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Mendel Kaplan

  • Person
  • 1936-2009

Mendel Kaplan was a prominent leader of the South African Jewish community, an industrialist executive with the firm Cape Gate, philanthropist and community activist. Mendel Kaplan was born in South Africa. After graduating from Wynberg Boys' High, he received a degree in law from the University of Cape Town in 1958 and an MBA from Columbia University in 1960.

Kaplan was the honorary president of Keren Hayesod and a former chairman of the Jewish Agency's Board of Governors. He financed numerous philanthropic projects in South Africa, Israel and Jewish communities around the world. In 1980, he founded the Isaac and Jessie Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Cape Town. In 2000, he established the South African Jewish Museum.

Mendel Kaplan passed away on 19 November 2009. [Source: https://www.jpost.com/; https://en.wikipedia.org/]

Abe Mirvish

  • Person
  • 1872-1947

In 1908 Rabbi Moses Chaim Mirvish (1872-1947) and his family emigrated to Cape Town from Lithuania. He and his wife Seine Mirvish (nee Margolis) had 7 children – Jacob Mirvish, Sophie Anziska (nee Mirvish), Dr Louis Mirvish, Naomi Aronson (nee Mirvish), Dr Israel Mirvish, Abe Mirvish and Ethel Helman (nee Mirvish). Rabbi Mirvish was the first fully qualified rabbi in the Cape Colony and served as the minister of the Cape Town Orthodox Hebrew Congregation (Beth Hamedrach HaChodesh) situated at the Constitution Street Synagogue, District Six.

In 1939 the community moved to the newly built Vredehoek Synagogue. Rabbi Mirvish played an important part in the activities of Jewish communal life in Cape Town, founding many of its organisations such as the Beth Din in the Cape and he served as the Av Beth Din for many years. He was chairman of the United Hebrew Schools in the Cape. He was widely known through his writings and contributed to many journals. He wrote two important books which were compilations of his sermons, essays, homiletics, Biblical commentaries, and Halachic Responsa.

On 17 August 1947, Rabbi Mirvish collapsed and died on the steps of the Vredehoek Synagogue after officiating at a wedding. Some months after his death, the Cape Town City Council renamed the street alongside the shul Rabbi Mirvish Avenue. [Source: Biography Rabbi Moses Chaim Mirvish (1872-1947). Cecil Helman JewishGen.org Brave New World Remembering Cape Town’ s pioneer Rabbi. Juan-Paul Burke 2017, Jewish Life. https://www.academia.edu/34393500/Remembering_Cape_Towns_pioneer_Rabbi].

Leon Glaser

  • Person

Leon Glaser, great grandson of Tzvi Hirsch Shewach Glaser and Devora Glaser (nee Behrmann). The Glaser family emigrated to Cape Town, South Africa from Lithuania. They had 9 children. Their daughter Rebecca Zuckerman (nee Glaser) was one of the founders of the first women’s Zionist Societies in South Africa, the Bnoth Zion. Their son Abram (Abraham) served in the Colonial Defence Force. He married Rebecca Feinstein in 1904. Their grandson was Leon Glaser. [Source: 1. The Jewish Chronicle London, May 30 1958].

Elsie Menasce

  • Person

Elsie Menasce (nee Mizrahi), daughter of Jacques Mizrahi and Violetta Mizrahi (nee Hasson) was born in Rhodesia where her family immigrated from the Island of Rhodes in the 1920's. The family maintained a strong connection with their Rhodian roots. Elsie Menasce (nee Mizrahi) published a cookbook, ‘The Sephardi Culinary Tradition’ which illustrate the history of the Jews from Rhodes, their customs regarding each recipe and it was illustrated with tableware passed down from generations. Elsie Menasce died on the 6th April 2019 in Toronto, Canada.

Marcia Samakosky

  • Person
  • 1921-2017

Marcia Samakosky (nee Miedzwiedz) (1921- 2017) was born in Vilna and moved with her family to Havana (La Habana) Cuba. Her parents were Abraham Miedzwiedz and Pola Miedwiedz who died at the age of 35 years in Havana. In 1948 Marcia left Havana for South Africa and married Benjamin Samakosky, a South African in November 1948. Many members of the Miedzwiedz family sadly died in the Holocaust.

Robert Louis Dickman

  • Person
  • 1909-1942

Robert Louis Dickman (1909-1942) served in the Cape Town Highlanders Regiment during World War Two and fought in the Western Desert Campaign (Libya). He was assigned to Unit “A” Coy. He died at the age of 33 years of wounds received during an air attack on the "A" Coy, in the vicinity of the Libyan town of Acroma when the “A” coy was attacked by 3 enemy aircraft at about 14:00 p.m.on the 11th February 1942. He died of wounds to his thigh and foot in 62 General Hospital. The town of Acroma was one of the towns where the British Eighth Army advanced fueling stations and airfields were located. His death notice states that he was killed in action near Gazala, Cyreneica. He is buried in Tobruk War Cemetery, Libya

Robert Louis Dickman was the son of David and Esther Dickman (nee Zeppa) of 70 Upper Mill Street, Cape Town. He was survived by his mother, and siblings Gertrude Ellert (nee Dickman), Philip Dickman, Freda Dickman, Harold (Harry) Charles Dickman, Reuben Dickman and Rebecca Dickman. His profession was that of a salesman and he was unmarried..
A number of soldiers serving in the Cape Town Highlanders died during this attack. They included Louis Jacob Steinberg (1916-1942), son of Joseph Meyer and Flora Steinberg, of 1 Glen Court, Maitland, Cape Town, South Africa. He was born in Paarl, Cape Province and was a Commercial Artist for Ackermans Ltd.
[Source: SA War Graves Project].

Jack Rapeport

  • Person

Jack Rapeport was born in Rustenburg and lived there for 40 years. In 1952, he took over the business ‘W Rapeport and Son (Pty) Ltd’, a clothing outfitters and drapers store. He modernized the business, to keep up with international trends and traveled regularly abroad to source merchandise. In 1965 he sold the business to Uniewinkels Beperk. A year later he moved to Durban and with his wife set up ‘Off the Peg’, which specialized in ladies fashion wear. The business was expanded to include a mail order department. In 1973, he sold the business to Scotts Shoes. He and his wife then set up ‘Up and Coming’ a children's clothing chain, which he again sold to Scotts Shoes a few years later.

His last business venture, ‘Rag Trade’, catered for women's wear and was sold to ‘Big Blu’. He kept up contact with people from Rustenburg, including the African community of Tlhabane Township. Following Aliyah to Israel he was involved in the establishment of the Haifa lawn bowling club which catered for disabled and blind bowlers.

Rabbi Moses Chaim Mirvish

  • Person
  • 1872-1947

Minister of the Cape Town Orthodox Hebrew Congregation (the Beth Hamedrash HaChodesh), then sited in the Constitution Street Synagogue in District Six, from 1908. He was the first fully qualified rabbi (with Smicha) in the Cape Colony.

Esther Barsel

  • Person
  • 1924-2008

Esther Barsel (nee Levine) was a South African political activist. She was born in Raguva, Lithuania and left for South Africa with her parents when she was just 3 years old. Esther Barsel joined the South African Communist Party (SACP) when she was just 14 years old and was later a member of the the African National Congress (ANC).

Esther Barsel married fellow anti-Apartheid activist Hymie Barsel. Esther Barsel passed away on the 6th October 2008 [Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Barsel].

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