South Africa’s chief rabbi has accused the country’s Jews of not sufficiently supporting MaAfrika Tikkun, the community’s outreach initiative, implying that Jews must do more to uplift and empower the country’s blacks. “What we need from the Jewish community, which we still haven’t got, is something called acceptance,” Cyril Harris told JTA in a recent… More ▸
A Jewish centenarian has set a world record for his age group in the 100-meter sprint, even though his best time wasn’t accepted because of a clock malfunction. Philip Rabinowitz, 100, completed the distance in 30.86 seconds on July 10. A July 4 race in which he ran the distance in 28.8 seconds was not… More ▸
An Israeli initiative aims to help a black empowerment project in South Africa play a major role in supplying a rare fruit to the world market. The Sharon fruit, one of hundreds of varieties of persimmon, until recently was supplied almost exclusively by Israel. But Eran Rotem, an Israeli farmer who works for the biggest… More ▸
For South African Jews, this Passover falls at a time when the symbols of oppression and liberation embedded in the Haggadah resonate particularly strongly with the atmosphere in the country. South Africa is celebrating a decade of democracy, with national elections due on April 14, the day after Passover ends. The country’s first free election… More ▸
In a country with a long history of discrimination, South African Jews know how important it is to practice inclusion — and even sometimes force others to do so. But when it comes to their own community, South African Jewish leaders are worried that new legislation aimed at preventing racial and other discrimination is threatening… More ▸
South Africa’s central Jewish institution has come up with a plan to bolster the future of South African Jewry and help the country as a whole. Referring to a survey showing that most young South African Jews do not plan to make their future in the country, South African President Thabo Mbeki challenged the Jewish… More ▸
At a time when South Africa’s Jews are anxious over the future of the Jewish community, the religious body representing most Jews has taken a bold step by choosing a young man with little experience as chief rabbi. The decision by the Union of Orthodox Synagogues to appoint as chief rabbi Warren Goldstein, 32, has… More ▸
Even as observers warn of a growing trend of anti-Semitism in Greece, a South African Jew is trying to build stronger ties between the Jewish and Greek communities in South Africa. Ronnie Mink, chairman of Yad Vashem in South Africa, believes there is potential for a better relationship between the roughly 50,000 Jews in Johannesburg… More ▸
An alleged Israeli mobster is facing charges in South Africa that include murder, kidnapping, robbery and intimidation. The trial of Lior Saat, which will go forward after Johannesburg’s High Court ruled last week that it has the jurisdiction to try him, is one of the highest-profile South African criminal trials in years and represents a… More ▸
A new book that examines the role of Jews in apartheid South Africa is raising awkward questions about what Jews did — and didn’t do — to end apartheid Gideon Shimoni’s “Community and Conscience: The Jews in Apartheid South Africa,” published this summer, has caused a stir among some South African Jews who say the… More ▸
