Glenhazel | |
|---|---|
 Glenhazel Centre | |
  Glenhazel  Glenhazel | |
| Coordinates:26°8′34″S28°6′2″E / 26.14278°S 28.10056°E /-26.14278; 28.10056 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Municipality | City of Johannesburg |
| Main Place | Johannesburg |
| Established | 1950 |
| • Councillor | (Democratic Alliance) |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.29 km2 (0.50 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 2,991 |
| • Density | 2,320/km2 (6,010/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 23.2% |
| • Coloured | 0.5% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.1% |
| • White | 75.3% |
| • Other | 0.9% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • English | 76.9% |
| • Zulu | 4.9% |
| • Tswana | 4.3% |
| • Northern Sotho | 3.6% |
| • Other | 10.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 2192 |
Glenhazel is a suburb ofJohannesburg,South Africa. It is located in Region E, borderingFairmount,Sandringham, Lyndhurst andPercelia Estate. The area lies on a sloping hill with a park in the valley. It is known for its largeJewish population as well as for being home to the largest Jewishkosher hub inJohannesburg, which attracts many Jewish tourists.[2][3]
The suburb is situated on part of an oldWitwatersrand farm calledRietfontein and was established in 1950.[4]: 121 In 1992, Helen Heldenmuth, an actress and prominent figure among South African Jewry, opened up her Glenhazel home as a refuge for black children and their mothers fleeing violence in the nearby black township ofAlexandra.[5]
Glenhazel is well known for being a suburb with a highethnic concentration of Jewish people. A large number ofsynagogues, schools and Jewishseminaries are based in and around the Glenhazel area. In the context of a religiousrevival in the 1960s, a group of Jews established a highly observant,Orthodox enclave in the suburb.[6] Overseas rabbis from theOhr Somayach movement established themselves in Glenhazel, now the epicenter of Orthodox Jewish life in the city withYeshiva College of South Africa, andKosher stores, delicatessens and restaurants.[6]
In 1997, the mostly Jewish residents of Glenhazel and the adjoining Jewish suburb ofSandringham funded the establishment of their own police station.[7] Crime in the suburb has decreased significantly since theChief Rabbi,Warren Goldstein introduced Community Active Protection (CAP) to Glenhazel.[8] The Orthodox Jewish character of the suburb was profiled forSABC's 'Issues of Faith' documentary series.[9]
In 2013, 2, 000 Jewish South African women converged on a street in the suburb for a massChallah bake. The street had been closed, with permission from the city council, and the women learned to knead and shape the dough before taking it home to bake for their Shabbat. Thechallah bake was part ofThe Shabbos Project, a project of South Africa's Chief RabbiWarren Goldstein.[10]
