Cornelius Bosch, Still life with fowers, oil on canvas Robbert Leggat, two works: SOLD R22,000 Kingfshers, bronze cast SOLD R10,000 Art, antiques, objets d’art, furniture, and jewellery wanted 19th Century German carved for forthcoming auctions oak library bookcase SOLD R22,000 For more information 083 675 8468 • [email protected] www.rkauctioneers.co.za • 12 Allan Road, Bordeaux, Johannesburg south african n Volume 24 – Number 18 n 29 May 2020 n 6 Sivan 5780 The source of quality content, news and insights t www.sajr.co.za Board of Deputies and medical experts caution against opening shuls reopening shuls. scrupulously maintained, and that’s not JORDAN MOSHE “Any gathering of people has inherent guaranteed. AND TALI FEINBERG risk, with singing and other religious “I understand that restrictions need to be activities potentially increasing this risk removed to kickstart the economy,” he said. laces of worship have and promoting the spread of disease,” said “People are suffering, and this needs to be been given the green epidemiologist Dr Natacha Berkowitz. weighed against public-health considerations. light to resume services “Right at the beginning of the epidemic, we However, I don’t see how houses of worship Pacross South Africa next week, saw clusters of cases coming from religious come into that equation.” but medical experts and the Ilan Ossendryver Photo: gatherings, even when the gatherings were Dr Leon Fine, professor of biomedical South African Jewish Board of restricted to less than 50 people. In my science and medicine, speaking from Los Deputies (SAJBD) are urging opinion, while theoretically it could be a low- Angeles, told the SA Jewish Report, “My religious leaders not to open the risk activity, I don’t think it’s a good idea.” advice would be to resist opening for at least doors of our shuls just yet. Jeffrey Dorfman, an associate professor another month or maybe two. A shul is an “Medical experts have agreed of virology at Stellenbosch University, ideal environment to spread the virus. It’s that there is a great danger encourages a cautious and flexible approach definitely not worth the risk at this stage.” in opening shuls at this very to reopening, starting outside the Western Dr Alan Rabinowitz, associate clinical precarious time,” SAJBD Cape, and being prepared to pause services if professor of cardiology at St Paul’s Hospital National Director Wendy Kahn events warrant it. in Vancouver, said, “It’s premature [to open told the SA Jewish Report on “Services should meet in very large rooms shuls] given that cases in South Africa are Wednesday evening. or even outside in shul courtyards,” he said, still on the rise. I would advise shuls to wait SAJBD national chairperson “with limits on the number participating at least another month in order to observe Shaun Zagnoev said, “We are in the service – possibly fewer than the the trajectory of the disease.” concerned by the medical currently mooted 50 per event”. “Te prescribed measures are likely to evidence which shows that Beyond social distancing and masks, reduce the risk, but they aren’t likely to there have been mini outbreaks Dorfman said that siddurim, tallitot, and eliminate transmission,” said Professor Gert wherever people gather. chumashim shouldn’t be shared, and that van Zyl, pathologist and consultant virologist Professor Barry Schoub, the afford to lessen our vigilance in Report. “Te president explained symptoms, contact history, and temperature at Stellenbosch University. “It’s difficult to founding and former director of any way.” his philosophy, that the country screening should occur before entry into shul. weigh up the possible risk of interaction the NICD [National Institute for “To date, we have placed was moving from the stage of “In the spirit of caution, the chazzan and against its emotional and health benefits. Communicable Diseases of South substantial reliance on our lockdown into finding ways the Torah reader should be far away from “What makes COVID-19 so difficult Africa] and one of our advisors medical experts, and believe to cope with the disease and anyone else. Even the person having an aliyah to control is that some people may be has noted that the reopening that to deviate from taking prevent its spread. He gave should step back once having said the bracha,” very infectious without any recognisable of shuls at this stage of the their advice now would be ill- this framework, and asked for he said. symptoms. Tere are indications that the COVID-19 epidemic in South considered,” said Zagnoev. comment from religious leaders.” “Tere will need to be thought about the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads not only by large Africa would pose a very serious “It’s much too early,” said Leader after leader from rules concerning children who will be unlikely droplets but also by aerosols [small droplet threat to the Jewish community. Schoub. “It should be one of the across all faiths asked the to distance themselves socially when seeing nuclei], which makes it more difficult to “In several countries in last restrictions to go.” president to allow reopening their friends for the first time in months.” control,” he said. “Terefore, many factors Europe and in the United States, President Cyril Ramaphosa places of worship under strict Said Schoub, “Safety measures such as are important: the time people spend especially in New York, Jewish announced on Tuesday night health conditions. Te president disinfection, hygiene, and sanitation can’t together; the number of people sharing communities have suffered that South African places of agreed to take all this input into guarantee the prevention of transmission. an enclosed space; how well the rooms grievously with far too many worship, including mosques, consideration in subsequent If they are rigorously carried out and or spaces are ventilated; is there natural deaths and serious illness. Te churches, and shuls, may discussions. maintained, they could minimise the sunlight; and whether the surfaces are Jewish population of these reopen under strict conditions “When the president made his risk. However, these measures have to be cleaned regularly.” countries has been more severely during lockdown level 3 as of Sunday speech and didn’t give affected in numbers of deaths 1 June. Tese include limiting details [about places of worship], Because they CAN help and serious illness than any attendance to 50 people per he was still working out what other. In Britain and France service, wearing face masks, to do. After that, he had further respectively there have been sanitising and social distancing, discussions with various five and six times the number as well as routine cleansing of religious bodies during the week of deaths proportionate to their the prayer space. and came to this conclusion.” population.’” Te announcement came Goldstein said he was in back- Netcare Chief Executive after extensive discussions with to-back meetings with medical Dr Richard Friedland told religious leaders from across the and communicable disease the SAJBD, “We need to be faith spectrum, said Chief Rabbi experts, the Beth Din, rabbis, extremely cautious in regard Dr Warren Goldstein. and lay leaders of shuls to work to the dangers of a potential Just as he was faced with the out the community’s response to ‘post lockdown euphoria’. In tough decision to close our shuls the president’s allowance. the 1918/1919 Spanish flu at the start of the pandemic in “All the decisions will pandemic, it was the second South Africa, he is now faced be communicated to our wave or ‘peak’ that followed with another tough decision community as soon as possible, the initial relaxation of the first about whether to reopen them. bearing in mind that the lockdown that caused the most “Last Wednesday night, president’s change of legal deaths [almost 50 million]. In there was a Zoom meeting of position is effective only from South Africa, we are easing the the president, senior cabinet Monday, 1 June,” he said. lockdown and we haven’t yet ministers, and religious leaders Other medical professionals Photo: Ilan Ossendryver Photo: experienced the peak of new from across the country,” the have backed up the view that daily infections, so we can’t chief rabbi told the SA Jewish it’s inadvisable to rush into Caron-Leah Resnick hands over a food parcel to a resident of Kliptown. See story on page 8 Mexem Print advert 3 PR.pdf 1 2018/09/17 10:14 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 29 May – 5 June 2020 SA JEWISH REPORT 3 Repatriation flights between Israel and SA finally take off TALI FEINBERG flight only on the Saturday evening Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), a week before it took off, and had the National Joint Operational and or two months, scores of to give their final answer two days Intelligence Structure (NatJoint), South Africans stuck under later. They then had five days to Ethiopian Airlines, the South lockdown in Israel and pack up their lives. African embassy in Tel Aviv, and FIsraelis unable to leave South “All the airports we travelled the representatives of the group Africa have been waiting to hear through were completely empty. awaiting repatriation,” she says. “We when they could go home. It was pretty weird,” says Lagrisi. have also assisted individuals within It all came together over the last Their temperatures were checked the group with specific issues that week, with flights arranged in both at every stop, and they had to fill arose during the process.” directions in a number of forms along the Two people who played an essential role behind the scenes are Kelli Sussman and Ivana Goldfein, The logistics for the flight Town.