Johannesburg Jewish women contributed valuable works of art, Persian carpets and antiques from their homes for a sacrifice sale which yielded 200,000 rand ($280,000) for the Israel Emergency Fund. At the same time, the Jewish community of Port Elizabeth and its suburbs, numbering 800 families, announced a campaign to collect 2,000,000 rand ($280,000) for the Israel fund.
The sacrifice sale is expected to bring in additional funds when unsold contributions are sold. In some cases, the women brought back their gifts for more than sale price. The various Jewish women’s organizations, headed by the Women’s Zionist League, joined forces to organize the sale, held in Johannesburg City Hall. Members of the organizations collected the gifts and provided workers to handle the sale. Many artists, including non-Jews, contributed paintings.
The pledge of Port Elizabeth Jews was made at a crowded community meeting, presided over by Sam Katz, chairman of the city’s Israel Emergency Campaign committee, which was addressed by Louis Sachs, chairman of the South African Board of Jewish Education. Individual pledges made at the meeting included gifts of 25,000 rand ($35,000), 20,000 rand ($28,000) and 10,000 rand ($14,000).
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
