Cape Jewish Chronicle

Read this issue and you’ll see without any doubt that things are really jumping at this tip of Africa. While not launching ships from the Cape Town harbour, we are certainly launching campaigns – and in great style.

Aside from that there are very exciting tours, specially as this is Israel’s 60th anniversary year – tours for young adults and tours for age non-specific. And the Cape celebrations are much in evidence, particularly on page 28.

Other than that there is so much more – honourings and dedications, AGMs and conferences, exhibitions and commemorations, young action and achievements, hellos and goodbyes, thought-provoking perspectives … plus all the usual fare. But not overboard! And, as a special treat, we give readers 4 pages of bridal pics, which we know too well are your first ports of call.
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The National Executive Committee of the Board comprises a broad and genuinely representative cross-section of South African Jewish leaders. The latter are drawn from all the major Jewish centres countrywide and include some of the country’s foremost businessmen, academics and lawyers, as well as lay and professional leaders, who have given many years of service in a wide variety of capacities to Jewish communal life.

Earlier this month, the NEC held its first meeting for 2008. There were many serious issues on the table. What emerged very strongly was the extent to which crime, the ongoing power crisis and the general post-Polokwane uncertainty was negatively impacting on our community’s morale.
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The South African Holocaust Foundation (the recently formed umbrella organisation of the Holocaust Centres in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg), in partnership with Yad Vashem, has established an exciting Fellowship Programme to support teacher training across the country. The programme has been endorsed by the National Department of Education

In March this year, 21 senior educators from provincial regions, accompanied by education personnel from the SA Holocaust Foundation, will be attending a two week, specially designed programme at the International School of Holocaust Studies in Jerusalem. The programme is being fully sponsored by Yad Vashem.
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Did you know that Progressive Judaism is not just a passing fad but has formally existed for over 200 years and its roots go back to the earliest rabbinic period, over 2000 years ago? Did you know that our movement includes over 1200 congregations across the world with over 1.7 million signed up members? Did you know that all Jewish movements including Orthodoxy have adopted some of the initiatives brought in by Reform movements across the world?

Many people seem to hold the belief that Progressive Judaism, Progressive Jews, our rabbis, synagogues and services are ‘not really Jewish’, ‘watered-down Judaism’ or ‘Orthodoxlight’.
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In June 1958, 121 delegates gathered in Oudtshoorn for a Young Israel Rally Most of the delegates were from Cape Town, with others from Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Oudtshoorn.

A group of those now ‘veteran’ delegates are entertaining the possibility of having a 50th reunion for both the 1958 and 1959 Rallies in Cape Town next year and they are hoping that someone could produce a similar picture taken at the 1959 Rally.
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