UNITY
A community with
ancient roots celebrates
A NEW SEFER TORAH
I BY CHANDREA SEREBRO
THE JEWISH PRESENCE ON THE
ISLAND OF RHODES GOES BACK TO 1522,
WHEN SULEIMAN THE MAGNIFICENT
TOOK OVER THE ISLAND AS
PART OF THE OTTOMAN
EMPIRE.
I LOVE THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF SOUTH AFRICA.
We are so united, yet so diverse, hailing
from all over the world despite the predominantly Lithuanian descent. We are a
real lesson in unity, and much can be
learned from us by even the main centres
of Judaism around the globe. And I personally love learning more about the different facets of our community, and so it
was that I recently had the opportunity to
do just that when I learned of an impend-
12 JEWISH LIFE
ISSUE 86
ing hachnasat sefer Torah that was taking
place at the Johannesburg Sephardi Hebrew Congregation (JSHC).
In my quest to know more about this
lively, colourful community, I found the two
words through which it could be summed
up: traditions and food. Sounds like a slapstick rendition out of something from the
popular Jewish musical Fiddler on the Roof.
But, says Maurice Turiel, it’s what keeps the
Sephardi Jewish community, both in South
Africa and indeed the world, together. United. Distinctive. And it’s their strong ties to
their Rhodesli roots that keep their identity
so strong, as the JSHC celebrates its 50th
year. I spoke with Turiel, co-founder of the
synagogue at the time of its inception in
1965, and the only surviving original member, and now also honorary life president,
about what makes the community unique.
What unfolded from our discussion was a
gripping history lesson, and an inspiring
story of continued existence.
THE ROAD FROM RHODES
“The island of Rhodes off the Greek and
Turkish coastline is where most of our ancestors, as generationally close as our
grandparents and parents, came from, as
it was a popular place with the Jews right
up until the very last moments of the Second World War,” explains Turiel. And the
Jewish presence there dates back to 1522,
when Suleiman the Magnificent took over
the island as part of the Ottoman Empire,
and under whose rule the Jews prospered.
“The Turkish Empire welcomed the Jews,
who had been expelled from Spain, with
open arms,” explains Gerald Menashe,
honorary life secretary of the JSHC and
second-generation Rhodesli, who came to
South Africa from Zimbabwe “because
they were forward-thinking” – they saw
how Spain prospered with the Jewish contribution, and they recognised how good
they could be for Turkey too. “But the
Jews kept their traditions and their language, the Judeo-Spanish Ladino, and
they flourished