THE HISTORY OF THE PIETERSBURG [POLOKWANE] JEWISH COMMUNITY by CHARLOTTE WIENER Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the subject JUDAICA at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: MR CEDRIC GINSBERG NOVEMBER 2006 SUMMARY Jews were present in Pietersburg [Polokwane] from the time of its establishment in 1868. They came from Lithuania, England and Germany. They were attracted by the discovery of gold, land and work opportunities. The first Jewish cemetery was established on land granted by President Paul Kruger in 1895. The Zoutpansberg Hebrew Congregation, which included Pietersburg and Louis Trichardt was established around 1897. In 1912, Pietersburg founded its own congregation, the Pietersburg Hebrew Congregation. A Jewish burial society, a benevolent society and the Pietersburg-Zoutpansberg Zionist Society was formed. A communal hall was built in 1921 and a synagogue in 1953. Jews contributed to the development of Pietersburg and held high office. There was little anti-Semitism. From the 1960s, Jews began moving to the cities. The communal hall and minister’s house were sold in 1994 and the synagogue in 2003. Only the Jewish cemetery remains in Pietersburg. 10 key words: 1] Pietersburg [Polokwane] 2] Zoutpansberg 3] Anglo-Boer War 4] Jew 5] Synagogue 6] Cemetery 7] Rabbi 8] Hebrew 9] Zionist 10] Anti-Semitism ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following: Mr Cedric Ginsberg, my supervisor, for his invaluable assistance, patience and meticulous corrections The late Mr Wally Levy for his information concerning families and events in the Northern Transvaal. His prodigious memory was extremely helpful to me My husband Dennis and children Janine, Elian and Mandy, for their patience with my obsession to finish this thesis. Many thanks to Dennis, Janine and Alan Roberts for their expertise with the computer Mr Yochai Ohayon for giving me the courage to explore my potential All the residents of Pietersburg and the Northern Transvaal who so willingly gave up of their time to be interviewed, as well as those who were willing to unearth articles from their family archives Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft for his assistance and knowledge of the country communities The researchers at the South African Beth Hatefutsoth for their assistance Naomi Musiker of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies archives for her assistance and expertise The South African National Archives, Pretoria for their assistance Martha Lev Zion and Paul Cheifitz who provided information on family trees TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE ZOUTPANSBERG AND PIETERSBURG...................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 2: THE EARLIEST JEWISH SETTLERS IN PIETERSBURG AND ITS SURROUNDING AREAS UNTIL 1899................................................................. 33 CHAPTER 3: THE EFFECT OF THE ANGLO-BOER WAR 1899-1902 ON THE JEWS OF PIETERSBURG ..................................................................................... 52 CHAPTER 4: THE INFLUENCE OF THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS, ESPECIALLY REV J I LEVINE, ON THE PIETERSBURG HEBREW CONGREGATION UNTIL 1963........................................................................................................................ 74 CHAPTER 5: THE PROBLEMS CONCERNING THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS AFTER 1963........................................................................................................... 98 CHAPTER 6: SYNAGOGUES AND BUILDINGS IN AND AROUND PIETERSBURG SERVING A RELIGIOUS OR COMMUNAL FUNCTION........116 CHAPTER 7: THE ROLE OF THE CHEVRAH KADISHA [BURIAL SOCIETY] IN PIETERSBURG AND ITS SURROUNDING AREAS ..........................................146 CHAPTER 8: THE WOMEN’S STORY................................................................164 CHAPTER 9: THE ROLE OF ZIONISM IN THE COMMUNITY ........................189 CHAPTER 10: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE JEWS AND THE NON- JEWS IN PIETERSBURG AND SURROUNDING AREAS .................................218 CHAPTER 11: THE DECLINE OF THE COMMUNITY FROM 1992 UNTIL 2003 ...............................................................................................................................252 CONCLUSION......................................................................................................283 GLOSSARY ..........................................................................................................295 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................300 APPENDIX I .........................................................................................................309 APPENDIX II ........................................................................................................310 APPENDIX III.......................................................................................................312 APPENDIX IV.......................................................................................................326 APPENDIX V........................................................................................................333 INTRODUCTION The aim of this study is to record the history of the Jewish community of Pietersburg [Polokwane], from its earliest beginnings in the 1890s until the time it ceased functioning as a Jewish community in 2003. It records information about where the Jews came from, why they came to the Pietersburg area, how they adapted to their new surroundings and the larger community and why they eventually left the area. The life of the Pietersburg Jewish community mirrors in many ways the development of Jewish communities in other country towns in South Africa in the origins of its settlers, its Jewish commitment, its institutions and its decline. As a large number of the Jewish country communities in South Africa are disappearing there is a need to document their history for posterity before all the pertinent information is lost. According to Elazar and Medding's ‘Centre and Periphery’ model1, the South African Jewish community is an example of structured power, whereby the countrywide institutions formulate policy. This model of authoritative control works well in the relatively homogenous Jewish community of South Africa. Other models are the American Jewish model of ‘pluralistic’ diffusion of power, where it is difficult to locate the source of decisions affecting the overall community, and the separatist fragmentation of Argentinian Jewry. In the South African context, Pietersburg was a satellite town which looked to Johannesburg and its Jewish institutions as the centre for guidance in its Jewish needs. In the same way, Pietersburg [Polokwane] became the centre in the Northern Transvaal [Limpopo Province] for the Jewish requirements of the surrounding satellite towns of Louis Trichardt [Makhado], Messina [Musina], Potgietersrus [Mokopane] and Tzaneen, as well as the smaller hamlets of 1 Soekmekaar, Haenertsberg, Duiwelskloof, Eersteling, Smitsdorp and Marabastad. Whenever possible, the Jews of the nearby towns and smaller settlements relied on the Pietersburg minister to provide their children with a Hebrew education and to supply kosher meat. The Pietersburg Chevrah Kadisha performed their burial ceremonies. The Pietersburg community organized family days and regional committees in the Northern Transvaal which strengthened the ties between the Jewish communities of the north. The Zoutpansberg Hebrew Congregation, which included Pietersburg and Louis Trichardt was established in 1897. However, Pietersburg broke away in 1912 as the Pietersburg Hebrew Congregation [PHC]. The Potgietersrus Congregation was established later in 1927 and the Messina Congregation only in 1937. The exact numbers of Jews in the early years of Pietersburg is not known, although a list of donors to the building fund of the Pietersburg communal hall placed under the hall’s foundation stone in 1921 contained the names of 70 men from Pietersburg2. Community records show that Pietersburg’s Jewish population was at its peak in 1943 when there were 369 Jews. The decline in Jewish members of South African rural communities began in the 1950s, at a time when the overall South African Jewish community was still rapidly growing3. Therefore the decline of country communities was not part of the overall decline in the number of Jews in South Africa, which only began later. The Pietersburg community followed this trend of disappearing country communities from the late 1950s so that when the synagogue was closed in 2003, only a dozen Jews were left in the town. 2 The development of the Northern Transvaal and the major towns of Pietersburg, Louis Trichardt and Potgietersrus at the end of the 19th century are described in Chapter One. This information serves as the background to the description of the growth of the Pietersburg Jewish community. The area changed its name several times in the course of the history of South Africa. The British recognized the Boer Republic, the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek [ZAR] [Transvaal Republic] 4, in 1853. The ZAR’s existence was ended when the Boers lost the Second Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 and this area, including the Northern Transvaal, was incorporated into the British Empire. In 1910 the Transvaal was incorporated into the Union of South Africa with the Cape Province, Orange Free State and