Cape Jewish Chronicle

We must apologise to readers about the long delay in accessing of the pages of the February issue. In fact we were informed very late in the month that the body of the issue could not be downloaded. Since we heard of this informally and with no other complaints or strong protests, it does cause us to wonder if anyone out there is actually reading on-line!

Measures will be taken to ensure that this problem does not occur again – and we trust that web readers will download all the pages for the full experience. If you are one of our online readers, it would be nice if you got back to us via email – chron@ctjc.co.za – to reassure us that you are … reading us!
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15 Water Polo teams comprising over 80 players of both sexes took to the water in perfect weather conditions for the Maccabi Action Water Polo tournament held recently at Herzlia.

Action Water Polo is played in a half pool with only 4 players per side, including the goalie. Although the aim of Action Water Polo is fun, with some rather unusual rules and scoring, the teams produced water polo of an extremely high standard.
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The Cape Town Holocaust Centre opened its doors in August 1999. To mark its 10th anniversary year the Centre is planning a special programme of events. launched in December last year with a celebratory dinner for benefactors.

Guest speaker, renowned British actor and trustee of the Holocaust Educational Trust (UK), Sir Antony Sher stressed, in a stirring address, that the lessons of the Holocaust must be remembered and passed down from generation to generation. He applauded the Cape Town Holocaust Centre for its role in this important mission.

Speaking at the dinner, founder Myra Osrin said that when a vision for the yet-to-be established Holocaust Centre was first conceptualised and articulated in 1996, it was that of creating a more caring and just society in which human rights and diversity are respected and valued.
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Despite the sweltering heat, Capetonians came out in their droves last month to support the 8th annual Glendale’ famous fish braai.

A social occasion with a purpose, spirits were high as a team of more than 35 volunteers arrived early to set up. Vegetables were chopped, flowers picked and drinks packed in ice. The farm stall, braai stands and food stalls were manned and eager raffle ticket sellers embarked on a crusade to encourage visitors to buy as many tickets as possible — all with the hope of winning one of the great prizes and enriching the home’s needy coffers.

Convener Julia Rabie was thrilled with the turn-out of young and old to support the Retreat-based home’s 64 residents, the oldest of whom is 81.

“We started off in 2000 with 70 visitors. This year, including the residents, we had about 550 people, which is a record number.”
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Despite the various accounts written of this powerful and colourful figure of the early part of the last century, few people have actually heard of Morris Abraham ‘Two-Gun’ Cohen. A glance into the Encyclopaedia Judaica reveals that he really did exist, offering but a brief description of his origins and his life.

It is an article that was passed on to the Chronicle written by the American Rabbi Marvin Tokayer that details what he describes as a “truth is stranger than fiction” story of a man “frequently and referred to as ‘the uncrowned Jewish king of China’.”

Moishe Abraham Cohen was born in London’s East End in 1887, to poor Orthodox Polish immigrants. “Fat Moishe’ was a bad youngster, a pickpocket and street kid who ended up in a reformatory, but stuck to his criminal ways.
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