When hearing of a terror attack people tends to focus on the number of fatalities. An organization established in Israel by former Southern Africans, focuses on the injured. “For every person killed in a terror attack, there are on average 8-10 injured,” reveals Rocky Muravitz, who together with Vic Essakow co-founded TIKVOT (Hebrew for ‘Hope’), […]
Israel’s pastoral icon – the kibbutz – has influenced the lives of thousands of overseas volunteers. In the sixties and seventies, for that young generation just out of school or university, and before “entering the real world”, the hot thing to do – and there was a lot of passion going around in those days […]
South African Architects Changing the Face of Israel The passing in July 2017 of Gilbert Herbert, Professor Emeritus and former Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning at Haifa’s prestigious Technion, brought home the contribution of South Africans to transforming Israel’s architectural landscape. In 1997, I interviewed Prof. Herbert following a ceremony at the […]
by Jonathan Danilowitz It was 1976. David Goland was a career soldier, an officer in the IDF (Israel Defense Force). A university graduate, he worked as an engineer, designing parts for the Airforce Maintenance Department. Successful, well-liked, with a high security clearance, 24-year old David was a just starting out in his military career. Only […]
South Africans love gardens. Kirstenbosch in Cape Town is one of the finest parks in the world and the Western Cape’s Garden Route is a coastal green belt that allures and beguiles. Capetonians frequently comment there is a touch about their city beautiful stretching out from Table Mountain to the Atlantic with Israel’s Haifa, also […]
Several of the illustrious ‘bricklayers’ in creating this legacy were former South Africans Jerusalem is not short of landmarks. The Western Wall, the City of David, the Shrine of the Book and the Knesset (Parliament) are all major tourist attractions defining the lifeblood of the city. However, in the heart of the Nation’s capital there […]
A community of a 130,000 with elements of all three religions – Islam, Christianity and Judaism – the Druze in Israel are an enriching and warm people embedded in this ancient land as its timeless rock. Most Israelis are familiar with the spectacular escape from Atlit in October 1945, when the Palmach (Israel’s pre-state fighting […]
A bad day surfing is better than a good day working – who can argue with that? The Israeli coastline may not conjure the majestic swells found off South Africa’s Cape St. Francis, Jeffreys Bay, Durban’s North Beach or my old haunts, Camps Bay, Long Beach (Kommetjie, Cape Town) and Llandudno. Nevertheless, when the wind […]
“Sitting here today are some of the talented young people who will make an incredible mark on the future of South Africa,” declared then South African Ambassador to Israel, Johann Marx at the graduation ceremony on Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael in June 2001. Sponsored by South Africa Mizrachi, HEATID offered four-week intense leadership and entrepreneurship courses […]
The passing in 2014 of Professor Joseph Borman was felt far and wide. This eminent cardiac surgeon performed the first successful heart transplant in Israel and was a great friend of Prof. Christiaan Barnard. “You know, if I never understood exactly why I am in Israel, today I found the answer. I feel so much […]
If you chance to stroll along the stone paths of the wooded Beit Berel Campus outside of Kfar Saba in central Israel, you may be surprised to overhear conversations in Xhosa, Tswana, Zulu or Afrikaans. Participants of every shade of colour from South Africa’s “Rainbow Nation” are currently attending a unique ‘Community Development & Leadership Training’ […]
Reaching out to countries in need is a long-standing Israeli tradition. Emergency teams went to Turkey after an earthquake in 1999, and again in 2011, even though Turkey initially declined twice because of eroding relations between the two countries. Israel sent a large team to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, and in March 2011, it […]
Israel was there’ to repair’ There was a joke going around: “0.1/% of the world’s population is Israeli 30% of the international medical team in Nepal was Israeli. Will the UN condemn Israel’s “disproportionate response”?” The true nature of today’s ‘War against the Jews’ was aptly expressed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in May […]
Originally published on Israel Hayom. International Women’s Day, which will be marked worldwide on Wednesday, March 8, is of paramount significance and impact to all women. On this day, we should celebrate the growing presence of women in key positions, as well as stress the fact that, like many systems and organizations, the Israel Defense […]