Timeline of Jewish life in Witbank
Picture of the Witbank folks in their taleisim who founded the community in 1905. In the front row at numbers 20 and 21 are Solomon and Fanny Esakov and at 22 is Mark Berkowitz. No 18 may be Barney Hope. If you can identify any others, please contact info@chol.website.
- 1903: Though the town was only proclaimed in 1903, several Jews were active in the area long before that, having been involved with discovering coal in the area and then mining for it.
- 1905: The community was established in 1905.
- 1911: There were said to be 12 adult males in the Witbank Jewish population.
- 1913: First synagogue in Paul Kruger Street erected.
- 1940s and 50s: There were nearly 350 adult males, with another 30 or so in the surrounding area.
- 1970: This had diminished to about 200.
- 1974: New synagogue in Clarendon Street opened and used by the diminishing community for 33 years.
- 1998: There were just 14 Jewish families in Witbank.
- 2007: The Witbank synagogue was sold after 33 years of use, to the Shalom Christian Ministries.
In Barry Mann’s Witbank directory, you can read the history of Jewish life in Witbank as written by the South African Friends of Beth Hatefutsoth for Jewish Life in South African Country Communities, Volume I. There is also a history of the Witbank Jewish Community by Shirley Gafinowitz, née Young, whose mother, Gertie Young, was a long-time resident of Witbank and key player in the community. Shirley relates from a personal view the history of her once vibrant hometown community, which had by 1988 dwindled to 14 Jewish families.
