Isolation of Jews in South Africa

During the 1930s, members of the prosperous Jewish community of Germany debated at agonizing length the merits of emigration in the face of what some had felt was an impending cataclysm.

Although the comparison with the situation in South Africa today is by no means identical, there are some echoes of a very similar debate now taking place among many white South Africans, especially among that nation’s Jewish community.

I recently visited the Jewish community in South Africa because of the impact this debate has already had on my congregation in Orange County.

I found that the current pressures have taken their toll on the Jewish community in South Africa. People talk of increased numbers of divorces and even suicides among Jews, particularly in the 30-to-40 age group.

What happens to South African Jewry directly concerns American Jews and all people of good conscience. After Auschwitz, we can ill afford to watch with detached interest as a premier Jewish community endures its distress in isolation.

The issue before the American Jewish community is not why South African Jews are coming but the fact that they are coming. The personal pain and suffering that attends the relocation process is often difficult for the American eye to detect, because South African Jews who immigrate to these shores resemble us in many ways. They are, in fact, invisible refugees.

I find American Jews are less open to considering the needs of South African Jews because their physical appearance and demeanor do not evoke sympathy.

MENAHEM HERMAN

Tustin

Menahem Herman is rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel .