Over 200 women from as far away as the Strand gathered at Suikerbossie Restaurant, Hout Bay, for the Union of Jewish Women’s, Relaunch Celebration.
C Nik Rabinowitz started the morning with some humorous nudges aimed at the audience and the UJW. It did not take long before he was in full flow, with the guests enjoying every minute.
Leaza Cowan welcomed everyone and introduced the new UJW logo Women of Action which depicts a ‘tree lady’ representing the UJW members: Multifaceted, Elegant, Strong, Supportive, Independent and Unique. Leaza emphasised, that in order to be relevant to today’s women, “We have to look at our past, our phenomenal history, our philanthropy, activism, fighting for women’s rights and empowering others — before we can tackle the future”
Newly established Project W4W (Women for Women) was also presented. W4W is a platform designed to engage in issues on activism, trafficking, gender abuse and education. The UJW has been actively involved in discussions around Kol Isha at Yom HaShoah and in supporting the Facebook group Go- Getters, working with the Beth Din, to assist women who have not received Getts from their estranged husbands.
Leaza encouraged all women to join the UJW — to ‘pick their passion’, get involved and assist the Jewish and Cape Town communities.
Nik then interviewed the wonderful Siphokazi Mdlankomo — runner up of Master Chef SA 2014, about the challenges she faced both during and after the competition as well as her future aspirations.
She spoke about her love of cooking and how she wanted to better herself by studying further. She has written a cookbook which was available at the function. Siphokazi’s partner in the YouTube hit ‘Short Chef, Skinny Chef’, Claire Allen demonstrated making pancakes with the aid of the restaurant chef.
Three longstanding UJW members were inducted as Honorary Life Members; Freda Davis, Grace Spitzglass and Myra Goldenbaum, who combined have given over 155 years of active service and still hold leadership positions.
We look forward to seeing everyone at our next fabulous function, our renowned Women of Courage Event. Details to follow.
