SAVE THE DATE! SAVE THE DATE! - SA Jewish Report [PDF]

SAVE THE DATE!

PHILLIP MILLER’S ‘REWIND’ CANTATA ABSA JEWISH SPEAKS TO THE ACHIEVERS AWARDS - JUNE 17 SA PSYCHE / 12

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Friday, 18 April 2008 / 13 Nisan, 5768

Volume 12 Number 14

Livni wows Arabs ISRAELI FOREIGN Minister Tzipi Livni flew to the Qatari capital of Doha this week with the goal of convincing the Persian Gulf states and other Arab moderates that they and Israel should be on the same side against the extremists. PAGE 10

JHB Cycalivers arrive in Durban /3 Jimmy Carter shunned in Israel / 10 HELLIG: Verdict on Palestinians in BBC’s Doha debate surprises / 11 LASERSOHN: ‘The loving gaze’ we need for our health / 4 Old Arcs go down memory lane / 6 Shain book review on ‘the longest hatred’ / 8 Remembering Israel’s ‘Voice of Peace’ radio / 7

FOR THE SAKE OF MIDEAST PEACE YOUTH TALK / 18-19

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni meets with Qatar Prime Minister Hamed Eben Gasam Elthani in Doha, on April 14. Livni was scheduled to meet with her Omani counterpart in what would be the first meeting in seven years between the foreign ministers of the two nations. (PHOTO: MOSHE MILNER/GPO/BPH IMAGES)

SPORTS / 24

LETTERS / 14-15

CROSSWORD & BRIDGE / 20

Swimmer Doron Benjamin shines / 24

COMMUNITY BUZZ / 7

WHAT’S ON / 20

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SA JEWISH REPORT

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SHABBAT TIMES AND YOMTOV TIMES

PARSHA OF THE WEEK Published by S A Jewish Report (Pty) Ltd, Suite 175, Postnet X10039, Randburg, 2125 Tel: 011-886-0162 Fax: 011-886-4202 Printed by Caxton Ltd EDITOR - Geoff Sifrin [email protected] Sub-Editor - Paul Maree Senior Reporter - Rita Lewis [email protected] Editorial Assistant - Shelley Elk [email protected] Sports Editor - Jack Milner [email protected] Youth Editor - Shelley Elk [email protected] Books Editor - Gwen Podbrey Arts Editor - Robyn Sassen [email protected] Cape Town correspondent Moira Schneider: 021-794-4206 Pretoria correspondent Diane Wolfson MANAGER: SALES AND DISTRIBUTION Britt Landsman : [email protected] Sales Executives - (011) 886-0162 Britt Landsman: 082-292-9520 Tammy Freedman: 082-820-0509 Freelance Sales Executives Marlene Bilewitz & Assoc: 083-475-0288 Manuela Bernstein: 082-951-3838 Classified Sales [email protected] Design and layout Graphic Descriptions Nicole Matthysen Subscription enquiries Avusa Publishing (Pty) Ltd Tel: 0860-13-2652 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Honourable Abe Abrahamson (Chairman), Issie Kirsh, Dennis Maister, Bertie Lubner, Herby Rosenberg, Russell Gaddin, Marlene Bethlehem, Stan Kaplan, Norman Lowenthal. Mr Justice Meyer Joffe (Chair, editorial comm)

Pesach - a journey of renewal THE COMING of spring signals a time of rejuvenation and renewal. It comes after the arid and dry winter season, bringing with it the promise of fertile and lush growth. Appropriately the festival of Pesach falls out during this epoch, for it is Pesach and its message that is reflected in this season of transition. Pesach is the point of departure of and the embarking on, the journey of the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people. For this reason on this Shabbat of Chol Hamoed Pesach, we read the Megillah of Shir Hashirim - Song of Songs. Using a poetic and symbolic portrayal of the deep and intimate relationship of husband and wife, King Solomon subtly conveys the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people. And some relationship it is! One that would span, to date, some nearly three and a half millennia, that remarkably would survive against all odds and that in its survival have and continues to, defy every natural law of history of the demise that is the inevitable fate of nations and cultures. The obvious question is: What is the secret of this relationship? And perhaps in answering, we may discover the answer to our own question of the “enduring relationship”. Along the historical timeline and evolution of Jewish history, this festival came to be established by three names. Originally, it is biblically referred to as Chag Hamatzot the festival of Matzah. Rabbinically (the men of the great assembly) gave it the name Zman

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Rev Ilan Hermann from the Lions Shul Cheiruteinu - the time of our freedom and subsequently throughout the ages, it has become Chag HaPesach - the festival of Passover. The first is Chag Hamatzot symbolic in matzah is the quality of selflessness and humility. It characterises the selfless commitment and utter devotion to the other (to G-d or one’s fellow man). Were circumstance not to favour the pursuit of the relationship, whether it were environmental, social or personal, this fundamental commitment prevails over that given challenge and ensures its sustainability and continuity. Thus it is possible that he may even participate in this relationship on this essential level, yet not be personally absorbed in it with his mind, feelings and desire. He may be engaged in it without the involvement of his greater self and fuller personality. Enter the men of the great assembly who tell us that it is Zman Cheiruteinu - a time of freedom; that a commitment which lacks a personal involvement, although commendable in its tenacity, durability and unswerving devotion, is nonetheless limited, for it carries an air of subjugation of the participant, that may at times even run against the tide of

his own desire or preference. But freedom is when one participates with one’s fuller being, applying the greater and broader range of one’s talents, attributes and characteristics within the experience of the relationship. The intellect, emotions, desire and will are all engaged in it. One participates with all of oneself and not in spite of oneself. It is Zman Cheiruteinu, a time of freedom. Finally, with the progression of time, the Jew came to call the festival Chag HaPesach. As history started to show the unusual pattern of the miraculous survival of the Jewish people and they began to develop the status of an enigmatic people surrounded by a legacy of immortality, it became clear that this was a nation with a unique providence guided and preserved by something beyond the ordinary. Rashi explains that the word Pesach means to leap or jump. Mortal man is finite and is limited in accordance with the laws of the natural world that he is a part of. He is a grounded being rooted to the earth that he is a product of. But the consequence of the commitment of Matzot - unflinching selfless devotion and Cheiruteinu applying all of the energies and talents at one’s disposal into the relationship, resulted in Pesach - a leap and jump far beyond the ordinary. The Pesach paradigm offers us not only the opportunity to reflect with pride on the extraordinary past that we come from, but to relook at the relationships of our lives and to invite into them a sense of renewed commitment and reJEWvenation.

Marking Pesach in the Lowveld DAVID SAKS THE LOWVELD Jewish community will mark Pesach with a firstnight communal seder and Yomtov services. These will take place at Casa du Lua Lodge, situated between Nelspruit and White River, which has again been put at the dis-

posal of the community by Yitzhak (Saki) Kanfu. Four young bochrim from Johannesburg will be running the services and conducting the seder. Since the first day of Pesach falls on Sunday this year, the weekend’s festivities will commence with evening services on the previous Friday.

There are today over 100 Jews living in the area comprising Nelspruit, White River, Hazyview and Sabi Sabi, one of the country’s burgeoning economic growth spots. In 2004, Jewish residents took the first step towards organising themselves on a formal basis with the establishment of the Lowveld

April 18 / 13 Nissan April 19 / 14 Nissan Starts 17:31 18:08 17:23 17:43 17:41 17:33

Johannesburg Cape Town Durban Bloemfontein Port Elizabeth East London

April 19 /14 Nissan First night Passover/Erev Pesach Earliest time to light candles from an existing flame 18:19 18:51 18:05 18:24 18:23 18:15

Johannesburg Cape Town Durban Bloemfontein Port Elizabeth East London

April 20 /15 Nissan April 21 /16 Nissan Second night Passover/Erev Pesach Earliest time to light candles from an existing flame 18:18 18:50 18:04 18:24 18:22 18:14

18:18 18:48 18:03 18:23 18:21 18:12

Yomtov ends Johannesburg Cape Town Durban Bloemfontein Port Elizabeth East London

Jewish community. The first official communal function was to hold full Yom Kippur services that year. All those who will be in the area over Pesach and who would like to participate in these events, should contact Ziva on 082-610-9077 or email [email protected] in order to facilitate catering arrangements. Those requiring accommodation should contact Sakki on 082-455 4002.

Bernhard Lazarus honoured by the KNZC LAUREN OSHRY

KASHRUT

PARSHAT ACHAREI MOT

Please remember to light a candle that will burn over both days.

“THE KWAZULU-NATAL Zionist Council (KNZC) is well on course to achieving our objectives and we continue to make great strides in taking Zionist interests further in KZN,” said Chairman Greg Bass, who began his second term of office at the biannual general meeting of the Council early in April. Representatives were present from the SA Zionist Federation, the Israel Centre, the Union of Jewish Women, WIZO, the Hebrew Order of David, Durban United Hebrew Congregation, Durban Progressive Jewish Congregation and the Council of KwaZulu-Natal Jewry. Bernhard Lazarus was awarded the status of honorary life president. Lazarus’s family has a staunch

Zionist history, with his grandfather having been a delegate at the first six Zionist congresses in Basel, Switzerland. Bernhard himself is a graduate of Habonim and Rhodes University, and so has leadership skills that have stood him in good stead in the field of community leadership and involvement. For nearly six decades he has given of himself on various committees and organisations. “In bestowing this honour, we acknowledge a truly great past and present life dedicated to Israel,” said Bass. Tribute was also paid to great Zionist leaders who had passed on since the last general meeting, notably Dr Herman Davidson (a revered member of the Council for many years) and Alec Rogoff (hon-

orary president of the Council). These great men would have been very proud of where the KNZC is going, given the new young faces on the Council. The new committee, chaired once again by Bass, comprises Sidney Lazarus (vice-chairman), Rochelle Puterman (treasurer), Prof Marcus Arkin (honorary vice-president) Prof Antony Arkin, Suzanne Edmunds, Helen Isaacs, Jessica Johnstone, Lee Oehley, Adir Puterman and Keren Sapo. “We’re pleased to see more young people coming on board,” said Bass. “We are currently in the process of reinventing ourselves.” The KNZC’s new direction, which includes a recently revised Constitution, is partly the result of a strategic planning meeting held

last year with Ian Mann, one of South Africa’s most sought-after management consultants. “Our activities have been many and varied,” Bass noted. Over the last year, the KNZC has held numerous functions in addition to its traditional annual celebrations (Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut, Yom Yerushaliyim, and Yom Rabin). These have ranged from visiting Israeli astronomers and orchestras to ongoing activities. One of KNZC’s aims is to “make a wider audience a little more informed about Israel and her citizens”. In keeping with this, the guest speaker for the evening was Troy Meyers, a local ANC activist and recent participant in the SAZF’s popular Israel Now tour.

UPCOMING FEATURES 2008.... Kosher Korner - Every 2nd week for everything kosher Contact Manuela Bernstein

April 25 Mothers Day Feature Contact Marlene Bilewitz

May 02 Israel’s 60th Birthday Contact (011) 886-0162

TO ADVERTISE TEL: (011) 886-0162 for more information

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SA JEWISH REPORT

Another triumphant Cycalive reaches Durban Thirty-four young cyclists assembled on the steps of Durban’s City Hall last Thursday, sweaty and smiling, their enthusiasm and energy filling the square in front of the historic building. LAUREN OSHRY DURBAN THE GROUP, made up of grade 11 learners from Torah Academy, Moletsane High School and Pace College in Soweto, cycled in parade from the Victoria Embankment, led by the Durban Field Band and several supporters who had come down to watch the festivities. Pioneered by Torah Academy in 1998, Cycalive is an annual event in which participants cycle in relay from Johannesburg to Durban. While the initial aim was to heighten awareness of road safety, Cycalive also promotes leadership and camaraderie through common goals, building bridges between young South Africans and their respective communities in a spirit of adventure, personal challenge and self-confidence. “We are so happy to be here,” said Rabbi Dovid Hazdan, dean of Torah Academy and co-ordinator of Cycalive. “We want to show that the people of this country can work together. Some things may seem impossible, but we have proved that, by taking things one day at a time, we can achieve anything.” Durban City Councillor Diana Hoorzuk

met the group and applauded all the participants for their courage and determination. “I’m pleased to see religious and educational organisations taking up the challenge to prepare our youth for the battles that lie ahead, because although we have achieved political liberation in South Africa, there are still many struggles to fight on the road to true liberation,” said Hoorzuk. “It’s all about adventure, staying alert and beginning new friendships and getting to know other cultures better,” said 18year-old Thulani Khumalo from Pace College. “It’s been an incredible bonding experience,” agreed Gidon Orelowitz (16), from Torah Academy. “The highlight was definitely arriving in Durban - the band, the people, the vibe were all fantastic!” That evening, the cyclists were treated to a celebratory braai at the Durban Jewish Centre. Mary Kluk, president of the Council of KwaZulu-Natal Jewry, welcomed the group. “The Durban Jewish community is always so delighted to welcome the Cycalive team at their destination and be a part of this wonderful and worthwhile project,” she said.

Torah Academy Cycalive partipants after their exhilarating arrival in Durban, having left Johannesburg to cycle in relays to Durban. (PHOTOGRAPHS: BOAZ PELED)

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The ‘loving gaze’ and other brain science issues ALISON GOLDBERG THE BIGGEST concern of the ageing person, besides physical illness, was memory loss and the fear of “losing one’s mind”, psychologist Brenda Lasersohn (pictured) said in a recent address to Second Innings. Her topic was “How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are”. While we cannot prevent the brain and body cells from degenerating, new developments in brain science suggest that appropriate stimulation can trigger and activate neuronal growth. A prominent researcher in this field is Dr Daniel Siegel, a child psychiatrist and neuroscientist The whose publication of Developing Mind: Toward a Neurobiology of Interpersonal Experience in 1999 opened up the conversation of the profound effects that inter-personal relationships have on the brain. With the advent of functional MRI and PET scans we are now able to view the “functioning” brain and not only its structure. Siegel’s extraordinary ability of interpreting the complexity of neuroscience into simple and pragmatic terms, has engendered wide-spread interest in terms of understanding how and why psychotherapy works. We are now able to understand what stimuli alter and affect brain functions.” Lasersohn told how Siegel had

received an invitation from the late Pope John Paul who was deeply interested in why a “mother’s gaze” was so critical to the growth and well-being of a baby. Siegel was at pains to explain to the Papacy ahead of his visit, that the all-important loving “gaze” could come from either parent or from another attachment figure. The essence of his explanation related to the everyday miracle of “the gaze” - that the novelist George Elliot called “the meeting eyes of love” - that every child must have, literally to survive. These small moments of mutual rapport serve to transmit the best part of our humanity - our capacity to love - from one generation to the next. Says Lasersohn: “Interpersonal neurobiology argues that the brain is an exquisitely ‘social organ’. The assertion is that relationships and the way we speak to one another, profoundly affect us. “From birth, it is not the relentless unfurling of a genetic plan that determines the shape of our adult minds, but what happens between different brains that largely shapes what happens inside our individual brains,” she said. From the moment we are born, our most important relationships fire into being neural circuits of the brain that allow us to understand and empathise with

others and feel their feelings. Much of this work relates to the role of “human attachment” and brain processes. Attachment theory is a rich body of research which in summary is the study of life narratives that inform knowledge about adult psychology. Consequently, we now know that interpersonal relationships shape neural firing mediated by certain neurons termed “mirror neurons” which interpret the stimulus from the “other” (attachment figure) and trigger a similar response in the “receiver” (the baby), as can be seen when for instance, the baby responds to the “smiling” parent. Research is now showing that the kind of “relationships” with “attachment figures” that we have had, shape how we experience relationships in the present. “If we have had difficult relationships growing up, we may come not to trust the world - and our attitude may become one of bitterness and cynicism. “Interpersonal interaction thus is not simply a neutral transmission of information. The quality of our communication with one another, can significantly influence how we see ourselves.” For instance, respectful interaction triggers different neural stimulation than does aggressive communication. Lasersohn suggests that there are three connected anchor

points in interpersonal neurobiology, namely the brain, the mind and relationship. She pointed out that these elements were powerfully interwoven. A bad relationship would affect the brain in a negative manner to the extent that the brain was less “integrated” and “the mind” troubled. Conversely, a “mutual, reciprocal relationship” leads to an “integrated brain” connecting to an experience of a “coherent and harmonious mind”. This is an inextricable triad. “Mutuality” is one word that could describe “humanity” and it enhances the likelihood of survival in every culture. The same is true for all mammals of which the human is the most dependent at birth. The need for connection is hard-wired in the brain, and it is argued that it is “nature through nurture”: in other words the “genetic potential” of the individual is expressed through the experience that the person has in his/her environment and in their primary relationships. As one responds to one’s environment, neural networks or maps are set up. These are sets of connections which if repeated sufficiently create what are known as “grooves” or neural maps which suggest a self-renewing, “plastic” brain (termed neuro-plasticity) with a capacity to rewire itself in response to changing circumstances that go well beyond assumptions about our innate, hard-wired limitations prevalent in neuroscience, until only a few years ago. As regards the ageing brain, it is vital then against this background that one engages in processes (at any age) that trigger “neuronal activity and

growth” (SNAGing). Any focused activity that stimulates the brain may trigger the growth of new neurons, thus creating new neuronal pathways. She referred here to the “Hebbian principle” which when interpreted, states that “neurons that fire together, wire together” to describe these new neuronal pathways. Thus, external stimuli encourage the growth of new neurons, says Lasersohn and contingent and mutual relationship can have the same effect. Trauma, it has been shown, damages neurons; the experience of finding “comfort in the arms of another” can go a long way to alleviating trauma and promoting recovery. This was shown to be the case after September 11 2001 as well as in Israel after scud missile attacks. “Interpersonal neurobiology helps us see ourselves connected to other human beings, belonging to the whole planet, and even a part of the entire universe in a way that extends our own dimensions far beyond our merely mortal selves,” she said.

Weak Western leadership, but not all doom and gloom LIONEL SLIER WELL-KNOWN South African Jewish communal leader Russell Gaddin (pictured) at a meeting of the United Zionist Luncheon Club in Johannesburg last week, expressed doubts about leadership in the Western world. “There are failings in the leadership, “ Gaddin, immediate past president of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies, told his audience. “The only strong leader is Vladimir Putin in Russia. He is very popular - but so was Stalin.” In Europe “Muslims are on the march”; oil prices were at record highs and all the money, starting with Iran, was being used to fund terrorism. US presidential hopeful Barack Obama was a problem for the Jews and the West, he said. And there was the Archbishop of Canterbury wanting sections of sharia law introduced into Britain.

In South Africa there was battle to allay the community’s fears about issues such as crime; it was a battle to keep them here. Yet despite all “the doom and gloom”, Gaddin still concluded on an upbeat note, pointing at the tremendous success story called Israel. “I am not delighted to give this sort of talk,” he said. “In China the leadership does not care about public relations, particularly now that its economy is the engine driving the world economy. “Wherever you look there is harm; in Venezuela, in Asia they are growing poppy seeds for heroin. In England the Labour

government is in disarray. It is no longer strong and the Conservatives aren’t going to succeed. “In Europe, and Scandinavia too, leadership is weak. There is one bright light, though, and that is Nicolas Sarkozy in France, a real friend of Israel but I hope that he manages to stay. “George Bush has the lowest approval rate of just 20 per cent. He is locked into the Iraqi War - it is just like America was in Vietnam. Bush is finished and he is causing problems for Israel because as his time is limited, he wants to go out having made peace in the Middle East and he may force Israel to make an unsuitable peace just as Bill Clinton forced Ehud Barak to make concessions, which fortu-

nately Yasser Arafat did not accept. Look at South America, where there is now talk of war. “Should I go to Africa?” he asked. “We all know about the problems in this country healthcare, energy, water... Has a single person resigned or been fired? South Africa was once the ‘great hope’ but it has been tainted by corruption. There were problems with the drive of Islam, he said. “It is on a march not seen since the time of the Crusades. After 9/11 the Arabs will be the victors because the West wants life, but to them (Muslims) to die means a great release into a better life. “The Muslim public relations have outmanoeuvred the West.” Bush asked Saudi Arabia to increase oil production but the Saudis made a condition, namely that America do away with the demand that Saudis visiting the US no longer needed visas this after all the 9/11 bombers

had come from Saudi Arabia or had had connections with it. “Where is the world leadership?” Gaddin asked almost in despair. “Drugs are plentiful. Today we have increased drug problems. Criminals are high on drugs. Some Western leaders have oil interests and there is corruption here. The high prices suit them. OPEC is dominated by Arabs; UNO is in the grip of Arabs. Algeria, China and Libya sit on the Human Rights Council. On South Africa Gaddin said: “I was frightened of Jacob Zuma, but he has been making the right sounds. I once took Nelson Mandela to Israel. What a privilege, what enormous presence! For me (Thabo) Mbeki is too silent. He has problems with almost everything here, but he remains silent. Zuma is a ray of hope but if (Kgalema) Motlanthe becomes president, he will support the Palestinians.”

Education builds meaningful lives - Krowitz STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY MOIRA SCHNEIDER CAPE TOWN THE EDUCATION of children was the “single most important factor” in securing the future of the country and was everyone’s responsibility. This was the message from Darrel Krowitz, national chairman of ORT SA, at the chairman’s dinner attended by the consul-general of Rumania, parliamentarians, members of the ORT national executive and board members of

ORT-Tech, the brand name for ORT’s work in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The organisation reaches 450 000 South African learners in the fields of mathematics, science and technology through the programmes for educators that it supports. “We believe that education lessens the impact of poverty and builds meaningful, productive lives,” Krowitz said. While the state was responsible for providing the bulk of education, this was not the gov-

ernment’s responsibility alone, he added, asking: “What have we done as ordinary South Africans in our homes, offices and whatever space we may be in, to ensure that our children get the education they need to become responsible future citizens?” Welcoming those present, chairman of ORT Western Cape, Nilly Baruch said the organisation had a 125-year history of encouraging empowerment of the less fortunate. In the new South Africa, ORT was “in the

forefront in contributing to the upliftment of the people of this country”. ORT today was the world’s largest Jewish education and vocational training non-governmental organisation and had benefited more than three million Jewish and non-Jewish people in 120 countries since its foundation in 1880, she said. Krowitz presented Alta Greeff, education director of ORT SA, with an award for “outstanding services and commitment” to ORT SA.

Alta Greeff, education director of ORT SA, receives an award from Darrel Krowitz, ORT’s national chairman.

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Bella is keeping the tabs on a wheelchair STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY RITA LEWIS FOLLOWING ON to the feel good letter “Restoring my faith in mankind” printed in the South African Jewish Report on April 4, Bella Wainer has had an experience - a similar story to tell - which shows the kindness and generosity of members of the local Jewish community. Wainer who has been a resident of Sandringham Gardens for some years now, was unfortunate enough to have suffered a minor accident. As a result, although she was not injured too badly, she was obliged to walk around with the assistance of a walking stick. She had heard that there were several people in the hospital section of the home who needed a wheelchair and she decided that she would help them to obtain one. It is well known that certain companies need people to collect the tabs of opened cans of cold drinks and one company gives a wheelchair for every million tabs received. They had been lucky the previous year when, she said, one cold drink company had actually donated five chairs that were made in the UK to the hospital section, which was a wonderful gesture on their part. As a result of there being always many tabs left lying around the home, Wainer decided to collect them and accumulate

them until there were enough to warrant sending them in to the company. After every meal and teatime, Wainer walks around all the tables collecting the tabs to put into her store bags. She said many people actually brought tabs to her from their homes so it was fairly easy to collect them - although just a bit time consuming, she said. Recently, she was doing her rounds, going from table to table collecting people’s tabs that were left on the tables, when a man with a group of people at a table, asked her what she was doing with all the Coke and other cold drink tabs. She explained that she was saving them so she could buy a wheelchair. As she was walking away, she suddenly felt something being pushed into her hand and heard the words: “Here is something for your collection.” Looking round she saw the young man who had asked her what she was doing with the tabs, walking away. She called to him but she said she did not think he heard her as he continued walking away and she only saw his back. When she looked at her hand she saw a R100 note. “I just could not believe it. I do not even know him,” she said. “With all the negativity going on around us at the moment, it is wonderful that someone should do some-

Develop ‘universal’, give space to the ‘particular’ STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOSHUA SCHEWITZ “THE SOUTH African dream” could be achieved, if moral principles were at the heart of our democracy, Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein told a diverse assembly of students and lecturers at the Wits Law Clinic earlier this month. There were Bahais, Christians, Muslims and Jews present. The event was held by SAUJS and the Students Law Council. Rabbi Goldstein spoke about the relationship between religion and secular law and how he thought religion should play a role in law making. Tamsanqa Sitole from the Students Law Council said “it was a privilege to have the chief rabbi - who has a doctorate in law engage both the religions and law committees. SAUJS Wits Chairman Sarah Pearson mentioned that it was “fantastic to work with

the law society” and that the event was beneficial for both the law and religions communities. On religion and secular law, Rabbi Goldstein said there had been many cases of nations prescribing values, where the values were debatable in their morality or where the values had necessitated evil acts like genocides. Rabbi Goldstein placed a distinction between the particular and the universal. The particular was that “every human is unique” and different. The universal was that each human being was part of the human race. Therefore there was a dichotomy between the particular and the universal; law should take this into account. People must not be divided by race or religion, but at the same time difference must be respected. The rabbi believes we should develop the universal and give space to the particular, while developing a moral legal system.

A box to help bris babies RITA LEWIS THE ACCIDENTAL meeting of two men from diverse persuasions and backgrounds has resulted in the creation of a product which could benefit very many baby boys yet to be born and has already been proven to be extremely beneficial to some born only recently. Rabbi Moshe Sher who has already successfully performed over 6 000 brisses, said there were times when during the healing process, the baby’s nappy would rub against the wound, causing discomfort and chaffing. The new invention works on the same lines as a cricketer’s protection box, protecting the baby’s surgical site (after a circumcision) from direct contact with a soiled diaper, which is often a breeding ground for bacteria. It also prevents the diaper from sticking to the sensitive skin and avoids unnecessary bleeding when the diaper is removed. The triangular shaped “Circumcision Baby Shield” or bris box which is already in regular use in Israel, has a padded base which rests on the baby’s tummy and has curved sides to fit around the baby’s legs. To ensure that the box is in the correct position, an inspection hole has been cut into the box which allows an easy sighting of the area in question. Rabbi Sher said the lightweight bris box had originally been developed for babies

Rabbi Moshe Sher with the first family to use the bris box, Shaun and Yohnit Spruch with their new baby. who had Hypo Spadias which is a congenital birth defect where the urethra needed to be extended to its correct position. Rabbi Sher said although created for a different scenario, he had seen the potential for the bris box to be used as protection for the baby after circumcision as it was made from soft material which would not collapse when in a wet situation. There were also two sticky points which adhered to the diaper and kept it in position. When the diaper is changed, the shield comes off with it and is disposed of at the same time - to be replaced by a new one.

thing like this - especially when things are so expensive.” As she was still walking with a stick and limping at the same time, she presumed that “the man obviously thought that the wheelchair I wanted to buy was for me and wanted to help me. I just wish I could meet him again to thank him.” She said that when she collects enough tabs and eventually gets a wheelchair for someone, she would make sure that she tells the recipient the story of the man who so kindly donated R100 to her. * Anyone who has any tabs from cold drink cans, may leave them at the front desk of Sandringham Garden and Wainer will add them to her collection.

Bella Wainer, who was given money by a complete stranger to help buy a wheelchair, holds a pack of 700 coke tins tabs collected by her as well as the receipt for the money given her.

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SOCIAL SCENE

Rita Lewis [email protected]

Hagit Levenberg with her sister-in-law Marnie Levenberg and Justine Lever.

Old Arcs go down memory lane STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY RITA LEWIS IN HIS opening address to the gathering of Old Arcadians at the Sandton Shul Hall recently, Jules Gordon co-organiser of the event with Celeste Fineberg, said there were three reasons for everyone to be present, namely “One, to enjoy yourselves. Two, to raise funds for the Old Arcadians Association and other charities and Three, to launch the film ‘The Arc Movie: A journey through time’, the trailer of which is now open on You Tube.” The film, much of which had been taken by Abe Stollar 50 years ago on his 8mm movie camera, was sponsored by Ian Melamed. “Unfortunately, Stollar will never see the finished result as he passed away at the end of February,” Gordon said. “Through his films, the memory of the old Arc and what happened there, will be kept alive.” The film was created, not just as a living memory for those who were brought up in Arcadia and its beautiful surroundings, but also as a fundraiser for the Old Arcadian Association, which does

Lee and Elliott Schwartz.

much to support Sandringham Gardens, Cotlands Baby Home and Selwyn Segal. During the debut screening of the trailer of the film during the evening - which was a collection of scenes and photographs showing children of different ages being involved in various activities and events - there were many interruptions, yet nobody seemed to mind. These interruptions were caused by comments such as “There you are... David” or “That was taken at camp in 19?” or “I remember her. Wonder where is she now?” People cried out as long forgotten friends and scenes depicted on the screen brought back nostalgic memories. Happy memories. Sad memories. Painful memories. But memories nonetheless. Memories which other Old Arcadians who were unable to attend the function and might want to have - and can - as the film is now available for anyone to purchase. (Interested persons should contact Jules Gordon on 082-5523148). There were many tears to be seen around the hall for the closeness that existed between the chil-

Rolene and Eric Touyz.

dren from Arcadia obviously still lives in the hearts of many - for people were seen hugging long lost friends, while others walked with their arms around each other throughout the evening. However, it was also emotional to see the changes that had occurred with the passage of time - such as the sale of the Arcadia Home to Hollard Insurance - and to see so many Old Arcs who had matured into successful lawyers, accountants, singers, businessmen etc. Gordon said “22 Oxford Road will always be our home” and he spoke of their theme song, “House of the Rising Sun”. He thanked those who had been responsible for contributing to the function and made presentations to Ian Melamed, Hollard Insurance, Barney Myers and to Minnie Hurwitz who regularly visits Old Arcs in hospitals or old aged homes. A raffle was held to raise funds and auctioneer Mark Nossel and his wife Kim raised a goodly sum when among other things, two paintings of the Arcadia building went for R7 000 and R10 000 respectively.

Jules Gordon with Hollard Insurance’s Nick Kohler.

Anusha and Krisen Govender.

Celeste and Laurie Fineberg.

Warren Abelman and Brenda Bessarabia.

Jules Gordon and Ian Melamed.

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COMMUNITY BUZZ LIONEL SLIER 082-444-9832, fax: 011-440-0448, [email protected] CAPE TOWN “I was too poor to have a childhood and I never was a child.” This is the answer that Lauren Snitcher in Cape Town would get from her ouma whenever she asked her about her life in Russia. Her grandmother, Bessie Gezunterman, was born in 1910 and grew up in Pinsk. Her grandmother was brought, together with two sisters to South Africa in 1921 by Isaac Ochberg, head of the Oranjia Jewish Orphanage. Ochberg had travelled to Eastern Europe and brought 176 Jewish orphans out of the war and pogrom devastated areas to South Africa. Lauren remembers that she was six years old when she first asked this question and the enigmatic answer remained embedded in her memory. She always wondered about this era that had vanished, these dark olden days. In 1995 Lauren went to England and together with her cousin, a child of her grandmother’s sister and the two of them decided to research the story of Isaac Ochberg and if possible make a movie of the story. They began to trawl archives wherever they could find information, such as in Oranjia, the Kaplan Institute, the Jewish Museum, etc. They contacted those original Ochberg orphans who were still alive, now in their twilight years, interviewed them and recorded their stories. This wasn’t an easy task because many of the people did not want to talk about that part of their lives which, for the most part, consisted of bad memories. In 2001 Lauren went to Eastern Europe and visited many of the towns and villages that had been mentioned in these recorded stories - to Ukraine, Belarus, Poland. The first result was a 20 minute CD that Lauren produced, consisting of some of the interviews. The stories were moving, harrowing, frightening, all were sad. As they said, there were no good memories. In 2005 the project was taken on by Producer Paul Goldin in England with Lauren supplying the information. A 39 minute documentary, “Ochberg’s Orphans”, directed by

AROUND THE WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF

Jon Blair appeared in 2007. In 2008 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that “Orchberg’s Orphans” was one of eight nominations accepted in the Documentary Short Subject category for the 2008 Oscar Awards. Unfortunately it did not make the final four. Lauren has created a database of descendants of the Ochberg Orphans now spread all over the world. She has 2 100 names of people whom she says are alive today because of the efforts of one man Isaac Ochberg. Lauren is not finished yet. She is off to Israel where she is due to give a talk on the Ochberg Orphans on May 5. * A wonderful article about Isaac Ochberg appeared in the Jerusalem Post (April 4) and can be visited on www.jpost.com

ISRAEL Rollo Berman concludes his memories of the VOP (Voice of Peace) radio station broadcasting (in 1992) from a ship in neutral Mediterranean waters: “One way that I used to relax on board on a Saturday afternoon was to look at the Tel Aviv skyline in the distance and at the young Israelis water-skiing past the ship. I must say that working in Israel and not touring, are definitely two different aspects of the country. I would really like to tour the country from top to bottom. “The ‘Voice of Peace’ does not exist anymore. A few years ago, Abie Nathan (who ran the station) ordered it to be sunk, equipment and all. The old frequency band which was used, was taken over by the talk-show in Jerusalem, RAM FM 93.”

PORT ELIZABETH From Dr Denzil Levy: “In the last three editions of The Jewish Report much has been written about Rev Abraham Levy who ministered the congregations in Port Elizabeth for 42 years. “I am the sole living survivor of his six children. On my 90th birthday - on June 28 2007 - four Jewish institutions hosted a banquet in my honour at which were present Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein and the heads of numerous cultural institutions which I headed and on which I have served and am still serving. “At this function, as well as on other occasions such as when I received an honorary doctorate, the Ivan Sackheim Award for 60 years

of devoted synagogue service, the Toyota Lexus Achiever Award and others, I always paid tribute to my late father. “Throughout my life I have been conscious of a spiritual heritage bequeathed to me by him. His inspiration was an example of what I have striven to emulate. His encouragement provided the initial spark to ignite the fuel that has continued to burn brightly in the fulfilment of the services that I have rendered both in the public and communal fields.”

SCHWEIZER RENEKE From Lee Klawansky: “I am e-mailing you on behalf of my grandfather, Mendel Green, whose family information you published in The Jewish Report of April 4. “A correction needs to be made with regard to the information. Louis and Rebecca Green had three children, two sons and one daughter, Mendel and Francis were the boys and Tobe, the girl. “The business of L Bloom and Sons was run by Francis and his wife Phoebe and by Tobe and her husband, Bernard Newstadt. Francis and Tobe were therefore brother and sister and Francis Green and Bernard Newstadt were brothers-in-law.”

CAPE TOWN Eric Cohen wrote to Community Buzz, asking for information about an old Johannesburg friend, Richard Gordon. We asked to be informed of any contact. Sadly we received the following from Eric Cohen: “A Mrs Schneider phoned me. She owned the Wilds View Hotel in Louis Botha Avenue, Johannesburg in the 1960s where Richard’s father stayed. She told me that Richard passed away some years ago.”

CONNECTING PEOPLE From David Galaun: “I am looking for relatives of Sydney Collet or Mark Collet who were born in England in the early 20th century to Rose and Lazarus Cohen, but moved to South Africa. “Both were married to women by the name of Ann. I think Sydney had two children (one was called Paul) and I think Mark had two sons and a daughter (Gerald, Alan and Sandra). “Anyone with information can contact me by e-mail at [email protected]”

BRITISH ISRAEL AT 60 BASH BOMBS LONDON - A much-publicized Israel at 60 celebration at England's Windsor Castle turned out a little less glittery than expected. Israeli President Shimon Peres, the guest of honour, did not show up for the $10 000-per-couple dinner, a fundraiser for the Jewish National Fund and the UJIA, the United Kingdom's equivalent of the United Jewish Communities. The Israeli government sent no one in his place. Also, host Prince Philip was hospitalised with a chest cold. He sent his son Prince Edward to fill in, the London Jewish Chronicle reported. Three hundred people attended Monday's champagne reception and din-

ner, many praising the opulence and historic nature of the evening. It was the first time a British royal officially took part in Israeli independence celebrations, and the first time Windsor Castle's kitchen was made kosher. But a long list of Jewish leaders chose to boycott, citing the prohibitive cost and organisers' refusal to allow non-paying academics and Jewish intellectuals to attend, even if they were subsidized by others, according to the Chronicle. One senior communal figure told the Chronicle: "If you wanted to hold an event at Windsor Castle, you cannot just pick only rich Jews to celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary." (JTA)

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Brave attempt to dissect ‘the longest hatred’ Steven Beller, Antisemitism. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007.

REVIEWED BY PROF MILTON SHAIN STEVEN BELLER’S introduction to the phenomenon of antiSemitism is among the latest additions to a series of brief, stimulating and accessible studies on a variety of topics in science and the humanities, introduced by Oxford University Press in 1995. His critique is learned and nuanced, and informed by a sophisticated knowledge of the central European Jewish experience, relations between Jews and non-Jews in modern times, as well as deep reflection upon the relationship between anSemitism and anti-Zionism. Beller focuses his study upon “the components of the phenomenon of anti-Semitism, and the key tragic interactions between these components that led to the Holocaust.” In so doing he downplays - but does not entirely ignore - the evolution of anti-Jewish ideas and the ways in which these were transformed into secular tropes that resonated widely in the modern world. Intellectual currents, among them modernism, racism, social Darwinism, eugenics, irrationalism and age-old Christian ideas about the Jew, are discussed; but Beller is interested more in the national contexts within which these ideas resonated and within which they were manipulated and employed. More particularly, he is interested in the dialectic between the

structural position of Jews in modern European society and non-Jewish perceptions of that position. In minimising the longue durée, Beller blames the victim, at least in part. This is not to suggest he endorses the sentiments of anti-Semites; it is to note that he believes Jews are unwittingly a part of the anti-Semitic equation. Beller’s arguments are absorbing, his insights challenging. The chapter on the “Final Solution” is especially engaging. Here he is inclined to lean towards the importance of ideas. The Great War, the so-called “stab in the back”, the fear of “Judaeo-Bolshevism”, the Nazi failure to expel Europe’s Jews in the wake of the occupation of Eastern Europe, are all considered; but, argues Beller, it was “a particular German type of modernity” in “which all Jews were enemies” and “not just the foreign ones” that underpinned the Holocaust. Such ideas according to Beller were not present in other European countries. In Germany, then, ideas are important; for the rest Beller challenges those scholars who emphasise the ideological roots of anti-Semitism. Indeed, he contends that by stressing constructions of “the Jew” and ignoring the structural dialectic of Jewish/non-Jewish interaction, we undermine Jewish agency and make Jews subjects rather than agents of history. This approach - termed “interactionism” by scholars of prejudice - bears some fruit, but inevitably fails to account sufficiently for why “the Jew” proves

to be the ideal scapegoat. It is of some comfort that antiSemitism, at least in the Western world, has been marginalised since the Holocaust. Besides some ugly and distasteful episodes, among them Stalin’s paranoia, McCarthyism, the ranting of a Jean-Marie le Pen, Jörg Haider or Louis Farrakhan, and far-right Holocaust denial, respect for pluralism and multiculturalism, coupled with economic growth, has allowed Jews to be distinctive, a far cry from earlier times. Jewish-Christian relations have vastly improved in the wake of Nostrae aetate - a significantly altered position on the Jews enunciated by Pope Paul VI at the Second Vatican Council in 1965 - and similar Protestant initiatives. Recent decades have witnessed further condemnations of antiSemitism on the part of the Church. In an act of major sym-

bolic value, Pope John Paul II addressed congregants of the Central Synagogue in Rome in 1986. The situation in the Muslim world is less sanguine. Here we have classical anti-Semitic tropes expressed in Arab anti-Zionist discourse, including ideas directly informed by Nazism. Beller places this discourse firmly within the framework of the Israeli-Palestinian question. It is, he argues, a part of “Arab and Muslim resistance, revenge, and general hostility to the Zionist achievement of a Jewish state in Israel”. In Beller’s estimation, Arab anti-Semitism cannot be equated with the racial anti-Semitism of Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century. One surely must agree with his contention that anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism cannot axiomatically be equated. But the motifs and rhetoric of much anti-Zionist discourse and not only that of the Arab world - is reminiscent of the worst of European anti-Semitism and certainly goes beyond the bounds of normal political antagonism, born of national conflict. Beller devotes scant attention to the penetration of European ideas about the Jews into the Arab world long before Zionism evolved as a political ideology. These ideas built upon religious foundations and notions of the dhimmi, so central to mediaeval tensions between Jews (and Christians) and Muslims. Anti-Semitic calumnies such as the “blood libel” (originating mainly from the Greek Christian population in the 19th century, crept into Muslim discourse,

while long-held Christian antiJewish fantasies were rapidly imbibed. An Arabic translation of August Rohling’s notorious tract, “The Talmud Jew”, showed how easily European canards were adopted in the Muslim world. In more recent decades Arab anti-Zionist rhetoric has taken on the characteristics of delusional Christian anti-Semitism at its height. Jews are characterised as germs or as a malignant disease and extensive comment from learned Islamic scholars has turned Jews into incurable pariahs, capable of the most evil and perverted deeds. This is all underplayed by Beller. Yet his introduction to a complex subject does nevertheless provide the reader with much to think about. More attention could have been given to the ways in which the Jew has been constructed, going back to antiquity. The language, idiom and intensity of hostility have not always been the same; but as a symbol of evil the Jew goes deep into the wellsprings of Western civilisation and beyond. Notwithstanding the rather narrow focus, Beller’s introduction to the question of Jewhatred is carefully reasoned, probing and replete with provocative and erudite observations. For the uninitiated, however, it is too complex. It is not a historical survey of anti-Semitism, nor does it explain the myriad ways in which scholars from different disciplines have understood what the historian Robert Wistrich has termed “the longest hatred”.

Conference shows many tangent points with SA situation STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY RITA LEWIS IT IS not every day that a South African woman is invited, or able to attend, the International Council of Jewish Women Conference which was held this year in Brussels, Belgium under the title of “European Women in Intercultural Dialogue - Perception and Reality”. However, for Sharon Fox, vice president of the International Council of Jewish Women, attending this 13th conference last month, was a must, as the next ICJW conference will be held in South Africa in 2010, entitled, “Beyachad-Ubuntu-Together... from Africa to the World”. The ICJW represents women in major international and regional Jewish organisations such as the SA Jewish Board of Deputies and the World Jewish Congress. It also serves as a voice for Jewish women and acts as a platform for the concerns they share as individuals, as well as for their families, the community and global society. It believes that Jewish women worldwide should have the means to speak out and make themselves heard. The organisation champions and works towards eliminating and dealing with issues such as domestic violence, the trafficking of women and children, freeing agunot (women who are awaiting a religious divorce) and fighting anti-Semitism and racism. On a positive note, it is strong (among other things) on encouraging networking among busi-

ness and professional gious views... but the imporwomen. tance of being able to listen Fox, who is a member of to other people’s views.” the Board of Deputies and The main speaker past president of the Union Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, of Jewish Women Gauteng, the co-ordinator of Cultural felt that to be present in Dialogue at the Council of Belgium would better Europe, said a White Paper, empower her to facilitate the “Living together in dignity” South African conference had recently been drawn up which will be held in Cape and was the first White Town. Paper for 60 years. The three day conference She said it would be going was hosted by the Council of to the council for ratificaJewish Women of Belgium tion very soon. and attended by 160 delegates The word “freedom” was from 29 countries. It was used prolifically, “not to divided into seven sessions, impose anything on people, each of which was addressed but to discuss issues with by renowned international them”. speakers. The bill fosters equality, Several sessions included common purpose and issues which concern every human dignity - these being South African, such as the the operative words - and livfirst session entitled, “The ing together as equals. necessity of dialogue” with The second day covered Sharon Fox who attended the European another, “European Jews and “Women in multi-cultural m u l t i c u l t u r a l i s m : Women in Intercultural Dialogue societies - dilemmas and Inclusion/exclusion”. This Perception and Reality conference held opportunities” and disdiscussed the conditions and under the auspices of the International cussed gender equality need for women’s involve- Council of Jewish Women. which varies from country ment in dialogue, education to country. that we can better understand and training. Jews in Europe accepted the each other. One part was based on the first rules of their countries. Now “Islam was practised in every part of Genesis (Bereishit) where with travel being freely allowed region of Europe and in each all that G-d created is good and throughout most of the contiregion different laws of dress are the premise that we are all equal. nent, the question must be asked: promulgated. For example, in The gist of this was that “in “Is that respect still there?” some regions the wearing of the multicultural Europe people are She said this did not appear to veil is allowed while in others it often given labels including those be the case with much anti-feelis frowned upon.” of assimilated and immigrated ing towards others and antiAnother session covered people... However, assimilators Semitism being on the rise. “Women’s contribution to interare not integrators. We have to “The question of one’s loyalty cultural dialogue”. The speaker accept all peoples and welcome is often asked - especially in the explained the importance of havthem. context of Jewish ties to Israel.” ing “open and respected views “We must ourselves assimilate Another session entitled “All with different groups in both cul- which is the intelligent different - all equal”, covered the tural and with mutual underresponse. experiences of women from standing... not exclusively reli“Dialogue is the way to go so three cultures, including prob-

lems faced by Muslim women who took off the veil or decided to put it on. An interactive workshop with CEJI - the Jewish contribution to an inclusive Europe - followed, entitled, “Identity from the inside out”, which also ran a training session for individuals and organisations of all religions, cultures and backgrounds to promote a diverse, yet inclusive, Europe. Fox said there were many highlights during the conference, one of them being the concluding dinner when Israel’s ambassador to Belgium, Tamar Samash, spoke on the dilemmas facing women in Israel. The last speaker, Baron Julien Klener the president of the Consistoire Central Israelite de Belgique, left them all with a sobering thought, namely that “anti-Semitism is alive and well and living in all of Europe”. Discussing the three days, Fox said: “The conference made me think, question and revalue our relationships here in South Africa, both inter-culture and intra-culture and to wonder: ‘Are we doing enough?’” She said it also gave her insight into the state of Jewish minorities living in Europe among other minorities and the issues Jews there were forced to deal with. The conference coincided with the European year of “Intercultural Dialogue” which is the most relevant issue in every European country. She said that many of our European affiliates were already engaged in intercultural and interfaith dialogue projects - just as we are in South Africa.

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ME solution: Panel explores various options DAVID SAKS SHOULD ISRAEL continue to make the running in creating a climate conducive to furthering the Middle East peace process, even if this means taking further risks and making further painful concessions? Alternatively, have the regular failures of every peace initiative from Oslo onwards, in which Israeli concessions have resulted only in increased radicalism and violence on the part of the Palestinians, shown conclusively that no peace process in fact exists and that Israel should rather look to improving its own position, both in terms of its security and vis-á-vis the international community? Both alternatives were proposed and debated in last week’s panel discussion, entitled “If not Annapolis, what then?”, held under the auspices of the SAZF at the HOD Hall in Johannesburg. Panellists were Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein, Mr Justice Dennis Davis and international affairs expert Tim Hughes. SAZF Chairman Avrom Krengel facilitated the discussion. Over 50 countries, including a delegation from the Arab League attended the Annapolis Summit, convened by US President George W Bush on November 27 last year to restart the dormant peace process. Krengel commented that it had had both positive and negative aspects. For example, for the first time, both Israel and the Palestinian leadership, as represented by President Mahmoud Abbas, publicly committed themselves to a two-state solution to the conflict. On the other hand neither Hamas, who represented the majority of Palestinian voters, nor Iran had attended, and both were in large measure responsible for the failures to date to resolve the conflict. Davis believed that notwithstanding the many difficulties and risks involved, Israel had no choice but to continue proactively seeking a workable settlement with the Palestinians. The alternative - doing nothing and letting events take their course - would be disastrous in the long term, with Israel facing the very real risk of descending into an apartheid-like situation, not to mention how continuing to dominate another people would result not only in Zionist but basic Jewish values being compromised. Israel needed to change the current discourse and look to engaging with Palestinian leaders, for example the jailed Marwan Barghouti, who enjoyed a measure of credibility, and to exploit divisions within the dominant Hamas party with a view to identifying more moderate elements with whom it was possible to deal with. Commenting that the establishment of the

AROUND THE WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF CANADA REPORTS RECORD HIGH ANTI-SEMITISM TORONTO - Anti-Semitic incidents in Canada have increased more than fourfold over the past decade, says B'nai Brith Canada. In its annual audit presented in Ottawa, B'nai Brith Canada's League for Human Rights documented 1 042 antiSemitic incidents reported in 2007 - a record high and 11,4 per cent more than in 2006. The group said there had been just 250 incidents reported in 1998. The report found the number of antiSemitic incidents rose 28,8 per cent in Quebec last year, to 291; and 2,3 per cent in Ontario, to 582. The only province to see a drop was Alberta, where incidents declined by 38 per cent, to 28. Of the total number of incidents last year in Canada, 699 involved harassment, 315 involved vandalism, and 28 involved violence. The report also said anti-Semitism, once largely confined to urban centres, appeared to be increasing in rural areas. "The audit is a barometer that should be a call to action," said Anita Bromberg, the League's legal director. "Our experience is that you can't ignore a problem hoping it will go away." (JTA)

State of Israel had been one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century, Hughes expressed his admiration over its many impressive achievements, culturally, technologically and, perhaps above all, in establishing against the odds a state that was democratic and tolerant. He nevertheless expressed deep concerns about the future, noting the rise of militant Islam, the regional instability resulting from the “insoluble crisis” in Iraq and the weakening position of countries relatively friendly to Israel, including Jordan, Egypt and some of the more moderate Gulf states. Hughes substantially endorsed Davis’ position, arguing that in order to secure its future as a Jewish, democratic state, Israel could not afford to wait for change from the

other side but needed to take unilateral steps vis-á-vis the West Bank to strengthen the hand of Palestinians not seeking its destruction. To counter the rising threat of Islamic extremism, it should also look to work closely with moderate Arab regimes, such as Jordan and Egypt, and even consider the possibility of some kind of confederal arrangement with the different states in the region coming into being in the future. Rabbi Goldstein adopted a more hard-line view, arguing that Israel needed to free itself from the self-deluding denialism which had led it to make the same mistakes over and over again and instead adapt its policies according to hard realities. Those realities were that there was, in

fact, no peace process as the Palestinians were not interested in making the necessary compromises and that Israeli concessions, such as the Gaza withdrawal, had regularly and disastrously backfired. It was time to try something different because previous policies hadn’t worked. Israel had to recognise that there was no realistic prospect of peace in the immediate future and instead of vainly pursuing it to its own detriment, should look to securing its own interests. The latter included, as a matter of urgency, drastically upgrading its own public relations strategies so that military decisions would no longer be dictated by the need to appease international opinion, at the cost of further Israeli lives.

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OPINION AND ANALYSIS FORUM FOR DIVERSE VIEWS

Livni pitches Arab moderates An Israeli president at the Warsaw Ghetto IN THE lead-up to Israel’s 60th Independence Day celebrations a few weeks from now, one marker along the way with the most powerful symbolism is the memory of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising that began on April 19, 1943 - five years before the State of Israel was proclaimed. The uprising by a small group of desperate Jews in the ghetto, facing impossible odds against an enemy they had no hope of defeating - the might of the German army - stands in the collective Jewish memory as one of its most heroic moments. The Nazis had walled off the ghetto in November 1940, cramming 400 000 Jews into it from across Poland. Life in the ghetto was characterised by misery, starvation and disease. On the fateful day of April 19, 1943, German troops entered the ghetto with the intention of liquidating it and sending tens of thousands of Jews to death camps. Several hundred young Jews fought back from bunkers and buildings. They held off German troops for a month with homemade explosives and a cache of smuggled weapons. The Germans had 135 machine guns; the Jews had two. The Germans had 1 358 rifles; the Jews had 15. The last stages of the battle were carried out in the ghetto sewers, with many Jewish resisters - including women - living without food, water or sleep. The Nazis killed most of the fighters, then burnt the ghetto down street by street. Some 7 000 Jews - fighters and unarmed ghetto-dwellers were killed in the fighting and 30 000 were deported to Treblinka to be murdered. General Jurgen Stroop, overseeing the liquidation of the ghetto for Hitler, had his victory documented in a handsome, leather-bound volume completely overlooking the humiliating fact that it had taken him and his forces several weeks to crush a small band of resisters. In the broad scope of Jewish history, the greatest significance of the uprising was that the crushing of Jewish resistance was followed in the years to come by the momentous project of the rebuilding of Jewish life in the newly-created State of Israel, which provided the perfect channel into which Jews could pour all their creative energy. Sixty five years later, the circle has closed. On Tuesday, in a ceremony bursting with poetic symbolism, Israeli President Shimon Peres visited the site of the ghetto with his Polish counterpart, Lech Kaczynski, as well as a crowd of 1 000 Polish and Jewish dignitaries, among others, placing wreaths to mark the anniversary of the doomed battle by young Jews against Nazi troops. Later in the day, the presidents attended a concert by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta at Warsaw’s National Opera House. Peres praised the young fighters, who he said displayed “a heroism that our children will proudly carry with them in their hearts... They lost the fight, but from the point of view of history, there has never been such a victory... Yes, the Germans won, thanks to thousands of soldiers shooting without thought and gassing bunkers... What did those terrible Nazis leave to the generations that followed? Only shame, a curse and damnation.” There is something profoundly moving in the sight of an Israeli president and a Polish president standing together to pay tribute to the memory of the Jewish ghetto fighters, then listening to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The first stanza of the iconic partisan song that was so familiar to the fighters hangs in the air, as if they are still singing it:

Never say that you have reached the very end Though leaden skies a bitter future may portend. The hour for which we yearn will yet arrive And our marching step will thunder: “We survive!” Indeed, we did survive. With all the problems we face today as Jews and Israelis, such as the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, bitter arguments about what a Jewish state actually means and resurgent anti-Semitism around the world, we are here. We are not powerless. The Nazis are gone and an Israeli president stands at the site of the ghetto.

LESLIE SUSSER JERUSALEM ISRAELI FOREIGN Minister Tzipi Livni flew to the Qatari capital of Doha in the Persian Gulf this week with an ambitious goal: changing moderate Arab attitudes toward Israel. Livni hoped to convince the Persian Gulf states and other Arab moderates that they and Israel should be on the same side of the barricades against the extremists, and that they need to work together for regional peace. This approach is new. Instead of peace with the Palestinians paving the way for Arab ties with Israel, Livni wants to invert the traditional order: The Arabs, she says, must first help the Palestinians make peace with Israel. At the eighth annual Doha “Forum on Democracy, Development and Free Trade”, Livni was given a regal reception: four armoured cars, Qatari bodyguards and a procession of Arab leaders from all over the Gulf coming to shake her hand. Her attendance prompted Iranian and Lebanese leaders to boycott the conference. In her address, and in talks with Gulf leaders, Livni pursued a cluster of major Israeli foreign policy goals: * Persuading moderate Arab states to give the Palestinians the confidence to make farreaching moves for peace with Israel. Livni maintains that for too long the Arab states have been sitting on the fence, passively waiting for a breakthrough on the IsraeliPalestinian track. The Gulf states and other Arab moderates should be playing a far more proactive role in the peace process, she insists. “Reaching an agreement will require historic compromises on the part of both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and the greater the support from the Arab states, the easier it will be for the Palestinians to reach decisions,” she told Israeli journalists in the run-up to the Doha conference. In her talks with Gulf leaders in Doha, Livni argued that no matter what peace deal Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas makes with Israel, he will come under fire from Palestinian extremists like Hamas. When that happens, the Arab world must give Abbas the backing he needs. * Convincing moderate Arab states to recognise that the enemy today is not Israel but Iran. Livni argues that the Middle East is

on a knife-edge between a future of peace and prosperity and one of Iranian-dominated chaos. For peace and prosperity, the moderates will need to stand up to Iran. “We have to understand that our ability to reach peace is dependent on the ability of the extremists to prevent us from doing so,” she declared in her Doha address. Livni contends that if the moderate Arab states think Iran is going to win the battle for regional hegemony, they will start defecting from the sphere of Western support. Therefore, she says, the West must make it absolutely clear that it is determined to thwart Iran’s hegemonic ambitions. That is partly why Israel is taking such a firm stance against Iran’s nuclear programme. Livni drove home the point in an interview with the influential Qatari daily al-Watan, in which she said, “Israel will not tolerate a nuclear Iran”. * Getting moderate Arabs to back an international ban on terrorist organisations, like Hamas, from running in democratic elections. Livni has pursued this idea at the United Nations and in other forums. Arab backing for this idea is crucial. * Upgrading trade and economic ties with Qatar, Oman and other Persian Gulf states. The Israeli Foreign Ministry runs a trade mission in Doha, and Qatar has an interests section in Tel Aviv. Over the past several years, Israeli businessmen have been trading with Qatar, albeit quietly. In talks with Qatari leaders Emir Sheik Hamad al Khalifa al-Thani and Prime Minister Hamid bin Jasim bin Jabir al-Thani, Livni suggested upgrading ties to full ambassadorial level. She also discussed a resumption of economic ties with Oman’s foreign minister, Yousef Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah. The desert sultanate, which had benefited from Israeli water technology, severed ties with Israel in 2000 with the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada. * Pressing the influential Qataribased Al Jazeera television station to take a less-biased stance toward Israel. Last month, after what it saw as biased

and inflammatory coverage of a largescale Israeli army raid into Gaza, the Israeli Foreign Ministry decided to stop cooperating with Al Jazeera. Livni met with the station’s editorial board in Doha to explain the Israeli position and work out a new modus vivendi. It was an extremely delicate mission because the ruling Qatari al-Thani family owns and runs Al Jazeera. * Getting the moderate Arab states to help secure the release of two kidnapped Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and one in Gaza. Qatari leaders previously had indicated a willingness to act as brokers in Lebanon and Gaza. In the democracy forum, the Qatari prime minister urged Livni to end Israel’s “crippling blockade of Gaza because of the difficult humanitarian situation”. Here, too, Livni took the wider view. “The situation in Gaza is not just Israel’s problem,” she said. “Gaza is becoming an obstacle to the establishment of a Palestinian state.” Livni’s efforts in Doha were part of a strong Israeli-Palestinian push for progress on the negotiating track before President George W Bush’s visit to Israel next month. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Abbas for the second time in a week, ahead of the PA president’s upcoming visit to Washington. The Israelis and Palestinians hope be able to present some tangible progress in the marathon peace talks they have been conducting for the past few months. In the run-up to the Bush visit, the Israelis and Palestinians are working on a deal: Israel and the Palestinians show progress in peacemaking, and the United States rewards both parties by upgrading its ties with them. The Israelis are hoping that Bush’s visit, in honour of Israel’s 60th anniversary, will be crowned with an upgrade in economic, political, military and strategic ties between Israel and the United States. In Livni’s view, this also will be part of a more stable Middle East in which Israel is accepted by the moderates as a legitimate and significant player. (JTA)

Jimmy Carter shunned in Israel ROY EITAN JERUSALEM THREE DECADES after he revolutionised the Middle East by brokering the first Israeli-Arab peace accord, Jimmy Carter is back in the region preaching reconciliation. But this time around, the former US president and Nobel laureate has found himself jilted by a Jewish state that once regarded him as a visionary guided by a heady mix of Christian compassion and realpolitik. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other Israeli government officials declined to meet Carter during his four-day stay here. He was refused permission to visit the Gaza Strip, and Shin Bet bodyguards were not even around to help his Secret Service detail. At the heart of these slights is Carter’s plan to travel to Syria to meet Hamas’ leader in exile, Khaled Meshaal - a man blacklisted by Israel, the United States and the European Union for his orchestration of Hamas terrorism. Carter’s itinerary has caused a stir in the United States, too, where President George W Bush and the three major-party presidential candidates criticised his plans to visit Meshaal. Carter - who this week visited Sderot to meet with Israeli victims of Gazan rocket attacks, and went to Ramallah to lay a wreath on Yasser Arafat’s grave and embrace a senior Hamas official - has played down the significance of his meeting with Meshaal while also suggesting he may have the power to soften the arch terrorist’s com-

Former US President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalyn, lay a wreath at the grave of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, during their visit to the West Bank town of Ramallah, on April 15. (CREDIT: THAER GANAIM/PPO/BPH IMAGES) mitment to Israel’s destruction. Carter’s publication in 2006 of Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid made him persona non grata in much of Israel and among American Jews. The controversial book suggested that Israel’s West Bank policies were reminiscent of those of formerly white-run South Africa and that suicide bombers were justified in

striking, though he later withdrew the latter passage. Carter has said he remains committed to Israel’s survival and security. After his trip to Damascus, he is scheduled to return to Jerusalem next week and address the Israel Council on Foreign Relations, a forum that has prestige but little executive clout. (JTA)

18 - 25 April 2008

SA JEWISH REPORT

OPINION AND ANALYSIS

AROUND THE WORLD

FORUM FOR DIVERSE VIEWS

NEWS IN BRIEF

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PERES VISITS TREBLINKA

Are the Palestinians their own worst enemy? HEARING THAT the motion, “The Palestinians risk becoming their own worst enemy”, was to be the subject of BBC World’s monthly Doha debate last weekend, I had no doubt it would be defeated. Amazingly, under the always-challenging chairmanship of Tim Sebastian, and in front of a largely Arab audience, it was resoundingly carried by 70,9 per cent to 29,1 per cent. The debate shifted the focus from Israel as the sole culprit in the current Middle East impasse, to a consideration of the Palestinian leadership’s failure to bring into being the institutional foundations of a transparent and accountable democracy - the beginnings of an independent Palestinian state. Sponsored by the Qatar Foundation as a “public forum for dialogue and freedom of speech”, the Doha debates seldom conclude on a note favourable towards Israel, but this one revealed an encouraging openness to honest self-criticism among individual Palestinians. The nub of the argument was whether the bitter divisions between Hamas and Fatah, the atrocities committed by Hamas against its own people, and the level of corruption and nepotism among Palestinian leaders, threaten the attainment of Palestinian statehood. Akram Baker, an independent Palestinian political analyst and co-founder of the Arab Western Summit of Skills designed to increase efficiency and transparency in the Arab world, and Munther Dajani, professor at the Al Quds University and director of the Isam Sartawi Centre for the advancement of peace and democracy, proposed the motion. Both emphasised the evil effects of the Israeli occupation, affirming it as “public enemy number one”. Nonetheless, neither spared the Palestinian leadership for its failure to grasp the nettle during the ‘90s - when the opportunity was clearly there and establish the institutions fundamental to a democratic

ON BALANCE Jocelyn Hellig state. Predictably, the opposers of the motion, Hind Khoury, the Palestinian Delegate General in France and former Minister for Jerusalem affairs, and Saree Makdisi, professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, and author of Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation, moved the goalposts. “The Palestinians” are not merely the corrupt leadership, they argued. They are made up of the four million people who daily resist the occupation, the Israeli-Arabs who live in Israel as second-class citizens, and the millions of exiles who still hope to return to their “stolen” land. Corruption, they said, had nothing to do with the way Palestinians lived their lives. Clearly supporting the onestate solution, which would involve the dismantling of Israel as a Jewish state and the creation of a secular IsraelPalestine, Khouri and Makdisi dismissed the motion as irrelevant. How can the Palestinians be blamed when they have neither territory nor power, and are surrounded by walls? There were no walls during the ‘90s retorted Baker and Dajani. The problem was the failure of the PLO to transform itself from a revolutionary movement into an efficient government. It thus did not build institutions that would ensure the rule of law, transparency and accountability. So convinced at the time was Baker that an independent Palestine was possible, that he left a lucrative job in Germany to go back to Palestine and help build its infrastructure. But Palestinian leaders, tempted by nepotism and corruption, and selling out to foreign powers, lost sight of what should have been

their primary goal - ending the Israeli occupation. Today, although he had, for months, defended Hamas’ victory, Baker regards the movement as having squandered its right to govern through its atrocities against its own people. In contrast to Yasser Arafat, who perpetuated violent resistance, he pointed out, Nelson Mandela, who affirmed the armed struggle right up to his release from prison, immediately abandoned it, enabling his government to build a democratic South Africa. For the first time, suggested Dajani, the aggressor in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Israel) has become the victim, and the victim the aggressor. This owed to the democratically elected Palestinian leaderships’ failure to engage with the Palestinian public to promote a common language and vision. How legitimate was a movement that had created neither unity of purpose nor a programme of action? The most surprising comment of the evening came from an Arab member of the audience. The absence of a territory, he suggested, should not be an obstacle for a people. Look at Israel. The first Zionist congress was held, not in Israel, but in Basel. Though in dispersion, the Jews pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps, established a country and formed democratic institutions against every odd. The debate offered hope that pragmatism in the Arab-Israeli conflict may still have a chance and reminded me of the sentiments of Ami Ayalon expressed in this newspaper (April 4 2008). Those, on both sides, who seek reconciliation may be permanently thwarted by the fact that it dwells unavoidably on the past and its mistakes. So may those who seek justice. It is too late to unscramble the egg and leaders on both sides have to look to the future and create a sense of hope. The most we can strive for is fairness.

PRAGUE - Israeli resident Shimon Peres on Monday visited the Nazi death camp Treblinka in Poland. "It is very hard for me to stand here, but that is not the fault of the Polish people," Peres said in a speech after lighting a torch in memory of Holocaust victims. "Rather it is the incomparable extermination (of the Jews) carried out by the Nazis."

Peres added: "We will never again allow people with murderous compulsions, uncontrollable animals - to do this again." On Tuesday Peres participated in Poland's official commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. His visit to Poland came days after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited Israel. (*JTA)

PRINCE CHARLES TO OPEN KRAKOW JCC KRAKOW - The Prince of Wales and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, will open a Jewish community centre in Krakow. Prince Charles is the patron of the new centre, which is funded by the London-based charity World Jewish Relief. It is scheduled to open on April 29. The Krakow centre will provide members of the Jewish and nonJewish community with a muchneeded modern building to host Jewish, cultural and educational programmes in the heart of the

city. Prince Charles was motivated to help with the centre in 2002 after meeting members of the local Jewish community and learning they lack an appropriate meeting space. The prince asked about the community's most important needs. He also met elderly Holocaust survivors and was deeply moved by their plight. Prince Charles visited Krakow on his other trip to Poland, in 1993. (JTA)

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SA JEWISH REPORT

18 - 25 April 2008

TAPESTRY ART, BOOKS, DANCE, FILM, THEATRE

ARTS MATTERS COMPILED BY ROBYN SASSEN Call 084-319-7844 or [email protected] at least one week prior to publication Civic Theatre, Braamfontein: In the Nelson Mandela, Andrew Botha’s “OperaMania”, April 19 May 4. In the Tesson, “Chilli Boy”, until April 26. In the People’s Theatre, “Wizard of Oz”, until April 19. (011) 877-6800. Foxwood Theatre, Houghton: Elize Cawood and Wilson Dunster in “Dinner for One”, April 20, 27, May 4, 11. (011) 486-0935. Iziko, SA National Gallery, Cape Town: Lloyd Pollak lectures on 20th century art. On April 22, he focuses on Cubism. In the Liberman Room, “DungaManzi/Stirring Waters” until June 8. (021) 467-4662. Goodman Gallery, Rosebank: Work by David Goldblatt, April 26 - May 17. Johannesburg Art Gallery, Joubert Park: Spier Contemporary, until May 31. (011) 7253130. Lyric Theatre, Gold Reef City, Ormonde: “Saturday Night Fever” directed by Arlene Phillips, until June 1. (011) 2485168. Market, Newtown: In the Barney Simon, Lara Foot-Newton’s “Karoo Moose”, until May 18. In the Main Theatre, Philip Miller’s “Rewind: A Cantata for Voice Tape and Testimony”, April 26 - 30 (011) 832-1641. Montecasino, Fourways: In the Studio, “Defending the Caveman” with Alan Committie, from April 26. In the Pieter Toerien, “Chess”, until May 25. “Chicago” at Teatro, April 19-May 11. (011)511-1988. National Children’s Theatre, Parktown: “Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit and Friends”, directed by Joyce Levinsohn, until April 26 (011) 484-1584. Old Mutual Theatre on the Square, Sandton: “Pregnant Pause” directed by Sylvaine Strike, until April 19. New York star Christine Pedi’s “Great Dames” April 21 - May 10. (011) 883-8606. RCHCC, Oaklands: Paintings by Michael Schur, until May 4. (011) 728-8088. SA Jewish Museum, Cape Town: “When Cape Art was Coffee with Joe”, an exhibition about Joe Wolpe. Until May 31. (021) 465-1546. Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg: “Skin-to-Skin”, an exhibition curated for the Kaunas Textile Biennial, until May 10. (011) 631-1889. State Theatre, Pretoria: In the Opera, SA Ballet Theatre and Black Tie Ensemble perform “Autumn Enchantment”. April 24 - 27. (011) 877-6898. Victory Theatre, Houghton: “Rocky Horror”, until April 30. (011) 728-9603.

Leaving a sob in your throat, a rise in your heart rate

strangers to us, but as the play unfolds we get to see aspects of them, which make them intimately known to us. Their disciplined versatility makes it difficult to believe that there are just five cast members. With the use of a hat or a sucked thumb, a pair of glasses or a jacket, they can Show: “Karoo Moose” (Barney Simon Theatre, through an analogy of soccer, unbelievably transform age, gender, skin colour, thus reprepotent and scary. It’s about Thozama, a child senting a whole community. Structurally, the Market, Newtown. (011) 832-1641) who’s sucked into her father’s vortex of play is filled with tension, humour and mysCast: Zoleki Helesi, Mdu Kweyama, bongile tery, allowing toddlers to serve as a chorus of drunkenness and gambling. Mantsai, Thami Mbongo, Chuma Sopotela, It’s also about a zoo-destined moose, a diplo- moral commentary, evocative of Greek Numfondo Thazibane. matic gift from the Swedes, that gets involved tragedy. Writer and Director: Lara Foot-Newton The story is detailed with many devices, in a car accident and lands up meandering the Set and Lighting: Patrick Curtis Karoo, scaring people witless because of its visually chilling yet hotly brilliant in their latArtistic Adviser: Gerhard Marx eral thinking. They will blast you off your seat unAfrican proportions. Choreography: Mdu Kweyama The honesty of this small cast is astonish- in their tightly co-ordinated understanding of Costumes and Props: Koos Marais, Henning ing. It is as though they come on stage as physical theatre, innovation, puppetry, mime Ludeke and honest, brutal performance. Until: May 18 It’s the kind of play that can make a cabbage leaf into the hairstyle of a REVIEWED BY ROBYN SASSEN teacher, that can represent birth through PHOTOGRAPH: RUPHIN COUDYZER a drum, that can turn a young girl into a dead moose through the adrenalin that CABBAGES WILL never be the same comes of anger, and that can represent again. Neither will humbugs. “Karoo happy children with sweet wrappings and Moose” is a tale of magic and chimeras, sunflowers. abuse and torment, violence and victory. It But more than this is the beautiful lanis told with guts, charisma and palm guage of the script and a set which gives a fronds, and will leave a sob in your throat sense of near and far, in a landscape vioand a rise in your heart rate. lent to the touch. It evokes “Tshepang”, In tune with Lara Foot-Newton’s relentwhich Foot-Newton created with Marx in lessly creative approach to theatre-mak2003. ing, this play tells a tale of sexual violence “Karoo Moose” holds its idiosyncratic that fits the type of stories we’ve been own, and doesn’t slacken pace, until its exposed to in the media, yet doesn’t. Rape surprisingly uplifting end. It returns is particularly difficult to represent in art from Aardklop Festival with a string of it should never be sexy or comical; it is an Mfundo Tshazibane as Jonas, stands oblivious in the foreground as Thami Mbongo, as the horned chimera, accolades. I predict this string will grow act of brutality and humiliation. as the work travels. “Karoo Moose” represents child rape approaches.

After rave reviews, Rewind has Johannesburg premiére PAUL BOEKKOOI COMPOSER PHILIP Miller’s Johannesburg premiére of his partly gut-wrenching, but also sensitively touching “Rewind: A Cantata for Voice, Tape and Testimony”, comes with a well-established international reputation. Scored for four soloists, choir and string octet, it was commissioned by the Spier Arts Summer Season and received its premiére on December 16 2006 in the St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town. Two key persons closely connected to the process of The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, gave the following “testimonies” on how it spoke to them during this premiére. Archbishop-emeritus Desmond Tutu said: “...it was a deeply moving, most powerful and uplifting experience”, while the poet Antjie Krog, who followed the lion’s share of the proceedings, mentioned that she was “... immensely and unbelievably privileged... listening to new, South Africancreated material of which the roots lie so deep. I was torn apart from different angles.” On July 6 2007, Rewind had its US premiere in New York at the Celebrate Brooklyn Festival. Performed by the Emmanuel Baptist Church Choir of Brooklyn with soloists Sibongile Khumalo, Fikile Muinjelwa, Kimmy Skota and Arthur Swan, an audience of over 3 000 people

FELDMAN ON FILM Peter Feldman Mad Money

Cast: Diane Keaton, Queen Latifa, Katie Holmes, Ted Danson, Adam Rothberg, Roger Cross Director: Callie Khouri Money drives people crazy and the more you have the more you want. This is the thin premise of “Mad Money” a silly, but fun comedy with Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, and Mrs Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, who team up to steal hordes of old, worn-out money from their employers, the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Though shamelessly far-fetched, this resourceful team of janitors press for a few chuckles as they concoct a scheme to steal money earmarked for the shredder. They won’t know the difference because officially the money no longer exists. Effervescent Keaton milks every situation

received it rapturously. In September last year, Rewind returned to the US for two performances at Williams College, Massachusetts. Steve Smith of the New York Times raved: “This performance was blessed with an abundance of powerful voices... this is an ambitious and provocative work.” The short season of four performances in the main auditorium of the Market Theatre in Newtown, Johannesburg, will be presented on April 26, 29 and 30 at 20:00, while the Sunday performance on April 27 is at 19:00. Tickets are R150 each and can be booked through Computicket. Directed and designed by Gerhard and Maja Marx, these performances will feature Sibongile Khumalo (mezzo-soprano), Kimmy Skota (soprano), Arthur Swan (tenor) and Kaiser Nkosi (bass), with the Gauteng Choristers, conducted by Sidwell Mhlongo. Philip Miller conceived Rewind as a whole. He is thrilled by its overseas success, but explained that it really is a work which speaks to the South African psyche. “We used original documented testimonies on tape, but I’ve tried to avoid a talking-heads situation. I’ve even taken some texts from the Bible and I do not doubt that it will communicate strongly and directly.”

for potential laughs, while Queen Latifah oozes brassiness and Katie Holmes is the ditzy one. Ted Danson also gets in among this feminine power when he discovers that his wife (Keaton) had conceived the idea after they hit bad times. Director Callie Khouri, best known for penning the “Thelma and Louise” screenplay and directing and writing “Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood” strains for laughs near the end and is pressed to keep the plot boiling. The idea, too, of telling the story back to front means we know the fate of the women beforehand. However, a sense of affability dominates the movie and this is what counts in its favour.

Scenes from the triumphant performance of Philip Miller’s ‘Rewind: A Cantata for Voice, Tape and Testimony’, performed in Brooklyn, US, in 2006. Gerard Marx, the director and designer, has created a multi-media collage to connect to both the spoken and sung words. “I’m using stopframe animation, a TV screen, film cuts sometimes lasting a fraction of a second, while the text visuals are manipulated during the performance to adapt to the chosen tempos. “There’s a screen, with the choir behind it. Due to various lighting techniques everything can be filtered through it. At times the choir attains the function of a Greek chorus,” Marx explained. generation cop who shoots first and then plants the evidence at the scene to support his case. When a former partner decides to sing like a canary to Internal Affairs, all hell breaks loose. Director David Ayer and “LA Confidential” author James Ellroy, join forces on this one and it’s gritty material they produce, entailing a high body count and full-on action sequences. The message here is that when you deal with criminals, somebody has got to hold back these animals. Shine a Light

Street Kings

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Terry Crews Director: David Ayers South Africa has its fair share of police corruption. “Street Kings” takes a brutal look at police corruption in America. It gives a deeply cynical insight into those who are supposed to uphold the law. The impassive Keanu Reeves, still having a distinct problem conveying emotion, plays the new

With Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood Director: Martin Scorsese Martin Scorsese has had a career-long infatuation with the Rolling Stones and this documentary on the ageing, crinkle-faced rockers is firm testament to this. Filmed at Bill Clinton’s 60th birthday celebrations in New York, this lovingly made production offers more than two hours of Jagger strutting and preening while the rest of the band get on with the job.

18 - 25 April 2008

SA JEWISH REPORT

TAPESTRY ART, BOOKS, DANCE, FILM, THEATRE

Some very good reads REVIEWED BY GWEN PODBREY

7th Heaven by James Patterson (Random House, R180) When a series of fatal arson attacks breaks out in San Francisco - all involving wealthy, married couples - Detective Lindsay Boxer quickly links the fires to the disappearance of Michael Campion, a popular governor’s son who battled against a rare and serious heart disease. To find the arsonist - and trace Campion Boxer must turn to her fellow Women’s Murder Club members: attorney Yuki, medical examiner Claire and newspaper reporter Cindy. As the four of them race against time, they are thrown up against one of the most challenging and sinister enigmas they have ever encountered, while simultaneously dealing with their private issues. Another gripping thriller from James Patterson, who - having received the prestigious Edgar Award, the highest accolade for mystery writers - is one of the best-known, and most successful, contemporary authors in this genre.

Yet there is love too - to say nothing of deeply ingrained conscience - and Helen’s darkest impulses skirt treacherously around a morality she feels becoming untethered from its moorings as she ponders over the meaning of devotion, duty, mercy and selfishness. The novel is no easy read: its intensity, universality and Sebold’s candour in exposing near-unbearable truths make for a traumatic journey through its pages. Yet one emerges grateful to her for locating, and identifying, urges that we prefer to think of as repressed, and examining them with raw honesty and astute intelligence. A deeply disturbing, but admirable, work for readers who prefer their reality undiluted - and unsweetened.

Foreskin’s Lament by Shalom Auslander (Picador, R210)

The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud (Picador, R108) Set just after the turn of the century, this novel traces the fortunes of three 30-yearold Manhattan-based friends - Danielle, Marina and Julius - who are all eager to make good. However, the arrival of Marina’s young country cousin, Bootie, becomes a highly disruptive (but illuminating) force in their lives, forcing them to reexamine their ambitions and themselves. Beautifully written and cleverly plotted, the book provides startling insights into its characters and their struggle with some of the most sacred American urban values. A thought-provoking and extremely enjoyable read, combining the old-fashioned art of story-telling with relentless moral inquiry.

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold (Pan Macmillan, R145) Alice Sebold has become something of a cult figure in contemporary literature - and this grim, but enriching novel provides ample evidence of her skill. It explores the anguished mind of Helen Knightly, who is considering killing her senile mother, Clair, after a lifelong relationship of tension, enmity and mutual resentment.

It had to happen. At some stage, some writer had to climb onto the vehicle presented by Philip Roth’s iconic “Portnoy’s Complaint” and throw in his tuppence worth. Auslander, however - as the distasteful title of his novel attests - is light years away from either Roth’s wit or his originality. This is an autobiographical account of his upbringing in an intensely Jewish Orthodox community, his rebellion against its strictures by way of various bizarre (or outright criminal) acts, and - above all - his efforts to dislodge from his deepest consciousness the obeisance to G-d which has been instilled in him all his life. Yet, while Auslander tries valiantly to express real anger concealed as sardonic humour, he ultimately loses the plot. The book is bent on shocking and this type of illconsidered defiance comes across like petulance, rather than a revealing journey through the Jewish subconscious. It wants a lighter, subtler touch, and a true understanding of absurdity - rather than heavy-handed satire - to convince or charm its readers. Auslander, in trying to caricaturise his community, has only caricaturised himself. Or perhaps it comes at a bad time: we have seen a lot of books lately railing against Orthodoxy, and one cannot help wondering why these writers insist on hurling their neuroticism at the reading public. Perhaps Auslander should have approached a therapist, rather than a publisher.

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SA JEWISH REPORT

18 - 25 April 2008

LETTERS Disclaimer The letters page is intended to provide opportunity for a range of views on any given topic to be expressed. Opinions articulated in the letters are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor, staff or directors of the Jewish Report

The Editor, Suite 175, Postnet X10039, Randburg, 2125 email: [email protected]

Guidelines for letters Letters up to 400 words will get preference. Please provide your full first name and surname, place of residence, and a daytime contact number. We do not publish letters under noms de plume. Letters should preferably be e-mailed. Letters may be edited or shortened.

HIGH PRAISE FOR THE CHEVRAH KADISHA

SEXISM HAS NO PLACE IN OUR CEMETERY

IT GRIEVES me to know that there are opportunists who wait on the sidelines for the moment to criticise, no matter how superlative an organisation may be. After weeks of almost incessant rain I visited the West Park Jewish Cemetery and was advised by one of the managers that it would take approximately five days to cut and trim the entire area back to its usual condition. My next visit was one week later. The rain had subsided and the grounds had been much improved. I fail to comprehend the intentions of crit-

I MAY not be the first to protest the “new tradition” of the so-called “mechitza” in the ohel at West Park Cemetery (Jewish Report, April 11 2008), but I’d like to contribute my own views on the situation. A cemetery is a place of mourning, where people in pain gather to comfort each other whether the deceased is a man or a woman; where husbands and wives, family members and friends support each other arm in arm; where our commonality as human beings is more important than our differences as men and women; where sexism has no place; where we are all equal; and where each Jew is buried in a simple pine box. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that a “mechitza” has been used in the ohel and unless I am mistaken - the first time in an ohel in any cemetery in South Africa. A sign on the “mechitza” indicated that the women should stand BEHIND the men. I did not follow that instruction. What of the widow and her adult daughter? How did they feel seeing their relatives and dearest friends herded behind the barrier? How did the women themselves feel? I know that many were embarrassed and upset. I take the liberty of protesting on their behalf. Also on behalf of all those who have no voice, because their husbands/fathers

ics like Marlene Nissenbaum who would endeavour to put our amazing Chevrah Kadisha and their outstanding employees and volunteers into any form of disrepute. Her insensitivity shows that she has not experienced the misfortunes of some less fortunate families who have been assisted by the Chevrah Kadisha with such understanding and compassion. Shame on you. Rebecca Brook Glensan Johannesburg

DON’T JUST RUSH OFF AND CHARGE IN THE April 4 edition of the SA Jewish Report a (Cape Town) article appeared about Michael Bergman who pressed charges against an irritated neighbour who, while being irritated, shouted (anti-Semitic) things that shouldn’t have been said. But I would like to raise the point that the most ethical thing (to do) is not to irritate anyone in the first place. And if someone is irritated and says things that shouldn’t have been said, it is not always ethical to

press charges, because who knows? After all, when people have visitors or don’t take care that unnecessary noise is not made, it should be expected that a neighbour would maybe become irritated, and even say things he or she doesn’t actually mean. Avner Eliyahu Romm. Sea Point Cape Town

ISRAEL MUST JACK UP ITS PR MY HUSBAND and I on April 9 attended the SAZF discussion evening on the Annapolis question of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. While all three speakers were most eloquent and each had a possible answer to the problem, only Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein put forward the only real solution: “The war of words.” One must first look back to history and if one studies the past atrocities and causes of the Holocaust, Rabbi Goldstein’s solution is clearly correct. I agree with him as I have put forward this point constantly. Question: How did millions of intellectual and clever Germans support a madman and his horrific genocide and inhuman policies? Answer: They were brainwashed. Hitler was a dynamic speaker who could and did condition a relatively good nation to think that all Jews were evil. This is using verbal power and printed doctrine for publicity. One must also accept that society is and has been in the past, conditioned in religion, politics, business and social behaviour. They were and are carried away by great speakers who sound so convincing that the naive audience believe everything that is spoken. In today’s world, it all boils down to media control. What are the contemporary American presidential elections all about? Answer: To win the most votes and this is achieved by the success of the most dynamic speaker, who can talk the audience into believing what the candidate says. Israel is a country with brilliant people but their PR is naive and is the cause for world hatred. Some time ago I approached someone

from the Israeli Embassy and asked that something be done about the poor Israeli publicity. I received an answer that “We do not care what the world thinks; we do our own thing”. Forgive me, Israel, but this is arrogant and the cause of many problems there. Some time ago, CNN showed the film of a poor little Palestinian boy being killed. This film was repeated over and over, so that the world should pity the suffering Palestinians. There are seldom films shown, however, about the murders of innocent Israelis, including children. Injured and sick Palestinians are constantly being treated by Israeli doctors and in Israeli hospitals, but this is never publicised. There are still many Arabs living and working in Israel, but the world does not know this. Also, originally the Palestinians who left Israel, did so of their own choice; this is not spelled out to the world and with emphasis, as it should be. When German Jewish refugees fled Germany in the 1930s, many Western countries opened their doors to them. I then lived as a little girl in London and knew many of these refugees. Which friendly Arab countries offered havens to the Palestinians? They are being used for publicity, so if they had a safe haven, the world would not pity them. The Israeli government does nothing to tell the world the truth. The Israeli government is clearly not prepared to accept that the only workable solution to their problem is to hand it over to some leading publicity company in America. Lily Mark Johannesburg

JEWISH RUGBY PLAYERS - AND CORRECTIONS IN MY letter of April 4 (on Jewish rugby players of note) I inadvertently stated that Henry Joffe graduated at Stellenbosch University, whereas it was his son, Michael, who received his medical degree at that university. In fact, Henry received his medical degree at UCT which was confirmed by his wife and also by a kind gentleman who was a fellow student and a good friend of Henry’s and telephoned to correct me. The Joffes have four sons (one doctor and three dentists) and one of the four namely Charles - played Transvaal under20. I also had a phone call from the widow of

Gus Ackerman who told me that Gus was robbed of his Springbok colours by the intervention of the Second World War. In addition I have found two more provincial Jewish rugby players - both with the name of Lurie but not related. Max Lurie played scrumhalf for Transvaal after the war. “Patat” Lurie played for the Free State and was a renowned potato farmer, hence the nickname. (A patat is a sweet potato). Can anyone recall his first name? Michael Levenstein Glenhazel Johannesburg

IS THIS AN APRIL FOOL’S JOKE? MICHAEL BAGRAIM says he’s cock-ahoop over South Africa (“Jewish Report March 28). This surely is an April

Fool’s joke! H Cohen, Edenvale

insist or accept that their wives/daughters are separate and not equal. Even in 2008. Even with our Constitution. I know that the Beth Din had instructed the Chevrah Kadisha to put it there. Why is it that the members of only this Beth Din have implemented this “new tradition”? Are they more knowledgeable and more religious than any former Beth Din? I’m pleased to say that women in Progressive Judaism have fully equal status, and I have been told that after discussions between representatives of the Progressive Movement and the Chevrah Kadisha that the barrier will be removed at Progressive funerals and any others where the family requests it. I hope the Chevrah accepts these requests and that no-one else is embarrassed or upset by this at any more funerals. Mimi Egnal Morningside Sandton PS: It seems that the Beth Din did not use the barrier in the ohel at two recent Orthodox funerals. Another method of separation was used. The men were requested to enter the ohel first, and the women afterwards.

JEWISH RUGBY PLAYERS GALORE HEREWITH MORE information about our local rugby boys. I refer to the Puterman brothers. The eldest brother Stephen, played centre for the Transvaal Craven Week High Schools about 25 years ago. He was also a first rate athlete and accomplished cricketer. The second brother Gary, played scrumhalf for Transvaal under-19 and South African Universities. A few years earlier he played soccer for Southern

Transvaal Primary Schools, which that year won the interprovincial tournament. The third brother Jonathan and fourth brother David also played rugby at high school. They all went to Fairmount Primary School and then to Highlands North High School. Stephen and Gary were prefects at Highlands North. Leon Posner Sydenham

PLEASE REMEMBER A JEW IS A JEW IS A JEW... ARE THE leaders of South African Jewry, namely our rabbis, so closed up (in their thinking) that they do not look further than their noses? With reference to the letters in SAJR from Justin Bachmann and Bernard Duchen, and referring to Monica Solomons’ so-called “misguided assumptions”, I write this in all humility. I am a member of an Orthodox congregation and am on their committee. I was brought up to respect Jews of all persuasions. I had my barmitzvah in a nearby Orthodox shul. I occasionally used to walk to the Great (Gardens) Synagogue in Cape Town with my friend, whose father was the chazzan at that shul, together with Chief Rabbi Israel Abrahams zl. My parents escaped from Germany, met and married in Amsterdam, and arrived here in 1936. We lost many relations in the Holocaust. Those being my credentials, may I state that I am dismayed by today’s Jewish Leadership, particularly from the religious point of view. May I ask the chief rabbi and his association of rabbis, the following: Is the word “Holocaust” just a bit of unknown history, because you were most probably in no way involved, except having read up some facts and figures in history books? Does 9/11 mean just a little more to you, as it happened in your lifetime? Does Hitler mean nothing more than a bully who attempted to wipe us from the face of this earth? Did the Jews learn nothing more than a bit of history? Did the “Hauptmann” state to his subordinates “Lass ihm gehen” as he is only a Reform Jew? Remember that Hitler and his cohorts made no distinction between the Jews they slaughtered being ultra-Orthodox, Orthodox, traditional Jews (if we can term it that way) who attended shul only over the yomtavim, or those who were later classed Progressive or Reform; even those of different faiths who had Jewish connections or

family - they were all done away with. Then 9/11 must make us think that there are those who wish, once again, to wipe us off the face of the earth and they most certainly will not care (as 9/11 proved) about women or children or the elderly. Likewise, the so-called suicide bombers don’t distinguish. Should the day again arise that another bully of whatever faith, who has in his sights the Jewish folk as their target (will appear), he will not distinguish between the different sects of Judaism. To him and his ilk a Jew is a Jew. My answer is that all members of the Jewish faith, no matter whether they are ultra-ultra-Orthodox or merely unobservant, with all the middle of the road Jews in between, are all Jews and Jewesses. Tears come to my eyes when I hear about any Jew being denied (their Jewishness), over anything Orthodoxy wish to complain about, because (these Jews) are said to not being observant enough, even though they were taught the same Torah, that they read it only in their home language, or whatever else. I do not know how you responded to the Seniors Pesach appeals made recently. Did you personally donate for those in Zimbabwe, who through no fault of their own, most probably have no matzah etc, or did you put a label on the foodstuffs being sent to them, stating that it was for Orthodox Jews only? They too would love a seder table like we South Africans are having. Please attempt to bring unity to our Jewishness, even though you may not agree with their interpretation of our belief. May there never be a repeat of the occasion when the Orthodox rabbis refused to attend the Yom Hashoah gathering at Pinelands Cemetery because there was a Reform rabbi who had been asked to give the address. That was disrespectful and a slight on the memory of all those who had fallen. With humble and heartfelt greetings. George Conné Parow East

18 - 25 April 2008

SA JEWISH REPORT

LETTERS

COMMUNITY COLUMNS

The Editor, Suite 175, Postnet X10039, Randburg, 2125 email: [email protected]

IT WAS AN UPLIFTING SUNDAY DO ONCE AGAIN, what a pleasure it was to attend the “Pre-Pesach Party” at the Seeff Hall, organised by the committee of Sydenham Highlands North Shul. A large crowd of senior citizens from the various retirement homes were the honoured guests at the lively affair where joy and laughter were the order of the day. Evergreen Aileen Wainer did us proud with her wonderful song and dance routine, ably assisted by Monty Traub on piano. The renowned shul choir were also in fine form with their rendition of popular chazonic pieces. Yes, indeed beautiful and melodic voic-

es at their best. Lastly, not forgetting those pretty and bashful nursery school kids, with their medley of songs. Once more dear shul committee, thank you for the tasty lunch, tea and cake and parting gifts that you so kindly provided. What an uplifting and inspiring Sunday this turned out to be. I salute you one and all and until we meet again, I wish you and yours “Baruch Hashem and Chag Kasher Sameach”. Barney Segal Morninghill

LOOKING FOR MEMBERS OF BUNIS FAMILY THE BUNIS family in America is looking for information about two brothers with surname Bunis who came to South Africa from Skuodas in Lithuania between 1890 and 1910. Their names were Mottel and Zundel (known as Moses and Alexandra) and they apparently opened a jewellery shop in Cape

Town and changed their surname to Blumberg or Bloomberg. If anyone has any information on them or any other Bunis ancestors, please contact Jack Bloom on 082-333-4222 or [email protected]

A BOAT TO REMEMBER OSHRI OZ BY MY BROTHER, Oshri Oz, was killed almost a year ago, on May 27, 2007, when a Qassam rocket landed near his car in Sderot. Oshri was the 10th Israeli to be killed in rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip. Oshri was a computer technician, who travelled to Sderot several times a week as part of his work for the Peretz Bonei HaNegev company. Even when the number of Qassam attacks rose, he kept working in the town, showing no fear. He paid for this with his life. He left behind his wife, his young daughter - who is now three years old and he has a son who was born a few months after he was killed. Oshri loved the sea and belonged to and coached the Sea Scouts - this is where he

spent much of his free time. In his remembrance, the scouts want to buy a boat and name it “Oshri”. They want to launch this boat on June 14 and every year, on his remembrance day, want to sail out on this boat to remember him. This is a wonderful way for all our family to remember him; all we have left are fond memories. For this, though, we need to raise the sum of NIS 90 000. Can you help? We need donations - every little bit helps. Of course all donors will be named and thanked personally at the ceremony. Contact me at [email protected] Dikla Oz Levi Jerusalem

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ABOVE BOARD

Zev Krengel, National Chairman A column of the SA Jewish Board of Deputies THIS COLUMN was written shortly after our national director, Wendy Kahn, and I returned from a strenuous but extremely rewarding three-day visit to Israel. In the course of our trip, we met with senior members of the Israeli government and administration, including Ministers Tzippi Livni (Foreign Affairs), Yitzchak Hertzog (Diaspora Affairs) and Avi Ayalon. We also met with prominent figures within the Jewish Agency. All the meetings were focused and intensive, with the emphasis being on combating global anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activity. Next year’s review conference of the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, which is likely to again be hosted by South Africa, naturally featured high on the agenda in this regard. Many Jewish organisations and even countries, have expressed their intention not to participate in the conference, which they believe will, like its infamous predecessor, be no more than another Israel-bashing exercise. We respect this view, but believe that our local Jewish community cannot afford to boycott an event of this nature when it is taking place on our doorstep. Instead, we have to involve ourselves in the process as much as possible so as to be in as effective a position as we can to oppose attempts to turn the conference into an anti-Israel and anti-

Girding the loins for racism conference Semitic hate fest. South Africa has an enviable record of low rates of antiSemitism, and we have no intention of sitting back and allowing foreign elements to import their contemptible bigotry to our country under the pretence of fighting racism. In the course of our meetings, I gave a briefing on the political situation in South Africa post-Polokwane, our relationship with the country’s leadership, old and new, and the current situation of our Jewish community. We addressed the issue of community morale, observing that this might lead in the future to an upsurge in emigration. On the positive side, there had been a dramatic increase in aliyah from South Africa, and we encouraged Israel to take full advantage of this trend. Another subject regularly brought up was the Board’s forthcoming e-book promoting Israel’s impressive democratic, non-racial credentials as a way of countering the false and offensive charge that it is an “apartheid state”. This provided us with numerous important contacts, both for pursuing the project and for disseminating it widely to those who can make best use of it once it is completed. Taken as a whole, our visit was a most encouraging one, demonstrating how much we are part of a strong, united world Jewish community and that within that community we play a respected and important role.

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SA JEWISH REPORT

18 - 25 April 2008

Russia’s klezmer revival GRANT SLATER MOSCOW HOLDING A music box up to the microphone, Daniel Kahn asks his audience to stand at attention and spins the crank to play a tinny rendition of “The Internationale”, a socialist workers’ hymn laden with meaning in this post-Soviet capital. With a heave at the bellows of his marble-red accordion and a stomp of his boot, he then sounds the whistle for the night shift of the International Klezmer Union’s chapter in Moscow. A two-hour peal of Jewish musical folklore follows, the lyrics spewing from the stage in four languages: English, German, Yiddish and Russian. “When I’m with the Russians, it’s always a party,” Kahn says. This was the final sprint of the fourth annual Moscow Yiddish Fest, a weeklong festival of music of the Jewish Diaspora that brought together a global cast of performers to capitalise on a resurgent interest in Jewish music here. They played to packed houses: concert halls during the day, clubs at night. The festival was founded by Anatoly Pinsky, an educational scholar and adviser to the Russian ministry of education. Originally called Dona-Fest, after the Yiddish band Pinsky created, the festival has grown every year. It also has gained the support of the Federation of Jewish Communities, Russia’s largest Jewish umbrella organisation, and the Moscow city government.

When Pinsky died in December 2006, his daughters and community members kept the festival going. With its growing stature, the festival enables musicians from around the world to experience the distinctive Muscovite brand of Yiddish music. “Many of our musicians were going outside the country to play at other festivals,” said one of Pinsky’s daughters, Zoya Pinskaya. “We wanted to bring them here to see what we have. Now it’s a tradition.” The festival consisted of three gala concerts, two in concert halls and one at a Jewish community centre. Seminars and academic discussions on Yiddish music also were featured throughout the week. Kahn played two shows in posh Moscow nightclubs with a rotating line-up of festival participants. At the final concert hall performance, more than 50 musicians packed the stage for a farewell performance conducted by Frank London, a trumpet player from the New York-based Klezmatics. “When I started showing up here years ago, they would stand up there with a tape recorder and sing in broken Yiddish,” London told JTA. “Now it’s more ingrained into their consciousness.” As with other facets of Jewish culture, klezmer music suffered under the Communist era. London said it took 10 years from the fall of the Soviet Union for an organised klezmer scene to emerge in Moscow. It has been getting closer to its pre-Soviet roots ever since.

Daniel Kahn performs on the final night of the weeklong Moscow Yiddish Fest, which attracted packed houses.

Psoy Korolenko, a prolific poet and musician who was involved at the festival’s beginning, said this gathering and others like it provided an opportunity for Klezmer musicians to bond. With his wild, grey-flecked beard and mane to match, Korolenko was Kahn’s right-hand man throughout the weekend, singing backup and loosely translating off-colour jokes for Russian-speaking audiences. On the concert hall stage recently, Korolenko and Kahn stood out from the staid, Yiddish choral acts and classical clarinet solos as they tried to convince the audience to sing along to a tongue-in-cheek tune about a weeping Russian cosmonaut. The audience wasn’t interested. But under the low lights of an upscale Moscow nightclub the next night, Kahn’s brand of klezmer found a more receptive crowd. Ebullient Israeli expatriates, Russians and even a Chabad chassid hiding behind sunglasses and a baseball cap sang along with fervour. The set was at turns bawdy and contemplative, swinging from an up-tempo Russian dance tune to a plodding treatise on Zionism. Kahn’s music and lyrics also reveal an interest in leftist Jewish politics, evident in the group’s most recent homage to a mythical klezmer union - klezmer bund, in German and the music-box rendition of the socialist anthem. “I was a bit nervous playing it in” the former Soviet Union, Kahn said, “but everyone there seems to love it”.

(CREDIT: GRANT SLATER)

Kahn, 29, raised in Detroit and now living in Berlin, is a central player in Germany’s klezmer scene. When he was 18, he bought an accordion from a pawn shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, took it home and learned to play “When the Saints Go Marching In”. Since then he has led a nomadic life. After graduating from the University of Michigan, where he studied theatre, Kahn lived in New Orleans and New York before moving to Berlin. Along the way he has performed in Jewish theatre, organised folk festivals and played in lounge acts. Kahn also found a gateway back to Jewish culture through klezmer, literature and language, he said, gradually exploring his own Jewish identity. Kahn said that translating lyrics from Yiddish and German to English had become a major interest and source of inspiration for his listless music. “Home is a tricky thing; home is people for me,” he said. Yiddish “has a sense of alienation. The language is loaded with prejudices and misconceptions. It’s very rich.” The music scenes in Berlin and Russia are strongly intertwined.

Berlin has a vibrant underground music scene built on the foundations of Russian groups, Jewish and secular, who frequently make the trip between Moscow, St Petersburg and Berlin. Among them is Naekhovichi, a Jewish group with a shuffling lineup that provided the rhythm section for several performances at the festival. At home with blues riffs and dance beats, the group comprised mostly secular players, but they chose to chase their grandfathers’ Jewish roots in Odessa with their music. Fyodor Mashendzhinov, the drummer for Naekhovichi, said his four-year-old band played two types of gigs: synagogues in Russia and club shows in the underground klezmer scene. Lately, he said, the two worlds had started to merge as Jewish music had become a more stable part of the community. “It’s very funny to me to see Chasidim and older people in the clubs listening to us,” Mashendzhinov said. “Usually you can only see these people in synagogues, but we are playing this music and it is their cultural background.” (JTA)

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18 - 25 April 2008

SA JEWISH REPORT

Break out of your Egypt, Rabbi Ari Shisler urges STORY BY SHELLEY ELK THE HUMILITY and openness with which one approached the mitzvoth of Pesach, elicited an understanding, or wisdom, and was likened to the quality of basic matzah, and enabled one to reach a level of simcha (joy) and truly appreciate the ‘chag hamatzot’, Rabbi Ari Shisler said at Chabad of Savoy this week. The seder appeared lavish, a celebration of liberation; a three course meal, with wine, and talk of freedom, but tasteless, ‘poor man’s bread’, was consumed. Why, and what role did Matzah play? Matzah, encapsulated what Pesach was about. “On Pesach, at the seder, halachically we are required to eat lots of matzah, which is “lechem oni”, the poor man’s bread,” Rabbi Shishler reminded his audience. In the Gemorah, said Rabbi Shishler “it says there is no simchah without good food and good wine”. In Egypt the Jews were slaves, followed by a miracle of freedom, they became a nation, and received the Torah. Relating to and understanding the experience’s significance and relevance enabled one to celebrate Pesach, said Rabbi Shishler. “If you do the mitzvot associated with Pesach, the event comes to life, and you feel it... that is how mitzvot work. They trained one to trust G-d and it reminds us that Hashem is in charge. “ Matzah is the ‘food of faith’.” Of

all the Jews in Egypt, the grandparents, parents and children, Moshe got only 20 per cent to believe in Hashem and leave with him. Sefer Torah says there are lots of things we can’t conceive of, yet faith allows one to have their boundaries shattered and expectations broken. “The Gemorah says a child will not be able to recognise his parents until they have tasted grain/solids. It is thanks to the wheat the child eats that he is able to identify his father.” He told of a debate which raged with the sages over what fruit the tree of knowledge produced, a fig? fruit of a vine? Or wheat? There is a Kabbalistic saying that wheat and knowledge are connected to each other, says Rabbi Shishler. “Arizel said hamotzi was directly related to bringing wisdom into our consciousness and that a kernel of grain linked us to the highest source of wisdom and by ingesting wheat, a child had the wisdom to recognise his parents. “In Egypt 3 500 years ago, we were spiritually in ‘uteri’, in the developmental stages, the womb. Today ‘we don’t understand things the way we should’.” Kabbalistically 10 systems of energy or sefirot, represented the intellectual and emotional sides of “the spiritual order”, the mind and heart, explained Rabbi Shishler. “Ta’am” or taste, said Rabbi Shishler was associated with reason, and “we are unable to appreciate what we don’t recognise”.

Kabbalistically, the feminine quality “binah”, or understanding, involved analysis, comparison, and investigation, to build a clearer and deeper picture. “Simcha”, the greatest joy, accompanied discovery, crystal clarity. “You can’t celebrate what you don’t understand, because it exists outside the framework of your paradigm.” Masculine intellect or “chochmah” (wisdom) was a “flash of inspiration, when we least expect it” with deeply profound, spiritual, and powerful insights. Chochma, was elicited when one approached a subject with the attitude of “I know nothing”. Matzah without taste, flavour, was like a blank sheet, and so chochmah was borne of extreme openness. “In Egypt we were broken, and therefore open to the greatest revelation. We knew nothing, were flat like matzah.” Pesach, said Rabbi Shishler, was an invitation to break moulds, and be open. “Matzah teaches you to break out of your Egypt, and like a blank page, be open to a brand new experience.” Rabbi Shishler concluded “In doing what you normally don’t want to do, in bending yourself to suit what Hashem wants, we, as children can be open to the recognition of Hashem, as a child recognises his/her parent, literally and as we pray each day to ‘make my soul as dust, and open my heart to Torah’, we can allow the self to be nothing first, and that is the real challenge of Pesach.”

AROUND THE WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF JEWISH LEADER BLASTS SYDNEY ISLAMIC MAGAZINE SYDNEY - An Australian Jewish community leader has blasted a new Islamist magazine that describes Israel as "illegal and illegitimate". New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive, Vic Alhadeff said The Idialogue: An Islamic Ideological Viewpoint, was "an outrage in terms of the vicious language it uses to denigrate Israel". The first edition of The Idialogue, a 42page glossy quarterly publication sold on Sydney university campuses last week, has a map of Israel on the front cover with the words "Muslim land - not for sale" printed across it. Inside it reprints a 1935 fatwa warning against the selling of land to Zionists in Palestine as well as an article on the Palestinian conflict, saying "the holiest of Islamic lands is in the hands of the unholiest - the illegal and illegitimate state of Israel". Members of the hard-line Islamist organization Hizb-ut Tahrir - which is banned in

much of Europe but not in Britain or Australia - write and produce the magazine, according to a report in The Australian newspaper. But officials refused to confirm the magazine was published by the Islamic organisation, which was linked to the failed terror attacks in London and Glasgow last year. "There is one positive aspect to this publication, however: it exposes the Islamist agenda unambiguously. It defines Israel as a 'dagger in the heart of the Muslim body,' and it insists that 'a state of war' must be maintained until the entire country has been reclaimed for Islam," Alhadeff told JTA. "We ignore at our peril the threats against Israel and democracies such as ours. This is the tenor of this heinous magazine, and this is the true nature of the campaign which Western society is up against." Hizb ut-Tahrir has twice been investigated by Australia's counter-terror organisation, and is believed to have cells in about 45 countries. (JTA)

PRO-ISRAEL DOVES LAUNCH DC OUTFIT WASHINGTON (JTA) - Pro-Israel doves are launching an initiative aimed at countering the influence of established Jewish organisations on Capitol Hill. In a conference call on Tuesday, organisers launched J Street, a lobby outfit and a political action committee backed by some of the biggest names in the dovish proIsrael community. The new group's executive director, Jeremy Ben-Ami, says the goal is to take on the pro-Israel giants, particularly the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, where they are the most powerful: in Congress.

Ben-Ami says the new lobby will work the halls on Capitol Hill, where he asserts the majority of lawmakers are sympathetic to the pro-Israel, pro-peace position and doing more to support Palestinian moderates, but afraid of the political consequences of speaking out. The group is ready to go with a projected annual budget of $1,5 million, about half of which is on hand, and a staff of four. That's a fraction of the nearly $50 million AIPAC spends - and that doesn't even include the totals from AIPAC's recent legacy fundraising programme. (JTA)

BUSH EXTENDS PLO OFFICE WAIVER WASHINGTON - President George W Bush has extended a permit allowing the Palestine Liberation Organisation to operate in Washington. Bush cited national security interests on April 11 in extending for another six months his waiver on laws banning the group.

residents have routinely waived the laws, which date back to the 1980s, for six-month periods since the launch of the Oslo process in 1993. The current PLO envoy, Afif Safieh is about to end his term and take up a new post in Moscow. His replacement has not been named. (JTA)

Read the Jewish Report e-paper on our website: www.sajewishreport.co.za

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SA JEWISH REPORT

18 - 25 April 2008

YOUTH TALK

Shelley Elk [email protected]

The message is clear: Bullies aren’t cool Rabbi Yisroel Ziskin of Aish Hatorah, Johannesburg.

About slavery and the search for freedom STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY SHELLEY ELK A SPECIAL spiritual energy descended at various times of the year in the Jewish calendar and it was up to everyone to maximise, grow and make themselves available for that growth opportunity. During Pesach, the energy and opportunity to attain freedom from what enslaved us availed itself to inspire shaking off physical and psychological shackles. Just days leading up to Pesach, Rabbi Yisroel Ziskin of Aish Hatorah in Johannesburg, gave an interactive shiur, explaining the concept of “slavery” in terms of various types of addictions, and how Pesach provided an opportunity to make “leaps” to freedom, to a lively group of young adults in Sandringham. The Jewish notion of time was cyclical explained Rabbi Ziskin and an energy according to Kabbalah, unique to a moment in history, was poured into the world. Mystics say, that “we do not celebrate Pesach because we went out of Egypt, rather the energy at that time of the year, was conducive to going out of Egypt at that time”. Rabbi Ziskin drew parallels between slavery and various types of addiction. As a slave in Egypt or even a Jew in Communist Russia, one would appreciate the concept of freedom. “Freedom was compared to addiction, a desire to smoke, but a ‘want’ to give up”, where the body’s desire ‘outflanks’ the ‘want’ to give up.” In addiction or “slavery” the body was in control, whereas in freedom, the soul was. “On Passover you have the opportunity to shake loose the physical and psychological shackles. In Kabbalah, Passover provided an accelerated “jump” or “skip” towards personal freedom. “But,” said Rabbi Ziskin, “you have to do the work before Pesach.” He said questions to ask were: “What is holding me back?” And then create a list of things that were “enslaving you”.

Looking everywhere for chometz MIRIAM SCHIFF Children from King David Linksfield grade R, searching for chometz before Pesach. On the floor: Shani Avramov and Aaron Levenberg. Holding the dustpan: Noah Kallner; and reading the Haggadah: Joshua Norman.

Natan Sharansky the famous RussianJewish refusenik, a member of the Knesset, who practised Judaism in Communist Russia which was considered a criminal offence, wrote that “behind bars in Russia I was more free than a person walking the streets of New York City”. Sharansky’s release was preceded by a slight delay, because his jailers wanted to keep his book of Tehillim, but he refused to leave without it. Rabbi Ziskin said the worst thing in life was to not know what life was about, and where you were going. It was harder than knowing and having a tough time getting there. “Pesach is about, freedom, as opposed to following the herd,” he said. “On the first night of Pesach your gates of freedom are opened, things blocking you, can get out of your way. Matzah, a symbol of freedom, (bread of ego), ego-less existence, is absorbed by the body and changes you.” According to Kabbalah, he said, matzah was spiritual food, which weakened the bonds of things that held a person back. Being free, said Rabbi Ziskin, took courage, because being different was not comfortable, “it is a risk, to be oneself, different from others. The risk involves facing oneself, which requires work on oneself, and entails effort and pain.” He concluded with a suggestion that his audience obtain a Haggadah, (handbook for the seder), and “read the secrets of how to find your own freedom, read the commentary, and see how the sages and mystics show how you can grow on that level. “Move into the seder night in that headspace,” he urged, “in tune with the energy that is delivered on the night of the seder, and the special light when the Jewish people went out of Egypt. “If you make yourself a vessel for that light, you can receive that light and be woken up and empowered for the whole year.”

Sha’arei Torah’s boys stand behind their banner “Bullies aren’t cool, they never rule”. STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY SHELLEY ELK AN ANTI-BULLYING week, held at Sha’arei Torah, Ohr Somayach campus in Glenhazel, Johannesburg last week, has elicited much positive feedback from parents, who were excited and thankful about the programme. This educational programme aimed to raise awareness of three different types of bullying: physical, verbal and emotional. Bullying ranged from the physical, to excluding someone from a game, or teasing, said Marilyn Sloot, head of secular department/general studies who spearheaded the programme. “The children embraced the programme enthusiastically,” she added. Sloot told Jewish Report: “You read so much about bullying in the papers, and the negative impact on children,” so we decided to implement the programme to raise awareness of the issue. “Part of our programme resulted in an anti bullying policy.” Rabbi Ze’ev Kraines, principal of Sha’arei Torah, told the Jewish report: “We learnt that the whole child is more important than academic success.” The programme kicked off at the beginning of the anti-bully week, with one of the helpers at Shaarei Torah, Martha, dressed in a bunny suit, with a banner reading: “Say no to bullying”. The children were asked to guess who was in the suit, to win a prize. On “White Wednesday everyone, including the teachers,dressed in white, symbolising peace, purity, as an inspiration for everyone to be kind to each other,” said Sloot. “The programme is preventive rather than curative, something which should be run in all institutions, across the board, to raise awareness and to prevent bullying

across the board,” said social worker Lynnette Chernik. At the beginning of the week, each child was given a questionnaire, including questions about if they were bullied, and if so, how often, where, when, by whom, and if they had told anyone about it. Another question asked of them was whether they had caused themselves to be bullied by “name calling”, making faces at someone or insulting someone.” Findings from the questionnaire will be published in the school’s newsletter, said Sloot. Teachers were given the programme and conducted various activities, after which the learners received badges. Sloot said during the anti-bullying week: “One boy in grade two said, ‘I need you to talk to two boys to tell them thank you for being so nice to me’.” The culminating function of anti-bully week, was a special assembly for the boys and girls. Grade 6 girls during the special assembly, pledged in a poem read to their fellow learners, “that everybody should enjoy school, (that) school should be safe, secure and (that) everyone should feel accepted, regardless of looks, academic achievement, popularity, athletic ability, and intelligence”. Children enjoyed the week-long programme, during which they created art work, posters and banners. Beverley Miller, a teacher at Sha’arei Torah, said the programme was “generally very personalised, excellent, and children did well”. She added that the grade 1 boys, thought a bully was a big ugly person, but they learnt that a bully could be a small person also. They were also given practical tools on how to deal with bullies.

An unusual visitor has little one in awe SUZANNE BELLING PHOTOGRAPH: CHANA RIVKA LEWIN THE MATZAH Man from the Chevrah Kadisha, last week paid a visit to the grade 0 children from Torah Academy Nursery School, in line with the campaign “You Matza Give Something” (to the needy in the community, who cannot afford purchases for the festival of Passover. Here the fascinated children gather around their unusual visitor.

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SA JEWISH REPORT

YOUTH TALK

Shelley Elk [email protected] Grade R learners from King David Sandton, Saige Glass, Talia Sitsakis, Danya Kinross, and timekeeper David Levine, with Rabbi Ariel Wozniak, youth director of Chabad of Savoy, learning about making “shmurah matzah”.

A show to warm the cockles of your heart Show: “Broadway Broadway” (King David Victory Park) Cast: Samantha Baitz, Talia Ben David, Lynzi Bennun, StaceyLee Berry, Chanel Bloom, Ari Brest, Kelly Brook, Lori Cooperman, Jade Courcol, Joel Croft, Jaimie Day, Joshua Edery, Orrie Golombick, Bianca Goott, Saul Hack, Jay Haggar, Joshua Hazan, Gregory Hodes, David Kaplan, Sam Maram, Natasha Millar, Saul Moross, Isa Orlianski, Rebecca Pein, Sarah Pein, Daniele Porat, Ilan Price, Yehuda Rabinowitz, Michelle Schewitz, Galit Seligman, Talia Solomon, Beth Stein, Lara-Jade van Vuuren, Cayli Varejes, Bianca Watkin, Brett Weinberg, Jessica Wood, Romy Wulfsohn, Keegan Zidel Director: Lara Wittels Musical director: Dudley Trollope Choreographer: Liane Lurie Writer: Dianne Simpson

REVIEWED BY ROBYN SASSEN WHAT A lovely bunch of confident brave kids step onstage and sing their hearts out, in “Broadway Broadway”! How fortunate they are to have this type of opportunity a part of their school experience. “Broadway Broadway” is a

compilation musical loosely based on the “Fame” story. Shaped by their talented and capable teachers, this cast realises a show to warm not only the cockles of any mother’s heart but those of any audience member. The vignettes deal with much of the angst of teenagerhood, from oppressive demanding or disinterested self-involved mothers, to falling in love, to the challenges of “fitting in”. Natasha Millar is absolutely in a class of her own. She has poise and dignity, a lovely stage presence and great vocal potential. She is supported with stand-out performances by Saul Moross as Billy, an irrepressible boy who can sing and dance and doesn’t fear the stigma of wearing ballet shoes, and Bianca Watkin, one of the teachers. This young lady carries off an adult identity with skill surpassing her youth. Congratulations are due to Liane Lurie, whose complexly designed dance steps represent a healthy diversity, and who has shaped the male “buskers” and ensemble cast to perform with as much grace and poetry as teenage boys can. The best songs are the ensemble pieces; several jewels are performed by the Rockettes: Stacey-Lee Berry,

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Making matzah the fun way STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY SHELLEY ELK LAST WEEK Grade Rs from King David Sandton, with teachers Tracey Behrmann and Karen Fait, enjoyed visiting the matzah

Billy (Saul Moross) and Lucy (Natasha Millar) in a scene from “Broadway Broadway”. (PHOTOGRAPH: YAEL GORDON)

Jade Courcol and Jessica Wood. “Broadway Broadway” is a resounding success - we can but anticipate next year’s project, and wonder why the school stages but one musical a year.

factory at Chabad of Savoy in Johannesburg. Children identified the plagues, were introduced to “Toby” the frog, helped sieve and mix flour, and went through the process of making their own “shmura matzah”.

Grade R classes from King David Sandton inside the matzah factory,at Chabad of Savoy with Rabbi Ariel Wozniak, and Yeshiva bocher Dov Ber.

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18 - 25 April 2008

WHAT’S ON NOTE: Deadline for all entries is 12:00 on the Friday prior [email protected] (011) 480-4723. to publication. • CAJE - College of Adult Jewish Education, Sydenham Highlands North Shul (011) 640-5021. Key to organisations, venues, contact details and cost: • JAFFA - Jewish Accomodation for Fellow Aged. (012) 346-2007/8. • The Jewish National Fund (JNF) Choir, Beyachad, 2 • SAIJE - Sandton Adult Institute of Jewish Education, Elray St, Raedene. Contact Crystal Kaplan. 083-376Sandton Shul (011) 883-4210. Email: saije@sandton5999. shul.co.za. • The Jewish Women’s Benevolent Society (JWBS) Tuesday (April 22) Sandringham Gardens, 85 George Avenue Sandringham 2192. Contact Carolyn Sabbagh. (011) • Chabad of Umhlanga is hosting a communal seder at 485-5232. 18:30. R220 adults, R120 children. Booking essential. • The Jewish Outlook Team. Contact Ryan Cane, Support E-mail Shirley or call (031) 561-2487/082 550-0503. line: 27 76 215 8600; e-mail [email protected] (April 23) org.za; website http://www.jewishoutlook.org.za • Nechama Bereavement Counselling Centre - Room • SFCC is hosting Ora who will give Israeli dancing classA304, 3rd Floor, hospital wing, Sandringham Gardens, es from 10:00 in the games room at the Sandton Shul. 85 George Avenue, Sandringham, 2192. Contact (011) Thursday (April 24) 640-1322. • New Friendship Ladies Group - A group for single • WIZO Killarney branch booksale -at Balfour Park from women - contact Lucille (011) 791-5226 or 082-92709:30. 5786. Monday (April 28) • ORT and ORTJET South Africa - 44 Central Street, Cnr 10th Ave, Houghton. Contact (011) 728-7154. • Tiyulim will be going to the Lion Park for a game drive. • Rabbi Cyril Harris Community Centre (RCHCC) and Opportunity to interact with 1-3-month-old lion cubs. Great Park Shul, Johannesburg. Contact Hazel, (011) Braai area - bring food/picnic. Meet at Balfour (near the 728-8088 or Rene Sidley (011) 728-8378. Cost usually car wash) at 09:00. Cost R95pp. Greg 082-959-9026. R50, including refreshments. • Second Innings, Johannesburg - Jewish Community Wednesday (April 30) Services - Donald Gordon Centre, 85 George Avenue Sandringham. Contact Grecia Gabriel, (011) 532-9616. • JWB, Greenside is having a booksale at Balfour Park. • The Israel Centre. Contact Debbie (011) 645-2560. • WIZO Bramley branch has a booksale at Balfour Park • The Simcha Friendship and Cultural Circle (SFCC), from 09:30. Johannesburg - Sandton Shul. Contact Sylvia Shull, • UJW, Cape Town is hosting Dr Geraldine Mitton on (011) 783-5600. “Happiness” at 10:00 for 10:30 at Stonehaven. Cost • The United Sisterhood, 38 Oxford Road Parktown. R12. Contact Helen (011) 646-2409. website:http://www.unitedsisterhood.co.za Saturday evening (May 3) • Society of Israel Philately (SIP) - [email protected]. • WIZO Tzabar branch has an Israeli film evening Contact Maurice (011) 485-2293. (English subtitles) from 20:00. Phone Sandy (011) 645• South African Zionist Federation (SAZF), Johannesburg 2515 for details. - Beyachad, 2 Elray Street, Raedene. Contact Froma, (011) 645-2505. Sunday (May 4) • South African Jewish Board of Deputies (Jhb) Beyachad, 2 Elray Street, Raedene. Contact (011) 645- • Second Innings is hosting Lila Bruk on “What you 2500 or (011) 645-2523. should know about your health and nutrition” at 10:00 • United Zionist Luncheon Club (UZLC), Johannesburg for 10:30 at the Gerald Horwitz Lounge, Golden Acres. Our Parents Home. Contact Gloria, (011) 485-4851 or • RCHCC presents a documentary - “I have never forgot072-127-9421. ten you” - the life and legacy of Simon Wiesenthal at • Union of Jewish Women (UJW), Johannesburg - 1 Oak 19:30. Donation R50. Street Houghton. Contact (011) 648-1053. Cost R10 for the Friendship Luncheon Club. Monday (May 5) • Union of Jewish Women (UJW), Cape Town - (021) • SIP - Rabbi Dr M Singer will continue his 2007 lecture 434-9555, e-mail: [email protected] on old and rare books, Waverley Shul boardroom at • WIZO Johannesburg - Beyachad, 2 Elray Street 19:30. Entry free. Refreshments. Raedene. Contact Joyce Chodos (011) 645-2548 or Sandy Kramer (011) 645-2515. Tuesday (May 6) • Bikkur Cholim - Jewish Society for Visiting the Sick, 7A Chester Road, Greenside East, Johannesburg. Joy • WIZO Fortnightly Forum commemorates Yom Hashoah Gafin (011) 447-6689. at Beyachad at 09:30. Willie Criveano will relate the • Tiyulim (Jewish Outdoor Club) - Contact Greg 082-959story of his father Theodore of Rumania, a righteous 9026 or Martin 082-965-7419. gentile. Candle-lighting by six survivors and Haskara by • King David Schools’ Foundation. King David Alumni Chilly Chrysler.

THE BRIDGE LOUNGE by Jeff Sapire DEFENCE IS generally regarded as the most difficult part of bridge. The late Scottish writer, HW Kelsey, opened up the eyes of many aspiring bridge players with one of the most important books ever written, the classic "Killing Defence at Bridge". In his introduction, Kelsey says: "The average defender operates in a fog of uncertainty. He makes elementary mistakes because his mind has not been trained to think along the proper lines." With this in mind, cover up the South and West hands, and put yourself in the East position. Dummy plays the two and declarer plays the ten on your ace. How do you continue? This hand, from Kelsey's book, is in the chapter on "Counting", and I will summarise his comments. Partner has obviously led a singleton, so you can give him a ruff, and the king of hearts will be the third defensive trick. But where is the setting trick coming from? If partner has an ace, the contract will always go down, but what if he has the king of spades? If you give him a club ruff he will be unable to attack spades from his side of the table. Say he switches to a heart - you will make your king but when you play a spade declarer will go up with the ace, draw trumps ending in dummy and discard his spades on the clubs. To beat this contract you must play a spade at trick two, as there is no hurry to give partner the club ruff. On the bidding

South dealer, both vul NORTH Q94 A96 3 KQJ872 WEST K1063 542 J10874 3 SOUTH AJ8 QJ1073 AK2 106 South 1H 2NT (15-17) 4H

Shelley Elk [email protected]

• The Israeli Embassy, SAZF, Israel Centre, IUA-UCF, and Zionist youth movements invite you to a Yom Hazikaron Memorial Day ceremony for Israel’s fallen at 18:30 at Yeshiva College in the Solly Liebgott Hall. For information phone Miriam Garb (011) 645-2531.

Wednesday (May 7) • SFCC is hosting David Fleminger who will share experiences of travels abroad, at Sandton Shul at 10:00. • Yom Ha’atzmaut - SAZF will celebrate Israel’s 60th anniversary at the Wanderer’s Cricket Club from 17:00 till late. Tickets R50. Dress code is blue and white + takkies. Messages from the Israeli ambassador and the chief rabbi. Come and join us for a spectacular evening of fun and festivities. Gym display, pyrotechnics and fun rides.

Thursday (May 8) • Yom Ha’atzmaut - combined celebrations by all Jewish women’s organisations at the Simon Kuper Hall to celebrate Israel’s 60th anniversary, at 09:30. Entertainment and Israeli brunch. Booking essential. Tickets R150. Sandy at WIZO (011) 645-2515 or Jody, at UJW between 09:00 and 13:00, UJW at (011) 648-1053/4.

Friday (May 9) • UZLC is hosting Jack Milner on “The history of Jewish involvement in sport”. At our Parents Home.

Sunday (May 11) • Second Innings is hosting Dr Moish Singer on “Between the lines” - an anecdotal look at Jewish history through medium of books, at 10:00 for 10:30. Venue: Gerald Horwitz Lounge, Golden Acres.

Wednesday (May 14) • SFCC is hosting Rabbi Michael Katz who will speak on a subject of topical interest at 10:00 at the Sandton Shul. • WIZO Tygerberg branch hosts a kaluki afternoon at 13:20 at the Cape Seniors bayit, Pringle Road, Milnerton. Cost R25. Phone Doreen (021) 5525486. • UJW Constantia, is having a “Cabaret” gala evening at 20:15 at Artscape. Cost R120. In aid of Tikvah and Kensington créche.

Friday (May 16) • UZLC is hosting Mo Skikne on “Israel has written the manual on tank warfare”, at Our Parents Home.

Sunday (May 18) • WIZO Cape Town CSO basic awareness course from 09:00 to 13:00 at the Marais Road Shul hall. • Second Innings is hosting Dr Gareth Edwards who

will speak on “Reconstructive surgery in breast cancer” at 10:00 for 10:30 at the Gerald Horwitz Lounge, Golden Acres.

Monday May 19 to Sunday May 25 • Aliyah Expo hosted by Israel Centre, with a host of experts discussing all relevant aliyah topics. Book now for a private meeting with any of the consultants. Video conference on May 20. Limited seating.

Tuesday (May 20) • WIZO Cape Town Tomer branch cookery demonstration at 10:00, with Rifka Sommer, at the Atlantic Bowling Club, Green Point.

Wednesday (May 21) • Second Innings is going on an outing to the Cullinan Diamond Mine and town. Meet at 08:30, departing 08:45 from the Oxford Shul parking. R170 per person (doesn’t include lunch.) Faye (011) 640-5839 before 18:00 for bookings. • SFCC is hosting Edith Venter who will talk on “The art of living graciously” at 10:00 at the Sandton Shul.

Thursday (May 22) • UJW, Cape Town, “Na’arot fast food” cooking demonstration at the Pick n Pay Centre at 19:00. R60.

Sunday (May 25) • Second Innings hosts Victor Gordon, chairman of Pretoria Council’s Jewish Board of Deputies “Jonathan Pollard a miscarriage of justice” at 10:00 for 10:30 at the Gerald Horwitz Lounge, Golden Acres. • Second Innings is going to see “Chess - the musical” at Montecasino at 15:00. Cost R100 plus R20 (bus). Departing from the Oxford Shul parking at 13:30. Ros (011) 880-6864 before 18:00, for bookings.

Tuesday (May 27) • Art Forum is hosting Daphne Kuhn - “30 years in show biz” at 09:30 for 10:00 in the courtyard, Slome Auditorium, Temple Emanuel, 38 Oxford Road, Parktown. Cost R20 members, R25 non-members. Call Lilithea Singer (011) 646-2668.

Wednesday (May 28) • JWB, Parktown is having a booksale at Balfour Park. • SFCC is having Israeli dancing lessons with Ora at 10:00 in the games room at the Sandton Shul. All welcome.

Thursday (May 29) • UJW, Cape Town executive AGM Sea Point Shul hall 09:30 for 10:00.

Friday (May 30) • JWB, Greenside is having a booksale outside Clicks, Rosebank.

CROSSWORD NO 66 BY LEAH SIMON

EAST 752 K8 Q965 A954

North 2C 3H Pass Opening lead: C3

declarer cannot have more than five hearts, so partner is marked with three trumps, and the ruff can wait. Counting is the backbone of good defence, but, as Kelsey points out, most defenders are lazy. When declarer draws trumps and partner discards on the second round, it's no use thinking that "declarer must have quite a lot" you need to know exactly how many. Kelsey wrote many fine books, but "Killing Defence at Bridge", first published in 1966, and his follow-up, "More Killing Defence at Bridge", are mandatory reading for serious students of the game.

ACROSS: 1. Rose, bewildered - and hurting (4) 3. Press inn around for loomworkers (8) 8. A pretty terrible chap, according to the Russians (4) 9. Ban it - try anew for French region (8) 11. A good example of how a downfall gets one egg on one’s face (6, 6) 13. Have ambitions towards a steeple (6) 14. Whiten pupil on seashore (6) 17. What painters use to portray necromancy? (3, 5, 4) 20. English women’s prison (8) 21. I would have the French, being lazy (4) 22. Nearer around it - the nun’s abode 1 2 (8) 23. Not as much in carelessness (4) DOWN: 1. S? Quite a hoodlum! (8) 2. Have ma drop a confused guide to the streets (7) 4. Do come back to pray for satire (6) 5. — —— —— the present, they say (2, 4, 4) 6. Former law is precise (5) 7. Utters (4) 10. Novel ways of using images (5, 5) 12. Makes shrew sip, somehow - but talks quietly (8) 15. Shorten a game of cards (7) 16. Friend is a champion in the royal household (6) 18. He will gain nothing by greeting (5) 19. Young hen is endlessly glamorous (4)

SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD NO 65 ACROSS: 1. Sips; 3. Catwalks; 8. Aura; 9. Ambience; 11. Denomination; 13. Raptor; 14. Bangle; 17. Tooth and nail; 20. Stagnate; 21. Bobs; 22. Answered; 23. Bred. DOWN: 1. Standard; 2. Parsnip; 4. Almond; 5. Waistbands; 6. Lingo; 7. Seer; 10. Importance; 12. Realised; 15. Glamour; 16. Castle; 18. Opals; 19. Isla. 3

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Visually showing Pesach in the time of Moses STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY RITA LEWIS AFTER SEVERAL years of study and three trips to Egypt and the Sinai (one at the behest of the SABC) and much wandering around the Sinai Desert with no company except a Bedouin guide, Margaret Rawicz reckons she knows how the Jews in Moses’ time dressed, ate, lived and what is more, celebrated Pesach. So much so that she has actually made a life-size model of a family group of them with their seder plate ready - complete with egg, karpus, maror, etc. It is on show in the foyer of the Mizrachi Shul in Glenhazel. The model shows much attention to detail. The Pascal lamb has been positioned to be killed - with the woman’s knife being held at the ready and the fire realistically built and burning. The model is just one of many that have been made over the years by Rawicz for the Mizrachi Shul. Each one of these, which has taken hours of painstaking work, has been of one of the weekly Parshot in the Torah, including some of the Haftorahs. In creating these scenes she has drawn from her experience of being in the Sinai several times and retracing the Jews’ Exodus route. The simple style of living and the harsh environment have given her an insight into this Pesach celebration. She said her intention for making the models was to visually provide an overview of the key points in the Shabbat Parshot as well as those in the Yom tovim festivals.

A life-size model of a Jewish family living and celebrating Pesach in the Sinai Desert in the time of Moses. Although all her research has been done at an adult level, the result has been pitched to interest all ages. This particular one, which is of life size models, all made by Rawicz, shows a family group of Jews living in the Sinai Desert during the time of Moses and celebrating Pesach. No detail has been spared. There is the sand, the fire, the water, you name it, it’s there.

The clothes too are just as they would have been then, from the headgear to the sandals. Rawicz said the model had been created to demonstrate the original Pesach experience. “The activities which have developed over the centuries for preparing for, and celebrating, the festival in lavish settings, finery and the best of Pesach food has originated (for South Africans) mostly in our European roots and

may have removed us somewhat from the original reality.” The model has been set in the desert on the sand with only the simplest of utensils and means of performing the seder - as it must have been in those days. The family is engaged in making the Pesach sacrifice of a sheep at a fire. One member of the family is making matzah by burning ashes from dry wood and bushes from the surrounding area and

then baking the matzah in the ashes - just as the inhabitants of the Sinai do to this day. Rawicz said she wanted to stimulate awareness of the fact that the experience of Pesach was a matter of gratitude for survival in extremely harsh conditions. “The awareness of the participants of the ever-present guidance and nurturing hand of Hashem for them was a first priority in their thinking.”

HIV patients are getting a fighting chance ISRAEL21C STAFF JERUSALEM AN HIV infection is no longer a death sentence, as the number of approved treatments grows each year. But the virus is becoming resistant to an increasing number of drugs and is spinning off different strains. This anti-retroviral drug resistance is the primary reason why many treatments for HIV-infected patients fail. That’s why the best way to use anti-HIV drugs is in combinations or “cocktails” that are prescribed as the patient’s individual virus progresses and as resistance to the drugs change. Although there are new standardised systems to monitor the development of drug-resistant mutations, there is a vital need for a method that will help doctors decide which cocktail has the best chances of success for different individuals, each with their own unique variant of the virus. That’s where researchers in Israel at the IBM Haifa Research Lab (HRL) come in. They were asked to take part in a EU consortium aimed at developing an integrated system for anti-HIV treatment. The goal? To perfect EuResist, a European integrated system for clinical management of antiretroviral drug resistance. The system will provide clinicians with a prediction of response to antiretroviral treatment for HIV patients, thus helping them choose the best drugs and drug combinations for any given HIV genetic variant. “Monitoring the history of treatments and the progress of the virus itself is crucial to successful patient care,” said Boaz

Carmeli, the manager of Healthcare and Life Science at the IBM Haifa Research Lab. “Tapping into knowledge garnered from a huge collection of data will help doctors take into account the patient, the virus, the viral mutations, and the current stage of the disease.” Since 1981, approximately 1,7 million Americans have been infected with HIV, over half a million of them who have succumbed to the virus. There are approximately 40 000 new infections reported each year. EuResist is using an innovative approach to predict the efficiency of anti-retroviral drug regimens against a specific HIV, based on viral genotype data integrated with treatment response data collected from some of the largest HIV databases in Europe. The project’s biomedical information integration technology gathers data from three large genotype-response databases, namely the Italian ARCA database (one of the biggest in the world), the German AREVIR database, and data coming from the Karolinska Infectious Diseases and Clinical Virology department. The data includes treatment histories, treatment response information, and the sequence of the relevant part of the HIV genome (genotype). The resulting EuResist integrated data set is expected to be the largest in the world. Aside from the HRL team in Haifa, the other partners participating in this European Union 6th Framework project include: Informa Srl, Universit degli Studi di Siena, Italy; Karolinska Institute, Sweden; Max-PlanckInstitute for Informatics,

University Hospital of Cologne, Germany; RMKI, Hungary; Kingston University; and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). “If we look closely at the current patient’s blood work, virus stage, family history, race, and so forth - and then compare it to the thousands of people who have been treated over the years - we can see what was done, what worked, and what didn’t,” said Prof Mauricio Zazzi, EuResist scientific co-ordinator and professor of microbiology at the University of Siena School of Medicine. On the basis of this history data, EuResist can predict how the virus will respond to a certain cocktail. “This method not only provides a huge savings in costs, it also means a patient’s chances for successful treatment are not dependant on their doctor’s individual knowledge.” With EuResist, this interaction is done through the web, where physicians can input a patient’s information and status and then get a summary of what is known about this specific virus stage along with a prediction of what treatment has a good chance of helping the patient. For example, a doctor in Bolivia - who may not have expertise in Aids treatment or access to recent research - can use the knowledge accumulated in the EuResist system to treat patients. “This access to shared knowledge greatly increases our chances of fighting Aids and can provide a vital contribution to world healthcare,” adds Zazzi. HRB’s contributions to the project from Israel are twofold.

The Healthcare and Life Science group has implemented a standardised biomedical information technology that processes and correlates clinical and genomic data from various data sources. And The lab’s Machine Learning group has developed a sophisticated model and training engine that helps predict drug resistance. The EuResist database currently has access to information from over 17 000 patients and is growing all the time. Although the different databases involved in the project all contain HIV data, each collection was stored using a different format and had its own unique understanding of what information is most important. The IBM team was challenged with creating order from the masses of data and developing an HIV-specific schema that would filter out the data needed for the system’s prediction engines. Since it first opened as the IBM Scientific Centre in 1972, the IBM Haifa Labs have conducted decades of research that has been vital to IBM’s success. R&D projects are being executed today in areas such as storage systems, verification technologies, multimedia, active management, information retrieval, programming environments, optimisation technologies, and life sciences. IBM Haifa researchers have a long history of leading industrybased standards. They didn’t wait long before getting work underway for a specific clinical document architecture (CDA); this is basically an XML structure or template that defines the information used for HIV treatment of patients.

When news of this document structure spread in Europe, the project gained visibility and many additional institutes volunteered to donate their data to the EuResist database. “Delivering a standard CDA for HIV treatment is an important step in enabling various institutes and healthcare organisations to share their data,” explained Carmeli. “This paves the way for international collaboration and joint global efforts to fight disease.” The EuResist project involves the development of several prediction engines of different flavours, with each engine designed to predict the efficiency of possible drug combinations and to recommend an optimal treatment. The different kinds of prediction engines include: evolutionary models, graph theoretical models, mutual-information based data mining, case-based reasoning, and machine learning. The IBM Haifa team’s prediction engines are based on machine learning, an expertise for which the Haifa Lab is already widely recognised. “The system integrates the predictions output by the different engines and presents the physician with a consolidated set of results,” explained Shai Fine, manager of the Machine Learning group at the IBM Haifa Research Lab. “The challenge lies in understanding which engine is optimal for different patient scenarios.” So far, this method is producing results that are more accurate than those obtained from any single engine. The project results so far are showing a tremendous success rate of 75 per cent.(Israel21c)

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Don’t climb your own Mt Everest, says Friedland STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY SHELLEY ELK A SMALL book, containing questionnaires, healthy lifestyle pointers, timesaving tips, “tasks”, breathing and meditation exercises is ideally designed for the busy women, to pick up, flip through and use. “Having it All”, by Dr Linda Friedland, inspires women to “put these principles into practice” and to attain a better health and work-life balance. Friedland who was in clinical practice for 17 years, is an expert on women’s health, stress management, and lifestyle organisation. She’s a dynamic speaker, sought after internationally and nationally. She has lectured in 25 countries, across Africa, Asia, UK, US, and recently spoke at Rabbi Cyril Harris Community Centre in Johannesburg after the launch of her book. “People teach what they most need to learn, so the things discussed in the book work for me; and constitute material that I am still working on.” How best do we integrate various aspects without burning out? There were always sacrifices, said Friedland at her talk, “Having it all” - a woman’s guide to health and success”, grew from a talk she had given two years ago. Women handled work-life balance and exhaustion differently from men, she pointed out. “Women the world over, don’t have time, to check their blood pressure, pap smear, mammogram, go to gym, or visit with friends.” Recently back from lecturing in Japan, Friedland explained that “karoshi” death from overwork, was prevalent among Japanese females between the ages of 35 and 40 years. “They were previously well people who should maybe have a heart attack at 80, not at 45 or even 50.” Friedland explained that heart disease trends in women, showed a masculinisation of health patterns in the under 50 age group. In our culture, said Friedland “hectic” was valued as meaning “you must have a life” whereas “fine” assumed one “has no life”. Value was placed on a fast paced life

involving immediate within. Not everything is response to e-mails, about climbing Mount Blackberry, landlines, anyEverest,” said Friedland. time anywhere. Disappointment, she said “The truth is that a lot of resulted from striving for what we do, we do not have the reality found in books to do at that pace.” and movies. “These things She said “burnout” don’t exist in that kind of which was not a mainbalance. A scale at rest is stream medical diagnosis, perfectly balanced, and still. was “emotional, physical The body, designed for and mental utter exhausmovement, is perfectly still tion of which the sympwhen DEAD. toms were tiredness, wak“Earth, oceans are moving up tired, and worrying”, ing, day and night; it’s not whether you worked at a about stillness on the mounjob or career, as a volunteer tain.” Heart, the metaphor at the Jewish community for life, beats, rested centre, and were “relatively between each gap, and then healthy functioning”. filled with blood, to give “We are all busy, and again. women are good at taking Friedland’s seven steps, care of others, but poor at to breakthrough - were managing their own lives briefly outlined: and taking care of them1. Good nourishment and selves. One needs to ensure exercise energises and optiin giving, the trade off is mises our body and minds. not yourself.” 2. Assign fundamental Perfection and super priorities (eg children, partmom, were “dead”, said ner, health, personal wellFriedland. being, sanity, mental state). Tiredness, exhaustion, Dr Linda Friedland. Know what is important and burnout manifested as and cannot be “traded”. depression which could be managed by 3. Plan and organise; being disorgantherapy, or by a psychiatrist. Great ised caused stress. depression due to depletion of energy, 4. Don’t do it all, at the same pace, you manifested itself in depletion of the hordon’t have to. Manage your time and mone seratonin. (the happy hormone). assign appropriate priorities. “Having”, she pointed out, was not pos5. Give yourself five minutes when you sessing materially; it was “embracing, do nothing, free of distractions. holding, integrating, a ‘tightrope act’”, a 6. Search for what you feel passionate see-saw. about. Passion is the core entity in physiIn the process of trying to “have it all”, cal and psychological healing and ignites it was important to not lose oneself. the immune system. “Integrating all pieces of the puzzle, in a 7. Pleasure - not indulgence, is what purposeful, yet imperfect way, so that you “fills the heart” - for you. have energy, feel alive, look forward to On reaching a state of peace, Friedland each day, month, and still have a meaningconcluded with a quote: “When you comful and integrated life”, entailed a shift in bine what you are really good at, in the attitude. world with who you are, then magic hapPressure, striving to be a better you, pens.” was not what it was about. This is a useful book, easy to read, skim “You are good as you are. We all have through, with tidbits of information, issues; it is about removing layers of practical tips, to help you assign priorities onion skins, revealing ourselves from and take control of your own life.

A new recipe book for Pesach RITA LEWIS FOR THOSE cooks buying the Pesach Passover Recipe and Guide Book, the often heard wail that “There’s nothing to eat here”, will never apply. The recipe book is the new and expanded edition of Esther Surdut’s previous three books, giving some 200 pages of new and interesting Pesachdik recipes for both the beginner and gourmet cooks. What makes this book different from the others is the many unusual recipes given in each category of food and there are snippets of interesting information plus old Judaic photographs spread throughout the publication. At the beginning Surdut gives an overview of the various sections of the book. This is followed by some basic information on “Our Pesach Heritage” with some engravings of Pesach activities during the early 1700s. There are then two pages on “Preparing the Home for Pesach” including how to clean the microwave etc and listing which items cannot be koshered. Instructions are then given on doing “Bedikat Chametz” and how to set up the seder plate and table. From there, recipes from various rebbetzens are listed including three different recipes for Charoset. There is no difficulty these days in getting salad dressings, sauces or even schmaltz that is Pesachdik, but for those who prefer to make their own, Surdut has included recipes for fruit chutney, tomato puree, a Pesach white sauce and Hollandaise sauce. The main body of the book includes recipes that are difficult to find elsewhere such as: walnut pâté, baked stuffed mushrooms and veal petzah (brawn). From the choice of 16 soups are included Lucille’s chilled banana vichyssoise, roasted pear and marrow soup, and herbed spinach and spring onion soup plus 17 accompaniments. There are over 20 vegetarian recipes, an amazing number of ways with vegetables and salads. Other sections include breakfast dishes, what to put in lunch boxes, “Healthy Habits” and an easy to follow section for newlyweds. There is also Pesach recipes for children, seder menus, an eight-day planner and kashrut dos and don’ts. Not to be forgotten is a shopping list, glossary and a conversion chart.

Breaking bread for a peaceful SA

AROUND THE WORLD

DIANE WOLFSON PRETORIA

BERLUSCONI WINS ITALIAN ELECTION

THIS PAST Sunday almost 1 000 people gathered at the Union Buildings in Pretoria in what could be described as “a great seder table”, drawing South Africans together through the universal language of a meal. The 300m “Table of Peace and Unity”, seated almost 1 000 guests who all broke bread together for a peaceful future for all South Africans. The event began seven years ago, when the “Table of Peace and Unity”, set up to draw all South Africans together to share their common goals of peace and unity in our land, invites celebrities, spiritual leaders, esteemed guests and fellow South Africans to join in a feast for the body, soul and mind. The inaugural event started at the Union Buildings and will be followed with similar events in Polokwane, Durban and on the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, and the Jewish community can be justly proud that Rabbi Gidon Fox (of the Pretoria Hebrew Congregation) was honoured to give the first blessing and was warmly welcomed by the large crowd. “We must first make peace within ourselves,” said Rabbi Fox, explaining how we then should make peace with our spouses, children, parents and siblings before this can spread to our communities, everyone in our city and then moving further afield. His strong message was well received

ROME - Italy's pro-Israel former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, will return to power for a third term. His centre-right coalition beat out the centreleft coalition led by former Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni, polls showed. More than 158 parties fielded candidates in the general elections, held on Sunday and Monday. The election was called two years after Berlusconi lost the premiership to centre-leftist Romano Prodi. Berlusconi, a conservative billionaire, won in an Italy beset by social and economic woes. He has been accused of corruption but has won praise from Jewish groups for his support of Israel. Veltroni also had been lauded by Jews for instituting a broad Holocaust educational programme and escorting high school learners on educational trips to Auschwitz. (JTA)

Pretoria’s Rabbi Gidon Fox with Anglican Bishop Johannes Thomas Seoka. (PHOTOGRAPH: PETER FELDMAN) by the hundreds who attended. Ending with a special brocha, Rabbi Fox moved everyone when he said: “We cannot do everything the world needs, but the world needs everything we can do.” The other two religious leaders who also blessed the meal, were the Rt Revd Dr Johannes Thomas Seoka, the Anglican Bishop and Father Paddy O’Leary who filled in for Father Mkatshwa. This national event and has been publicized internationally showing the world how sitting together at a meal and breaking bread in a spirit of forgiveness and harmony can shape our future. Last year the “Table of Peace” received

NEWS IN BRIEF

HADASSAH LIEBERMAN FOR HOLOCAUST COUNCIL

A quarter of the “Table of Peace and Unity” in Pretoria. (PHOTOGRAPH: DIANE WOLFSON)

extensive worldwide media coverage, including international broadcasts. It has raised hundreds of thousands of rands for charity, including for the Red Cross Children’s Hospital and the Copes Clinic in Soweto.

NEW YORK - Hadassah Lieberman has been appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. Lieberman, the wife of US Sen Joseph Lieberman (Independent Connecticut), will be appointed by President George W Bush to a five-year term, according to the White House. Lieberman was one of 11 people named to the council, which oversees the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. Joining her are Norman Bobins and Andrew Hochberg of Illinois; Joseph Brodecki and Michael David Epstein of Maryland; Donald Etra and Pierre-Richard Prosper of California; David Flaum and Howard Konar of New York; Ezra Katz of Florida; and Douglas Korn of Connecticut. (JTA)

18 - 25 April 2008

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Matthaus to coach Maccabi Netanya Lothar Matthaus, the most capped player in the history of the German national team, will be the coach of Maccabi Netanya next season. DESPITE THE success current coach Reuven Atar has brought to the club, Maccabi’s German owner Daniel Jammer has agreed to a two-year deal with Matthaus in Berlin. Netanya still has a good chance of finishing in second place in the Israeli Premier League for a second successive year and qualifying for next season’s UEFA Cup, after defeating Hapoel Tel Aviv 3-0 last week Saturday. The timing of the announcement of Matthausen’s appointment, was somewhat unexpected. Netanya is not only battling with Bnei Sakhnin and Ironi Kiryat Shmona for second place in the league, but will play Betar Jerusalem in the State Cup semifinals this week. Matthaus told the Maccabi Netanya official website: “I am happy to come to a wonderful country like Israel. “This move is the biggest present I could give to the state of Israel,” Jammer

said on the Maccabi Netanya website. Maccabi board member Andreas Stamatiou said on Saturday that Matthaus would take over in mid-June. “I hope this will bring about a positive development in German-Israel relations,” Stamatiou told Associated Press. “And (I hope) that Matthaus can help the club take some steps forward in the next two years.” Although he is one of the most successful players in Germany’s history, Matthaus is yet to complete his coaching qualifications. According to the Jerusalem Post, he has had limited success in his coaching career, where he has coached four clubs as well as the Hungarian national team over the last six and a half years. His most recent coaching position was at Red Bull Salzburg, where he won the 2007 Austrian league title but was fired and replaced by the club’s then-sporting

Doron Benjamin shines at S African Championships JACK MILNER SWIMMER Doron Benjamin may have failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, but London in 2012 looks a serious possibility if the 16-year-old King David Linksfield pupil continues to improve at his current rate. Doron recently contested the South African Nationals which incorporated the Beijing Olympic trials in Durban. While he may not have come away from the event with any medals, he did personal best times in every single race he swam. He brought in a time of 24,54 seconds for

the 50m freestyle, 53.37 seconds for the 100m freestyle, two minutes, 2,21 seconds for the 200m freestyle, 28,49 second for the 50m backstroke and 1:00;71 for the 100m backstroke. As a result of these achievements, Doron is now ranked second in his age group in South Africa as well as Gauteng, for the 50m freestyle. He is ranked third for the 100m backstroke in South Africa and first in Gauteng. He swam four individual races and was selected to represent Gauteng in two relays. In those he did personal best times as well.

Betar faces tribunal over soccer pitch invasion BETAR JERUSALEM will face an Israel Football Association tribunal after the team’s supporters stormed the field at Teddy Stadium during last Sunday’s league game against Maccabi Herzliya, forcing the match to be abandoned, the Jerusalem Post reports.. The IFA announced on Monday that it had charged the team from the capital for their fans’ unruliness and the pitch invasion. The hearing would take place a day after Jerusalem played Maccabi Netanya in the State Cup semifinals at National Stadium in Ramat Gan where the IFA offices are housed. Thousands of Betar fans flooded the field of play four minutes before the end of Sunday’s match, leaving referee Alon Yeffet with no option but to halt proceedings. Jerusalem were leading 1-0 at the time the game was stopped, but the IFA’s prosecution said on Monday that it would be seeking a technical loss as punishment for Betar.

A day after the events Betar owner Arkadi Gaydamak and the team’s management were still finding it difficult to come to terms with their supporters’ reckless behaviour. A win for Betar would have left the team needing just a single point in their final five matches of the season to clinch a second straight championship. All the championship celebrations will, however, have to be put on hold until after the hearing. “We have nothing to celebrate; we’re losers,” Gaydamak told Army radio on Monday. “I don’t know how to get rid of these fans. “They’re completely irresponsible. Our players and management make a big effort and these fans ruin everything. I have no respect for them.” Gaydamak pulled no punches, adding: “These fans are bastards and fools. As far as I’m concerned (Betar coach) Itzhak Schum is a champion, (club chairman) Eli Arazi is a champion, the players are champions, but Betar is not a champion.”

director, the great Italian coach Giovanni Trapatoni. Matthaus will be the biggest name to coach an Israeli club. While he has an illustrious past, he will still have a tough time next season as most foreign coaches have been unable to find success in Israel. Most recently French legend Luis Fernandez took the reigns at Betar Jerusalem in January 2006, but was unable to last more than six months in the job before leaving Israel. He was replaced that summer by Argentine World Cup winner Ossie Ardiles who had an even worse time, losing his job after just a few games in charge. Atar was clearly disappointed with the move but managed to inspire his team to an impressive win over a Hapoel Tel Aviv team which had been revelling in its 3-1 victory over Betar Jerusalem last Sunday. After the match Atar refused to com-

Lothar Matthaus, who led the then West Germany to World Cup glory in 1990, has controversially been named as the new coach of Maccabi Netanya. ment on next season, saying he is only focused on the semifinal and hopes many Netanya fans will be at National Stadium in Ramat Gan to support the team.