Suid-Afrikaanse Jode | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 South Africa | estimated 52,300[1][2] |
| City of Johannesburg | 30,000 (57.5%) |
| City of Cape Town | 12,500 (23.9%) |
| Durban/Umhlangla - eThekwini | 3,400 (6.5%) |
| East Rand – Ekurhuleni | 3,400 (6.5%) |
| Western Cape Province (other than Cape Town) | 1,000 (2.0%) |
| Pretoria – City of Tshwane | 900 (1.7%) |
| Gauteng Province (other than Johannesburg, Pretoria and East Rand) | 700 (1.3%) |
| Eastern Cape Province (other than Port Elizabeth) | 700 (1.4%) |
| Free State Province | 500 (1.0%) |
| KwaZulu-Natal Province (other than Durban) | 400 (0.8%) |
| Other (In South Africa) | 300 (0.9%) |
 Israel | 20,000[3] |
 Australia | 15,000[4] |
| Languages | |
| First language South African English (vast majority) andAfrikaans, of religious:Yiddish,HebrewMinority | |
| Religion | |
| Orthodox Judaism (80%)[5] Reform Judaism (20%)[5] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Afrikaner-Jews Lithuanian Jews Dutch Jews British Jews Portuguese Jews Anglo-Israelis | |
South African Jews, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion, form the twelfth largestJewish community in the world, and the largest on theAfrican continent. As of 2020, the Kaplan Centre at theUniversity of Cape Town estimates 52,300 Jews in the country. TheSouth African Jewish Board of Deputies estimates that the figure is closer to 75,000.[2]
The history of the Jews in South Africa began during the period ofPortuguese exploration in theearly modern era, though a permanent presence was not established until the beginning ofDutch colonisation in the region. During the period ofBritish colonial rule in the 19th century, the Jewish South African community expanded greatly, in part thanks to encouragement fromBritain. From 1880 to 1914, the Jewish population in South Africa grew from 4,000 to over 40,000. South African Jews have played an important role in promotingdiplomatic and military relations between Israel and South Africa.[6] South Africa's Jewish community peaked in the 1970s with an estimated 120,000 Jews living in the country. TheSoweto uprising in 1976 and racial tensions led to an increase in Jewish emigration.[7] Since the end ofapartheid, Jews have continued to emigrate mostly todeveloped countries in theEnglish-speaking world, such as theUnited States,Canada, theUnited Kingdom,Australia, andNew Zealand, as well as a significant numberemigrating to Israel.[8] As of 2021, it is estimated that 92% of the Jewish population on the African continent is concentrated in South Africa.[9]
The first Jews involved in thehistory of South Africa were explorers, cartographers and astronomers who were employed by thePortuguese Crown. These men were employed inattempts by Portugal to discover a sea route to theIndian subcontinent. Jewish cartographers in Portugal, many of whom were member of the Portugueseupper class, assisted explorersBartolomeu Dias andVasco da Gama who sailed around theCape of Good Hope to India in 1488 and 1497, respectively.[10]
In 1652, theDutch East India Company (VOC) established acolonial settlement at the Cape of Good Hope under the direction ofJan van Riebeeck. Among the settlers in the colony were a number ofnon-practising Jews who lived inCape Town. The first records of Jews living in the colony were a baptism record of two Jewish settlers living in theWestern Cape onChristmas Day, 1669. Despite this, Jewish immigration to the colony remained small in number due to the VOC requiring all its employees and settlers to beProtestant. In 1803, the Dutch colonial authorities grantedreligious freedom to all inhabitants and prospective migrants; when theBritishinvaded and occupied the colony in 1805, they issued a confirmation of this policy the next year.[10]
Jews did not arrive in significant numbers at Cape Town before the 1820s. The firstcongregation in South Africa, theGardens Shul, was founded in Cape Town in September 1841. The first service was held on the eve ofYom Kippur (Day of Atonement) at the home of Benjamin Norden on the corner of Weltevreden and Hof streets. Benjamin Norden, Simeon Markus, together with a score of others arriving in the early 1820s and '30s, were commercial pioneers, especially the Mosenthal brothers—Julius, Adolph (seeAliwal North), and James Mosenthal, who established a majorwool industry. By bringing in thirtyAngora goats from Asia, in 1856 they became the founders of themohair industry. Aaron and Daniel de Pass were the first to open upNamaqualand. From 1849 to 1886 they were the largest shipowners in Cape Town, and leaders of thesealing,whaling, andfishing industries. Jews were among the first to take toostrich-farming and played a role in the earlydiamond industry. Jews also played some part in early South African politics. Captain Joshua Norden was shot at the head of his Mounted Burghers in theXhosa War of 1846; Lieutenant Elias de Pass fought in the Xhosa War of 1849. Julius Mosenthal (1818–1880), brother of the poetS. Mosenthal ofVienna, was a member of the Cape Parliament in the 1850s. Simeon Jacobs, C.M.G. (1832–1883), who was a judge in theSupreme Court of the Cape of Good Hope, as the acting attorney-general of Cape Colony he introduced and carried in 1872 the Cape Colony Responsible Government Bill and the Voluntary Bill (abolishing state aid to theAnglican Church), for both of which bills Saul Solomon, the member for Cape Town, had fought for decades.Saul Solomon (b.St. Helena 25 May 1817; d. 16 October 1892), the leader of theCape Colony Liberal Party, has been called the "Cape Disraeli." He was invited into the firstResponsible government, formed by SirJohn Molteno, and declined the premiership itself several times. LikeDisraeli, too, he early left the ranks ofJudaism.At the same time, the Jews faced substantialantisemitism. Though freedom of worship was granted to all residents in 1870, the revisedGrondwet of 1894 still debarred Jews andCatholics from military posts, from the positions of president, state secretary, or magistrate, from membership in the First and SecondVolksraad ("parliament"), and from superintendencies of natives and mines. These positions were restricted to persons above 30 years of age with permanent property and a longer history of settlement. As a consequence of the fact that Boer republics were only in existence from 1857 to 1902, unfortunately many residents of the Boer republics had limited access to positions in the upper echelons of government. All instruction was to be given in aChristian andProtestant spirit, and Jewish and Catholic teachers and children were to be excluded from state-subsidised schools.[citation needed] Before theBoer War (1899–1902), Jews were often considereduitlanders ("foreigners") and excluded from the mainstream of South African life.
However, a small number of Jews also settled among and identified with the rural whiteAfrikaans-speaking population; these persons became known asBoerejode (Boer Jews). A measure of intermarriage also occurred and was generally accepted.[11]
The South African gold rush began after 1886, attracting many Jews. In 1880, the Jewish population of South Africa numbered approximately 4,000; by 1914 it had grown to more than 40,000.[12] So many of them came from Lithuania that some referred to the population as a colony of Lithuania; Johannesburg was also occasionally called "Jewburg".[13]
Jews fought on both sides during theSecond Boer War (1899–1902), and Jewish soldiers, such asBritish Army officer Karrie Davies, participated in some of the most significant engagements of the conflict, including thesiege of Ladysmith. Nearly 2,800 Jews fought in the war on the British side, andThe Spectator reported that 125 of them werekilled in action during the conflict. On the opposing side, roughly 300 Jews served on the Boer side; collectively they were known as theBoerjode (Boer Jews). Jews who lived in theTransvaal andSouth African Republics and held citizenship rights wereconscripted along with other residents of the republics (known asburghers), though other Jews volunteered.[14] Jews fighting on the Boer side participated in many of the major engagements of the war, and continued to fight in theguerrilla phase of the conflict asbittereinders; 12Boerjode are known to have been killed in action, while 80 were captured by the British. CapturedBoerjode were held inprisoner-of-war camps in South Africa,Ceylon,Saint Helena,Bermuda andIndia.[15]
During this era the South African Jewish politicianMorris Alexander would be a notable community figure. In 1906 he helped pass a law that hadYiddish reclassified as aEuropean language as opposed to aSemitic one. This prevented Yiddish speaking Jewish immigrants from being stopped on racial ground, which has been a frequent occurrence.[16][17]
Although South African Jews were granted equal rights after the Second Boer War, they again became subject of persecution in the days leading up to theSecond World War. In 1930, theQuota Act, passed by theSouth African government, was intended to curtail the immigration of Jews into South Africa. The vast majority of Jews immigrating to South Africa during this period came fromLithuania. Thecensus of 1936 recorded a total of 17,684 Yiddish speakers in the Union of South Africa with 11,528 of them living in theTransvaal.[18] The 1937Aliens Act, motivated by a sharp increase the previous year in the number ofGerman Jewish refugees coming to South Africa, brought such migration to almost a complete halt. Some Jews were able to enter the country, but many were unable to do so. A total of approximately six-and-a-half thousand Jews came to South Africa from Germany between the years 1933 and 1939.[19] During this period, manyAfrikaners sympathised withNazi Germany due to theiranti-British sentiment, and organisations such asLouis Weichardt's "Grayshirts" and the pro-NaziOssewabrandwag were openly antisemitic. In theSouth African Parliament, the oppositionNational Party argued that the Aliens Act was too lenient and advocated a complete ban on Jewish immigration, a halt in the naturalisation of Jewish permanent residents of South Africa and the banning of Jews from certain professions.[20]
After the war, the situation began to improve, and a large number of South African Jewsemigrated toIsrael. South African Jews in Israel number around 20,000 in the 21st century.[3][21] During this time, there were also two waves of Jewish immigration to Africa from the island ofRhodes, first in the 1900s and then after 1960.[22][23]
In this period, Jewish activism in South Africa also included attempts to secure the position of Jews overseas. In 1933, following the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany, a correspondent for theSouth African Medical Journal reported on the systematic oppression of Jewish medical professionals in Germany. These actions included denial of graduations for Jewish medical students, employment bans, forced resignations, raids on a Jewish medical association, and violent attacks on individual doctors. The report concluded that the actions of the Nazi regime likely had the tacit support of the German medical establishment and ended with the request that South African doctors protest the actions.[24]
The overall Economic Upward Mobility of Jewish South Africans has evolved severely over time. Beginning with the early immigration to South Africa throughout the discoveries made of diamonds and gold, Jewish immigrants found their place in the fields that benefited from these discoveries. Specifically, opportunities were found in fields such as retail, mining, and manufacturing.[25] These Jewish immigrants who found their place in these fields worked their way up the totem pole, benefiting from communal mutual aid programs to lift one another up and into the South African economy.[25] As time went on, many of these Jewish South Africans succeeded at furthering their careers from starting positions to becoming professionals in various fields such as law, banking, and medicine. This can be attributed to accessible education, mutual aid networks, and hard work.[25][26] Despite the obvious hardships and challenges they faced as immigrants, many members of the South African Jewish community have found their place in the South African economy and workforce due to innovation, entrepreneurship, and assimilation altogether, they have most definitely shown their contributions in South African society.[27][28]
The development of the South African Jewish Cultural Identity has developed with time between an interesting dynamic of community traditions, support, assimilation and adaptation into South Africa as a whole. As Jews immigrated to South Africa primarily from Eastern Europe, the large majority consider themselves to beAshkenazi Jews. They brought over many specific traditions and practices both religiously and culturally that have created a foundation for the modern day South African Jewish community, primarily concentrated in larger cities of South Africa such asCape Town andJohannesburg.[29] As the community continued developing with time, Jewish institutions such as Jewish Day Schools, cultural community centers, and synagogues developed as well. These institutions played a major role in the development of a united identity, unique to South African Jewry, finding a place for Jews in South African society even under an Apartheid Government.[30] In a Post-Apartheid reality, South African Jews have managed to properly integrate themselves into discussions of current events as the country continues to heal from overcoming such violent oppression for many years. Many South African Jews tend to link themselves to human rights discussions and initiatives to continue working towards equality in a country with such intense history.[31] All of these developments have extremely shaped how we can see the South African Jewish Cultural Identity as it is today.
Despite the previously mentioned sympathy and support manyAfrikaners had for Nazi Germany, thousands of Jews within South Africa began to integrate into urban life.[32] Despite this urban integration of Jewish immigrants, many Jewish families sent their children to separate educational institutions.[32] This separation within the education system was intensified due to theChristian National Education protocols implemented in South Africa around the 1950's.[33] Christian anti-Semitism became a driving factor for keeping Jewish youth out of specific aspects of public life in South Africa.[34] By 1970, the Jewish Educational Institutions within major urban hotspots around South Africa had become the primary source of education for majority of South African Jews.[32]
When theAfrikaner-dominatedNational Party came to power in 1948 it did not adopt an anti-Jewish policy despite its earlier position. In 1953 South Africa's Prime Minister,D. F. Malan, became the first foreign head of government to visit Israel though the trip was a "private visit" rather than an officialstate visit.[35] This began a long history of cooperation between Israel and South Africa on many levels. Elements of the South Africa Jewish community through such bodies as theSouth African Zionist Federation maintained a cordial relationship with the South African government even though it objected to the policies of apartheid being enacted. South Africa's Jews were permitted to collect huge sums of money to be sent on as official aid to Israel, despite strict exchange-control regulations. Per capita, South African Jews were reputedly the most financially supportive Zionists abroad.[36]
Despite the anti-semitism of the ruling National Party, Jewish people were considered as white under the law and shared the same privileges as the Afrikaners. After theRivonia trial in whichNelson Mandela and several co-defendants, some Jewish, were sentenced to life in prison, the Apartheid government praised then-Attorney generalPercy Yutar, who was Jewish as well, and held him as a 'savior of the country.'[37] The Afrikaner National Party government also collaborated with the Israeli government who sold them arms and anti-rioting equipment to suppress Black communities.[37] The apartheid government also secretly worked with Israel to develop a nuclear program.[37]
Many Jewish South Africans, both individuals and organisations, helped support the anti-apartheid movement. It was estimated that Jews were disproportionately represented (some sources maintain by as much as 2,500%) among whites involved in anti-apartheid political activities.[38] Much like other English-speaking white South Africans, Jews supported either the Progressive Party or the United Party. One organisation, the Union of Jewish Women, sought to alleviate the suffering of blacks through charitable projects and self-help schemes. Fourteen of the 23 whites involved in the 1956 Treason Trial were Jewish and all five whites of the 17 members of the African National Congress who were arrested for anti-apartheid activities in 1963 were Jewish.
Some Jewish university students vehemently opposed the apartheid movement. A large number of Jews were also involved in organisations such as the Springbok Legion, theTorch Commando and theBlack Sash. These anti-apartheid organisations led protests that were both active (e.g. marching through the streets with torches) and passive (e.g. standing silently in black). Two Jewish organisations were formed in 1985: Jews for Justice (in Cape Town) and Jews for Social Justice (in Johannesburg). They tried to reform South African society and build bridges between the white and black communities. The South African Jewish Board also passed a resolution rejecting apartheid in 1985.[39]
In addition to the well-known high-profile Jewish anti-apartheid personalities, there were very many ordinary Jews who expressed their revulsion of apartheid in diverse ways and contributed to its eventual downfall. Many Jews actively provided humanitarian assistance for black communities. Johannesburg's Oxford Synagogue and Cape Town's Temple Israel established nurseries, medical clinics and adult education programs in the townships and provided legal aid for victims of apartheid laws. Many Jewish lawyers acted as nominees for non-whites who were not allowed to buy properties in white areas.[40]
The liberalProgressive Party, whose main championHelen Suzman was the only MP consistently voting against apartheid legislation for many years. Suzman's critics argue that she did not achieve any notable political successes, but helped to shore up claims by the Nationalists that internal, public criticism of apartheid was permitted. Suzman's supporters point to her use of her parliamentary privileges to help the poorest and most disempowered South Africans in any way she could.
Harry Schwarz was in minority opposition politics for over 40 years and was one of the most prominent opponents of the National Party and its policy of apartheid. After assisting in the 1948 general election, Schwarz,Uys Krige,Sailor Malan, and others formed theTorch Commando, an ex-soldiers' movement to protest against the disenfranchisement of the coloured people in South Africa. From the 1960s, when he was Leader of theOpposition in theTransvaal, he became well-known and achieved prominence as a race relations and economic reformist in theUnited Party. As an early and powerful advocate of non-violent resistance, he signed theMahlabatini Declaration of Faith withMangosuthu Buthelezi in 1974, which enshrined the principles of peaceful negotiated transition of power and equality for all. It was the first of such agreements by black and white political leaders in South Africa. In 1975 he led a breakaway from the United Party due to its ineffective approach to criticism of apartheid, and became leader of the newReform Party that led to the realignment of opposition politics in South Africa. Schwarz was one of the defence attorneys in theRivonia Trial who defendedJimmy Kantor,Nelson Mandela's lawyer until he was also arrested and charged. Through the 1970s and 1980s Schwarz was amongst the most forthright and effective campaigners against apartheid in Parliament who was feared by many National Party ministers.
In 1980, South Africa's National Congress of the Jewish Board of Deputies passed a resolution urging "all concerned [people] and, in particular, members of our community to cooperate in securing the immediate amelioration and ultimate removal of all unjust discriminatory laws and practices based on race, creed, or colour". This inspired some Jews to intensify their anti-apartheid activism, but the bulk of the community either emigrated or avoided public conflict with the National Party government.[41]South African Jews have a history of political moderation and the majority supported opposition parties such as first theUnited Party, then theLiberal Party,Progressive Party and its successors during the decades of National Partyapartheid rule. (SeeLiberalism in South Africa). The prime example of the more moderate approach is that of the highly assimilatedHarry Oppenheimer (1908–2000) (born Jewish but converted to Anglicanism upon his marriage), the richest man in South Africa and the chairman of theDe Beers andAnglo American corporations. He was a supporter of the liberal Progressive Party and its policies, believing that granting more freedom and economic growth to South Africa's Black African majority was good politics and sound economic policy. The banner for this cause was held high byHelen Suzman, as the lone Progressive Party member in South Africa's parliament, representing the voting district ofHoughton, home to many wealthy Jewish families at the time.Harry Schwarz, a refugee from Nazi Germany, also played a key role in national opposition to Apartheid and later became South Africa's Ambassador to the US during its transition to democracy. The Progressive Party (later renamed the Democratic Party and then the Democratic Alliance) was later led by Jewish politician,Tony Leon and his successor,Helen Zille. Zille is of Jewish descent: her parents separately left Germany in the 1930s to avoid Nazi persecution (her maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother were Jewish).
In 1980, after 77 years of neutrality, South Africa's National Congress of the Jewish Board of Deputies passed a resolution urging "all concerned [people] and, in particular, members of our community to cooperate in securing the immediate amelioration and ultimate removal of all unjust discriminatory laws and practices based on race, creed, or colour". This inspired some Jews to intensify their anti-apartheid activism, but the bulk of the community either emigrated or avoided public conflict with the National Party government.[42]
The Jewish establishment and the majority of South African Jews remained focused on Jewish issues. A few rabbis spoke out against apartheid early, but they failed to gain support and it was not until 1985 that therabbinate as a whole condemned apartheid (Adler 2000). TheSouth African Union for Progressive Judaism took the strongest stand of any of the Jewish movements in the country against apartheid. It opposeddisinvestment while women in the movement engaged in social work as a form of protest. This includes the Moses Weiler School in Alexandra founded by RabbiMoses Cyrus Weiler, where for generations the school has been funded and led by women from the Progressive movement, even in opposition to the Bantu Education Act, 1953 (Feld 2014).
Tony Leon who was the Federal Leader of theDemocratic Alliance (2000-2007) andHelen Zille from (2007-2015) are both Jewish.
Although the Jewish community peaked in the 1970s (at around 120,000),[5]) about 52,000 Jews, mostly nominally Orthodox, remain in South Africa. A proportion are secular, or have converted to Christianity. Despite low intermarriage rates (around 7%),[5] approximately 1,800 Jews emigrate every year, mainly toIsrael,Australia,Canada, and theUnited States. The Jewish community in South Africa is currently the largest inAfrica, and, although shrinking due to emigration, it remains one of the most nominallyOrthodox communities in the world, although there is a smallerProgressive community, especially inCape Town. The nation's Progressive communities are represented by theSouth African Union for Progressive Judaism. The current OrthodoxChief Rabbi,Warren Goldstein (2008), has been widely credited for initiating a "Bill of Responsibilities" which the government has incorporated in the national school curriculum. The Chief Rabbi has also pushed for community run projects to combat crime in the country.
The community has become more observant and in Johannesburg, the largest centre of Jewish life with 40,000 Jews, there is a high number and density ofkosher restaurants and religious centres. In politics, the Jewish community continues to have influence, particularly in leadership roles. Currently, the sole national Jewish newspaper, with a readership of about 40,000, is theSouth African Jewish Report.[43] In 2008, a Jewish radio station,ChaiFM, commenced broadcasting in Johannesburg, and also broadcasting on the internet to the large South African "diaspora".[44] Despite a fall in number, since 2003 the number of South African Jews has stabilised.[5]
The 2016 Community Survey mini-census conducted by Statistics South Africa found the largest numbers in the following municipalities:Johannesburg 23,420; Cape Town 12,672; Ethekwini (Durban) 3,599; Ekurhuleni (East Rand) 1,846; Tshwane (Pretoria) 1,579; Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth) 623; Msunduzi (Pietermaritzburg) 600; Mangaung (Bloemfontein) 343; Stellenbosch 316; Buffalo City (East London) 251; Mbombela (Nelspruit) 242.[45]
Kosher certification in South Africa plays a significant role in the local Jewish community. Currently, there are three agencies operating in the country, namely the Union of Orthodox Synagogues (UOS) Kosher Division, Kosher Certified South Africa (KCSA), andMK Kosher. These agencies provide certification and supervision services to ensure that food products meet the strict dietary requirements of Jewish law.[46][47]
Judaism in South African music, has evolved with the introduction of new technology well articulated and educatedhip hop music artists such as Pope Troy with his second and only global academically accredited Hip Hop music album in South Africa "Ancient African Gravity Guardian of Netanyahu, The Chronicles of Ezekiel" plays a role in ensuring that Jewish heritage has a significant footprint in Africa and the world as a whole, through music as a medium and a tool for spreading common knowledge and ideologues, the Jewish heritage and history remains strongly supported in South Africa, celebrating the Jewish culture, products and ideas as well as its religious prospects, have pushed South Africa away from, acts of anti-Semitism.[48]
TheLemba,Remba, orMwenye[49] are anethnic group which is native toSouth Africa,Malawi,Mozambique andZimbabwe of mixedBantu,Ethiopian andYemeni heritage. Within South Africa, they are particularly concentrated in theLimpopo province (historically aroundSekhukuneland) and theMpumalanga province.
Since the late twentieth century, there has been increased media and scholarly attention about the Lemba's claim of common descent fromFirst Temple-eraJews.[50][51] GeneticY-DNA analyses have established a paternal Middle-Eastern origin for the majority of the Lemba population.[52][53]
Traditionally, Jewish education in South Africa was conducted by theCheder orTalmud Torah, while children received secular education at government and private schools. There were, initially, no formal structures in place forRabbinical education. (Note that although the majority of South Africa's Jews are descendants ofLithuanian Jews who veneratedTalmudic scholarship, the community did not establish schools oryeshivot for several decades.)
An important change took place in 1947, whenKing David School was established as the first full-time dual-curriculum (secular and Jewish)Jewish day school – the high school was established in 1955. Today, the King David schools are, combined, amongst the largest Jewish day schools in the world[citation needed].[54][55] King David's equivalent inCape Town is "Herzlia" (United Herzlia Schools) with Carmel School inPretoria andDurban (both subsequently renamed), and theTheodor Herzl School inPort Elizabeth (est. 1959).Umhlanga Jewish Day School (subsequently renamed), was opened in January 2012, to cater for Jewish children in the greater Durban area.[56] In total, nineteen Day Schools, affiliated to theSouth African Board of Jewish Education, have been established in the main centres.[57]
The first religious day school, theYeshiva College of South Africa, was established in the mid-1950s, drawing primarily on the popularity of theBnei AkivaReligious Zionist youth movement. As an institution with hundreds of pupils, Yeshivah College is today the largest religious school in the country, with Torah studied alongsidethe national curriculum.Other educational institutions sharing this same Religious Zionist /Modern Orthodox ideology include thekollel (Bet Mordechai) andmidrasha (Emunah) ofMizrachi, Johannesburg, and theYeshiva of Cape Town, aTorah MiTzion kollel. Cape Town also has thePhyllis Jowell Jewish Day School andCape Town Torah High, both schools integrating Torah studies.RabbiAvraham Tanzer, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva College for over 50 years, is credited with the growth of that school and its associated institutions,[58] but more broadly, with the "massive sea change for the South African Jewish community and for its spiritual development".[59]
In parallel to the establishment of Yeshiva College, and drawing on the same momentum,[60] several smalleryeshivot were opened, starting in the 1960s. TheYeshivah Gedolah of Johannesburg,[61] established in 1973 by RabbiAzriel Goldfein, is the best known of these, having trained dozens of South AfricanRabbis, includingChief Rabbi DrWarren Goldstein. The Yeshiva follows the"Telshe" educational model, although accommodates students from across the spectrum ofHashkafa.
This era also saw the start of a large network ofChabad-Lubavitch activities and institutions. There is today aLubavitch Yeshiva in Johannesburg (Lubavitch Yeshiva Gedolah of Johannesburg) serving the Chabad community, a ChabadSemichaprogramme in Pretoria (having ordained 98 Rabbis since its establishment in 2001[62][63]), and Lubavitch Day schools in Johannesburg (theTorah Academy school) and Cape Town. Johannesburg boasts tenChabad Houses, Cape Town two and Kwazulu-Natal one, all of which offer a variety of Torah classes and adult education and informal children's education programmes.
The 1970s saw the establishment of aHaredi kollel,Yad Shaul, as well as the growth of a largebaal teshuva movement, with other yeshivas established also. This was supported by the Israel-based organisationsOhr Somayach andAish HaTorah, which established active branches in South Africa in the 1980s and 1990s (Arachim had an active presence then also). Notable figures such asMoshe Sternbuch andAharon Pfeuffer played a major role in the Haredi community at that time, withAkiva Tatz being an especially popular speaker. Yad Shaul was led byBoruch Grossnass for over 40 years.
There are today severalHaredi boys' schools in Johannesburg, each associated with one of the yeshivot, as well as 2Beis Yaakov girls' school as well as other frum girls schools .Ohr Somayach, South Africa operates a full-time Yeshiva in Johannesburg – with itsbet midrash established in 1990, and its kollel (Toras Chaim) in 1996 – as well as a midrasha;[64] it also runs a bet midrash in Cape Town. Aish HaTorah emphasizes student-focused programming – lectures and retreats, as well as various group trips to Israel – and also runs a community synagogue for singles and young marrieds.,[65] as of 2025 there are about 6 full-time yeshivos and numerous kollelim in South Africa; seeOrthodox yeshivas in South Africa.
TheProgressive Movement maintains a network of supplementary Hebrew and Religious classes at its temples. These schools are all affiliated to the SA Union for Progressive Judaism. Rabbi Sa'ar Shaked, congregational rabbi ofBeit Emanuel is currently involved in efforts to establish a Rabbinic Academy and Higher Education Institution inGauteng.[66]
Conservative /Masorti's presence in South Africa is limited to one synagogue in Johannesburg.[67]
Limmud was introduced to the country in 2007. TheLimmud South Africa conferences are held in August/September each year. South Africa's Orthodox rabbis do not participate, unlike the UK's Orthodox Rabbinate part of whom have taken part in Limmud UK; seeLimmud § Relationships with Orthodoxy in Britain.
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