Arthur Goldreich | |
|---|---|
| Born | Arthur Joseph Goldreich (1929-12-25)25 December 1929 |
| Died | 24 May 2011(2011-05-24) (aged 81) |
| Alma mater | University of the Witwatersrand Haifa Technion |
| Occupations | Painter, architect, professor |
| Known for | Anti-apartheid activism |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | South African Jewish Board of Deputies human rights award (2011) |
Arthur Goldreich (25 December 1929 – 24 May 2011)[2] was a South African-Israeli abstract painter, architect, professor and a key figure in theanti-apartheid movement in the country of his birth.[3]
As a young man, he participated in the1948 Arab-Israeli war as a member of thePalmach, the elite military wing of theHaganah.[3]
He later forged a successful career as a painter in South Africa and designer ofdepartment stores. He became increasingly active in the anti-apartheid struggle and in 1963 was arrested during a raid atLilliesleaf Farm. He escaped from theOld Fort prison inJohannesburg while on remand.
He returned to live inIsrael in 1964, where he spent the remainder of his life. His professional focus shifted from art towards design andurban planning and he became a prominent figure atBezalel Academy inJerusalem.[1] He and his second wife, Tamar de Shalit, became prominent contributors to Israel's emerging culture of commemoration, designing monuments and memorial sites.[1]
Goldreich was born inJohannesburg,Union of South Africa toJewish parents with roots inEastern Europe andEngland.[1] He was raised inPietersburg. His father worked as a furniture dealer and died when Arthur was 15 years old.[1] As a youth, he identified withZionism and at the age of 19 migrated toMandatory Palestine in 1948.[1] He lived on KibbutzMa'ayan Baruch in theUpper Galilee and joined the Jewish liberation struggle.[1] He participated in the1948 Arab-Israeli war as a member of thePalmach, the elite military wing of theHaganah.[3][4]
He studied architecture atHaifa Technion inHaifa for one year, before continuing his studies at theUniversity of the Witwatersrand inJohannesburg.[1][5]
He established a successful career as a painter in South Africa, exhibiting at theVenice Biennale.[1] In 1955, he won South Africa's Best Young Painter Award for his figures in black and white, but to thePrime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd's government, he was a key suspect in the clandestine operations of the anti-apartheid underground. He also became increasingly engaged in designingdepartment stores in South Africa.[1]
In 1959, he was the set designer and costume designer forKing King, amusical theatre production.[1] The production, which featuredMiriam Makeba, was significant as the first production by black actors and musicians during theapartheid era.[1]
According to South African-Israeli academic, Dr. Louise Bethlehem, it was during his work onKing Kong that Goldreich was recruited byJoe Slovo to joinuMkhonto weSizwe, the paramilitary wing of theAfrican National Congress.[1] His theatre and costume design skills were allegedly used to assist in camouflaging the underground movement.[1] This has been disputed by Goldreich's son, Amos, who claims that his father was recruited byNelson Mandela due to his combat experience with thePalmach inIsrael.[1] Mandela and Goldreich readMenachem Begin's book "The Revolt" together to gain insight into camouflage tactics.[1]
Goldreich andHarold Wolpe, a lawyer, usedSouth African Communist Party funds to buyLiliesleaf Farm inRivonia for use as a secret meeting place by leaders of the bannedAfrican National Congress (ANC) and its armed wing,Umkhonto we Sizwe.[1] The farm had the cover story of being a family home for Goldreich, his wife, Hazel and their children.[1] Goldreich and Wolpe also helped locate sabotage sites forUmkhonto we Sizwe, and draft a disciplinary code forguerrillas.
In 1963, Liliesleaf Farm was raided by the police, leading to the arrest of most of the ANC leadership, including Goldreich and Hazel.[1] Wolpe was arrested shortly after the raid and was held with Goldreich at Marshall Square prison in the city.
The two met up withMoosa Moolla andAbdulhay Jassat, members of theNatal Indian Congress, allied to theAfrican National Congress. Moolla and Jassat had been held in solitary confinement, where they had been tortured (they were believed to be the first political activists tortured in South African jails). Eventually the four men, working together with the aid of a prison warden, escaped successfully from custody, splitting up outside the prison (with Goldreich disguised as a priest).
Wolpe and Goldreich spent several days hiding in and around Johannesburg's suburbs to avoid capture. Eventually, they were driven toSwaziland, and from there were flown toBotswana, still disguised as priests to avoid being identified by potentially pro-South African British colonial authorities (at this time Swaziland was not independent).
Goldreich returned to Israel in the 1964 and settled inHerzliya until the end of his life.[1][6]
He maintained his anti-apartheid activities in Israel and campaigned against thedeath penalty for theRivonia Trial defendants.[1] He founded an organisation of Israelis against apartheid and organised a protest inTel Aviv withMartin Buber andHaim Hazaz.[1]
Goldreich's escape made him a heroic figure among senior ANC leadership,Nelson Mandela andWalter Sisulu. He otherwise became isolated as he chose not to stay inLondon, a centre for exiled members of the underground.[1] His decision to settle in Israel was unpopular with someMuslims in the movement.[1]
In Israel his professional focus shifted from art towards design and urban planning.[1] He designed residential dwellings, as well as interiors and stage sets for political theatre productions.[1] He had a long, tenured career as professor atBezalel Academy, part of theHebrew University of Jerusalem.[1] In 1966, he became the head of Industrial and Environmental Design Department, which he helped transform into an internationally recognized center fordesign.
As Israel's culture of commemoration emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, he and his wife, the interior designer, Tamar de Shalit, became significant contributors.[1] This period saw the burgeoning creation of monuments, cultural centres and memorials in cities andkibbutzim around the country.[1] A proliferation of their designs were created in the border communities.[1]
As an artist, Goldreich had a solo show at Gordon Gallery in Tel Aviv in 1966.[1]
In 1967, he and de Shalit designed the furniture and interiors for the newShin Bet building inTel Aviv, designed byNahum Zolotov.[1] In the same year, the couple designed the Eshel Hotel in Herzliya in theBrutalist style.[1]
In 1972, Goldreich was commissioned to paint a mural on the walls of a pilots club on anIsrael Defence Force base.[1]
In the late 1970s, the couple designed a home forRashad al-Shawwa, mayor ofGaza City.[1]
He brought a political lens to design, and in the 1970s organised research visits with his students to refugee camps in the Gaza strip.[1] In the 1980s and until theFirst Intifada in 1987, he brought his students on field trips toEast Jerusalem to explore coexistence through planning and infrastructure.[1]
Goldreich decided to remain in Israel when apartheid ended in his native South Africa.[1] He faced criticism for not returning permanently but was invited to take part in events with Mandela and his South African passport was restored.[1]
In a 2006 interview withThe Guardian, by February 2006, Goldreich was critical of Israeli governments.[7] Following his death,The Jerusalem Post spoke to his long-time friends in Israel, who explained that Goldreich held liberal views, but was not an activist nor did he attend protests, adding: "He was aZionist, he loved this country, and anybody who says he was anti-Israel is totally wrong,”[6]
Goldreich was married twice. In South Africa, he married Hazel Berman, who had been involved in the Young Communist League of South Africa.[1] The couple had two sons together, Paul and Nicholas.[1] They divorced shortly after moving toIsrael in 1964, with Berman raising their sons inLondon.[1]
In 1966, married Tamar de Shalit, an interior designer and sister ofIsrael Prize laureateAmos de-Shalit.[1] The wedding was attended byMoshe Dayan,Teddy Kollek,Ariel Sharon, the architectYaakov Rechter and actressHannah Maron.[1] The couple had one child together, a son, Amos Goldreich, an architect.[1]
In 2011, theSouth African Jewish Board of Deputies posthumously awarded him the board's annual human rights award.[8] He was again honored by the board in 2024, at its 120th anniversary gala dinner, where he was honoured among 100 remarkable Jewish South Africans who have contributed to South Africa.[9] The ceremony included speeches from Chief RabbiEphraim Mirvis, and Goldreich was honoured with other anti-apartheid activists,Helen Suzman,Ruth First,Rusty Bernstein andJoe Slovo.[9][10]
In June 2018,Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art hosted an exhibition of items from Goldreich and de Shalit's collection.[1] It was curated by Zvi Elhyani, a former design student of Goldreich, and Talia Davidi.[1]
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