News and Articles

Bomb scares terrorise Durban

Jul 12, 2018 Go comment!

A series of bomb threats across Durban over the past week has left its population – including a small and ageing Jewish community – living in fear. Several explosive devices have been found in public spaces, and while no one has yet claimed responsibility for the string of scares, Jevon Greenblatt, director of the Community Security Organisation (CSO), says these incidents show a “deeply concerning shift towards radicalism”, no matter what the reason behind them.
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The mystery of Kenneth Saffer’s JNF certificate is solved

Jul 12, 2018 2 Comments

When Steve and Irene House arrived at the home of Rabbi Adam Saffer, the questions which had plagued them for almost a decade could finally be answered. A name on a certificate which had hung in their dining room for 10 years was going to be given a face, a personality and a home.
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Israel is flying high in the rankings

Jul 12, 2018 Go comment!

Israel has been ranked third in the world in terms of innovation, and is the eighth most powerful country on the continent. This, according to two different international indices released this past week.
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Duarte insults original 702 owners

Jul 12, 2018 Go comment!

According to ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, radio station 702 is “owned by people who have historically hated the ANC”. For this reason, she did not give them permission to use comments she had made after a media briefing on Tuesday afternoon at Luthuli House.
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Zim Jewish community’s hopes and concerns ahead of elections

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Jews living in Zimbabwe describe an atmosphere of “being between a rock and a hard place” regarding the upcoming elections on 30 July. They fear that nothing will change if the current regime is elected, but that the opposition coming to power could pose more challenges than solutions.
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Professor Michael Katz – the man in the middle of Moyane’s demands

Jul 12, 2018 Go comment!

When the attorneys representing suspended South African Revenue Service (SARS) commissioner Tom Moyane wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s lawyers on 2 July, one of their key demands was that Professor Michael Katz be removed from the commission looking into tax administration and governance at SARS. Their reason was simply: Katz has a close relationship with the president.
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Is the recall of the SA ambassador effectively a downgrade?

Jul 12, 2018 Go comment!

The prospects of a swift return of South Africa’s ambassador to Israel look bleak. Last week, at her first newly instituted monthly press briefing, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Lindiwe Sisulu emphasised that current conditions prevent Ambassador Sisa Ngombane from going back to his post in Tel Aviv. Is this tantamount to a tacit downgrade of the South African embassy to a liaison office, as per the ANC’s December 2017 resolution?
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Christians rally to support Israel

Jul 12, 2018 1 Comment

Pro-Israel Christian communities are tired of keeping a low profile in the fight for Israel and have called for a mass rally in support of the Jewish State to happen on 25 July.
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Doing it because it is the right thing to do

Jul 12, 2018 Go comment!

When I was incensed that an Iranian teenager, Maedeh Hojabri, was arrested for putting videos of herself dancing on social media, people looked at me quizzically. I was then so thrilled to see that people around the world supported her and I, too, wanted to do my bit.
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Who will score the winning goal in soccer diplomacy?

Jul 12, 2018 Go comment!

Russia, this week, is the most popular place on earth. The semi-final England-Croatia game of the FIFA World Cup coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, bringing with it the promise of “soccer diplomacy” in which everyone expects to score a goal.
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SA Jewish community at risk of losing young, skilled immigrants

Jul 12, 2018 Go comment!

I was very fortunate to have received permanent residency in South Africa in 2013, under the category of “exceptional skills”. I was 26 years old at the time. After some years performing Jewish communal work, I went on to co-found a company that curates sector-specific trips to nine destinations around the world. This is for South African professionals and entrepreneurs who want to take advantage of some of the best technological innovations in their industry.
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Spreading #Dancingisnotacrime in support of arrested Iranian dancer

Jul 12, 2018 2 Comments

People around the world are joining the social media campaign to support the young Iranian gymnast, Maedeh Hojabri, who was arrested for posting videos on Instagram of herself dancing.
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“Take an accounting of the booty…”

Jul 12, 2018 Go comment!

In this week’s Parsha, Matot, Hashem commands the Jewish people to avenge the spiritual destruction that was wreaked on the Jewish men with the Midyan idolatrous prostitution ring. This was part of Bilaam’s evil plan to destroy us internally when he failed to curse us.
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Nia creates community through dance

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Nia dancing has ordinary women from all walks of life doing the unthinkable: Enthusing about an “exercise regimen”.
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Mandela’s trip to Israel showed his true passion for peace

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Few South Africans are aware of former president Nelson Mandela’s visit to Israel after he retired as the first democratically elected president in 1999. It is worth noting just days before celebrating Mandela Day on 18 July, as it has become a day for making a difference – however small – in our communities.
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Aaron Greenblatt: A young Mandela of the future

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Last year, Aaron Greenblatt founded Aaron’s Rock Your Socks, a charity that collects socks for the needy, and was the youngest ever nominee at the SA Jewish Achiever Awards. A year on, the now nine-year-old powerhouse has been selected as the youngest of News24’s 100 Young Mandelas of the Future.
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Tales from beyond Brixton’s Jewish graves

Jul 12, 2018 Go comment!

With more hats than the Queen Mother, Pamela Solarsh made for a quirky choice for secretary to the mayor of Johannesburg. Never one to miss a social event, she was notorious for popping food from tables into the pockets of her voluminous cloak, and only later was discovered to have distributed it among beggars at street corners.
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IDF efforts to address the crisis in Syria

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By Saturday afternoon, it was already part of the scenery. Birds tweeting, dogs barking, kids playing, and the Russians and Syrians bombing.
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Last chance to nominate your Jewish Achievers

Jul 12, 2018 Go comment!

With nominations closing on Friday (13 July), you have just hours to enter Achiever names (depending when you read this) to ensure that those who have made a difference stand a chance of being honoured for their contribution.
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NHI won’t have immediate impact on medical aid

Jul 12, 2018 Go comment!

The National Health Insurance (NHI) is unlikely to have much of an immediate effect on medical aid schemes or even public hospital care, according to various experts in the health sector. However, it does raise very concerning key issues about the state of healthcare in South Africa.
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