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MANY ISSUES. MORE VOICES.

3/22/2021 3 Comments

Not all young Jews want to leave South Africa

by ricky stoch


​​communal matters
​
exploring the concerns of the south african jewish community


Contrary to recently released statistics, Ricky Stoch suggests that many young Jewish South Africans have a strong sense of belonging to South Africa and are committed to a future in the country.
THERE is nothing quite like a pandemic in London to remind you how good our lives are in South Africa. I moved to London in 2018 to study and now, while starting my business and getting British citizenship, I commute between South Africa and the UK. When I settle down, I hope to do it in South Africa. 
PictureA Facebook post (19/07/2019) encouraging the community to take part in the JCSSA.
According to the 2019 Jewish Community Survey of South Africa (JCSSA) most respondents (74%) had either a strong or quite a strong sense of belonging to South Africa. However, the survey noted that “feelings of belonging are weakest among respondents aged 25 and younger.” In a recent DafkaDotCom article (24/02/2021), Deena Katzen alludes to this pattern when she writes, “I believe that many young Jewish South Africans will opt for the opportunity that offers them the best quality of life. For most this is no longer South Africa.”

​Like most surveys, the JCSSA is not entirely representative. I was 25 when the survey took place and I found the results surprising as my social circle has a very strong sense of belonging to South Africa. In fact, of those who have left South Africa many hope to return. When I asked my friends about the survey none of them had completed it. In fact, they weren’t even aware that it had taken place. 

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2/24/2021 0 Comments

Is the South African Jewish community out of touch with its youth?

by deena katzen


​communal matters

​exploring the concerns of the South African Jewish community


Looking at the Jewish Community Survey of South Africa, Deena Katzen  reflects on the shifts in thinking amongst young Jewish South Africans and suggests that the Jewish community might be out of touch with how the youth think about and engage with the world around them. 
IN the five years since I’ve been involved in Jewish student organizations, I have been asked countless times, “What does it mean to be a young Jewish person in South Africa today?” I have always found this difficult to answer because of the diverse nature of the thoughts, beliefs and ideas of Jewish youth today. However, despite this complexity, this question is a fundamental and foundational one, and one which is all too often glossed over by communal organizations. 
The way in which young South African Jews think about and experience the world around them has shifted significantly over recent years. The Jewish Community Survey of South Africa (JCCSA), released in 2020, offers some interesting insights into these developments and shifts amongst young Jews. 
"It is clear that as young people we need to continue to build a better future for ourselves, and inspire the push towards a more open, safe and accepting society and community. The question is whether we will continue to do this from within South Africa?"

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11/26/2020 0 Comments

Antisemitism in South Africa: What does the data say?

by prof. karen Milner


​communal matters

​exploring the concerns of the south african jewish community

 
In this article, Prof. Karen Milner looks at what the research suggests about antisemitism in South Africa, arguing that the data shows antisemitism to be relatively low.​
IN 2019 the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), published a report identifying South Africa as the second most antisemitic country in the world. South Africa was second only to Poland and scored well above France, a country in which Jews fear being publicly identified as Jews and in which two elderly Jewish women were murdered in antisemitic attacks in 2017 and 2018 respectively. The ADL report caused a minor furore in the South African Jewish community, and its findings have been roundly challenged by the organised Jewish community (see here and here) and community members.
"... the ultimate test of levels of antisemitism in a country is the extent to which Jews can live their lives openly and authentically as Jews without being harassed, attacked or discriminated against. Anecdotal evidence suggests that South African Jews can and do live openly Jewish lives".  

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10/13/2020 6 Comments

Gender-based violence, language and the South African Jewish community

by rabbi bryan opert


​communal matters

exploring the concerns of the south african jewish community


Drawing on the concept of 'alienation in language', Bryan Opert argues that to effectively engage with gender-based violence, interventions and rhetoric must reflect the specific challenges faced by the Jewish community
ADDRESSING the “surge” in gender-based violence and femicide since level 3 lockdown began in mid-July, President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced three bills aimed at “help[ing] to restore the confidence of our country’s women that the law is indeed there to protect them”. The 2019/20 crime statistics, which were released on the 31 July, do not include this “surge” as the statistics don’t cover this period. Considering that the crime statistics already indicated a 1.7% increase in both sexual offences and rape, and a 0.6% rise in common assault against women, it is understandable that many would feel that the authorities have been ineffective in protecting victims of gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa.
In 2012, in response to “the rising incidence of sexual and other forms of abuse in the Jewish Community”, Koleinu SA  –  a helpline for victims of abuse in the Jewish community – was established. Wendy Hendler, co-founder and board member of Koleinu SA, explains: “globally, we know that statistics of GBV within Jewish communities reflect those of the country in which the community is located. This, however, excludes South Africa with its horrific GBV statistics”. Hendler goes on, “while Koleinu SA has dealt with sexual assault, rape and date rape cases, the majority of cases from within the Jewish community are comprised of emotional, verbal, financial and religious abuse”.
"... when a young male from our community reads an article about GBV  does he believe that it is personally relevant to him, or is it as foreign as world hunger? "

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9/10/2020 0 Comments

Never again, but yet again: Why the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre explores the history of the Holocaust and the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda side by side

by tali nates


​communal matters

exploring the concerns of the south african jewish community


In this article, Tali Nates discusses how memorialising the Holocaust and 1994 genocide in Rwanda enables South Africans to grapple with racism and xenophobia in South Africa. 
The Holocaust and Genocide Centre allows us to bring to public attention and keep in public memory the abiding dangers of supremacist thinking, whether based on race as in wartime Germany or on ethnicity, as in Rwanda. The Centre does, and should remind us, daily, how quickly ordinary people can turn from living and learning alongside one another to exterminating each other with deadly justification … may you through this very powerful memorial teach us as South Africans to reconcile rival memories, to recognise the pain of others and, most importantly, to become more fully human”.

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, September 2015, at the JHGC building dedication ceremony. 
In April 1994, while South Africans were jubilantly voting in the country’s first democratic elections, in Rwanda, a mere three and a half hours’ flight away, hundreds of thousands of Tutsi, as well as Hutu who opposed the genocide, were being slaughtered[i].
 
1994. Two countries in Africa. Two very different paths.
Not that South Africa’s transition to democracy has been easy. As xenophobic violence has shown, South Africans too have the potential for horrific violence against an “other”. 

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8/5/2020 4 Comments

outspoken rabbis: Speaking truth to power in apartheid south africa

by gwynne robins


​communal matters
​
​exploring the concerns of the south african jewish community


In this article, Gwynne Robins looks at one particular Cape Town congregation, the Green and Sea Point Hebrew Congregation, where, between 1959 and 1988, four Orthodox rabbis took a stand against Apartheid. 
Irwin Manoim’s DafkaDotCom article (10 May 2020) on Rabbi Andre Ungar pays tribute to a former leader of the Reform community who not only spoke out against apartheid but was expelled from the country for his efforts.
In 1999, the former Chief Rabbi, the late Rabbi Cyril Harris, testified at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on behalf of the South African Jewish community. Rabbi Harris not only apologised for the collective failure of the South African Jewish community to protest apartheid, but acknowledged how the community had benefited from this system of racial oppression. As Rabbi Harris’ testimony attests, for the most part, communal silence was the norm, both from the pulpit and from communal boardrooms. Context, of course, is crucial. Caution was justified when dealing with a government with a history of antisemitism.
That said, a handful of rabbis, both Orthodox and Reform, publicly condemned apartheid and took part in protests. This article will look at one particular congregation, the Green and Sea Point Hebrew Congregation (Marais Road Shul) in Cape Town, where, between 1959 and 1988, four Orthodox rabbis took a stand against apartheid: Rabbi ES Rabinowitz, Rabbi David Rosen, Rabbi Dr Elihu Jack Steinhorn, and Rabbi Selwyn Franklin. 

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6/4/2020 2 Comments

To Debate or Not to Debate? The Merits of Debating the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict in South Africa

by charisse zeifert


​​Communal matters

Exploring the concerns of the south african jewish community


In this article, Charisse Zeifert shares her perspective on the advantages and disadvantages of the organised Jewish community engaging in debate with the BDS movement. 
THERE are certain topics South African Jewish communal leaders will never debate. Holocaust Denial is an obvious example. But what about ‘Israel Denial’? Should Jewish communal organisations debate those who do not believe Israel has the right to exist? This is not a theoretical exercise. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) routinely engages in public debate with members of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement who argue that Israel is a racist, Apartheid and colonial state, and should not continue to exist as it has for the last 75 years.

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4/6/2020 5 Comments

The Potential Impact of COVID-19 on the South African Jewish Community?

by Lance katz


​communal matters

exploring the concerns of the south african jewish community


In this article, Lance Katz analyses some of the potential consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the South African Jewish community. 
I write this during South Africa’s COVID-19 lockdown. At the time of writing this article, so much is still unknown about COVID-19 and its potential long-term impact. Officially, the global pandemic has already infected over 1,2 million people and claimed over 65 500 lives (5.5%). The United States now has the highest confirmed infection count in the world at 300 000. Healthcare systems in European countries such as Italy and Spain are overwhelmed. Thus far, South Africa has just under 1 600 reported cases nationally and only 9 deaths. Israel, which was quick to implement protective measures and which have steadily ramped these up, now has nearly 8 000 reported cases, 46 deaths and 127 people in critical condition. Things are changing so rapidly that by the time you read this article, the above statistics[1] will have altered materially.
​Against this backdrop I was asked to offer some thoughts on the impact of COVID-19 on the Jewish community. For this purpose I have taken Jewish community to mean local, that being the Cape Town Jewish Community. However, of course much of what I write is equally applicable to the Jewish Community of South Africa more broadly and to other Jewish communities globally. Instead of employing my rusty actuarial skills to try and project my own scenario about how COVID-19 is going to play out, I decided that it would be more beneficial rather to share a few reflections and general thoughts on the question of community impact, both currently and going forward.
​"Our fate and fortunes as a Jewish community are perhaps more strongly tied to those of our fellow countrymen than ever before."

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2/28/2020 1 Comment

State Capture and its economic aftermath: Why young Jewish professionals are leaving South Africa

by dan brotman


​communal matters

exploring the concerns of the south african jewish community


In this article, Dan Brotman looks at why so many young Jewish professionals are leaving South Africa and how this might impact the future of the South African Jewish community. 
​IN 2010, I spent my last three months as a student at the University of Oregon conducting research in Cape Town. My project explored whether young Jews in the city saw their future in South Africa following the highly successful FIFA World Cup. Much of my research was a response to the 2005 nationwide survey, on the Jews of South Africa, conducted by the Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies at UCT. The 2005 Kaplan Centre survey found that 92% of respondents characterised themselves as likely to stay in South Africa over the next five years, which was the highest recorded preponderance of Jews ever wanting to stay in the country. My 2010 thesis concluded that “as long as young Jews feel that there is political stability and promising economic opportunities in Cape Town...they will remain for the foreseeable future, living in cautious optimism...”.
​When I arrived in South Africa ten years ago, I never would have imagined that I would not board my return flight home. Instead I have spent the last decade transforming into a member of the population group I originally interviewed. My transformation from an exclusively American Jew to a hybrid American/South African Jew began in May 2011, when I took up a position as Head of Media & Public Affairs at the Cape SA Jewish Board of Deputies. I then relocated to Johannesburg to take up the position of Executive Director of the South Africa-Israel Forum (SAIF), and eventually co-founded a business called En-novate with Investec in May 2016. I naturalized as a South African citizen in September 2018, and regularly contribute to publications on the state of the nation and the local Jewish community.
Between the 2005 survey and my arrival in South Africa in 2010, a number of noteworthy developments occurred in the country, some perceived as positive and others as negative by the mainstream Jewish community. Positive developments during this five-year period included strong GDP growth, which reached 5.6% in 2006, the Democratic Alliance taking control of Cape Town in 2006 and the Western Cape in 2009, and South Africa hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, a number of worrying developments also began to emerge, including nationwide load-shedding in 2007/08, the 2008 election of Julius Malema as President of the ANC Youth League, and the ascent in 2009 of Jacob Zuma to the Presidency. 
"What distinguishes this latest wave of Jewish emigration from those of the past is that this one is primarily financially-driven, whereas previous waves were largely the result of political uncertainty and crime."

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1/27/2020 0 Comments

THE ROLE OF ARTS & CULTURE IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY: FROM THE VIEW OF AN ARTIST

by leigh nudelman sussman


​communal matters
[from the trenches]

exploring the concerns of the south african Jewish community


In this article, Leigh Nudelman Sussman looks at how art can serve as a medium to help explore and navigate the challenges facing the South African Jewish community. She further argues that art and artists can play a pivotal role in attracting otherwise disengaged South African Jewish millennials back into communal life. 
A recent community survey provides evidence that South African Jewish millennials are becoming increasingly disengaged from community life. Arguably the future of a vibrant and sustainable Jewish community in South Africa resides with the youth. Urgent rethinking about this demographic then must be done to ensure that the community in South Africa carries forward into the future, especially since the survey also reveals demographic decline.
In May 2018, I participated in the South African regional Nahum Goldmann Fellowship (NGF). Here, young Jewish leaders of different religious and political persuasions asked what our role is in South Africa. This question was posed alongside a myriad of internal and external challenges facing the Jewish community. Some of the issues included the challenge of being Jewish and white in South Africa, a chasm between Jews and non-Jews, silos within the Jewish community, the generation gap, engagement around Zionism, the rising cost of kosher food and a Jewish education in a slumping economy, gender inequality, and the disengagement of younger Jewish people from Jewish communal life. With all these difficulties facing young Jews in a complicated society, many, myself included, seemed dispirited.
As someone who cares about the future of the Jewish community in South Africa my gut instinct was to assemble Jewish creative people to continue the conversations started at the NGF. A month later 9th Street was born.
"9th Street’s common goal was asserted from our first meeting: the group could advance the sustainability of the Jewish community through the medium of art." 

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