- SA Jewish Report

BOOKS: THE RISKS
AND PASSION
OF EVEREST / 15
www.sajewishreport.co.za
- IN THIS EDITION -
3
4
7
Friday, 02 December 2011 / 6 Kislev, 5772
Volume 15 Number 44
SAIPAC: Flying Israel’s flag among SA
Parliamentarians and others
SEE PAGE 3
Feinstein tries blowing
lid off Arms Deal
Glitz, glamour as ORT
celebrates 75 years
Travelling Rabbi leads
Garden Route Jews
back into fold
8
Tel Aviv - a world
fashion centre?
16 Goldblatt rejects award
due to Secrecy Bill
19 Domestic abuse - the
silent scourge
JUNIOR JEWISH
REPORT!
Second Edition inside!
Ray flies high to fulfil a dream
He’s leaving, on a jet plane, courtesy of the Union of Jewish Women: 84-year-old Sandringham Gardens resident Ray Meyers a fly fisher of note in his day - and the UJW’s zaida of the year for 2011, ticket in hand, and luggage fully packed, just before
leaving for his trip to Houston, Wednesday evening. Meyers will be visiting his son Steven, daughter-in-law Marina and their
children Aylie and Daren, for three months. PHOTOGRAPH BY ILAN OSSENDRYVER.
2
SA JEWISH REPORT
SHABBAT TIMES
December 2/6 Kislev
December 3/ 7 Kislev
Parshat Vayetzei
18:15
19:22
18:15
20:22
18:15
19:20
18:20
19:37
17:46
19:54
18:15
19:42
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02 - 09 December 2011
PARSHA OF THE WEEK
PARSHAT
VAYETZE
Rabbi Yossi
Chaikin
Rav, Oxford
Synagogue Centre
A
mere
sojourner
IT IS holiday time! In the weeks ahead thousands of Jews will
embark on their annual pilgrimage to holiday destinations
across the country and beyond. Away from their own communities, far from the support system of their shuls and regular routine...
Observing a Jewish lifestyle at a holiday resort brings its own
set of challenges. Our normal schedule is disrupted. We are more
relaxed and carefree than usual and less willing to be rigid and
disciplined. And let’s face it, temptations cross our eyes and
minds that we do not normally have to deal with in our day-today environment.
Even those of us who will remain at home, will not be immune
from the prevailing holiday fever and looser atmosphere.
So let us all take a leaf out of Jacob’s book.
After 34 years of separation, Jacob finally prepares to meet his
brother Esau. Clearly unsure of how he will be greeted, he sends
messengers ahead to see which way his twin will be disposed. “So
you shall say to my brother Esau”, says Jacob to his messengers,
“‘I sojourned with Lavan and have lingered until now…’”
Jacob actually spent some 20 years with his uncle Lavan (14
years before that he spent studying at the renowned Yeshiva of
Shem and Ever). Two decades - a mere sojourn?
We turn back to the beginning of last week’s Torah portion,
which describes Jacob’s initial journey to Lavan’s. After waking
from the famous Jacob’s Ladder dream, he utters a heart-felt
prayer to Hashem: “If G-d will be with me… and I return in peace
to my father’s house…”
Rashi interprets the word “in peace” to mean free of sin. Jacob
was extremely concerned about maintaining his high standards
of piety. The home of Lavan was not exactly a paradigm of
devoutness, morality or holiness. Thus he was extremely worried about the effect that living in such an environment would
have upon him.
It is one thing to keep the high moral ground in the home of an
Isaac and Rebecca, another to do so in a place called Charan - etymologically linked to the word Charon (“anger”) - because the
behaviour of its inhabitants invoked the wrath of G-d.
It was therefore with a certain sense of pride that, at the beginning of this week’s Parsha, Jacob makes the statement: “I
sojourned with Lavan.”
It may have been a very long 20 years, but I was never at ease
with Lavan. I was a mere sojourner, never feeling at home
enough to learn from the ways of the people around me. My real
home remained the Holy Land, the home of my father Isaac and
my grandfather Abraham.
Rashi once again points out that the Hebrew word for
sojourned (“Garti’) has the numerical value 613 (“Taryag”). “I
may have lived with Lavan,” Jacob was saying, “but I observed
the 613 commandments incumbent upon a Jew.”
Almost anywhere you go on holiday, there will be some sort of
organised Jewish activity, be it a structured shul or a makeshift
minyan. If you are not sure, look it up on the web or speak to
your rabbi. Even in the remotest of locations, you will find
Internet access and will have access to a fortune of Torah sites
for spiritual nourishment.
Remember, of course, to pack your tallit and tefilin as well as a
siddur in your suitcase, as well as portable candle-holders for
Shabbat. Chanukah begins on Tuesday December 20, so a small
Chanukiah is also a must (another option is to use tea lights,
lined up in a row).
Most importantly, take your Jewish pride and enthusiasm
with you. You may be spending your summer vacation in a place
where many engage in activities that invoke Divine wrath, but
you are just a visitor.
You want to come back home and say: “I lived with Lavan, but
I was a mere sojourner. Garti = Taryag.”
Shabbat Shalom and happy, safe holidays.
Pretorians open their hearts –
and pockets – to Miracle Drive
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY
DIANE WOLFSON
PRETORIA
THIS PAST week saw the launch of
Chabad’s amazing Miracle Drive
Pretoria, an initiative brought about
by past president of the Pretoria
Hebrew Congregation, Ian Hertz,
together with Chabad’s Rabbi David
Masinter.
Miracle Drive, a Chabad fundraising
initiative, is allowing Pretoria to partner with it, creating the opportunity to
raise monies for the Pretoria community while benefiting from the prizes
and marketing of the main Miracle
Drive in Johannesburg.
Hundreds of community members
came to support the event, with excellent kosher food and ably compèred by
Elana Afrika. Over R360 000 was raised
before the show even started.
Gigi Gaddin, president of Miracle
Drive Pretoria and Wally Karpas,
chairman, have asked everyone to join
them in supporting this fundraising
Some of the large crowd enjoying
snacks before the proceedings.
effort by buying tickets and stand a
chance of winning some wonderful
prizes.
A large portion of monies raised by
Miracle Drive Pretoria will stay in the
city and will be used, inter alia, for the
Shoe Shine business start-up for the
previously disadvantaged; educational
programmes in previously disadvantaged communities and Pretoria’s
Machon L'Hora’a Yeshiva.
A cheque handover with a difference
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY RITA
LEWIS
A CHEQUE from the proceeds of the
Chazzonus Club's popular concert
held at the Hebrew Order of David
Hall in Johannesburg recently, was
handed over to representatives of
Hatzolah at their offices in Glenhazel
in Johannesburg.
The concert which included various
overseas and local soloists, was a fairly new innovation as far as musical
concerts are concerned, in that it
included a three course dinner as part
of the evening's activities.
This was their second concert of
this nature and was attended by over
250 people with some having to be
turned away. Their previous one was
held at Golden Acres where some 175
people came to enjoy the event.
Ester Bassin and
Benny Puterman
handing over a
cheque from the proceeds of their recent
concert to Hatzolah's
Maish Bookatz with
Philip Kalmonowitz,
Cantor Ezra Sher and
Rabbi Ari Kievman.
KASHRUT ALERT
LOOK OUT FOR WOOLIES PRODUCTS MADE IN BELGIUM
THE KASHRUT department of the Union of Orthodox Synagogues advises
that the following Woolworths products are kosher and parev even without the
Beth Din logo, but only when produced in Belgium: Woolworths Oat Drink;
Woolworths Sweetened Soya Drink; Woolworths Unsweetened Soya Milk;
Woolworths Rice Drink: Woolworths Choco Drink; and Woolworths Soya
Custard Vanilla.
Appletiser is kosher certified with or without the Beth Din logo, ONLY when
produced in South Africa. Imported Appletiser is NOT certified.
The Freshers range of products available at Fruit and Veg City erroneously
bear the Beth Din logo, and are NOT certified as kosher. The kashrut department is working closely with the company to correct this error. Fruit and Veg
City apologises for the error.
“Hachi-Tov Snacks” (with BD logo) are now available at selected stores in
O R Tambo Airport. It includes biltong, biltong bites, Cabanossi, dry wors, etc.
02 - 09 December 2011
SA JEWISH REPORT
3
Independent SAIPAC to fly Israel’s flag
MOIRA SCHNEIDER
CAPE TOWN
TUESDAY NIGHT saw the launch at the Marais Road
Shul hall of the SA Israel Public Affairs Committee
(SAIPAC), modelled on the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a lobby group that advocates
for pro-Israel policies to the United States Congress.
Founded by David Hersch and Kenny Penkin, the Cape
Town-based group intends “establishing relationships
with members of Parliament and other communities and
strengthening the … South Africa-Israel relationship in
our country.”
“There’s a gap and a desperate need for a lobby in
Parliament and to get the truth out to those who support
us,” Hersch told Jewish Report prior to the launch. He is
in touch with AIPAC, attended its conference in
Washington DC some years ago and even went lobbying
with them in Congress.
“If you see the weekly, so-called newsletter that’s com-
ing from the PLO in Tanzania, the lies that are being told
and the selective manipulation of news, and absolutely
no context… (that Israel was bombing Gaza because of
the rockets emanating from there). There’s no doubt that
this is an uphill battle, but we will do it.”
Penkin adds that the community needs “a vibrancy” in
this regard and to “stand up and be counted”.
Hersch, who sat on the Cape committee of the SAJBD
and served as national vice-chairman and Cape chairman of the SAZF, stresses that SAIPAC will be “completely independent” and not affiliated “in any way” to
the Board, the Federation or any other Jewish body in
the country, though he does not rule out dialogue with
the groups. It will, however, “always be in sync with the
Israeli Embassy”, he says, emphasising that the group is
not in the employ of the Embassy, simply pro-Israel,
regardless of who the government of the day may be.
SAIPAC will be bipartisan, meaning that it will not
take sides in Parliament and will work with all the parties.
Arms deal: Jaundiced view of ‘circle of patronage’
ALISON GOLDBERG
FORMER ANC parliamentarian, Andrew Feinstein,
author of After The Party, has just launched his second
book: The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms
Trade.
Both books tackle South Africa’s controversial arms
deal, which cost South African taxpayers R70 billion.
This money, Feinstein feels, should have been used to
save the lives of 360 000 Aids victims, whom government refused anti-retrovirals.
The arms deal is alleged to have enriched senior ANC
politicians and the ANC itself by R2 billion - information first given to Patricia de Lille by
ANC members of
the Defence
Committee in Parliament. It was De Lille
who initially blew the whistle on the
alleged bribery.
Feinstein told his audience at
Exclusive Books in Hyde Park Corner
in Johannesburg that he hoped he and a
group of activists, including De Lille,
who have been investigating the arms
deal for the past decade, would be
called to give evidence to the new
Commission of Inquiry.
The creation of this commission was
believed to have been “forced” upon
President
Jacob
Zuma,
who
announced it the same day his lawyers
refused to answer papers submitted by
fellow arms deal campaigner Terry Crawford Browne
to the Constitutional Court.
Feinstein wonders whether the new SA Protection of
Information Bill will apply retrospectively. He and the
others against the arms deal,
will negotiate with the commission to allow the use of classified documents as evidence,
which served as the basis for his
investigation.
Feinstein
resigned
from
Parliament in August 2001 when
the ANC, then under Pres
Thabo Mbeki, removed him as
its senior member on the Public
Andrew Feinstein.
Accounts Committee. He had
refused to stop its enquiry into
the arms deal following a report from the
Auditor General.
Since writing his first book, Feinstein says
he has received threatening letters from
John Bredenkamp, a covert arms dealer for
BAE, one of the contractors on the SA deal.
Most of the people named in his books have
similarly accused him of getting his facts
wrong. His standard response is to invite
them to sue him.
Besides running Corruption Watch, an
NGO in the UK, Feinstein is contemplating
his next book, looking at the role of banks in
providing financing for all kinds of activities,
from organised crime to the drug and arms
trade.
The “harrowing tales” in his book about his
investigations into the arms trade, have
included interviewing “the scariest man alive”,
Lebanese arms trader Joe der Hovsepian, who told
him, oblivious of Feinstein being a Jew, “that Hitler
should have finished the job”.
Sassen, Podbrey do SAJR proud in Pringle Awards
TWO JEWISH Report staffers - arts editor Robyn Sassen
and books editor Gwen Podbrey - made the shortlist of
three, of the prestigious Thomas Pringle Awards 2011 in
the review category of the competition. This was
announced in a media release this week by the English
Academy of Southern Africa.
Mary Corrigall was placed first for a portfolio of
reviews published in the Sunday Independent. To have
the two other shortlisted journalists from the same publication - and a smallish niche publication at that - is a
tremendous feat and a feather in their cap.
“Robyn Sassen, a seasoned reviewer, is commended or
the clarity and crispness of reviews that covered mainly
theatre and art, encouraging audience attendance and
offering terse insights,” the release remarks.
“Gwen Podbrey demonstrated that she is a master of
conciseness in reviews that expose the reader to the possibilities and pleasures in a range of literary works.
From pure fiction to works with a biographical slant,”
the release adds.
The English Academy of Southern Africa, a non-profit
organisation with over 300 members from within and
outside South Africa, interests itself in English in education, promotes research and debate, organises lectures,
makes representations about language matters, rewards
excellence and fosters the creative, critical and scholarly
talents of users (and would-be users) of English in southern Africa.
4
SA JEWISH REPORT
02 - 09 December 2011
ORT celebrates 75 years with glitz and
glamour
SHIRA DRUION
HIGHVELD RAINCLOUDS and a typical downpour could not dampen spirits
at ORT’s 75th celebratory event in
Johannesburg last week Thursday and major draw-card was iconic musician Johnny Clegg who lent lustre to a
very glitzy evening.
It was an evening attended by a conglomeration of philanthropists and
other prominent members of the
community. Michael Bagraim flew in
from Cape Town to emcee the event.
Also present were World ORT CEO
Robert Singer, Ort Chairman Irwin
Lipworth and Chief Rabbi Warren
Goldstein. A special guest was Queen
Mother of the royal Bafokeng, Semani
Molotlegi.
Bagraim, in welcoming the “captains
of industry”, emphasised the vital role
they play in helping to enable the 60
per cent of our youth who are unemployed to find jobs by developing skills
through ORT initiatives.
Newly appointed ORT CEO Yehuda
Kay, praised the outstanding efforts
invested to help those in need. He commended the many donors for their
exceptional generosity and implored
them to continue giving to the worthy
cause. He applauded the brilliant innovation of the Singapore Math programme, which had been able to
increase the pass rate by up to 40 per
cent in the ORT partner schools in
Alexandra
township,
north
of
Johannesburg. He told the audience of
ORT JET’s newest endeavour, to support and empower women with business skills, legal support and social
support.
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein with CEO of ORT South Africa, Yehuda Kay and
Robert Singer, CEO of World ORT. PHOTOGRAPH: ILAN OSSENDRYVER
Rabbi Goldstein added: “On one
hand, we live in a world filled with
unadulterated beauty and on the other
hand, we live in a world that is overridden with cruelty and craziness. G-d has
put us in this world, not only to enjoy
the blessing, but to mitigate the cruelty
that surrounds us.
“We cannot protect people from the
cruelty out there, but we can empower
them with the skills and intelligence to
craft a better life for themselves. This
is the essence of all that it means to be
a Jew.”
Robert Singer gave an overview of
what ORT is doing all over the world
and the progress it is making in the
numerous projects.
“ORT is alive and kicking in 64 countries across the globe. We affect over
350 000 students worldwide and have a
budget of $400 million, with 9 000
employees worldwide. We were rated
against all other charities in the US,
with a four-star rating, which is the
highest accolade possible.”
The highlight of the evening was an
unplugged musical production by
Johnny Clegg who not only had his
audience clamouring for more when he
sang his trademark “Afro chic” songs,
but entertained them with stories of
his life’s path, of his music and of how
he left the world of anthropology to
pursue a career in music.
“I was delighted to perform here
tonight. I think education is the fundamental component to South Africa
being able to become a successful
nation. Education should not be based
on race, class, gender or ethnicity and
ORT has ensured that people from all
walks of life are afforded an equal
chance for a better tomorrow.”
ORT JET spreads goodwill
LIONEL SLIER
PHOTOGRAPH SUPPLIED
“IF YOU believe in something, then take it with all your
heart.” This was the message guest speaker Dr Robert
Singer, CEO of World ORT, left with his audience at an
ORT JET breakfast held at the HOD Hall in Orchards,
Johannesburg, recently. ORT JET’s mission is to mentor,
empower and grow people who come to them for assistance.
The “jewels in the crown” of the organisation are the
mentors who give of their skills in order to develop the talents of those who come to ORT JET for help.
Singer had had a diplomatic career for Israel before he
joined ORT. World ORT has operations in 64 countries and
works among both Jews and non-Jews, embracing the true
spirit of tikkun olam.
To illustrate the work of ORT, he mentioned its activities
in countries as diverse as Moldavia and Haiti. Moldavia
(originally Bessarabia) with 25 000 Jews, has a high divorce
rate in the community. ORT mentors worked hard to teach
skills to women affected by divorce, to empower them. So
successful had ORT been that 93 per cent of the women
had been able to find jobs afterwards.
He spoke of the terrible devastation caused by the earthquake in Haiti some years ago, with many deaths and
many more injuries. Buildings collapsed, leaving people
with no shelter and food and worse still, with no skills to
rebuild their country. ORT trained over 12 000 people in
building skills.
In Liberia, most of the young people are illiterate. ORT
is empowering them with vocational skills to get them
removed from the endemic fighting there.
Singer spoke about the dire poverty in the town of
Kiryat Yam which is only five minutes away from Haifa,
but in lifestyle could be five thousand kilometres away,
such is the level of poverty there, with the highest crime
rate in Israel. It has a large Ethiopian population, with an
unemployment rate of 40 per cent.
Two and a half years ago, a 93-year-old American
woman, asked Singer why Ethiopia had so many Olympic
Gold Medal winners in long distance events but those in
Israel never featured. She made a donation of $5 million
for the upliftment of Kiryat Yam and although an athletic
stadium has since been built, no gold medals have as yet
come about. The good news is, however, that a school in
Kiryat Yam has won a nationwide prize for excellence in
academia.
02 - 09 December 2011
SA JEWISH REPORT
5
A glittering 50th for Pine
Street Shul
SHIRA DRUION
PINE STREET Shul glittered recently at its
diamond anniversary and also the 50th
anniversary of the shul, built in 1961.
Seventy five years ago the Pine Street community took to the northern suburbs. Today
the community, under the leadership of
Rabbi Anthony and Marice Gerson, has
grown into the dynamic shul that it is.
Rabbi Gerson told the guests that “the
borscht belt was where it all started 75 years
ago”! He commended both past and present
leadership of rabbonim, chazzonim and
communal leadership, for investing in the
shul.
He also complimented congregants for
their loyalty to growth in Torah knowledge
and involvement in shul affairs.
The evening boasted keynote speaker
Mick Davis, CEO of UK-based mining company Xstrata, the fifth biggest mining company in the world, Davis is a well-known
Zionist advocate and holds several pivotal
positions in different Jewish organisations
around the world.
He talked about the threats facing the
Jewish community and the need to uphold
Jewish values in a generation fighting a devastating battle against assimilation.
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein described
the shul as “a big shul with the heart of a
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein with Rabbi
Anthony Gerson from Pine Street Shul
with the Pine Street Shul/Carrol Boyes
Mezuzah set.
PHOTOGRAPH: JEREMY FELDMAN
shtiebel community”. He added: “When the
shul opened in 1936, the Jews of Europe were
on the verge of the Holocaust. Then they
weathered many tumultuous storms, including the dark war years and the War of
Independence in 1948.
“But tonight, we pay tribute to a thriving
community of Jews loyal to Hashem and His
Torah. The miracle of tonight is that despite
of all the trials and tribulations that we experience as a nation, we remain resilient and
display tenacity to march forward.”
Rabbinic in-service training
MOIRA SCHNEIDER
CAPE TOWN
THIRTY-TWO RABBIS from around the
country attended a two-day in-service training course in Hermanus, in early November
held under the auspices of The Chief Rabbi
C K Harris Memorial Foundation.
The Foundation sponsors professional
skills enrichment in four areas: for development workers in outreach programmes like
Afrika Tikkun; in the field of paediatric
oncology, in partnership with the Red Cross
War Memorial Children’s Hospital; for
Jewish community social workers and educators; and provides training in practical
rabbinics - billed as Rabbis for the 21st
Century - of which this event was the first.
“It was great, it was inspiring, it was definitely empowering, we had a ‘whale’ of a
time,” remarked Rabbi Kalman Green, spiritual leader of the Constantia Hebrew
Congregation.
“Also, the opportunity to network with colleagues, reminds us as rabbis of our common humanity with each other and with our
congregations.”
In a letter to the organisers, Rabbi
Laurence Perez, senior rabbi of the Mizrachi
Shul and MD of Yeshiva College, thanked
them for a “stunning” conference.
“I thoroughly enjoyed so many aspects; I
thought the organisation was excellent, the
speakers outstanding and the conference
gave me personally a lot of insights into how
to improve my personal and rabbinic functioning,” he wrote.
Two of the lecturers, Eliezer Blatt and
Rabbi Dr Mordechai Reich, both of whom
operate in the field of rabbinic training,
attended from Israel.
The faculty comprised in addition
Johannesburg
psychologist
Trevor
Friedman, Rabbi Levi Wineberg, rosh yeshiva of the Machon LeHorah, Pretoria and
Rabbi Avi Amitai, co-Rosh Kollel with Rabbi
Wineberg
of
the
Mizrachi
Kollel,
Johannesburg.
Rabbis Wineberg and Amitai gave evening
“shiurim” on the practical and sympathetic
dealing with “halachic” problems, according
to Ann Harris, chairman of the Foundation’s
board of trustees.
Aside from this, the training was practical
and included stress management, time management, basic adult education for congregants whose level is low and the recognition
of psychological disorder and its prevalence
in the community.
The subject-matter dealt with is not generally included in rabbinic training.
“We do it because my husband believed
that people should be allowed to learn to do
the best they possibly can. He would have
been delighted with it,” said Harris.
“What we might like to do the next time is
a separate one for rabbis’ wives,” she ventured.
6
SA JEWISH REPORT
02 - 09 December 2011
SOCIAL SCENE
COMMUNITY BUZZ
The Norwood Mall was abuzz
with collectables bargain seekers
Women of WIZO
Johannesburg
regularly collect
items of value for
their Collectables
Market held
every two years.
LAST SUNDAY the Norwood Mall
in Johannesburg was abuzz with
bargain seekers, and bargains there
were plenty, WIZO said in a media
release.
From 09:00 until 14:00, dealers and
collectors and bargain hunters
crowded around the tables laden
with goods. The Collectable Market
is convened by Yvonne Jawitz, president of WIZO South Africa, assisted
by a band of very hard-working volunteers. The market this year was
very successful and thanks goes to
all our supporters.
Above: Yvonne Jawitz and Raya
Ravid. Left: Molly Jayes; Janine
Rabbie; and Zee Bergman.
The Sasfin-Hatzolah Golf Day was indeed
a rip-roaring success
RITA LEWIS
PHOTOGRAPHS: LISA ETKIND
THE RECENT Sasfin-Hatzolah Annual
Golf Day again this year lived up to the
enviable reputation it has built up over so
many years, with the Houghton Golf
Course filled to capacity with excited
golfers and supporters of both Hatzolah
and Sasfin, who was the major sponsor.
Luckily the weather was mild, allowing
the players to complete the course in relative comfort. This golfing highlight also
allowed healthy interaction between
golfers and supporters.
At many of the 18 holes refreshments
were laid on, together, with liquid refreshment.
After the event, players and supporters
got together in the clubhouse where a welldeserved dinner was served – and enjoyed.
This was followed by the prize-giving
where gifts such as an iPad 2 and an assort-
ment of Blackberrys etc were handed out
to the winning players and teams.
The winners of the 1st Ball were: 1.
Neville Levin; 2. Mel Wainer; 3. Selwyn
Swill; and 4. Barry Lewis.
Announcing the winners and keeping
everyone abreast of all the goings on, was
MC Barney Girnun. The event raised more
than R675 000 for a very worthy cause.
Larry; Rubin; Craig; and Darren Pogir.
Hatzolah responders: Daniel Forman;
Shaun Spruch; Jayden Wright; and
Matt O'Riley.
Milton Maloon; Darren Etkind; Daniel
Nathan; and Evan Rubin.
Michelle Ongley; Elaine Stillerman;
Sandra Pogir; and Debbie Cloud, next to
a Hatzolah vehicle.
Co-ordinators: Tanya Rubin; Melissa Berger;
Francine Gilchrist; Alana Stonefield; Lisa
Etkind; Ethne Marks; Carianne Marx; Estelle
Kahan; and Toni Copans.
Moshe Duek and Neil Cloud view the golf
course.
LIONEL SLIER
082-444-9832, fax: 011-440-0448,
lionel.slier@absamail.co.za
BRANDFORT
Bettie Levin continues:
“We received a phone call from Frank and
Hirsch, wholesalers, in Johannesburg with
whom we dealt and they informed us that
Winnie Mandela was assigned to live in
Brandfort. Winnie was employed by Frank
and Hirsch as a credit controller. They
wanted us to open an account for her and
they would foot the bill.
“Winnie lived there from 1977 until 1986,
Her daughter Zinzi was allowed to live with
her. She did all her shopping at our business as well as visiting the library, post
office and her attorney, Mr Piet de Vaal.
Mrs Adale de Vaal befriended Winnie and
they became very good friends.
“Once a month, Winnie was allowed to go
to Robben Island to visit Nelson. She would
come into our gift shop and select a very
good gift for the doctor, whom she said, was
very kind to her husband.
“Many famous people visited Winnie,
among them were Helen Suzman, Alan
Paton, Edward Kennedy, Richard Attenborough and Andrew Young. Winnie was
the best dressed woman in Brandfort district. She received many boxes of clothing
addressed to her c/o M Levin and Co.
“The saddest day for Winnie was when
Adale de Vaal was killed in a motorcar accident and she could not attend the funeral
because that was the day that her husband,
Nelson, was released from Pollsmoor
Prison. She sobbed over the phone to Piet de
Vaal and said: ‘I have lost my white sister.’
“Winnie was very brave and courageous.
She fought Nelson’s cause and was scared
of nobody.”
Editor’s note: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
was married to the jailed Nelson Mandela at
the time -1977- and was active in the African
opposition and was “named” by the National
Party government and then banned to
Brandfort.
Sylvia Raphael
Sylvia Raphael was born in Graaff-Reinet
on April 1, 1957, the daughter of Ferdinand
and Miriam Raphael. She moved to Israel
and as an Israeli intelligence agent, she was
sentenced in 1974 to five and a half years in
a Norwegian prison for her part in the murder of Ahmed Bouchiki, a Moroccan waiter
living in the small Norwegian town of
Lillehammer, who was a suspected Black
September terrorist.
Her story begins on September 6, 1972
when Black September terrorists entered
the Olympic Village in Munich, shot dead
two Israeli athletes and took hostage nine
others, planning to demand a plane and fly
them to Tunis.
The German police were totally unable to
deal with the situation and a shoot-out took
place at Munich Airport where all the
Israeli hostages died, and also five terrorists and two German policemen.
Golda Meir, the Israeli prime minister at
the time, allowed Mossad to go after the
Palestinians who took part in the massacre,
particularly Ali Salemeh whom they identified as the chief planner.
“Two can play the same game,” was the
Mossad attitude as they put together hit
teams to track down the Black September
operatives and eliminate them. This they
did efficiently enough except for one blunder.
They identified Salameh as living in
Norway and sent a hit team there. Sylvia
Raphael was a member of the team. Mossad
had mistakenly believed that Bouchiki was
Salameh. He was shot dead.
The Israeli team was uncharacteristically
inept and they were caught by the
Norwegian police, put on trial and sentenced to prison.
After her release, Sylvia returned to her
kibbutz in Israel and also made a visit to
South Africa to see her family.
She then went to Norway where she married the prosecutor who led the case against
her and the other Israeli agents.
• Read the book “The Hit Team” by David
Tinnin for a full story.
02 - 09 December 2011
SA JEWISH REPORT
7
GRJA gives Jews in the area a sense of community
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY SUZANNE
BELLING
MORE THAN 3 300 years ago, Moshe
Rabeinu led the Jews out of the wilderness
and into their Judaism.
Last Sunday, 33 centuries later, his namesake, “The Travelling Rabbi” Moshe
Silberhaft, figuratively took the Jews of the
Wilderness area of the south-eastern Cape and Mossel Bay, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay,
George, Oudtshoorn and the Klein Karoo –
back into the fold of the Jewish community
with the formal affiliation of the Garden
Route Jewish Association to the SA Jewish
Board of Deputies.
The brainchild of Myron Rabinowitz,
president of the George Hebrew Congregation and of the GRJA, he explained his
motivation for “taking the Jews out of the
Wilderness” and approaching the neighbouring Jewish communities in 2007, when
he was given the mandate to draw up a constitution.
The GRJA met again in Oudtshoorn in
June the following year, in Plettenberg Bay
in January 2009 and in August of the same
year in George.
But the official rubber stamp of the
SAJBD has given them a true sense of community, Yiddishkeit and belonging, which
Rabbi Silberhaft stressed at the meeting
attended by over 60 people in the shul of the
George Hebrew Congregation.
A relentless downpour had washed out a
pre-planned picnic/braai on a beach in the
Wilderness.
MC Howard Ross, of Knysna, said there
were some 300 Jewish souls in the region
“and then some who don’t come out of the
woodwork”.
It was agreed that the focus of the
Association - which will now meet on a regular basis - would focus on getting together
to “shmooze” and to drink a l’chaim on festivals such as Purim and Chanukah and
celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut and commemorate Yom Hashoah.
Lexie Comay, the remaining resident of
one of the oldest families of the Wilderness
and George, gave a history of the area,
explaining that the Wilderness had taken its
name from a farmhouse built in the 1870s,
with plots later being sold off and the original Wilderness Hotel built in the 1920s.
Clifford Miller, a fourth generation
Oudtshoorn resident, spoke of the two shuls
built in the town, the rise of the ostrich
farming industry and the close bonds
between Jews and Afrikaners living in
Oudtshoorn. He tabled an edition of the
local newspaper, Die Hoorn, in which pages
were filled with Rosh Hashanah greetings
in the advertising section from members of
Afrikaner-owned businesses and individuals.
Miller said there were only 16 Jewish families remaining in Oudtshoorn, the majority
of which kept kosher homes, with a shochet
visiting every six weeks to provide kosher
meat.
Ann Harris, widow of the late Chief Rabbi
Cyril Harris, a vice-president of the African
Jewish Congress, who drove up from
Hermanus, said Jews did not move to coun-
try towns for the quality of Jewish life.
They could, however, help to keep the
Jewish flag flying.
National chairman of the SAJBD, Mary
Kluk, who came from Durban for the occasion, brought greetings from the Board.
Quoting from the diary of the late Chief
Rabbi Cyril Harris, “For Heaven’s Sake”,
she said community was a cornerstone to
being a Jew.
“We all belong to one another,” she
added, pledging the support of the Board
in the venture.
Marc Freedman, chairman of the United
Hebrew Institutions of Oudtshoorn,
shared his thoughts on the parsha of the
week and thanked the organisers and
speakers.
The
youngest
members of
the GRJA,
Pam and
Steve
Buchalter, of
Knysna, with
their sons
Nadav (4)
and Tivon
(2).
8
SA JEWISH REPORT
02 - 09 November 2011
OPINION AND ANALYSIS
FORUM FOR DIVERSE VIEWS
What a year!
ASK PEOPLE how they feel about the year
that is drawing to a close and most will say:
“Whew, what a difficult one it’s been!” So, is it
all doom and gloom, or a matter of perception?
Famed Jewish psychiatrist Viktor Frankl,
who wrote eloquently about the meaning of
life, said: “What counts is not our fears and
anxieties, as such, but the attitude we adopt
towards them. This attitude is freely chosen.”
There are numerous local and international
situations that have made 2011 so tough: the
Eurozone financial crisis and its potentially
disastrous spillover effect on our economy
and that of the world at large; the “Arab
Spring”, which started with hope, but seems to
be turning into a cold winter; the fact that
Israel is under assault from all sides, especially due to the efforts of the BDS campaign;
Iran’s deranged president, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, with his seeming desire to
acquire nuclear weapons and expand his circle of power; America, with its own financial
woes, has had to raise its debt ceiling; the
slowing of China’s economy, which could have
serious consequences worldwide, as it is the
second biggest after America and has been the
only ray of light in a gloomy financial world;
the possibility that big developed countries
may not sign on at the COP17 environmental
conference in Durban, which could cause
paralysis as the world’s big polluters sit looking at each other, not prepared to fully commit
themselves.
In South Africa, the “Secrecy Bill” is moving through its parliamentary processes, making us shudder at this “thin end of the wedge”;
no denial of Julius Malema’s threat of the
nationalisation of mines and banks and the
expropriation of land without paying any
compensation, in unequivocal terms by the
ANC; crime, corruption and nepotism are
running apace and have become almost
endemic - the norm, rather than the exception.
Faced with all this, it’s easy to become so
mired in pessimism that we create our own
black hole. But as always, in the midst of big
problems, there are those who see the opportunities, rather than the gloom.
Some of our fine young Jewish entrepreneurs are grasping these opportunities and
creating amazing enterprises, whether companies like Discovery, Kulula and Bidvest, or
non-profits like Afrika Tikkun and Sibikwa.
People are running full steam with these
visions and goals, with no time for despair there is work to be done!
In this country, with such dire needs among
its populace, Jewish outreach projects of individuals and organisations, are more active
than ever, going out there with confidence and
making a real difference.
Many who stayed in this country while others emigrated, are fiercely South African,
working not only for themselves, but for the
good of the country and community. The
Jewish Report runs a regular column,
“Building South Africa”, in which we highlight some of these remarkable people unsung heroes, in most cases - doing incredible things. Our list of worthy subjects is long
and we are only touching the surface.
Is the glass half full or half empty? For
these proactive individuals, it is definitely half
full, with opportunities abounding.
One positive consequence of the disadvantages faced today in this country by whites
(including Jews), as BEE closes the employment doors for so many, to rectify injustices of
the apartheid past, is that one is virtually
forced to think out of the box and create one’s
own job and opportunities, rather than expect
to find ready-made employment as one’s due.
Nothing is one’s “due” any more. This creates
energy and initiative and brings out the best
in individuals.
People ask where this country is going. Is
the norm still “jobs for pals”, as it has been
over recent years? Or is the trend shifting
back towards “skills for the job” and a need for
excellence?
Leadership is crucial. We hope and pray to
find again the great leaders we need to do this
country proud, visionaries and practical men
of the ilk we knew during Nelson Mandela’s
all-too-short tenure, who can turn gloom to
hope.
As the old saying goes, a country gets the
leaders it deserves. And we must insist that we
deserve the best to lead a great country.
Can Tel Aviv really become a
worldwide centre for fashion?
Israeli designer Dorit Bar Or, centre, acknowledging applause with models at the close of her show at Tel Aviv Fashion Week,
on November 21. PHOTOGRAPH: MEIR PARTUSH/FLASH 90
JESSICA STEINBERG
TEL AVIV
FOR ISRAELI fashionistas, last week’s
inaugural Tel Aviv Fashion Week proved
what they’ve known for years: Israeli fashion is creative, current and worthy of
worldwide attention - and, hopefully, sales.
“I wanted to help my business and help
my country,” said organiser Ofir Lev,
deputy CEO of the Israel Textile and
Fashion Association and a former model.
“I wanted to show that there is fashion and
creativity in Israel.”
Lev drew on his extensive contacts
abroad to bring together foreign fashion
writers and Italian star designer Roberto
Cavalli in Tel Aviv for the three-day fashion fest.
While the Israeli fashion scene has been
around for decades, starting with Lea
Gottlieb and her Gottex swimwear empire,
it has been many years since there was
any kind of public fashion extravaganza.
In the 1970s, a fashion week was held
twice a year at the Tel Aviv Hilton, recalls
designer Gideon Oberson, who is also
known for his swimsuits, and buyers came
from the United States and Europe. But
the Israeli manufacturing industry then
was quite different, with at least a dozen
fashion companies manufacturing entire
collections for export.
“Now we don’t have companies doing
fashion, but we have solo designers, at
least four or five talented ones emerging
each year,” Oberson said. “I think this
fashion week was created to offer information, to create a bit of a hubbub and make
some noise.”
And, of course, to generate orders and
positive media coverage. But does Tel Aviv
have any chance of becoming a major stop
on the fashion circuit?
Lev says he’s already planning another
Fashion Week for next April. He’s intent
on getting Israeli-American Elie Tahari as
well as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Italian
designer Miuccia Prada and fashion luxury house Dolce & Gabbana on board.
Everyone is just “two phone calls away”,
Lev says.
The challenge is to get everyone to
Israel, and the country’s reputation as a
dangerous place - albeit undeserved makes it an uphill fight.
“We have to battle with a Wild West existence,” said designer Dorit Frankfurt, who
heads a well-established Israeli label that
exports overseas.
Frankfurt, who has manufactured her
collection since 1983 at her own factory in
Tel Aviv, showcased her spring collection
during Fashion Week.
For Sasson Kedem, a creator of artsy,
architecturally styled pieces for women
who also served as a mentor on the one
season of “Project Runway Israel”, said
Tel Aviv Fashion Week - referred to here
as TLV FW, in Fashion TV style - was an
opportunity to show the world that “we’re
not just about bombs”.
“We’re very clever,” Kedem said, referring to his fellow design colleagues. “But
we are different because of this place. We
have passion, and we have to grab our
opportunities because no one can take our
inspiration from us.”
Lev and his partner Motty Reif, a producer known for Beverly Hills Fashion
Week, say Israel’s security situation is
part of what encourages Israeli fashion
creativity.
“It’s not an easy life here, it pushes us to
be very creative, makes us think differently and improvise,” Lev said. “We’re brave
because of the situation we live in.”
A handful of well-known Israelis
already are established in the fashion
world, including Alber Elbaz from the
Parisian house of Lanvin and designer to
the stars Yigal Azrouel.
Well-known Israeli designer Ronen
Chen, who exports his women’s collection
to the United States and Europe, was conspicuous in his absence from Fashion
Week. He said the timing wasn’t good - he’s
already working on next winter, and the
shows focused on spring 2012 - and he
acknowledged a certain amount of
ambivalence regarding the concept.
“Here in Israel, we don’t do shows in
order to get orders - there’s just a link
missing,” he said. “Department store buyers aren’t going to come here to order our
clothes because we don’t have a long
enough track record, we don’t have the
standards necessary. I just didn’t know if
it was worthwhile.”
Designers had to spend some $7 000 each
on runway shows, and some of the
younger designers split the costs, with
each sharing a half-hour show with one or
two others. Lev estimated that the week
cost about $2 million, including costs for
flying in Cavalli and the fashion writers,
and putting them up at Tel Aviv hotels. He
did snare some sponsorship, including
from Maybelline USA and several Israeli
companies, such as the women’s magazine
HaIsha and retailer Renuar.
Still, it wasn’t easy. The city of Tel AvivJaffa did not offer any financial assistance, except for free space at HaTachana,
the recently refurbished Ottoman-era
train station in Jaffa. Lev likes to compare
Israel to Denmark, a similarly sized country that sponsors a two million euro fashion week each year.
“The growth of the Israeli design industry was eight per cent last year; that’s
something,” he says. “That’s a lot and I
want to show it off.”
Lisa Armstrong, a journalist for the
British Telegraph, wrote about Israeli
soap star and designer Dorit Bar Or, the
designer of Pas Pour Toi.
“Israeli editors declared the local
flavour of her collection a bit parochial,"
Armstrong wrote. "To outsiders, it was
exotic: entirely black (despite the enviable
climate, they're not exactly embracing The
New Colour), with impeccably executed
gold embroidery, a lot drawn from Arab
designs - and gorgeous gold earrings in the
shape of leaves that curved up the lobes.”
That’s the idea, says Kedem: Israel is not
Paris, but Israeli designers excel at “translating the land”.
“You see the Mediterranean in our
clothing,” he said. “We do intimate clothing that offers the feel of our country.”
(JTA)
02 - 09 December 2011
SA JEWISH REPORT
9
‘Twinning’ project brings Muslims
and Jews together
JESSICA LEADER
NEW YORK
DAISY KHAN seemed right at home in the ornately decorated main sanctuary of B’nai Jeshurun, a large and
vibrant synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
“I want to thank you for inviting us into this sanctuary, which is very much like a mosque,” said Khan, executive director of the American Society for Muslim
Advancement.
She added, “It feels strange to wear shoes in here!”
Several dozen women - approximately equal numbers
of Muslims and Jews - had come together at the
November 14 event to discuss gender issues in their
respective faith traditions. From the food on the table hummus and flatbread - to the integrated small-group
dialogues, the evening focused on how much Jewish and
Muslim women have in common.
The gathering was part of the Foundation for Ethnic
Understanding’s “twinning” project bringing together
Muslim and Jewish congregations and organisations to
share each other’s traditions. This year marks the
fourth annual Weekend of Twinning, which began officially last Friday and continues through mid-December.
Events have taken place across America.
“We are using this event to get people to communicate
who did not communicate before,” said Walter Ruby, the
foundation’s Muslim-Jewish relations programmes officer.
The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, a New
York-based nonprofit founded by Rabbi Marc Schneier
and co-chaired by hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons,
launched the twinning programme in 2008.
In the first year, 50 synagogues and as many mosques
participated in the project. Since then, the number of
participating organisations has jumped to 250 and
includes not only synagogues and mosques, but commu-
At a November 20 event in New Brunswick, New
Jersey, sponsored by the People of Abraham United
Against Hunger, Muslim and Jewish volunteers gathered to prepare and serve meals to the homeless.
PHOTOGRAPH: ZAMIR HASSAN
nity centres, cultural groups and on-campus clubs.
“We are the sons of Abraham coming together,” said
Imam Souliman Konate of the Masjid Aqsa mosque in
New York's Harlem neighbourhood, adding that “this is
the right moment” for this type of programme. The
mosque is participating for the first time in the twinning
weekend.
“Hopefully we are on the journey to the promised land
of reconciliation and greater understanding,” Schneier
said.
The foundation added a new platform last year: the
virtual twinning event. Jewish and Muslim groups in 16
countries - including India, Slovakia, Uruguay and
Pakistan - are engaging in online interfaith discussions.
“Some people in countries like Pakistan have never
had the opportunity for Jews and Muslims to speak
together,” Ruby said. (JTA)
SAICC plans to boost Israel-SA trade
STAFF REPORTER
THE SA Israel Chamber of Commerce (SAICC) is to
accelerate its plans to increase trade between South
Africa and Israel, with the establishment of a new, international division. Two senior appointments have been
made: Elad Stav, former Israel commercial attaché to
South Africa and Malcolm Ferguson, former South
African ambassador to Israel.
Said SAICC chief executive, Stephen Danziger: “We
want to boost trade relations between SA and Israel.
Business activity between the two is vital to relations
between them.”
The new division will build up new, value-added services for exporters to facilitate various new partnerships
in Israel and with different chambers of commerce and
federations in Israel, as well as with government and
private partners.
“We will focus on trade and the promotion of investment opportunities from and to Israel and SA, starting
with SA which is the gateway to the rest of the continent,” said Danziger.
Stav will head up the division and will talk
to Jewish businesses to help accelerate business relations. The new division will focus on
establishing closer relations with other
chambers of commerce worldwide. Tourism,
an area largely neglected until now, will be
emphasised.
Improving trade relations was one way of
bringing the Jewish community closer to the
SA government, said Stav. Potential areas of
investment and research were water and
energy which had now become a global
focus. Especially in SA, with its electricity
shortage and lack of water infrastructure,
Israel had a lot to offer especially regarding
desalination, he said.
Stav has a long background in trade relations. He was involved in SA-Israel economic
relations for 11 years and served as commercial attaché and director of the Israel Trade
Centre in Johannesburg for four-and-a-half
years.
He returned to SA two years ago and has
now taken up the position of general manager of the international division for the
SAICC. He wants to focus on promoting cooperation in the ME between Israel,
Palestine, Jordan and surrounding countries
to promote and enhance relations in the
countries through trade investment partnerships.
Among the initiatives of the new division
will be investment in venture capital/hi-tech
start-up companies, through the establishment of a local “Angels Club”. This is a network of private investors, who invest time
and money in start-up companies.
An investor into such a club is described as
a person with means, who provides capital for a business
start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or
ownership equity. There are currently about 250 angel
investment clubs in America.
“There is a whole different world in this field in
Israel,” Stav said. “It is high risk investment, not in traditional portfolios like property and finance, but in a
new world of investment which can make money for
investors, while, contributing to industry.”
Malcolm Ferguson will serve on the SAICC board. He
wants to contribute to the creation of a new vision for
the chamber with a more prominent focus on trade and
enterprise between SA, southern African countries,
Israel and other ME countries.
“As South Africa is the gateway to the continent, so is
Israel to other countries in its region. The promotion of
trade between the regions and countries is important; it
affects the politics in the area. Successful trade agreements and ventures will accelerate co-operation on a
political level between Israel and Palestine and will
assist with the peace process,” he said.
10
SA JEWISH REPORT
02 - 09 December 2011
ARTS MATTERS
TAPESTRY
COMPILED BY
ROBYN SASSEN
ART, BOOKS, DANCE, FILM, THEATRE
Call 084-319-7844 or
info@frodo.co.za at least one
week prior to publication
Artisan Contemporary
Gallery, Morningside,
Durban: “Memories”, curated by Sue Greenberg, until
December 24, (031) 312-4364.
David Krut Projects, Arts
on Main, Johannesburg:
“Pretty World”, by Robyn
Penn, until February, (011)
447-0627.
Fugard Theatre, District
Six: “London Road”, with
Robyn Scott and Ntombi
Makhutshi, until December
17, (021) 461-4554.
Foxwood House Theatre,
Houghton: On December 4,
11, “Yanagi”, a shadow puppetry show, (011) 486-0935.
Goodman Gallery: In
Parkwood, William
Kentridge’s “Other Faces”
ends December 23, (011) 7881113. In Woodstock, David
Goldblatt’s “Portraits”, ends
December 10, (021) 462-7579.
Joburg Theatre,
Braamfontein: In the Nelson
Mandela, Janice Honeyman’s
panto, “Cinderella”, until
December 30. In the Fringe,
“Monkey Nuts” until
December 4. “The Dahlings in
Cinema Wow” with Elizma
van Rensburg, Nacia
Erasmus and Nadia Beukes,
with sister harmonies like
those of the Andrew Sisters,
December 2 - 4. In the
People’s Theatre, “Beauty
and the Beast”, until
December 24, (011) 877-6800.
Alas, ‘terrifying
mushrooms’ look
rather benign
Exhibition: “Pretty World” (David
Krut Projects, Arts on Main,
Johannesburg (011) 334-1208)
Artist: Robyn Penn
Until: February 2012
REVIEWED BY ROBYN SASSEN
IN THE first few minutes of confronting this exhibition, you might
come to think of the earth-shattering
animated film, “When the Wind
Blows”, based on a graphic novel by
Raymond Briggs, from the mid-1980s.
It’s a gently black contemplation of
nuclear holocaust.
This exhibition, slipped under the
mantle of “landscape”, is one in which
Robyn Penn plays with the connotations of possibly the bleakest kind of
geographic landscape we can think of:
the mushroom cloud created with the
detonation of a nuclear bomb.
And while the premise of her exhibition of just over a dozen works is
provocative, the works themselves
slip into abstraction quite quickly:
our sense of horror at the subject
matter slides into a prosaic contemplation of marks, lines and colour juxtapositions.
This has to do with Penn’s use of
space and format. You’re not given
to understand the scale of this puff
of noxiousness as such; in fact,
you’re not given any landscapular
shred to hold on to, which makes
these ostensibly terrifying mushrooms benign to the point of pretty
abstraction.
Accordingly, the “pretty” in the
show’s title doesn’t question the darkly ironic extrapolation of domestic
landscapes Penn implies; it remains
trapped in the reaches of plain
description; demure and non-confrontational. Having said that, and
having reduced the works to banal
abstractions, in looking at them as
such, you will notice they’re competent. Penn’s use of water soluble
crayons with bold striations and
colours neighbouring one another
surprisingly, is joyous.
Exhibition: “End of year exhibition”, Rabbi Cyril Harris
Community Centre, Oaklands, (011)
728-8088
Curator: René Sidley
Until: December 11
REVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPH BY
ROBYN SASSEN
National Children’s
Theatre, Parktown:
“Aladdin Jr”, directed by
Francois Theron, until
December 23, (011) 484-1584.
Rabbi Cyril Harris
Community Centre,
Oaklands: Annual exhibition
curated by René Sidley, until
December 11, (011) 728-8088.
Glen Josselsohn’s painting “Spectrum”
FELDMAN
ON FILM
Peter Feldman
PICK OF THE WEEK
Puss in Boots 3D
Victory Theatre, Orange
Grove: “Relive the 50s: Kwela
Bafana”, directed by Phyllis
Klotz, Smal Ndaba, until
December 10, (011) 728-9603.
Wits, Braamfontein: In the
theatre, Music Enlightenment
Project, hosted by Leigh
Nudelman performs
“Celebration 2011”, December
3, 071-286-2428.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY DAVID KRUT
Tantalising mixed bag from a variety of artists
Montecasino, Fourways: In
the Studio, “My Mother’s
Italian, My Father’s Jewish
and I’m in Therapy” until
January 8. In the Pieter
Toerien, “Menopause the
Musical”, until January 8 and
“Beautiful Creatures” until
December 17, (011) 511-1988.
Old Mutual Theatre on
the Square, Sandton:
Daniel Friedman’s “Deeply
Fried”, ends December 3.
“Season in the Sun”, songs
by Brel, Coward, Porter and
others, with Godfrey
Johnson, December 6 - 24.
Friday lunchtime concerts
on December 2, features
Miro Chakaryan (violin),
Susan Mouton (‘cello) and
Anneline Ball (piano);
December 9: Jacobus Swart
(piano) and Ivo Ivanov (violin), (011) 883-8606.
“How Beautiful Are These Days”, Monotype by Robyn Penn.
Cast: Antonio Banderas; Salma Hayek; Zach
Galifianakis; Bill Bob Thornton; Amy Sedaris
Director: Chris Miller
PUSS IN Boots first made his debut in "Shrek 2",
and paid his dues in two decreasingly funny
sequels. This character always had potential,
but now he has his own film to prove it – and he
does it with enormous style.
This sword-wielding Lothario cat, who swashbuckled his way into the hearts of cinema-goers
THIS EXHIBITION, representing
the culmination of 2011, for this, one
of Johannesburg Jewry’s most
vibrant and creatively innovative
community centres, offers a mixed
bag of work, and different levels of
engagement. But as you enter the
space and cast your eye around the
corner, Sheila Jarzin’s magnificently moving “Shechina III”, a landless
seascape, in tossing your emotions
hither and yon, represents the
nexus of the show, and you will keep
returning to lose yourself in the subtleties and waves of the painting,
even after you have driven home.
The exhibition offers a tantalising
taste of work by artists of the ilk of
Regi Bar David, who saturates her
sheets of paper with such rich pastel
around the globe, makes a meal of his first big
film break. The animation is superb and perfect in its minutest detail and Antonio
Banderas provides the vocal power to give this
Puss gravitas.
The story concerns the early adventures of
this bold, brave creature as he teams up with
rotund mastermind Humpty Dumpty (voiced
by Zach Galifianakis) and the street-savvy
Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) to steal the
famed goose that lays the Golden Eggs.
To lay their hands on the Golden Goose
involves all manner of schemes, plotting and
backstabbing and the action and sharp humour
that flow, reminds one of the original “Shrek”.
The production is a cinematic treat, splendid
in both visual and verbal terms, and is given
the added boost when seen in lively 3-D.
It has been conceived with the whole family
in mind; the adventure and inventive elements
never flag, and the tongue-in-cheek humour is
wrapped nicely around the narrative.
Though the story of greed versus good is thin
and pretty predictable, the filmmakers have
colour, you can smell the concatenation of hues; Ruth Schneider, whose
simple figure composition evoke
Chinoiserie, made popular in nineteenth century Europe, with its simple elegance; Jenny Stadler’s loud
aggressive abstractions; and Rhona
Gorvy’s subtle explorations of tonal
balance with her very traditional
etchings.
A landscape painting by Terry
Kalinko stands freely on an easel,
facing a body of work by Glen
Josselsohn, which playfully trip up
Mondrian’s experiments with boogie-woogie and colour. Rael Blieden
offers an array of works which skirt
with the notion of the doodle, executed in the humble ball point pen as
they are, and Elaine Hirschowitz
brings a fresh body of work by way
of drawings, drypoints and etchings
engaging with facial expression and
the bodily torsions of dancers.
Filling the whole exhibiting space
with a serious dignity, the show, uniformly framed and reasonably
priced, offers a happy, if conservative reflection of contemporary local
visual possibilities.
grafted to it some dazzling non-stop action and a
host of very funny characters. As an example,
just check out their version of Jack and Jill,
depicted here as evil, low-life villains who are
voiced by Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris.
“Puss in Boots” is a perfectly diverting romp,
colourful and clever. There is a striking scene
where Puss and Kitty face each other in a dance
fight and it’s obvious that there is strong chemistry between the two characters, which is nicely reflected by the vocal artistry.
Puss and Kitty then wind up working with
Humpty, who grew up with Puss in an orphanage, but we soon discover they’ve had a serious
fall out.
Together, they now figure, they can retrieve
the beans from the hideous Jack and Jill, who
are not brother and sister but husband and wife
who are continually at each other’s throat.
The narrative is cleverly structured, where
one adventure set piece leads to another, and by
the time it’s all over, the motley characters have
been misled, betrayed and reunited. It’s enormous fun.
02 - 09 December 2011
SA JEWISH REPORT
I
March of the Living - more about life than death
BETH HORWITZ, GRADE 11
EARLIER THIS year, a group of grade
11 King David Linksfield learners, as
well as a few adults, were privileged
to go on the “March of the Living”
to Poland and Israel. We visited the
concentration camps, entered the
gas chambers and walked on the
ground where many of the innocent
victims walked.
We saw horrific images and expanded our knowledge of the inhumane actions of the Nazis and the
extreme extent to which they would
go to fulfil Hitler’s dream of a Jew-free
world.
As long as I live, I will never forget
the horror, anger, numbness and lack
of understanding I felt while walking
through the camps. The March of
the Living, however, is more about
life than about death.
On Monday May 2, our delegation,
together with people from 60 other
countries, marched from Auschwitz
to Birkenau - the same march the
victims did; however, theirs was a
march to their death. The purpose of
our march was to remember those
people, as well as prove to the world
that the Jewish nation still exists and
always will. After a week in Poland
w boarded an El Al flight and made
we
o way to our homeland, Israel.
our
We toured the country and visited
In
Independence
Hall, the place where
T
Theodore
Herzl’s dream of the future
w fulfilled. On the last day of our
was
t - the anniversary of Israel’s indetrip
p
pendence
- we marched once again.
T
This
march, however, was joyous
a celebratory.
and
Jews from all over the world waved
Is
Israeli
flags and sang and danced tog
gether.
The energy and enthusiasm
o everyone was indescribable. The
of
transition from the horrors of Poland to the celebration in Israel was
extremely emotional and helped us
establish some sort of closure and acceptance.
While our tour guide was showing
us around Auschwitz, we en- tered a
large room full of thousands of shoes
which belonged to the people who
perished. My eyes caught a little red
T-bar shoe and I wondered what the
owner of that shoe was hoping to
get on her next birthday.
It saddens me to think that the innocent victims who were murdered,
were never given the opportunity to
fulfil their dreams.
From the March of the Living I took
the lesson that we must act to challenge and oppose elements in our
society that undermine or threaten
humane and democratic values. We
have a responsibility towards other
human beings and we are the guarantors of one another’s destiny.
The death of six million Jews
should never be forgotten; it is our
responsibility to remember these
people and these inhumane actions
in order to ensure they do not ever
occur again.
This is an experience that I encourage every learner to undergo. It
makes you understand exactly where
you have come from and will leave
you in no doubt as to where you
need to be going.
The networking that happens with
Jewish teenagers from over 40 countries is the most amazing experience.
I now understand, after meeting
Jews form all over the world, that I
am part of something much bigger
than myself, and that I have a responsibility to each one of these people to
make sure that the chain will never
be broken.
This journey is not about death. It
is about survival. It is proof that Hitler
did not succeed!
Grade Eight Market Day - for out-of-the-box thinkers
JENNA ECHAKOWITZ,
GRADE 10
THE ANNUAL grade 8 Market Day
took place on September 11, a warm
and sunny Sunday that promised to be
much fun and a good learning experience for any young would-be entrepreneur.
The variety of stalls this year, as well
as the creativity of the entrepreneurs,
were to be admired. Items for sale
ranged from photo booths, make-up
booths and assorted jokes and gags,
to sunglasses, bags made from recycled packaging material and even a
“make-your-own-T-shirt” stall.
Liberty Life
“We at Liberty are delighted to be
involved in the Junior Jewish Report
issues. At Liberty we believe passionately in the value of education. We
wish the Jewish Report success with
this exciting new project.”
Steven Braudo
Chief Executive: Liberty Retail SA
Among the yearly food stalls were
hot dogs, hamburgers, candyfloss and
Freezos. Members from their respective
stalls mingled with the bustling crowd,
trying their hand at advertising their
wares and enticing prospective customers.
And, of course, what would a sunny weekend be without some rugby
showing?
Learners broadcast the South Africa
versus Wales match to the die-hard
rugby fans, eager to spread and support the Rugby World Cup fever gripping the country at the time, as we all
united behind the Springboks.
These market days, besides being an
official EMS and accounts assessment
task for their respective learners, are an
invaluable way to prepare and train
the next generation of young, eager
entrepreneurs ready to take on the
world by storm.
These events stimulate creativity and
thinking outside of the box, as well as
trying to set yourself apart from the
competition with unique and interesting ideas.
But, besides all of the technicalities,
the annual Market Day serves as a
way to show the community what a
unique and diverse school King David
is, as well as the potential of its learners
as future leaders in the business sector.
11/09/11
Grade 8 Market Day
King David Linksfield
Proud record of a proud school
Marc Falconer
Hdadmaster
King David Linksfield
I WAS VERY excited to hear
about the Jewish Report initiative, an enthusiasm which was
shared by at least one member
of staff and even more encour-
aging by hordes of eager pupils
at King David Linksfield, all keen
to record their experiences and
impressions of the world around
them, and their school: in words,
pictures and art works.
The Junior Jewish Report is, I
believe, a wonderful educational
initiative that not only allows pu-
pils to engage with the opinionchanging profession of journalism, but gives the opportunity
for pupils to articulate, in a wide
public forum, their ideas of the
state of our world. Considering
this is the world our children will
inherit, this seems a valuable and
important opportunity.
II
SA JEWISH REPORT
Judaism
King David
Linksfield steeped in
Jewish tradition
02 - 09 December 2011
Israel
Briefly living
the life of an
Israeli soldier for 3 days
RUBY-ANNE BIRIN, GRADE 10
ron
Rabinowitz; and Aa
Oren Blacs; Michael
Levinthal.
TARYN STEIN AND YAEL KATZ, GRADE 10
KING DAVID High School Linksfield forms an integral part
of the traditional Johannesburg Jewish community. For
over six decades King David has nurtured Jewish children and transformed them into well-rounded individuals who leave school and enter the “real” world, understanding the importance of religion and Zionism in our
Jewish existence.
The most significant aspect of our school is that of
Judaica and Yiddishkeit that shine through at every opportunity. We start off our day with an enriching prayer
service held at Linksfield Shul where learners have the
opportunity to lead the school in a moving and reflective
service.
After prayers we have the opportunity to expand our
Jewish knowledge in a Jewish studies or Beit Midrash lesson. Our learners have the choice to study either modernday Jewish history with the Jewish studies department,
or going back into historical and ethical Jewish principles
with Mishna, Gemorah and Parshat under the guidance
of our campus rabbi, Rabbi Ryan Goldstein, in the brilliant and newly instigated Chief Rabbis’ Beit Midrash.
We, as learners, truly enrich ourselves in the additional
Zionist activities which act as a testimonial to us of the importance of Israel in the lives of Jews around the world.
We are weekly informed through “news from Israel” in
our assembly’s in both Hebrew and English.
Those who want to further study about Israel, participate in the Zionist Federation’s challenging Israel Quiz
under the guidance of the knowledgeable head of Jewish studies, Ronnie Mink.
The most memorable moments from our school life
can be found based in the annual day in May where we
unite as a school and community to commemorate Yom
Hashoah and Yom Hazikaron.
Here we are shown clips and pictures and light Yizkor candles in constant memory, and to remind us of
the tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people and
our eternal gratitude for the men and women who have
given their lives to secure our future.
After this moving service we celebrate Israel’s independence in our Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration, where we
showcase some of our King David talent with Israeli singing and dancing
Throughout an average week our Hebrew department dedicates our lessons to enriching our Jewish identity by allowing us to engage with Israel in our eternal
language. Hebrew is perhaps one of the most significant
sectors of our school that sets us apart from other top
schools in the country. Our knowledge of Hebrew enables us to think critically and communicate fluently.
King David’s unique dynamics would not be the same
without the ever-present and important role of Judaica
in our school.
“WHAT ARE you going to be when you grow up?” “What
are you going to study?” “Which university are you going
to?” “Are you going to take a gap year?”
These questions haunt us throughout our childhood,
forcing us to decide our futures before our lives have truly
begun. Maybe this outlook on choosing subjects and universities is a bit cynical. Is that because we are still only children at 18 or 19? But what if we weren’t? What if we had
to grow up as soon as we left school because an entire
country relied on us?
It was in the second week of Hadracha that I learnt what
it is to be a teenager, a soldier in Israel. We arrived at the
army base in the North which houses an education sector
of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and were told that for
three days we would be living the life of a new recruit in
the IDF.
Terrified by the threat of physical labour, we were hassled off the bus, instructed to put our bags down and
stand in straight lines. Here we were introduced to the
men and women who would be our mefakedim (commanders) and were assigned to our rooms with our personal commander.
We arrived at our rooms which consisted of four bunk
beds and no ladders in a 6x3 room with one window…
needless to say many of us were horrified at the conditions
we would be staying in.
Finally, fitted in our loaned IDF uniforms (mine dating
back to 1984), we began the life of an IDF soldier, having to attend classes, exercise, learn how to speak to your
commander and others of rank in the army.
Somewhere between cleaning the bathroom and our
five minute break before lights out, it crossed my mind that
these commanders and captains were not much older
than me, but thinking about the authority these mefakedim held and the stern exterior of these men and women, I
quickly dismissed the thought.
The next day was even more tenuous; we attended
classes on guns and the history of Israel. In the blazing
heat we were informed that it was too hot to run around
so we would have an extra class on the M16 long barrel
gun we would be firing the following day.
During one of these lessons many of us learnt that it is
possible to reach such a point of exhaustion to fall asleep
(or at least black out for a couple of seconds at a time) in
class.
Last day of Gadna had arrived and all those tears that
had been shed and injuries forgotten, there was a sense of
comradeship in the air as we went to the shooting range.
Changing back to civilian clothes, our commander took us
over to a shady area and revealed that she could actually
speak English! With her hair finally down and a smile upon
her face, she told us that she was only 19 years old.
This experience was an unforgettable opportunity. It
taught me the importance of the IDF and how lucky we,
as members of the South African Jewish community, are to
be able to choose whether we are going to have a gap
year; go straight to varsity and take a general course; or if
we are convinced of our career paths,-take a standardised
university degree.
It taught me an appreciation of those children in Israel
who give up their childhood for two or three years to protect those within their country.
Arts & Culture
King David Linksfield’s Jewish
Academy of Music shines bright
LEORA COHEN, GRADE 10
KING DAVID Linksfield’s Jewish Academy of Music, offers vocals, violin, drums, electric and bass guitar, cello, flute, piano,
trumpet, trombone, clarinet and various other lessons. It has
been very busy over the last number of months.
On August 22, many music students took part in the JAM
music concert at the Genesis Shopping Centre. Some of the
performances included vocals by Adina Prissman, Zarah
Cranko, Dani Mann, Kiera Lewison, Alex Wolman and Jessica Zier and also performances by the King David High
School Band, the Jazz Band and KD Funk.
Guests were also treated to Jonathan Judin and Guy
Shemesh on piano and a trio performance by Tal Gordan,
Hilla and Kelsey Arden.
On August 28 we listened to the beautiful voices of many
learners at the Teen Spirit performance. The singers included
Alexa Reichenberg, Amy Joffe, Cayla Simpson, Dan Egdes,
Doron Assness, Emma Porter, Gina de Abreu, Jodi Furman,
Kiera Lewison, Megan Brook, Montanna Levenberg, Talya
Chertkow and Tayla Michaels.
On September 19, learners from the Junior School to the
High School, took part in the Piano and String Concert. We
watched talented pianists, violinists and cellists. The Junior
School String Ensemble started off the evening, followed by
Daniel Appleton, Lexi Davies, Jade Copans, Kendra Katzenstein, Shiri-Lee Rosenberg, Avinoam Aviani, Rachel Hertz and
Kelsey Simon on violin, Sam Witt and Zach Myer on celli.
On the piano were Demi Kaplan, Saffron Lieberman,
Danielle Russo, Samuel Maron, Itamar Aviani, Keiran Fourie,
Michael Lever, Hannah Lester, Kayleigh Marcus, Leora Cohen, and Guy Shemesh.
On September 20 the drum concert, Drumbo, took place.
Judin;
leb Lester; Jonathan
Top: Dylan Rendel; Ca
ssel.
No
ul
Sa
Anne Sass; and
Clifford Gruber; Lori_
lia
Ju
;
an
man; Aaron Fainm
Bottom: Amit Weltz
lman.
ssin; and Jayden Ge
Ba
Rosenberg; Shane
Families and friends were treated to
Rock School routines and various songs. Performers included
Aaron Levenberg, Zach Davies, Dylan Kramer, Jordan Bernstein, Kyle Winik, Aaron Kretzmer, Jonah Kollenberg, Jared
Hodes, Ethan Burman, Amit Broide, Jessica Plit, Jason Blackman, Jaymey Wolpe, Leora Cohen, Nadav Ossendryver, Saul
Nossel and Matthew Marinus, one of our drum teachers.
There are also performances by learners at breaks throughout the school week. One of these includes the lunchtime
concert in the High School Auditorium on September 6.
Gina Bassin, Ruby-Anne Birin, Jonathan Marcus, Lorri-Anne
Sass and Maria Meyer played various classical pieces.
We thank our head of music, Verity le Grange and our
teachers Maria Meyer, Neil Engel, Dave Holland, Tamzyn van
Rooyen, Ziza Mhlongo, Hannah Green, Leonie Greyling, Maciej Lacny, Michael Barber, Matthew Marinus, Ivor Back, Theo
van Rensburg, Fransu de Klerk and Peter Sklair, for teaching
us our pieces and for all their support and hard work.
02 - 09 December 2011
SA JEWISH REPORT
III
IV
SA JEWISH REPORT
02 - 09 December 2011
Travel
Sport
Hadracha Tzeira 2011 – an
unforgettable experience
NATALIA BLUMENTHAL, GRADE 10
ON JULY 2, 73 grade 10s embarked on a journey of a lifetime. We were finally on our way
to Israel, along with six Bnei Akiva madrichim,
ready to face the most amazing three weeks of
our lives!
At O R Tambo we all sang Hatikvah and the
Bnei Akiva anthem, Mifkad. For me that was
the moment when all the planning and packing became a reality. The next time we would
be singing Hatikvah we would be in Israel!
For some of the channichim, this was their
first trip to Israel. That made it extra special, for
others who had been to Israel before, to see
the country in a whole new way, from north
to south and east to west. Our days were jampacked with tours, experiences, bus rides and
hikes.
We visited many meaningful places like Yad
Vashem where we spent an emotional morning
We visited Har Herzl and seeing all the graves
of soldiers who have died fighting for our country, made it real to us that we were lucky to
have Israel as our homeland.
We stayed in the Golan and learned how
important the Golan is to Israel. We went to
Tiberius and went on a party boat on Lake Kinneret. For many this was one of our most incredible experiences. We went to visit Tsvat and
learned about this very spiritual city.
For our first Shabbat we went to Ra’anana to
host families.
After Shabbos we travelled north to Gadna,
an army training base. Everyone was nervous
entering Gadna because we didn’t know what
to expect. We were split up into groups and it
felt a lot longer than three days until we saw
our whole group again.
Gadna was without a doubt something that
many of us will never forget. We experienced
awful army food, army drill, routine, vocabulary and even how to fire a rifle! After we left
Gadna we went up to Rosh Hanikra, on the
border of Lebanon where the water caves and
colours were especially beautiful after the dull
green colours of the army.
The next day we travelled south to Eilat. The
six-hour long bus ride gave us the chance to
create bonds and become closer to the people around us. Everyone loved Eilat. This was a
highlight for many.
Then Jerusalem for our last Shabbos. But before that, we went to the Jerusalem souk. Being
a Friday afternoon it was chaotic with people
bargaining for their last minute Shabbat items.
We went to the Western Wall on Friday night
and it was incredible! We danced and sang with
the people that were there. On Saturday night
we went to Ben Yehuda Street, which is the
place to be in Jerusalem on a Saturday night!
The next day we went to Yad Ha’kashish, a
place designed to provide elderly immigrants
with craft jobs and a meal a day. We then made
our way to a Bedouin tent village. At three in
the morning we made our way to Masada
where we davened. We also visited the Dead
Sea.
The next day was the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz. We travelled to Tel- Aviv and visited Independence Hall, Shenken Street and the Carmel
souk for more shopping.
Our last day of Hadracha: The reality of going
home was looming closer. We made our way to
Jerusalem and went on the amazing Kotel tunnel tour underneath the Western Wall.
Sadly, our three weeks had come to an end
and we boarded the plane for Johannesburg.
For me this experience was more than having
fun with friends in a foreign country; Hadracha
was a chance for self-discovery.
Spotlight on KDL
inter-high athletics
it, August 31.
nners with Mr Parfe
The Athletics team wi
LEORA COHEN, GRADE 10
ON WEDNESDAY, August 31, King David Linksfield High School
took part in the English co-ed schools E-league athletics finals
held at Edenglen High School.
We competed against King David Victory Park, Roosevelt
High, Midrand High and Rand Park High. The Linksfield team
consisted of 71 athletes, led by Mr Parfeit.
A wonderful and exciting day was had by all. The atmosphere was spectacular and new friendships were cemented and
records made.
King David Linksfield came out as the winners of the day with
72 points and we have now moved up to the D league. Linksfield
came first in 18 events and second in 15, including team events.
Twenty-four King David Linksfield learners qualified for the
Prestige Meeting later this year. Many of our King David athletes
qualified for two or more events.
Every athlete who has taken part in athletics this year, has
been committed and everyone has tried their hardest. Well done
to everyone and a big thank you to Mr Parfeit, who has shown
his support for every athlete and who has been a committed
organiser for athletics.
The following athletes have qualified for the Prestige Meeting:
Boys:
Girls:
Michael Dukes
Rowan Edelstein
Greg Surmany
Reily Freeman
Lance van der Westhuizen
Lynton Kadish
Eitan Egdes
Cale Kuming
Keagan Cohen
Jonathan Judin
Daniel Elias
Benji Ozinski
Yoni Abadi
Raelene Godfrey
Kayla Bernstein
Nikki Silverman
Mikayla Upiter
Natasha Silverman
Georgia Brookstone
Kaylee Gottschalk
Dina Zollman
Alexa Cohen
Tali Carno
Alyssa Botbol
02 - 09 December 2011
SA JEWISH REPORT
11
TAPESTRY
ART, BOOKS, DANCE, FILM, THEATRE
Everest: The risk comes
with the territory
A Day to Die For by Graham Ratcliffe
(Mainstream, R195)
REVIEWED BY GWEN PODBREY
FOR THOSE of us who prefer to get our
adrenaline vicariously, leaving the dangers
and discomforts of extreme sports to others,
this tale of climbers behaving badly, offers
striking vindication. (Yes, we know – they
climb the mountain “because it’s there”, but
so is the Holiday Inn.)
English-born Graham Ratcliffe, one of the
world’s most accomplished high-altitude
mountaineers, was on Mount Everest in
May 1996, when in the worst disaster in the
mountain’s history, 15 people were killed.
Ratcliffe - who had already summited the
previous year on the mountain’s north face
(from Tibet), together with Russian climbers
Nikolai Sitnikov and the legendary Anatoli
Boukreev - was now attempting to summit
from the South Col,
as a member on a
small English expedition.
This would make
him the first Briton
to summit Everest
twice, as well as the
first to do so from
each side (an aim he
eventually achieved
in later years).
It was an unusually
busy year on the
mountain. (A South
African team was also
there, headed by the
highly controversial
Ian Woodall, whose
appalling behaviour both to his team members and other expedition leaders - has been
well documented.)
The two biggest expeditions, however,
were those of New Zealander Rob Hall and
American Scott Fischer, both greatly experienced climbers and both operating commercial expeditions for clients who expected to
be guided to the top of the mountain and
down again safely in return for the exorbitant fees they had paid.
Early in May, Ratcliffe and his fellow
mountaineers were approached by Hall and
Fischer, who asked them to delay their summit attempt to the 11th, so that the two big
expeditions could have unimpeded access to
the peak on the 10th. The English team
agreed and duly advanced to Camp 4, at
26 200 feet, from which they planned to
depart at midnight on the 10th, in order to
summit the next afternoon.
However, an unseasonally savage storm
hit the South Col that night. Fischer - stricken by an attack of high-altitude cerebral
oedema - collapsed and died on an extended
ledge of the mountain called The Balcony.
Hall, meanwhile, reached the summit
severely frostbitten and unable to use his
oxygen mask. He managed to call his pregnant wife in New Zealand and then succumbed. Battered by gale-force winds, blinded by snow, disorientated and terrified, the
clients and Sherpas of both expeditions split
up into disparate groups and tried to reach
safety. Several did not.
Ratcliffe, however, climbing at some distance from this unfolding tragedy, was largely unaware of it until the next morning.
Although he returned twice more to
Everest in ensuing years, the events of May
10, 1996 deeply traumatised him, eventually
driving him to undertake his own investigation into them. In the course of his research,
he read many accounts of the disaster
(including American journalist Jon Krakauer’s splendid book, “Into Thin Air”),
each attributing blame to different parties.
However, upon reading a random magazine article written by one of the survivors,
and stating that Fischer had known beforehand that a storm on the mountain had been
forecast for May 11, Ratcliffe was first devastated, then furious. This meant Fischer and
Hall had knowingly requested the
English team to court disaster.
Ratcliffe then embarked on
intensive research into the meteorological information supplied to
the Everest climbers in 1996, and
his exhaustive - even obsessive cross-examining of anyone and
everyone even remotely involved
in it, occupies most of the book.
It is hard to know what to make of
Ratcliffe’s motives. On the one hand, he is
certainly justified in decrying the commercialisation (and cheapening) of the Everest
experience, and in exposing the irresponsibility of Fischer’s and Hall’s actions. On the
other hand, he concedes that their motives
were mercenary, rather than malicious:
“I do not believe Rob and Scott had meant
us any harm by asking our team to drop
back one day and make our attempt on the
11th. They just wanted us out of the way to
allow their teams a clear shot at the summit…
“However, we could have gone ahead on
May 11 and the storm could have come in
underneath us, trapping our climbers near
the summit of Everest at 29 000 feet, with
wind speeds of 80 miles an hour and blizzard
conditions… They had gambled with our
lives and those of their clients.”
Furthermore, as Ratcliffe well knows, in
any climb, the briefest lapse of concentration or slightest error of judgement can be
fatal. The risk comes with the territory (and,
indeed, constitutes a large part of the thrill).
In all probability, climbers would have died
on Everest in May 1996 because - even in
good weather - it is murderous and merciless terrain. Besides, Ratcliffe survived to
tell the tale. Hall and Fischer did not.
Ratcliffe’s inability to resolve his feelings
is pitiful, but ultimately draining. The pages
are steeped in recriminations, anger, pain
and inconclusive, but emotionally loaded
ramblings.
There is also an unpleasantly self-righteous undertone in the interminable faxes,
e-mails and documents he reproduces,
implying that some or other individual may
have something to answer for.
Unsurprisingly, many people have refused to be interviewed, offended by his melodramatic accusations.
The earlier chapters - poorly structured,
overly lengthy and often repetitive - do nothing to help one into the work.
With his wealth of knowledge and experience, Ratcliffe undoubtedly has a compelling story and it is a pity his editors did
not prevent the book from disintegrating
into a confused inquisition-cum-memoircum-polemic.
12
SA JEWISH REPORT
02 - 09 December 2011
LETTERS
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.
The Editor, Suite 175, Postnet X10039, Randburg, 2125 email: carro@global.co.za
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
WEST BANK MUCH WORSE OFF UNDER JORDANIAN RULE
SETTLEMENTS SHOULD NOT BE A PEACE IMPEDIMENT
Daniel Mackintosh, while answering his
critics, again attempts to define Israel as an
apartheid state. His arguments have been
refuted by eminent authorities and will not
be discussed by me.
However, I take the strongest exception to
his statement that the West Bank occupation’s chief goal is to make life so miserable
for the Palestinians that they are forced to
leave. This disgusting statement indicates
ignorance of the situation.
In the 19 years that the West Bank was
part of Jordan, life for the residents there
was incomparably worse than what it is
today.
Infant mortality was great, life expectancy
I would like to respond to Daniel Mackintosh’s letter in the Jewish Report of
November 25.
There is but one question that I would
like him to ponder: Why should the fact
that there are Jewish areas or settlements
in a future Palestinian state hinder peace?
Surely when boundaries are set and
there is goodwill on both sides, Jews should
be able to continue living peacefully and
securely as a minority in a Palestinian
state (should they find themselves on that
side of the border) just as Muslims,
was vastly lower than it is now, communal
facilities were almost non-existent and
healthcare was atrocious.
An indication of what the real situation is,
can be deduced from the expressed desire by
many Palestinians living in East Jerusalem,
that if their areas would be included in an
independent Palestinian state, they would
request receiving Israeli citizenship.
Mackintosh’s claim that security is not a
factor concerning Israel’s presence in the
West Bank, is best described as ridiculous.
Monty M Zion
Protea Village
Israel
CAPE CONFERENCE THEME SOUGHT TO HELP US FIND WAY FORWARD
I appreciate David Abel’s sentiments with
regard to the SAJBD Cape Conference
“TransformNation”, as they emanate from a
man whose community credentials are well
documented. However, if he had attended
the conference, I am sure his view might
have been slightly different.
The aim of the conference was clearly set
out in its theme: “TransformNation Confronting our History. Embracing our
Responsibility”. It was not a “self-flagellating” exercise in political correctness, but
rather an honest and sincere attempt to help
our community confront the legacy that
apartheid left with us and on us, and aimed
to help navigate the way forward.
Perhaps its content did bias itself towards
the new generation of Jews, who feel conflicted and confused in post-apartheid South
Africa. Part of our mandate as communal
leaders is to engage with this segment of the
community.
The Cape Board has never shied away
from having tough conversations, as we feel
strongly that such conversations are better
had within the confines of the organised
community than without.
By nature, conferences are not necessarily
action-orientated workshops. They offer a
platform for the community to engage with
issues, with ideas and most importantly,
with each other. In this respect, the
TransformNation Conference achieved one
of its primary aims.
The Cape Board will be continuing this
conversation throughout 2012 in various
forms - through our general meetings, the
pages of the Cape Jewish Chronicle and
direct engagement with interested parties. I
sincerely invite Abel to participate in the
process of communal transformation
through any of the aforementioned channels.
David Jacobson
Cape Town
MY PEDIGREE BELIES MICHAEL KAPLAN’S INNUENDOS
Does one laugh or cry at the ignorance of
Michael Kaplan of Pretoria? Answering the
second part of his insulting letter (about me):
I am an Israeli citizen, "sheltering" in a flat in
Parkwood while looking after my 93-year-old
mother (born in Alexandria, Egypt and also
an Israeli citizen); until recently living in
Haifa.
My son served in the IDF in Lebanon in '82,
(suffering injuries); my daughter in Hebron in
'88/89, while I was proud to serve in the
Mishmar Ezrachi (Civil Guard).
I lived and worked in Ashkelon and have a
home in Lehavim, just north of Beersheva,
where, when possible, I shall rejoin my family, including my son-in law, a military policeman in the IDF, serving on the Egyptian/Gaza
border. My granddaughter will be inducted
into the IDF in February (while Qassam rockets and other missiles, continue to rain down
on the Negev, traumatising our people).
So, yes, I believe I know a little bit about
what goes on in Israel. (I receive two to three
phone calls from Israel and many more emails every day).
I certainly do know that there is an unwritten law in most armed forces around the
world, that close-up pictures, for security reasons, are NOT shown, especially after Gilad
Shalit was thankfully released in exchange
for over 1 000 prisoners, who then promptly
called for "More Gilad Shalits" to be kidnapped.
Why do you think the Islamic terrorists
cover their faces with keffiyehs? So as not to
be recognised!
An article in a Sunday newspaper last
weekend, headlined: "Gunmen seize SA man
in Mali", proves my point. The family have
been told NOT to release to the media any
information on the kidnapped man.
I am not criticising Bibi (Netanyahu) or the
government, whom I admire tremendously
for the difficult job they are doing, but Paula
Slier should have known better than to breach
security. Obviously she couldn’t care less!
Shelly Rosenberg
Parkwood
Johannesburg
MIDEAST STUMBLING BLOC IS PALESTINIAN INTRANSIGENCE
Daniel Mackintosh insists that Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria is not about security - the chief goal is to make life so miserable for the Palestinians that they are forced
to leave; and that maps of new settlements in
East Jerusalem and the West Bank prove his
argument.
Apart from ignoring the entire security
history of the region over the past 63 years
(the wars, the suicide bombings and the
killer rockets emanating from Palestinian
sources - as well as Israel’s negative experience in the aftermath of the Gaza withdrawal) he also neglects to mention the one single
most important factor that prevents the
start of a real peace process: the Palestinians simply refuse to recognise the existence of Israel as a Jewish state and all that
that implies. There can be no diplomatic
solution without that sine qua non.
So, if a Palestinian state was established
in the prevailing circumstances, those forces
of destruction would be brought right into
the heartland of Israel, spelling the suicide
of the Jewish homeland.
Clearly, by ignoring the reality that the
Jewish State is here to stay, Palestinian misery is self-imposed and the prospect of a real
peace is as remote as ever.
One wonders why Mackintosh persists in
refusing to acknowledge that simple logic.
David Abel
Co-Chairman Support Association for
Zionism
George
SAUJS DID NOT DEMONSTRATE AT THE DISTRICT SIX VENUE
The photo that appeared under Opinion &
Analysis in the issue of November 18, refers.
The photo of SAUJS demonstrators (at
the Russell Tribunal) certainly was not
taken at the District Six venue as claimed in
the caption.
In fact, there was no protest there at all;
the photograph was taken outside the Great
Synagogue and opposite the communal
buildings in Hatfield Street, Cape Town.
If SAUJS is going to exercise their right of
protest, do it appropriately and at the correct venue!
Albert Glass
Cape Town
Don’t blame SAUJS, blame us. We made the
mistake this end and for that we apologise. Editor
Christians and other minority groups live
in Israel?
Perhaps the answer to this lies not in
what Mackintosh thinks, but what Mahmoud Abbas said, soon after his bid for UN
recognition of a Palestinian state; namely
that no Jew would be welcome in a future
Palestinian state. Smacks of apartheid,
don’t you think, Mr Mackintosh?
Monessa Shapiro
Glenhazel
Johannesburg
OF TEN COMMANDMENTS AND THE ‘KRIAH’ MONUMENT
I refer to the article by Robyn Sassen on the
“Wald Angels” in the Berea Shul in last
week’s paper.
The late Gus Levy, when conducting the
Berea Choir from the choir room which
was above the Aron Ha-Kodesh, during a
Rosh Hashanah service, tried to attract the
attention of the late Chazzan Mandel and
said he could not see him as the Ten
Commandments were in the way. To this
Rabbi
Aloy
retorted:
“The
Ten
Commandments are in everyone’s way.”
I would also like to know what happened
to the famous “Kriah” monument which
stood at the entrance at Sandringham
Gardens. This monument was unveiled by
the late Chief Rabbi Dr Louis Rabinowitz
z’tl in 1954.
I was present at the ceremony and I
remember vividly Rabbi Rabinowitz stat-
ing it was a monument to the martyrs of
the Holocaust, and not to any individual.
The monument was unveiled in the presence of some of the most learned rabbis of
our community at that time, namely the
late Rabbi Shlomo Rosenzweig the then
Rosh Beth, Rabbi Dr Michel Kossowsky
and Rabbi Yirma Aloy.
I would like to know who arranged for
the monument to be removed, what was the
reason and where is it housed or stored at
present.
Isaac Reznik
Johannesburg
Our letter writer is a fount of information
on “Jewish Johannesburg”. Can anyone
answer his query on the “Kriah” monument? - Editor
WE’RE EAGERLY AWAITING AN ‘OPEN THERANI STREET’ INITIATIVE
I would like to address Messrs Doron Isaacs,
Nathan Geffen and Daniel Mackintosh.
Your concern for the Palestinian people
and their cause is indeed laudable as is your
humanitarian compassion for their plight. It
would be interesting to know by what yardstick you measure the plight of various distressed peoples suffering unimaginable
humiliation, suppression and violation of
their very basic human rights by brutal
regimes around the world.
Iran has recently been criticised by the
IAEA, the UN watchdog, for its advanced
development of a nuclear weapon. Iran is
now labelled as an imminent threat to world
peace, not only by Western countries, but also
by most of its Middle East neighbours.
The brutality by which this regime suppresses any dissent, must be cause for your
concern. Torture, rape, and killing of political prisoners, beatings and killings of dissidents and other civilians, are commonplace
in that country.
According to Human Rights Watch the
regime has secretly and extra-judicially, executed thousands of political prisoners since
1988 and continues to do so till this day.
“Security laws” suppress and punish people for peaceful protest as was witnessed just
last year. Student protesters land up in prisons where torture is common practice; journalists who are arrested and detained indis-
criminately, suffer a similar experience.
Special clerical courts condemn women to
death by stoning, and their children are
forced to participate in this horror, for the
“crime” of adultery; when a woman has been
raped she is guilty of adultery.
Stones used for this barbaric act must not
be too big so as to inflict the maximum pain
and prolong death.
Capital punishment includes the crimes of
adultery, murder, incest, rape, fornication,
homosexuality and the drinking of alcohol.
At least 23 children under the age of 18, have
been executed in Iran since 1990. Amputation
of limbs are commonplace for other crimes.
It is unconscionable that countries around
the world can treat their inhabitants in this
way (and there are any number) and are
hardly ever censured or even criticised by
concerned people like yourselves, together
with other NGOs and activists who demonstrate a genuine concern for the plight of
some people, yet ignore those of others.
Perhaps the three gentlemen can define
their yardstick?
Can we look forward to an “Open Tehrani
Street” initiative and an anti-Iran BDS movement?
Allan Wolman
Norwood
Johannesburg
HOW IS THE BOARD OF THE JEWISH REPORT CHOSEN?
I’ve noticed a few extra names on the Board of
the Jewish Report. How are these people chosen? It is interesting that inside sources say
that the majority of them are friends of the
Chief Rabbi (Warren Goldstein).
This may be a good thing since it will help
to ensure a cleaner and more kosher newspaper. However, it now appears that in every
single major Jewish body in South Africa, the
Chief Rabbi has complete decision-making
influence - these include the SA Jewish Board
of Deputies, the UOS, the SA Zionist
Federation, The Rabbinical Association,
Jewish Life Magazine, to name but a few.
All the representatives on these boards are
either friends with or have close ties to the
Chief Rabbi or the Yeshiva Gedolah of
Johannesburg. Again, that is not a terrible
thing, but it does limit the community to an
old South African Yiddishkeit which perhaps
could progress and grow higher if it could
draw from the real Gedolim of Eretz Yisroel.
One must recognise that the reality is that
the previous South African Bal Teshuva
movement was initiated and almost completely generated by rabbonim who learnt in
Eretz Yisroel and subscribed to the Gedolim
of Eretz Yisroel.
Without them, the South African commu-
nity would have remained the same. In a
world where the challenges facing Judaism
today are far greater and more sophisticated,
it is more incumbent on Jewish leadership to
look to the real Gedolim of our time who are
located in Eretz Yisroel, and follow their wisdom.
Saul Schlessinger
Jerusalem
Our letter writer makes sweeping statements
regarding what he suggests is control of all
major Jewish organisations - and also this
newspaper - either directly influenced by the
Chief Rabbi, or by proxy.
On the contrary, the members of our Board
are prominent Jewish people who give selflessly of their time and expertise to our paper often a rather thankless task. There is nothing
underhand in their selection, or tenure.
And as for the (backhanded) accusation
against the Chief Rabbi: If our letter writer
has any proof of his accusation, please provide
it, because it is more than any of us knows. The
Chief Rabbi has never exerted any influence
over the policies or news content of our paper;
we remain an independent voice for the whole
community. - Editor
02 - 09 December 2011
SA JEWISH REPORT
13
COMMUNITY COLUMNS
ABOVE
BOARD
Mary Kluk,
National Chairman
A column of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies
ON SUNDAY, together with Rabbi Moshe
Silberhaft, I attended the official launch of
the Southern Cape Jewish Association
(SCJA) in George. As noted in a previous column, this body has been established to represent the small Jewish communities living in
the area stretching from Tzitzikama through
Plettenberg
Bay-Knysna-OudtshoornMossel Bay triangle.
Despite the heavy rains, some 80 people
from all over the area packed into the George
Synagogue for the occasion. In my brief
address, I spoke about the work of the Board
and emphasised how important it was for us
that the smaller Jewish centres felt that they
had a sense of connection with the greater
Jewish community.
What struck me was how very appreciative
those attending were of having a forum in
which they could simply come together as
people who shared the same religion, history
and heritage.
I’m not referring solely to joining for such
formal Jewish occasions as Yomtov services
or life cycle events. Those are obviously
important, but what people also need is a
feeling of community - a sense of belonging,
of looking out for one another, of sharing the
good times and standing together in times of
difficulty.
When people live far apart from one another, fostering that kind of solidarity is obviously not easy, but when people are prepared
to make the effort and have a properly constituted co-ordinating body like the SCJA to
oversee the process, it is achievable.
What has also made things relatively easier are advances in communications technology. In past decades, country Jewry had to
rely on occasional mailings of educational
pamphlets and newsletters from the main
IN GOOD ORDER
Stan Klaff
Grand President
A column of the Hebrew Order of David International
WE ARE all familiar with the sitcom
“Cheers” and its opening theme song:
Making your way in the world today takes
everything you've got / Taking a break from
all your worries, sure would help a lot. /
Wouldn't you like to get away? / Sometimes
you want to go / Where everybody knows your
name, and they're always glad you came. /
You wanna be where you can see, our troubles
are all the same / You wanna be where everybody knows / Your name.
That could well be the theme tune for the
Hebrew Order of David International. The
Order has an international footprint with
Lodges in the US, UK, Israel, and SA and you
can be sure that as a member, you will
receive the same “red carpet welcome”
wherever and whenever you visit one of our
many Lodges.
In these days of social networks, we are
inundated with requests to be someone’s
“friend”! Isn’t it a better value proposition to
actually belong to something where you
know who your friends are, while at the
same time you can do some good? It is our
philosophy and our motivation, in fact the
very essence of our existence.
I am frequently asked: "How do we stimulate our members?" My response is that I do
not; they bring their own unique notions and
ideas to the table, we just help them reach
those goals and achieve a sense of personal
satisfaction.
A report published back in 2002 stated that
volunteers are motivated to action primarily
for altruistic reasons. Altruism is defined as
a concern for the welfare of others. While
this may be the primary reason cited, we
know that members are inspired by a variety
SCJA binds
Jews in a
common cause
Jewish centres to keep in touch with what
was going on.
What trickled down to them was invariably second hand and out of date. Today, they
can instantly access up-to-date information
on pretty much everything that is going on in
the Jewish world, and communicate just as
quickly with their counterparts in the cities.
Thanks to the communications revolution,
small town Jews are much less isolated.
More than just Internet access is, however,
needed to maintain a meaningful Jewish life;
what ultimately builds communities are
individuals coming together in a common
cause. This is what the SCJA has been set up
to achieve. We wish it all success to bring
South Cape Jewry closer together, and in this
regard we pledge the Board’s wholehearted
support.
After the George function, we drove to Port
Elizabeth, where I spoke that evening to the
local community in the shul hall. Afterwards, we had the PE launch of Jewish
Memories of Mandela, in which the author,
our Associate Director David Saks, gave an
overview of some of the book’s highlights
and screened a DVD on the making of the
book.
My address, which included an update on
the recent issues the Board has been dealing
with, was preceded by a DVD presentation on
the Board’s work over the past two years.
PE Jewry, even if its numbers have
declined in recent years, remains a very
active and well-organised community. Its
members went out of their way to make us
feel welcome, and I look forward to visiting
there again in the not too distant future.
This column is paid for by the SAJBOD
Where everybody knows
your name!
of personal reasons and may have different
reasons at different times.
Generally, these can be categorised as the
need to feel valued, the need for recognition,
and the desire to do meaningful, interesting
work. Actually, nothing beats the feeling of
achievement when a plan comes together.
We recently hosted an information session
at which Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, the
“Travelling Rabbi” was our guest speaker.
He encouraged those present to join the
Order. He knows the impact that the Order
has had on the lives of most families
throughout South Africa over the years.
With regard to the Jewish community in
South Africa, we are currently updating our
archives with the intention of restoring our
museum. We are certain that a great deal of
memorabilia and artefacts are still in the
homes of many South African Jewish families. If anyone has such items and is willing
to let us have them, we will certainly make
arrangements to collect them or you can
send them to us. Each item displayed will
acknowledge the name of the member to
whom it belonged.
We value these items and would appreciate
their return, particularly if they are not on
display in your homes and lying forgotten in
a cupboard. If you treasure them as part of
your family’s heirlooms, please give them a
place of prominence so that anyone passing
can see at least a small part of our history.
However, if you could scan or photograph
them, we could add those images to our
records. Your response could help us to fill
some of the gaps and complete our history.
For all enquiries, please contact the HOD
Office at (011) 640 3017 or e-mail us at
info@hodavid.org
This column is paid for by the H.O.D.
14
SA JEWISH REPORT
02 - 09 December 2011
YOUTH TALK
Alison Goldberg youthsajr@global.co.za
KDHSVP learners learn how to KDL mini councillors:
Old make way for new
stay safe online
GITA LIPSCHITZ
PHOTOGRAPH: YAEL GORDON
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY YONIT WEIL
RECENTLY SARA Mocke, a Microsoft-ertified architect, who is an expert in this field, spoke on how to
stay safe online to the grade 10 learners at King David
High School Victory Park, as part of their life orientation programme.
With Facebook, Google and Twitter, communication has moved from face-to-face verbal discussion, to
text typed on a screen. We use our cellphones 80 per
cent of the time to text, browse and e-mail, and only
20 per cent for making calls.
We live in a generation of information overload,
and learners must have social-network savvy to benefit from the positive side of technology, and protect
themselves from the darker side.
Cyber bullying, predators and malware, are real
issues. The guidelines given to learners in the presentation included:
• Don’t give your personal details out online.
• Save all messages and replies if you are being bul-
AS THE KDL Johannesburg mini councillors bow out, two new
ones take their place.
Pictured are Shane
Bassin and Erin de Jong
(2012 councillors) with
Jessa Marx and Daniel
Gewer, who represented
KDL this year.
Its a win-win situation at King David Primary Linksfield! Jessa Marx and
Daniel Gewer, this year’s Johannesburg mini councillors, proudly
shook hands recently with our new
2012 mini city councillors, Erin de
Jong and Shane Bassin.
The King David family look for-
Educating learners to ensure that they do not
place themselves at risk when communicating
online, has become essential in this age of cyber
communication.
lied online to use as evidence.
• Don’t click on a link that asks you for permission
to access your personal information.
• Remember, everything you put online can be
traced back to you, so it is wiser to argue or talk
about sensitive issues face-to-face.
ward to their proactive leadership. We would like to thank Jessa
and Daniel for their superb positive influence this year and we
wish them everything of the best
for their high school career next
year.
Kayla and Shayna get the YC grade 2 Chesed
sporting honours at TA
Club brings cheer
Primary
to so many
SUZANNE BELLING
PHOTOGRAPH: CHANI
ZWICK
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY WENDY KEIZAN
THE YESHIVA College grade 2 Chesed Club is now in
its second year. The main aim of the Chesed Club is to
learn to do chesed, make people feel special and for
the young to learn to give with an open heart.
The Chesed Club meets once a week on a
Wednesday after school and each week a different
activity is arranged. Some of the highlights of this
year have been Shabbos cards made by all the participants for those in hospital, for simchas that occur for
members of the staff, such as weddings or engagements as well as learners making aliyah with their
families, who are presented with posters at their final
assembly.
The Chesed Club asked the learners of the Junior
Primary School to donate tins of cat food for Kitty and
THERE WERE some outstanding sporting achievements at Torah Academy School at the recent sports day. Title of
Senior Victrix Ludorum
went to Kayla Smith
(grade 6) and the Junior
Victrix Ludorum was
Shayna Sundy (grade 3).
The two proudly hold the
trophies (presented to
them by Pam Yachad,
deputy principal).
KD Linksfield shines on netball court
Talia Woolf; Lexi Jacobson; a Sandringham Garden
Beattie Kartun; Shayna Dorfan; and Adam Hurwitz.
Puppy Haven. They collected 200 tins of food which
were handed over on their visit to the Haven.
Cards were made to accompany bags sent from
South Africa to Israel of children whose lives have
been affected by terror. On Purim the entire primary
School staff received Mishloach Manot from the Club.
For Rosh Hashanah donations were received of
dried fruit, honey, chocolates and apples. The children decorated beautiful bags and made cards which
were handed to the residents of Sandringham
Gardens on their visit before the festival.
The Chesed Club has done so much chesed this year
and we look forward to growing it in the future.
KDS shows passion for Israeli dance
KEREN ZWICK
PHOTOGRAPH: GARY BLOCK
The winning under-16As. Back: Nikki Silverman; Alexa
Kahn; Coach Thuli; Talya Carno; Shana Segal; Bianca
Sigurdson; and Coach Patricia. Front: Jody Kaplan; and
Natasha Meyerowitz.
KING DAVID High School Linksfield teams
played netball against St Catherine's, Waterstone
College, Yeshiva College, Edenvale, Edenglen,
Sacred Heart, Bishop Bavin, and King David
Victory Park.
The U14A, U15A and U16A won their schools
league. We are delighted with their success. The
U14A and U16A were undefeated this season.
U14A: Against Edenglen they won 10-6; Edenvale
14-6; St Catherine’s 8-6; Sacred Heart 15-3;
Waterstone College 9-4; Bishop Bavin 24-3; and
Yeshiva College 32-5.
The U15A: Against Edenglen they drew 11-11;
against Edenvale they lost 31-3; against St
Catherine’s they won 23-5; they beat Sacred
Heart 10-4; against Waterstone College they lost
19-6; against Bishop Bavin they won 12-3.
The U16A: We won against all the following
schools: Edenglen 25-14; Edenvale 16-5; St
Catherine’s 34-12; Sacred Heart 27-13; Waterstone
College 20-10; and Bishop Bavin 23-5.
MARLENE MILLER
THE KING David Sandton Israeli
folk-dance group pictured with
instructor Marlene Miller after
their adjudication on Friday
November 18. The examiner complimented the group on their mas-
tery of complicated dance steps and
the way they danced with so much
passion, enjoyment and "chen".
Each dancer receives a certificate for their excellent performance. Israeli folk dancing has
become an extremely popular
trend all over the world.
Gymkidz medals for Ohr Somayach tots
KDL Pre-Primary takes action and gets moving
OWN CORRESPONDENT
PHOTOGRAPH
SUPPLIED
VAL ARONSON
PHOTOGRAPH: MELANIE DICK
CHILDREN from Ohr
Somayach Nursery School
Sandton, receiving their
medals and certificates
from Gymkidz; with their
teacher Wiseman Thwala.
Well done to all of you
for your end-of-year achievement!
THANKS GO to one of our KDL parents for
his generosity in donating an exercise track
to the school. The idea came from the
Vitality Schools’ website and our track was
designed by staff and built by Mark Nathan.
The purpose of this venture is to get our
children moving. There are elements for
balancing, climbing, swinging, and many
other physical movements to develop the
muscles of our young learners. Needless to
say, they are loving the challenge and are
having fun.
Jemma
Karan
leading
the pack
as Mark
Nathan
opens
our new
exercise
track.
02 - 09 December 2011
SA JEWISH REPORT
15
The Pelham girls pay poignant tribute to their mom
ROBYN SASSEN
PHOTOGRAPH SUPPLIED
IT IS not everyday that one gets to
see a recital that brings spontaneous tears of joy, sadness and joy
again. Not a seat was empty in the
Clive Beck Auditorium, at the
Rabbi Cyril Harris Community
Centre in Oaklands, Johannesburg,
recently, for the much-anticipated
“Santa’s Story in Song”, a tribute to
93-year-old Santa Pelham, by her
three daughters, Ruth, Aviva and
Naomi. Not an eye was dry either,
at the finale.
Premised by sparkling scarves
and feather boas, all seemed set for
an evening of frothy entertainment, but from the first tune, it was
clear that this was much more than
that. Opening with the fabulous bittersweet “Willkomen” song from
the 1966 Kander and Ebb musical
“Cabaret”, sung in French, German
Santa Pelham (in pink), surrounded by her daughters, Ruth; Naomi
and Aviva, at the Lyric Theatre earlier this year.
and English, and set in Berlin 1931,
the tone was immediately set.
The recital interspersed chapters
in Santa Pelham’s life, from her
birth in Germany in 1918, to her
youth of statelessness and fear,
where she and her family fled,
through Europe. Sadly turning
down an offer to emigrate to South
America and settling in France,
Santa was the only member of her
immediate family who escaped the
Holocaust physically unharmed,
when she accepted a marriage proposal from a stranger via a letter in
Africa.
She married John Jack Pelham
in the late 1930s, less than 10 days
after meeting him in person, under
the threat of deportation. At their
50th wedding anniversary celebration, he said: “I did not know who
would be on that train,” speaking of
the trembling moments of their
first encounter. “What luck it was
Santa!”
The three daughters, Ruth, Aviva
and Naomi, offered a beautifully
constructed, emotionally developed, lively evening of songs drawing from the eras and cultures in
question, and citing almost everything from Fiddler on the Roof, to
Joseph
and
the
Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat, to works
made famous by Piaf, the Andrew
Sisters and Louis Armstrong.
Not only was it a tightly orchestrated evening with the accompanist switching between the keyboard and piano accordion, but it
was one in which the performers
arguably had as much fun as the
audience.
Central to it all, and embracing
the show on both sides, was the
Yiddish folk standard, Chiribim
Chiribom, made famous by sisters
Clara and Minnie Barry between
the 1940s and the 1970s.
The Pelham girls sang this song
in buoyant harmonies at the outset
of the show. With their mom joining in for the finale, the arrangement was reworked for four voices:
the audience went wild.
Although small in numbers, Jews played huge role in Struggle
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY
SUZANNE BELLING
FORMER PRESIDENT Nelson
Mandela's story - a central component of the story of South
Africa's liberation - was a case of
history trumping fiction, David
Saks, associate director of the
SA Jewish Board of Deputies,
said in Port Elizabeth at the
launch there of the Board's book
"Jewish Memories of Mandela"
last weekend.
Saks, who authored the book,
told members of the PE Jewish
community in the Port Eliza-
beth Synagogue, that most Jews,
like most other whites, had chosen not to oppose the apartheid
system to any significant
degree.
"However, a minority of South
African Jews did involve themselves in the struggle against
apartheid. In numerical terms,
they constituted a remarkably
high proportion of white antiapartheid activists, especially
those on the far left of the political spectrum."
This phenomenon had made it
possible to bring out a book of
this nature.
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"Jews formed just one of a
range of ethnic minority groups
within the greater white population, yet the extent to which
they were involved in the liberation movements completely
belied their small numbers."
This was true not only in
terms of political activists but
also comprised lawyers, journalists, trade unionists and academics, Saks said.
The book records and honours
Jewish South Africans who are
part of the story which made the
transition from repressive white
minority rule in South Africa to
multiracial democracy in 1994.
"But the real hero of the book
is Nelson Mandela himself,"
Saks pointed out.
Through recollections of the
Jewish people featured in the
book, the reader is given profound insights into the kind of
leader and man Mandela is.
David Saks discusses the book
"Jewish Memories of Mandela"
with Stephanie Volpe and
Rabbi Shmuel Bloch of the
Port Elizabeth Hebrew
Congregation.
16
SA JEWISH REPORT
02 - 09 December 2011
WHAT’S ON
DEADLINE
Sharon Akum sharon@sajewishreport.co.za
PLEASE NOTE: Deadline for all entries is 12:00 on the Friday prior to publication, without exception.
• UZLC hosts Bev Goldman on "Has Israel Lost the
Propaganda War?"
supporting children during the pre-adolescent and
adolescent years. Time: 19:45. Cost R30 per session.
Bookings essential. Contact Goldie, 072-832-2001;
goldiesimpson@gmail.com
Saturday (December 3)
Wednesday (December 7)
• Temple Israel in Hillbrow is celebrating its 75th
anniversary at 10:00 at the temple. All of
Johannesburg’s Jewish community is invited to
attend. There is secure parking. A memorial plaque for
Benny Stalson, a stalwart of Progressive Judaism in
South Africa, will be dedicated following the service.
For more information tel: (011) 482-1570, cell: 083228-7777, or e-mail reeva@intekom.co.za
• WIZO is hosting a Christmas party for disadvantaged
children at Temple Israel in Hillbrow. For more information contact Sandy Kramer tel (011) 645-2515 or email sandy@beyachad.co.za
Today Friday (December 2)
Sunday (December 4)
• RCHCC, due to popular demand, is rescreening the
documentary “804”, SA volunteers in Israel’s War of
Independence. Time 19:30. Donation: R60 (includes
refreshments). Venue: Clive M Beck Auditorium.
Booking: Hazel or René (011) 728-8088/8378, after
hours: (011) 728-8378.
• DL Link presents a cooking demo with the butcher’s
wife, Sharon Lurie, and Dulcie Braude. Join us for an
alfresco lunch to taste the delights of the two. Cost: 250
(proceeds to help cancer patients and their caregivers).
Time 10:30. Venue: 4 Oaklands Road, Orchards. Contact
Michelle 082-551-4580 or Sharon 072-902-6710.
• Big Band music Appreciation Society hosts its final
meeting of the year at St John's College in the Jeffrey
Auditorium, St Johns Road in Lower Houghton. Time:
14:15. A special tribute to Glen Miller and his orchestra. Further information: Dave, (011) 885-3525 or
Barney (011) 440-1996.
* UJW CT adult education division hosts Tzillie
Riesenberger in the final AED talk of the year, on
“Telling Our Life Stories”. Venue: Stonehaven. Time:
10:00 for 10:30. Entrance: R20 (incl refreshments).
Enquiries: (021) 434-9555 (mornings only).
Thursday (December 15)
• Glendale Home for the Intellectually Disabled will be
hosting comedian Nik Rabinowitz at the Baxter
Concert Hall. Cost: R180 pp. Contact the office on
(021) 712-0270 as soon as possible for tickets, to
avoid disappointment.
__________________________________________
• WIZO Elise Gift Shop in the Genesis Shopping
Centre, Fairmount, entrance from Bradfield Drive
opposite Shula’s Bakery. Exciting range of baby gifts
and gifts for all occasions available at reasonable
prices. Hours: Mon - Thurs 09:00 - 17:00, Friday
09:00 - 13:30, Sunday 10:00 - 13:00. (011) 640-2760.
• WIZO’s Wize Buys in Raedene, requires nearly-new
clothes, shoes, kitchenware (pots and pans, cutlery,
crockery) bric-a-brac, etc. Phone Sandy (011) 6452515 for goods to be collected, or deliver to WIZO
office at Beyachad, Raedene.
Monday (December 5)
• UJW hosts its end-of-year function, where Marcia
Leveson will present: “Koffie with Kruger”, a visual
journey with pioneer Bertha Goudvis through South
African history. A scrumptious tea will be served.
Cost: R60. Time 09:30.
Tuesday (December 6)
• Great Park invites you to “Preparing Your Child for
Jewish Adulthood” parenting workshops with Trevor
Friedman. Explore effective strategies for guiding and
• Bnoth Zion Association WIZO is collecting anything
of value for its store. Contact (021) 464-6729 or Linda
Saban 072-245-3225 or Cherna Kredo 084-589-8588.
• Johannesburg Children’s Home is appealing for
shoes and takkies for children and teenagers. Contact
Edna or Hylton Segal (011) 970-4266.
• Intimate Antiques Fair held on last Sunday of every
month at Cedar Square corner Witkoppen/Cedar
Avenue in Fourways, from 09:00 - 16:00. Contact
Robyn 083-311-4768.
Because of
Secrecy Bill,
Goldblatt
renounces
honour
VETERAN SOUTH African photographer, founder of the Market Theatre
Photo Workshop, and one of South
Africa’s most internationally honoured
artists, David Goldblatt (pictured), was,
in March this year, awarded the Order of
the Ikhamanga Silver award, a singular
honour bestowed by President Jacob
Zuma on South African citizens who
have excelled in the arts, culture, literature, music, journalism or sport.
It was anticipated that he would
receive this prestigious acknowledgement next April 27. However, in an open
letter to President Zuma, published in
the Mail and Guardian last Friday,
Goldblatt renounced the honour in
protest against the “Secrecy Bill”.
South Africa’s rebirth was characterised by its march toward humanity, a
new culture of human rights and a
respect for human dignity, the much
lauded anti-apartheid activist paraphrased the sentiments supporting this
national order, submitting that the passing of the Protection of State Information Bill was “the very antithesis” of
the spirit of the national awards.
Eighty-one-year-old Goldblatt, born
and raised in Randfontein on the West
Rand, the grandson of Lithuanian Jews,
earned his stripes as an anti-apartheid
activist, self-styling himself as an exceptional photographer and outspoken
social critic from 1948, the year the
National Party first took power.
In recent years, he has been active in
documenting the effects of Aids, poverty
and unemployment under the ANC gov-
THE BRIDGE LOUNGE by Jeff Sapire
The duplicate party Chanukah miracle
(The writer of this poem is unknown)
NORTH
AKQJ1098765432
EAST
WEST
AKQJ1098765432
AKQJ1098765432
SOUTH
AKQJ1098765432
West
3H
7NT
North
Pass
Pass
Dbl
East
2D
3S
All pass
South
2H
4H
‘Twas the duplicate Chanukah party,
and needless to say, The wine and the season had made us quite gay. “Find your
seats and shuffle” the director said, As
visions of first place danced in my head.
We checked our position, I got dry in the
mouth, We were assigned table one seated
North/South. Just little novices, my partner and me, We’d placed fourth once
before, never even three.
Had fate decided to put us to the test?
For two life masters were seated
East/West. We took our positions and said
not a word, But I’m certain our heartbeats
could surely be heard.
We shuffled the cards without blinking
an eye. I dropped a card on the floor and
thought I would die. As North I was dealer, and though I was green, I knew to open
you must have thirteen.
I sorted my hand and counted, but alas,
With only ten points I had to pass. And
frankly, I thought that this was a shame, I’d
never before had thirteen spades in a game.
My left hand opponent, East by name,
Opened two diamonds – I thought “what a
shame”. My partner South was trembling
with fear, Then the bid of two hearts came
across to my ear.
My right hand opponent sat straight up
in his chair, Three hearts was the bid he
chose to declare. Now I had a good suit but
alas, With no help in hearts... I had to pass.
My left hand opponent now bid three
spades, And I’m sure you can imagine
how I was amazed. My partner South bid
four hearts but shoot, If they take the bid
I couldn’t lead her suit.
My right hand opponent studied his
hand, And seven no trump was his command. It was my turn to bid so just to save
face, I doubled ‘cause he was missing an ace!
The next three bids were pass, pass,
pass, I was ready to lead a spade but alas.
My partner was nervous and she lead the
heart king, A lead out of turn! What a
damnable thing!
The director was called. I still hear her
voice, As she told the declarer he could
make his own choice. With a singleton
heart you must understand, This could be
the only entry to his hand.
So he turned to me, and looking very
smart, He said “lead what you wish but
don’t lead a heart”. So, of course, I led my
fourth best spade, I guess it was the best
lead I ever made.
For with this hand I never lost the lead,
And our opponents then had to sadly concede. As thirteen tricks we took off the
top, When we won the board I thought I
would drop.
Now I ask you with a start like this, The
rest of the game... well how could we
miss? When the game was over the director asked, “Who had the thirteen spades
and so cleverly passed?”
Every Tuesday (Intermediate) and Wednesday (Advanced) I run bridge workshops
from 10:00 – 12:00 at the Great Park Shul,
corner Glenhove Roadd and 4th Avenue,
Houghton – alternating with play hands one
week and a bidding lecture on the other. For
more information, call me on 082-551-2526 or
e-mail me at jeffshirl@telkomsa.net. We reopen on Tuesday, January 10, 2012.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY
3RDEYEREPUBLIC.WORD.PRESS.COM
ernment, with his latest projects focusing on crime and criminals.
The first South African photographer
to have hosted a solo exhibition at the
prestigious Museum of Modern Art in
New York, he added in his e-mail to the
Chancellor of Orders, “to accept the
Order of Ikhamanga from you… would
be to endorse your contempt. I refuse to
do that, and very sadly, decline the honour.”
In a further development, on November 27, the Citizen reported that the
presidency had responded, saying it
respected Goldblatt’s decision.
CROSSWORD NO 235
BY LEAH SIMON
ACROSS:
1. Mope about work in verse (4)
3. Sure to please an audience on the river?
(4, 4)
8. Using Dad’s pennies, insulates with fabric (4)
9. Duly in it, somehow – but not very neatly (8)
11. GI gloved nine changes, in a state of
anxiety (6, 2, 4)
13. Somehow resist female sibling (6)
14. Decay - and German is portly (6)
17. What a bossy photographer does? (4, 3,
5)
20. Affirm by having Virginia tailed (8)
21. Ride around? That’s extremely serious
(4)
22. Removing from office because of some
French posturing (8)
1
2
23. They join the odds for
bits and pieces (4)
DOWN:
1. Dad in aristocratic ranking panders to the people (8)
2. At the finale I have
southern vegetables (7)
4. Wait for executioner? (4,
2)
5. Quite a racist environment for a black US
President! (5, 5)
6. Nothing on organ of
flight, but in debt (5)
7. Story loses the right to
playthings (4)
10. Give lender suit somehow during breaks (10)
12. Mythological husband
of Penelope (8)
15. Put nothing in a revi-
sion – that’s ideal! (7)
16. Bleach, when surrounding it (6)
18. Everyone rise – we’ve been discovered!
(3, 2)
19. Keen to upset diva (4)
SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD NO 234
ACROSS:
1. Heir; 3. Emulated; 8. Nest; 9. Presence;
11. Sweet chariot; 13. Madden; 14. Aspire;
17. Candy stripes; 20. Draw near; 21. Noon;
22. Arabella; 23. Yeti.
DOWN:
1. Handsome; 2. Instead; 4. Marsha; 5. Last
resort; 6. Tango; 7. Deed; 10. Attendance;
12. Helsinki; 15. Implore; 16. Israel; 18.
Alana; 19. Edna.
3
8
5
4
6
7
9
10
11
12
13
15
14
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
02 - 09 December 2011
SA JEWISH REPORT 17
Team Hatzolah rode a splendid 94.7 Cycle Challenge
ROBYN SASSEN
PHOTOGRAPH BY ACTION
PHOTO
THE RECENT Momentum 94.7
Cycle Challenge, the world’s second largest timed bicycle race,
second to the Cape Argus Cycle
Tour, drawing a rough circle
around Johannesburg’s city centre, this year, for the first time,
featured a team of 18 dedicated
Hatzolah members.
Said Hatzolah board member
Clive Breger, a few days after
completing his first cycle challenge: “Our individual times,
which ranged between 4:07 and
over 6 hours - “are irrelevant.
Many of us rode to help the other
guys.
“The 97.4km ride was a team
build effort. For most of us, it
was our first race. It was tough,
but it was unbelievable. When I
got on the highway near Makro,
I thought: ‘What have I done?’
But by the time I reached
Killarney, I realised it was mind
over matter.
“As one of the more senior
members of the team” - Breger is
47 and explains that most of the
others are in their early to middle 20s - “I was one of the organisers in Hatzolah’s plan to participate in the ride as a team.
“In doing so, we didn’t want to
waste community money, but
knew that we needed to look
good and ride as a team. For this
reason, we were doubly grateful
to Genesis Capital, who assisted
us with a white, blue and red kit,
similar to the paintwork on our
Hatzolah ambulances.”
In training for three months
prior to this race, Team Hatzolah
is keenly anticipating the next
challenge on the cycling calendar, namely the Cape Argus Pick
n Pay Cycle Tour in March next
year.
“We want to do this as a
fundraiser,” Breger added. “It’s
longer, clocking in at 109km, but
the 94.7 is reputed to be tougher.”
Back: Alon Crouse; Mendy Orelowitz; Levi Singer; Josh Smith; Josh
Green; Darren Sosnovik, Matt O’Reilly; Bernard Segal; Jayden Wright;
and Yudi Singer. Front: Chaim Sarchi; Yona Emanuel; Zvi Kaplan; Darren
Treisman; Eli Lewenstein; Hilly Reuben; Mark Uria; and Clive Breger.
Steven Gruzd
scrabbles his
way to the top
Steven Gruzd plays Dylan Early in a warmup game for the South African team
DAVID SAKS
PHOTOGRAPH SUPPLIED
STEVEN GRUZD first represented SA in the
biennial World Scrabble Championship in
1993. He went on to compete in the next five
tournaments, gaining an impressive sixth
place in 1995.
This year, he returned to big time international competition, travelling to Warsaw as
part of the South African team to compete in
the latest world championship. While by his
standards the tournament was something of
a disappointment (he finished 83rd out of 106
participants), he much enjoyed pitting his
skills against some of the best exponents of
what today is probably the world’s most popular board game.
Gruzd, who recently was appointed senior
researcher at the SA Jewish Board of
Deputies, commenced playing competitive
scrabble at the age of 12. In his first tournament in 1984, he performed with distinction.
He and his mother, Arlene Fink, became
regulars at the weekly sessions of the Johannesburg Scrabble Club, joining several score
fellow addicts each Monday evening at Paterson Park Recreation Centre. He won the
South African championship for the first time
in 1992 and went on to repeat that feat on a
further four occasions in the course of the
next decade.
Scrabble is primarily a skills-based game
requiring both an extensive vocabulary and a
good head for statistics.
According to Gruzd, the “mother” of competitive scrabble in South Africa was the late
Gwen Heiman, who was the driving force
behind the establishment of the Johannesburg Scrabble Club and the National Association.
Other noteworthy Jewish players locally
include Larry Benjamin, a lecturer in international relations at Wits and well known
within the Jewish community as a speaker on
Middle East issues and, in Cape Town, Anita
Kassel and Pearl Seitz.
Gruzd describes Benjamin, himself a fourtime national champion, as a mentor, who did
much to encourage him in his early years in
competition.
Scrabble is also becoming increasingly popular in Israel, where former Durbanite Evan
Cohen is a leading force.
Remarkably, some of the most accomplished Scrabble players hale from Thailand,
where few speak English even as a second
language.
• For more on the World Championships,
see www.wscgames.com
Terms & Conditions apply
02 - 09 December 2011
18 SA JEWISH REPORT
TUITION & EDUCATION
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Let Warren Pogorelsky chauffeur
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EX-ISRAELI SERVICEMAN
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ALL HOURS!
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BEST SERVICE
Modern spacious
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PIP FRIEDMAN
083-267-3281
dialalift@gmail.com
Sylvia Shulman celebrated
her 90th birthday on
November 22 in Pretoria.
She is the proud granny of
12 grandchildren and 10
great-grandchildren.
COMMUNITY NOTICES
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For social
upliftment
forestation trust.
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WINNERS OF
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DRAW NO 3
1ST prize - R15 000
Baruch Lurie
WEDDING
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With much gratitude to Hashem,
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Ronni are thrilled to announce
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SERVICES
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ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT – CHEVRAH
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Our organisation is looking for a fulltime Administrative Assistant.
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correspondence.
The incumbent must have strong interpersonal and communication
skills and the ability to handle all calls in a diplomatic and professional
manner. Must be able to work well under pressure and have
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Only short-listed applicants will be responded to.
Interested candidates please forward a current CV to
hr@jhbchev.co.za, fax, 0866327774 or
Private Bag X1, Sandringham, 2131.
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083-260-6778
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Schlepped by Irene
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EXCELLENT, RELIABLE
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Micro finance
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or fax to: 086 564 4611
SMILE-LEE'S LIFTS
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TO RENT, GLENHAZEL
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& SECURE
(011) 440-0169
076-686-8259
CAPE TOWN
February 2012 –
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meals included - 5 days a week.
Very secure private home just
off Sea Point beachfront .
Must have excellent credentials
and references.
E-mail: welcomehome001@gmail.com
02 - 09 December 2011
TUITION & EDUCATION
LOOKING FOR A
SMALL COTTAGE/
FLAT/ROOM
For +- R1 800 per
month.
Immediate occupation.
Selwyn
081-515-9816
ROYAL LINKSFIELD /
SANDRINGHAM
2 beds, 2 baths, openplan kitchen, lounge & dining area, 1 carport, 1
parking, small garden.
R8 500 pm plus dep of
R12 750
Call June
083-226-3741
HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION
Rooms to rent
in comfortable kosher home in
Sea Point from Jan 1, 2012
CALL 079-247-7532
BEACON ISLE,
UNIT 123, JANUARY
7 - 14, SLEEPS 4,
POOL/SEA-FACING,
R12 000
PHONE 083-261-0116
VACANCIES
EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE
House-sitter available
Long-/short-term
Excellent security background
Good with pets
Contacts or refs
Call Wayne
083-351-1225
DRIVER
Reliable gent 43
seeks driving post
Code 8 with pdp
Contactable refs
Wayne 083-351-1225
SA JEWISH REPORT 19
‘Living Newspaper’ has become
a glorious Cape Town institution
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY MOIRA
SCHNEIDER
CAPE TOWN
AS A young law student in the late
1950s, Avron Kaplan cut his teeth running a monthly luncheon club with a
speaker for part-time accountancy and
law students at UCT. In 1987, it was
reincarnated as The Living Newspaper
and is still going strong some 24 years
later.
“I suppose (it was) the interest in
hosting important people – there was
no service of that sort other than (for)
prominent Jews from Israel,” he ponders of his motivation. “I’m trying to
create an atmosphere and a forum for
people who don’t normally come
here.”
From the start, this “totally new
concept for Cape Town” was “very
well” received, he says. Kaplan tries to
attract at least one international figure
a year, in addition to the local and
national figures that he invites to
address the community on a monthly
basis.
One of the luminaries he has been
working on for a number of years, is
British historian Lord Martin Gilbert,
but they have yet to settle on a date.
Nevertheless, “he’s a marvellous correspondent – I enjoy writing to him,”
Kaplan laughs.
Some international figures he has
hosted include Nasa astronaut Jeffrey
Hoffman; author Bernice Rubens;
then-prominent German-Jewish personality Michel Friedman; British
actor and former Capetonian Sir
Antony Sher; Angela Schluter, daughter of Jewess Edith Hahn, who related
her wartime experiences in The Nazi
Officer’s Wife; historian Bernard
Wasserstein; Dr Deborah Weissman,
president of the International Council
of Christians and Jews; and Robert
Wistrich, often described as the leading expert on the history of antiSemitism.
On the local front, he has drawn
“over a thousand” guests, including
former President F W de Klerk, legendary Opposition politician Helen
Suzman and heart transplant pioneer
Christiaan Barnard. Kaplan is not
above employing unorthodox methods
to snare his prey, as is evident from the
following anecdote.
“Some years ago, I saw the late
Professor Barnard standing in St
George’s Street and he kept looking at
his watch and looking around - I
realised he was waiting for someone to
give him a lift,” he remembers. “I was
dying to get into conversation with
him, but how?
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anytime
Avron Kaplan reminisces on 24
years of hosting The Living
Newspaper.
edly said: “The last time that we had a
deputation of this quality to visit us
was many years ago and we’ve passed
a lot of water since then.”
For November he had lined up former Constitutional Court Justice
Albie Sachs and leading cardiologist
Professor Lionel Opie.
Kaplan, whose leads are drawn
mainly from the ranks of newsmakers
or authors of new books, secures funding from corporates and leading figures in the community. Among the latter, he singles out Eric Samson,
describing him as “absolutely unbelievable”.
During his many years of dealing
with well-known personalities, Kaplan
has not grown blasé, maintaining his
enthusiasm in the up to 150 monthly
calls he makes to regular supporters,
who have become familiar with his
patter: “We’ve got a marvellous
evening lined up…”
Jewish generosity strikes Abuse - the scourge that
grateful chord in George we are loath to talk about
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“Ah! Brainwave. I had booked for
Professor Harry Seftel to come from
Johannesburg to speak. I went up to
Chris Barnard and introduced myself,
told him I was going to host Professor
Seftel and asked if he would consider
taking part.
“Without blinking, he took his diary
out and said, ‘When and where’! He
and Harry were marvellous,” he
chuckles, employing his trademark
adjective.
A scoop he recalls involved India’s
deputy high commissioner to South
Africa Vikas Swarup, author of Q & A
that inspired the award-winning movie
Slumdog Millionaire. “The place was
packed of course and it was a treat.”
The late Aaron Mendelow QC was,
in Kaplan’s words, a “most wonderful
speaker. At one of our sessions, he told
the audience of an invitation he once
received from a Jewish community in
the far-flung areas of the Northern
Transvaal.
“They were so excited that the Board
of Deputies (of which Mendelow was
then chairman) was coming to spend
an afternoon with them, that their
chairman got carried away. Instead of
saying that the acoustics of the hall
were not good, he apologised and said
that the agnostics were not good!”
The same hapless fellow also report-
“Travelling Rabbi” Moshe Silberhaft hands over a box of hand-knitted garments to Sue du Toit, director of Child and Family Welfare in George, and
chairman Myron Rabinowitz.
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY
SUZANNE BELLING
THE RECENT SABC documentary on
“Travelling Rabbi” Moshe Silberhaft,
which included the plight of needy
children, struck a chord with Beulah
Hyman of Glenhazel in Johannesburg, so much so that she promptly
knitted an entire box of baby clothes
and presented it to Rabbi Silberhaft
for distribution to a deserving cause
during his travels.
Just two weeks later, he visited the
George Child and Family Welfare
Centre with the centre’s chairman,
Myron Rabinowitz, a former ANC
town councillor and president and
chairman respectively of the George
Hebrew Congregation and the newly-
AROUND
THE
WORLD
NEWS IN BRIEF
launched Garden Route Jewish
Association. Rabbi Silberhaft presented the garments to Sue du Toit, director of child welfare in the town.
The Child and Family Welfare
Centre provides job creation and
training. Forty-one people work there
on a daily basis, making handcraft
and saleable goods for their shop on
the premises.
There are five crèches, as well as
safe houses for abused children in
George. Through Sianne Green of
Johannesburg, Bnei Akiva has
become involved in painting three of
the venues, as well as entertaining
older children at the youth movement’s nearby campsite.
“We are so grateful to Sianne and
Bnei Akiva,” said Du Toit.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE is a destructive force for a significant number of
women in our community. It manifests in many shapes and forms and
leaves an unfortunate number of
victims pained and powerless at the
hands of their perpetrators.
The Chevrah Kadisha Community Social Services has addressed this sensitive issue by running support groups for women
who have been victims of emotional, physical, financial or sexual
abuse, allowing victims to regain
their dignity and self-respect.
Social worker Jacqui Chesler is
responsible for running the most
current support group and expresses her admiration for the women
who have joined. Chesler, who has
worked in the field of abuse for over
15 years, explains: “It takes enormous courage to join a support
group.
“Abuse causes victims to feel a
tremendous sense of shame and
embarrassment and many will go
to great lengths to hide the abuse
from others. Abuse causes victims
to lose their self-confidence and to
doubt their own judgement. But
when the victim is able to admit
that there is a problem, it is often
the catalyst required for the healing process to begin.”
The aim of the support group is
to educate, empower and support
victims. Chesler explains: “Abuse
can manifest in many different
ways, but at the root of all abuse is
an innate need for control.
“Perpetrators of abuse are often
very charming and affable in public, which keeps their abusive
behaviour very hidden, so that outsiders are often fooled. One of the
striking characteristics of an abuser is that they never take responsibility for their actions and always
excuse their abuse with reasons for
why it was necessary. Abuse leaves
very damaging scars, which can
start to heal if victims seek the necessary help.”
The group runs for eight consecutive sessions and many different
issues are dealt with in the allocated timeframe.
“The group creates a space for
necessary information to be
exchanged and integrated and if
the women require ongoing sessions and support, it is provided.
The group provides the participants with a unique empathy and
sensitivity to one another. “Abuse
is an experience that most people
would struggle to empathise with,
unless they had been professionally
trained to do so, or had themselves
been a victim of.
“The group is therefore a sacred
space for the women to voice their
pain in a space which is free of
judgement and criticism and to
gain support from the other members.”
Chesler says “the aim of the
group is not to provide the participants with a solution to their current situation, but rather to empower them with the wherewithal to be
able to make their own decisions,
whether they are to leave the abusive situation or to be courageous
enough to stay, but to be strong and
empowered enough not to allow the
abuse to continue”.
• For more details, contact
Chesler on (011) 532-9732.
GERMAN GOVERNOR URGES REMOVAL OF GOERING BELL FROM MEMORIAL
TUEMLAUER-KOOG - A German
state governor has asked a village to
remove a bell donated by Hermann
Goering from a Second World War
memorial site.
Goering, the Nazi Air Force commander and Hitler's chief deputy,
donated the bell inscribed with his
name and swastikas to the village,
which was renamed in his honour.
The village, now called TuemlauerKoog, removed the bell from the bell
tower in 2008 because it no longer rang
and moved it to a war memorial.
A visitor complained to the state of
Schleswig-Holstein's governor, Peter
Harry Carstensen, the Associated press
reported last week Friday, quoting Der
Spiegel magazine, and the governor
asked the village to remove the bell.
The village's mayor, Christian Marwig, suggested that instead, a sign be
posted noting the bell's significance.
(JTA)
20
SA JEWISH REPORT
Ron Glickman leads
Hakoah revival in
the United States
Paramus, New Jersey, was bagged
through a business acquaintance, Jeff
I AM always amazed that for a localised Kail. Kail, the company's president from
community-based newspaper, how many Ridgewood, New Jersey, is not particupeople outside the country regularly read larly active in his local Jewish communithe Jewish Report. I regularly get mes- ty.
Asked about his motivation for sponsages from people all over the world givsoring Hakoah BC, he said:
ing feedback on articles that
"I like Ron and I'm a sports
have appeared in a specific
enthusiast."
edition.
Glickman's recruitment
Most recently I received an
saga resembles the opening
e-mail from Ron Glickman in
sequence of an elite action
New York, explaining how he
squad movie. It began with
set up a soccer club called
an unsuccessful attempt to
Hakoah.
woo expats from Israel's proHere is part of the story
fessional leagues.
about the club he sent to me
Although his advances
off his blog.
were spurned, Glickman
By day, Glickman, 28, works
caught a break after Harel
in sales for El Al Airlines. His
Nahar, a former player for
most intriguing sales pitch to Ron Glickman, who
Hapoel Herzliya, noticed a
date has been the revival of a has worked to revive
flyer posted in Tenafly, New
100-year-old Jewish soccer Hakoah Soccer Club
Jersey. Nahar's ball-hanclub, Hakoah.
in the US.
dling skills and success in
"I learned about Hakoah
recruiting a few other
when I was 17. It was at Beit
Hatefutsoth, The Museum of the Jewish Israelis to the team, earned him team capPeople in Tel Aviv,” Glickman said. "I was tain honours.
Glickman's next move was to methodishocked to find out that a Jewish club was
cally target Jewish college talent.
so dominant in Europe in the 1920s."
"We searched local CUNY and other colFounded in Vienna in 1909, the Hakoah
sports club was established in part to dis- lege rosters for Israelis or Jewish surpel myths of Jews as physically inferior; names," recalled Glickman.
He sent an e-mail to Hunter Uniit was closed by the Nazis in 1938.
Hakoah's soccer team was not only a pre- versity's coach, addressed to senior formier team in Europe, but on the interna- ward Omri Lifschitz. It was an easy sell.
tional stage, too. Its American tour in "My father grew up in Ramat Gan, and
1926 - during which players were received Hakoah Ramat Gan was his club," said a
by President Calvin Coolidge - was nostalgic Lifschitz.
"His friends used to play there. Most of
blamed largely for the team's dissolution,
my friends and their parents used to
as some star players left for more
be Hakoah supporters, so it’s like
lucrative offers in the United
I’m keeping the tradition. It’s
States.
very sweet for me.”
"Later, finding out my greatA recent Yeshiva University
grandfather was one of those
graduate from Philadelphia,
people who went to the Polo
defender Joshua Pransky is one
Grounds to see Hakoah when they
of the more religious members of
came on tour here in New York, and
the team. "I actually went to
knowing how big a soccer fan he
Yeshiva so I could play NCAA
was, it just felt right; it felt like Hakoah’s Star
of David crest. sports," he said. "I have been
destiny," Glickman said.
waiting to play at this level of
Today, Hakoah clubs exist in
several countries, including Israel, soccer; I wanted to play in something
Argentina and Austria. But the interna- more serious, and this is it."
Glickman was also resourceful in maktional prestige of the club's soccer heyday
ing use of Jewish newspapers and other
hasn't been matched.
If the amateur North Jersey Soccer periodicals, primarily the bi-monthly
League isn't the top flight in its sport, you Jewish Sports Review.
"I knew that Major League Soccer playwouldn't know it, based on how Glickman
prepared SC Hakoah Bergen County for ers like Jonathan Bornstein and Benny
Feilhaber were honoured when they were
its inaugural year of competition.
“In our league alone there are at UCLA," Glickman explained.
But despite its decidedly Jewish charHispanic, Circassian, Turkish, Irish,
Caribbean clubs, etc," Glickman noted in acter, Hakoah BC comprises a headscratching mix of traditional and ecuan e-mail.
Whether or not it's a historic undertak- menical players. Unlike Hakoah Vienna,
ing, what sets Hakoah BC apart is its who played US tour matches on a
leadership. With guidance from his older Saturday, Hakoah BC abstains from all
brother, Dov, (35) a Harvard graduate, activity on Jewish holidays and Shabbat.
"It's a matter of policy," Glickman said,
Glickman procured a field at Farleigh
Dickinson University, navigated insur- "regardless of whether the players are
ance, registration and other logistics for religious or not. I honestly believe if
New Jersey Soccer League, and found you're representative of the community,
you have to be representative of the entire
sponsors to help defray costs.
The iconic Hakoah Star of David crest community, whether secular or religious."
In his letter Glickman said they would
that adorns the upper right corner of the
team's jersey, is flush with the logo of be happy to consider any South Africans
for the team, with one proviso: ``As long
Glickman's employer.
Another sponsor, All Ways Travel in as they’re good enough!’’
JACK MILNER
02 - 09 December 2011
Brandon bowls up a storm
JACK MILNER
FOR MANY years we have heard
bowls being called rather condescendingly “old man’s marbles”. It
has always had to live with the
image that it is a sport for old,
retired men and women, who have
been put out to pasture and who
are not fit enough to play tennis or
golf.
That, of course, cannot be further from the truth and more and
more often we are hearing of
youngsters who have been rolling
up a storm on the bowling greens.
For those dismissing
this as poppycock, a challenge: Go out and do it
before you laugh.
One of those youngsters who is currently
setting the Johannesburg
bowling greens alight is
14-year-old Brandon Wysoke, a learner at King
David Linksfield.
He has just received the
Old Edwardian Society's Brandon Wysoke is only
Junior Sportsman of the 14 years old, but is
Year award for his accom- already earning accoplishments in bowls.
lades for lawn bowls.
Brandon has been bowling since
the age of seven and has represented his province in their under-19
squad in April this year in
Bloemfontein. And this year he
also won the novice singles championship at Old Edwardians.
He comes from a bowling family
and his grandmother Ruth Skuy,
has recorded some great wins over
the years. “I have taken great
delight in coaching him and watching his success,” says Skuy, who
adds: “I am sure you will be hearing
a lot more about him in the near
future.”