(Author: Naomi Musiker, Vol. 70, No. 2, Rosh Hashanah 2015)
On 4 September 1939, after a historic and heated debate, the South African parliament agreed, by a slim majority, to enter World War II on the side of Britain and her allies. This was despite the objections of the National Party, which favored a policy of neutrality. It is clear that events of the late 1930s were already building up towards war. The period was one of great anxiety for the Jewish community due to the spread of rampant antisemitism, the activities of pro-Nazi sympathizers in the form of the various ‘Shirt’ movements and anti-Jewish sentiments expressed by the National Party, particularly certain statements made by its leader, Dr D F Malan. In October 1937, the first edition of the Nationalist daily newspaper Die Transvaler appeared under the editorship of Dr H F Verwoerd, a strong proponent of the limitation of Jewish immigration and economic discrimination against Jews. In addition, the passing of the Immigration Amendment Act in 1936 and the Aliens Act in February 1937 effectively limited the immigration of Jews into South Africa, particularly those wishing to escape Nazi persecution in Germany and Eastern Europe.
It was fortunate that already in the period 1935-1937, the SA Jewish Board of Deputies had recognized the approaching danger and taken steps to strengthen its position. In the Report to the Executive Council, submitted to the 12th Congress at Bloemfontein, May 1937, many of these reforms are outlined. The Publicity Department (later the Public Relations Committee) was created under Dr H. Sonnabend to advance a policy of ‘public enlightenment’ through the issuing of various pamphlets on Jewish issues, both to the press and private individuals and foster the formation of a Society of Jews and Christians. The ‘Press Digest’ was created, consisting of weekly summaries of events of Jewish significance, particularly those relating to antisemitism.
The Board also underwent administrative changes through the recruitment of new personnel, including the appointment of Gus Saron as General Secretary and Jack Rich as Secretary. The latter was personally recruited by Cecil Lyons during a London visit. Saron also served as Honorary Secretary of the Publicity Department. Other Committees created were the Finance, Law and General Purposes committee. The Executive Council was enlarged to include more individuals of public standing. A most important development was the increase in funding through the drawing up of a budget, to which each provincial committee was required to contribute. This resulted in the more effective functioning of the Board.
All these reforms were created under the chairmanship of Cecil Lyons, who thus placed the Board in a favorable position to meet the demands of the war situation which arose at the end of the decade.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] Cecil Lyons, 1897-1945 Cecil Lyons, born in Johannesburg in 1897, was a highly respected Jewish communal leader. From an early age, he made his mark in communal life, first in Durban, where he lived from 1919 to 1934, and thereafter in Johannesburg, where he attained the position of Managing Director of Lever Brothers (SA) Limited. In Durban, he helped found the Durban Jewish Club, of which he was successively Chairman and President. He also took the lead in founding the Council of Natal Jewry, of which he became President. Other positions he held included the chairmanships of the Transvaal Chamber of Industries, the SA Soap and Candle Manufacturers’ Association and the SA Oil Expressers’ Association. When he came to Johannesburg in 1934, Lyons was elected to the Executive Council of the SAJBD. From 1936 to 1940, he served as Chairman of the Board and as President from 1942 to 1943. He was also on the National Executive of the SA Jewish War Appeal, established in 1942, and was associated with the work of the SA Zionist Federation Lyons was called upon by the South African government to serve on various advisory committees concerned with adapting the country’s industry to war-time conditions during the 1939-1945 period. He remained a member of the Executive Council and participated in the Finance and Public Relations Committees, but his public duties led to frequent absences from meetings. He was unable to continue holding chief office, but actively assisted with the work of the Board and his counsel was always available. In 1939, a public body for fund-raising purposes known as the South African Mayors’ National Fund was created. This later became the Governor-General’s National War Fund (hereafter NWF), consisting of 34 members under the control of the Governor-General, Sir Patrick Duncan. It was established to transmit funds to Britain for agricultural purposes and for the purchase of war supplies. It also supported South African soldiers serving in the war and their dependents who might suffer as a result. The National Committee of the Fund included the mayors of various cities, civic dignitaries of Johannesburg and one representative each of the Jewish Board of Deputies and the National Council of Women. The Johannesburg branch was established at London House, Loveday Street, and was under the chairmanship of the Mayor, with the Deputy Mayor as one of the Vice Chairmen. The second vice chairman of the Johannesburg branch of the Fund was Jack Andrew Cohen, a prominent member of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Cohen was born in 1877 in Newcastle-on-Tyne and educated in England. He arrived in South Africa in 1899 and from 1902 was in charge of the firm of Freeman Cohen. He was connected with various mining companies and was also at one time chairman and joint managing director of the Rand Daily Mail, Ltd. He was known for his philanthropy and communal service, which included the chairmanship of a branch of the Johannesburg Jewish Working Men’s Club and support for the Johannesburg Jewish Congregation. Throughout his tenure as vice chairman of the NWF, Cohen was chairman of various fund raising efforts and was particularly prominent in upholding the welfare of soldiers through the Gifts and Comforts Fund. He assisted in organizing several race meetings on behalf of war funds, chaired the Victory Fair held at the Zoo Lake in 1944 and also the National Birthday Gift to General Smuts, raised on behalf of the NWF. In the course of the war, he gave several thousand pounds from his private purse to war appeals. In July 1940, SAJBD President Maurice Franks suggested that Cecil Lyons substitute for him as member of the National Committee of the NWF. Lyons became chairman of the fund-raising section of that body. In June 1941, he wrote to the chairman of the Executive Council of the Board, Gerald Lazarus, requesting the right to discuss at an Executive Meeting a special drive to raise £150 000 in stop orders from the Jewish community in aid of the NWF. An angry response was received from Bernard Alexander, a member of the Executive Council. He stated that he fully supported the aims of the NWF but argued that Jews should not be called upon to have an obligation different from and more imperative than that which rested upon every other citizen. ‘The conclusion will be drawn that the Jew finds it necessary to parade his collective goodwill to stave off charges of the inadequate participation of Jews in the collective effort; whilst the man in the street…will not only be unimpressed by £100 000 or even £200 000 raised by the Jewish community of South Africa as a collective whole, but will take it to be the measure of what the 100 000 Jews have done for the Fund, and will regard it as miserably inadequate”. Alexander was probably incensed by the persistent antisemitic rumors and insinuations which persisted during the war years regarding Jewish participation. An example of this was a rumor circulating among the troops stationed at Howick that the Governor General’s fund was controlled by Jews and that Fund workers received considerable remuneration. This rumor was denounced as a downright lie when brought to Lyons’ attention by the Secretary of the Natal Council. Lyons commented further that he had quite recently delivered an address to the Rotary Club in Pietermaritzburg, which had been favorably received and would counteract any rumors in that area. No exact figures of Jewish contributions to the Fund exist except for the year 1940, when lists of contributors and amounts of their donations were published regularly in the Rand Daily Mail. From these lists it is apparent that many prominent individuals, firms, institutions and organisations gave generously. A Memorandum regarding the Mayor’s Fund was prepared on 30 May 1940. This concluded from extracted figures that Jews contributed approximately 25% of gross contributions in Johannesburg. Cecil Lyons was determined to reach the Ten Million Target and it was largely due to his energy and resource that the Fund was in sight of it just before his death at the early age of 48 on 14 April 1945. The National Executive Committee of the NWF paid tribute to him, and also to Jack Andrew Cohen, who died in August 1944, in its Fifth Annual Report (1944-45). Lyons’ funeral at Johannesburg’s West Park Cemetery was one of the largest Jewish funerals ever up, until then, and was attended by representatives of all sections, Jewish and non-Jewish. In 1948, the SAJBD established the Cecil Lyons Memorial Fund in commemoration of his outstanding services, both to South African Jewry and to the general society. Naomi Musiker, a veteran contributor to Jewish Affairs and long-serving member of its Editorial Board, has contributed numerous biographical articles for the Dictionary of SA Biography and the Standard Encyclopedia of Southern Africa and, as an indexer, has worked for some of South Africa’s leading publishers and indexed many important reference works. She has held the position of archivist at the SA Jewish Board of Deputies since 1992.
