South African rabbis call for fast after tragic deaths

JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 13 (JTA) — Rabbis in Johannesburg are calling on their congregants to
observe a half-day fast and to give tzedakah, charity, on Monday in the wake of a recent spate of tragic Jewish deaths here. The rabbis were expected to make their appeal at Friday evening services. During the recent holiday season, there were two murder victims, one carjack victim and two suicides. A woman and her two daughters were killed in a car accident. In 1997, there were eight Jewish murder victims, according to the Union of Orthodox Synagogues of South Africa. A rising crime rate has been one of the main causes of Jewish emigration from South Africa in recent months.