The ‘South African Honour Garden’, dedicated to honouring activists who fought against apartheid and then made a contribution to Israeli society, was inaugurated in Park Hayearot in Tel Mond, near to Netanya in Israel. The inaugural ceremony brought together several organisations, including the South African Zionist Federation and KKL – JNF.
Siyabonga means ‘Thank You’ in isiZulu, and 36 trees have been planted in the memorial area, each accompanied by a plaque bearing the name of an activist. Visitors will be able to scan a QR code that will provide brief biographies of honoured activists. Additionally, the site features a statue sculpted by a South African artist and benches for visitors to rest and reflect.
The activists were Jews who supported the State of Israel and held various roles such as doctors, musicians, judges, and politicians.
This initiative serves to remember and pay tribute to those who fought for justice and equality while maintaining a bond with the State of Israel and making a contribution to the betterment of the lives of its citizens.
Former Capetonians included in the Siyabonga Garden
A leading figure in Jewish affairs internationally, Michael Schneider, who became the Secretary General of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) in 2007, was born in Paarl and lived in Worcester for some time. WJC President Ronald S Lauder described him as “…one of the unsung heroes of the Jewish people.”
A committed anti-apartheid activist, he eventually fled South Africa in the 1960s to avoid arrest. Granted political asylum in London, he began working in the Jewish communal world, taking up a leadership role in the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a position that allowed him to become involved in some of the most significant missions to rescue Jews, such as the initiatives in Soviet Russia, Ethiopia, Iran, Syria, Yemen and Bosnia. He was also the head of the World Jewish Restitution Organisation, which works to recover Jewish property stolen or confiscated by Nazi Germany and the USSR.
Pauline Podbrey was not originally from Cape Town but she moved here in the hope of finding greater acceptance of her interracial marriage to HA Naidoo. This dream was, unfortunately, not completely realised, though, since her “…daughters were denied enrolment at the local Jewish school in Cape Town due to their ‘mixed race’ status.”
She moved to England with her children, where she became involved in the Anti-Apartheid Movement from the time of its founding.
Podbrey was one of a handful of Jewish anti-Apartheid struggle heroes who refused to sign a petition denouncing Israel during the Second Intifada, citing Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself against acts of terror. She made a comment that is so true today: “It…infuriates me, this antagonism and hostility to Israel simply because it’s Jewish.”
You can read more about her life and beliefs in her memoir, White Girl in Search of the Party, which is available for borrowing from the Jacob Gitlin Library.
A long-serving member of Parliament representing the United Party, Harry Schwarz came to South Africa from Germany before the Second World War, initially settling in Cape Town with his family.
As a lawyer, he served on the defence team at the Rivonia Trial, a case which resulted in the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela.
Schwarz was a founding member of the Torch Commando, an organisation of ex-servicemen, which protested against the Government’s removal of the franchise from Coloured people.
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