaust Day has
particular resonance
with Namibians
DAVID SAKS
PHOTOGRAPH: RABBI MOSHE SILBERHAFT
FOR THE people of Namibia, genocide is
not something that was inflicted on others.
It remains a little-known fact that the first
major act of genocide in the previous century took place in their country, with the
mass slaughter of tens of thousands of
Herero and San by the German colonial
forces in 1903.
The opening in Windhoek of the exhibition “The Holocaust: Lessons for
Humanity” on January 27 - the day designated by the United Nations as
International Holocaust Day - will therefore have had particular resonance for
those attending.
The exhibition was jointly mounted by
the SA Holocaust Foundation, the National
Archives of Namibia and the United
Nations Information Centre.
A delegation from the African Jewish
Congress (AJC), combined a solidarity
visit to Namibian Jewry with participation
in the opening function. While focusing
primarily on the destruction of European
Jewry, the exhibition includes an important section commemorating all those victims of genocide over the past 100 years,
including the Herero, Rwandan Tutsis,
Cambodians, Armenians and Darfurians.
To commemorate the San Herero massacre, a 100-year-old Herero man was invited to light a memorial candle. Other dignitaries who lit candles were the German
Ambassador, AJC President and SA
Holocaust Foundation Chairman Mervyn
Smith, AJC Vice-President and Windhoek
Hebrew Congregation Honorary Life
President Harold Pupkewitz, Israel
Ambassador Ilan Baruch and Namibian
Minister of Education Nangolo Mbumba.
In her address, Mbumba said the Herero
tragedy left one “reeling at the horrors that
human beings are capable of inflicting on
others and surviving”.
To prevent such things from ever happening again, moreover, mere remembrance was not enough. Rather, it was “a
national and international responsibility
to protect the citizens of the world from
massive violations of human rights or
genocide”.
Through Pupkewitz the AJC delegation,
which included SAJBD President Michael
Bagraim, Vice-Chairman Li Boiskin and
other senior South African Jewish leaders,
subsequently
met
with
Namibian
President Hifikepunye Pohamba.
During the meeting, Smith stressed the
importance of the relationship between the
Jewish people and the State of Israel and the
need for continued vigilance against antiSemitism. He thanked Pohamba for ensuring that the rights of all Namibians, including its Jewish community, were protected.
At the end of the meeting, AJC spiritual
leader and CEO, Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft
presented President Pohamba with an
antique shofar bearing the inscription
from Leviticus 25: 9 - 10: “You shall sound
the Shofar... and proclaim freedom
throughout the land for all its inhabitants.”
AROUND THE WORLD
NEWS IN BRIEF
COSTA RICA ELECTS JEWISH VP
COSTA RICA - A Jewish former banker
has been elected vice president of Costa
Rica.
Luis Lieberman will become vice president after Costa Rican voters on Sunday
elected Laura Chinchilla as the Central
American country's first female president
by a wide margin.
Lieberman's parents immigrated to
Costa Rica from Poland before the Second
World War. He is the grandson of a mohel.
Lieberman told Ynet that his being
Jewish did not affect his candidacy. He
said Jews were very active in Costa Rican
politics. Jews have served in previous governments.
Approximately 3 000 Jews live in Costa
Rica. (JTA)
PARTY TIME AT THE ZOO: ANIMALS GET AGRI WINGS
POSTVILLE - Some 20 tons of frozen
chicken wings from the former
Agriprocessors kosher slaughterhouse,
have been given to a local zoo.
The wings from the plant in Postville,
Iowa, could not be sold, but were
deemed fit for human consumption,
the Associated Press reported. The
wings were given to the Cricket Hollow
Zoo in Manchester, Iowa, due to
the intervention of the Iowa Waste
Exchange.
The zoo is sharing its windfall with
other Iowa zoos. (JTA)
3
4
SA JEWISH REPORT
12 - 19 February 2010
Passing of Harry
KZN Zionist Council leads
Schwarz stuns the the carbon neutral pack
Jewish community
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY
LAUREN SHAPIRO
DAVID SAKS
HARRY SCHWARZ, who passed
away last Friday at the age of 85,
was one of the last, and certainly
among the most distinguished, of
a generation of German Jewish
refugees from Nazism who came
to South Africa in the 1930s.
Best known for his impressive
record as a forceful, charismatic
opposition parliamentarian during the final stages of the
apartheid era, he gained further
renown as a lawyer, diplomat,
human rights activist and Jewish
communal leader.
Harry Heinz Schwarz was born
in Cologne, Germany, in 1924,
arriving in South Africa in 1936.
During the Second World War, he
served as a navigator in the SA
Air Force, thereafter qualifying
as a lawyer at the University of
the Witwatersrand.
He practised both as an advocate and an attorney, among
other things serving on the
defence team of Nelson Mandela
and
other
anti-apartheid
activists during the 1963-4
Rivonia Trial.
Schwarz’s long political career
commenced with his election to
the Johannesburg City Council
in 1951. As a member of the opposition United Party, he was
leader
of
the
Provincial
Opposition from 1963-1974.
He entered Parliament on the
UP ticket in 1974, representing
the (then heavily Jewish)
Yeoville constituency, and was
among the foremost of the socalled “Young Turks” pushing for
the by then near-moribund UP to
adopt a more liberal stance on
racial policies.
Expelled from the UP, he
formed the Reform Party, which
soon
merged
with
the
Progressive Party to become the
Progressive Reform, and finally
the Progressive Federal Party.
This became the official opposition in the 1977 election and
remained so until 1987 - a precursor to the present Democratic
Alliance.
During his time in parliament,
Schwarz was official opposition
spokesman on finance. He carried out this role so effectively
that, according to Helen Suzman,
National Party finance ministers
lived in terror of him, particularly when the time came for delivering the annual budget speech.
As an MP, he forcefully
denounced the government’s
racial policies, and any Nat MP
foolish enough to let slip an antiSemitic comment could expect an
especially scathing response.
Schwarz later told historian
Gideon Shimoni that on two occasions he received behind-thescenes offers to accept a Cabinet
position, which he refused.
Helen Zille, leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance, said
that Schwarz would be remembered for his “signal contribution
to the development of democracy” in South Africa.
“He had strong leadership
qualities and could inspire people to great achievements. An
outstanding debater, both inside
and outside Parliament, he could
stand his ground against all-comers”, she said.
In 1983, Schwarz was co-opted
onto the National Executive
Council of the SA Jewish Board
of Deputies and served as chairman
of
its
International
Relations Subcommittee until
2000.
He played a vital role in helping
the Board maintain its connection to international Jewry at a
time of intensifying pressure
against the apartheid state. He
was further amongst those progressive voices that lobbied successfully for the Board to adopt a
more outspoken stance against
apartheid.
In later years, Schwarz was
extensively involved in assisting
the Board in law-related issues,
including in the highly sensitive
administration of the Swiss Fund
for Needy Holocaust Survivors.
He was in 2002 appointed honorary life vice-president of the
SAJBD Gauteng Council in recognition of his services.
In a media release, the SAJBD
described Schwarz as having
been one of the Jewish community’s most illustrious members,
who had rendered sterling service to his adopted country,
whether in the political, diplomatic, human rights, legal or
Jewish communal fields.
From 1990 - 1994, although still
in Opposition, Schwarz served as
South African ambassador to the
United States. His focus during
this time was in boosting investment to the evolving postapartheid South Africa. For his
services to South Africa, he was
awarded
the
Order
for
Meritorious Service: Class 1,
Gold.
Schwarz, in addition to his formidable intellectual gifts, was an
indefatigable worker who approached every task he undertook,
whether big or small, with conscientious thoroughness.
Less well known were his private acts of generosity. He
declined to benefit from his
Parliamentary and ambassadorial pensions, for example, instead
using the funds to establish a
charitable trust. In his hesped at
the funeral, Rabbi Mendel
Rabinowitz also emphasised his
devotion to his family, noting in
particular the lengths he had
gone to care for his aged mother,
despite her being in Cape Town.
Schwarz was buried last
Sunday at Johannesburg’s West
Park Jewish Cemetery, fittingly
enough within sight of his great
contemporary and colleague,
Helen Suzman. He is survived by
his wife, Annette, three sons and
four grandchildren.
DURBAN CELEBRATED Tu
B’Shvat and the launch of JNF
South Africa’s new One Tree One Goal programme with a
day of tree-planting at Salt
Rock.
In partnership with Greenpeace International and the
Sizimisele Development Trust,
the KwaZulu-Natal Zionist
Council hosted a fabulous fun
day aimed at raising awareness
of climate change, Israel’s positive impact on the global environment, and the power each
individual has to make a difference.
Community leaders planted a
fig tree, which is one of the
seven sacred species in Israel.
Younger participants planted
flowering seedlings, fulfilling
the event’s goal of combating
global warming by raising
awareness of the growing
importance of greening, ultimately creating a cleaner, safer
environment and a better life
for all.
But the focus of the day was
on spiritual as well as physical
growth. “We are planting seeds,
but we are also growing communities,” explained Greg
Bass, chairman of the Zionist
Council.
“We are also proud of our
association with Greenpeace.
‘Green’ and ‘peace’ are both
integral concepts in our work
in South Africa and Israel.”
In addition to a fabulous
braai and hours of fun in the
natural rock pools, an emphasis was placed on educating
both adults and youth about the
environment. The Sizimisele
group, which runs both community-based and economically-driven projects in Inanda,
Durban, put on an ethnic market selling organic vegetables
and traditional hand-made arts
and crafts. JNF South Africa’s
Benjy Shulman oversaw kids’
activities such as a competition
to create pieces of art out of
recycled materials.
The Zionist Council reaffirmed its commitment to the
JNF’s goal to plant 201 000 trees
in 2010, to offset the many tons
of carbon that will be generated by the Fifa World Cup
through construction, travel
and increased demands for
electricity and petrol over the
period.
Right: KwaZulu-Natal Zionist
Council Chairman Greg Bass
plants a fig tree with Siza
Mdluli (Sizimisele
Development Trust), Benjy
Shulman (Jewish National
Fund) and Zama Mpungose
(Sizimisele).
Benjy Shulman of the Jewish National Fund and Lee-Anne
Langemann from Greenpeace plant seedlings with young members
of the Jewish community and the Sizimisele Development Trust.
The winners of the recycling art competition with their “tree”.
AROUND THE WORLD
NEWS IN BRIEF
FRENCH ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS DOUBLE IN 2009
PARIS - Anti-Semitic crimes in
France coinciding with the
Gaza war drove the number of
anti-Semitic incidents in 2009
to nearly double over the previous year, according to a new
report.
The Jewish Community
Protection Service counted 832
anti-Semitic acts committed in
France last year, compared to
474 in 2008, according to a
report made public last week
Thursday. Some 42 per cent of
the incidents - 354 - took place
in January, during Israel's military operation in Gaza.
By February, the number
of monthly anti-Semitic acts
was down to 62 and by the summer, the number had dropped
below those of 2008 for the
most part.
The Protection Service said
43 per cent of the anti-Semitic
incidents in 2009 involved written statements such as graffiti,
28 per cent spoken comments
and threats, 10 per cent violence, 9 per cent vandalism, 2
per cent arson or attempt at
arson, and 8 per cent distributed printed material.
Thousands joined in proPalestinian protests across
France during the Gaza war in
late December 2008 and
January 2009. Several of those
protests turned riotous, and
many anti-Semitic crimes were
reported in connection with
the marches. (JTA)
COURT UPHOLDS JEWISH INMATE'S DEATH SENTENCE
TAMPA - The Florida Supreme
Court has upheld a death sentence against a Jewish death
row inmate.
The court on Monday denied
Martin Edward Grossman's
claims that he was entitled to a
new hearing to determine if his
trial lawyer had been ineffective
for not having him examined by
a competent mental health professional and for not presenting
mitigating evidence to avoid a
death sentence.
Grossman's
execution
is
scheduled for February 16.
Grossman was convicted in
the 1984 shooting death of state
Wildlife Officer Margaret Park.
He was 19 when Park tried to
arrest him for shooting a stolen
gun in an undeveloped area. He
beat her before shooting her
with her own gun.
At the time Grossman was on
probation for grand theft and
breaking and entering. (JTA)
12 - 19 February 2010
SA JEWISH REPORT
Jews and Zionists must highlight Countdown
inconsistencies of far left
begins for the
glitzy David
Awards in Jhb
MOIRA SCHNEIDER
CAPE TOWN
MUCH OF the British Jewish
leadership did not understand the left and the strategy
employed towards it emanated from individuals like the
prominent lawyer Anthony
Julius and younger thinkers
outside the formal structures,
according to Colin Shindler, professor of Israeli and Modern Jewish
Studies at the School for Oriental
and African Studies, University of
London (pictured).
“Compared to 20 to 40 years ago,
the community is generally supporting these young people because
they realise that intellectually, they
can’t fight the Marxists and
Stalinists,” he said.
Shindler, who was speaking
under the auspices of the Western
Province Zionist Council in association with the Kaplan Centre for
Jewish Studies and Research at the
University of Cape Town, was in
town at the invitation of the annual
UCT Summer School where he
delivered a series of lectures on
Israel in the 21st century.
Referring to the 1993 Oslo
Accords, Shindler said it was his
belief that Palestinians like the late
Edward Said had been in contact
with left-wing intellectuals and others on the left in England who had
influenced their policy of refusing
to normalise relations with Israel.
He also spoke of former Cabinet
minister Ronnie Kasrils and a rep-
resentative of Cosatu who
had visited his college
“and of course they speak
on a Friday night”.
He described a “growing sense of delegitimising Israel among the new
left, based on selective
outrage, selective facts
and no real analysis of the
situation. The delegitimisation of
the state will end with the delegitimisation of the people, so it is
important to combat this threat as
much as possible,” he warned.
Shindler referred to the “celebrity value” of attacking Israel by
those who were not educated in
terms of the complexities of the
Middle East. “Jews and Zionism
don’t fit into the established mould,
so Zionism is perceived as wrong,
not different,” he maintained.
“All the progressive movements
in the 19th and 20th century tried to
fit the Jews into their own conventional theories - they don’t understand that the Jews are different.”
Shindler recalled a millionstrong protest that had taken place
in London where marchers had
“tried to use the idea of the new
South Africa and bend the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to fit what happened here
under apartheid”.
Tracing the origins of left-wing
anti-Zionism, he noted the change
from the “old left” of the 1930s
when Jews and others together
fought the local fascists. “They
lived through the Shoah, witnessed
the rise of the State of Israel - nonJews went to fight in Israel in 1948,”
he noted.
His own generation (of the 1960s)
had witnessed the rise of the “new
left” that had effectively ditched
Stalinism in favour of an agenda of
decolonisation. “It became intellectually easy to fit Palestine into the
decolonisation agenda,” he said,
adding that this was “highly superficial”.
“They couldn’t cope with the idea
of two national movements - it was
easier for the new left to align itself
with the Palestinians,” he maintained. “My argument is that this
happened before the Six Day War
and the settlement drive on the
West Bank.”
Referring to the left’s distinction
between anti-Semitism and antiZionism, Shindler said this did not
mean that its anti-Zionism was
never anti-Semitic.
He noted that while the October
Revolution had held a “great attraction” for the Jews, the left had abandoned them “on the eve of their
greatest tragedy” with the Stalin
press spouting pro-Nazi propaganda and congratulating Hitler on
reaching Paris.
Turning his attention to the present, Shindler said that in both
Britain and South Africa, Jews and
Zionists often reacted instead of
taking the offensive “in showing up
the inconsistencies and sheer cynicism” of those on the far left. “But
the war of ideas can be won,” he
concluded.
RONEL ZEFF
BOOKINGS are open for what promises to be one of the
social highlights on the Jewish calendar this year, namely
the David 2010 Awards evening to be staged at the
Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg on
Febnruary 21.
A host of top Jewish performers will lend glamour to the
evening - all in aid of the King David Schools’ Foundation’s
scholarship and outreach programme.
The evening kicks off at 18:15 for 18:30 (with a finger supper to be served from 18:30; the show to commence at 19:15).
Dress code is “evening glam”. Tickets are a donation of R300
per person, with a 10 per cent discount off a group booking
of 10 or more.
Those who want to attend can book online at
www.kdsf.org or call Natalie on +27 11 480 4723 or
shern@kdsf.org, with some tempting prizes to be won.
Proceeds from the concert will help educate
deserving children at the KD schools - thus ensuring that
the calibre of excellence at the KD schools continues
for many future generations. Some of the proceeds will
also fund the outreach programmes each KD school
has with underprivileged schools in Alexandra and
Tembisa.
The winners of the David Awards will be announced on
the evening, by celebrity VIPs.
• A nominee’s name was left out of the list supplied to
Jewish Report, last week: Dr Melvyn Greenberg is a nominee in the category “Investec Award for a Considerable
Contribution in a Career/Profession”. And in the category
“The Teljoy Award for a Considerable Contribution to
Performing Arts”, we were supplied with the wrong
spelling for Marise Dusheiko’s name.
5
6
SA JEWISH REPORT
12 - 19 February 2010
Short but deep-lasting tennis courtship
ADAM KAMIEN
AUSTRALIAN JEWISH NEWS
FORMER WIMBLEDON doubles
quarterfinalists Eva de JongDuldig and her South African
playing
partner,
Marlene
Bethlehem (nee Gerson), were
reunited in Melbourne last week
after nearly 50 years.
The pair last saw each other at
Wimbledon in 1962, where one
year earlier they had made the
quarterfinals of the ladies doubles at the iconic Grand Slam.
Aside from the odd photo and a
couple of letters, they have had
little contact since. And it was
tennis that ultimately brought
them together again, with
Bethlehem
travelling
to
Melbourne for the Australian
Open. She was in Sydney previously for her son’s wedding.
De
Jong-Duldig
took
Bethlehem to the redeveloped
Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club for
dinner, where they reminisced
about the halcyon days.
“It
was
amazing,
quite
astounding,” De Jong-Duldig
said of the reunion. “We gave
each other a big hug and chatted
all night about different experiences, both about that time and
since. There’s an understanding,
because once you pair up with
someone, you have a very good
understanding of their personality. She said I’m the only person
she can really talk to about these
things, so it was lovely.”
The pair met at the Maccabiah
Games in Israel in 1957, where
De Jong-Duldig was representing
Australia and Bethlehem South
Africa. Four years later, they
were reunited at the French
Open and became doubles partners. But it was a short-lived
relationship.
The following year, De JongDuldig followed her husband
Henrie de Jong to Holland,
where she became the country’s
number one player and was
obliged to team up with a compatriot.
Perhaps the best-performing
Jewish doubles team of all time,
De Jong-Duldig and Bethlehem
edged the top-ranked European
duo of the time to advance to the
last four of the 1961 Wimbledon
Championships and came within
a few points of upsetting Lesley
Turner and Sally Moore, who
won four Grand Slam doubles
titles.
But De Jong-Duldig insisted it
was more than sporting prowess
that led to the pair’s brilliant, if
short, association.
“It’s amazing that your sporting ties are very close. We got on
really well and, in those days, I
got on really well with all my
partners. If you played with
someone, you didn’t really do
any good if you weren’t also
friends.”
Eva de Jong-Duldig (right) and
playing partner Marlene Bethlehem,
are reunited (above), almost
50 years after reaching the
quarterfinals at Wimbledon (right).
Glendale fish
braai generated
much needed
funds
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY
MOIRA SCHNEIDER.
CAPE TOWN
Solly Greenstein, chairman of Glendale Home; Premier of the
Western Cape Helen Zille and Bernard Zive, a sponsor along
with Shoprite-Checkers, at the annual Glendale fish braai.
PROCEEDS OF the fundraiser go to a medical assistance fund for indigent residents
who are unable to afford medical care.
Zille toured the campus and spoke to a
few of the occupants. Auctioneer Joey
Burke raised over R30 000 for the intellectually challenged individuals at the home.
Limmud UK 2009 - an
experience to cherish
NAOMI DINUR
PHOTOGRAPH SUPPLIED
LIMMUD UK is something I could
have never envisaged when I left
South Africa for the conference.
Although friends told me I was in
for a treat and that it was one of the
phenomenal Jewish global experiences, I did not really know what to
expect.
At Limmud UK I also met many
Americans and Russians who come
specifically to Limmud at this very
time of the year - their choice highlight of their holiday season.
What makes Limmud such a
global success, I believe, is that
there is a great thirst in the community for connection in an inclusive
event for people from different
walks of life. The fact that 40 000
people sampled Limmud globally
last year, is a proof of that yearning.
Worldwide, there are 48 Limmud
events and there is hardly a question as to the usefulness and
appropriateness of Limmud. UK
Limmud will celebrate 30 years of
existence this year and it hosted 2
500 delegates and over 200 overseas
visitors.
The Limmud event is what you
choose to make it: workshops or
fun events, Bibleyoga or film festivals, talks and lectures, debates
and handcraft. Limmud is fun for
each and everyone with 30 different events to choose from every
hour.
Limmud is organised on an
entirely voluntary basis. The success of Limmud is perhaps that it
remains independent of the official
organisations. It does receive some
institutional funding, but the
major costs are covered by the participation fees.
I noticed that Limmud does not
participate in legitimising or delegitimising any religious or political position found in the worldwide
Jewish community. However, it
encourages “arguments for the
sake of heaven” in order to make a
positive contribution to furthering
our education and understanding.
The South African delegates to Limmud UK.
Benjamin Blumenthal
(CT), Elisha Puterman
(Durban)
Middle row: Helen
Kutner, Terry Davidoff
Pillemer, Rochelle
Puterman (Durban)
Cathey Michelson (CT)
Lower row: Naomi Dinur
(Jhb), Debbie Staniland,
Amanda Stein (CT);
Leanne Stillerman and
Eli Gordon do not
appear (Jhb)
Front: Chazzan Yitzchak Meir Helfgot and Chief Rabbi Yisroel Lau.
Back: Rabbi Tzadok Suchard, Henry Blumenthal and Chazzan
Avron Alter.
Chief Rabbi Lau and
Chazzan Helfgot wow a
packed Sandton Shul
OWN CORRESPONDENT
PHOTOGRAPH: ROY FRIEDMAN
AN ISRAELI delegation, including that country’s Chief Rabbi
Yisroel Lau and world-famous
Chazzan Yitzchak Meir Helfgot,
were in South Africa last week,
where Helfgot gave a recital at the
Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City in
Johannesburg, to raise funds to
facilitate the completion of the
Ashdod Medical Centre.
Rabbi Lau delivered the drosha
on Friday night to a packed
Sandton Shul, with more than
1 000 people attending. A congregant remarked: “You could hear a
pin drop as he spoke”. Rabbi Lau
also spoke on Shabbat morning.
Chazzan Helfgot, who conducted the service on both Friday
night and Saturday morning, left
congregants speechless. “This
was the most memorable Shabbat
of my life,”came another com-
ment about “the man with the
Golden Voice” who totally captivated his audience.
Rabbi Tzadok Suchard, spiritual head of Sandton Shul, introducing Rav Lau said: “You were
saved from the Holocaust; you
represent the past, present and
future of Israel. As a Gadol
Hador, you lead our people with
strength and dignity and inspire
confidence for the future.”
Henry Blumenthal, president of
Sandton Shul, when presenting
Chief Rabbi Lau with a gift commemorating the occasion of his
golden wedding anniversary
which coincided with Shabbat
Yitro, called him, “one of the towering rabbinic leaders of the modern era”.
Rabbi Lau and Chazzan Helfgot
were
accompanied
by
an
entourage of 14, many of whom
were
representing
Ashdod
Medical Centre.
TO OUR READERS: Due to unforeseen
circumstances, there is no social page this
week. It will resume in forthcoming issues.
12 - 19 February 2010
COMMUNITY BUZZ
LIONEL SLIER
082-444-9832, fax: 011-440-0448,
lionel.slier@absamail.co.za
MUIZENBERG
From Stan Frankel:
“One big disappointment recently: the ‘photographic exhibition’ of Muizenberg’s history
was cancelled for a later date - to be advised.
“I want to refer to famous ‘sons’ of
Muizenberg from the ‘30s and ‘40s. We can
be justly proud of so many achievements of
Jewish boys - some girls too. There was Dr
Eugene (Tommy) Tucker in his twenties,
who was a Rhodes Scholar.
“Two notable architects in Cape Town
were Ezra Greenblo and George Cohen. In
the medical world there were Dr Krikler
(the doyen) and his wonderful new De Soto
motorcar. Norman Sher (Polly); Bennie
Seftel; Harold Kramer (now in Australia);
Bernie Wortreich; the Rifkin brothers;
Louis Ehrlich and, of course, Cecil Moss
the famous Springbok wing, who played
against the 1949 All Blacks.
“Mention must be made of A C Parker
and Max Price, both leading sports editors,
who wrote books on rugby, still referred to.
“And of course, Max Sonnenberg, of
Woolworths fame. Also the Sacks family
who had the Belgravia Hotel on Main Road
and later took over the Hotel Rio Grande.
The eldest son, Sidney was a specialist in
Cape Town and the younger one, Ian, a
leading eye specialist.
“Sportsmen were Mendel Solomon,
(Western Province long jump); Joe Hurwitz,
goalkeeper for a leading football club.
“• It must be pointed out that some errors
are creeping in. Firstly the name of
Herbert Leslie Stern is NOT Stein. Further
‘Squire’ should read ‘Schire’ of whom Val
Schire was Chris Barnard’s right-hand
man, in spite of other claims.”
DORDRECHT
From Phyllis Levinsohn (Durban):
“Marc Kopman writes that a Mr ‘Afrigtig’
would not allow the shul to be sold in
Dordrecht as long a Jewish person
remained there. The name is actually
‘Aufrichtig’ and the person’s first name
was ‘Jack’ as far as I can remember.
“He farmed lucerne in the district and
also kept sheep and cattle. There were three
Aufrichtig children - Issy, who was a
pharmacist and had a business called
‘Springbok Pharmacy’ in Durban. He
passed away a few years ago. Also, there
were two sisters - Shanie who married
Basil Zive, a pharmacist in Durban and is
now in Toronto. The other sister, Bernice,
was a physiotherapist and also now lives in
Toronto.
“Bernice married Solly Baise who was an
international rugby referee and handled a
test match in South Africa between the
Springboks and the Wallabies.
“Dordrecht was also well known for the
stud farm of the top racehorse breeders,
Birch Brothers.”
INDWE
From Marc Kopman:
“About 40 km south of Dordrecht is the little dorp of Indwe. There was some lowgrade coal mining done in the area and the
town obtained municipal status in 1898. It
takes its name from the nearby Indwe
River.
“There is some confusion about the origin of the name ‘Indwe’. Originally the
river was called by the Xhosa name
‘Ameva’ which means ‘thorns’ and the
early Boers called the river the
‘Doringrivier’, ‘doorn’ of course meaning
‘thorn’ in Afrikaans. (Vide ‘Doornfontein’
in Johannesburg). “However, ‘indwe’
means ‘blue crane’ in Xhosa and that is
now the accepted explanation for the name
of the town.”
Kopman continues with his trip through
the Eastern Cape: “After servicing our
local brokers, I went on to the next village,
called Indwe, and the hotel is called by that
name.
“While enjoying lunch in the pub, I gathered that no shul ever existed in the area
and also that no one knew about a Jewish
presence in the cemetery.
SA JEWISH REPORT
“On my way to the next stop, just on the
outskirts of Indwe, I noticed on the right
hand side of the road, lush green vegetation almost like willow trees and pulled
over to have a close look, only to find an
area under he trees with just four Jewish
graves.
“One of them was a Mr Nurick and years
later, when I had settled in Krugersdorp, I
met Raymond and Ann Nurick and established that the deceased in Indwe was a
family member.
“The condition of the graves were excellent, though, and well maintained.”
• Kopman’s story confirms the sad fact
that most of South African Jewish country
life is now in the cemeteries!
WILDERNESS
About two weeks ago, there was an item
about “Toni” a well-known hair perm.
Unfortunately it was mistakenly called a
shampoo, which, of course, it was not!
There were famous adverts in British magazines in the ‘ 40s - ‘60s which ran: ‘Which
twin has the Toni?’
Two of the twins were Jewish girls from
Nottingham - June and Doreen Robbins.
They spent a holiday in The Wilderness.
MUIZENBERG
From Maida Sakinofsky:
“From Worcester we would spend many a
Sunday in Muizenberg at ‘Shalvah’, the
home of the Sterns and while Bertie Stern
and my husband, Robert, would disappear
into the study to discuss whatever, his wife
and I would talk about the children, food
etc.
“My late husband, Robert Sakinofsky,
‘Redro’ and Bertie Stern of Muizenberg,
‘Sandpiper’ were the country leaders for
Habonim, together with Sonia (Davidoff)
Heller, also of Worcester.
“I once left the Habonim Book of
Photographs at the Habonim offices in
Cape Town, meaning to retrieve it later.
When I did enquire some years later, I was
told that the book had gone into the
archives. Well, that was that!
“But I do remember the many times that
I was told by Robert of the togetherness
spent teaching the youngsters all that
Habonim was meant to be. If I recall Bertie
was interested in the arts.
“I still have a photo of Robert and Sonia
taken some years ago. Time flies, but memories are golden. All our yesterdays have
disappeared into the tomorrows.”
PORT ELIZABETH
From Rollo Berman:
“An important aspect of Jewish life in PE
was the Wedgewood Park Country Club. It
was situated about 18 km outside the city.
The sports that the club catered for were
tennis, horse-riding, bowls and golf. One
usually had lunch at the clubhouse which
was run by the Botha family.
7
“I was a very keen member of the tennis
section. There were about 10 tennis courts,
but often members still had to wait for a
game.
Some of the top players at that time were
Jack Falowitz, his son Frank, David
Bernstein and Benjy Goldberg.
“I played with Lester Kalman and the
late Harold Meyers. Harold Berman was a
steady player, supervised by his father,
Solly. His younger brother, Phillip, also
played regularly.
He used to throw tantrums and would
throw down his racquet when he lost a
point.
“The ladies who were promising at that
time were Merle Reef, Fay Levinthall and a
Mrs Lazarus. Merle and Fay now live in
Australia.
By far the biggest section was the bowls.
There were four greens. Bess Spilkin,
Bertha Rummel, Miriam Katz and my
mom made up the tournament team. The
male players were equally talented.
“The antics on the green were very comical. As someone was about to deliver a
wood you would hear: ‘Hymie, vielsto a
longer or a koertser?’ (Do you want a long
head or a short head?)
“Players would follow their deliveries
and bend with the bowl if they wanted it to
turn in and hit the jack.
“A great deal of business was done
on the golf course. Solly Rubin, many
times mayor of Port Elizabeth, took time
off on a Wednesday afternoon to play a
round.”
8
SA JEWISH REPORT
12 - 19 February 2010
Saul Reichlin brings Sholom Aleichem
to stage in ‘Roots... Shmoots’
ROBYN SASSEN
“SHOLEM ALEICHEM - Aleichem
Sholem”: on the 151st anniversary
of the birth of Yiddish literary
giant, Sholom Aleichem, South
Africa has quietly been hosting a
mini Sholom Aleichem festival.
Last year, Beyachad Library presented a short series of films and
lectures hosted by Yiddish and
Jewish Studies lecturer Cedric
Ginsberg on Sholom Aleichem’s
life and work.
Last week saw the Johannesburg
opening of the world premier of
“Roots... Shmoots” a one-man play
drawing from Sholom Aleichem’s
writings by an actor who needs no
introduction to audio book listeners, London resident, South
African-born Saul Reichlin. The
play travels to Cape Town in
March.
Ginsberg began by defining key
Eastern European terms: a shtetl
was a village housing 1 200 to 1 500
people; 50 to 60 per cent of them
would have been Jews. All place
names in Sholom Aleichem’s writings are fictitious; circumstances
are genuine.
Reichlin’s research revealed that
Tevye the Milchike, Sholom
Aleichem’s best-known character,
was real. “People opened up to
Sholem Aleichem,” he adds. “He
was a chronicler of village life with
a deeply talented satirical ear and
eye.”
The Pale of Settlement was a
1 200km corridor, comprising 25
provinces between the Baltic and
Black Seas, in which Jews were
herded by edict in 1791. It included
present-day Poland, Lithuania,
Estonia, Czechoslovakia and the
Ukraine. Jews were prohibited by
law from living, being educated and
being employed elsewhere.
Born Sholom Rabinowitz in 1859
in Pereyaslav, near Kiev, a village
understood as the prototype
informing Kasrilevka, where much
of his stories are based, he adopted
the pseudonym Sholom Aleichem
(a Hebrew greeting meaning
“peace be unto you”) early.
His mother died when he was
young; his father remarried - the
step-mother’s name is absent from
accounts, but his first published
work was a list of her curses.
His family ran an inn; Sholom
Aleichem’s precocity for mimicry
was exploited to entertain guests.
By 15 he was writing in Hebrew.
Five years later, now writing in
Yiddish, he moved to Kiev, where
he was employed as a certified gov-
Sholem
Aleichem
with his wife
and two
daughters.
(PHOTOGRAPH
COURTESY
WWW.FORWARD.COM)
ernment rabbi, a job title about
education rather than piety.
By the time he married in 1883,
Yiddish was considered unsuitable
for literature. His work thus
became shunned as “a shame and a
disgrace” - he was considered to be
debasing the language and “defiling readers’ minds”.
Two years later, Sholom
Aleichem’s father died. He
returned home to manage family
affairs. In 1900 he dedicated himself
full-time to writing. He left Russia
in 1905, settling in America in 1914.
He died two years later, having
composed his own epitaph: “Here
lies a plain and simple Jew,” it
roughly translates, “who wrote
humour in plain and simple prose
for the common folk. He was
scoffed at and laughed at by the
world... G-d only knows, he wept in
secret and alone.”
Known as the Jewish Mark
Twain for his satire, Sholom
Aleichem penned his most famous
story cycle, Tevye the Milchike
between 1894 and 1914. Tevye’s an
ordinary peasant, blessed with five
daughters. Each girl rebels in her
own way against tradition. Tevye is
conflicted between old customs and
new. The family is displaced by an
edict.
The tale resonated with relevance to the pogrom displacements
of the time, but has a universality
that displaced people through time
and geography respond to. Reichlin
commented: “In the all-Japanese
version of ‘Fiddler’ in Tokyo, the
actor who played Tevye was
amazed that a story about a little
Japanese village was so popular in
America.
“This told me two things: he was
too lazy to research, and the material fitted so perfectly into
Japanese village dynamics, under
Samurai oppression, research
seemed redundant.”
Acknowledged as a prominent
interpreter of Sholom Aleichem,
former corporate lawyer Reichlin
brought “Now You’re Talking”, his
first production dealing with
Sholom Aleichem’s writings to the
SA Jewish Museum when it opened
2000.
His relationship with the material is nostalgic: “In 1990, I spotted a
little book of Sholom Aleichem stories in my cousins’ bookcase in
Johannesburg. ‘Ooh, can I borrow
this?’ I called out, waving it. ‘You
can have it,’ my aunt responded.
‘Your mother gave it to us, years
ago.’ And thus my life changed forever.
“My mother was an immensely
intelligent, well-respected academic; when she spoke Yiddish she
would get a wicked little glint in
her eye, and laugh mischievously.
It was like she was a different person.”
Born
and
raised
in
Johannesburg, Reichlin is of the
generation where spoken Yiddish
was used as a method of exclusion.
“As kids, we were hostile to it. It
took a long time for me to realise
the joy of it.” His knowledge of the
original remains sparse; he works
with translations.
“Roots... Shmoots” is a new
reworking of Sholom Aleichem
material. Reichlin is directed by
Ukrainian-born Victor Sobchak.
Plans are underway to take it to the
Ukraine as well as to Leeds and
Edinburgh.
In the play’s second half,
Reichlin performs Isaac Bashevis
Singer’s “Gimpel the Fool”, translated by Saul Bellow.
The
genius
of
Sholom
Aleichem’s writing, according to
Ginsberg, is his manipulation of
the intricacies of possuks, misquoting them to hilarious, dramatic
Chaim Topol is well and living in Tel Aviv
LIONEL SLIER
TEL AVIV
THE SA Jewish Report met the
Legendary Israeli actor Chaim
Topol, who became a worldwide hit
with his Tevye the Milkman in
“Fiddler on the Roof”, first on stage
and later in a film, some 40 years
ago. He is alive and well and living
in Tel Aviv.
SA Jewish Report traced him
there. Topol, who is now in his mid
seventies, looks thinner and
“younger” than he did when he portrayed Tevye. At the time of the
interview he was wearing a shoulder brace and explained that he had
fallen on stage while playing Tevye
in America a few months ago.
This was the eighth time I was
playing the part during that week
and actually I wasn’t feeling too
well before the show and it happened when Tevye’s daughter
Chavela told him she was marrying
a Russian boy.
“I had to fall down in shock but I
fell too hard and ruptured some ligaments in my shoulder. But I continued with the show and the audience was not aware that anything
had gone wrong. In actual fact I’d
hurt my left shoulder in March last
year doing the same fall and in
June I damaged my right shoulder.
I continued with the show until
November and last week I had an
operation and this is the reason I’m
wearing this huge brace around my
right arm.”
Topol has just finished a tour of
11 months playing in “Fiddler” in
various cities in the United States.
“Now that I have had the operation,
I’m resting.”
Asked whether he isn’t always
identified by people as Tevye he
said, “Most people here in Israel
associate me with “Sallah Shabati”,
a film that appeared in 1964, and I
think he is more important than
Tevye. But I am still very proud of
being identified with Tevye.
“My life with Tevye started in
1966 when in a stage show the leading man dropped out and I was
asked to step in. The show
moved from New York to
London.
“During the 1967 London run
the Six Day War broke out and I
left the show on the Monday to
join the Israeli forces and came
back the following Monday
because the war was over. I was
replaced by an English Tevye. It
was not announced that I would
be back on the following
Monday night and when I
appeared on the show in the
first scene the audience rose
and cheered and clapped and
people were crying - the show
was held up while this was taking place. It was a most emotional experience.
“I later fought in the 1973 Yom
Kippur War and the 1982 war in
Lebanon.”
Topol has been playing Tevye
on and off for 60 years. The film
of “Fiddler” has gathered
numerous awards around the
world and was nominated for
an Academy Award (which
unfortunately it did not win). It
has been seen by more than one
billion people.
“Fiddler” is Topol’s best-
known stage and film appearance,
but he’s been in 25 films altogether,
including a James Bond film “For
Your Eyes Only” (1981).
“Roger Moore, the original
James Bond, was a truly wonderful
person,” he said.
“I’ve also appeared in stage
shows. In London I was in ‘Othello’
for
the
Royal
Shakespeare
Company and also appeared in
Arthur Miller’s ‘A View from the
Bridge’ in London and Brecht’s
‘Caucasian Chalk Circle’ in Hebrew
and in English.”
Asked whether he was now retiring, Topol said: “Not at all, I am just
resting.”
He said that he currently had a
mission to help build a holiday village in the Lower Galilee for children suffering from life-threatening diseases such as cancer,
leukaemia and Aids. This will be
for children from all over the
world, obviously including
Arab, Palestinian and African
children.
“We are now at the last stage
Above: Chaim Topol today.
(PHOTOGRAPH BY ALLISON GOSNEY)
Left: Chaim Topol, as he
appeared as Tevye in the stage
version of “Fiddler on the
Roof”, which opened on
Broadway in 1964.
(PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY
HTTP://WCNP.ORG)
Sholem Aleichem. (PHOTOGRAPH
COURTESY WWW.FORWARD.COM)
effect, for those in the know.
In 1964, “Tevye” was adapted for
stage on Broadway, and for film in
1971, as “Fiddler on the Roof” with
Chaim Topol in the lead. It remains
a well-loved classic of Jewish
schlock culture, but weathered
considerable criticism.
“The Hollywood version lacks
the subtleties with its saccharine
safeness and loses the witty
engagement with possuk and juxtaposition between Hebrew and
Yiddish,” one critic commented.
Another: “Tevye’s giddy energy,
giddy oscillation between wildly
funny and deeply sad circumstances relentlessly juxtaposed, is
pacified in ‘Fiddler’.”
Ginsberg agrees: “The only way
to access Sholom Aleichem’s talent
is to read it in the original, and to
see his exceptionally powerful style
that gets lost in translation.”
• The Yiddish Academy teaches
reading, writing and conversational Yiddish at RCHCC in Oaklands,
(011) 728-8088.
• “Roots... Shmoots” is at The
Studio, Montecasino, Fourways,
until February 21, (011) 511-1988
and Theatre on the Bay, Camps
Bay, March 10-27, (021) 438-3301.
of construction and $20 million has
been invested to date and we intend
opening in July this year. It is very
important to me and all my efforts
are going into this village.
“I’m involved with Ori Slomim,
an advocate who comes from a family that was famous in Hebron.
Incidentally Slomim is president of
the ‘Variety Club’ in Israel, which
raises charity money for children
and he’s a former president of the
‘World Variety Club for Children’.
“The mentor for this Variety village is the American actor Paul
Newman who has built such a village in Connecticut and he asked us
to build one here. This is the week
of Tu B’Shvat and we are busy
planting trees at the village.”
Topol added with a laugh: “After
this is launched, I go back to my
silly things.”
The interview was interrupted
when one of his nine grandchildren
from three children, eight-year-old
Yoli, ran in, jumped on the chair
and gave him a mighty kiss. Topol
graciously apologised for the diversion.
“She is really something special,”
said Topol. “At the moment she is
busy dubbing animated films from
Hebrew into English.” Seems to be
making her mark in show business
like her granddad
Topol has written two books, an
autobiography Topol by Topol (in
Hebrew it is called Chaim by Topol)
and “Treasury of Jewish Wisdom
and Humour”.
At the interview Topol showed
immense charm, modesty and
humour. When asked if he could be
addressed simply as Topol he
laughed and said: “I would prefer to
be called Mr Topol but nobody does
that.” With or without the Mr,
Topol continues to raise the roof.
12 - 19 February 2010
Goldstein, Makgoba urge the
need for moral regeneration
stranger.
The Chief Rabbi asked
rhetorically: “What is the
greatest challenge in South
Africa?” He answered: “The
MORALITY WAS not an
inordinate suffering of those
“optional extra”, Anglican
in poverty. Millions of South
Archbishop Thabo Makgoba
Africans live in miserable contold a packed audience in
ditions. One statistic shows
Johannesburg who came to listhat the life expectancy in this
ten to the first-ever South
country has dropped from 63
African “Moral State of the
years in 1990 to 47 years in
Nation Address” initiated by
2009.
him and Chief Rabbi Warren
“Look at the moral state of
Goldstein.
our nation’s education. This
Rabbi Goldstein said the
has devastating consequences
greatest challenge in South
for the future lives of stuAfrica today was the “inordidents.”
nate suffering of those in Chief Rabbi Warren
Chief Rabbi Goldstein menpoverty”. The country needed Golstein.
tioned that 50 people were
“a government of compasmurdered in the country every
sion”, he urged. A government
day. “Lives are shattered and
of compassion was uncomprothis is one of the deepest pains
mising in its pursuit of excelthat humans can suffer.
lence and held accountable
“The level and scope of sufevery Cabinet minister and
fering is untenable from moral
government employee.
perspectives. A government
“The good news for South
minister has said that we are a
Africa is that last year at a pubnation at war.
lic address to the Jewish com“How can we accept this?
munity, President Jacob Zuma
Part of the answer is the
accepted my plea to be the
approach of the Government.
leader of a government of comWe need a ‘Government of
passion.
Compassion’. People are spe“But together with a governcial, irreplaceable, unique.
ment of compassion, we need a
“If one person dies because
Nation of Responsibility.”
of a lack of medical aid, this is
Rabbi Goldstein said respona catastrophe. Jewish tradisibility was about living a life of Anglican Archbishop
tion teaches us that we cannot
good deeds, realising that ironThabo Makgoba.
count people. People are not
ically, it was in the very acts of
numbers.
selfless responsibility and duty
“A ‘Government of Compassion’ is one
that we found true and lasting happiness.
infused with a level of urgency. The
This Moral State of the Nation Address,
Government has the resources and should
deliberately scheduled to take place a week
have accountability. It should act with
before the President’s State of the Nation
toughness in the interest of accountability.
address, which took place this Thursday), is
Corruption is a lack of compassion.
mooted to become an annual event, with the
“Those in government who cannot peremphasis on embracing a moral regeneraform their task, should be removed. It
tion.
should show zero tolerance to these offiThe two religious leaders intimated that
cials.
while the president was bound to concen“We are also a nation of responsibility.
trate on political, economic and service
Without it a nation is in danger. We must
delivery issues, the two of them wanted to
take responsibility for our actions. The
emphasise that a successful society dependconsequences belong to us. G-d gave us
ed on embracing a moral regeneration.
free choice. We can choose between good
The Archbishop stressed that the purpose
and evil and because of that, we have
of his address on the “Moral State of the
no one to blame. Freedom equals responNation” was not to moralise or to pass
sibility.”
judgement in a sense of being negative, but
The Chief Rabbi spoke about ‘The Bill of
rather to be constructive.
Responsibility’ which is circulating among
“Twenty years ago Nelson Mandela
schools and many faith Communities. It
walked free and this was fundamental to
reads: “I accept the call to responsibility
our dreams and hopes. We must ask ourfrom the sacrifices of those who came
selves where we are now. We are masters of
before me.”
our own destiny, but we must reflect on our
Archbishop Makgoba said: “Twenty years
deepest and most heartfelt ambitions.
ago we dreamt of a life with all its abun“But,” the Archbishop asked, “have we
dance for all South Africans. Our
lost these? Then how do we rekindle the
Constitution is a covenant for all South
moral to be human, within a flourishing
Africans.”
community? The best chance of making it a
The Archbishop spoke about Noah and
success and to live well in the context of a
the food after which G-d made a new beginfaith community, is to make it our overridning in the form of a covenant. “We belong
ing priority.”
to humanity,” he added, we cannot get away
He stressed: “Morality is not an optional
from each other. We belong together and we
extra for those with tender consciences or
have no alternative but to share our future.
can afford to have scruples. It directs us to
The flame which united us 20 years ago has
the common good. It makes us truly human.
not been extinguished.
“Abundant life for all is enshrined in our
“We should not be paralysed by fear and
Constitution, which commits us among
we should speak up against corruption. The
other things to:
media should play its part and not present
• Establish a society based on democratic
violence, corruption and criminality as
values, social justice and fundamental
good.”
human rights;
The Archbishop said he had been criti• Improve the quality of life of all citizens;
cised for appearing on this platform with
and
the Jewish community. “But,” he said, “this
• Free the potential of each person.”
community is an important part of South
How do you assess the moral state of a
African life. We must say where we disnation, the Chief Rabbi asked. “We face
agree, but we will stand together and walk
many moral challenges. Are some more
in each other’s shoes.”
crucial than others? To articulate a moral
He added: “In South Africa we cannot get
vision for the future of our country, I will
respect without sacrifice - where everyone
draw on the prophets of the Hebrew Bible.
can rise to the challenge.”
“One of the main moral issues addressed
Rabbi Goldstein urged South Africans to
by the biblical prophets Isaiah and
“go forward to the future with courage and
Jeremiah was that of justice. An important
conviction and have faith in G-d. This is the
dimension of their concept of justice was
covenant of the rainbow nation - a covenant
that of alleviating the suffering of vulnerato build a brighter future. It starts with us
ble people.
all in practical things we can do to make it a
Isaiah and Jeremiah, he said, sought jusbetter society.”
tice and the alleviation of the suffering of
Archbishop Makgoba appealed to all
the people. “Do not taunt the stranger. Do
South Africans: “Let us make this nation an
not spill innocent blood.” The most vulnerethical and moral one.”
able in society were the widow and the
LIONEL SLIER
PHOTOGRAPHS:
JOE YUDELOWITZ
SA JEWISH REPORT
9
10
SA JEWISH REPORT
12 - 19 February 2010
OPINION AND ANALYSIS
FORUM FOR DIVERSE VIEWS
Whose freedom of speech
are we talking about?
FREEDOM OF speech, one of the noblest pillars of a
free democracy and a major measure of a country’s
political and democratic health, has been achieved
through courageous struggle by numerous people in
numerous places.
The ongoing battle for it is never won. It will always
be under threat and will always have to be fought for.
In any particular dispute, both sides often end up
claiming the moral high ground to justify why they
are silencing the other. Politicians are notorious
throughout history for invoking “national interests”
to silence opponents.
Today is no exception, particularly regarding the
Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The
“politically correct” concept of freedom of speech is
exploited aggressively to serve the agendas of so
many different groups that it has become a slippery
concept almost devoid of meaning.
It brings to mind Humpty Dumpty’s remark to
Alice in Wonderland: “Words mean what I want them
to mean.” Or George Orwell’s 1984, where “doublespeak” is the order of the day.
Unbridled freedom of speech, of course, leads to
anarchy. There are certain circumstances in which
its curtailment is warranted - for example for genuine national security exigencies. But the problem is
of course, who decides and on what basis? And how
is it to be enforced?
Initial surrender of freedom of speech is often the
beginning of a slippery slope to a police state. It is a
vexed issue - a noble human rights ideal used by all
and sundry to silence the other side.
Current examples are easy to find. A well-known
recent case involves Cosatu secretary for international relations, Bongani Masuku being charged with
hate speech by the Human Rights Commission for
making threatening statements about Zionists and
South African Jews - which he is in the process of
appealing.
This is in the same vein as the previous Ronnie
Kasrils case where he claimed calling Israelis Nazis
was not a violation of freedom of speech - in this case
the HRC supported him. Last year when IDF legal
adviser David Benjamin came to South Africa to
speak at Limmud, he was threatened with arrest, and
protests were held by Palestinian supporters, blaming Wits University for allowing him to speak on the
campus.
And this week, Israel’s ambassador to Washington
was invited to speak at the University of California at
Irvine. The ambassador, historian Michael Oren,
came to address an overflow crowd of more than 600
students, faculty and community members at the
Student Center on the subject “US-Israel Relations: A
Historical Perspective”.
He was heckled so vociferously by anti-Israel
Muslim groups that university authorities arrested
hecklers and ejected them from the hall. One heckler
jumped up and shouted: “Propagating murder is not
an expression of free speech!”
Mark Petracca, the event moderator and chairman
of the school’s political science department, urged a
halt to the interruptions, calling for respect and civility: “This is no way for our undergraduate students
to behave... Shame on you.”
On another front, however, which should make all
of us very uncomfortable, Israelis and Jews are
themselves silencing each other, as reported in the
accompanying story on this page. Naomi Chazan president of the New Israel Fund - has had her regular column in the Jerusalem Post axed under pressure from a new right wing group, Im Tirtzu, which
accuses her and other “leftists” who support or are
funded by the New Israel Fund, of betraying Israel by
giving ammunition to its enemies - in this case the
Goldstone Commission, which found Israel guilty of
possible war crimes in Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.
She has also now been “disinvited” to a speaking tour
in Australia by Australia’s Union for Progressive
Judaism.
The Jewish Report has at times been the target of
people calling for it to curtail what is expressed in its
pages. Most recently there was criticism from some
letter writers regarding our publication of the article
by George Bizos and Arthur Chaskalson defending
Richard Goldstone.
In the context of the bitter, long Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, the vitriol has become utterly entrenched
and profound. Everyone shouts that their freedom of
speech is being denied, but no-one is prepared to hear
or listen to the other side. The silence seems to be
deafening.
NIF fracas: Defending Israel
or destroying democracy?
LESLIE SUSSER
JERUSALEM
A CAMPAIGN against the New Israel
Fund - a US-based organistion that funds
civil society activists in Israel - has
sparked a fierce debate over the limits of
free speech, the financing of NGOs, the
dictates of loyalty to the state and, ultimately, over the fundamental values of
Israel’s Zionist democracy.
The questions cut close to the bone on
both sides of the ideological divide. For
example: Are left-wingers using Zionist
money to undermine the foundations of
the state? Or, are right-wingers trying to
gag nongovernmental organistions critical of Israeli policies and actions?
And to what extent are the government
and its agencies involved in trying to
silence their critics?
At the centre of the storm is the
Goldstone Report on alleged Israeli war
crimes during the fighting in Gaza last
winter.
anti-Semitic connotations that many
found offensive. Im Tirtzu used the image
as well in advertisements placed in several Israeli newspapers.
The Zionist Organisation of America
has seconded the criticisms of the NIF.
The New Israel Fund says it knows that
many of the minority rights groups it
backs in the name of empowering the disenfranchised and fighting discrimination
in Israel, also take positions that the NIF
does not endorse, such as calling for an
end to Israel’s Jewish character.
NIF officials say that while they do not
agree with everything their grantees do
or say, revoking their funding would be
inimical to NIF’s goal of promoting free
speech and strengthening Israel’s minorities.
“They’re using me to attack in the most
blatant way the basic principles of
democracy and the values of Israel’s declaration of independence; values of
equality, tolerance, social justice and
freedom of speech,” Chazan declared.
Jewish right-wing activists dressed as Arabs, demonstrate in Jerusalem on January
30, against the New Israel Fund. (PHOTOGRAPH: YOSSI ZAMIR / FLASH 90) / JTA)
Most Israelis see the report as biased,
based on flimsy evidence and false
assumptions, and part of a concerted
international campaign to delegitimise
the Jewish State.
The attack on the New Israel Fund was
part of an angry Israeli backlash against
Goldstone. But was it a bona fide attack on
an organisation accused of undermining
Israel’s international standing, or a premeditated onslaught against civil society?
The campaign against the NIF was conducted by an organisation called Im
Tirtzu, which describes itself as “an
extra-parliamentary
movement
to
strengthen Zionist values” and boasts a
video endorsement from Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu.
It claimed that 16 NIF grantees - among
them Physicians for Human Rights and
B’Tselem, human rights organisations
active in the Palestinian territories;
Breaking the Silence, a group of soldiers
reporting on Israeli army violations of
moral norms; and ACRI, the Association
for Civil Rights in Israel - had provided
Goldstone with material contributing to
false charges against the Israel Defence
Forces in informer-like actions that were
tantamount to betrayal in a wartime situation.
In late January, young Im Tirtzu members dressed as Hamas fighters, demonstrated outside the Jerusalem home of
NIF President Naomi Chazan waving
placards depicting Chazan with a horn
emerging from her forehead. The text on
the placard read: “Fact! Without the New
Israel Fund there could be no Goldstone
Report and Israel would not be facing
international accusations of war crimes.”
The horn was a play on words, the
Hebrew “keren” meaning both fund and
horn, but critics say it also had obvious
In dismissing the Im Tirtzu case
against the NIF as baseless, Chazan said
that the materials the groups allegedly
transferred to Goldstone, were mostly in
the public domain. And even if they were
not, it would be the duty of the groups to
pass on what they know - that is their raison d’être as human rights groups. Far
from giving succour to Israel’s enemies,
the grantees were trying to create a better
Israel, Chazan said.
The NIF and its defenders note that its
work goes well beyond organisations
focusing specifically on Palestinian
rights. It also funds civil society groups
dealing with a host of domestic Israeli
issues, such as providing women’s shelters, supporting Ethiopian immigrants
and challenging the Orthodox monopoly
on Jewish religious practice.
In early February, a group of leading
Israeli academics, writers, actors, directors and political activists, including novelists Amos Oz and AB Yehoshua, placed
a full-page ad in Haaretz expressing “disgust at the campaign of incitement and
hatred” being waged against Chazan, the
NIF and the organisations it supports.
In late January, 13 of the 16 NIF
grantees slammed by Im Tirtzu fired off a
letter to President Shimon Peres, Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin complaining that the Im Tirtzu attack on the
NIF was part of a larger pattern encouraged by “senior government officials.”
They gave some examples: Interior
Minister Eli Yishai backing claims that
organisations which help refugees and
asylum seekers “aim to destroy Israel”;
Netanyahu denying the legitimacy of
Breaking the Silence testimonies on the
Gaza war; Strategic Affairs Minister
Moshe Ya’alon referring to Israeli human
rights organisations as “enemies from
within”.
What is clear is that Netanyahu is
deeply concerned by what he calls
“Goldstonism” - moves in the international community aimed at delegitimising Israel.
The prime minister says he sees three
existential threats: Iran, a Palestinian
state without adequate security arrangements, and rampant Goldstonism. That
means that Israeli organisations the government feels contribute to delegitimisation of the state could be seen as serious
threats to national security. But the government does not seem to be considering
operative moves against them.
Moves, however, are afoot in the
Knesset.
The Law Committee, headed by Yisrael
Beiteinu’s David Rotem, whose party has
proposed that Israeli citizens take loyalty
oaths, has set up a subcommittee to
examine the sources of funding of NGOs
active in Israel. Some of the committee
members aim to ban funding by foreign
countries, which is seen as interfering in
Israel’s internal affairs. Most of that
funding is from European countries for
left-wing NGOs.
Otniel Schneller of the Kadima Party
wants to go a step further, proposing the
establishment of a full-fledged parliamentary commission of inquiry to probe
the conduct of the NIF and its grantees.
Schneller says he is against the absurdity of Israeli civil society “paying organisations like Physicians for Human Rights
to slander us”, and wants to stop the NIF
from supporting anti-Zionist groups.
Schneller’s proposal, which he plans to
submit next week, has run into stiff
opposition from the left and right.
Left-wing Meretz leader Haim Oron
asked who would decide who is a Zionist
or what are Israel’s best interests.
Schneller, he suggested, should fight the
left-wing organisations with counter
arguments, not try to cut off their funding.
On the right, the Likud’s Michael
Eitan argued that parliamentary commissions of inquiry are established on
non-political issues, such as corruption
in soccer or water prices.
“It is unheard of for the majority in the
Knesset to investigate the minority,” he
fumed.
Eitan’s stand has the support of others
in the Likud, like Rivlin and Minister
without Portfolio Benny Begin, and it is
not clear whether Schneller can muster a
majority for his proposal.
Meanwhile, Im Tirtzu’s funding also
has attracted scrutiny in recent days.
Liberal organisations and bloggers have
been reporting that Im Tirtzu has
received money from the Central Fund of
Israel, a US-based nonprofit that has also
supported pro-settler organisations and
a group that aids militant Israeli Jews
accused of carrying out violence.
They also note that Im Tirtzu reportedly has received $200 000 over the past two
years from John Hagee, an evangelical
pastor in San Antonio, Texas, who is
staunchly pro-Israel but came under fire
for having declared in a sermon that G-d
allowed the Holocaust to happen as part
of a plan to bring Jews to Israel.
Hagee has expressed regret for the
upset caused by his remarks and promised to be more sensitive in future. A
spokesman for the pastor criticised the
tenor of Im Tirtzu’s campaign against
NIF.
Meanwhile the debate goes on, with
each side seeking to claim the mantle of
preserving Israel’s fundamental nature.
“Today the question is not whether
Israel survives, but what kind of Israel
survives,” said Daniel Sokatch, the NIF’s
chief executive officer.
Im Tirtzu leader Ronen Shoval countered: “The debate is not about left or
right. The new debate is between Zionists
and non-Zionists.” (JTA)
12 - 19 February 2010
SA JEWISH REPORT
11
OPINION AND ANALYSIS
FORUM FOR DIVERSE VIEWS
South African Jewry’s golden age?
OPTIMISM HAS long been out of fashion
when considering the current state and
future of South African Jewry. It really
all began in 1976, when the Soweto unrest
spread countrywide and brought it home
to all but the most blinkered that, one way
or another, white minority rule was on
the way out.
Unwilling to risk being caught up in a
doomsday racial bloodbath, alienated by
the increasingly totalitarian nature of
their society, dismayed by the country’s
rapidly declining economic prospects and
demoralised by the international opprobrium elicited by the apartheid system,
many whites pulled up stakes and moved
on.
Jews constituted a high proportion of
the latter. Up until 1970, the Jewish population had shown steady growth, peaking
in that year at just under 120 000. In 1980,
that figure was unchanged, indicating
that emigration had, for the first time, offset increases by immigration and natural
growth.
A decade later, Jewish numbers had
fallen off by almost a quarter, and were
down by at least that much once more in
2001, the last time a census was taken. At
the beginning of the decade, in other
words, South African Jewry had lost over
40 per cent of its members in a mere 20
years. Little wonder, then, that Jewish
South Africa came to be regarded in international Jewish circles as a terminally ill
entity whose complete demise was just a
matter of time.
The fate of Jewish communities in
other post-independence African coun-
BARBARIC
YAWP
David Saks
tries, substantially contributed to this
belief. In Zambia, Namibia, Kenya and
above all Zimbabwe, once relatively thriving Jewish communities have lost on
average 90 per cent of their members.
Yet another decade later, where do
things stand? Contrary to the prophets of
doom, for whom good news is no news,
what has evidently taken place is a progressive receding of the immediate threat
to South African Jewry’s long-term continuity, accompanied by a parallel beefing
up of its traditional strengths.
While exact numbers are elusive, emigration levels have clearly fallen away
dramatically, something shown in the stable to growing day school enrolment figures as well as in the sharp drop off of
annual IUA-UCF statistics recording campaign contributors who have left.
While the community is unlikely to
again reach the 120 000-mark, for the time
being at least it can be said to have stabilised and may even be showing some
modest growth.
Meanwhile, Jewish institutions across
the board are thriving. It is taken for
granted here that four Jewish pupils out
of five attend a Jewish day school, with
many of the remainder receiving at least
AROUND THE WORLD
NEWS IN BRIEF
GERMAN JEWRY'S TOP LEADER TO STEP DOWN
BERLIN - Germany's top Jewish leader plans
to step down to make way for a new generation of leaders.
Charlotte Knobloch, elected head of the
Central Council of Jews in Germany in 2006,
announced she would not run for re-election
in November, according to a statement
released last week Sunday. Previous chairmen have died in office.
Knobloch, 77, the long-time leader of the
Jewish community in Bavaria and Munich,
is likely to be the last council president to
have lived through the Holocaust. She was
hidden as a child by a non-Jewish family in
Bavaria.
Knobloch told the German broadcaster
Deutsch-Welle that she wanted to "consciously bring about a generational change in the
leadership of the organisation".
On Sunday, the council announced it had
"full and unlimited trust" in Knobloch and
wanted her to serve out her term. But she
has come in for criticism from insiders and
pundits as being too focused on the past.
The acerbic German-Jewish writer
Henryk Broder has referred to her as "Tante
Charly" and even toyed with the notion of
running for office.
While there is speculation that the next
chairman could be current Vice President
Dieter Graumann, some say it is time for a
new immigrant to rise through the ranks. Of
the estimated 200 000 Jews in Germany today,
about 80 per cent emigrated from the former
Soviet Union since 1990. About half are affiliated with Jewish communities.
Postwar Jewish leaders "have accomplished a lot, and we are grateful and honour
them", wrote Russian-born attorney Grigory
Lagodinsky, 28, deputy president of Kassel's
Jewish community, in a guest editorial in the
Welt Online. "But they are not ready to
accept representatives of the immigrant
majority as their equals." (JTA)
CONTACT
Trevor Stamelman
Cell: 082-608-0168
trevor@stamelmanproperties.co.za
www.stamelmanproperties.co.za
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some meaningful Jewish education in one
or other of the private colleges.
Few actually realise just how very
remarkable this statistic is compared
with the respective situations overseas.
As a result, South African Jews have
succeeded in establishing what may well
be the most Jewishly literate generation
in the Diaspora. Nor has this come at the
expense of providing, to say the least, an
adequate secular education, as the phenomenally successful matric results routinely posted across the board by all the
Jewish day schools testify.
It is no accident that whereas Jewry in
the US, UK, the European mainland and
elsewhere are fighting an increasingly
desperate and unsuccessful battle against
assimilation and intermarriage, these
remain fairly low-level problems over
here.
Defying international trends, South
African Jews are becoming more, not less
connected over time. It seems strange to
think that for most of its history, this
community had to import its Jewish clergy, initially from the UK and latterly from
the US and Israel.
Today, there are scores of homegrown
young rabbis, some with their own congregations, the majority involved in
teaching, learning and kiruv work. Not a
few have gone on to make a significant
impact overseas, among them Rabbi
Akiva Tatz and the equally formidable
Lapin brothers, Daniel and David.
The community now exports more than
it imports in this regard. Could Reverend
Isaac Pulver, who had the thankless task
of being the first full-time Jewish minister of religion in South Africa at a time
when there seemed no realistic prospect
of Judaism ever really taking root, have
possibly foreseen such a transformation?
It is not only in the religious field that
South African Jewry has made such
strides. Jewish welfare has never been
better run and the extent of Jewish charitable and upliftment work in the wider
society has never been greater.
For the more secularly inclined,
Limmud has been established, with considerable success. The local Jewish
media is also thriving, thanks in no small
part to the online revolution and the
establishment of a lively Jewish communal radio station, ChaiFM.
South African Jewry’s traditional
strengths have been its commitment to
Jewish education no matter what the
cost, a strong yet also inclusive and nonjudgemental attachment to traditional
Judaism, passionate Zionism and an ability to combine Jewish communal duties
with active involvement in the affairs of
the society as a whole.
Mendel Kaplan achieved such greatness, I believe, because he epitomised
every one of these qualities. Yesterday, I
joined in ushering Harry Schwarz, another South African Jew who achieved true
greatness, to his final earthly restingplace.
Sad as the occasion inevitably was, it
was comforting to feel myself to be part
of a community from whose ranks such
outstanding individuals so regularly
emerge.
12
SA JEWISH REPORT
12 - 19 February 2010
TAPESTRY
ART, BOOKS, DANCE, FILM, THEATRE
ARTS MATTERS
COMPILED BY
ROBYN SASSEN
Call 084-319-7844 or
info@frodo.co.za at
least one week prior to
publication
Art on Paper, Milpark:
“Passing Between” an exhibition by Nathaniel Stern and
Jessica Meuninck-Ganger, until
February 27, (011) 726-2234.
Goodman Gallery, Woodstock: “Re collections”, an exhibition by South African-born
Florence-resident artistic duo,
Rosenclaire (Rose Shakinovsky
and
Claire
Gavronsky),
February 18 - March 13, (021)
462-7573.
Iziko, South African National Gallery, Cape Town: “Dada
South?” curated by Kathryn
Smith and Roger van Wyk, until
February 28, (021) 481-3800.
Linder Auditorium: On February 17 and 18, the JPO performs Mozart’s “Haffner” symphony, Shostakovich’s first
‘cello concerto and Mendelssohn’s first symphony. Soloist:
Julian Lloyd Webber (‘cello).
Conductor: Gérard Korsten,
(011) 789-2733.
Market Theatre, Newtown:
In the Main Theatre, “Songs of
Migration” with Hugh Masekela and Sibongile Khumalo,
until February 21, (011) 8321641.
Michael Stevenson, Woodstock: “Life is Shot, Art is
Long”, solo exhibition by
Steven Cohen until March 6,
(021) 462-1500.
Montecasino, Fourways: In
the Studio, Saul Reichlin performs “Roots... Shmoots” and
“Gimpel the Fool”, based on
Sholem Aleichem’s and Isaac
Bashevis Singer’s writings,
until Feb 21, (011) 511-1818.
Old Mutual Theatre on the
Square, Sandton: “Tomfoolery”, by Tom Lehrer, until
February 13. “Jacques Brel is
Alive and Well and Living in
Paris”, directed by Colin Law
and Dean Roberts, February 16
- March 13, (011) 883-8606.
Rabbi Cyril Harris Community Centre, Oaklands: “Modern Art of Ancient Jewish
Symbols”, an exhibition by
Yoram Raanan, until February
25, (011) 728-8088.
Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg: “Ephraim Ngatane: Symphony of Soweto”,
curated by Natalie Knight,
upstairs. Downstairs, new work
by Natasha Christopher. Both
exhibitions close March 13,
(011) 631-1889.
Wits Theatre, Braamfontein:
Downstairs, “La Carnaval de
ma vie”, directed by Craig
Morris, performed by Nicola
Haskins and Bailey Snyman,
February 15 - 20, (011) 717-1380.
ZK Matthews Hall, Unisa,
Nieu Muckleneuk: The JPO,
with Pieter Schoeman (violin)
and Anmari van der Westhuizen (‘cello), conducted by
Gérard
Korsten,
perform
Weber’s “Euryanthe” overture,
Brahms’ concerto for violin and
cello and Schumann’s “Rhenish” symphony, February 14,
(011) 789-2733.
JMS’ 2010 programme
focuses heavily on piano
PAUL BOEKKOOI
THE JOHANNESBURG Musical
Society (JMS), now in its 108th year,
always functions within the parameters of inspiration and healthy consistency. This is once again obvious
when studying their programme for
this magical year 2010 in which
they’ll present their concerts nos
1086 to 1095.
This time the piano is strongly in
focus with half of the 10 concerts
devoted to this instrument. There
are three duos as well as a trio concert, given by our own Musaion
Trio, the only one by South African
musicians, but definitely not to be
missed.
The remaining concert is something quite exceptional. The TOEAC
accordion duo from The Netherlands is an unusual departure for
the Society and may add the necessary spice to their August concert.
The two performers, Renee Bekkers
and Pieternel Berkers, constantly
surprise and fascinate their audiences with the delicacy and orchestral quality of their playing.
Here is the full list of concerts,
which will all be presented in the
Linder Auditorium in Parktown,
Johannesburg.
• February 20 - Benjamin Schmid,
violin; Luis Magalhaes, piano:
Schmid, foremost among Austrian
violinists, performs music by
Schubert (Rondo Brillant in B &
Fantasy in C), Ysaye (Sonata No 4
for Solo Violin) and Beethoven
(Sonata in G, Opus 96) with the
Portuguese-born Luis Magalhaes,
piano lecturer at Stellenbosch
University.
• March 13 - Aglika Genova and
Liuben Dimitrov, piano duo: This
highly lauded Bulgarian duo present the Sonata in D major, K448
(Mozart), Reminisences de Don
Juan (Liszt), Suite in F sharp
minor
(Shostakovich)
and
Scaramouche (Milhaud).
• April 15 - Katya Apekisheva, piano:
Moscow-born
and
versatile
Apekisheva plays Nocturne No 18
and Scherzo No 2 (Chopin), Four
Lyric Pieces (Grieg), Theme and
Variations, Opus 19, No 6
(Tchaikovsky) and Pictures at an
Exhibition (Mussorgsky).
• May 22 (Nabarro Chamber
Concert) - Grigory Alumyan, ‘cello;
Rinko Hama, piano: Alumyan,
Moscow-born, won the first prize in
the ‘cello section in the fourth
Unisa International String Competition in 2002. His Japanese-born
accompanist is both a sought-after
chamber musician and soloist.
• June 6 - Chun Wang, piano: Wang,
the young Chinese virtuoso, won
the third prize and audience
favourite award in the 11th Unisa
International Piano Competition
(2008) and is now continuing his
studies at Juilliard in New York.
His career, especially in the United
‘Dada South’ entertains while
it at the same time disturbs
ROBYN SASSEN
Exhibition: “Dada South?” (Iziko,
South African National Gallery,
Cape Town, (021) 467-4673)
Curators: Kathryn Smith and
Roger van Wyk.
Until: February 28
Dada gave art a kick in the pants. It
was an invented word to describe
anti-art designed to undermine the
hypocrisy of Western thinking in a
world gone beserk. Born between
the two world wars, it was dangerous, it was sexy, it was hollow, it
was horrifying, it was hilarious.
The curators of “Dada South?”
engage with Dada, South Africa
under apartheid and all
its coterminous ideas,
bringing brave, extreme thinkers out of
the woodwork, yielding a show that informs
and entertains while it
disturbs and up-ends.
Your head might spin
when you leave; you won’t
be jaded.
“Dada South?” features work
ranging from a man-sized pig in
Nazi uniform - entitled
“Prussian Archangel”, creat-
ed by John Heartfield and Rudolf
Schlichter in 1920 - to a piece by
Jacques Coetzer entitled “Life and
death and when to stop praying”.
A man, Randy Hartzenberg,
bricks in a doorway with loaves of
bread. Another, Robert Hodgins,
hair Brylcreemed into submission,
chases inkblots and spiders across
a fifties-evocative desk.
Man Ray’s “Cadeau” is a clothes-
iron with a row of outward pointing
nails attached to its plate. There is a
dog by Adrian Kohler made of
handsaws. Anything goes; everything’s shot through with angry
politics.
Under apartheid-induced cultural embargo, mainstream local art
was innocuous, parochial. Many
critically thinking artists - like Neil
Goedhals (1957 - 1990) - vanished
from the discourse.
Local artists engage the
scary meaninglessness of
racist bureaucracy, like
their
European
peers
60 years ago. The conflation
between local and European work is obvious, as is
the alignment of the two
eras of moral depravity,
but it has previously
been unexplored this
comprehensively
in art. Inspired
curation lends this
show a searing
indictment of politics.
You might laugh at
Dada objects because of
their unbridled incon“Bitter Suites” (1993) by Steven Cohen.
gruity. Dada influenced
(PHOTOGRAPH: JOHN HODGKISS)
modernism not because
FELDMAN
ON FILM
Peter Feldman
PICKS OF THE WEEK
Bright Star
Starring Ben Whishaw, Abbie Cornish, Paul
Schneider, Kerry Fox
Director: Jane Campion
Quality over quantity is the yardstick this week
for filmgoers. But let us deal with quality first.
Bright Star is a quality production for discerning viewers. It is directed by New
Zealander, Jane Campion, a filmmaker with a
strong and intelligent command of her medium.
She ably demonstrates her craft by cutting
through the mustiness of a period-piece with
sharp insight into the feelings and behaviour
patterns of her complex characters.
Bright Star is set in London in 1818 and
explores a secret love affair between 23-year-old
English poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and the
girl next door, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) in
the final years of Keats’ short life
When this unlikely pair of lovers began their
relationship they were already at odds. He
thought she was a stylish minx. She, in turn,
was unimpressed by literature. It was the illness
of Keats’ younger brother that drew them
together. Keats was touched by Fanny’s efforts
to help and agreed to teach her poetry.
By the time Fanny’s alarmed mother (Kerry
Fox) and Keats’ best friend Charles Brown (Paul
Schneider) realised the lovers’ attachment, the
relationship could not be stopped.
It was an intense affair in which they were
helplessly absorbed in each other, a powerful
new sensation that swept them away
The lovers ooze chemistry but Campion
shows restraint that never allows the relationship to dip into racy, sexual tension.
Samplings of Keats’ work filters through the
production but not enough to satisfy devotees
States, is blossoming.
• July 25 - Musaion Trio: Malcolm
Nay (piano); Zanta Hofmeyr (violin) and Heleen du Plessis (‘cello):
This great combination will bring
you works by Beethoven, Schubert
and Shostakovich.
• August 14 - TOEAC Accordion
Duo: See above.
• September 4 - Vasily Primakov,
piano: Another Moscow-born wonder child who as a mature artist
with his own voice has stolen the
hearts of international audiences.
• October 9 - Daniel Rowland and
Pieter
Jacobs,
piano
duo:
Rowland’s come-back is an inspiring choice, since during his previous visit, in September 2008, his
inspiring musicianship left no one
untouched.
• November 13 (Percy Baneshik
Memorial Concert) - Mariangela
Vacatello, piano: This young
Italian pianist was an audience
favourite at the most recent Van
Cliburn Piano Competition and
soon afterwards won Norway’s
Top of the World Competition in
Tromso.
Subscribing to the JMS’s concerts
can save you up to R45 per ticket.
Enquiries: Dr Avril Rubinstein,
(011) 728-5492.
it was funny, but because it was
dark - that doesn’t stop it from
being entertaining.
Two grey-haired museum visitors
laughingly
scampered
through Nathaniel Stern’s interactive piece “Stuttering” (2003), curious as to how it would reflect them.
It’s installed near 1920s experimental film by Marcel Duchamp and
Ferdinand Léger.
The exhibition begins with a
South African focus, then blurs;
local living artists’ work neighbours photo-montages by Hannah
Höch and John Heartfield; Steven
Cohen’s “Bitter Suites” (1993)
offers apt insight into South
African-flavoured Dada: a trio of
upholstered Louis XV chairs and a
settee, its printed upholstery
obsessively adorned with Nazi and
apartheid references.
Willem Boshoff’s “Bangbroek”,
an anti-army text written secretly
under the army’s aegis and his
“KykAfrikaans” (1980) drawn on
a typewriter and brought to audio
life in 2007, add to the show’s
clout.
A sound installation by Richard
Huelsenbeck punctuated with Nazi
sound-bytes infiltrates the room.
The curators have almost completely ditched privately-heard
sound, with few earphone sets, the
video works operate in a mild
cacophony of utter insanity.
“Take Dada seriously; it’s worth
it!”, the pamphlet declares - indeed,
it is.
of Keats’ work.
The story is viewed through the eyes of
Keats’ beloved Fanny, played with compassion
and understanding by Australian actress,
Abbie Cornish.
Bright Star is a touching ode to the poet, the
love of his life, and the period in which he
lived. It remains true to the facts, insofar as
they are generally known, but artistic liberties
have also been taken to help deliver an emotional impact.
***
Those with the inclination to view a breezy
ensemble piece, with a stellar cast that
includes Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine,
Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner and Patrick
Dempsey, may enjoy Garry Marshall’s
Valentine’s Day.
As the title suggests, it’s about a group of
people living in Los Angeles, all of them linked
in different ways, with a story that monitors
their success in the love stakes on this romantic day. It’s pleasant enough, but painted in
broad sentimental strokes. The story also
never allows full character development.
12 - 19 February 2010
SA JEWISH REPORT
13
TAPESTRY
ART, BOOKS, DANCE, FILM, THEATRE
Munro’s focus is never the
deed, but its consequences
Too Much Happiness by Alice
Munro (Random House Struik,
R304)
REVIEWED BY GWEN PODBREY
A BEGUILING title, indeed: is
there such a thing as too much happiness? There might have been for
Sophia Kovalevsky, the brilliant
19th century Russian-born mathematician whose dramatic life - and
untimely death in Sweden - are
here recounted as the last in a collection of 10 shattering stories,
each one striking home with all the
deadly force and accuracy of a
guided missile.
Kovalevsky’s tale - reserved for
the end of the book - is in fact less
of a short story than a pocket
novella.
Based almost entirely on fact, its
only fictional licence has been
Munro’s reconstruction of the
mathematician’s last, laborious
journey, undertaken in a condition
so feverish that it verged on delirium, and involving a number of
encounters with characters she
may have imagined.
A slight, child-like woman,
straitjacketed by an era in which
female academics - particularly in
the sciences - were invariably stigmatised as unnatural, Kovalevsky’s brief marriage had ended as
tragically as it had
begun. As, indeed, had
the marriage of her
adored
elder
sister,
Aniuta, a woman with
fervent political ideals who like her sibling - was
far ahead of her time.
Both girls had sought
escape by drawing on
their stupendous natural
gifts to form ill-advised
alliances with men who,
if unstable, were at least passionate: Jewish revolutionaries, renegades, adventurers. Yet living outside social convention could quickly gall: moreover, there were many
things it could not offer: security,
for instance. Or trust.
“Always remember that when a
man goes out of the room, he leaves
everything in it behind. When a
woman goes out, she carries everything that happened in the room
along with her,” Kovalevsky is
warned by Marie Mendelson.
So when Kovalevsky finally
meets a man with an intellect able
to match her own - as well as the
stability and sexual sophistication
to satisfy her - she dismisses her
misgivings and proceeds blithely
into the abyss.
Like all Munro’s other stories,
the seething subtext of the narrative is so skilfully constrained -
converging
almost
seamlessly at crucial
points with her easy,
almost conversational
tone - that one is hardly
aware of the intense
darkness into which she
has led one: until it is
too late. It is only when
one
weeps
(which,
assuredly, one does) that
one realises how practised and knowing a fist
has been clenched over one’s heart.
And this, mind you, is probably
the most benign of the stories. The
other nine - far shorter - are as
knowing, and perhaps as forgiving,
of human nature, but expose unreservedly the very ugliest excesses
of which men and women are capable.
Sometimes these are aroused
unexpectedly - for example, the
arrival of a burglar into the home
of an elderly widow in “Free
Radicals”, who makes away with
considerably more than he bargained for.
At other times, they are aroused
by intent: in “Wenlock Edge”, for
example (arguably the most powerful story in the book), a well-bred,
naive university student becomes
embroiled in a sordid relationship
between her room-mate and an elderly man with bizarre - and humili-
ating - sexual tastes.
Having allowed herself to venture too far into this territory, the
student exacts a revenge so malevolent that one gasps. Having done
it, she returns to her room surrounded by people going about
their everyday business, “passing
me on the way to classes, on the
way to have a smoke, and maybe a
game of bridge in the Common
Room. On their way to deeds they
didn’t yet know they had in them.”
If there is any commonality in
Munro’s stories, it is that their
characters - at some point - succumb, however momentarily, to an
urge which defies everything their
common sense and/or moral bearings are telling them.
Whether they are manipulating,
or being manipulated, there is a
seduction in progress: deep inner
shadows, better left unexplored,
beckon alluringly to reason.
Loneliness succumbs to evil;
fragility yields to vanity, or flattery,
or a brief, blissful feeling of belonging, however steep the price.
The seducer is not necessarily
another individual. In “Wood”, a
neglected husband is slowly
immersed in a compulsion to
become a lumberjack, after developing a semi-erotic fascination for
the textures, colours and mossy
undergrowth of the forest. And in
Cocking a snook with wise fondness
Exhibition: “Passing Between”
(Art on Paper, Milpark, (011) 7262234)
Artists: Nathaniel Stern and
Jessica Meuninck-Ganger
Until: February 27.
REVIEWED BY ROBYN SASSEN
“LET ME not to the marriage of
true minds admit impediments,”
William Shakespeare wrote in 1609.
This invocation comes to mind in
the 14 delicious collaborations by
printmaker Jessica MeuninckGanger from Wisconsin and digital
artist Nathaniel Stern, who needs
no introduction to local art lovers.
These succinct little pieces
thumb a nose at traditional printmaking, but do so with wise fondness; preventing them from being
one-liners.
Each has a computer mechanism
that gives it “life” - a tiny LCD mon-
itor serves as inset, support or
backing to each of the pieces.
Seamlessly melding over 700 years
of print technology, the works contain wit and beauty. They allow for
art historical punning - but these
light, never silly pieces are only
about art history insofar as they
are about art.
One touchstone is “The Great
Wave of Kanagawa” by Japanese
Ukiyo-e printmaker, Hokusai (1760
- 1849); another is Diego Velàzquez’s “Las Meninas” (1656).
In “Meninas”, the image is compositioned like the Velàzquez,
down to the recumbent dog in the
corner. Yet, instead of any 17th century ladies in waiting, we see the
artists themselves. They come to
life. They laugh. They walk away,
leaving the image feeling dead,
with linear understandings of their
bodies cast against grey aquatinted
descriptions of interior space.
Sadly, the novelty of the “live”
images kills the joy of seeing traditional prints un-backed by technology; you look at each with the
expectation that it will “do” something before your eyes.
The pieces evidence critical creative dialogue; wit comes of familiarity with the disciplines. In
“Danger”, the artists’ children frolic imperviously in water. The piece
is lent foreboding by the danger
signs printed onto the LCD screen.
“The Great Oak” beautifully
articulates the landscape, comprising giclée on Japanese paper,
against a filmed sequence of people
outdoors, so tender that the paper’s
texture is retained in the sandwiching of art technologies.
“Kinnickinnic” is drawn from
within a car, the windscreen
frames its composition. This technologically boosted lithograph
explodes onto the wall in charcoal
‘Jutro’ - well-crafted and succinct
ROBYN SASSEN
ONE OF the gems to debut at the
National Arts Festival in 2007, created in association with Daphne
Kuhn, performs at the Baxter in
Cape Town from next week.
“Jutro” workshopped by Keren
Tahor, James Cuningham and
Helen Iskander (who directs) based
on short stories by Tahor and Elan
Gamakar, is a quirky, well-choreographed Second World War-time
romance.
The ruins of a bar in Poland, sees
Miss Mina, a Jewish cabaret singer
in a Warsaw nightclub and Janusz,
the club’s resident barman,
trapped.
Interweaving the strains of the
Sabbath song, “Shalom Aleichem”,
Dan Selsick’s original score
enables the work to interplay
between dreams and realities; the
dialogue of the two performers also
Janusz (James
Cuningham)
and Miss Mina
(Keren Tahor)
enjoying a
light moment
in “Jutro”.
(PHOTOGRAPH
COURTESY
KBT.CO.ZA)
see-saws between droll and
poignant. The see-saw is literalised
on an award-winning set designed
by Lisa Younger, juxtaposing social
and physical relations which is discomforting but off-key, creating a
humour neither bitter nor obvious,
which Tahor and Cuningham play
into with deftness.
Mina might be unlettered, vain
and shallow in her self-belief, but
remains aware of her roots - while
she furiously condemns her mother as having a big “tochas” (backside), she is rendered vulnerable by
her Jewish identity, petty vanities
and femininity. Janusz is hopelessly besotted by her
A man of many unspoken talents,
Janusz
knows
about
American culture. He can dance,
he can fantasise, he can forage, he
knows how to secure a fake identity for Mina, so she can escape the
stigma of her Jewishness and
reach the dreamed-of America. He
knows to not refer to her
Jewishness directly, but to protect
her from it.
“Jutro” is well-crafted and succinct. Lacking in self-indulgence, it
has a gritty edge that averts it from
mawkishness.
• “Jutro” is at the Golden Arrow
Studio, Baxter Theare, Cape Town,
February 17-March 6, (021) 6857880.
line, an idea which forces the piece
out of the exhibition’s cohesion, but
is about the creative exuberance of
the collaboration, which seems constantly on the brink of detonation.
The dynamic in “Underbrush” is
as powerful and delicate as that in
Ukiyo-e prints. The understatedness of naked branches rendered in
sugarlift overlap the videoed leafy
garb of the same branch in gentle
“The Great
Wave”
(2009)
woodcut,
LCD and
video.
“Face”, a boy born with a huge,
unsightly birthmark develops a
relationship with a playmate who
finds her own way of expressing
solidarity with his disfigurement.
Yet, in all her stories, Munro’s
focus is never the deed, however
outrageous it may be, but its consequences, which can be damning or redemptive. In “Child’s Play”,
two young girls who commit an
impulsive, hideous deed carry their
guilt - disguised in various ways far into their adulthood. Their
search for relief from that guilt is
almost beautiful, but we are unable
to escape the images of what they
have actually done. Frequently, one
is surprised initially at the destination of an action: but, inevitably,
what Munro uncovers is intensely
unsettling.
Whether it is love she is showing
us, or hatred, or any of our other
emotional appetites, it is brilliantly
revealed, impossible to forget - and
true.
So conversational and fluid is the
writing that one never realises
where this author has deposited us
until it is too late. Now hailed as the
best living short story writer in
English fiction, Canadian-born
Munro (who won the Man Booker
Prize last year) points us to mirrors
we recognise - and have every reason to fear.
fluctuation under the weight of
real or computer-generated wind,
presenting an empathy with nature
that is as simple, direct and magnificent as a crafted sonnet.
But unlike any still landscape,
these works relentlessly dialogue
internally: particularly in the diptyches. In “Twin City”, a droll emulation of a tornado tosses a cow
from the frame. “The Multiple”
reflects an utterly beautiful conversation between chine colléed birds,
with digital ones in simulated
flight, on a woodcut seascape.
14
SA JEWISH REPORT
12 - 19 February 2010
LETTERS
Disclaimer
The letters page is intended to provide opportunity for a range of views on any given topic to be
expressed. Opinions articulated in the letters are those of the writers and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the editor, staff or directors of the Jewish Report
BIZOS, CHASKALSON , ‘DISINGENUOUS’IN DEFENCE OF GOLDSTONE
I WAS gob smacked to read the Bizos and
Chaskalson defense of Goldstone.
I don’t believe a judge could have been
part of a cruel and racist regime and have
really been a mensch. Did Goldstone,
make any attempt to oppose the death
penalty for political offenses or the joke
that was the Delmas trial? Wasn’t the Nationalist Government paying his salary?
I believe the gentlemen are being disingenuous for suggesting what a paragon of
virtue Goldstone was, unless they’re taking the mickey.
Incidentally, I also believe that no member of the judiciary was ever prosecuted
or summoned before the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, for their role
in enforcing apartheid laws. Guild members, I think, always stick together.
During the “so-called” Third Force massacres I was a press photographer. Some of
my colleagues and I witnessed some or
their results. It was pretty clear who was
behind some of these appalling murders,
or who helped others perpetrate these
killings, like the Boipatong township,
Jeppe and Germiston station massacres. If
I remember, Goldstone, an apartheid
judge, appointed by the apartheid president, could find no one specifically to
blame, and certainly no finger was pointed
at anyone high up in the apartheid food
chain. Do you know what I mean?
Essentially it was a whitewash which
Goldstone should admit. Mr Bizos and Mr
Chaskalson, though your loyalty is
admirable, I believe any good Goldstone
might ever have done is negated by his last
action, as far as many Jews are concerned.
I never respected the old judiciary in
this country, as I barely respect the new
one, which seems to have little self-respect.
Equally, I have the same lack of respect
for the United Nations body and any kangaroo courts associated with it - just too
many anti-Israel and anti-Semitic members to expect objectivity, I think the
Goldstone recommendation to the United
Nations will go down in Jewish history
much like the Dreyfus affair. That was
when an individual Jew was falsely
accused and convicted.
In Goldstone’s case I believe a nation
was falsely accused. His inquiry had only
a whiff of a quasi-legal air about it. It certainly took the French army longer to convict one captain Dreyfus than it took
Goldstone to find against and falsely
accuse the Jewish nation. I suspect
Mandela’s trial lasted considerably longer
with a semblance of fairness.
Stephen Davimes
Johannesburg
This letter has been shortened - Editor
AN APPEAL TO HELP TWO BLIND WITS STUDENTS
I AM studying towards a B Ed degree at
Wits, to become a teacher. I have a blind
friend, Melusi, who is studying with me. He
is an absolute inspiration. Melusi and
another blind student, Chardy, have been
given the opportunity to complete a teaching practical in Boston, USA, at the Perkins
School for the Blind.
However, these two students desperately
need sponsorship. I would be grateful to
anyone who can make a donation to help
these disadvantaged students achieve their
dreams of teaching other blind learners.
Funds are needed to pay for their visas,
flights and accommodation, as well as for
some pocket money.
People who are able to help, can phone
me on 082-411-349. Banking details:
Branch name: Absa Braamfontein
Student Bureau; Branch number: 632005;
Account number: 4075305855.
Stephanie Rapp
Johannesburg
DANIEL, STRIKE A BALANCE IN FORMING YOUR OPINIONS
I WANT to tell Daniel Mackintosh: The
aftermath of war always brings pain and
suffering in its wake. It’s the nature of the
beast. The indisputable cause of the
Arab/Palestinian-Israel conflict is the
Arabs’ refusal to accept a Jewish state in
the region, in initiating wars and terror to
alter the status quo - resulting in huge
pain and suffering on both sides.
As an intelligent, idealistic young man
seeking truth and justice in a war zone,
you need to strike a balance in forming
your opinions. Bear in mind the hurt in
the eyes of Israelis who have suffered the
consequences of Arab intransigence.
Occupation? As a legal student you
would do well to study the principle of
“Uti Posseditis” - the right to ownership as
a result of repelling a war initiated by an
enemy. If you are religious, the relevant
biblical references delineate the boundaries of the ancient Jewish homeland.
Attempts to create goodwill and friend-
ships across the divide are commendable
and can only lead to better understanding.
But then it behoves you to champion and
explain your own people’s situation as
well. By all means, diminish hatred and
build love.
The Israel justice system is sufficiently
sophisticated to deal with crimes committed by individuals or institutions, even by
the Jerusalem municipality if needs be.
Daniel, nothing is preventing you from
being a compassionate Jew. But looking
for reasons to condemn only the Jewish
State in an imperfect world is tantamount
to behaving like an enemy of your own
people. By all means try to make a difference for good, but keep a cool, balanced
head at the same time. And the same goes
for Nathan Geffen and Doron Isaacs.
G-d bless.
David Abel, Co-Chairman SAZ
George
ROMM MUST SUBSTANTIATE HIS CLAIM ON USTASE PRIESTS
REGARDING AVNER Eliyahu Romm’s
letter “Question for the Catholic Church”
(SAJR, January 29), would Mr Romm
reveal his sources for stating that Ustase
priests preached in favour of the Nazi
cause? Without valid sources, his statement is sheer demagoguery.
Committing genocide is part of human
nature. We are today here as Jews
(although some of us identify ourselves as
atheists, Marxists, Catholics, etc) because
our forefathers committed genocide thousands of years ago, killing Moabites,
Canaanites, Edomites, etc.
Let me quote from Gerard Noel’s book
Pius IX: The Hound of Hitler: “for hundreds of years, Catholic Croats had been
oppressed by Orthodox Serbs. Catholic
Croats were denied opportunities of education and professional advancement. This
resentment had festered in outright hate.”
Another quote: “the Ustase murdered
over five hundred thousand Serbs, Jews,
Gypsies, Communists.” Thirty thousand
Jews were murdered. It is not a consolation that 470 000 were non-Jews.
Further: “The Wehrmacht, no
strangers to violence themselves, were
revolted.”
There
were
Christian
Orthodox people who wanted to convert
to Catholicism to save their lives.
However: “The Vatican was insistent that
those wishing to convert to Catholicism
should be turned away when it was
apparent that their conversions were for
the wrong reasons. The ‘wrong reasons’
were of course avoidance of murder”.
Access to the quoted book was given to
me by the priest of the Catholic Church
in Sunnyside, Pretoria.
It is obvious that Ustase crimes were a
Croat way of “paying back” the Serbs. Mr
Romm needs to specify his accusations:
Who were the Ustase ‘priests’? What Nazi
cause did they ‘preach’?
Using the Jewish Report to celebrate
Judaism is one thing; quite a different
thing is to indulge in hatred and smearing of Christianity on its pages.
Dan Friediger
Groenkloof, Pretoria
The Editor, Suite 175, Postnet X10039, Randburg, 2125 email: carro@global.co.za
Guidelines for letters
Letters up to 400 words will get preference. Please provide your full first name and surname, place of
residence, and a daytime contact telephone or cell number. We do not publish letters under noms de
plume. Letters should preferably be e-mailed. Letters may be edited or shortened.
TAKING ISSUE WITH GALGUT’S STANCE ON KASHRUT AND VEGANISM
I RESPOND once again to Elisa Galgut’s letter
(SAJR January 15) about veganism and kashrut.
I am just as opposed as she is to factory farming,
but I cannot agree that kashrut requires veganism or is equated with it.
These two words mean two different things,
and the Jewish community cannot be bullied into
accepting Dr Galgut’s definition of kashrut.
Extremism alienates, especially when it presents
itself as the only correct path.
The laws of kashrut are given in Torah, as are
the laws for animal sacrifice. We no longer follow
the latter because (thankfully) there are no
longer animal sacrifices. Perhaps in the future
vegetarianism will become the norm and the
laws of kashrut will become similarly redundant.
But this has not happened yet.
The problem of factory farms is not addressed
in Torah and must be tackled in its own right as a
modern-day ethical matter, something which
concerns not just Jews, but all of humankind.
I am temporarily living on a farm where there
are some free-range (non-commercial) chickens.
If all of their eggs hatched, there would be an
unsustainable rise in poultry numbers every few
months. One can leave the eggs for the dogs and
monkeys, or eat them oneself.
The answer is not simply to get rid of the chick-
ens or try to make them live wild in the bush.
The fact that I would eat their eggs means I
am not vegan, but I do not believe that this
makes me non-kosher. Compassion in this
case means keeping down the numbers, and
removing eggs is less cruel than culling chickens.
Since my last letter I have also started to
use fish oil instead of flaxseed oil. For a year I
have been trying to cure a skin problem, with
my doses of flax and evening primrose oil
increasing to ridiculous levels without
results.
I’ve been taking fish oil for just five days
now and my skin is all but healed. (If my
abstaining from fish oil would end the fishing
industry then I’d obviously refrain, but this
responsibility is not mine alone).
As Jews we are obliged to look after our
own health as well as that of other species,
and in my case that seems to require fish oil.
Not everyone is able to synthesise DHA from
flax oil. Once again, my use of fish oil clearly
sets me apart from vegans, but not from the
kosher Jewish community.
Sue Randall
Magaliesburg
BIZOS AND CHASKALSON PROTEST FAR TOO MUCH ON GOLDSTONE
I REFER to the article by George Bizos and
Arthur Chaskalson in defence of Mr Justice
Richard Goldstone.
I think the eminent jurists protest too much.
Their article smacks more of a plea in mitigation
of guilt rather than an exoneration of his participation
in
chairing
the
commission.
Furthermore, his handling of the commission
was patently flawed.
Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland
who is patently biased against Israel, refused to
sit on the commission because it was inherently
biased. The fact that the UNHRW has passed 36
resolutions, 24 of which are directed at Israel,
speaks for itself.
In addition, the commission refused to print
and/ignored atrocities that were reported to
them in Geneva which were perpetrated against
Israel by the Palestinians and it merely white-
washed the fact that Israel’s response was to
7 000 Katusha rockets fired unguided into Israel.
Also ignored were the comments of Colonel
Kemp who led the British forces in Afghanistan.
While most of the comments against
Goldstone are not justified, he did himself no
service by agreeing to chair a commission which
inherently was biased (Ms Hina Jilani one of the
commissioners had already pronounced on
Israel’s guilt prior to the commission sitting). He
therefore deserves to be criticized, albeit for an
error in judgement.
His report has single-handedly created an
upsurge in anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment which has been at an all time high since
January 2009.
Myron Robinson
East London
HERE’S SOMEONE WHO REALLY LOVED ‘SONGS OF MIGRATION’
JUST A follow up on the review of “Songs of
Migration”. My family and I and two Israeli
friends saw this amazing show on the second
night after the opening. We were all enthralled
at the highly polished and beautiful performances of all the singers, dancers and musicians.
Although the main thrust was the nostalgia
of workers coming from rural areas to work in
the towns, it had a universal application.
“My Yiddisher Mama” and “Sarie Marais”
were sung with such poignancy and deep feeling that we were all moved to tears. It is so
absolutely spot on at this time when so many of
us have families who have emigrated, but still
say Africa is in their blood.
Of course it was inspiring to see and hear
Hugh Masekela and Sibongile Khumalo, but
every artist was just that: a true artist. “Songs
of Migration” should travel throughout South
Africa and would be well received overseas.
The show continues until February 22, so
there is still a chance to see something rare,
beautiful and profoundly moving.
Edna Freinkel
Johannesburg
SHOW RESPECT FOR FUNERALS AND ALSO AT SHUL
I FIND it most upsetting and a show of disrespect, when people congregate at the Tahara
House before a funeral. They stand and talk,
laugh, and make a noise. The same applies at the
House of Mourning.
From that behaviour, one would think they
have come to some party.
Then the question dress code: Some people
arrive in shorts and T-shirts. Surely, it is not too
difficult for people to dress respectably and
refrain from talking!
I also find that men arrive in shul on Shabbos
with shirts hanging out of their trousers and in
jeans.
I may be a bit older than some of these people,
but in my younger days, we dressed to attend a
funeral and showed respect to the mourners. We
also dressed correctly, as we are in shul to pray
to Hashem.
At some barmitzvot, the boys are dressed in
jeans with shirts hanging out. So is the father.
When will people learn to respect Hashem and
mourners?
Markus E Brajtman
Sea Point, Cape Town
DON’T SHOOT MESSENGER IF MESSAGE IS UNPALATABLE
YOUR BLARING headline “Chaskalson and
Bizos come out in defence of Goldstone”, really is the pits!
The message conveyed by this headline
surely is that the infamous (Goldstone) Report
itself is being vindicated. (After all, how can
such eminent legal minds be wrong!)
However, at the bottom of page 16 we read
“it is not our intention to express a view on
whether the findings of the commission were
correct or not.” This is totally different to
what the headline subtly implies!
Are you trying to salvage Goldstone’s
shattered reputation among your readers?
Read what Caroline Glick writes in the
Jerusalem Post on the internet: “The UN-sponsored Goldstone Report which effectively
denies Israel’s right to defend itself and criminalises its military effort to secure its citizen-
ry and territory, is evidence of the gravity
of the threat Israel faces as our leader plan
for the coming war”(Presumably against
Iran).
There is at present raging anti-Semitism
worldwide and the Goldstone Report has
without doubt provided anti-Semites (now
conveniently styled inter alia as anti-Zionists)
powerful ammunition.
Editor, when these evil winds reach us, do
not think you will be immune!
Theo Musikanth
Sea Point, Cape Town
How our letter writer can equate our factual
reporting - as reflected in the headline - as
endorsement of a certain point of view, is surely stretching the imagination. - Editor
12 - 19 February 2010
SA JEWISH REPORT
COMMUNITY COLUMNS
LETTERS
SPOTLIGHT ON CHEVRAH KADISHA’S STERLING WORK
I WANT to thank the Chevrah Kadisha
and their catering manager, Roy
Levinson, for the absolutely delicious
meals they have been sending through
to the Johannesburg General Hospital
for a patient, a friend of mine, who has
just had a quadruple bypass. Not only
do I thank Roy for the food, but for his
understanding, his reliability, and his
fantastic attitude.
I applaud the Chevrah Kadisha for
being the wonderful organisation it is
and for providing kosher food, free of
charge to those in need, to the General
Hospital and many other state hospitals, among them Tara, Sterkfontein,
Edenvale, Randfontein, etc. What a
mitzvah! I had not been aware of this
service until a week ago.
While this food is delivered upon
request, the nursing staff don’t seem
to know a thing about the food’s
source, except that it is “somewhere in
Sandringham”.
So I went on a hunt, starting at the
Sandton Shul, and ending up with the
one and only Roy Levinson at the
Sandringham Gardens kitchens. Roy
also assured me that if special diets
were required, as in the case of a heart
patient, the hospitals had only to
advise him of this and he would gladly
accommodate them.
We are so used to “lip service” in
South Africa, but no action. But not
from the Chevrah Kadisha! Roy personally ran down to the General
Hospital the other day with the most
scrumptious food for my friend and I
can vouch for the fact it was delicious,
because I helped myself to some delicious potato salad and coleslaw.
Roy, and all those at the Chevrah
Kadisha responsible for this incredible
mitzvah service, I thank you, and
thank you on behalf of my friend who
is recovering well and who actually
looks forward to meal times.
Anne Lapedus Brest
Morningside, Sandton
ENGLAND - THE MOTHER OF REINVENTION
ENGLAND IS good at inventing
things. Like the word Babylon. So
too, the word Palestine - which did
not exist. The invented word
“Palestine” is taken from the book of
Isaiah [14v29, & 31].
The Hebrew word “p’leshet” is not
a place name but a verb meaning “to
howl”. These same Arabs are the
Philistines [P’lishtim of 1Sam 6] that
have always harangued Israel. Their
language hails from Saudi Arabia.
If there is no Babylon word
[Isaiah14 and Jer21 v10 say Babel],
there is also no Palestine. Just think
of all the other great stories, doc-
trines,
ideologies,
pet-names,
“facts”, thoughts and rigmarole that
too can be invented.
In re-inventing the modern
England, go by the book.
Andrew Derman
Kempton Park
LACK OF MORAL VALUES IN WORLD LEADERSHIP
LAST SUNDAY (January 31) CNN
ran a feature on UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon addressing the
African Union, expressing his outrage at the use of rape as a weapon of
war.
Last year the UN classified rape as a
“war tactic”, but in both instances fell
far short of calling this a “war crime”
or a “violation of human rights”. So, it
seems that the rape in Darfur (in
southern Sudan) and Eastern DRC, is
not so bad and not a war crime and will
continue to devastate hundreds of
thousands of women.
In fact, China, Russia, Indonesia and
Vietnam had all expressed reservations during the UN negotiations, asking whether rape was really a matter
for the Security Council. However,
defending your country is clearly a
war crime and violation of human
rights - this according to the Goldstone
Report on the Gaza incursion).
Why hasn’t Justice Navanethem
Pillay the (SA-born) UN Human Rights
Commissioner, who played a critical
role in the groundbreaking jurisprudence on rape as genocide, petitioned
the UN General Assembly on this
issue?
One can only guess that she was and is - too busy with the Goldstone
fact-finding mission to be concerned
about what was happening daily on
her own continent.
A terrorist is caught red handed trying to blow up an aircraft, is overpowered and arrested. Yet President
Barack Obama then refers to him as
the “alleged perpetrator” - “alleged”
when caught red handed, and a perpetrato, not a terrorist.
One shouldn’t really express surprise at these two examples of the
extent of the moral values of world
leadership. What is politically correct
is far more important than morally
right. It is also far more important that
the bare facts of truth.
Again, why express surprise! What
is going down in the corridors of world
leadership is not only absurd, but is
being underwritten by men and
women steeped in the study of
jurisprudence which makes it all the
more frightening!
Allan Wolman
Norwood, Johannesburg
VEXED QUESTION OF HIGH KOSHER FOOD PRICES IS AGAIN RAISED
THE LETTER, “Supermarkets; where
are the kosher specials” in the Jewish
Report of January 22, refers. Yes, without a doubt it will be interesting to
hear the responses from the leading
supermarkets about what deal they
would/could promote for those of us,
their Jewish client base.
The letter interestingly kindled
thoughts on another explanation that
is “owed” to us. In the course of 2009
there was the annual debate through
the Jewish Report about the high and
ever-increasing cost of keeping kosher.
Over the years there has been many
an attempt to get to the bottom of the
disparity in pricing. Nothing conclusive resulted.
There was talk last year about having a commission of enquiry into the
vexed question of costs. What has happened to this end? We are owed
answers and the Beth Din and food
producers have a duty to respond.
Gentlemen, the community wants
answers.
Albert Glass
Cape Town
In all fairness, the Beth Din recently
gave a full explanation of the cost structure of kosher products - as reported in
this paper. Whether the explanation
answered all our readers’ concerns, we
obviously don’t know. - Editor
FOR THE RECORD
The people Oscar Goldstuck left behind
In our obituary of Oscar Goldstuck
last week, we did not mention that
the late Oscar leaves his mother, 88year-old Jessie Goldstuck, and siblings, Daphne Miller of Cape Town,
and Charles Goldstuck of New York,
in addition to Johannesburg resident Arthur Goldstuck.
And while the family collectively
may have completed 30 Argus
15
cycling races, Oscar himself completed 17; his sister said that it
would have offended the humility of
her late brother to have overstated
his achievements in any way.
ABOVE
BOARD
Zev Krengel,
National Chairman
A column of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies
Passing of Harry
Schwarz, o”h
THE PASSING of Harry Schwarz, one of the great antiapartheid parliamentarians and a stalwart member of the
SAJBD over many years, leaves a vacuum in our community
that will not easily be filled, if at all.
Harry epitomised Jewish communal responsibility, putting
his considerable gifts at the disposal of South African Jewry in
innumerable ways, particularly in the latter part of his life.
He was a man of formidable intellect and absolute integrity
and was throughout his life a brave, unyielding fighter for justice. Important as his considered, insightful contributions at
our board meetings were, it was really behind the scenes that
Harry’s greatest services were rendered.
It was his legal expertise, combined with a willingness to
expend countless hours of his valuable time that enabled us to
resolve some of the most complex issues that faced us over the
years. We will miss him, but will always revere his memory
and be inspired by the example he set.
Chabad on board for 2010 project
We are very pleased that Chabad SA has agreed to partner
with us in our Jewish SA 2010 project. There is little doubt that
if a prize were to be awarded for providing the ultimate World
Jewish Traveller guide, Chabad would win it.
Few, if any, Jewish outreach organisations any go to the
kind of lengths that it does to reach out to Jews of every stripe
and in the most unlikely places.
As previously reported, the aim of this initiative is to provide a Jewish home away from home for our many co-religionists who will be in the country during the Fifa World Cup.
There has already been much interest shown by our counterparts overseas, particularly in Australia, Israel, Argentina and
the UK.
Hundreds of local organisations and individuals have also
responded by placing their details on the official Jewish 2010
website (www.jewish2010.com). Others interested in participating, through advertising the services and/or facilities they
can offer, are cordially invited to do so.
Hachnasat Sefer Torah ceremony with a difference
Thursday, June 11, will see the presentation of a Sefer Torah to
the Claremont Wynberg Hebrew Congregation in Cape Town.
There are two features of this event that make it particularly special. Firstly the Torah, which was rescued from the
Former Soviet Union, is being presented by one of international Jewry’s foremost representative bodies, the Euro-Asian
Jewish Congress.
The key role-player has been the latter’s president,
Alexander Mashkevich, a prominent businessman and philanthropists.
Secondly, and most fittingly, the presentation is being made
in memory of the great Mendel Kaplan, whose accomplishments included extensive activism on behalf of Soviet Jewry,
both prior to and after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
It promises to be one of the highlights of a busy week, in
which we are hosting a senior joint delegation from the
Congress of Presidents of Major American Jewish
Organisations and Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.
This column is paid for by the SAJBD
16
SA JEWISH REPORT
12 - 19 February 2010
AROUND THE WORLD
NEWS IN BRIEF
AUSTRALIAN GROUPS CANCEL CHAZAN APPEARANCES
SYDNEY, Australia - Former Israeli lawmaker Naomi Chazan's visit to Australia
has been cancelled following allegations
that the organisation she heads helped
provide information for the Goldstone
Report.
Chazan, president of the New Israel
Fund, was invited by the Union for
Progressive Judaism - the Australian
equivalent of the Reform movement to
address fund-raisers next week for the
United Israel Appeal in Melbourne and
Sydney.
But her invitation was withdrawn this
week following a maelstrom over allegations by the student organisation Im
Tirtzu that NIF had disbursed more than
$7 million to 16 NGOs that had provided 92
per cent of the negative information contained in the controversial United Nations
report on last winter's Gaza war.
Dr Danny Lamm, president of the
Zionist Council of Victoria, which withdrew its decision to co-host Chazan at a
function in Melbourne this weekend, told
The Age newspaper that "Organisations
that they have funded have done damage
to Israel, and as a consequence we don't
want to have anything to with the New
Israel Fund".
Steve Denenberg of the Union for
Progressive Judaism said: "As soon as it
had become obvious that the focus of her
visit would be diverted from the original
purpose of raising funds for Israel, we had
no choice but to mutually cancel the visit."
The New Israel Fund's CEO, Daniel
Sokatch, slammed the "baseless allegations" of Im Tirtzu, telling The Jerusalem
Post that they were "the worst kind of
vicious hate speech".
"I'm very disappointed that the [UPJ] has
decided to bow to extreme and unfounded
right-wing accusations," Chazan said.
"They are capitulating to ideas that are
antithetical to the essential worldview of
their movements."
Chazan was a member of Knesset with
the left-wing Meretz Party between 1992
and 2003. (JTA)
CLINTON: IRAN, N KOREA POSE GRAVEST THREATS
WASHINGTON - North Korea and Iran
are the countries posing the gravest
threats to US interests, Hillary Clinton
has said.
The US secretary of state was asked by
CNN on Sunday which countries she
thought posed the greatest threats to the
United States.
"In terms of a country, obviously, a
nuclear-armed country like North Korea
or Iran pose both a real or a potential
threat," she said, immediately clarifying
that she did not believe Iran - unlike North
Korean - was nuclear armed, but was close
to it. She also qualified her response, saying that non-state terrorist networks pose
a greater threat than countries.
Clinton referred to the recent revelation
of a second uranium enrichment plant at
Qom and Iran's rejection of a compromise
enrichment offer brokered through the
International Atomic Energy Agency.
"We believe that their behaviour certainly is evidence of their intentions," she
said. "And how close they are may be the
subject of some debate, but the failure to
disclose the facility at Qom, the failure to
accept what was a very reasonable offer
by Russia, France and the US through the
IAEA to take their uranium, their lowenriched uranium and return it for their
research reactor.
"I mean, there's just - it's like an old saying that if you see a turtle on a fencepost
in the middle of the woods, he didn't get
there by accident, right? Somebody put
him there. And so you draw conclusions
from what you see Iran doing."
Clinton said President Barack Obama's
policy of outreach to Iran and other
nations succeeded in galvanising international support for Iran's isolation.
"Engagement was the first stage," she
said. "We had to change the mindset of not
just leaders but of their populations. We
are moving toward a new nuclear arms
treaty with Russia, something that has
been a high priority with us.
"We have reset our relationship. The
Russians have been very positive in discussions about sanctions on Iran and on
many other important matters. I'm not
sure that would have been predicted a
year ago." (JTA)
BRITAIN LOGS RECORD NUMBER OF ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS
LONDON - Israel's Gaza operation last winter spurred a record number of anti-Semitic
attacks in Britain during the past year.
The organisation recording anti-Semitic
incidents, the Community Security Trust,
reported an increase in incidents of 55 per
cent from the previous year. The 924 incidents were the most since records have been
kept, according to reports.
The main rise in attacks was recorded in
January and February, during and after
Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip.
According to the CST annual report, the 628
incidents in the first six months of 2009
were more than in any entire previous year.
There were 296 incidents from July to
December.
"These record figures show that antiSemitism is an increasingly significant problem for British Jews," CST spokesman Mark
Gardner said. "The trend must be reversed,
and we call upon decent people to speak out
against anti-Semitism in all its forms."
Prime Minister Gordon Brown did, saying: "Anti-Semitism is one of the most
ancient of hatreds - and yet it constantly
adapts to modern times, requiring ever
greater vigilance from all of us who are
determined to stand up for tolerance and for
the truth.
“Whether online, on campus or on the
streets, there is absolutely no place for
racism or discrimination of any sort, and
the Community Security Trust has my
wholehearted support in its work with the
police and the Jewish community.”
Twenty-three per cent of the incidents in
2009, or 212, included some form of reference
to the conflict between Israel and Hamas in
Gaza. In January, 158 of the 288 incidents
made reference to Gaza.
Some 124 violent assaults occurred last
year, 41 per cent more than the 88 from 2008.
However, violent assaults fell to 13 per cent
of the total, from a high of 21 per cent in
2007.
Michael Gove, the Conservative Party
spokesman and a member of the shadow
Cabinet, said: "Britain's Jewish citizens face
a real and growing danger. The dramatic
increase in anti-Semitic incidents over the
last year proves that the oldest of prejudices
has been given a new lease of life.
"Everyone in public life - politicians,
media figures, academics and community
leaders - has to recognise that this growth in
anti-Semitism is a stain on our society."
(JTA)
Commercial fishing
endangers Med dolphins
HAIFA - Extensive commercial fishing
endangers dolphin populations in the
Mediterranean, according to a new study
carried out at the University of Haifa’s
Department of Maritime Civilisations.
“Unfortunately, we turn our backs to
the sea and do not give much consideration to our marine neighbours,” states
researcher Dr Aviad Scheinin.
The study, which was supervised by
Prof Ehud Spanier and Dr Dan Kerem,
examined the competition between the
two
top
predators
along
the
Mediterranean coast of Israel: the
Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops
truncatus)
and
bottom
trawlers.
(Trawling is the principal type of commercial fishing in Israel and involves dragging
a large fishing net through the water,
close to the sea floor, from the back of a
boat.)
These two predators off the coast of
Israel trap similar types of fish near the
sea floor, so the researchers decided to
examine the nature of the competition
between the two.
Commercial
trawling
in
the
Mediterranean off the coast of Israel targets codfish, red mullet and sole, three
commercial and sought-after types of fish.
The Department of Fisheries in Israel’s
Ministry of Agriculture, has data showing
that over the years the amount of fish
from the sea floor looted by Israel’s commercial trawling is larger than the
amount of fish that nature provides, indicating that the sea floor fish population
dropped between the years 1949 and 2006.
Would this decline in fish supply necessarily cause direct harm to the dolphins,
seeing as their diet might also include
other types of fish? In order to verify this,
the researcher examined the contents of
the stomachs of 26 dolphins that died and
landed on the beach, or that had been
caught by mistake. He also examined the
behaviour of living dolphins by carrying
out 232 marine surveys over more than
3 000 km along the central coast of Israel.
The dolphins’ stomachs contained
mainly non-commercialised fish, suggesting that they perhaps do not compete
directly with the commercial trawlers,
and that the commercial fishing does not
directly affect the dolphins’ nutrition.
The living dolphins’ behaviour, on the
other hand, draws an entirely different
picture. According to Dr Scheinin, most of
the dolphins were observed around the
trawling boats: the chances of observing a
school of dolphins near a trawler is ten
times higher than in the open sea.
This is because the trawler serves as a
“feeding station” for the dolphins: there
they are not able to feed from the more
expensive loot caught in the nets, but they
are able to enjoy schools of other types of
fish that swim around the trawler.
“The problem is that this type of fishing
endangers the dolphins. Eight dolphins
die each year off the coast of Israel on
average, and of those, four die after having been mistakenly caught in trawling
nets. Seeing as many studies have proven
the high intelligence of the dolphin, it is
clear that these sea mammals are aware of
this danger, but are left with little choice
due to their need to search for food around
the trawlers due to the scarcity of other
food sources,” Dr Scheinin explains.
This conclusion is reinforced by the
suckling female dolphins. These dolphins
require larger quantities of food than
usual, and despite the risk for the younger
and much less experienced dolphins that
swim by their side, all of the suckling dolphins have been observed significantly
more frequently around the trawlers. This
indicates that they could not obtain
enough food in other places.
The dolphins off the coast of Israel
spend most of their time in search of food
while their mates in other areas in the
world are far busier with social activities.
This fact is yet another contributing factor to the assumption that they suffer a
deficiency in food resources.
The present study illustrates, for the
first time, the characteristics of the dolphins inhabiting the sea region off the
Mediterranean coast of Israel. This dolphin population is stable and at any given
time can be counted at about 350 dolphins.
Of these, the researchers are personally
familiar with 150 dolphins - on a first
name basis - which can be identified by
the dorsal fin, the dolphin’s fingerprint.
Forty of these are seen repeatedly and are
permanent inhabitants of opposite the
coast of Israel.
“There is a stable dolphin population off
the shores of Israel, and any resolution
concerning the sea must also consider the
dolphins. So as to preserve this population
we must declare extensive marine nature
reserves, so as to regulate fishing and
bring an end to sea pollution. Regrettably,
we are not considerate enough of the dolphins,” concludes Dr Scheinin.
Dolphin mother and infant.
Dolphin next to trawler. (PHOTOS BY DR. AVIAD SCHEININ, IMMRAC (ISRAEL MARINE MAMMAL
RESEARCH & ASSISTANCE CENTER) COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAIFA)
12 - 19 February 2010
SA JEWISH REPORT
17
Amaler-Raviv captures
SA’s people and transition
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY
MOIRA SCHNEIDER
CAPE TOWN
HAVING LIVED both in Israel and South
Africa, artist Arlene Amaler-Raviv affirms
that one’s surroundings “completely, utterly, totally” influence one’s work and that her
recent trip to New York will certainly have
an input on her forthcoming exhibition.
Though living in Israel in the1980s was a
“very interesting” time for her, she says she
is very happy to be back. “My work is about
South Africa - I document the country,” she
explains, adding that her life experience is
just as integral to her work.
“I live the life, walk the streets - my work
is all about the people and the transition.
They influence me so radically that there is
no other way that I can function but interact
with them wherever I am.”
Amaler-Raviv, who relocated to Cape
Town from Johannesburg in 1997, is a prolific artist, holding exhibitions every two
years that can include up to 70 new paintings. She certainly gives the lie to the
image of the laid-back artist living a stressfree existence.
On the contrary, she describes keeping up
the pace for the past 30 years as “very diffi-
cult. You have to have such focus and
strength - I’m a one-man band,” she
declares.
“Each exhibition must be a little bit better
than the last, because for an artist, especially here, if your exhibition is worse than the
last, you’re out of it.”
Amaler-Raviv, whose works hang in corporate and private collections around the
world, paints “a lot” on aluminium “because
I’ve been trying to work with light and that
has taught me so much for my canvas work.
Not many people use it as it’s a very difficult
medium - to clean it and get the light to come
through the oil paint, takes many, many
hours. It’s a lot of hard work.”
The title of her forthcoming show at
Worldart gallery is “Natives and Visitors”,
reflecting in part her feelings towards South
Africa, plus those engendered by her children leaving. “It all comes through my
work,” she stresses.
In 2000, she joined forces with photographer Dale Yudelman, collaborating with him
for seven years, using his enlarged photographs as her canvas.
“It works well, but I think it’s a difficult
challenge to continue to do it all your life,”
she says, referring to the necessity of accommodating conflicting ideas. “A painter is
Memory of Shoah must be
kept alive, urges Chivers
EDITED FROM A REPORT BY
MARLENE SILBERT
PHOTOGRAPH SUPPLIED
ON JANUARY 27 1945, the soldiers of the
Red Army liberated the infamous
Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. This date
has been designated by the UN as The
United Nations Holocaust Memorial Day.
Among those who attended the commemoration ceremony held under the auspices of
the Cape Town Holocaust Centre, were
Holocaust survivors, the director of the
United Nations Information Centre, consulsgeneral of Germany, Italy, Denmark, the
Netherlands, US and Switzerland, the Very
Reverend Rowan Smith, dean of Cape Town
and representatives of the Rwandan community.
Keynote speaker Canon Chris Chivers of
Blackburn Cathedral in the United
Kingdom, stressed that knowledge could
make a difference to one’s attitudes and help
one recognise the dignity each individual
should be accorded.
After studying Judaism and JewishChristian relations, he had felt compelled to
make a pilgrimage to Auschwitz which he
described as “the site of one of the most
appalling series of atrocities known in
human history”.
After going through the barracks and gas
chamber, Canon Chivers described how he
broke down in floods of tears and lamented
that “I have been told that the birds never
sing in Auschwitz and I discovered that this
is indeed true.” His next experience was at
Yad Vashem.
“After attending a three-hour lecture on
‘The Christian roots of the Holocaust’, I was
drained by the terrifying content of the lecture that had disturbingly revealed what I
had always feared, namely, that across history many of my fellow disciples of Jesus used
his Gospel as a means of sanctioning persecution of the Jewish people,” he said.
After that lecture Canon Chivers
described how he broke down when he spotted a railway cattle truck that had been
donated to Yad Vashem by the Polish
Government and how he was comforted by
an Israeli Jew and a Palestinian Muslim.
“The despair and incomprehension gave
way to a shared feeling of solidarity and
hope,” he recalled.
Canon Chivers then related his second
visit to Yad Vashem in 2007 when he was
accompanied by a Muslim colleague with
whom he is involved in an initiative that
seeks to promote Israel-Palestine community
dialogue.
After visiting the Children’s Memorial,
they reflected on the forthcoming Anne
Frank exhibition to be housed at Blackburn
Cathedral. Canon Chivers and his colleague
expressed concern about their decision to
display this exhibition in view of the fact that
there are 40 000 Muslims and only two Jews
living in Blackburn, a town with one of the
highest concentrations of Muslims in the
UK, where far-right extremism is commonplace. In the event, the Muslim visitors had
been very deeply moved, he said.
Canon Chivers told the audience that in
2005, the Queen lit the first memorial candle
at
the
Holocaust
Memorial
Day
Commemoration in Westminster Hall in
London. It was an “atoning, redemptive and
utterly transforming moment for everyone,
in which the deep pain of Jewish suffering
and the part Christians played in it was
acknowledged, and the desire to mend the
world was articulated,” he commented.
In her opening address, Marlene Silbert,
education director of the South African
Holocaust Foundation, said: “The responsibility for handing down the memory of the
Shoah should not be entrusted solely to the
survivors and descendents of the victims, we
should all become involved because if we fail
in the struggle against intolerance, racism,
religious fundamentalism, extreme nationalism, the events of yesterday and today will
return tomorrow...”
Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry, director of
the United Nations Information Centre, read
a message from UN Secretary-General Ban
ki- Moon.
Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry,
director of the United
Nations Information Centre,
Canon Chris Chivers, canon
of Blackburn Cathedral in
the UK, and keynote speaker; Tracey Petersen, Cape
Town Holocaust Centre
education director; and
Marlene Silbert, education
director South African
Holocaust Foundation
Artist Arlene
Amaler-Raviv
in her
Woodstock
studio with
“Cape Flats”,
a work in
progress.
much more free and a risk-taker,” whereas a
photographer’s art is rooted in accuracy.
“But we did it very well and produced
some very fine, amazing work.”
What has remained from that time and
may feature in the exhibition, is her practice
of taking newspaper headline posters off the
street - some from as far back as 1998 - and
superimposing her own images on top of
them. “Our issues have not yet been
resolved - I’m putting (the images) on as a
historical juxtaposition of what was and still
is and probably always will be.”
The “Visitors” in the title refers to
refugees from the rest of Africa who struggle, she says, but will also include images
relating to the 2010 Soccer World Cup. One
painting resulting from a recent trip to
Johannesburg reflects the “horror” she felt
“because the suburbs were so dark and so
scary for me - and I’m really streetwise.
“I really was almost paralysed from fear.
It’s a two by one metre horizontal (canvas)
and it’s going to show the suburbs in darkness, the manicured gardens and people living behind high walls, as well as the people
from Africa - the Visitors - who are sitting in
little (guard) boxes watching the houses and
streets.
“The feelings that I have for
Johannesburg are powerful - I love the city
with a passion,” she states, pointing out that
that was where her painting took off and
lamenting the changes that have taken
place.
She says she tries through her work to
engage the viewer in a dialogue. “I’m trying
to make people think in different ways.”
• “Natives and Visitors” is at Worldart,
Cape Town, February 13 - 28, (021) 423-3075.
AROUND THE WORLD
NEWS IN BRIEF
NAZI-LOOTED KLIMT PAINTING AUCTIONED
LONDON - A Nazi-looted painting by
Gustav Klimt has been auctioned in London
for $45,5 million.
The 1913 landscape "Church in CassoneLandscape with Cypresses", was sold at a
Sotheby's art auction on February 3.
Retired Montreal resident Georges
Jorisch, whose family in Vienna owned the
painting until at least 1939, will share the
proceeds of the sale with the current owner,
the CBC reported.
Jorisch had been in discussions with the
current owners to reach a settlement,
Sotheby's told CBC. (JTA)
18
SA JEWISH REPORT
12 - 19 February 2010
YOUTH TALK
Alison Goldberg youthsajr@global.co.za
KDVP grade 8s welcome
in Tu B’Shvat in style
AMY STROUS
GRADE 8, KDVP
PHOTOGRAPH: YAEL GORDON
Front: Ariella Hirsch, Zoe Klaff and Judd Melmed. Back: Hannah Berger, Gila Jacks and
Carolyn Frankel.
Rosabelle Klein welcomes
Carolyn Frankel back
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY
SANDRA HIRSCH
AFTER RETIRING six years ago, Rosabelle
Klein (Waverley) Nursery School is excited to
welcome Carolyn Frankel back to the school.
Frankel was a teacher and headmistress
at the school for many years, before retiring. She will be fulfilling the role of headmistress.
The school is very happy to see her back
again.
KDL is proud
of its new
bumper crop
of grade 8s
KING DAVID High Linksfield has
had an enormous intake of grade 8s
this year - 165 which is the biggest
class for years - and is “delighted to
welcome them to KDL in thorough
KDL style”.
Pictured here are Doron Lipman,
Jake Simon, Ricky Dembo, Kyle
Winick, Jason Blackman, Aryn
Mendel and Jayden Riesenberg.
KDVPP gala a resounding success
BRIAN OLWYN
PHOTOGRAPH: STACY FLEISHMAN
AT LONG last the rain held off long enough for the
pupils of King David Victory Park Primary School
to participate in the annual inter-house evening
gala, which was a great success.
This event was most enthusiastically cheered on
by parents, learners and staff members alike. We
look forward to watching the progress of our budding young swimmers in the upcoming season.
The overall winner of the gala was House of Saul
and the Spirit Trophy was awarded to House of
David. Congratulations to all learners who participated in making the gala such an awesome success.
Afrikaans comes alive at KDL Primary
MELISSA OSSIN
HOTOGRAPH: YONIT WEIL
THE GRADE 6 classes at
King
David
Linksfield
Primary, are involved in
dramatising their Afrikaans
stories during lessons.
“Wie is die Baas van die
Plaas?” created much discussion and excitement for the
children and the kids’ speaking of Afrikaans was most
impressive.
Photographed are Jordan
Horovitz, Candice Smith,
Amy Modlin, Dovi Lipshitz,
Sean Kramer, Alexi Katz,
Jenna Berkowitz, Melissa
Ossin and Natalie Hyman.
Grade 8s planting trees with their guest,
Benji Shulman.
gets the shade.”
As we settle and put down roots in high
school, we are mindful that we are part of a
bigger picture.
Camp Kesher 2009 - an
experience to treasure
and also to remember
JODI POSWELL (VICE-ROSH) AND SARIT
SWISA (MADRICHA)
PHOTOGRAPH SUPPLIED
KEREN LUNTZ
PHOTOGRAPH: GARY BLOCH
Chelsea Selvan, Ashlee Blacher,
Carla Phillips and Gina Norwitz.
ON FRIDAY January 29, Tu B’Shvat was
celebrated at King David Victory Park High
School in style.
Benji Shulman from the Jewish National
Fund (JNF) addressed the grade 8s. He told
us that over the past 107 years, the JNF had
planted 240 million trees in Israel, developed over 250 000 acres of land and brought
life to the Negev Desert.
Tu B’Shvat, the New Year for trees, symbolises new beginnings. As new learners at
KDVP, the grade 8s were proud to participate in the planting of indigenous trees on
the school’s main field.
Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said:
“One generation plants the trees, another
CAMP KESHER (kesher means creating connections) was without a doubt the life and
soul of Muizenberg this past December. Our
aim at Camp Kesher is to instil in our
campers a sense of Jewish pride within a
warm, caring environment, while at the same
time giving them a much deserved holiday
which they will never forget.
This was certainly achieved with the energy, enthusiasm and fun loving nature of the
kids and madrichim alike. Our holiday adventure with at least two outings per day and
many special moments together, created a
unity and atmosphere true to the camp name.
Camp began on a “high” with roller-coaster rides, monkey falls, tubing and much more
on our first outing at Ratanga Junction. Then
followed a trip to the scenic Blouberg Beach
which for some of the kids was their very first
beach visit - of course to be followed by many
more.
There was swimming with the penguins at
Boulders beach; we then hopped on a train
which brought us back to our very own
Muizenburg horizon.
Not only were strong “Keshers” created
between campers and maddies alike, but connections were also formed towards Judaism
and Hashem. This was evident through moving Shabbos services, tzitzit making,
Chanukiah-moulding, gemilut chassadim,
dverei torah and daily mitzvoth performed by
the kids.
A shining example of fulfilling the mitzvah
of gemilut chassadim (acts of kindness)
occurred through connecting with the men
and women of the Beth Shalom Old Age
Home. Our campers entertained the residents with their very own camp play titled
“Matityahu and the Geeks” and also handed
out their very own sweet and chocolate packages. The grand finale to this visit was having
the privilege of being able to listen to one of
the resident’s very own life story, which
instilled in the campers and madrichim, a
sense of deep appreciation and gratitude
towards life and a great sense of pride of who
we are as a Jewish people.
Another real kesher was made towards
our Judaism, when our senior campers visited the Holocaust Museum, where we were
given guided tours and a meaningful lecture
of our survival as Jewish people.
Our annual “Camp Kesher Mock
Wedding” was celebrated in style, with two of
our very own madrichim tying “the knot” as
the bride and groom. The gorgeous décor,
from the centre pieces, to the chuppah
(canopy) and the wedding attire were solely
organised by our campers themselves and
they even managed to make a three layered
wedding cake for the bride and groom!
The energy, ruach (spirit) and unity that
was created through the campers was truly
electrifying.
Considering this spirited start to camp, it
is no surprise that at one of our last outings - a challenging obstacle course set in a
beautiful forest area - the campers were
able to complete all the tasks set out for
them with real team effort and encouragement of one another. The campers built
rafts and floated on the river afterwards.
They also participated in tree climbing,
swing-jumping, and other feats, both fun
and satisfying.
Our auspicious “Prize Giving Event” for
the campers, took place through a
“Chanukah Auction” in which each of our
campers had to bid, using their mitzvah dollars they had earned during camp for the
prizes they wanted to get on auction.
Mitzvah dollars were awarded to campers for
Mitzvoth they had done, and for continued
Ahavat Yisrael that they had shown toward
each other.
The campers and incredible team of
madrichim left Camp Kesher with many
lasting connections, as well as a feeling of
warmness and love in their hearts. The camp
experience provided the campers with an
environment where they were able to
express themselves freely, gain confidence
and truly appreciate their uniqueness and
self worth.
We would like to thank our rosh - Ariel
Eliasov - as well as everyone involved, for
making Camp Kesher 2009 the phenomenal
experience that it was, and we look forward
to another successful camp year.
Kids at an
obstacle
course who
participated in
building a raft
which they
then rowed
across a small
lake.
12 - 19 February 2010
SA JEWISH REPORT
19
YOUTH TALK
Alison Goldberg youthsajr@global.co.za
With a new committee,
SAUJS is raring to go
the campus environment. One
of the changes is a refreshed
logo, designed by award winning advertising company
SAUJS has elected a new
DraftFCB. In students’ orientanational committee for the
tion packs the committee has
coming year. New national
included a vuvuzela for the
chairman is Stephanie Hodes
World Cup.
from Wits University. Former
Upcoming events include
chairman Benji Shulman, is
campus braais, the first parties
now the new media officer.
of the year and campus elecOther committee members
tions.
are vice-chairman, Raphael
SAUJS National
Some on the committee
Eliasov, national treasurer,
recently attended the World
Daniel Schay, national reli- Chairman Stephanie
Union of Jewish Students
gious officer, Daniel Lifschitz, Hodes and Vice(WUJS) conference in Israel
national community officer, Chairman Rafael Eliasov,
where former SAUJS head
Megan Balin, national social during their tour of
Chaya Singer is currently
officer, Gareth Sacks, nation- Israel on the leadership
chairman. Also attending the
al political officer, Ilan programme.
conference
was
former
Solomons and national direcMinister of the Diaspora Isaac Herzog (son
tor, Josh Schewitz.
of Chaim Herzog) as well as Zionist stalwart
The new committee has already been
Nathan Sharansky.
hard at work getting some great ideas into
BENJY SHULMAN
SAUJS MEDIA OFFICER
Grade 8s made to feel
at home at KDL
LEVI COHEN AND CASSIE
FOREMAN (GRADE 8)
WE ARRIVED at Mimosa
Gardens on Sunday morning
after a sweaty bus ride. Everyone
was anxious, yet eager to discover what lay ahead. We were excited to meet our student leaders as
well as our fellow grade 8s who
we would be spending our high
school careers with.
The student leaders welcomed
us with open arms and made us
feel part of the King David High The new grade 8s at King David Linksfield during
School Linksfield family. Soon
orientation.
after that we found out our grade
8 theme is “Bob the Builder”.
day, as we had developed such a close bond
Being the little grade 8 builders, it’s our job
with our student leaders.
to rebuild the school’s pride, unity and valWe arrived at our first day of school, with
ues.
cameras everywhere and the matrics interThe student leaders, during their fun and
viewing us.
exciting tochnits, taught us about selfWe were scared at first, but the student
respect and how important it is to be an indileaders and teachers made us feel welcome.
vidual and not fall into peer pressure; we
We met our teachers who helped us when we
also learnt about the dangers of clubbing, as
were lost and guided us to our right classes.
well as the importance of the Israeli army.
After the first day, we officially felt part of
Every grade 8 and grade 12 pupil felt the
the King David Linksfield High School famiamazing atmosphere during the crazy ruach
ly. We hope the next five years of high school
sessions, while we all sang and danced
will be just as brilliant as our first few weeks
shoulder to shoulder.
of being at this wonderful school.
The student leaders exceeded our expectaSpecial thanks to Mr Marc Falconer, Mr
tions. After this incredible orientation, we
Gary Block and all the staff for making us
were confident in coming to school the next
feel welcome.
Rebbetzen Chaya Mushka’s
yahrtzeit commemorated
Esther Rivka
Rodal and
Esti Cohen
enjoy their
rose-shaped
chocolates.
Take time to listen to
your inner voice
DINA KALINKO
SGANIT ROSH MACHANEH
PHOTOGRAPH: DEREK GREEN
IN THIS day and age, there is a lot of
noise. We are constantly bombarded with
images, sounds and overwhelming graphics. There are so many different things
that we see and hear.
This noise is as much on a global level as
it is on a personal one. The youth of today
find themselves in a competitive and pressurising environment. One of the challenges of today is to distil the noise and try
and allow our youth to hear their inner
voice.
Bnei Akiva camp this year was called
“machaneh shomeah” for this very reason. “Shomeah” means to hear. For a
month in December, Bnei Akiva takes
their Jewish youth away from the everyday grind of society and creates a peaceful, fun, chilled environment whereby kids
can distinguish between the noise and the
real messages that are important.
This experience is achieved with much
joy. Machaneh Shomeah was unique last
year with the fantastic hypnotist show, the
viby Seventh Sun concert, the authentic
Israel Day experience and who could forget the exhilarating evacuation!
Bnei Akiva prides itself on selfless rolemodels, the new Beit Midrash learning
programme, educational tochniot, the
annual volleyball and soccer tournaments, tiyulim and powerful ruach sessions.
It is in this context where madrichim as
well as channichim are able to discover
themselves and touch base with who they
really are and where they want to be.
This experience allows our youth to
tune into that which is of true value, to
think, to grow and to live inspired.
Machaneh Shomeah has ensured that we
are all energised for 2010!
Two TA brothers get their
provincial chess colours
OWN CORRESPONDENT
PHOTOGRAPH: SUZANNE BELLING
BROTHERS Doron (left) and Ellie Joffe,
grade 6 and grade 4 learners at Torah
Academy Primary School, recently represented South Gauteng at the national chess
championships in Cape Town and both
received their provincial colours for chess.
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY CHANI ZWICK
SHABBOS FEBRUARY 6 marked the
yahrtzeit of Rebbetzen Chaya Mushka
(OBM), wife of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Menachem Mendel Schneerson (OBM).
Torah Academy Primary School girls
commemorated the occasion the day before
with a special programme, including stories
about the Rebbetzen and songs for the girls
presented by Dini Singer.
In an analogous demonstration, she
brought the girls wrapped presents and
asked them to open the ones which had the
most attractive wrapping. The one with the
best wrapping had a rotten peach inside and
the one with plain paper contained a lovely
watch.
Her message was: “The beauty of the
princess is inside her.” It was not the outside
that was important or what counted, therefore we could not judge a person from the
outside and must find out what was inside.
The girls were given rose-shaped chocolates - synonymous with the girl/woman
and her role in Judaism as portrayed by the
Rebbetzen.
Ellie, who has been playing chess since
the age of three, won a special award for
achieving the best score on his board. His
team - under-10 - won a gold medal.
Doron, playing under-12 on the second
highest board for his province, succeeded
in winning two of his games. In spite of the
strong opposition, he was one of the highest scorers on his team.
20
SA JEWISH REPORT
12 - 19 February 2010
WHAT’S ON
NOTE: Deadline for all entries is 12:00 on the Friday
prior to publication.
Key to organisations, venues,
contact details and cost:
• Beyachad Resource Centre/Library, 2 Elray St, Raedene, 2192. Norma Shulman (011) 645-2567. email:library@beyachad.co.za
• Bikkur Cholim - Jewish Society for Visiting the Sick,
7A Chester Road, Greenside East, Johannesburg.
Joy Gafin (011) 447-6689.
• CAJE - College of Adult Jewish Education, Sydenham Highlands North Shul (011)640-5021.
• CSO - Emergency phone number 086 18 000 18.
• ELBM - Emunah Ladies Beit Midrash. 60 Mejon St
Glenhazel. (011) 887-2910. “Lessons of our Lives”
course on Wednesdays at 10:00. R350 for the
course or R50 per shiur.
• FFHS - Friendship Forum for Holocaust Survivors,
Second Generation and Members of the Community
Affected by the Holocaust. Presentations held at the
Gerald Horwitz Lounge, Golden Acres, 85 George
Ave, Sandringham
• HOD - Hebrew Order of David International. HOD
Centre Oaklands Road, Orchards. Office (011) 640
3017 - info@hodavid.org
• JAFFA - Jewish Accomodation for Fellow Aged.
(012) 346-2007/8.
• KDSF - King David Schools’ Foundation. King David
Alumni info@kdsf.org (011) 480-4723.
• Nechama Bereavement Counselling Centre - Room
A304, 3rd Floor, Hospital Wing, Sandringham Gardens, 85 George Avenue, Sandringham, 2192. Contact (011) 640-1322.
• New Friendship Ladies’ Group - A group for single
women - contact Lucille (011) 791-5226 or 082927-5786.
• ORT and ORTJET South Africa - 44 Central Street,
Cnr 10th Ave, Houghton. Contact (011) 728-7154.
• Preview Theatre - 9 Valerie Crescent, Bagleyston,
(011) 640-1061.
• Rabbi Cyril Harris Community Centre (RCHCC) and
Great Park Shul, Johannesburg. Contact Hazel, (011)
728-8088 or Rene Sidley (011) 728-8378. Cost usually R50, including refreshments.
• SAIJE - Sandton Adult Institute of Jewish Education,
Sandton Shul. E-mail: saije@sandtonshul.co.za.
(011) 883-4210.
• Second Innings, Johannesburg - Jewish Community
Services - Donald Gordon Centre, 85 George Avenue
Sandringham. Their group meets at the Gerald Horwitz Lounge, Golden Acres, 85 George Avenue Sandringham every Sunday morning for tea at 10h00
followed by the meeting at 10h30. Contact Grecia
Gabriel (011) 532-9718 for information.
• Society of Israel Philately (SIP) - daniels@wbx.co.za.
Contact Maurice (011) 485-2293.
• South African Jewish Board of Deputies (Johannesburg) - Beyachad, 2 Elray Street, Raedene. Contact
(011) 645-2500 or (011) 645-2523.
• South African Zionist Federation (SAZF), Johannesburg - Beyachad, 2 Elray Street, Raedene. Contact
Froma, (011) 645-2505.
• The Israel Centre. Contact Debbie (011) 645-2560.
• The Jewish National Fund (JNF) Choir, Beyachad, 2
Elray St, Raedene. Contact Crystal Kaplan. 083-3765999.
• The Jewish Outlook Team. Contact Ryan Cane. Support line: 27 76 215 8600; e-mail info@jewishout
look.org.za; website www.jewishoutlook.org.za
• The Jewish Women’s Benevolent Society (JWBS) Sandringham Gardens, 85 George Avenue Sandringham 2192. Contact Carolyn Sabbagh. (011) 485-5232.
• The Simcha Friendship and Cultural Circle (SFCC),
Johannesburg - Sandton Shul. Contact Sylvia Shull,
(011) 783-5600. Meetings on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd
Wednesday of every month at Sandton Shul at 10:00
unless stated otherwise.
• The United Sisterhood, 38 Oxford Road Parktown.
Contact Marian (011) 646-2409. website: www.unit
edsisterhood.co.za
• Tiyulim (Jewish Outdoor Club) - Contact Martin 082965-7419 or Greg 082-959-9026
• Union of Jewish Women (UJW), Johannesburg - 1
Oak Street Houghton. Contact (011) 648-1053. Cost
R15 for the Friendship Luncheon Club and a R20
donation for lectures unless otherwise stated.
• Union of Jewish Women (UJW), Cape Town - (021)
434-9555, e-mail: info@ujwcape.co.za.
• UJW Cape Town AED Programme - Venue: Stonehaven. Time: 10:00 for 10:30. Entrance: R15.00 (incl
refreshments).
• United Zionist Luncheon Club (UZLC), Johannesburg Our Parents Home. Contact Gloria, (011) 485-4851 or
072-127-9421.
• UOS- Union of Orthodox Synagogues (011) 4854865. E-mail: info@uos.co.za. Fax 086-610-3442
• WIZO Johannesburg - Beyachad, 2 Elray Street Raedene. Contact Joyce Chodos (011) 645-2548 or Sandy
Kramer (011) 645-2515. wizopublicrelations@bey
achad.co.za
Today Friday (February 12)
• UZLC presents Kathy Kaler, CEO of ChaiFM Jewish
Radio Station on “ChaiFM 101.9 - a Part of Your Life”.
Sunday (February 14)
• Second Innings presents Scully Levine on “A Day in
the Life of an Airline Pilot”.
South dealer, both vul
NORTH
Q106
AK843
62
AK6
WEST
K
65
KQ10853
Q1074
EAST
AJ8732
974
J982
SOUTH
954
QJ10972
AJ
53
South
2H
North
4H
Opening lead: DK
The bidding was brisk - South opened a
weak two which North raised directly to
game.
Declarer took the ace of diamonds,
drew trumps and then stopped to think
about things. With nine tricks on top, he
reckoned that the best shot would be to
play West for the jack of spades plus a
• ELBM presents “Fantastic Festive Fun for Rosh
Chodesh Adar” - call (011) 887-2910 for details.
Monday (February 15)
• UJW presents Hamilton Wende, freelance journalist
and author on “Afghanistan Seen Through a Lens - a
Visual Presentation” at 09:30. Donation: R20.
Tuesday (February 16)
• Bnoth Zion Association WIZO AGM at 09:30. Albow
Centre, Hatfield Street, Cape Town.
• Israel Centre is hosting a talk on aliyah at 19:00 at
Beyachad. RSVP: anneri@israelcentre.co.za, (011)
645 2560/28.
• Beit Emmanuel presents Catherine Tuerk, past president of PFLAG, Washington DC and a psychotherapist on “Parenting a Lesbian or Gay Child”. Venue: 33
Oxford Road, Parktown. Time: 20:00 for 20:30.
Wednesday (February 17)
• SFCC - Anna Cox, Metro Watch reporter, will
speak on “Consumer Activism in the City of
Johannesburg”.
• UJW Cape Town presents former Miss Universe,
Michelle MacLean on “Media & the Beauty Industry”.
• RCHCC and Action for a Safe South Africa (AFSSA) is
hosting (former Cabinet minister) Roelf Meyer and
Schalk van Heerden at 19:30. Donation R50. Booking: Hazel or René (011 728 8088/8378). email:
hazelc@greatpark.co.za renes@greatpark.co.za
• ELBM presents Joanne Joffee on “Bringing the Simcha of Adar Into our Lives”.
Wednesday (February 24)
• Second Innings has an outing to Bush Babies Monkey
Sanctuary near Hartebeespoortdam. Meet the bus
promptly at 08:30 at the Oxford Shul parking. Cost:
R250 per person includes entrance to the park, the
guided tour, lunch and the bus.
• SFCC - Israeli dance lesson with Ora.
• The Balfour Park Parkinson’s Disease Support Group
presents Christelle Slabber, a podiatrist on care of feet
and problems experienced with gait in Parkinson’s
Disease. Time: 10:00. Venue: Boardroom of Randjes
Estate. Contact Rosemary Burke on (011) 640-3919.
• UJW Cape Town will hear Dr David Kibel on “How the
Brain Repairs Itself”.
Thursday (February 25)
• UJW Cape Town’s Ora Group is holding a card afternoon at the V & A Waterfront at 13:30 for 14:00.
Entrance: R60.
Friday (February 26)
• UZLC presents Lionel Slier on “Will There Always be
an England?”
Saturday (February 27)
• Yad Eliezer launches its “Feed a Baby” programme
with a cooking demo by Fay Lewis. Call 083-7891414 for details.
Friday (February 19)
Sunday (February 28)
• UZLC is hosting Tali Nates on “Challenges and
Opportunities - Teaching the Holocaust in South
Africa”.
• Second Innings will be screening “Song to Remember” to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of
composer Frédéric Chopin; 09:00 for 09:30.
Sunday (February 21)
• Hospice Flea Boot Market at Checkers car park, Barry
Hertzog Ave, Emmarentia. Every first, and last Sunday
of each month from 08:00 until 13:00. For more information call (011) 728-1052.
• KDSF’s David Awards at the Lyric Theatre, Gold Reef
City, featuring Danny K and other former Davidian
artists, plus finalists from 2009’s “KD’s Got Talent”.
Winners of the David Awards will be announced.
Time: 18:15 for 18:30. Tickets R300.
• WIZO Ilanit hosts a “Mad Hatter’s Tea Party” at 10:00
at 75 Atholl Rd, Atholl. Unique teapot collection; tea
display; talk by life coach Daphna Horowitz “Making
Time for Me”. Tickets R200. Contact Andrea 083-6778999.
• RCHCC is screening the BAFTA award-winning documentary, “The Fundamental Gilbert and George”, produced and directed by Gerald Fox (formerly from
Johannesburg) at 19:30.
• UJW presents Josie Adler, co-ordinator of e.Khaya
Neighbourhood City Improvement District on
“e.Khaya: Building a Neighbourhood Spirit in Hillbrow” at 09:30. Donation: R20.
high honour (AJx or KJx), leading low
towards dummy with the intention of
inserting the nine.
In isolation this is clearly the best way
to tackle the suit, but here West took the
king, cashed the queen of diamonds and
got out with a club. When declarer played
a second spade and West showed out that
was the end of that – he lost a diamond
and three spades.
Declarer should have done much better, and just a little advance preparation
would have seen him home. After drawing the two trumps, what does it cost to
eliminate the club suit first? Play A-K and
another club, ruffing in hand, and now
exit with the jack of diamonds, which you
know West is going to have to win.
He can cash the king of spades, but
that’s it - he is truly end-played, forced to
play a club or a diamond, giving you a
ruff and discard (ruff in dummy and discard a losing spade from hand), for the
game going trick.
You may say that declarer was very
lucky in that West was dealt the singleton
king of spades, because with Kx or Kxx
he could have continued the suit. Nothing
ventured, nothing gained, goes the saying, and so it is in bridge. If he had more
than one spade you were always going
down, no matter what. But give yourself a
chance and strip away the side suit(s) just
in case there is a favourable layout.
Every Tuesday (semi-beginners) and
Wednesday (intermediate) at 10:00 I run
bridge workshops at the Great Park Shul,
off Glenhove Road. For more info, call me
on 076-341-1411 or email me at
jeffshirl@telkomsa.net
Tuesday (February 23)
• WIZO Fortnightly Forum presents “Johannesburg will
be Buzzing in 2010”, with Lael Bethlehem and
Nechama Brodie at 09:30 at Beyachad. Cost: R35. To
book contact Joyce/Sandy on (011) 645-2515.
• WIZO Tzabar invites you to celebrate Purim in the
Wild-Wild West! Join Tzabar for their annual Purim
function at 20:00, Cost R350 per person. Dress: Cowboys & Cowgirls. Information: contact Shelley on 071438-0263.
• Beyachad Libraries is screening the movie “21
hours at Munich” at Beyachad Centre. Time: 10:00
for 10:30. Donation R20. Contact Norma (011)6452567.
THE BRIDGE LOUNGE by Jeff Sapire
When we study the very advanced
plays in bridge - squeezes and end-plays
come to mind. Squeeze play can be a complex business, but end-plays are far more
common and in many cases not beyond
the average player. All it requires is a bit
of basic technique, and sometimes things
will turn out well because of a particular
lie of the cards.
Barry Bilewitz carro@global.co.za
Monday (February 22)
Tuesday (March 2)
• UJW presents Estelle Sher on Beethoven’s 7th symphony. Time: 09:45 - 12:00. Venue: 301 Eton Place,
Kernick Avenue, Melrose North. Donation: R30 per
session.
Wednesday (March 3)
• SFCC - Martine Schaffer, MD of The Homecoming
Revolution, on “Another View of South Africa”.
• Forum 2000 WIZO/Hospice Golf Day at the Houghton
Golf Club. To book your Fourball and for sponsorship
opportunities, contact June on 082-807-3933.
CROSSWORD NO 150
BY LEAH SIMON
ACROSS:
1. Not as much as the French south (4)
3. Sign of the cardiologist’s generous
patient (3, 5)
8. Catch sight of the place (4)
9. Give the dupe a runaround, being
warmed (6, 2)
11. The kind of traditional meal worthy of
being in print? (4, 3, 5)
13. Artist in pit comes back for an embrace
(6)
14. I would return to undergarment - and
strip it off (6)
17. Quietly spoil things another way for
consumers’ priorities (8, 4)
20. Friend is quiet, but competent - that’s
obvious (8)
1
2
21. I would return to Virginia
for the female opera star (4)
22. Being badly shod, pray
about musical composition 8
(8)
23. Catch glimpse of it among
dunes’ pythons (4)
12. Rusty at a reconstruction of carvings (8)
15. It’s lice - so gets it out! (7)
16. Charged William and Edward (6)
18. Woman hid Al, somehow (5)
19. Clasp uranium - but hide the motivation
(4)
SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD NO 149
ACROSS: 1. Pity; 3. Penzance; 8. Chap; 9.
Assorted; 11. Lost for words; 13. Author; 14.
Mirage; 17. Blood letting; 20. Converge; 21.
Bash; 22. Apostate; 23. Bang.
DOWN: 1. Peculiar; 2. Transit; 4. Ensure; 5.
Zoologists; 6. Noted; 7. Ends; 10. Of no
moment; 12. Hedgehog; 15. Ali Baba; 16.
Alight; 18. Lingo; 19. ACSA.
3
6
5
4
7
9
10
11
DOWN:
1. Be ridiculed for mislaying
features (4, 4)
2. Backer right about spoons
(7)
4. ——— Marcos, former First
Lady of Philippines (6)
5. Spring chickens? (10)
6. Do some calculations in the
attic (3, 2)
7. Bad poet - and a drunk, too!
(4)
10. Somehow air plums, as kangaroos require (10)
12
15
14
13
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
12 - 19 February 2010
SA JEWISH REPORT
21
Time of the essence for
our lovely Jewish brides
OWN CORRESPONDENT
COME ON girls, get with those photographs of your big day: time is getting
short! The deadline is the end of next
month.
This popular event is a partnership
of WIZO Aviv Shaffa and the SA
Jewish Report. They have once again
partnered with Lechaim.co.za where
members of the community can vote
for their favourite bridal entry online.
The competition is open once again
to all brides married between
February 2008 and March 31, 2010. No
digital images are allowed. The function to announce the winning bride
will take place at the end of May. This
has become a highlight on the Jewish
social calendar.
The competition is gaining momentum as we entered the final straight.
With such an array of Jewish beauties, choosing a winning bride is an
extremely difficult undertaking.
To involve our readers, they are able
to have their say online and they are
invited to make use of the SMS facility
of online voting, to make their views
heard.
Each voting SMS costs R2 and proceeds go to WIZO’s various projects.
Each bride has been assigned an
SMS code (it appears at her entry)
and friends, family and the public
are encouraged to go online and SMS
their vote to 34008 followed by the
code.
Entries for Bride of the Year can be
dropped off at the WIZO Johannesburg
offices, 2nd floor Beyachad.
There again will be a host of mouthwatering prizes to be won by the bridal
beauties.
Rolene Marks and Sandy Kramer
are the WIZO contact persons. They
can be reached at (011) 645-2522 or at
wizopublicrelations@beyachad.co.za
The rules are as follows:
1. Entries close early on March 31. All
brides married from February 1 2008
until the end of March, are eligible
for entry.
2. The bride must be present in
Johannesburg at the time of judging.
3. The top 25 finalists must be in
Johannesburg for the final interview
judging, at their own expense or they
will be disqualified.
4. The winner must become an active
member of WIZO for one year following the competition.
5. No photographers are permitted to
send in photographs. The only photographs permitted for entry are
those submitted by the bride herself,
or by her photographer with her
explicit permission. All entries
MUST be signed by the bride herself.
6. Photographs will be printed within
the time frame and discretion of the
Jewish Report.
7. All photographs submitted will be
judged with the original photograph,
so no digital images are permitted.
8. Brides must specify whether they
would like their photographs
returned to them after the competition. The photographs will be available from the WIZO office at
Beyachad in Johannesburg after the
culminating function.
9. Very importantly: Please note, all
photographs MUST be submitted to
WIZO and NOT to the SA Jewish
Report.
Send the photos to: Attention: Sandy
or Rolene
WIZO/SAJR Bridal Competition
PO Box 29216, Sandringham
Johannesburg, 2131
SMS code 51
Leanne Baum
(née Sapire)
Groom: Gary
Married:
December 6
2009
Chuppah: Pine
Street Shul
Photographer:
Toni Jade Efune
SMS Code 52
Danielle Taitz
(née Kramer)
Groom: David
Married: June
4 2009
Chuppah: HOD
Photographer:
Bruno
SMS Code 53
Lindi Katzoff
(née
Markowitz)
Groom: Russell
Married:
January 29
2009
Chuppah:
Nicolaine Rd,
Glenhazel
Photographer:
Nicholas
Huisman
SMS Code 54
Pamela
Arenson
(née Klass)
Groom: Craig
Married:
August 30
2009
Chuppah:
Killarney
Country Club
Photographer:
Joffe Berkowitz
SMS Code 55
Philippa
Bergman (née
Simchowitz)
Groom: Darren
Married:
October 12
2008
Chuppah:
Oxford Shul
Photographer:
Frank Tapnack
SMS Code 56
Sheryl Bloch
(née Bresgi)
Groom:
Laurence
Married:
October 18
2009
Chuppah:
Killarney
Country Club
Photographer:
Chris Moore
or hand-deliver to:
(WIZO at) Beyachad, 2 Elray Street
Raedene, Johannesburg, 2192
Please send in your photograph with:
Bride's first and maiden names
Groom's name
Place of chuppah
Date of wedding
Name of photographer
Contact telephone number
(bride)
Contact telephone number
(groom)
E-mail address
Postal address
postcode
Cell number
Signature, consenting to the printing of this photograph
Would you like to get your photographs back? YES / NO
Note: No entries will be accepted unless all the fields (name, telephone
number, e-mail address etc) are filled in correctly.
AROUND THE WORLD
World Cup final tickets
through WIZO raffle
MUMPS OUTBREAK STRIKES ORTHODOX JEWS IN NY
WIZO has come up with a very
appropriate - and unique - fundraising idea this year.
As 2010 is World Cup year on our
shores, a lucky entrant (or
entrants) to a WIZO raffle, stand a
chance to win two coveted
Category A tickets for the final
NEW YORK - More than 300
people in two New York State
Orthodox enclaves have contracted the mumps.
The cases broke out in
Monsey and New Square in
Rockland County, about 40 km
from New York City, and have
match of the event, or two semifinal tickets for the match in
Durban.
To enter the raffle, contact Sandy
at WIZO on (011) 645-2515 for more
information, and be a part of SA
World Cup history. Tickets cost
R1000 each.
NEWS IN BRIEF
spread to Brooklyn and New
Jersey Orthodox Jewish communities, according to The
Journal News.
Most of those affected in
Rockland Country are Orthodox
or Chasidim; many had been
vaccinated against mumps.
The outbreak started in
August in a summer camp in
the Catskills for Orthodox
Jewish
boys.
Twenty-five
campers came down with the illness, the Centres for Disease
Control told the newspaper.
(JTA)
12 - 19 February 2010
22 SA JEWISH REPORT
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Classifieds
To book your classified notice or advert contact: Tel (011) 886-0162, Fax (011) 886-4202, email: brittl@global.co.za
NOTICES
CONSECRATIONS
PERSONAL
SOULMATES
COUNTRYWIDE MANY GAUTENG AND
CAPE MEMBERS!
Results: 181 couples married!
261 couples matched!
Mazeltov to Nicky & Dan,
Rita & Arnie on your
engagements!
MANY PRETTY/
HANDSOME PROF/
EXEC/BUSINESS/
TRADE SINGLES ARE
WAITING TO MEET
YOU!
SANDY (011) 485-4034/
082-357-3616
SERVICES
HEALTH & BEAUTY
LIFTS
CARE
DO YOU NEED HELP...
with children who have special
needs, elderly parents or relatives who are experiencing
emotional problems associated
with the natural ageing process
such as loss of partners,
friends, families due to immigration and relocation to frail care
facilities?
I will work with all parties concerned to individualise care,
therapy or practical assistance
at their places of residence.
I have life and clinical experience. (BA Social Science-hons,
BA Psychology-hons).
Contact: 072-978-4150
or e-mail
andisacks@gmail.com
HEALTH & BEAUTY
LINDI'S LOOK
MAKE-UP ARTIST
I do bridal, matric dances,
photo shoots, tv/film, special
occasions, make-up lessons
and parties.
Please contact me on
072-122-5661 or email
lindi_schneider@
hotmail.com
LIFTS
A-TAXI SERVICE
Let Warren Pogorelsky chauffeur
you to your destination in Jo’burg
and back only R100 round trip.
Tel: 082-399-6187
LEGAL
AIRPORT SERVICE
JHB
Reliable,
Reasonable Rates!
Contact Arnold,
082-447-0185
011-454-1193
AIRPORT SHUTTLE
----- R150 ---From Glenhazel / Senderwood /
Lyndhurst areas. Reasonable
rates from all other areas.
SAM (011) 728-5219
083-627-8516
BRIAN K LIFT
SERVICE & COURIER
“AIRPORT SPECIAL R140”
Secure, comfortable & safe.
Anywhere 24/7. (JHB – PTA)
Call Brian on
072-366-4262
THE JEWISH REPORT RUNS ADVERTS IN THE
CLASSIFIED SECTION IN GOOD FAITH, HOWEVER WE
WOULD LIKE OUR READERS TO KNOW WE CANNOT
BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE QUALITY OF SERVICES
OFFERED AND CLAIMS MADE.
HOW TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED ADVERT:
1. Only adverts sent via email to brittl@global.co.za will be
accepted. 2. You will be advised on cost & payment
details. 3. Payment is prior to the advert appearing. 4.
DEADLINE for BOOKING and PAYMENT is Tuesday
12pm. If deadline is missed the advert will appear (when
payment is received) in the next edition. Our banking
details: SA Jewish Report, Nedbank Randburg, Account
Number: 1984 514 865, Branch Code: 198405
LIFTS
LIFTS
CAPE TOWN
SHUTTLE
COMING TO
CAPE TOWN?
AFFORDABLE
RATES.
AIRPORT
TRANSFERS
FROM R160
NEW
COMFORTABLE
VEHICLE
PHONE ANDY
082-336-9780
CHELSEA EXECUTIVE
CHAUFFEUR.
Legal, with permit from the
transportation board. Let me
chauffeur you safely.
Reasonable rates.
FOR A QUOTE CALL
ABE 082-574-9010
EX ISRAELI SERVICEMAN
offers safe and secure lifts.
24 hrs. Airport lifts from R180
also schools, malls, courier, etc
from R50.
Call Neil 072-050-9927
Experienced, reliable driver
available to lift you
anywhere/anytime. 24 hrs.
Call Paul 083-542-6480
IRENE'S SCHLEP
SERVICE
I will take you anywhere:
School, Shops, Doctor, Friends
and Airport. Honest and
trustworthy
Schlepped by Irene
072-356-0282
Not on Shabbat
RAYMOND K'S LIFTS
A reliable lift service.
Specialising in lifts to & from airports, shops, appointments,
companion.
Call Raymond
076-481-1495
SMILE-LEE'S LIFTS
A reliable lift service.
Specialising in lifts to and from
airports, shops, appointments,
casinos and courier.
Call Charna 083-391-6612
TUITION & EDUCATION
12 - 19 February 2010
SA JEWISH REPORT 23
HOME SERVICES
PROPERTY TO LET
CLEANING
ACCOMMODATION TO LET/SHARE
SYDENHAM
Brand new partly furnished
1 bedroom apartment available
immediately.
Call (011) 640-2410
ORANGE GROVE
Flatlet to rent. Secure offstreet
parking. 1 bedroom, bathroom
R 2,600 incl L & W
083-268-9539
Available March 1
GENERAL
HANDY GRAMPS
Household, general repairs and
maintenance.
MITCH 072-196-1939
WANT TO RENOVATE
YOUR HOME BUT AFRAID
OF COMPROMISING
SECURITY?
• Over 30 years of experience
• On site supervision
• Only reliable, skilled &
trustworthy labour used
• Bathrooms, kitchens, lighting,
cupboards
• Renovations & additions
• General repairs undertaken
Call Max Swartz
on 082-443-7310
BUILDING &
RENOVATIONS
* Repairs * Additions
* Painting * Ceilings
Waterproofing
* Paving & tiling
FREE QUOTES
Phone Jack
084-725-3050
SYDENHAM
Brand new partly furnished
1 bedroom apartment available
immediately.
Call (011) 640-2410
FLATS TO LET/SHARE
GLENHAZEL
Various north-facing 1,
2 & 3 bed flats close to
Ohr Somayach from
R4000 pm. Avail ASAP.
Call Debbie
082-300-5656
TIMESHARE
Beach Road, Sea Point, Cape
Town. Riviera Hotel – Week 47
(Nov). 1 bed apartment, fullyfurnished, sleeps 4. R10 000.
Contact Joe Rubenstein
(011) 326-0515 or
083-770-9888 (Rose)
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT AVAILABLE
David Susman - ORTTech CT benefactor
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY
MOIRA SCHNEIDER
CAPE TOWN
WITHOUT DAVID Susman,
ORT-Tech could never do its
valuable work and make a difference to current and future
generations
of
South
Africans. These were the
words of Dorienne Levitt,
chairman of ORT-Tech, at the
opening of David Susman
House in Bellville.
“There have been many
highlights in ORT-Tech’s history, but nothing as thrilling
as having our own building
from where we can deliver
our programmes and reach
the thousands of children
who benefit from an ORTTech education,” she said.
Susman, who recently
retired as chairman of the
ORT-Tech board of trustees,
remains a trustee and an honorary life president of ORT
SA.
The move was occasioned
by the necessity to find new
premises for ORT-Tech after
the relocation of the MTN
Science Centre, where it was
previously located. Named for
its benefactor, the house will
serve as a maths and science
resource centre for the learners of the Western Cape.
Among those who attended
were honorary president of
British ORT Sir David Sieff - a
cousin and lifelong friend of
David Susman - and his wife
Lady Jeni, who had requested
that the event be planned to
coincide with their visit to the
Cape.
Sir David, who delivered
the main address, labelled
ORT-Tech’s
achievements
over the past 12 years since its
establishment “dramatic”.
“Many thousands of teachers have been trained in elementary technology, science
and maths and it is estimated
that some quarter of a million
pupils have had some basic
exposure to these subjects as
a result of this training,” he
said.
Turning his attention to
David Susman, Sir David said
he had given “a lifetime’s dedication” to ORT, as well as to
many other organisations
and projects worldwide.
“David has been an inspiration to many, but without his
commitment and generosity
to ORT, much of what I have
mentioned probably would
not have been possible.
“If it wasn’t for David
Susman, I’m not sure where
ORT SA would be.”
Referring to ORT’s activities in the UK, Sir David said a
current priority was to raise
funds to help provide Sha’ar
HaNegev Regional High
School in Israel with a new
rocket-proof science and
technology centre to cope
with “the ever-present threat
of rockets from nearby Gaza”.
Rabbi Richard Newman of
the Cape Town Progressive
Jewish Congregation, affixed
mezuzzot to the house’s front
door and to that of ORT-Tech
director Alta Greeff’s office.
David
Susman
unveils the
plaque at
the opening
of David
Susman
House.
AROUND THE
WORLD
NEWS IN BRIEF
DESCENDANT OF MARRANOS
RETURNING TO SPAIN
JERUSALEM - A descendant of forcibly
converted Spanish Jews who immigrated to Israel and became a rabbi, is
returning to Spain. Rabbi Nissan BenAvraham of Shiloh in the West Bank
will serve as emissary to the Bnei
Anousim, or Marranos, for the Shavei
Israel organisation.
Shavei Israel is a nonprofit organisation founded to strengthen ties between
Israel and descendants of Jews around
the world, including the Bnei Menashe
of India, the Bnei Anousim in Spain,
Portugal and South America, the
Subbotnik Jews of Russia, the Jewish
community of Kaifeng in China and the
"Hidden Jews" of Poland from the
Holocaust era.
Ben-Avraham, 52, immigrated to
Israel from his native Spain in 1978 and
formally returned to Judaism. He is the
father of 12 children. He will teach the
Bnai Anousim in Barcelona, Palma de
Mallorca, Alicante and Seville more
about their Jewish roots.
"This is a very moving and historic
development," said Michael Freund,
founder and chairman of Shavei Israel.
"It marks the first time that a member of
the Bnei Anousim is returning to Spain,
where he was born and raised, to help
his fellow Anousim learn more about
their Jewish roots."
Freund says there are tens of thousands of Bnei Anousim in Spain who are
conscious of their special connection to
the Jewish people. "We owe it to them
and to their ancestors to reach out to
them, embrace them and welcome them
back home," he said. (JTA)
Reeva on adversity and
learning to dream again
HOUSEKEEPER / DOMESTIC WORKER WANTED
Edenvale. Must be honest, reliable & have contactable references. Sleep-in and preferably
older. Must be able to cook and
run home unsupervised and
have knowledge of kashrut
Contact Caron
083-469-4876
EMPLOYMENT WANTED
QUALIFIED GERIATRIC
NURSE
With outstanding contactable
refs. Avail for home nursing.
Phone Denise
083-273-3699
Karen (011) 532-9612
ATTORNEY - semi retired candidate is open to part-time or contract
work. Fully computer literate with a
wealth of experience. Ref 5507
SOCIAL WORKER - Young
graduate on the market for a jnr
position. Keen to work in an educational environment. Ref 5808
DRAUGHTSMAN - Experienced
design draughtsman, specialised in
the design of detection systems,
particularly relating to gas and fire.
A bright young gentleman who has
managed large tenders for mines,
shopping centres and the Gautrain.
Ref 5495
VEHICLES
WANTED
ARE YOU
IMMIGRATING
OVERSEAS AND
WANT TO SELL
YOUR VEHICLE?
Please Contact
Solly Kramer
082-922-3597
anytime
ROMY SALANT
“BEHIND EVERY successful person is ups and downs,” Reeva
Forman told a Second Innings
meeting at The Gerald Horwitz
Lounge, Golden Acres in
Johannesburg.
Forman shared stories from
her own life experiences. She
explains that her success has not
come without difficulty. “If you
haven’t failed in life, you don’t
know what success is.”
Forman recounts the mistakes
she made in her business life and
the consequences of each decision that led her to lose her business - which she has eventually
managed to reclaim.
She admits that during those
difficult times she had a negative
frame of mind and subconsciously was playing the victim. It is
with this victim mentality that
we perpetuate failure and mediocrity and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, she emphasised.
It is important in this case to
focus on something else that
excites you. Forman relates this
to her life. When things were
going bad in her business life, she
never gave up but rather focused
her attention on her work at the
SA Jewish Board of Deputies
with the “Israel Now” tour.
Forman’s positivity is captivating as she inspired the audience
with her “can do” attitude and
frank approach to life. “We are
what we think of ourselves,” she
explains and “there will always
be people who will succeed as
G-d is good to everyone but it is
up to us”.
Throughout her talk she made
reference to people who have
achieved remarkable things in
the face of adversity as well as
real life scenarios that illustrated
her message. She reminds the
audience how the late Marina
Maponya became Business
Woman of the Year in 1982, in
apartheid South Africa, despite
being black.
“How did she do it? Because
she never thought she couldn’t...
No matter what prejudice is
against you, you can achieve.
“G-d did not create us equal
but we are all equal in potential,”
she says. Where we fail is in
thinking we are all created equal
and in doing so we equate our
success according to society and
others.
Forman calls the norms that
society places on us “the sausage
factory”, where our minds are
packaged to believe we can or
cannot achieve certain things,
where we are restricted by societal norms.
Whether you are an optimist
or cynic, there is no disputing
the power of our minds to shape
our future, she stresses. Critics
scoff at this positive “sugar-coating of reality” where any person
can achieve anything they want.
Forman says: “For a human
being to be fulfilled, he or she
must have goals and dreams in
both their personal and professional life... when people have no
vision they will perish.”
Forman is not only beautiful,
intelligent and confident, but has
also become known for her positive energy that she seems to
exude. She has achieved interna-
tional fame as a model, is MD of
Reeva Forman Ltd, a major
South African cosmetics company, she has a psychology degree
and in 1983 was elected Business
Woman of the Year by Barclays
Bank.
Forman has been very
involved in the Jewish community for many years, sitting on the
Gauteng and national executive
councils of the SA Jewish Board
of Deputies; she is vice chairman
of the SA Zionist Federation and
chairman of the “Israel Now”
tour.
Yom Hashoah’s standard
bearer Zelick Bedell turns 90
ALISON GOLDBERG
ZELICK BEDELL, the standard
bearer at Yom Hashoah memorials at West Park Cemetery for
the SA Ex-Servicemen’s League,
recently turned 90 in style at the
HOD in Johannesburg on
February 7, with some 140 family and friends gathered to celebrate the occasion.
Bedell came to South Africa at
the age of 17 from Dvinsk (now
Daugaupils) in Latvia under the
auspices of ORT and worked as
a carpenter for most of his life.
His furniture can be found in the
US and Australia under the
name of Z Bedell Furniture
Manufacturing.
During the Second World War
he joined the Engineering Corps
in 1940 and served in Italy and
North Africa until the end of the
war.
He married his first wife
Anita in 1953 and they had four
children. Anita died in 1968 and
Zelick married Eva in 1971 and
his fifth child Belinda was born
in 1972.
The sprightly 90 year old still
drives and it was only four years
ago his family recalled that he
climbed Masada, almost having
to perform the feat twice as he
had forgotten to bring his camera and walked down and up
again to retrieve it!
24
SA JEWISH REPORT
12 - 19 February 2010
Harel Levy happy with
doubles result in SA
JACK MILNER
DESPITE LOSING the doubles final at the
South African Tennis Open last week,
Israel’s Harel Levy says he will be back in
South Africa later this year.
Levy teamed up with Slovakian Karol
Beck at Montecasino and the pair probably
surprised themselves with their success at
the tournament.
The title went to Rohan Bopanna of India
and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan who
beat the Slovakian/Israeli duo 2-6 6-4 10-5
(champions tiebreaker).
The match was rather strange in that
Beck and Levy were totally in control in the
opening set, building a 4-0 lead before their
opponents got their names on the scoreboard. But at 1-1 in the second set, the match
was interrupted by rain and the players had
to go off.
When they returned the whole complexion of the match changed. “I think the rain
break affected them more than us,” said
Levy. “They were playing pretty badly in the
first set but when they came back they were
serving big and we never had a chance.
“Unfortunately we played a bad game at 23 and they broke us. That was enough for
them to win the set.”
In the champions tie-breaker, which is
played in lieu of a third set in doubles and
mixed doubles matches, Levy and Beck took
a 3-0 lead before Bopanna and Qureshi came
back at them. In the end the
Indian/Pakistani combination were too
good and won the tiebreaker pretty easily.
“Karol and I have been good friends for
quite a long time but this is the first time
we’ve played together,” said Levy. “I think
we combined pretty well and if we get the
opportunity to play together again, we probably will.”
Before last year April, Levy had never visited South Africa, but he is quite keen to
come back again this year in April to once
again contest the Soweto Open. “The tournament is definitely on my schedule,” he
confirmed.
Beck added that he would also be coming
out for that tournament and perhaps that
would give them the opportunity to play
together again.
Harel Levy (left) and Slovakian Karol
Beck discuss tactics in their doubles final
match at the SA Tennis Open played at
Montecasino on Sunday. (PHOTOGRAPH:
REG CALDECOTT)
Speaking about the SA Open at
Montecasino, Levy said it was a great tournament. “I think it has everything the players need. The courts are good, the hotel is
great and you have all the shops and entertainment at your disposal. Considering it is
only a 250 series (the lowest rated of the
ATP tournaments) it is probably one of the
best on the ATP calendar.”
It is interesting that Qureshi teamed up
with Bopanna as there is little love lost
between the two countries - who are in fact
arch enemies. However, Qureshi is probably
getting used to all the controversy because
as junior he came in for heavy criticism
back home for playing regularly with Israeli
Andy Ram. In fact, the Pakistani Tennis
Federation wanted to axe him from their
Davis Cup team because of his liaison with
the Israeli.
At that point the International Tennis
Federation stepped in and said they would
suspend Pakistan from the competition if
they took punitive action against their player. “I don’t let these things affect me,”
explained Qureshi. “I have friends on the
tour and I am happy to play with them irrespective of our cultural differences.
“If my actions can help bring people
together, I think that is very positive.”
The singles title at Montecasino went to
third seed Feliciano Lopez, who became the
first Spaniard to win the SA Open title.
Avram Grant caught in
compromising position
reportedly spent about an hour on
December 18, but a spokesman has
said that “there is nothing to eviDOES IT never stop! First Tiger
dence the allegations”, made in conWoods, then John Terry and Jacob
nection with the location.
Zuma and now Portsmouth soccer
The Sun newspaper was the first to
coach (ex Chelsea, inter alia)
report that a Premier League managAvram Grant. It is pretty hard to
er had been caught visiting a “brothkeeps sex allegations quiet these
el”, but only named him on Thursday
days, but it does not stop celebrities
after a landmark court ruling.
from trying to beat the media.
Mr Justice Tugendhat revoked an
As if Portsmouth’s struggles on
injunction granted to Chelsea and
and off the pitch weren’t bad Avram Grant,
England captain, John Terry, which
enough, Grant now has to deal Portsmouth
had prevented reporting of his extrawith the embarrassment of revela- soccer coach.
marital affair.
tions that he was the Premier
Despite the awkwardness, Grant can at
League manager seen visiting a rather
least take some comfort in the reaction of
sleazy “massage parlour” near the club’s
his wife Tzufit.
training ground in December.
The 45-year-old said her husband was
The club is currently rooted at the bottom
only getting a massage and even if he was
of the league standings - firmly set for relevisiting a brothel he has the right to privacy.
gation - and is also in financial disarray. Last
“He called me this morning to tell me
Thursday it was announced that Hong Kong
about the story and I said ‘so what?’”, Tzufit
businessman Balram Chainrai has become
told Army Radio. “Avram went to get a Thai
its fourth owner in just a year.
message and nobody has proven it is a
According to the Jerusalem Post, police
brothel. Even if he did go to a brothel it is
have launched an investigation into the
nobody else’s business.”
premises in Horton Heath, where Grant had
JACK MILNER
Footvolley in SA
JACK MILNER
THIS SUMMER saw the launch in South
Africa of a very exciting sport. “Footvolley”
fever is very popular in South America,
especially among beachgoers.
The sport, first founded in Brazil in the
early 1960s, is today a leading attraction on
shores in that country and the coastal
regions of the US, as well as in more than 20
countries around the world.
So enticing is the game, that many of the
local Brazilian soccer stars and those playing abroad, such as Romario, Edmundo and
Ronaldo, can be found on the sun-baked
beach strips of Rio during the mid-season
break - playing footvolley!
Footvolley is a sport that combines football and volleyball. It is a two-player per
team sport, played on sand (generally on the
beach) and follows volleyball rules, that is
except for the use of one’s hands.
It makes for unbelievably skilful ball control, with breathtaking rallies and deft
touches. The action is riveting, the spectator
value second to none.
Footvolley has popular commercial value.
Pepsi in 2009 chose footvolley to showcase its
contracted celebrity footballers - Cesc
Fabregas, Kaka, Lionel Messi, Fernando
Torres, Thierry Henry, and Frank Lampard
- some of the world’s iconic names in soccer.
The sport was launched in South Africa
Shaul
Yachad and
Mendy
Sarchi at the
footvolley
tournament
at Camps
Bay Beach in
December.
on December 20 last year, at an exciting
tournament on Camps Bay beach. Team
entries ranged from tourists from Brazil,
Germany and local players from Cape
Town, Johannesburg and other parts of the
country.
The preliminary games and knockout
stages eventually ended with the finalists
competing in an exciting three set match
which went down to the wire. It was a
Jewish duo of Mendy Sarchi and Shaul
Yachad who came from a match point down,
saved with a momentous diving header, by
Yachad. The tide turned and the
Johannesburg team finished off strongly to
win 2 sets to 1.
• Further details of Footvolley South Africa
can be viewed at www.footvolleysa.co.za or email info@footvolleysa.co.za