Being Jewish isn’t a choice; it’s a birthright

I was born and raised in a small town in South Africa named Benoni. At its height, Benoni was home to more than 600 Jewish families. We had a wonderful, large shul, a Jewish school, and a thriving Jewish community. 

Over the years, the Jewish congregation slowly began moving out of Benoni, setting their sights on the larger Jewish communities of Johannesburg and, eventually, abroad. Today, there are perhaps only five Jewish families that remain in the town. Our shul was closed and sold, and our ohel was removed from the Jewish cemetery in Rynsoord following years of vandalism. 

However, I remain here in Benoni. Although I had moved to Johannesburg in my 20s, I returned to my birthplace in around 2019. 

I feel it is of the utmost importance to leave a lasting heritage of our people and our faith in a town where Jewish people once flourished. I will therefore be establishing a permanent monument and commemorative plaque at our cemetery to tell the story of the Jewish people who arrived in Benoni in the early 1920s and went on to build and establish one of the most prominent and vibrant Jewish communities in South Africa. 

When a community disappears from a town, its history shouldn’t disappear with it. 

In Judaism, remembrance is deeply important. When a synagogue closes and passes into other hands, the sacred objects and religious life move with the community. But the memory of the people who built, worshipped, and lived there should remain. Jewish communities throughout the world have recognised the importance of preserving cemeteries, historic buildings, plaques, and monuments so that future generations can know that Jewish life once flourished in places where it may no longer exist. 

For decades, Jewish families were part of the fabric of Benoni. They established businesses, educated their children, built institutions, worshipped together, celebrated together, and contributed to the wider community. Their lives formed a significant chapter in the history of the town and in the history of South African Jewry. 

I plan to establish a monument to those families, the children, the generations, the traditions, the faith, the friendships, and the lives that made up the Jewish community of Benoni. 

It’s a way of saying, We were here. We lived here. We built here. We worshipped here. We raised our families here. We contributed to this town. And although the community has largely disappeared, our history must never be forgotten. 

The monument will stand as a permanent reminder that Benoni was once home to a remarkable Jewish community. 

For those of us who remain, it is our responsibility to preserve that memory. 

We may no longer have our shul, our school, or the community we once knew, but we can ensure that the story of the Jewish people of Benoni remains. 

To be born Jewish isn’t a choice; it is a birthright. And with that birthright comes the responsibility to remember those who came before us and to set an example to the world, of what Judaism really means. 

• Michael Jankelowitz has a career in residential property, development and commercial real estate, but says his most meaningful work is rooted in preserving the history of the community he calls home.