Afrikaner-Jews

Afrikaner-Jews

Boere-Jode
Languages
Yiddish Afrikaners Hebrew
Religion
Judaism

Afrikaner-Jews or Boere-Jode as they are sometimes known, are an offshoot of Afrikanerdom and Judaism. At the beginning of the 19th century, when greater freedom of religious practice was introduced in South Africa, small numbers of Ashkenazi Jews arrived from Britain and Germany. They established the first Ashkenazi Hebrew congregation in 1841. Between the end of the 19th century and 1930, large numbers of Jews began to arrive from Lithuania and Latvia. Their culture and contribution changed the character of the South African community.

According to the South African Jewish Museum, "Many of the later immigrants arrived with no resources other than their wits and experience. Most could not speak English when they arrived. Often they would learn Afrikaans before English. Their households were often multi-lingual, with parents speaking Yiddish and Afrikaans, and the children learning English at school."

The University of Cape Town Jewish Studies library has a comprehensive collection of South African Yiddish books. Its collection of Yiddish periodicals is, however, not as comprehensive.

Famous Afrikaner-Jews

• Olga Kirsch was a noted Afrikaans author and poet.
• Rabbi M. Romm translated and published the Siddur (Hebrew prayer book) into Afrikaans, which was widely distributed.
• Pieter-Dirk Uys is a South African satirist, active as a performer, author, and social activist.
• David Kramer is a South African singer, songwriter, playwright and director.
• Siegfried Fraenkel is widely regarded as the founder of Judaism in South Africa.

See also

• South African Jews
• Afrikaners
• Yiddish

External links

• http://www.sajewishmuseum.co.za/
• http://oldwww.lib.uct.ac.za/jewish/duker-collections/