Temple "Emanuel", Johannesburg, South Africa, 1980's

Johannesburg

Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa and the provincial capital of Gauteng. Home to an estimated 55,000 Jews, it is also South Africa's largest center of Jewish life. While the Jews of Johannesburg comprise just 1% of the city's population, they account for approximately two-thirds of South African Jewry. The vast majority of the Jewish population is descended from Jews from Lithuania. The Johannesburg Jewish community, like most of South African Jewry, is nominally Orthodox. Despite a steady population decline beginning in the 1970s, the large number of Jewish institutions, including religious centers and kosher restaurants, has helped Johannesburg maintain a relatively large and active Jewish community.

The central representative institution of South Africa's Jewish community is the Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD). There are many other organizations in Johannesburg which provide social services, health care, and educational programs including the United Communal Fund, Hatzolah Medical Rescue, the Union of Jewish Women, and the South African Board of Jewish Education. The oldest Jewish organization in Johannesburg is the Chevrah Kadisha. After consolidating several agencies under its umbrella, the Chevrah Kadisha became the largest Jewish welfare organization on the African continent. A Jewish hospital was built in Johannesburg in 1896. It was originally established to aid Orthodox Jews who insisted on kosher food. While the hospital eventually became part of the Johannesburg General Hospital, it still serves kosher meals.

Johannesburg's most notable cultural institutions include a Jewish museum, library and the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre (JHGC), which was in established in 2008. The Etz Chayim Synagogue is home to one of the city's best- known Holocaust memorials; another memorial is a sculpture by Herman Wald, located at the Westpark Cemetery. Additionally, Johannesburg is home to the Jewish Dramatic Society and Jewish Guild.

Nearly 80% of South Africa's Jews identify as Orthodox, while about 20% are Reform. Many of the city's synagogues, including 33 Orthodox congregations, were founded during the early 20th century. Following the end of apartheid in the 1990s, several congregations were relocated as many Jews moved away from the inner city. While some of the remaining structures became churches, others were converted into restaurants or storefronts. Herman's Congregation in Doornfontein, also known as Lions Shul, is the only active congregation left in the area. Built in 1905, the Lions Shul is Johannesburg's oldest synagogue. North of the city center in Hillbrow is Temple Israel. Founded in 1936, it is South Africa's first Reform synagogue and one of three Reform congregations in Johannesburg. There is only one Conservative congregation in Johannesburg. The Poswohl, Mooi Street Synagogue was founded by Lithuanian Jewish immigrants and was later declared a national landmark. Another historic synagogue is The Great Park Synagogue. Established in 1914, its structure was modeled after the Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul.

Jewish education in Johannesburg has focused on the Hebrew language and the study of Torah. All Jewish education is supervised by the South African Board of Jewish Education. About 60% of school-age Jewish children receive a Jewish education. There are an estimated eighteen nursery schools which provide day care and early childhood education. Johannesburg boasts several Haredi boys' schools and yeshivot, as well as a Beis Yaakov for girls. There are also three King David elementary and high schools in the suburbs. Yeshiva College of South Africa is the country's largest Jewish day school. Founded in the mid-1950s, it consists of a nursery school, an elementary school, and separate boys' and girls' high schools. Yeshiva College is located in the Glenhazel area of Johannesburg.

Chabad Lubavitch has established a major presence in Johannesburg. The Lubavitch Yeshiva Gedolah serves the Chabad community, as do 10 Chabad houses and the Lubavitch Torah Academy. The Baal Teshuva movement is also quite popular; there is a kollel, Toras Chaim, Midrasha Ma'ayan Bina, and the Ohr Somayach Yeshiva to serve those who are seeking to become more religiously observant.

Historically, the vast majority of Jews lived in the area of Hillbrow. During the 1960s, this area became a major hub, and was filled with stores, restaurants, bars and businesses. Zoned for white occupation only, Hillbrow was home to many European immigrants, including Jews. Non-white South Africans lived in overcrowded townships miles away. As conditions worsened, small numbers of black, Indian, and mixed-race South Africans began illegally settling in the downtown and suburban areas of Johannesburg in a migration that continued throughout the 1980s. At that time, the majority of the Jews living in the city left for the suburbs. By the time segregation was lifted in the 1990s, inner city neighborhoods like Hillbrow were predominantly black. Large Jewish communities have since been established in Johannesburg's north and northeastern suburbs while a sizeable Jewish community lives in Glenhazel.

The South African Jewish Report is the country's sole national Jewish newspaper. This weekly publication has a readership of approximately forty thousand. Another journal is Jewish Affairs, which includes a variety of articles on religion, culture and history. Chai FM is a Jewish radio program which was established in 2008. Its programs are also broadcasted online.

HISTORY

Johannesburg was founded in 1886 with the discovery of gold in Witwaterstrand and the consequent Gold Rush in the Independent Transvaal Republic. The first Jewish residents were originally from Britain and Central Europe but were soon followed by Eastern European immigrants, primarily from Lithuania; In 1896 there were 6,253 Jews living in Johannesburg; more than half were of Eastern European origin. A number of prominent Jews were active among the “Uitlanders” (Afrikaans for “foreigner,” referring to non-Afrikaner immigrants to the region) whose demands for more rights was a leading cause of the Second Boer War of 1899-1902.

By the outbreak of the Second Boer War, the Jewish population had risen to approximately 10,000-12,000; this number increased rapidly when the war ended, making Johannesburg's Jewish community the largest in South Africa; over half of the country's total Jewish population lived there.

There were a number of Jews among the “randlords,” leaders of the gold mining industry, and these prominent figures helped to establish Johannesburg as South Africa's commercial, industrial, and financial center. The best-known, and most colorful, Jewish randlords were Barney Barnato, Solomon “Solly” Joel, and Samuel Marks. Additionally, Jews were involved in the local government as mayors (such as Harry Graumann) and members of municipal councils; Maurice Isaacs was the chief magistrate in 1952. The Jewish community was also active culturally. During the interwar period there was an active Yiddish theater, featuring the actress Sarah Sylvia. There were weekly Jewish newspapers in Yiddish and English.

The first major Jewish institution to be established in Johannesburg was the Witwatersrand Goldfields Jewish Association, which was responsible for maintaining the Jewish cemetery and organizing prayer services; in 1887, over 500 people attended the first ever Rosh Hashanah services held in Johannesburg. Shortly thereafter, construction started on a synagogue building for the association, which had renamed itself the Witwatersrand Old Hebrew Congregation; the building opened in 1890 and was led by Rabbi Dr. J.H Hertz. Following conflicts within the community, in 1891 a number of members broke away from the Witwatersrand Hebrew Congregation and formed the Johannesburg Hebrew Congregation, which would be led by Rabbi Dr. J.L Landau. Because the Johannesburg Hebrew Congregation was built near the original Park Railway Station, it began to be known as the Park St. Synagogue. The Park St. Synagogue was active for 20 years before the building was sold to South African Railways. After the sale of the building in 1912, the Johannesburg Hebrew Congregation began construction on a new synagogue building and in 1914 The Great Synagogue was opened on Wolmarans Street. The Witwatersrand Old Hebrew Congregation and the Johannesburg Hebrew Congregation operated independently until 1915, at which point they decided to merge, forming the United Hebrew Congregation and meeting for services at the Wolmarans St. Synagogue (The Great Synagogue).

The Johannesburg Jewish community has long provided social services to its members. The Chevra Kadisha (Jewish burial society) was founded in 1887. Additionally, Johannesburg has been home to The Jewish Women's Benevolent and Welfare Society, the Witwatersrand Hebrew Benevolent Association, the South African Jewish Orphanage, and the Witwatersrand Jewish Aged Home. In 1959 a home was opened to care for physically handicapped Jewish children. The Transvaal Jewish Welfare Council was founded in 1949 and is an umbrella organization for a number of institutions serving the Johannesburg community.

A part-time yeshiva, Yeshiva College, was founded in Johannesburg in 1951 and became a full-time institution in 1958. It eventually enrolled approximately 500 students, from preschool to high school. A girls' school, the Menorah High School for Girls, opened in 1969.

The Johannesburg Jewish community has long been engaged in Zionist activities. The South African Zionist Federation was formed in 1898. Sixty years later, in 1958, the Zionist Center was built and became an important cultural center. Three other major Zionist institutions are the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, the South African Zionist Federation, and the South African Board of Jewish Education.