National Jewish Dialogue
Jewish day schools in South Africa – the scorched-earth policy
How is it possible that someone can graduate through 13 years of Jewish day school education and not want to participate in Jewish communal life? I am of the considered belief that our two biggest day schools don’t serve the majority of their pupils, and are instead chasing most of them away from the synagogues and communal structures that we would want them to embrace and be part of building.
Why does this happen? Fear. On the part of the parent boards and educators, who believe wrongly that giving pupils the option of thinking for themselves is dangerous, and that a school must present only the “approved” curriculum to train young minds.
Between them, King David and Herzlia have more than 5 000 pupils at one time, and yet we don’t see anything like that number getting involved in youth movements, shuls, and communal structures, either during their schooling or upon graduating. Yes, we know that many leave South Africa for “greener pastures”, but there are many more that stay but don’t get involved. The recent closure of Herzlia Constantia and King David Victory Park are not just a sign of a shrinking Jewish population. There are many parents who have chosen instead to put their children in other schools. It is rather a sign that Herzlia and King David are failing to be what they claim to be – a Community Jewish Day School, reflecting and serving the whole Jewish community.
I would suggest that part of the problem is that we’re not giving them the tools to think for themselves about the two most important Jewish issues today – religion and Zionism. Our schools apply a top-down policy that educates exclusively an Orthodox, religious outlook, and a right-wing Zionist outlook that denies our children the ability to tackle these most complex issues.
After leaving school, there are two possible results. In the smallest cases, graduates sign up for the synagogues and structures that they were educated in. More often, pupils realise at some point in their school journey that they don’t agree with the school’s line on G-d, Torah, and Israel, and since there’s no other option available, they will have to opt out of Jewish life since it has nothing to offer them.
This scorched-earth policy loses our community some of the brightest and most talented minds due to failed engagement. What’s the solution? Take a braver educational path. Introduce a curriculum that exposes pupils to all the wealth of Jewish belief and practise in the country and the best of beyond too. Let Progressive rabbis, women rabbis, or queer educators teach the Jewish Life and Learning programme. Let LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual) activists share their Jewish journeys. Invite speakers that represent the left wing of Zionist thought to explain why they are critical of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, why the Bezalel Smotriches and Itamar Ben-Gvirs aren’t the heroes but the destroyers of the Zionist dream.
Let pupils hear that the Orthodox chief rabbi doesn’t represent the Jews of South Africa, wasn’t elected by them, or any organisation that reflects their views, but is instead just one voice among the many and varied voices that make up South African Jewry.
I want to be clear that I have the greatest respect for the teachers in the classroom who show up every day to educate and inspire. But we do them as much a disservice as their pupils when we muzzle them, tie their hands and restrict them from speaking their minds. If we cannot provide a full spectrum of Jewish life and learning then we are planning for failure.
Let our pupils engage with robust and unfettered debate that sharpens their critical thinking rather than being fed a narrow narrative that does the opposite, leaving them unchallenged, uninspired, and seeking a way out of the ghetto.
- Rabbi Greg was born and raised in Johannesburg, and is now part of the team at the Cape Town Progressive Jewish Congregation, templeisrael.co.za
Basil Dubb
August 22, 2025 at 4:06 pm
Well said Rav Greg! Many young parents, themselves graduates of Jewish Day Schools, do not want to expose their children to the constricted perspective of the JLL programmes that ignore (with contempt) the huge diversity of Jewish Life. By restricting Jewish learning to a narrow perspective that does not conform to their pupils lived experience, the Day Schools present an exotic Judaism incapable of being incorporated into students’ lives. The curriculum does not attempt to attract by inviting kids to experience a vibrant Jewish culture and society.
Coupled with the current atmosphere of exaggerated fears of antisemitism we have to ask – critically – what we are modelling to our children.
Sadly these questions are not asked as we close schools in a race to mediocrity.
Mark Lipman
August 23, 2025 at 3:36 am
I thought at first that this article was a joke parodying the folly of the multitudes of misled Jews through the Millenia who have mistakenly believed in “Judaism on their own terms”. The key phrase that this author used is a perfect answer to his dilemma. We ARE a top-down driven religion and culture despite his wishes to the contrary. We believe in a supreme being who has set a standard for life and belief and those who have tried their more convenient secular path have fallen by the wayside.
Alex Dan
August 23, 2025 at 3:45 pm
I decided not to enroll my kids in Herzlia because of its right wing zionist perspective. Was a sad day for me but I want my kids to know what is going on and decide for themselves rather than being lied to
Gali
August 24, 2025 at 9:30 am
Quite obviously, this “progressive voice” u r promoting, is quite politically left, which is morally & spiritually bankrupt & promotes reforming Jewish education to influence young, vulerable minds in their formative years with accepting the LGBT+++, leftist, anti Zionist, anti-right wing, lifestyle as normal. Where will it lead? To more secularism, pro-Hamas, pro-Marxist Jews! And where will it end? More Oct 7’s, only: WORSE! Islam clerics loves it when the West as Left, coz it promotes not only immorality – which Muslims allegedly hate but perpetrated on Oct 7 – but also Islam-Communisist pro-coup disorder, which they love & use. Ppl are useful fools, & don’t see nor seek to see what is happening, as long as it “feels” good to them! How does it help anyone inside OR outside of Judaism to see the true message of Torah, if the Torah-spring is muddied over? In that case ANYONE can just walk into judaism; a gay satanist can refuse to take “No” as an answer when he/she wants to “convert”, become “Israel”, & immigrate to Israel! How are u being a light to the world when your message & antagonism toward religious Zionism is as dark as the world’s? What will Mosshiach be like? Gay? Anti-Zionist? Pro-“Palestine”? I think not! He may well speak Arabic, but Hebrew first, & Zionism first. If u don’t like Orthodox schools, create reform schools, but don’t muddy Orthodox schools. And pls don’t malign a respectable, fantastic Orthodox Chief Rabbi who is very wise, hardworking, & doing his job better than required, representing the true message of Torah & the prophets! Who will be the Torah-voice in our generation, as Jeremiah, Isaiah, Hosea, Ezekiel, etc., were in their day? Do u think they would encourage LGBT+++ Jews’ values to influence young minds??! I don’t believe so. If anyone needs to change, it is the left that must move more centre, & the centre that must move more right. As in Tanakh & history, it is the remnant that remains faithful, & who will bring back the lost whom G-d has kept (Is.49:6)… & which cause them (the suffering faithful remnant) much suffering because of the sin & immorality & skewed thinking & actions of the backslidden & of the world which the assimilated seeks to appease (Isa.41-53).
Brett
October 1, 2025 at 3:24 pm
Well said!
Nick G
October 1, 2025 at 7:39 am
A well-written and thoughtful article expressing the thoughts and feelings of an ever-growing cohort of South African Jews and parents facing the very real predicament around their childrens’ education – spiritually, academically and politically!
Thank you Rabbi