A Resume of the History of the Durban Jewish Community

WHILST history records the fact that in the early ’twenties the great Zulu Chief Tchaka reigned supreme in Natal, it is not generally known that to present an accurate chronicle of the history of the Durban Jewish Community it will be necessary to record the existence of one Nathaniel Isaacs, who was Tchaka’s principal Chief seventeen years before the formal annexation of Natal by the British, and ten years before it was reached by the Dutch. Nathaniel Isaacs left Natal in 1831 prior to the massacre of the few white colonists then in existence, but there is a historical document in existence, signed by the Zulu Chief, which gave to Nathaniel Isaacs a large slice of territory in Natal, from the coastline, including the Bay of Natal, with a hundred miles inland, and granted him, amongst other privileges, the free and exclusive right to traffic with the Zulus and other tributaries. This unique document concludes by indicating that “this recompense to Nathaniel Isaacs is for services rendered by him, particularly in the negotiating of the alliance between the Zulus and His Britannic Majesty.” Apart from this historical incident, the first record of the Jewish Community in Durban cannot be given with accuracy, and prior to 1880 there were apparently but few Jewish settlers, but there is evidence which appears to place beyond doubt the fact that, in spite of the paucity of members even in these conditions, arrangements were made to hold Divine Service in private houses on all important festivals.

In December, 1883, definite plans were formulated for the organisation of a congregation, and through the efforts of a Mr. Heller a building was purchased in Grey Street for use as a Synagogue, which, with subsequent alterations, remained in use until the conclusion of the Boer War. This building was consecrated on 1st January, 1884, and on the same day the marriage of the late Mr. J. H. Isaacs took place in the building.

The records of the Congregation show that the late Mr. B. Lipinski was the first President, and the Congregation was much indebted to Mr. Daniel De Pass, then one of the pioneers of the sugar industry of Natal, who, for his efforts, was elected the first Life Member of the Congregation. It was at this period that one of the stalwarts of the Natal Jewry came into the arena in the person of Mr. P. Wartski, who from that time up to the present has been identified with the congregational work in an official capacity, and without interruption.

The growth of the community was such that a whole-time Minister became an urgent necessity, and in 1890 the services of the late Rev. S. Pincus were obtained, and his connection in that capacity with the Congregation lasted until his lamented demise in 1922.

In those early days the value of the services rendered to the community by Messrs. B. Lipinski and B. Wartski cannot be over-estimated. They interchanged the offices of President and Treasurer for very many years, and the community suffered a great loss by the death of the former in 1908.

The Congregation continued to make progress until 1892, and further extensions and alterations to the Synagogue building were decided on. A reconsecration service was arranged and the opening ceremony performed by the then Governor of Natal, Sir Charles H. B. Mitchell, K.C.M.G.

The establishment of the first cemetery was made possible by the grant of a piece of ground in the centre of the town by the Municipal authorities in 1876, and in the great Glencoe railway disaster of 1895 seven co-religionists who lost their lives were buried in Durban. In the important work associated with the formation and subsequent activities of the burial board, Messrs. S. Solomon and P. Lazarus displayed much zeal and disinterested service for the community over a period of very many years. Subsequently, about 1910, upon the laying out of the new cemetery sites by the Municipality at Stellawood, the Congregation acquired a suitable site upon which the necessary buildings were erected, the funds being provided by public donations.

Owing to the general conditions during and subsequent to the Boer War, and the subsequent settlement of many of our refugee co-religionists in Durban, it became increasingly evident that a more commodious place of worship was necessary to supply the religious needs of the community, and an appeal for donations to the building fund brought about a large response from both Jewish and non-Jewish sections of society. The present site in St. Andrews Street was selected and purchased in 1903, and the Synagogue and furnishings were completed during the following year for the sum of roughly £11,000.

Appointment of Minister.

Simultaneously with the building of the new Synagogue the late Chief Rabbi in London, Dr. Hermann Adler, was requested to appoint a Minister to the Synagogue, with the result that the Rev. A. Levy, a senior student of Jews’ College, London, was selected, arriving in Durban in July, 1903. This appointment was followed by considerable congregational activity in many directions. For a few years prior to this period two communal leaders who were destined to play a great part in the public arena of Natal began a long period of active association with the congregational work in the persons of Mr. C. P. Robinson and Mr. F. C. Hollander, the former being President of the Congregation for a few years and subsequently becoming the first Jewish member of the Natal Parliament and later of the present Union House of Assembly. The latter gentleman occupied the Presidential chair of the Congregation from 1908 to 1925, was the first Jewish Town Councillor of Durban (1904), created Justice of the Peace (1908), and filled successively the position of Mayor of Durban for three years (1910-1913), President of the United Municipal Association of South Africa (1914), and for the past fifteen years has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Natal Provincial Council.

The foundation stone of the new Synagogue was laid on the 26th October, 1903, the ceremony being attended by the Mayor, Town Council, and principal citizens of the town. Two stones were laid by the late Mr. B. Lipinski and Mr. P. Wartski respectively, and they bear the names of the then members of the Committee.

In July the following year the acting Governor of the Colony, Sir Henry Bale, K.C.M.G. (Chief Justice), performed the consecration ceremony, this being attended by the Mayor, Government and Municipal officials, Members of Parliament, Town Councillors and the principal citizens of the town. The service was conducted by the Revs. S. Pincus and A. Levy, who were assisted by Rabbi Dr. J. L. Landau, of Johannesburg, and the Synagogue was duly declared to be open for public worship. An inspiring address was delivered by His Excellency at the conclusion of the consecration service, and the function was a memorable one in the annals of the community.

Prior to this particular year the community was honoured by the permission accorded to it to present an address of welcome to the present King and Queen on the occasion of their visit to Durban in 1901, as Duke and Duchess of York. This period coincided with the conclusion of the Anglo-Boer War, and great appreciation was expressed of the activities of the special refugee committee which was formed by Durban Jewry to relieve the distress and look after the interests of their co-religionist refugees.

In 1906 a special service in memory of those slain in the Russian massacres was held, this being attended by the Mayor and prominent clergymen and citizens.

The growing importance of the Congregation was indicated when it was decided to become a permanent subscriber to the Chief Rabbi’s fund in London, and a delegate body of the London Board of Deputies, which associations have been maintained up to the present without interruption.

In 1903 the Durban Jewish Ladies’ Guild was formed with the late Mrs. P. Wartski as first President. This large and active communal society has functioned ever since, and its value to local communal work cannot be over-estimated.

Zionism.

In the early days of Zionism a Zionist Society was formed in Durban, and the records of the Congregation show that Dr. Wolffsohn, the distinguished Zionist leader, was entertained at a reception held in his honour on the occasion of his visit to Durban in 1906. Mr. and Mrs. M. Morrison, of Escombe, have played a distinguished part in Durban Zionism. It was largely owing to the efforts of Durban Zionists that Kfar Yeladim, the Children’s Village in Palestine, came into existence.

In 1907, following the period of stress occasioned subsequent to the Boer War it was necessary to take action to liquidate the pressing financial obligations of the Congregation, more particularly in connection with the heavy liabilities incurred in the building of the new Synagogue. A most successful bazaar was organised, the success of which fully recompensed the workers for the energy they displayed.

At this period the community was proud to enrol upon its list of members the then Governor of Natal, that most distinguished co-religionist, Sir Matthew Nathan, K.C.M.G., R.E. He honoured the community by accepting the position of Honorary President of the Congregation, a position which he retained until his departure for England on the advent of the Union of South Africa.

In the previous year Mr. F. C. Hollander had entered the public arena. The association of Mr. Hollander with the Presidency of the Congregation from the year 1908 till 1925 established several landmarks in the history of the community of Durban. Amongst the outstanding incidents associated with that period were the three “Corporation Sunday Services” held in the Synagogue during his three years of Mayoralty, services that were acclaimed by the members of the public as being of a unique and outstanding character, being attended on each occasion by the whole of the City Councillors, public officials and leading citizens. It is interesting to record that on the first two occasions the sermon was preached by Rabbi Dr. J. H. Hertz, at present Chief Rabbi in England.

The activities of the community during these years were signalised by the growing progress of the two leading communal institutions, viz., the Benevolent Society and the Ladies’ Guild.

A Communal Division.

During the year 1909 the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the congregation was celebrated. The following year the workings of the congregation were roughly disturbed by the regrettable division of the congregation which eventuated in the establishment of the Durban New Hebrew Congregation, with Mr. Blumenfeld as President and Mr. Brodie as Treasurer. From that period until to-day, despite many efforts to effect a reconciliation, the two congregations exist as entirely separate entities.

In this same year Mr. C. P. Robinson was elected as a member of the Union Parliament.

During the following years considerable communal activity was evinced and the younger members of the congregation played a worthy part in joining up with other fellow citizens in active service for the Great War in 1914. Special arrangements were made to afford entertainment and hospitality to the large number of Jewish soldiers passing through the Durban base to the various war centres during 1914—1918, and it is to be recorded that Mrs. F. C. Hollander was one of the first South African recipients of the Most Distinguished Order of the British Empire, for her activity in connection with the Red Cross work in Natal.

In 1913 Mr. Hollander, whilst still President of the Congregation, was appointed Grand Master of the Scottish Free Masonry for the Province of Natal, and in the same year was elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the Natal Provincial Council.

In 1916 the Committee approached the then Mayor of Durban to organise a street collection for our war-afflicted brethren in Russia. The Committee succeeded in raising the sum of no less than £1,200 for this deserving objective.

In 1918 the “Jewish Circle” began to take an important place in the social and educational activities of the community, and the records of its splendid achievements in connection with the Ukrainian Orphans Fund and Zionist development and charitable bodies will always be gratefully remembered.

Alterations and additions to the Synagogue were effected in 1922 to meet the growing needs of the congregation, and in the same year the new Synagogue of the Durban New Hebrew Congregation was opened and consecrated.

Early in 1924 a unanimous call was given to the Rev. A. Levy, M.A., of London, to become the Minister of the Congregation, and his reappointment has recently been affirmed by the members. At the moment the general activities of the community are well evidenced by the existence in Durban of many Jewish institutions in addition to those already mentioned, prominent amongst which must be mentioned the “Circle,” which has a large and increasing membership, and the growth of the “Jewish Institute” ideal which took its foundations from the activity of this body.

It is interesting to record that recently the lengthy negotiations with the Durban Corporation for an adequate site adjacent to the Ocean Beach for the proposed Institute buildings and grounds have been concluded, and the purchase of same legally confirmed.

In August, 1925, Mr. Hollander retired from the Presidency of the Congregation, and as a mark of esteem and affection was the recipient of a handsome presentation, together with the honour of Honorary Life Membership of both the Committee and the Congregation.

Amongst the several flourishing institutions are the “F. C. Hollander” Lodge of the Hebrew Order of David, the troop of Jewish Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, and the Young Israel Society, all of which testify to the growing importance of the community in this part of South Africa.

The present officers of the Congregation are Mr. S. Bloom (President, now for the third year), Mr. L. Hart (Treasurer), Mr. J. Greene (Hon. Secretary). The oldest and one of the most prominent members of Durban Jewry in the person of Mr. P. Wartski still holds the position of Life Trustee.