Jewish Life Digital Edition October 2015 | Page 31

22 Nov. 2015
Gathering Voices
Combating racism and
global anti-Semitism.
22 Nov. 2015

Ronald Lauder

Businessman, art
collector, philanthropist,
and political activist.

Bernard-Henri Lévy
French public
intellectual, media
personality, and author.

Harry Klass as a young man volunteering for the IDF (left) and more recently (right).

FOR A YOUNG JEW TO WILLINGLY VOLUNTEER
[FOR THE IDF] AND PUT HIS LIFE IN DANGER FOR
THE SAKE OF HIS PEOPLE WAS, INDEED, HEROIC.
vice, I experienced another honour and
privilege. And that was to speak at the funeral of another Jewish hero, Harry Klass.
Harry was born in Cape Town to a Lithuanian-born father and a South African
mother. At age 21, he volunteered to join
the Israel Defence Force to fight in the War
of Independence. He joined the 7th Brigade and fought alongside fellow South Africans shortly after the battle for Latrun.
In one memorable moment, he and his
friends carried the wounded body of a fellow South African, Louis Hack, who had
been hit by enemy fire. They had to devise
a makeshift stretcher with their rifles and
jackets, and walked like that for four hours
to the nearest Kibbutz! Sadly, Louis died
on the way to the hospital in Nahariya.
After returning to South Africa, he always remained a staunch member of
MaChaL (Mitnadvei Chutz La’aretz). I remember seeing him every year at the Israel Embassy in Pretoria for the Independence Day lunch.
Harry was a brave man. For a young
Jew to willingly volunteer and put his life
in danger for the sake of his people was,
indeed, heroic. He was one of a few thousand such heroes who came to Israel from

all over the world to fight for the fledgling
Jewish state then under attack from the
Arab nations surrounding her on all sides.
This was not the first time I had officiated at two funerals back-to-back. But the
symbolism of these two special people
passing away on the very same day and
then being laid to eternal rest one immediately after the other, and in this particular sequence, was for me a powerful and
deeply moving experience.
Cecilia, the Holocaust survivor, followed immediately by Harry, the Israeli
soldier, really did encapsulate the incredible story of the Jewish People in our time.
With these two funerals in Johannesburg,
we relived the transition of our people
from slavery to freedom, from darkness
to light, and from the depths of doom
and despair to the heady heights of having our own sovereign Jewish state.
I learned that ordinary people can become
heroes by the choices they make. I learned
that not only did we survive, but we thrived,
thanks to people like Cecilia and Harry. And
of all the strange places to be inspired, it was
at West Park Cemetery that I not only
learned it, but I experinced the spine-tingling sensation of Am Yisrael Chai. JL

Rabbi Yossy Goldman is senior rabbi of the Sydenham Highlands North Shul since 1986
and president of the South African Rabbinical Association. His book, From where I
stand, was published by KTAV in 2012.

THE EMUNAH R100

RAFFLE DRAW

WINNERS

1ST PRIZE: Dave Novick – 2 air tickets to
Cape Town with accommodation and car hire
2ND PRIZE: Saul Goldstein – 2 tickets to
Victoria Falls
3rd Prize: Bernie Sher - 2 tickets to
Cape Town
4TH PRIZE: Dean Rosenthal – 2 tickets to
Port Elizabeth
5TH PRIZE: Lance Kahn – Mens and Ladies
watches
6TH PRIZE: Daniel Moritz – 2 tickets to
Durban
7TH PRIZE: Trevor Moritz – Set of luggage
8TH PRIZE: Hilary Segal – Norman
Goodfellows hamper
9TH PRIZE: Hester Graham – Killarney
Pharmacy Clarins hamper
10TH PRIZE: Leon Welcher – Dinner service
11TH PRIZE: Barbara Novick – Set of towels
12TH PRIZE: Dennis Levy – Mezuzzah cover
and dishes
13TH PRIZE: Dave Novick – Selwyn Segal gift
voucher