South African Jewish Report Newspaper

21/11/2025

At 12:00 on Friday, 21 November, Jewish women will join women across South Africa in lying down for 15 minutes to honour the 15 women murdered every day in this country.

“It’s to raise awareness of the issue of gender-based violence [GBV] against women and children, particularly femicide, and to get people on board in the fight against it,” said Wendy Hendler, the co-founder and director of Koleinu SA, the helpline for victims of abuse in the South African Jewish community.

The activism is being conducted in solidarity with the G20 Women’s Shutdown instituted by the organisation Women for Change, which calls on all women and members of the LGBTQI+ community to refrain from all work to demonstrate the economic and social impact of their absence because “until South Africa stops burying a woman every 2.5 hours, the G20 cannot speak of growth”.

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At 12:00 on Friday, 21 November, Jewish women will join women across South Africa in lying down for 15 minutes to honour the 15 women murdered every day in this country.

21/11/2025

Matthew Gruter, a South African civil engineer, was identified participating in a vehemently antisemitic neo-Nazi rally outside the New South Wales Parliament in Sydney on 9 November. This week, the Australian federal government revoked Gruter’s visa, and he is likely to be heading back to South Africa soon after three years there.

The rally involved about 60 members of the National Socialist Network (NSN), Australia’s largest neo-Nazi organisation. Gruter appeared unmasked and was photographed wearing a silver wristband inscribed with the Hi**er Youth slogan “blood and honour”, which indicates senior status within the group.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed that Gruter’s visa had been cancelled. Burke said people living in Australia had freedom of speech, but the government decided whether someone could enter or remain in the country if they are involved in activities that incite discord. The Home Affairs department said it couldn’t comment on individual cases.

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Matthew Gruter, a South African civil engineer, was identified participating in a vehemently antisemitic neo-Nazi rally outside the New South Wales Parliament in Sydney on 9 November.

20/11/2025

⭐In this week's edition:⭐

💵CT rabbi sues for defamation over genocide allegations bit.ly/sajrcptrabbisues

⚙Neo-Nazi SA engineer has visa revoked after antisemitic rally bit.ly/sajrsaneonazi

✈️Al-Majd, facilitators of Gazan evacuation planes, speaks out. bit.ly/sajralmajd

💐Polyfilla won’t fill Joburg’s cracks bit.ly/sajrg20cleanup

✡From antisemite to becoming Jewish, Syrian-born activist bit.ly/sajrrawanosman

📰Read our latest edition here: bit.ly/sajrnov20

Read this week’s newsletter here: bit.ly/sajr20nov

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If you would like to get the SA Jewish Report delivered directly to your inbox, click here: bit.ly/sajrinbox
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20/11/2025

After days of explosive speculation and political theatre, Al-Majd Europe, an organisation that has been facilitating paid evacuations of Palestinians out of Gaza, has finally broken its silence.

Its statement comes in the wake of the controversial arrival of 153 Gazan refugees in Johannesburg last Thursday, 13 November.

The organisation has come under intense international media pressure and scathing scrutiny over its secretive and opaque operations. It stated on 18 November that it was breaking its silence after “96 hours of being defamed in international media”, and it accused its critics of seeking to “strip the people of Gaza of their freedom of choice”.

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After days of explosive speculation and political theatre, Al-Majd Europe, an organisation that has been facilitating paid evacuations of Palestinians out of Gaza, has finally broken its silence.

20/11/2025

Rabbi Nissen Goldman, the co-director of Chabad on Campus at the University of Cape Town (UCT), is suing local author Zaahied Sallie and two South African anti-Israel organisations for defamation. This is after Sallie held up a poster showing his face, naming him, and saying he charged him with “genocide” at a protest earlier this year.

In March, the South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) Cape Council hosted a conference titled “Let’s Talk! Zionist Connect: Cape Town 2025” at which they hosted local and international speakers including Gilad Erdan, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations (UN).

The event saw spirited debate on Zionism. Several panel discussions took place, and Goldman participated in one titled “Jewish on Campus 2025”. Anti-Israel extremists protested outside the venue amidst a large security presence. It was there that Sallie held up a sign he had made with a photo of Goldman, along with the words “Rabbi Nissen, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.”

Local extremist groups South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP) and Cape Town Intifada (CTI) shared the images on social media, and are therefore also being sued by Goldman.

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Rabbi Nissen Goldman, the co-director of Chabad on Campus at the University of Cape Town (UCT), is suing local author Zaahied Sallie and two South African anti-Israel organisations for defamation.

19/11/2025

🌟 Download our latest issue - free & online now! 🌟
Filled with news, opinions & insights you don’t want to miss, including…

🇦🇺 South African neo-Nazi’s visa revoked after Sydney rally
✈️ Al-Majd defends Gaza flight while SA government flounders
🗑️ Joburg’s G20 clean-up and the cost of pretending
⚖️ UCT starts implementing anti-Israel resolutions despite court case
🏉 Lithuania’s first SA rugby player is a Jewish Joburger

… and much more!

𝑫𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒚: https://bit.ly/sajrnov20

19/11/2025

It may sound like the plot of Netflix’s latest binge watch, but for Danny Edwards, finding out at the age of 48, that he had been adopted was a life-altering reality. In tracing his ancestry, not only did Edwards discover that his biological mother was Jewish and deceased, but also that he had brothers halfway across the world.

When Edwards’ cousin, who had changed her surname after marrying, called Edwards “cuz” on Facebook, his aunt on the other side of the family made an assumption that would change his life. Mistakenly thinking Edwards had discovered a new biological cousin, his aunt sent him a private message and inadvertently revealed a long-held family secret.

“I’m so glad to see that your family have finally told you after all these years that your mom and dad are not your mom and dad, that they’re your grandparents,” she wrote. “And that your oldest brother is actually your dad.” Edwards was shocked.

READ MORE: https://www.sajr.co.za/facebook-message-leads-man-to-long-lost-jewish-family/

19/11/2025

A group of Jewish Sandringham High School alumni have joined forces with former schoolmates in an ambitious project to rejuvenate their alma mater, breathing new life into it.

Many Johannesburg Jews attended Sandringham High School, much like Greenside, Northview, and other top government schools, from the 1950s to the 1990s. So much so, that there were times when the school would literally close for the high holy days because either there wouldn’t be teachers or there wouldn’t be pupils in the class to teach. At Sandringham in those days, you could even opt to do Jewish Studies twice a week.

Though far from a Jewish school, Sandringham High maintained strong ties to the Jewish community, with about 10% to 20% of students being Jewish by the 2000s. “There were certainly many Jews who went there in the 1980s and 1990s. By the time I got there, it was probably still about 20%,” said Benji Shulman, a 2004 graduate and active alumni member.

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A group of Jewish Sandringham High School alumni have joined forces with former schoolmates in an ambitious project to rejuvenate their alma mater, breathing new life into it.

18/11/2025

In this week's newsletter:

📣Calling for SA embassy to re-open two years later: https://bit.ly/sajrsaembassy

🫟“Jewish wh*re” graffiti targeting Mexican president: https://bit.ly/sajrmexicograffiti

💸German auction house cancels sale of Holocaust victims' art: https://bit.ly/sajrgermanauction

Read the latest edition here: https://bit.ly/sajr13nov

Read this week’s newsletter here: https://bit.ly/sajr18nov

🚚📦🚛🚐🚚📦🚛🚐
If you would like to get the SA Jewish Report delivered directly to your inbox, click here: bit.ly/sajrinbox
📧📧📧📧📧📧📧📧

18/11/2025

Looking back on the Investec Jewish Achiever Awards…
The winner of the Mann Made Community Service Award was King David Victory Park 👏

18/11/2025

New York City’s Kampala-born mayor-elect, 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani, raises fears and hopes among its workers and business owners; property owners and tenants; American progressives and conservatives; and interest from Jews and Muslims worldwide; as well as curiosity among Africans, particularly Ugandans and South Africans.

It would be a mistake to view Mamdani purely on identity grounds as a Muslim. He is also young, although not the youngest ever New York City mayor, a progressive, and a socialist. He is an immigrant too, who became an American citizen in 2018.

Right now, nobody really knows what to expect from the community activist and state legislator with a Bowdoin College Bachelor of Arts in African Studies and flimsy record of achievement, but there should be little doubt that he plans to change New York City. Having won 50.4% of the vote, he can dictate the direction of change in the short term, but over the medium and longer term, his power will depend on how successfully he solves the problems of New Yorkers.

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New York City’s Kampala-born mayor-elect, 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani, raises fears and hopes among its workers and business owners;

17/11/2025

“In the post-7 October world, Habonim has come under attack from Al Jamah-ah and Willem Petzer over its connection to Israel. There are public calls to shut down ‘the Zionist camp in Onrus.’ Habonim needs support from our Jewish community.

We cannot be a community with only one youth movement. Our kids need healthy options for their December holidays. Without choice, we take away a foundation of connection, and we lose future committed and impassioned community leaders.

Among our channichim and madrichim are the children of top community leaders; the heads of the South African Union of Jewish Students and the head boys and girls of our Jewish schools.

We aren’t the woke vegans with blue hair; we are the people who have passed the torch down at Mifkad Eish (the closing ceremony): top chief executives; creatives and storytellers; effective activists; and of course, the builders of four proudly Habonim kibbutzim in Israel.”

- Brad Gottschalk, secretary general of Habonim Dror and chairperson of the Zionist Youth Council.

READ MORE:

“Where’s the milk? Where’s the honey?!” exclaimed Moshe Rabbeinu upon seeing eretz Yisrael for the first time.