In Israel’s fertile north, near the city of Haifa, lies a kibbutz that has an integral link to a South African statesman. But few know about this connection, and the incredible story of why Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan, meaning “Jan Heights”, was named after South African prime minister, statesman, and wartime leader, Field Marshall Jan Christian Smuts. Smuts served as prime minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 to 1924, and 1939 to 1948.
“Established in 1931, the kibbutz was name after General Smuts in recognition of his contribution to the establishment of the state of Israel,” says the Jewish National Fund’s (JNF’s) Bev Schneider. “He was a Calvinist and a very strong Zionist who believed in a Jewish homeland. It was thanks to him that South Africa voted in favour of the creation of the state of Israel at the United Nations (UN). He was also a ghost writer for the Balfour Declaration, first adopted in 1917 and reaffirmed in 1922, which was the declaration the British made about their intention to create a Jewish state. In addition, he was close friends with Chaim Weizmann.”
“There is a moving story that Weizmann invited Smuts to Israel to celebrate his 70th birthday,” says Michael Kransdorff, the chairperson of the JNF in South Africa. “He was very ill at the time, and his doctor told him not to travel as it would put his life at risk. But he didn’t listen to this advice, and wanted to show how important Israel and Weizmann were to him by making the trip. He travelled to Israel and celebrated with him. He died quite soon after returning to South Africa.”
Jan Smuts and Israel’s founding is an untold story, says the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF’s) Benji Shulman. Smuts “was a great friend of the South African Jewish community, which engaged with him on Zionism, and he essentially became an advocate for the Jewish people,” Shulman says. “He especially engaged the British on the merits of a Jewish homeland. Smuts also personally fundraised for multiple Zionist organisations, and spoke out against antisemitism.”
Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan was established to “honour him and cement this friendship”, says Kransdorff. The South African Jewish community helped to raise money for the establishment of the kibbutz. In addition, there are a number of streets in Israel named after Smuts, including “Rehov Smuts” in Jerusalem’s German Colony. “He’s only one of a handful of non-Jewish, non-Israelis to have places in Israel named after them,” says Kransdorff.
Incredibly, the JNF has a letter in Smuts’ own handwriting, describing his feelings about Zionism and the kibbutz being named for him. “I feel deeply honoured by the suggestion of the South African Zionist organisation that a tract of land in Palestine should be called after my name,” he wrote. “To be thus associated with the Zionist cause and to have my name placed on the map of the Holy Land is indeed a rare distinction, and I’m deeply moved.
“My work for Zionism has from the first been a labour of love and gratitude,” Smuts wrote. “The services of the small Jewish people to humanity have been incomparably great. That such a people should continue [to be] exiled from their ancient homeland throughout the ages was an historic anomaly and injustice which called for reparation. Hence, my original connection with the shaping of the policy of the national home and my deep interest in its execution ever since.”
“They say that it was ‘small men’ who ensured that UN Resolution 181 was passed by the UN General Assembly in 1947, which called for the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states and indeed, it wasn’t the big powers,” says Shulman. “Smuts played a vital role. It wouldn’t have gone through without him. The last thing he did before he resigned as prime minister in 1948 was to recognise Israel from a South African perspective.”
Author and historian Major David Brock Katz, who has just written a thesis and book about Smuts, agrees with these sentiments. “He was a big player on the world stage. He was highly influential during and after World War II. That was the zenith of his political influence on the British Empire. I’m sure he was fundamental in Israel’s formation.”
He points out that Smuts is generally not a popular figure in South Africa, but there is renewed interest in him in some circles. Katz’s doctoral thesis explored how Smuts was “one of the founding fathers of South Africa’s ‘way of war’.” His book, based on the thesis, is titled General Jan Smuts and his First World War in Africa.
Schneider visited the kibbutz in December and met its senior members, who gave her a tour. “It’s one of the biggest and most profitable kibbutzim, and is still run very traditionally. There’s a communal dining room for breakfast and lunch, a huge dairy farm, and a big plastics factory that has branches around the world. They also farm avocadoes, litchis, and some citrus.”
The kibbutz was also the location of the Battle of Ramat Yohanan during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, and in 1940, Yitzhak Rabin joined the kibbutz’s noar ha’oved (working youth) training programme.
There’s a small museum on the kibbutz telling its history, including a plaque paying tribute to Smuts. However, this hasn’t been updated, and the JNF, supported by the SAZF, has a project to update the museum and “bring it into the 21st century”, according to Kransdorff. They are envisioning an interactive video and other updates to the museum. Importantly, they want to highlight the vital role that Smuts played in the creation of the Jewish state, and how much it meant to him.
“We’re working closely with Smuts’ descendants to do this,” says Schneider.
Smuts great-grandchildren, Lynda and Gareth Shackleford, say they found out about the kibbutz only recently, even though the Smuts family was hosted by the kibbutz on a visit to Israel in 1975.
“I never knew he was a rock star in Israel,” quips Gareth. However he has always had many Jewish friends, and some have told him about the streets named after Smuts in Israel after attending the Maccabi Games. He feels that he and his Jewish friends are continuing the close bond established by his great-grandfather.
“We’re exceptionally proud of this connection to Israel and the Jewish community,” says Lynda. “He always agreed that all people should have a place to call home. Now, we hope to bring this history back to life and back to the kibbutz with a new interactive display there.”
In addition, Schneider says the South African Jewish community contributed to a community centre on the kibbutz, which has now been turned into a theatre, with indoor and outdoor stages. The kibbutz also has a beautiful heritage trail. She hopes community members will visit it and enjoy all that it has to offer, especially because of the strong connection to South Africa and its Jewish community.
yitzchak
Jan 26, 2023 at 4:12 pm
My uncle joined the army in 1914 to join Smuts’ forces in expelling the krauts from SudwesAfrika!
myra sutin
Jan 26, 2023 at 9:19 pm
Iam originally from Vryburg Cape Province
My late father Harry Joffe had a brother on Ramat Yochanan and his children all live there–they are the Yoffe family and are very active and involved–my Uncle was a founding member
Myra Sutin
Goldie
Jan 27, 2023 at 1:06 am
Could you use the word Germans instead?
Philip Weyers
Jan 27, 2023 at 2:45 pm
Myra Sutin, would that be Meier Yoffe, a cousin of The Hon Mr Justice Meyer Joffe of the Gauteng High Court?
Best wushes, Philip Weyers
Peter Bailey
Jan 28, 2023 at 3:53 pm
Certainly not an untold story, as the article is titled. I have publiushed numerous articles about Smuts and his strong Zionist beliefs in the Jerusalem Post and Jerusalem Report as well as delivering lectures on the subject in Israel. Prior to the Balfour Declaration Centenary celebrations in Israel, I published a paper on the subject and arranged a visit to Israel by Philip Weyers, great grandson of Smuts, who was an honoured guest. Philip was feted during a visit to the Knesset to attend a Plenary Session in celebration of the centenary. His presence in Israel was also rcognised at an event arranged by the Jewish Agency for Israel and he also adressed a large public gathering in celebration of the centenary hosted by the mayor of Raanana, Zeev Bielski.
Stephanie Smuts
May 30, 2023 at 8:09 am
My family are direct descendants of Jan Christiaan Smuts. Majority of us live in Austin Texas now but prior to that we lived in Tyler Texas and Indiana, and NY prior to that. My brother, Jason Smuts is the only one to have fathered a son bearing the surname Jake Russell Smuts. My niece Hillary Smuts my cousin Amy Smuts of Ft.Worth.I have since taken my maiden name back, Stephanie Smuts and we are the last two bear the name in our immediate family. I’ve known that I am a daughter of American Revolution my whole life and I knew that John Christian Smith was in the encyclopedia when I was a kid but I never really researched him until recently and what’s interesting is that I’m finding some evidence of smuts and previous variations of the name to be in the Jewish records. I am quite proud to be a descendant of such a an amazing man which is not the only credit to the name he is not the only credit to the name as well. I had no idea he was involved with the creation of Israel! It’s interesting though I have always felt a close connection to the Jewish people and African American people as well which is part of what prompted me to start looking into this. I am really looking forward to planning trips to discover more about my ancestors. I just joined a couple of geology sites and plan to direct my attention to this and look forward to connecting with others who can share connections.
Madeleine Louw Blignault
Dec 29, 2023 at 11:15 pm
I am writing a fiction story, based on truths, of the Jewish and Afrikaner communities of Oudtshoorn (Jerusalem of South Africa) in 1950. The involvement of Jan Smuts in the Jewish state is remarkable. Please post any info on this community.
Terrence Roy Andrew
Feb 2, 2024 at 12:56 pm
Wow. I did not know this. It goes to show that a great man, some might even might say a great statesman, can be wrong at times.
Jan Smuts did not die ‘soon after his 70’th birthday’. Per Wikipedia: “On 29 May 1950, a week after the public celebration of his eightieth birthday in Johannesburg and Pretoria, Field Marshal Jan Smuts suffered a coronary thrombosis. He died of a subsequent heart attack on his family farm of Doornkloof, Irene, near Pretoria, on 11 September 1950.”
I can personally attest to the validity of this in that Smuts attended a UP event to celebrate his 80’th birthday in Vereeniging. I was 6 years old at the time and lived in Vereeniging, and the man walked right past me. I saw him.
This then opens up an entire ‘can of worms’ regarding what Smuts was actually supporting.
Zionism has little to do with Judaism, and being anti-Zionism is certainly not being anti-Semitic.
Zionism is a national political (not religious) philosophy that was developed by the journalist Theodor Herzl in the 1800’s, and was supported by Chaim Wisemann, and later (?) by Henrietta Szold, Golda Meir, David Ben-Gurion, Manechem Begin, and possibly others. There is reason to believe that most of these were secular and not practicing Jews.
Zionism coopted the religion Judaism to gain some significance and validity, and coupled this with the notion that the Jews were a ‘chosen by God’ race or religion who had been ‘promised’ land in the Middle-East.
If we wish to use the terms Semite or Semitic (and of course the term anti-Semitic), it is necessary to understand what these terms mean, and particularly who can reasonably consider themselves to be Semitic. What is a Semite? It is a people who speak or spoke a Semitic language. These included Akkadians, Canaanites, Hebrews, and Arabs, and would therefore include what are commonly called Abrahamic religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The fact is that in Palestine/Israel, most inhabitants are Semitic, except for those who adopted Judaism as their religion in Khazarian (near Georgia of today) and their descendants. Bulan was a Khazar king who led the conversion of the Khazars to Judaism. These Khazarian descendants came to Israel from Russia, Europe, the USA, and elsewhere, and are often referred to as Ashkenazi. Studies by Jewish scholars in Israel have determined that most Jews living in Israel are Khazarian, and have few Israeli Jews have any links with Semitism. So what then does the term anti-Semite actually mean? Does it mean being anti-Jew, anti Christian, Anti_+Ismam, and anti-Arab? Hardly.
Anti-Zionism is a totally meaningless term when used in the modern context.
Now, if anyone disputes what I have posted, please respond. I am happy to change my mind if corrected. But it must be said, it is really hard to change history.