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Jonathan Ancer
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Jews and the struggle for human rights, "David Lewis interview"

David Lewis was born in Klerksdorp in the North West Province in 1949. He received his training in economics from the universities of the Witwatersrand and Cape Town. After graduating he became involved in the trade union movement, he headed up the General Workers’ Union and was appointed national organiser of the Transport and General Workers Union. He was detained at the start of the meat workers’ strike in Cape Town in 1980 and spent three months in detention.
In 1990, he directed UCT’s Development Policy Research Unit, which specialises in trade and industrial policy. Between 1994 and 1996, he was special adviser to the Minister of Labour and co-chaired the Presidential Commission on Labour Market Policy. Later, he was a member of the task team that advised the Minister of Trade and Industry on the development of competition policy. Lewis participated in the drafting of the Competition Act, was a member of the Competition Board, and was appointed chairperson of the Competition Tribunal in 1999.
He was appointed an extraordinary professor at the Gordon Institute of Business Science and is the author of Thieves at the Dinner Table. In 2012 he became the executive director of Corruption Watch, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to combating corruption.

In this interview David Lewis talks about growing up in a liberal Jewish family in the conservative town of Klerksdorp in the North West Province. He describes his integration into opposition politics, how he became part of the “cultural left” at the University of the Witwatersrand and why he was drawn to the Wages Commission of the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS). He also talks about his time as a conscript in the South African Defence Force in 1967. Lewis reflects on his parents’ attitude to his involvement in opposition politics. He explains the different political factions of the developing labour movement and the role of the General Workers Union - and his own role as the general secretary, which involved recruiting African workers in Cape Town. He discusses the political environment of Cape Town in the 1980s, referring to the meat strike in the Western Cape in 1980 and his arrest 10 days after the strike was launched. He recalls the three months he spent in detention. Lewis talks about his work after the unbanning of the ANC, which included joining UCT’s Development Policy Research Unit, where he led the Industrial Strategy Project to determine the country’s economic policy. He also discusses his Jewish identity, his views on Israel and gives insight into the issues facing South Africa 26 years after democracy [Written by: Jonathan Ancer].

Jonathan Ancer

Jews and the struggle for human rights, "Taffy Adler interview"

Taffy Adler was born in 1950 and grew up in the eastern suburbs of Johannesburg. His parents were from Lithuania and arrived in South Africa in the early 1920s. His father was a communist and, for Adler, getting involved in opposition politics was a natural progression. After matriculating from Athlone Boys in 1967 he studied at the University of Witwatersrand where he joined the Human Rights Society, which was on the radical left of university politics. He also became involved with the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS), and was appointed the organisation’s local chairperson. He became president of the Student Representative Council (SRC) in 1971 and led the last legal march in Johannesburg and the first illegal march in Johannesburg.
Adler graduated from Wits and went to Sussex where he failed to earn a master’s degree, abandoning academic studies and an academic career for trade union organising. He returned to South Africa to lecture and then become a trade union organiser in the Federation of South African Trade Unions (FOSATU), which was the predecessor to COSATU, and the National Union of Automobile Workers. He left the union movement in the late 1980s to set up the Land Investment Trust (LIT), and in 1994 set up the Johannesburg Housing Company (JHC) – a social housing company providing affordable accommodation in reclaimed buildings in the Johannesburg Inner City, and then the Housing Development Agency, a state owned company acquiring land for development by various government agencies. He remains involved in various development projects.

In this interview Taffy Adler talks about growing up in a politicised Jewish family and the important influence his brother, David, who was banned for educational activism in 1977 as well as his aunt, Ray Harmel, who worked in the garment industry and was involved in trade union activity, had on him. He discusses his progression into opposition politics, his role in the student movement in the 1970’s and getting involved in the trade union movement from 1976. He describes the work he did as a union organiser and how the union movement developed in an environment that was politically hostile. He also provides insight into the relationship between the union and employers who started to recognise and work with the unions, and sometimes even sided with the union against the security police. He discusses how some of the unions began to make contact with the ANC and how COSATU started to move much more into the political arena. He describes his relationship with Judaism and his position on Israel and reflects on his experiences in opposition politics and how these experiences shaped him [Written by: Jonathan Ancer].

Jonathan Ancer

Mensches in the Trenches, "Ivan Schlapobersky Interview"

Interview by Jonathan Ancer with Ivan Schlapobersky. Ivan Schlapobersky is an architect. He grew up in Yeoville in Johannesburg, South Africa. While at school and university he became a champion South African swimmer. Because of this he failed several of his subjects. His swimming was about to take him far, but his father made him give it up to focus on his studies. After this he did very well, completing architecture at the top of his class. He was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to study at the University of Pennsylvania. Schlapobersky also spent several years in Israel and Canada. 1985 was the year he came back to South Africa. He could see the tide was turning and started getting involved in politics. For Schlapobersky, the Holocaust was the main motivation in getting involved in South African politics. It was not acceptable. The Jewish community was very quiet and this upset him. He and a group of architects got together, forming Architects Against Apartheid (AAP), and decided to challenge apartheid. If architects designed buildings designated for a particular group, or made buildings with separate entrances, or made buildings in which people were tortured, imprisoned or brutally punished, the group would boycott those architects. Unfortunately, in 1986/7 at a meeting of architects, when the moved to vote against the atrocities of the apartheid architecture industry, they lost the vote. Afterwards, people went home, defeated. Schlapobersky's career did not suffer though. He helped to start the Alexandra Art Centre in Alexandra township, where art, music and other creative arts took place, and where he was the chairman. Schlapobersky also sheltered an activist who was on the run, who turned out to be Frank Chikane. Chikane lived with Schlapobersky for six months. Schlapobersky was a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and allowed United Democratic Front (UDF) meetings to be held at his house.

Jonathan Ancer

Mensches in the Trenches, "Margaret Auerbach Interview"

Interview by Jonathan Ancer with Margaret Auerbach about Margaret's father Franz Auerbach. Franz Auerbach was a Jewish humanist. He came to South Africa from Germany with his family in 1937. Margaret recalls growing up in an open minded and accepting family home. They did not have strict rules. Meal time was entertaining, argumentative and conversational. They also grew up in nature. Many fruits were growing and they grew up with many animals. Franz loved the outdoors; his mother insisted on long walks. They often went on picnics and loved camping. Franz always felt Jews should be involved in the Struggle against apartheid. He participated in everything, and his experience of Nazi Germany affected him greatly. He was always very grateful to South Africa for allowing him in. Franz is described as an honest, caring, gullible and gentle person. And the family was very colourful. All was accepted, from Margaret's being lesbian, to her brother's care for and ownership of snakes as a herpetologist.

Jonathan Ancer

Mensches in the Trenches, "Ramon Eisenstein Interview"

Interview by Jonathan Ancer with Ramon Eisenstein. Ramon Eisenstein is a journalist and a political activist. He arrived from Poland and did not like the the system in South Africa. Although, at university campus there was an anti-racist set up. He met various people and had an admiration for Trotsky. Eisenstein claims because there was an impotence on the Left, himself included, there formed the underground communist party. Eisenstein was involved in the African resistance movement. The Sharpeville Massacre precipitated everything. Eisenstein stole a lot of dynamite from the quarry not far from Johannesburg. He and others would plant the dynamite at pylons in order to blow them up. This had a significant symbolic meaning. Quite a number of pylons were blown up, although not all were reported. Eventually Eisenstein was arrested and convicted of Sabotage under the General Amendment Act. He was not surprised at his arrest, even though he was treated badly. He claims he was content to be in prison. Conditions were not great but they were not totally harsh. It seems he had accepted his fate. He broke up all sentimental attachment with the outside world. Regarding democracy, Eisenstein believes things had to change because things had to change. The only question was how the change would come. And it came in the best way possible.

Jonathan Ancer

Jews and the struggle for human rights, "Laurie Nathan interview"

Laurie Nathan was born in 1959 and grew up in Sea Point in Cape Town. He went to school at Weitzman Primary and SACS and then studied at the University of Cape Town (UCT) where he completed business science and law degrees, followed by a Master’s in Philosophy at Bradford University's School of Peace Studies, and a doctorate from UCT.
Nathan became politically conscious at UCT and joined the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS). He was elected to the Student Representative Council (SRC) as the education officer in 1979 and the following year became SRC president. He was a founding member of the End Conscription Campaign (ECC), which opposed the system of compulsory military service for white men, and served as the organisation’s national organiser. The ECC was banned in 1988 and Nathan went into hiding to evade arrest. After the unbanning of the ANC he worked as a policy researcher, focusing on the legislative and policy dimensions of intelligence and defence transformation. He headed up the Centre for Conflict Resolution and became a senior mediation adviser to the United Nations and the African Union. He is based at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame University, where he is the directior of the mediation programme.

In this interview, Laurie Nathan talks about growing up in a liberal Jewish family in Cape Town and the three specific turning points in his life that led to his decision to become a fulltime political activist. He also explains how the formation of the End Conscription Campaign (ECC) came about and reflects on the debates among the left around the issue of conscription into the South African Defence Force. He discusses the role of the ECC to mobilise the white community against apartheid and how it reached into the liberal sector of the white community for support in order to broaden its appeal. He also talks about being recruited into the ANC underground.
Nathan discusses his post-apartheid work as a policy researcher around security sector reform, focusing on the legislative and policy dimensions of intelligence and defence transformation. He discusses growing up with a Jewish sense of justice and hatred of injustice and talks about his “complicated” relationship with Judaism and his views on Israel. He also talks about the anger of the members of the Fallist Movement and reflects on post-apartheid South Africa that has gone from being a model democracy to a country in crisis [Written by: Jonathan Ancer].

Jonathan Ancer

Jews and the struggle for human rights, "Merle Favis interview"

Merle Favis was born in 1957 and grew up in the Johannesburg suburb of Dewetshof. She went to King David Linksfield High School and to Wits University, where she became involved in student politics. She joined the Wages Commission, a subcommittee of the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS). She graduated with an honours in industrial sociology and was appointed editor of the Durban-based South African Labour Bulletin. She was detained in connection with her anti-apartheid activities. She moved into the development field in the 1980s, working at the University of Natal Durban (UND) as the allocations officer for a small fund, then worked for Interfund, an international donor consortium, and continues to be a development activist. She is the co-director of Isibuko Sempilo Consulting, which promotes asset-based community development and financial sustainability planning with civil society organisations.

In this interview Merle Favis talks about going to King David High School during the 1970s where she was encouraged to question what was happening in South Africa and the world and the role of Jewish ethics as a force to push Jews into human rights struggles. She discusses her role as editor of the South African Labour Bulletin and her involvement in the labour movement, as well as the tension within the movement over support for the ANC. Favis also talks about Barbara Hogan’s Close Comrades’ list which was intercepted by the security police and the detentions that followed, including her own. Favis recounts her arrest and subsequent detention; the solidarity with the other detainees and the secret codes used to send messages to each other, as well as the emotional turmoil of being in detention. She talks about the negative response from the Jewish leadership and the broader Jewish community to her activism. She discusses her relationship with Judaism and shares her views on the difficulties facing South Africa in the current political environment [Written by: Jonathan Ancer].

Jonathan Ancer

Mensches in the Trenches, "Aron Mazel Interview - Part 1"

Interview by Jonathan Ancer with Aron Mazel. Aron Mazel provides an in-depth description of his history growing up in Vredehoek, Cape Town, and the family shop in District Six which was demolished under apartheid laws. This event had a deep internal effect on him as he became involved in the struggle against apartheid over the years that followed. Aron studied Archaeology at University. He was able to find the political in the archaeological environment, particularly in excavation trips to Elandsbaai. Mazel wrote in his PhD thesis, the Hunter-Gatherers had agency to make decisions and choices while living in the environment. Mazel also focused on gender relations in his PhD. In this interview, Aron Mazel also describes his life in Pietermaritzberg. His work at the Museum, specifically documenting and cataloguing archaeology, influenced his approach to Photography in the struggle against apartheid. Mazel photographed events in the area, such as Mandela's speech and Inkhata's violent actions, and catalogued each of his photographs carefully so that they could be exhibited. Mazel also speaks about a girl named Makosi, who he and his wife Anne looked after even though she had parents of her own, and who had a significant impact on Mazel's work in the struggle against apartheid, for example, influencing his ideas and introducing him to meetings in the townships.

Jonathan Ancer

Mensches in the Trenches, "Bernie Fanaroff interview"

Interview by Jonathan Ancer with Bernie Faranoff. Bernie Fanaroff goes in-depth to describe his life and work with the trade union movement in South Africa, specifically the struggle against apartheid and working with RDP and SKA after liberation. Bernie Fanaroff 's parents came from Lithuania and Latvia. He attended Northview High School. Growing up in a white society, he was aware of what was going on but can recall very little political discussion. However his parents were political as they both taught in township schools. His family was Jewish and Yiddish but not Zionist. Bernie decided as a young teenager he would study at university and then go into politics. This plan came true when he returned to South Africa from his Cambridge Doctorate. As a trade unionist, Fanaroff contributed intensely to human rights culture. People in industries had very little human rights and were treated badly. Fanaroff spent most of his time at factories, dealing with workers. He was involved in many general meetings and was very strict with the factories. Worker democracy was important. It was very tiring. He would drop people off at work at 6 o' clock in the morning. At 12 at night he would get a phone call, telling him there were problems at the factories. Fanaroff was arrested a few times, once for three days, although he considers this "little street cred". He was often confident because he kept his hands clean. Fanaroff had no long term view of the future. He always thought liberation was a long way away. When it eventually happened, he was thirty years off in his estimation and was surprised as anybody else. Standing at Nelson Mandela's inauguration, watching the colours of the new South African flag fly overhead, was a very proud moment for Fanaroff . His experiences in the unions shaped him as a person because he learnt to listen, to value people, work with people and keep everything out in the open. He also learnt how, where and when to negotiate.

Jonathan Ancer

Mensches in the Trenches, "Laurence Milner Interview"

Interview by Jonathan Ancer with Laurence Milner about Laurence's uncle Lionel Abrahams. Lionel Abrahams was a South African novelist, poet, editor, critic, essayist and publisher. He was born with cerebral palsy in Johannesburg. Lionel Abrahams was tremendously intellectual and interested in learning about everything. His interests were widespread from numbers to words. He was also very good at mathematics. He was focused on his own world and his own work. He was mentored my Herman Charles Bosman. Abrahams was very interested in politics, but he was never directly involved in politics. He observed and had strong opinions, but was never a political activist. He was very opposed to apartheid. He was a staunch liberal, believing strongly in human rights. A lot of his political work came from his nurturing and providing opportunity for black writers, such as Oswald Mtshali and Mangane Wally Serote.

Jonathan Ancer

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