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South African Jewish Report Newspaper The source of quality content, news and insights
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The SA Jewish Report, established in 1998, is the only community-focused paper with a national distribution, catering to the Jewish community of South Africa. The paper and its website offers a broad range of insights and platforms for different aspects and leaders of this diverse and small yet dynamic community.

Excitement is mounting for this yearโ€™s ๐ˆ๐ง๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐œ ๐‰๐ž๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐€๐œ๐ก๐ข๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐๐ฌ on ๐’๐ฎ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ ๐Ÿ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ“.๐‘พ๐’‰๐’ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’๐’ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’ ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐’„๐’๐’—๐’†๐’•๐’†...
10/10/2025

Excitement is mounting for this yearโ€™s ๐ˆ๐ง๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐œ ๐‰๐ž๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐€๐œ๐ก๐ข๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐€๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐๐ฌ on ๐’๐ฎ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ ๐Ÿ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ“.

๐‘พ๐’‰๐’ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’๐’ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’ ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐’„๐’๐’—๐’†๐’•๐’†๐’… 10 ๐’‚๐’˜๐’‚๐’“๐’…๐’”?

๐—ช๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฐ๐—ต ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ด๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐—น๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฐ ๐—๐—ฒ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ต ๐—”๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—”๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐˜€: https://bit.ly/jaareel2024

Book your seats or table ๐‘ต๐‘ถ๐‘พ! 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

We are hiring a ๐‘ซ๐’Š๐’ˆ๐’Š๐’•๐’‚๐’ ๐‘ช๐’๐’๐’“๐’…๐’Š๐’๐’‚๐’•๐’๐’“! If youโ€™re passionate about tech, socials, creating connections, and community, send...
10/10/2025

We are hiring a ๐‘ซ๐’Š๐’ˆ๐’Š๐’•๐’‚๐’ ๐‘ช๐’๐’๐’“๐’…๐’Š๐’๐’‚๐’•๐’๐’“! If youโ€™re passionate about tech, socials, creating connections, and community, send your CV to [email protected]
We look forward to hearing from you!

โ€œAfter two years and two days of unbearable anxiety, anguish, and uncertainty, we can finally breathe a little easier: 4...
10/10/2025

โ€œAfter 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, itโ€™s that after trauma, a society can recover and grow stronger, provided it commits to reconstruction and care for the most vulnerable.โ€

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

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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.

๐ˆ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐คโ€™๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ข๐-๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ:The articles in this newsletter are ๐๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ฅ ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ and will not be found in the print e...
09/10/2025

๐ˆ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐คโ€™๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ข๐-๐ฐ๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ:

The articles in this newsletter are ๐๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ฅ ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ and will not be found in the print edition of the ๐‘บ๐‘จ ๐‘ฑ๐’†๐’˜๐’Š๐’”๐’‰ ๐‘น๐’†๐’‘๐’๐’“๐’•. However, you can always find them on sajr.co.za.

๐ŸŽ—๏ธDozens of Israeli hostages held for two years in Gaza, including ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฆ๐š๐ข๐ง ๐š๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž to be released imminently; ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ณ๐จ๐  ๐ฉ๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ ๐“๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ for โ€˜incredibleโ€™ leadership; Realism needed about ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ž-๐ซ๐š๐๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง in Gaza; Historic opportunity to ๐ซ๐ž-๐ฌ๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ž ๐ˆ๐ฌ๐ซ๐š๐ž๐ฅ and Middle East. Read here: bit.ly/sajr9october

๐Ÿšš๐Ÿ“ฆ๐Ÿš›๐Ÿš๐Ÿšš๐Ÿ“ฆ๐Ÿš›๐Ÿš
If you would like to get the ๐‘บ๐‘จ ๐‘ฑ๐’†๐’˜๐’Š๐’”๐’‰ ๐‘น๐’†๐’‘๐’๐’“๐’• ๐’…๐’†๐’๐’Š๐’—๐’†๐’“๐’†๐’… ๐’…๐’Š๐’“๐’†๐’„๐’•๐’๐’š ๐’•๐’ ๐’š๐’๐’–๐’“ ๐’Š๐’๐’ƒ๐’๐’™, click here: bit.ly/sajrinbox
๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง

When artist Adele Sanders first heard Holocaust survivor Ella Blumenthal speak at the Holocaust Centre in Cape Town six ...
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 โ€˜I Am Ella โ€“ 48632 โ€“ Survivorโ€™, 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 Africaโ€™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.

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When artist Adele Sanders first heard Holocaust survivor Ella Blumenthal speak

โ€œSukkot comes to teach us an ancient lesson that speaks directly to this moment. It reminds us of the temporary nature o...
09/10/2025

โ€œSukkot 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, โ€œWhen the Jews are united, you are unbeatable.โ€ Even our enemies understand what we sometimes forget โ€“ that our strength lies in our unity; our survival in our solidarity.โ€๏ฟผ๏ฟผ๏ฟผ
๏ฟผ
- Michael Kransdorff, chairperson of the Jewish National Fund South Africa.

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

๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Ÿ• ๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘:Read messages for the community from the Israeli embassy; South African Jewish Board of Dep...
06/10/2025

๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Ÿ• ๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘:

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.

๐‘๐ž๐š๐ ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž: bit.ly/sajr7octobermessages

โ€œAmong South African Jews thereโ€™s a favourite urban โ€“ or actually rural โ€“ legend regarding the weather: Afrikaans farmer...
06/10/2025

โ€œAmong South African Jews thereโ€™s a favourite urban โ€“ or actually rural โ€“ legend regarding the weather: Afrikaans farmers supposedly used to ask their Jewish neighbours when the โ€œhutsโ€ were going up for Sukkot so they would know when to expect rain for their crops. Nobody knows the storyโ€™s true origin. Iโ€™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?โ€

- Benji Shulman

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Most of you know me as the guy who writes about geopolitics. The โ€œgeoโ€ part isnโ€™t coincidental โ€“ while my friends were slogging through accounting,

There are few food traditions as deeply woven into Jewish life as the delicatessen. Step inside one, and youโ€™re met with...
05/10/2025

There are few food traditions as deeply woven into Jewish life as the delicatessen. Step inside one, and youโ€™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. Itโ€™s where Eastern European heritage meets New York swagger, and where South African Jewish families โ€“ from Cape Town to Johannesburg โ€“ 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 Millyโ€™s, opened in 1940 by Simon and Judith Milner. Serving up all the classics, Millyโ€™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.

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

๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟTwo killed in ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐˜๐จ๐ฆ ๐Š๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ terrorist attack: bit.ly/sajrmanchesterattack๐Ÿ”Š The ๐‘บ๐‘จ ๐‘ฑ๐’†๐’˜๐’Š๐’”๐’‰ ๐‘น๐’†๐’‘๐’๐’“๐’• ๐’•๐’†๐’‚๐’Ž reco...
03/10/2025

๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟTwo killed in ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐˜๐จ๐ฆ ๐Š๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ terrorist attack: bit.ly/sajrmanchesterattack

๐Ÿ”Š The ๐‘บ๐‘จ ๐‘ฑ๐’†๐’˜๐’Š๐’”๐’‰ ๐‘น๐’†๐’‘๐’๐’“๐’• ๐’•๐’†๐’‚๐’Ž recommend podcasts by ๐‡๐š๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ ๐‘๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐  ๐†๐ฎ๐ซ, ๐’๐ข๐ฆ๐จ๐ง ๐’๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ค, ๐ƒ๐š๐ง ๐€๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฅ๐ฒ, ๐Œ๐š๐ฅ๐œ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐†๐ฅ๐š๐๐ฐ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ, and others: bit.ly/sajrpodcastnewsletter2

๐Ÿšš๐Ÿ“ฆ๐Ÿš›๐Ÿš๐Ÿšš๐Ÿ“ฆ๐Ÿš›๐Ÿš
If you would like to get the ๐‘บ๐‘จ ๐‘ฑ๐’†๐’˜๐’Š๐’”๐’‰ ๐‘น๐’†๐’‘๐’๐’“๐’• ๐’…๐’†๐’๐’Š๐’—๐’†๐’“๐’†๐’… ๐’…๐’Š๐’“๐’†๐’„๐’•๐’๐’š ๐’•๐’ ๐’š๐’๐’–๐’“ ๐’Š๐’๐’ƒ๐’๐’™, click here: bit.ly/sajrinbox
๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง๐Ÿ“ง

โ€œOne thing we dare not do is allow antisemitism to dominate our essence as Jews or to take centre stage. This is difficu...
03/10/2025

โ€œOne 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 isnโ€™t happening, we must also keep perspective of the bigger picture.

Hiding our Jewishness isnโ€™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 doesnโ€™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 โ€“ making it point to true ethical north once again.โ€

- 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.

For three decades, Iโ€™ve lived my life in the media. Twenty of those years have been in war zones โ€“ Gaza, Syria, Lebanon,...
01/10/2025

For three decades, Iโ€™ve lived my life in the media. Twenty of those years have been in war zones โ€“ Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Ukraine, Russia โ€“ dodging bullets; crawling through tunnels; watching cities crumble. I thought Iโ€™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.

Iโ€™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, Iโ€™ve lived my life in the media. Twenty of those years have been in war zones

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