Showing 128 results

Archival description
Only top-level descriptions
Print preview Hierarchy View:

127 results with digital objects Show results with digital objects

Zimbabwean Jewish Community Collection

  • Collection
  • 2021

The Zimbabwean Jewish community Collection was donated by Benny Leon. The towns of focus are Gatooma and Rhodes Island. The Gatooma Jewish Cemetery reconsecration and the Sephardi Hall consecration are featured, as well as prominent people from the Zimbabwean Jewish community who were involved with these events. Zimbabwean Jewish families are also in the collection.

Jewish friends pose together for a social snap whilst attending the celebrations of the Coronation for Queen Elizabeth in Gatooma in July 1953.
The teenagers of the Gatooma Habonim in 1953 pose in front of the Gatooma Synagogue under construction. The synagogue was consecrated in 1953 and was the communal centre for about sixty Jews in Gatooma, a small mining and agricultural town 140km west of Salisbury (Harare).

Robert Sternberg founded the Gatooma Hebrew Congregation. He fled Nazi Germany and arrived in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) in 1939. He conducted the High Holidays services at various venues. With the establishment of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland the economy boomed and so did the Jewish population. At its peak there were 7000 Jews living in Rhodesia.

The Gatooma Hebrew Congregation flourished for a while until congregants chose to move to the larger centres of Salisbury. By the 1980s with hardly any congregants the synagogue was sold to a church group who later demolished it.

An image in the collection captures the interior of the synagogue. The building served as both a synagogue and a communal hall. By drawing the large wooden panels in front of the arc it became a hall.

Gatooma began its existence as a mining town in 1906. In the Jewish cemetery is the earliest grave. In 1998 with funds from overseas Peter Sternberg had the Gatooma Jewish Cemetery refurbished. Leaning graves were rectified. A new coat of paint was put on the letters on tombstones and a small plaque was put on unmarked graves. A low wall was erected.

In 1998 the reconsecration of the Gatooma (Kadoma) Jewish Cemetery was well attended by Jews from the Harare Jewish Community. A photograph taken by Benny Leon at the event shows President of the Sephardi Hebrew Congregation Philip Hasson, Peter and Hermoine Sternberg, Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft and President of the Harare Hebrew Congregation, Freddy Weisenbacher.
Other Jewish people and their histories are in the collection; including Peter Sternberg, Rev Ehrman, Samuel Hasson, and the Leon family.

This collection also features photographs from the Sephardic Hebrew Congregation of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). The Congregation’s president Mr A. I. Menashe said at the Sh’are Shalom Synagogue, Rhodes Island, consecration on 1 June 1958, “We now have a permanent house of worship.” People had come from as far as London and New York to attend the service. The distinguished gathering also included the Governor-General Lord Dalhousie and the Governor of Southern Rhodesia Sir Percival William-Powlett.

The Sephardic Hebrew Congregation had begun 25 years earlier in the then Rhodesia. Services had been held, of necessity, in a number of places. A photograph of the interior of a temporary synagogue is also available in the collection.
The new synagogue was declared a symbol of thanksgiving to the God of Israel for bringing his children to the land. The Very Reverend the Haham, Rabbi Dr. S. Gaon said that many members of the congregation had been given the opportunity to build a new future for themselves and their children in Rhodesia.

The sacred Scroll of the Law from the Mother Congregation was carried around the synagogue by clergy and wardens at the start of the service. The Scrolls were then placed in the Sanctuary which was opened by the Rabbi Emeritus, Mr. B. D. Almelah. Rabbi Dr. M. Papo consecrated the Perpetual Light. The consecration stone was unveiled by Mr. B. S. Leon.

In one photograph, holding the Sepharim from left to right are: Rev Isaacs, Rabbi M. Konviser, Rev Perreira, Mr. S. M. Alhadeff, Rabbi Dr M. Papo and the Haham Rabbi Dr. S. Gaon.
This is a fascinating collection. The photographs show prominent figures in the Zimbabwean Jewish community enacting Jewish rituals and commemorating rich Jewish history. South African Jewish Museum is grateful to the donor of the collection, Benny Leon.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections, if you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Zart Stein Newman Cohen Collection

  • Collection
  • 2015-

The Stein Zart Newman Cohen collection comprises various photographs taken during the Second World War. In the photographs there are some interesting medals as well as official war documentation relating to the discharge of services from the UDF, returning to the Union. Of interest is a plaque presented to MR HB Newman by the members of the Maccabeans Literary and Social Society.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections, if you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Yamina K. Oliver Collection

  • Collection
  • 2012-

The Yamina Kaplan Oliver Collection consists of a large number of photographs.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections, if you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Woodstock and Salt River Hebrew Congregation Collection

  • Collection
  • 2021

A variety of photographs, documents and audio display different aspects and character of the Woodstock and Salt River Hebrew Congregation and its Talmud Torah, which were active between the 1900s and the 1980s in the Woodstock and Salt River suburbs of Cape Town. Also featured are memorialisations and a 2004 reunion undertaken by ex-Woodstockers.

See the SAJM Youtube Channel for a specific playlist of additional audio content related to the Woodstock Collection https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2CV7b-qw4NCuD_9RPQ6GKg

Introduction by Cecil Gelbert:

This project has been on our minds for a long time and has at last come to fruition.

On behalf of Herschel Gelbart in Boca Raton and Harold Idesis and myself Cecil Gelbart from Cape Town, we want to express our deep gratitude to all who helped put together this exciting platform on the Woodstock Jewish Community.
We will all have incredible memories of our time living in Woodstock, mixing freely with all races and people of different religions.

Central to our heritage must be the legacy left by Rev. Gulis and his teachings in his own inimitable way. A great teacher teaches his students to become independent. That is what Rev. Gulis did. He gave each one of us the choice in later life to decide how we would continue to live from an ethical and spiritual point of view. For example each of Herschel, Harold Idesis, Harold Fligel, Woolfie Levin and I can do any Haftorah.

Thank you to each one of you who contributed photos and articles.
A huge thank you to JP [Pesach] Burke for putting it together even after he went on Aliyah.
A special debt of gratitude to SA Jewish Museum, Gavin Morris, Leila Bloch and Katie Garrun at the Kaplan Centre for coordinating the project and finalising it.

It gave me great pleasure and joy to have worked with Herschel who was tireless in tracing and digging up the information and people from all over the world who have contributed and for Harold, who has been an intellectually stimulating in guiding this project.
The influence of our Woodstockers worldwide – which is extensive and stretches to USA, Australia, Canada, England, Israel and those still in South Africa.

Living as we did in a shtetl of Woodstock close to each other gave us the edge to bond and grow as a community.
I appeal to all of you to please comment on anything appertaining to life in Woodstock and please feel free to add anything to this website as it was impossible for us to cover everything.

May you Woodstockers continue to be blessed and continue to make your mark in whatever field you are involved in.
Wishing you all peace, wellness, blessings and hatzlacha.
Cecil Gelbart.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections, if you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Wiseglass Family Collection

  • Collection
  • 2014-

The Wiseglass Family Collection includes a small number of photographs that document the Bar mitzvah of Stuart Wiseglass. The celebration was held on the 29th of July, 1989, at the Cape Town Progressive Jewish Congregation, Temple Israel.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections. If you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Wingrin Family Collection

  • Collection
  • 2011-

The Wingrin Video Collection contains digitised footage. It was donated by Harold Wingrin and contains videos of the Wingrin family's travels around the coast of South Africa and the interior as well as life at home.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections, if you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Wendy Ackerman Collection

  • Collection
  • 2014-

The Wendy Ackerman collection comprises of seven photos from Temple Israel, in Wynberg, Cape Town. Two of these images depict a young boy in shul, presumably on the occasion of his bar mitzvah. The other images show Rabbi David Hoffman and other members of the community.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections, if you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Walt and Jawitz Family Collection

  • Collection
  • YYYY

The Walt and Jawitz Family Photograph Collection comprises a number of photographs of family ocassions, school and sports, and the various family members travels around South Africa.

Whenever possible research has been conducted to enrich the information in these collections, if you would like to add any additional information please contact us.

Victor Kaplan Collection

  • Collection
  • 2023-

The Victor Kaplan Collection (donated by Robert Kaplan) showcases a variety of World War I memorabilia relating to Pvt Victor Kaplan.

Victor Kaplan died at the age of 23 during World War I combat at Delville Wood in 1916. He was awarded several medals to commemorate his military sacrifice, including a bronze Memorial medallion, a Victory Medal, a British War Medal, and a 1914-15 Star. His name also appears on the cornerstone and Roll of Honour at the National Jewish War Memorial in Johannesburg.

The bronze Memorial medallion depicts an engraving of a Greek goddess and a lion. The inscription reads, "He died for freedom and honour: Victor Kaplan".

This collection shows the front and back views of Pvt Kaplan's medals. On the front of the Victory Medal is a female winged figure representing Nike, the mythological Greek goddess of victory. The back view of this medal reads, "The Great War for Civilisation – De Grote Oorlog voor de Beschaving 1914-1919".

The front of the British War Medal shows King George V, who was King of the United Kingdom and British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 until 1936. The back view of the medal has an engraving of Saint George, naked on horseback and armed with a short sword.

The front of the 1914-15 Star is engraved with a crown, swords, and a wreath. The back is inscribed, "V. Kaplan: 10th Infantry".

This collection also includes delivery notes from the Gerald and Marc Hoberman Collection to Robert Kaplan and Ms Sheila Kaplan of the Kaplan-Kushlick Foundation. These document the return of several books and Victor Kaplan's medals, respectively. The items had been on loan for use in the book, "Tzedakah".

A series of photographs in this collection shows the National Jewish War Memorial in Johannesburg. The cornerstone of the Memorial was unveiled by the Mayor of Johannesburg, Les Dishy, on Sunday, 19 September 1993. Particular mention is made to the Kaplan-Kushlick Foundation, who contributed to the Memorial in memory of Pvt Victor Kaplan. The photographs of the Memorial show a beautiful sunny setting: the gravestones are on an elevated piece of land, overlooking a lawn with pathways. Behind the graves are many trees on a hill. The cornerstone and Roll of Honour are on the brick wall which separates the graves from the lawn.

Other items of interest in the collection are Pvt Victor Kaplan's receipt for his awarding of the 1914-15 Star and a letter from King George V of Buckingham Palace, which reads, "I join with my grateful people in sending you this memorial of a brave life given for others in the Great War."

This fascinating collection traces the history of Pvt Victor Kaplan's World War I efforts. Besides his accolades and their related documents, the collection also highlights the contributions made by Victor Kaplan's family to the National Jewish War Memorial in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Written by Alex Abrahams

Results 1 to 10 of 128