TH E J E W I N SO UT H A F R I A C .

RA B B I DR H Z . H E T R . J . .

j o H AN N E SB U R G L T H E C EN T RA N EWS AG E N CY,

L M T E D 1 0 . I I , 9 5

PR E S S PI N I N S O O .

London J ewish Chronicle (E ditorial c omment)

’ Dr H e z P e the J e w in S u . rt s ap r on o th A frica is a val u abl e c ontribu tion to J ewish

his t r not e e the w hich o y , m r ly for information

it emb dies bu t be o , also for its practical arin g

Dr z . H e on cu rre nt qu estions . rt has don e a ” h s u seful service to t e J ewi h cau se .

A u u h T ransvaal Lead er . l mino s record of t e ” s the J w s colonising hi tory of e .

21 075 61 P R E F A C E .

THIS Paper , read before the First Zionist

on 9th 1905 Conference in South Africa , July , , deals with a chapter of Jewish history—the Jew — as discoverer and pioneer of which the outer

h world knows not ing , and even Jews them

selves all too little . As it is , furthermore , the first attempt to present the story of the Jew

in all the South African colonies , the author

n invites correctio s of the facts enumerated . Such information he hopes at a later date to

c of embody in a fuller ac ount the same subj ect .

J . H . H .

x 3206 J ohannes bu r 0 . B o P. , g ,

e tember 25 t 1 9 05 S p h. . A T H E JE W I N S O U T H A F R I C .

H E R T z . DR H . B Y RAB B I .

— I ntrOduCt‘ Om N all newer countries countries like America , I — Australia , South Africa the Jew , according to popular fallacy , is a late comer who has arrived on the scene to reap in ease what others have

. I s is J env _it d sown in tears and travail Tfhe , m _ hel immi i nt has a recent g a , who been unwilling to d r h h d un e go t e ar ships of the pioneer , who has had no share in the building of any roads f oi the v I n r t s f or ci ilisation , the c ea ing of any new p ath the industry and commerce , of the younger lands ' ‘ n he now inhabits . This being the u iversal — opinion and the J e w himself in his ignorance ’ does not gainsay ih—" is it a wonder that the Jew s admission to these new co u ntries comes to b e looked upon as a matter of grace and bounty , that the cry of 071 3 Land is so often raised against the Jewish immigrant , that his rights are n held to be inferior in antiquity and in kind eve , to those of the population who have other racial and religious affinities of The Jews America , some fifteen years ago , began to realise the grave seriousness of leaving v this universal fallacy unchallenged . E en if the facts of history seldom change the views of the

- anti Semite , it was essential , they saw , that Jews at least should be taught the truth ; that they themselves should no longer look upon them

selves as interlop ers , as exploiters but rather as ac tiv e participants in the upbuilding of the T he J ew in S ou th Af r ica .

u . Introd ction. national life Our American brethren set to work and founded " The American Jewish His ” tor ic al Society . In the twelve volumes that

that Society has published so far , is to be found a complete and absolute vindication of the American Jew ’ s position in the national house in hold . The Jew , New York , for example , it is

now seen , had preceded the Irish and German

immigrant , and was the contemporary of the

proud Virginian , the reverend Puritan and the 1 s u bstantial Knickerbocker . His communal life

dates back 25 0 years , to the day when New York

was a little village , New Amsterdam , with a

population of 200 inhabitants , ruled by Peter

Stuyvesant , under the direction of the Dutch West India Company ? Aided by the researches

of men like the late Rabbi of Budapest , Dr . M .

a erlin t. K ys g, these scholars have brought to ligh an even earlier domicile of the Jews on the

shores of the New World . Before New York fl i u tim was , learned Rabbis ourished and wrote p y and halachic works in South America ; and scores of Jewish martyrs were cremated by the

Inquisition in Mexico , Chili and Brazil . And to w cro n all , generations before these sages and

u ff s erers , Jewish sailors were among the first to be lured by the cry of Westward Ho " For at least five Jews do we find among that stout 5 ’ hearted crew that accompanied Columbus on his first voyage into the vast immensity of the u n

known sea . 3 It were well if the Jews living in this Newer World were to imitate the example of ou r Ameri ou r can brethren . For in case is it not the ume as of general belief , ass d a matter course , that the first Jews only arrived on the discovery of the Kimberley Diamond Fields , followed seventeen years later by the rush to the Wit ? w ate rs rand Gold Fields Only self - delusion

(1) S e e Lou i s Marsh all : Th e J e w as an E lement of th e "Ame ri can" " ulati on P s P es e 111 th e A me) wan H eb ew M a 5 th a t and r nt , r , y , fgofi 2 hnF sk e : T h e u ak e th e Du h e in Ame i ( ) Jo i Q r and tc Coloni s r ca, - . I . . 330337. Vol " L pp 3 S ee Ame th e D s e in th e ewish E nc clo czd ia ( ) rica, i cov ry of, J y p , 5 1L Vol . L . p . ? The J ew in S ou th Af r ica.

l I ntmduct on‘ of will blind us to the fact that , as a consequence t such prej udice , the respec enj oyed by the Jewish community of South Africa is not at all com mensurate with its services and its sacrifices for this country . So far , next to nothing has been done to collect the various data , statistics and early events of the various Jewish settlements . " We are too busy making history to have time ” to write it , was the answer received from a leading South African Jew by an inquirer con cerning the beginnings of our earliest communi f n ties . The wisdom o that answer is o a par of with its modesty . Verily , not in such a spirit folly and conceit will we Zionists undertake to win for the Jew that respect which is due him from his neighbour . It is in the hop e of enlist ing your assistance in this most important work of collecting the building - stones for a South Af rican Jewish history that I venture to come before you , delegates of the First Annual Confer f A o S . ence the Zionist Federation , with this ” on paper The Jew in South Africa .

- of Jewish interest in the sub continent South 23320313? anti u ‘ A r q w' frica , that pa t of the world to which the J e w ish Diaspora has spread latest , goes back to hoary anti quity . Scattered over the plateau of Southern

Mashonaland and Matabeleland , the mysterious Zimbab e y Ruins have been discovered . Though we cannot speak with any certainty of these a arch eological curiosities , yet in all probability these are the vestiges which ancient Semitic gold seekers and Solomonic Ophir - explorers have left behind them , when at some unknown date , centuries ago , some inscrutable calamity com pelle d them to abandon their work in South 1 Africa . J e w ish 1 mm” , of If however , we leave the field conj ecture aI I OD 111 and confine ourselves to historical times , the 5353353533 connection between Jews and South Africa

1 E nc clo aed 1a B Vo . ( ) y p i i , L m 711 B e : r tann ca ” T. nt T h e Ru e es M s h in d Citi of a onaland . The J ew in S ou th Af r zca.

begins some time befor e the epoch - making dis c ov ery of the Cape of Good Hope by Bartholomew

. Ka se rlin Diaz . The researches of Dr y g in the archives of Portugal and Spain have established J of the fact that the ews Portugal , in the period of 1497 before the expulsion , as well as later in nn the Mara o p eriod , have had a large share in of those early voyages gallant adventure , in those romantic discoveries and conquests which opened 1 up the new worlds to civilised humanity . 4 In 1 38 , Henry the Navigator , most brilliant

of the Portuguese Princes , whose geographical

explorations discovered Madeira and the Azores , appointed Mestre Jaime or J E H U DE CR E SQU E S OF MALLOR CA (called Map - Jew or the Com

- pass Jew a noted mathematician , cartographer of and manufacturer nautical instruments , as

Director of the National Naval Academy . The improvement of the astrolabe and the invention of a means for determining the distance of a ship from the equator by the varying position of th e difi erent sun in seasons , an invention which alone

made long ocean voyages possible , is largely due I to Portuguese Jews under King oao II . In 14 84 B OF J , A RAHAM BI A and JOSEPH ZAPA DE E G TEIRA LOM A (the latter , according to Mr Lucien Wolff an ancestor of the Monte fior e s) brought back to Europe the information th at a new route to India could be found by sailing

down the coast of Guinea . Towards the end of the fifteenth century we find AB RAHAM ZA OU T O 15 15 of (died , author the Hebrew historical chronicle Y u c hasin nautical adviser to Vasco of da Gama , the discoverer Natal in 14 97. These were the years immediately succeeding the ex 14 pulsion of the Jews from Spain in 92. fiv e 1497 For years , till , the Portuguese kings allowed the wretched refugees from the fires of

the Inquisition to soj ourn in Portugal . For this

1 M K a s e rli n : h ) . y g C ris toph e r Colu mbu s and th e Partimp ati on of " th e e w s i th e S ni sh P ugues e Dis e i es 18 4 J n pa and ort cov r , 9 . " 2 u e W l : M s es M ontcfiore 1884 12 ( ) L ci n o f Sir o , , p . . 9 The J ew tn S ou th Afr ica .

) s l 1 ”t Ifiitii1:1 privilege they exacted from them , with fiendish ‘ - fi m . fi fi tté i . cruelty , an exorbitant sum as head oney It " ” - or - was this head money , rather blood money , of the doomed Jews which supplied the kings of Portugal with the funds required for the expedi A tions of Vasco da Gama , lbuquerque and Cabral

A . to South frica , Brazil and the Far East It is , t in fact , established beyond any doubt , thatJ us to as Jews accompanied _ M fi fi fi é xfia they sailed southward with B arth olomew Diaz and his valiant successors to fi s to di cover and double, f and the coast o Natal .

We have seen Jews in the company of the Cap e Colony. discoverers . We shall find them also among the U colonisers and the pioneers . nfortunately , this n period of our history has ot yet found its Dr .

Ka erlin ys g, and still awaits research in the

of . archives Holland It is , however , only logical to assume that as there were strong Jewish influences at work in the Dutch West India Company which established New Amsterdam

(later New York), Jews must likewise have been interested in the administration and work of the Dutch East India Company at the Cape of Good A Hope . mong the early families I find a large of number possible Jewish names , like Wasser mann , Vogl , Straus , Meyer , Marx , Marais , one or Langerman , Kleyn , etc . Surely another of these will upon investigation turn ou t to be

Jewish . Remember that the Jew is everywhere

- Gibbon has found him on the Papal throne . Scholars have met him in the ranks of the a Spanish Inquisitors , as well as in Medi eval 65 England , during the 3 years when , if dis

to of . covered , he was liable the penalty hanging It would be nothing short of a modern miracle - to in Jewish history , if in such a half way house the E ast as the Cape (during 15 0 years a depend T he J ew in S ou th A fr ica .

pe y. Ca Colon m ency of Holland , the first land to welco e them and grant them full liberty) no Jew shou ld have

fl . lived , or Jewish in uences been at work D uring the seventeenth and eighteenth cen tu ries the State religion alone was allowed to be 25 th 1804 publicly observed . On July , , the

Dutch Commissioner , General Jacob Abraham u de Mist , established religio s equality for of persons all creeds in the Colony , by a Proclamation which was annulled at the u of 18 6 English occ pation 0 , and was not

- r e 18 0. J established till 2 ews , however , did not arrive in any numbers the

' ‘ ' O h nn 1 B ENJ N twenties f t e i eteenth century . AMI D N N CU NOR E , SIMEO MAR S , together with a score of others arriving in the thirties , were commercial

pioneers , to whom is due the industrial awakeni ng of almost the whole interior of the

Cape Colony . The development of the wool and

hide trades . for example , will always be associa Of U L U D L ted with the names J I S , A O PH and E N L B JAMES MOS THA . y their enterprise in going to Asia and returning with thirty Angora 185 0 goats in , they became the originators Of the Mohair industry ; Cape Colony to - day yields ’ more than one - half of the world s su pply of moh airfl AARO N and DAN I E L DE PA SS were

among the first to open up Namaqualand , and for many years (1849- 86) were the largest ship of owners in Capetown , and leaders the sealing ,

whaling and fishing industries . Jews were among the first to take to ostrich farming

Joel Myers , in the Aberdeen district) ; the first ro u gh diamond discovered on the Kimberley

Diamond Fields was bought by Lilienfeld , Of Hopetown ; and Je ws are among the Directors of the De Beers Consolidated Diamond Mines , which controls a great part of the world ’ s

- diamond outp ut to day.

l) e Rabb ino m tz N C Jo l : otes on Je ws in Sou th Af r m i , ew s h hronicle ca J i . M a A u us 1895 y g , C to t, 2 C r n - ” ( ) S . o wri ght Sch remer : The A G ngora oat, 1898. The J ew in S ou th Afr ica.

e Cap Colony . not These pioneers did , however , confine their D N activity to trade . CAP TAIN JOSHU A N OR E was shot at the head of his mounted burghers in of 1 4 6 T L DE the Kaffir war 8 LIE U . E IAS PASS fought in the Kaffir war of 1849 . JU LIU S N T L 1818 MOSE HA ( brother Of the poet S . of was of Mosenthal Vienna , a member the Cape 1 . N C B Parliament in the fifties SIMEO JA O S ,

M - . G . 1 C . ( 832 was Attorney General of Brit

1861 - 66 ish Kaffraria from , when he became

- Solicito r General at the Cap e . He was Cape

A - 1874 - 82 ttorney General from , in which year he was appointed Judge in the Supreme Court , f and made a member o the Executive Council . As the acting Attorney - General of the Cap e 1872 Colony in , Jacobs introduced and carried the Cape Colony Responsible Government Bill and the " Voluntary Bill ” (abolishing State ai d for to the Anglican Church) , both Of which bills L L N SAU SO OMO , the member for Capetown , had

d e c ade s S l m p fought for g Saul g q p , for a genera of tion the leader the Liberal party , has been " ” called the Cape Disraeli . He several times declined the premiership , and was invited into the first responsible Ministry , formed by Sir

John Molteno . Again , like Disraeli , he early left the ranks Of Judaism , but always remained a lover Of his p eople . He was born at St . Helena , h 1 17 182 May 25 t , 8 , and was sent to London in 2 to be initiated into the covenant by the then

Chief Rabbi , R . Solomon Herschell , whereupon he attended the Jewish school Of H . M . Solomon , at Edmonton . He went to Cap etown when a lad , where with his brother Henry he started a print ing Office , and later founded and edited the ” " l th . 6 Cap e Argus . He died Oct , De Of s c endants these two brothers , Justice Solomon

- and Sir Richard Solomon , are to day among th e most eminent men in South Africa . The few

me in ewi s h E nc r c lo wdm VOLVI I 1 Se e a s / , . ( ) J cob , Si on , J p W m H s of Ou r O w n me s in u h Af 2 A . . ( ) . il ot i tory Ti So t rica, Vol I ’ ( 3) T h e date s of Solomon s li fe I ow e to th e k indnes s of th e K e ep er h s th e e of th e Arc ive of Cap Colony . ‘ The J ew W Sou th Afmca.

Ca e y. p Colon l other St . Helena Jews who sett ed there during ’ Napoleon s banishment , the Gideon , the Moss ,

and the Isaacs families , were all related to the

Solomons , and , like them , mostly drifted from

Judaism . The minor honours and distinctions f or which fell to the lot o these early Jews , those

w on by another generation in recent years , are

too numerous to mention . The first congregation in South Afri ca was 184 1 started in Capetown , in November , , and the initial service was held in the house of Benj amin f o B . Norden , at the corner ouquet and St John c on Streets , S . Rudolph , a German merchant ,

ducting the services . He was succeeded by the w h o first minister , the Rev . Mr . Pulver , soon left 1 A . 5 9 for ustralia In 8 the congregation , then of e consisting some fifte n families , extended a E L N T Z 1 2 call to the R V . JOE RAB I OWI ( 8 9 who for twenty- three years w orked indefatigably for for his congregation , the scattered Jewish f families in the coast towns , and the interior o

Cape Colony and the Orange Free State . Through his efforts the first Synagogue in South Africa 2 was erected in The Gardens in 186 . Rabino all v e rtitable witz , as know , was a genius in for collecting monies every charitable cause , Jewish or non-Jewish ; and he enj oyed in an exceptional degree the esteem and friendship of

all classes , including such men as the High

Commissioner , Sir Bartle Frere , Saul Solomon ,

. 18 and the elder Reitz His successor , in 83, the B L 1 RE V . A RAHAM PHI IP ORN STEIN (1836

1866- 76 was minister at Melbourne from , and 1876- 82 of from , Principal Aria College , Portsea . 1 895 . A a He died at Capetown in generation go, there was rarely a Minyan in Capetown on ordi

- nary Sabbaths ; to day , there is a population of w ith four large synagogues , a Zionist Hall

and a Hebrew Public School . The President of

" 1 See s ( ) e , A h m Ph in ewish E nc clo azdza Orn t in bra a ilip, J y p , Vol . I". / The J ew Sou th Af r tea.

Cape Colony .

Old H ebre . the w Congregation , Mr Lieberman , is ‘ the Mayor of Capetown . For the sake of completen ess I must condense some Jewish statistics of the congregations ou t side of the Cap e Peninsula . There are syna o u es Ste tlers g g in Worcester Road , Robertson , y

- t ville and East London ; Graaff Reine , with a 1 61 congregation sinc e 8 , and Grahamstown , which seventy years ago was an important Jewish

no . settlement , have synagogue Oudtshoorn , of 600 c on with a Jewish population , has had a re ation 1 1890 g g since 883, and a synagogue since , a B eth H ammidrash with a Russian Rav and a

J ewish Public School . Port Elizabeth (Jewish pop ulation 800) has had a congregation since 1 1870 862 and a synagogue since , the former ministers being the Rev . Dr . S . Rappap ort and the Rev . D . Wasserzug . In Kimberley, Jewish services started in 1869 and a congrega 1 D I H A R R I . . COL. V S C M . G tion in 873, with DA I , 1885 (he served under General Warren in , in affif various K wars , and was prominent in the of m e 1899 defence Ki b rley in and G . H . P P Bonas , J , . , in recent years alternate residents . no o u e 19 1 to The new sy g g , 0 , which Cecil Rhodes

was a large donor , has a memorial tablet to all J ewish Officers and soldiers in the British Army

A - B wh o fell in the last nglo oer War . The former

e . . ministers were the R vs M Mendelssohn , A. 1863 Ornstein (born , who died at the early age of 2 2 , greatly beloved , and received a p ublic

. . . f . funeral) , M L Harris and E Jof e T w o Kimberley Jews are known far beyond the

of S —one B . borders outh Africa , the late I . B A RN A I' ‘ O 2 w ho , , from the humblest beginnings , founded the house of B arnato ; the other i s A 3 M LF D LY C . G . w h RE MOSE , , o established the 1 Princess Christian Hospital in Natal in 900, and equipped and conducted the Mosely Industrial

‘ ‘ ” f l ) S e e H r is D in ew sh E nc clo cedia ar , avid, J i y p , Vol . VI.

2 H . Ra 0nd : B . . B 189 ( ) I arnato, 7 ‘ ‘ ’ ” 3 See Wh s Wh o 19 ( ) o , 04. T he J ew in S ou th Afr ica.

N atal . and Education Commissions to the United States

in 1902 and 1903. In the story of Natal we come across a great

Jewish traveller , and are reminded that in men

like Nathaniel Isaacs , Emin Pasha , Louis A. 1 of innominate s Lucas , to say nothing a score of

who have travelled , explored and pioneered in all f parts o Africa , Jews are still producing Benj amins 2 N E L 1 0 of Tudela . NATHA I ISAACS (born 8 8) 1 came to Natal from St . Helena in 825 . He was among the first to venture into the realms of of Tchaka , the Attila South Africa . Dr . Theal , of the eminent historian South Africa , pronounces Isaacs ’ Travels in Eastern Africa indispensable Of to the students early events in Natal . He left ’ 1831 T c h aka s Natal in , when successor , Dingaan ,

had prepared to massacre the few whites , and of Spent the remainder his life in Gambia , and

on an island in the Gulf of Guinea . Isaacs warmly advocated the annexation of Natal by 1 Great Britain , which course was adopted in 842. Thus fourteen years before the fo rmal annexa

tion of Natal by the British , and ten years before

it was reached by the Boers , Nathaniel Isaacs " ” was Principal Chief of a large portion of

Natal . The importance of the document war 3 -s rant its reproduction in full .

’ A t T c haka s P R e d rincipal si e nc e , T oo ooso e the R e Ma at g , n ar iv r g ee ,

S e . 1 1 2 pt 7t h , 8 8 .

I , T , K and e the Zool chaka ing Prot ctor of oos , do h ereby cre at e in pre s e nc e of my principal chiefs and e e b ed e d N strang rs ass m l , my fri n , Mr . athaniel

, du I ncoola P C e N Isaacs In na or rincipal h i f of atal , and ( and e e lo grant mak ov r to h im , his h eirs or e xe u ee and u c tors , a fr f ll possess ion of my t erri the U i ii laas R e w e s w rds N l tory from iv r , t a of ata , the U mshlo ti e -w d N to , ast ar s of atal , w it h 100

e d the s ea u d the mil s inlan from , incl ing B ay of N the s d the ba th atal , i lan s in y, e fore sts and the e s be w e e the b u d e s here e u e d riv r t n o n ari n m rat e . I

E x e 1851- 1 Congo plor r. 876. T h e e w s h M P i . w e f h e u y J arco olo t l t c nt r . S e e J F s y h I m ' T h e or t ngra Story of an A frican Seap Dui ban 1899 ort , J en ( 8 71 Ch) outs /e u y 25 and , J l th , The J ew in S ou th Afr ica .

N atal. also make over to him the p eopl e h e now has in his

e e e w the M u b r be . I s ervic , tog t h r it h al an t i also grant him a fr ee and exclu siv e right to traffic w ith bu th e Zooloos my nation and all p e opl e tri tary to . So do e s the pow e rful King T chaka of the Zooloos Mr N e I the recomp e nse . athani l saacs for se rvices r e nde red to h im to subdue Batia n e e e e ed and o G oma , for pr s nts r c iv from him , for the gre at att e ntion to my pe opl e in the mission s e nt w it h h im and Captain King to conclu de an Al l and alliance w ith h is B ritannic Maje sty . this my form e r gifts I d o confirm an d wishing peace d I e and fri en ship sign mys lf , his T chaka " E s enzengercona

mark . his

J J ob I e e e H o e o . ohn " ac , nt rpr t r (a tt nt t)

mark . F F H . . Witn esse s : yn n . J H u ohn tton . Later J ewish events in Natal merely reproduce those of Cape Colony on a smaller scale . Daniel D e Pass was among the first sugar planters in

N B E R G T H E I L 1820- 1902 Natal , and JO AS ( ) took his seat in the Natal Legislative Assembly some years before Jews were admitted to Parliament of R es on in England . Since the introduction p of sible Government , in the nineties the last century , A . FASS was member Of Parliament , and

VY of . M . G . LE Mayor Maritzburg Congrega tional 1 74 life started with a D urban Minyan in 8 , 1 J an. 1 8 4 . and a synagogue dedicated , 8 The Fe instock former ministers were the Revs . and J .

KRAM . The Durban Jewish population , which before the last Anglo - Boer War was only some 2 A 00, now numbers new synagogue was 4 1 0 . dedicated there in June , 9 Through the of annexation the Vryheid district to Natal , in 1902 now , that Colony has at Vryheid a second s na o ne A 19 4 y g g , dedicated in pril , 0 . Some Vryheid J ews had lived there before the Zulu The J ew tn S ou th Afr ica .

of War, and took part in the formation the New

Republic . ge R i e Oran v r O Colony. Jews settled in what was then the range River Sovereignty when its white population di d U N N not exceed ISAAC BA MA , born in 1 1 ff— 1837 8 3, arrived at Graa Reinet in and moved

to Bloemfontein in 1847. He and Martin Pincus were for a long time the principal mer

chants in the Orange Free State . For forty years after the establishment of the Orange Free State

1 or - in 85 5 , one two German Jewish families ,

- many of them from Hesse Cassel , were to be

found in nearly every hamlet , together control ling the larger portion of the trade of the Free Y om State . An annual Kippur service was insti ’ 1871 tute d in Mr. Baumann s house in , in which

year the first Jewish funeral occurred . The Bloemfontein Congregation was started in 1887; was a a beautiful synagogue consecr ted in March ,

4 o f - e 190 , in the presence the Lieutenant Gov rnor , of the Executive Council , and the Justices the

Colony . Despite their small number , Jews have from the first occupied an enviable position in

the Orange Free State . Isaac Baumann was twice Mayor of Bloemfontein and Di rector of the LE V E . I S U B National Bank . M , a veteran Of the Basuto War (1864 has been connected with the State Museum and Volks Hospital since E — their formation ; and W . H R LI CI I is Deputy of Mayor Bloemfontein , Chairman of the Cham

of - ber of Commerce , member the Inter Colonial Of Railway Council , and President the Congrega

a - tion . Gustav Baum nn was Surveyor General ’ of the Orange Free State during President Steyn s

administration . The Jewish population of Bloem

fontein is nearly 800.

Transvaal. A few Jews lived in the territory across the

. DE Vaal even before the seventies M . VRIES , a ew S P r i Dutch J , was tate ublic P osecutor n 1868,

T he J ew in S ou th Afr ica.

s Tran vaal. hailing from the Barberton Gold Fields and

Kimberley . Consequent on the first Jewish 12th 1887 death on the Rand on May , , the Government made a grant of the present ceme

te r one y , in which up to date not far from thou e sand burials have tak n place . Religious organi on l 0th 188 sation started July , 7, with the formation of the Witwatersrand Gold Fields

c . Jewish Asso iation , of which later the Rev Joel earl Rabinowitz was minister . In the following y the Association having changed its name to the

Witwatersrand Hebrew Congregation , the build ing of the present President Street Synagogue

was begun . Some three years later followed the

- Park and the Orthodox Synagogues . To day ,

Johannesburg possesses a Jewish School , an fl Orphanage for all South Africa , a ourishing emillu s Chasodim G Society , and a model Chevra Kadisha which most effectively combines the f u nctions of a Burial Society with those Of a

Board of Guardians . The Jewish population has always formed an integral portion of the busi

ness , intellectual , social , and political life of the

town . Jews sat in the Old Stadsraad and sit in

the present Town Council , and Mr . HARRY SO LOMO N is a member of the Transvaal Legisla

tive Council . The Pretoria community , numbers over has a synagogue (erected 1898) and a Jewish Public School (Opened the former largely maintained by and the latter the gift Of

Mr . Marks . There are synagogues in Heidelberg u and Volksr st (Since Krugersdorp , Klerks dorp and Germiston and Roodepoort

A dramatic interest attaches to the fight ,

continued during a decade , for the removal of the

special Jewish disabilities , over and above those to which the ordinary Uitlander was subj ected in Old the South African Republic . Though freedom The J ew in S ou th Afr ica.

Transvaal. 1870 of worship was granted to all residents in , " ” the revised Grondwet of 1 896 still debarred

Jews and Catholics from military posts , from the or position of President , State Secretary , magis trate , from membership in the First and Second of Volksraad , and from Superintendencies natives and mines . All instruction was to be given in a

Christian and Protestant spirit , and Jewish and Catholic teachers and children were excluded

- from State subsidised schools . Though there were servile flatte re rs and concession - hunters who belittled these restri ctions , there were seven J ews among the sixty - four reformers engaoled at Pretoria in 1896 : LION E L PHILLIPS (sentenced N L K V to death) , CAPTAI BET T E HEIM , ARRI DA IS , MA " LA N G E R MA N N LD N G . . L A . GO RI , S B JOE , A L of and FRIT Z MOSE N TH . The mass Jews especially felt the educational disability very gri evously . President Kruger and the Executive Council were approached before and during elec

of tions , in times calm and in times of commo O flfic iall indiv i tion , y and unofficially , through

duals , deputations and committees . A blunt " ” or non possumus , , at the best , an admonition t of to rust to God and the goodwill the President , r were the usual replies . D u ing the franchise

discussions , consequent upon the Bloemfontein of inh bi Conference , a mass meeting the Jewish a 2 th 1899 to tants was called 8 June , , protest against the exclusion of Russian J ews from the benefits of the franchise which was about to be

. For extended addressing this meeting , as well

U of 26th 1 the itlander meeting July , 899, one Of the J ewish ministers Of J ohannesburg was

exp ell ed from the Transvaal , December ,

Aside from these political grievances , however , the relations between the Jew and the Boer have

of d always been the most cor ial nature .

1 S e e T h e U e A i i in Me ( ) i g , nor ah Monthly S ep em " tland r tat on ” , t b r 1899 T h e e , ; e J e w th U i a e in A me ican H eb ew , and " tl nd r r r m e 29th 189 e e . 9 : Th e B e s e us e a S pt” b r and o r and R ligio Tol r in ew sh Chronzcle F e u 9th 19 —all th tion, J i , br ary , 00 by e write r of h s e t i pap r. r i a The J ew in S ou th Af c .

s a Tran va l . Some of the most heroic deeds of the three years ’ Boer War—such as the Gun Hill incident before Ladysmith—were due to the dash and

daring of Jewish soldiers like Maj or Karri Davis . u Over Jews fo ght on the British side , and

according to careful enumeration , the London ” Spectator declared that the p ercentage of Jewish soldiers killed in the war was relatively

the largest of all races . Within the Boer ranks

the story of the J e w is much the same . They were with the Vierkleur on every battlefield Jewish " irreconcilables ” fought to the bitter

end , and scores of Jewish prisoners were to be

found at St . Helena , Bermuda and Ceylon . Rh odcsm etc , . Amo ng the most ardent supporters of Cecil Rhodes ’ Cape to Cairo all British Route were LF E D BE I I’ ‘ L Jews like A R , and later the WEI of family at Mafeking . Daniel M . Kisch , later Pretoria was Chief Adviser of Lobengula from

18 - 18 68 7 . 93 3 Immediately after his fall in , Jewish congregations were established in Bula

wayo and even as far north as Salisbury . The O f 330 w former has now a Jewish population , ith u a synagog e , a Zionist Society , and charitable

organisations . In the Matabele rebellion of 1896

fourteen Jews fought , and their proportion among the defenders at Mafeking was exceptionally

large . Annual services are held in a few places

in Bechuanaland and the Kalahari desert . In Portuguese territory some Sephardic Jews in Lou rengo Marques are attempting the formation

of a permanent Congregation , with synagogue ,

bet hayyim and hazzan . There are as yet no signs of Jewish life in German South - wesi

Africa . R s ume e . To complete this survey of the leading facts i n

w e South African Jewish history , must give as near as possible the statistics of the Jewish pOpu lations in the various colonies . To do that with The J ew in S ou th Af r ica .

Resume . absolute exactness is not always possible , as the answer to the denominational question on the census enumeration pap er is not compulsory , and many Jews seem to have a liking for the role Of modern Marranos . Approximately Cap e Colony 600 has Jews , Natal Rhodesia , Orange River Colony Portuguese territory

300, and the Transvaal some This totals nearly for South Africa , a number larger than the Jewish p op ulation of Italy and Belgium

or of com combined , Canada and Australia in b e d . Does South African J ewry yet realise its position among the J e w ries of the worl d As yet that question cannot b e answered ffi to i n the a rmative . However , up a certain J degree , it is true that ewish congregational not life in South Africa is growing , only extensively but intensively . This is largely due 65 to the Zionist movement , which has societies m from the Cap e to the Za besi , federated into the LD E C South African Federation (S . GO R I H , your P resident , was entrusted by Lord Milner with the gradual r e - admission after th e war Of nearly the whole alien Jewish p op ulation Of the Rand) .

n - m l I ter marriage , alar ingly preva ent in former years , is diminishing ; and Jewish religious education , in its present state a disgrace , is the most i nsistent topic of discussion in every Jewish

. on centre The fact is, Jewish communities this sub - con tinent are still in the period of first

- growth , and merit neither the self praises they on have lavished themselves , nor the sneers of hostile critics they have evoked . Unattractive sides of communal life now and then come to the r su face , dissensions and rivalries occur , but these things have not been unknown in older com m u nities . U nfortunately , neither the brief and often inglorious careers of various Je wish news es um R e. papers , nor the bitterly partisan correspondence

in the London weeklies , have helped the formation

of a sound communal public opinion . On all of sides , however , there are signs moral and of religious awakening , and a more earnest desire

for concerted action . Thus , when it was found that the late war had left behind it a legacy of

prejudices against the poorer Russian Jew , and the feeling of antagonism against him as an

intending immigrant , various bodies , alongside

the South African Zionist Federation , urged the

anglicisation and naturalisation Of the alien Jew , and attempted to vindicate him from false and

imaginary charges . Thus , at the Inaugural Public Meeting of the Jewish Board of D eputies

for the Transvaal and Natal , which was held on 28th 1 3 n July , 90 , and at which Lord Mil er it delivered a memorable address , was proved by ofli c ial th e figures that , notwithstanding universal

belief to the contrary , Jews furnished but five s i per cent . of illicit liquor Offender A similar w Board of Deputies for the Cap e Colony , hich was started the follo w ing year in Capetown by L " N D es e c i Advocate MORRIS A E A ER , has done p ally good work in fighting for the recognition by the Cape Government Of Yiddish as a Europ ean

language , one of the requisites of an immigrant . Granted that none of these movements have fully not j ustified the hopes set on them , still are they so many proofs that the South African J e w is

dissatisfied with the present , that the number of those South African Jews is growing who hold as lon as one o u s ts not r ee we ar e none that g f f , of u s f r ee ? This sentiment alone contains Of within itself the possibilities a better future . ’ With God s help and our best efforts , that better

future will one day be ours .

1 See R e port of Inau gur al Public Mee ting of Je w ish B oard of De u es th e s N a p ti for Tran vaal and at l .

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