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| Strolling together through the Bo-Kaap |
On Sunday 23 November, in an unusual ‘first’, 35 young university students, Jews and Muslims, spent the day together sharing and learning about their respective cultures in walkabouts and visits to their traditional historical centres.
After meeting at the Slave Lodge, they went together to the Bo-Kaap where they ‘walk-toured’ up to the Awal Mosque and visited the Bo-Kaap Museum, enjoying the lively atmosphere of the neighbourhood. The tour of the Jewish ‘quarter’ began at the Mount Nelson, where they took in the plaque commemorating the first minyan in Cape Town. Then on to the SA Jewish Museum and to the Ponevez Shul in Maynard Street.
In the afternoon they watched and discussed a video of ‘Encounter Point’, and concluded the day sharing a ‘finale supper’ — “Blintzes and curry, samoosas and chopped herring,” laughs one of the organisers, Daniel Mackintosh.
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| Learning about Jewish heritage at Ponevez Shul |
In essence, explains Daniel, it was a joint venture of young people “who refuse to be confined by the realities and constraints of our communities and want to meet, talk and create friendships. And yes, there was a lot of interaction and discussion including a significant amount of time talking about the possibility of exploring a consensus position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
We will hear more of this endeavour next year.
