(Author: Shirley Zar, Vol. 72, No. 2, Rosh Hashanah 2017)           In 2013 the Yiddish Folkschool nursery school in Sydenham, Johannesburg, hosted a Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremony to which former pupils were invited. Andy Haefner, the headmistress, wrote: “I have begun to feel very strongly about our

(Author: Steven Katzew, Vol. 75, #1, Summer 2020) This is a story about a few good men passionate about the game of squash who, through using their own resources and endeavours, guided Johannesburg’s, and perhaps even South Africa’s, best known squash club, the Transvaal Automobile

(Vol. 74, #2, Rosh Hashanah 2019)  Welcome to the first Jewish Affairs ‘Quirks and Curiosities’ feature! It is envisaged that this will be a regular item looking at some of the more unusual, even eccentric aspects of the Jewish South African legacy. Located directly opposite

(Author: Juan-Paul Burke, Vol. 73, No. 1, Pesach 2018) At the end of 2016, I was asked to compile a bibliography of articles, books and theses as pertain to South African Jewry and Jewish Studies. I knew a few academics writing in the field, but

(Author: Egonne Roth, Vol. 73, No. 3, Chanukah 2018)            It is exactly 70 years since the South African Jewish poet Olga Kirsch decided to leave her homeland and make aliya. She arrived in Israel in November 1948. It is also seventy years since her

(Author: Reuben Musiker, Vol. 63, #3, Chanukah 2008)   This overview of Jewish bookshops and booksellers in Johannesburg (which is by no means comprehensive, and indeed is selective) is divided into two parts. Part One consists of bookshops which are owned by Jews, and the