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YAD gets ‘up close and personal’ …

Over 350 people got up close and personal with the famous Goldfish at this year’s Yad Launch on 18 March at the Hellenic Club. The venue looked slick but laid back, with its white couches, sequined cushions and orange lighting setting the scene for a night of fun and fundraising.

The evening commenced with a welcome cocktail, courtesy of Smirnoff Vodka Premium, and a decadent spread catered by Merle Rubin, for all to indulge in. The crowd was diverse, with everyone having the chance to mingle, network and catch up with friends. The atmosphere — buzzing with anticipation and excitement!

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Former Israeli UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman brings tough message

Melvyn Gordon, Dan Gillerman, Irit Barash and Marco Van Embden.

The war in Gaza had sent out some very clear messages, former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman told community members at a luncheon organised by the United Jewish Campaign at the Albow Centre.

The first — “Don’t mess with us” — was received “very loud and clear”, he said, adding, “We’ll hit you so hard, you’ll think twice about ever doing it again.”

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Israeli Colonel describes a uniquely humane IDF unit

Colonel Yair Ben Shalom with Lilian Sarembock,
Helen Gordon, and Leone Lasker.

On Monday evening 6 April members of the Cape Town community were deeply moved at a gathering hosted by the WPZC to meet Colonel Yair Ben- Shalom.

Colonel Ben-Shalom works in an exceptional unit of the Israeli Defence Forces, of which few have heard. This specific unit — the Department of Casualties — is committed to taking care of families whose children have been killed, taken prisoner or have gone missing in action while in the army.

Since 1947, Israel has lost 18 022 soldiers. One of the obligations of the IDF is ‘never abandon servicemen’, and thus the people of this unit establish a lifelong relationship with the families of lost, injured or missing soldiers. They are the ‘voice of the army’, giving a human face to the values the IDF hold in such high esteem.

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2009 April

The planning and execution of this Kosher le Pesach issue – specially prepared for reading as you do of the Haggadah at your seder – was by no means easy, and should be something of a surprise. In a nutshell, the normal monthly order has been reversed!
By now the print version will have reached readers, whose reaction we await with much interest – in fact eagerness.

How it will present to you in the web version is uncertain, but we are hopeful. Hopeful that it will do the ‘right’ thing – that is, with the pages numbered right to left. Indeed, all those contributors, organisations and advertisers, who insist – or plead – for ‘right hand and as near to the front as possible’, will have handle the disappointment of being ‘left hand and towards the back’.

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2008 Joseph Prize award for Helen Lieberman

Mention the name ‘Helen’ in South Africa today, and, irrespective of your particular field of reference, three personages spring immediately to mind — Suzman, Zille and Lieberman.

And while all three of them are well worthy of the headlines, one is definitely non-political, somewhat more laid back and fully focused on the job at hand, without generally being in the public eye — Helen Lieberman, the woman who some of us wryly and proudly refer to as our own Jewish ‘Mother Teresa’.

Every now and then, however, Helen Lieberman’s name does hit the media, as in a recent major initiative by Cape Talk Radio through which over R4 million was pledged for the organisation that she founded some 27 years ago, Ikamva Labantu — this appeal specifically for vulnerable children and orphans affected by HIV AIDs.

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Friends forever – Hyme Rabinowitz and Percy Sieff

Last month saw the end of a friendship that spanned some 60 years, when two exceptional men, brilliant sons of our community, passed away here in Cape Town.

Hyme Rabinowitz and Percy Sieff were men of outstanding talent and character, each a shining light in his own specific field.

Much has been written of them and their careers, with tributes pouring in from every quarter, and heartfelt messages of sympathy to their families. But it is in the words spoken when they were laid to rest that we truly comprehend the lives and the nature of the two.

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A new year and a new chairman for BZA WIZO

Tamar Lazarus, Li Boiskin, Moonyeen Castle, Barbara Flax,
Lorraine Rosmarin, Eta Flax, Scher, Zee Bergman, Annette
Price and Barbara Sandler.

Bnoth Zion association WIZO held another well attended and successful AGM on Tuesday 17 February.

Chairman Ida Broll delivered her annual report meticulously and reported on yet another dynamic year of BZA activity.

Loyal and committed members contributed to many fundraising events, she noted. The Aviv Golf Day at King David Golf Club, the Health and Beauty function at the Vineyard Hotel and the annual Yomtov Market at the Sea Point School Hall were among those she mentioned. Another significant programme she highlighted was the Hasbarah that is available to the membership, raising the levels of information and knowledge — which is so important in combating the general ignorance in relation to Israel.

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Limmud South Africa and the disappearing middle of Jewish youth leadership

Daniel Mackintosh

The longevity of our community is only as secure as its future leaders. Without young Jews who are seeking to take up the challenge of communal involvement, we may enter a period of terminal decline: youth may seek either to step out of the community entirely or emigrate to a country in which Jewish and career opportunities appear more diverse and easier to access.

In my own life, I’ve found that one significant portion of my friends (in their mid-20s) are not involved in the community because they have not found a Jewish space that interests them, whilst another group have just completed years of gruelling service in youth movements and have expressed the desire for some ‘time off’.

Throughout the Jewish world, this phenomenon has been termed the ‘disappearing Jewish middle’. According to the 2006 Kaplan Centre survey of the South African Jewish community, of those aged between 18-24, only 12% said that they were members of, and participated in, Jewish communal or religious organisations while 20% said that they were neither members of nor participants in Jewish activity.

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2009 March

We must apologise to readers about the long delay in accessing of the pages of the February issue. In fact we were informed very late in the month that the body of the issue could not be downloaded. Since we heard of this informally and with no other complaints or strong protests, it does cause us to wonder if anyone out there is actually reading on-line!

Measures will be taken to ensure that this problem does not occur again – and we trust that web readers will download all the pages for the full experience. If you are one of our online readers, it would be nice if you got back to us via email – chron@ctjc.co.za – to reassure us that you are … reading us!

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Maccabi Action Water Polo

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15 Water Polo teams comprising over 80 players of both sexes took to the water in perfect weather conditions for the Maccabi Action Water Polo tournament held recently at Herzlia.

Action Water Polo is played in a half pool with only 4 players per side, including the goalie. Although the aim of Action Water Polo is fun, with some rather unusual rules and scoring, the teams produced water polo of an extremely high standard.

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