South African Jewish Report Newspaper

10/10/2025

Excitement is mounting for this year’s 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐜 𝐉𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 on 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓.

𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 10 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔?

𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗝𝗲𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀: https://bit.ly/jaareel2024

Book your seats or table 𝑵𝑶𝑾! bit.ly/ja25book

Watch the remarkable recap of all of last year's winners.Book now for the Investec Jewish Achiever Awards 2025: https://bit.ly/ja25book

10/10/2025

We are hiring a 𝑫𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓! If you’re passionate about tech, socials, creating connections, and community, send your CV to [email protected]
We look forward to hearing from you!

10/10/2025

“After two years and two days of unbearable anxiety, anguish, and uncertainty, we can finally breathe a little easier: 48 hostages are finally returning home. For their families, their friends, and a grieving nation, the sight of these men and women walking back onto Israeli soil is nothing short of a miracle, a deep relief that heals but also hurts because the pain of what they went through will never fully fade.

Today, a small door of hope has opened. Hope for the beginning of rehabilitation, not only for the survivors themselves, who will require years of medical, psychological, and social care, but for Israeli society, which continues to mourn and rebuild. The path of healing will be long and will require communal solidarity. Yet, if history teaches us anything, it’s that after trauma, a society can recover and grow stronger, provided it commits to reconstruction and care for the most vulnerable.”

- Ambassador David Saranga, director of the Digital Diplomacy division at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

READ MORE:

After two years and two days of unbearable anxiety, anguish, and uncertainty, we can finally breathe a little easier: 48 hostages are finally returning home.

09/10/2025

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤’𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐝-𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫:

The articles in this newsletter are 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 and will not be found in the print edition of the 𝑺𝑨 𝑱𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕. However, you can always find them on sajr.co.za.

🎗️Dozens of Israeli hostages held for two years in Gaza, including 𝟐𝟎 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 to be released imminently; 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐳𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩 for ‘incredible’ leadership; Realism needed about 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞-𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 in Gaza; Historic opportunity to 𝐫𝐞-𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐈𝐬𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐥 and Middle East. Read here: bit.ly/sajr9october

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If you would like to get the 𝑺𝑨 𝑱𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒃𝒐𝒙, click here: bit.ly/sajrinbox
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09/10/2025

When artist Adele Sanders first heard Holocaust survivor Ella Blumenthal speak at the Holocaust Centre in Cape Town six years ago, she immediately felt compelled to capture her likeness in art.

Now, that portrait, titled ‘I Am Ella – 48632 – Survivor’, by Sanders, is a part of the PORTRAIT 100, an exhibition of artwork that was selected in the run-up to the 2025 Rust en Vrede Portrait Award, one of South Africa’s most respected national art prizes.

While Sanders may not have won the prize, she is thrilled that this particular work was chosen for this prestigious exhibition displayed until 29 October at HUB Gallery in Cape Town.

READ MORE:

When artist Adele Sanders first heard Holocaust survivor Ella Blumenthal speak

09/10/2025

“Sukkot comes to teach us an ancient lesson that speaks directly to this moment. It reminds us of the temporary nature of our suffering, that even at our lowest point, when we feel lost in the wilderness, Jewish unity and faith can lead us toward the promised land.

During her visit to South Africa as part of The Base/Jewish National Fund Hostage Healing Programme, returned hostage Sapir Cohen shared a moment that captures this message. While she was held captive in Gaza, her captor watched television footage of protests in Israel calling for the release of the hostages. He turned to her and said, “When the Jews are united, you are unbeatable.” Even our enemies understand what we sometimes forget – that our strength lies in our unity; our survival in our solidarity.”

- Michael Kransdorff, chairperson of the Jewish National Fund South Africa.

READ MORE:

This Sukkot, the calendar may have turned and seasons changed, yet for the hostages and their families, for the soldiers on the front lines,

06/10/2025

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟕 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑:

Read messages for the community from the Israeli embassy; South African Jewish Board of Deputies; South African Zionist Federation; Rabbinical Association, Union for Progressive Judaism, and others.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: bit.ly/sajr7octobermessages

06/10/2025

“Among South African Jews there’s a favourite urban – or actually rural – legend regarding the weather: Afrikaans farmers supposedly used to ask their Jewish neighbours when the “huts” were going up for Sukkot so they would know when to expect rain for their crops. Nobody knows the story’s true origin. I’m not a historian, so someone else will have to do the digging. But with the high holy days looming, Peta Krost, the editor of this fine journal, asked me to take some time out from sending Rosh Hashanah greeting cards and answer this question: can we actually prove that it regularly rains on Sukkot?”

- Benji Shulman

READ MORE:

Most of you know me as the guy who writes about geopolitics. The “geo” part isn’t coincidental – while my friends were slogging through accounting,

05/10/2025

There are few food traditions as deeply woven into Jewish life as the delicatessen. Step inside one, and you’re met with the aroma of bread fresh from the oven, the distinct tang of a half-pickle, pastrami piled high on rye, and cheesecakes cooling on the counter. In South Africa, these delis are more than eateries, they are living snapshots of history. Every bite embodies the story of Jewish immigrants who carried secret family recipes on ships across oceans, preserved and shared from one generation to the next.

With heaping sandwiches, jars of herring, brisket cooked low and slow, trays of rugelach and blintzes, the Jewish deli has always been more than just a place to eat. It’s where Eastern European heritage meets New York swagger, and where South African Jewish families – from Cape Town to Johannesburg – found ways to both preserve and reinvent tradition.

In Cape Town, that story begins in Mill Street, Gardens. It was here that many Jewish immigrants settled, creating a vibrant hub of synagogues, schools, and shops that anchored communal life. Among those shops was Milly’s, opened in 1940 by Simon and Judith Milner. Serving up all the classics, Milly’s quickly became more than a deli, it was a taste of home in a new country, and soon a beloved institution in the heart of Jewish Cape Town.

READ MORE:

There are few food traditions as deeply woven into Jewish life as the delicatessen. Step inside one, and you’re met with the aroma of bread

03/10/2025

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Two killed in 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐦 𝐊𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐮𝐫 terrorist attack: bit.ly/sajrmanchesterattack

🔊 The 𝑺𝑨 𝑱𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 recommend podcasts by 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐯 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐠 𝐆𝐮𝐫, 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐤, 𝐃𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐦 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, and others: bit.ly/sajrpodcastnewsletter2

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If you would like to get the 𝑺𝑨 𝑱𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒃𝒐𝒙, click here: bit.ly/sajrinbox
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03/10/2025

“One thing we dare not do is allow antisemitism to dominate our essence as Jews or to take centre stage. This is difficult in this day and age, with the bombardment of news stories from around the world reaching us incessantly. We hear of a slur shouted from a car in Marseille, or hate speech in San Francisco in virtually real time. While we dare not bury our heads in the sand and pretend it isn’t happening, we must also keep perspective of the bigger picture.

Hiding our Jewishness isn’t a strategy. It attacks our identity at the core, and makes us feel inferior rather than proud. And history has proven that it simply doesn’t work.

If it is halacha, then the way to defeat it is via the metaphysical. We must flood the world with goodness and spirituality, true to our mission to be a light unto the nations (Isaiah 42). This is the only way to fix the moral compass of this crazy world – making it point to true ethical north once again.”

- Rabbi Yossi Chaikin, rabbi at Oxford Shul and president of the South African Rabbinical Association.

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After three and a half decades of enmity, Jacob finally prepares to meet and confront his brother, Esau.

01/10/2025

For three decades, I’ve lived my life in the media. Twenty of those years have been in war zones – Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Ukraine, Russia – dodging bullets; crawling through tunnels; watching cities crumble. I thought I’d seen it all. Then, at 51, my life exploded in a way no rocket ever could.

At 49, I met the man of my dreams. At 50, I married him. And at 51, I realised he never really existed.

I’ve worn flak jackets, ducked for cover, interviewed men with blood on their hands. In 2008, I was commended for being one of the first women journalists to crawl through a Gaza tunnel. Years later, in Ukraine, I lay for nearly two hours under relentless gunfire in Illovaisk, bullets cracking above me as I weighed up whether to push forward or pull back. But the war that nearly destroyed me came without an explosion. It was a bullet without sound. A battlefield I never signed up for.

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For three decades, I’ve lived my life in the media. Twenty of those years have been in war zones