South Africa

CONNECT WITH SOUTH AFRICAN JEWS!

Although Jews were involved in the Dutch discovery of South Africa, a Jewish community was not established there until religious tolerance was adopted in the early 19th century. The first synagogues were established in the mid-19th century by British Jews who settled in South Africa. When diamonds were discovered in 1867, Jewish immigrants poured in from around the world with many becoming involved in the diamond business. The turn of the 20th century also saw the arrival of thousands of Lithuanian Jews fleeing persecution.

Though Jews were often involved in anti-apartheid activities, the Jewish Board of Deputies, South African Jewry’s largest communal organization, declined to take a stand on apartheid until 1985. When violence broke out in the 1970s, thousands of South African Jews left the country.

Today, South Africa’s Jewish population holds steady around 75,000-80,000, with a large percentage practicing Orthodox Judaism. The largest Jewish communities are in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

PLACES OF INTEREST

SYNAGOGUES

PLACES TO EAT