(Vol. 66, #3, Chanukah 2011)
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Although beset by Parkinson’s disease in his final years, Harold and his wife, Reva, were about to fulfil their dream of aliyah and were packing their lift to complete the process when he had a tragic fall after which he suffered a brain haemorrhage. He passed away on November 16, and was buried in Ra’anana, Israel, where he was to have made his home, two days later.
Harold was fond of recalling that he and Reva attended approximately 1400 functions and that he delivered 800 speeches during his term as mayor. On completion of his mayoral term, he turned down the offer of a diplomatic post in the United States from the Department of Foreign Affairs with terms allowing him, as a member of an opposition party, complete freedom of speech and the right to criticise apartheid. Tempting though the offer was, he eventually turned it down for family reasons. As he told me in an interview last year, “I realised that my family came first and their lives were paramount in my decision to turn down the offer. I know our children would always be my top priority – and now, with the grandchildren, they still are and always will be”.
Harold was first elected to the City Council in March 1972, at a time coinciding with his admission as an attorney and his upcoming wedding. “We had originally planned a February wedding but my election campaign took over. Instead of Reva becoming my bride, she became my election agent, with the help of Annette Schwarz, wife of the late MP Harry Schwarz (“as he had been my friend and mentor,” he said at the time). His mayoral theme was “Together the Future”, in which he declared in a statement still pertinent today:
I believe that if there is one single precious commodity that we are in dire need of at this important time, it is the commodity of togetherness, friendship, trust and tolerance…
It is so true to say, especially in the South African context, that united together in a common love of our country and of all our people we will stand – divided in bitterness and hatred, we shall fall.
Harold’s mayoral year saw many highlights being invited to Taiwan on a reciprocal visit by the mayor of Taipei and attending the inauguration of King Mswati III as King of Swaziland, where he and his wife were given a VIP welcome and enjoyed traditional Swazi hospitality.
Two years later, Harold was asked by the Israeli authorities to lead the first SA delegation to participate in the March of the Living in Poland, an experience he related frequently and one he said he would never forget. The Rudolphs subsequently went to Lithuania to research their roots.
Harold was elected as a Johannesburg city councillor for several terms, serving a total of 22 years and nine months on the Council. He was awarded the title of Alderman in 1987.
Born in Johannesburg, he matriculated from Roosevelt High and received his BA, LLB and LLM degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand.
In 1984 he was appointed Associate Professor at Wits Law School. This followed on his previous year’s sabbatical with his family in Israel, where he did research for his thesis, published as a book, Security, Terrorism and Torture – a comparative legal analysis of the rights of political detainees in SA, Northern Ireland and Israel. Later, he was also presented with an award for writing the first legislation for the control of smoking in the former Bophuthatswana.
Harold was also well-known in Jewish communal affairs, having served on the SA Jewish Board of Deputies for 12 years, including as chairman of the then Transvaal Council, as a national vice-chairman and country communities chairman. He was on the editorial boards of Jewish Affairs and the former Johannesburg Jewish Voice, of which he was vice-chairman and acting chairman. He always upheld the values of independent journalism and abhorred self censorship.
In 1993, he chaired the Board of Governors of Southern Africa’s first Jewish television channel, dubbing the initiative “a statement of our confidence in the future” and “a message of hope”.
He lived for many years in Emmarentia and, as a devout Jew, served on the council of the Emmarentia Hebrew Congregation, including a term as chairman.
In his mid-fifties, Harold survived a heart attack. He said at the time: “As I was lying in hospital, I thought of Elton John’s song at Princess Diana’s funeral – Candle in the Wind – and that life could be snuffed out in a few seconds. I prayed to Hashem to spare me as I hadn’t finished what I had set out to do and still had so much to give. I realised the fragility of life and resolved to live it to the full.” This he did every day, in spite of his debilitating illness.
In recent years he ran a small legal practice – Harold Rudolph and Associates – from his home in Athol and had business interests in Fochville, North West Province.
Suzanne Belling
