Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the country's second-largest city, after Johannesburg, and the largest in the Western Cape. The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.
Strand is a seaside resort town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It forms part of the Helderberg region of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, situated on the north-eastern edge of False Bay and near the foot of the Helderberg Mountains. Its geographical position is between Somerset West and Gordon's Bay, and is about 50 km southeast of Cape Town City Bowl. Strand has a population of approximately 50,000. Strand's main attraction is the beach; 5 km of white sandy beach off False Bay.
Sea Point is an affluent and densely populated suburb of Cape Town, situated between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean, a few kilometres to the west of Cape Town's Central Business District (CBD). Moving from Sea Point to the CBD, one passes first through the small suburb of Three Anchor Bay, then Green Point. Seaward from Green Point is the area known as Mouille Point, where the local lighthouse is situated. It borders to the southwest the suburb of Bantry Bay. It is known for its large Jewish population, synagogues, and kosher food options.
South African Jews, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion, form the twelfth largest Jewish community in the world, and the largest on the African continent. As of 2020, the Kaplan Centre at the University of Cape Town estimates 52,300 Jews in the country. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies estimates that the figure is closer to 75,000.
Woodstock is one of the earliest suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa, between the docks of Table Bay and the lower slopes of Devil's Peak, about 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) east of the city centre of Cape Town. Woodstock is served by Woodstock and Esplanade railway stations, and has the postal code 7925 for street addresses and 7915 for post office box deliveries.
Vredehoek is a residential suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, located at the foot of Table Mountain and Devil's Peak. It is sandwiched between the two neighbouring suburbs of Oranjezicht and Devil's Peak Estate, the latter of which is often considered a sub-suburb of Vredehoek as they both fall under the neighbourhood watch community called DPV - Devil's Peak & Vredehoek.
David Shlomo Rosen KSG CBE is an English-Israeli rabbi and interfaith peacemaker. He was Chief Rabbi of Ireland (1979–1985) before relocating permanently to Israel in 1985. He currently serves as the American Jewish Committee's International Director of Interreligious Affairs. From 2005 until 2009 he headed the International Jewish Committee for Inter-religious Consultations (IJCIC), the broad-based coalition of Jewish organizations and denominations that represents World Jewry in its relations with other world religions.
Claremont is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is situated 9 kilometres south of the city, and is one of the so-called "Southern Suburbs", it is situated alongside Lansdowne. It is an important commercial and residential area, which is currently experiencing significant growth and development.
Gardens is an affluent inner-city suburb of Cape Town located just to the south of the city centre located in the higher elevations of the "City Bowl" and directly beneath Table Mountain and Lion's Head. It is home to several national museums such as Iziko South African National Gallery and the Iziko South African Museum. The University of Cape Town also houses its Fine Arts department in the suburb, at Michaelis School of Fine Art. Company's Garden, South Africa's oldest garden, a public park and heritage site is a focal point of the suburb. The area is also home to the oldest synagogue in Southern Africa, the Old Shul and its successor, the Gardens Shul, "The Mother Synagogue of South Africa."
Kenilworth is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Gardens Shul, formally, the Cape Town Hebrew Congregation (CTHC) is a Modern Orthodox synagogue located in the Company Gardens, in the Gardens neighborhood of Cape Town. It has the oldest Jewish congregation in South Africa, dating to 1841. The congregation, known as "The Mother Synagogue of South Africa," possesses two historic structures, the 1863 synagogue known as the Old Shul and the 1905 synagogue. The South African Jewish Museum, located in its grounds, also occupies the Old Shul and is responsible for its upkeep. The 1905 building is an example of Edwardian architecture and has been called "one of the most magnificent synagogues in the world."
The Oxford Shul is an Orthodox synagogue in Riviera, Johannesburg near the suburbs of Saxonwold, Houghton and Killarney. The congregation was established in 1943 and moved into its current building in 1962. The sanctuary is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, with seating for 1,500 congregants.
Rabbi Barry Marcus is a South African rabbi. He retired as senior minister of Central Synagogue, Great Portland Street in London in 2018 after serving the congregation for over 24 years. He is notable for his rabbinical and pastoral duties in the UK, Israel and South Africa.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cape Town:
The Doornfontein Synagogue or Lions Synagogue is the oldest synagogue still in use in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ) is an affiliate of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and supports 11 progressive congregations. Rabbi Moses Cyrus Weiler, a founder of Reform Judaism in the country, led the country's first Reform synagogue, Temple Israel in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. Weiler is credited with growing the movement, to represent 15-17% of South African Jewry and establishing 25 congregations in the country. A 2020 joint study by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research and the University of Cape Town showed that 12% of Jews identified as Progressive and that in relative terms the progressive strands are increasing after falling to 7% in 1998 and 2005 studies. In Johannesburg, the community accounts for 7% of the city's Jewry, rising to 18% in Cape Town and 25% in Durban.
Temple Israel, also known as the Cape Town Progressive Jewish Congregation (CTPJC), is a Progressive Jewish congregation in Cape Town, with three centres in Green Point, Wynberg and Milnerton. As three centres combined, they are the largest Progressive congregation in South Africa, and the second largest Jewish congregation in Cape Town after Marais Road Shul in Sea Point. The congregation first started in Green Point in 1944, eight years after South Africa's first progressive synagogue, also Temple Israel, opened in Hillbrow in Johannesburg. The Cape Town congregation caters to over 3000 Progressive Jews in the city. The congregation is an affiliate of the South African Union for Progressive Judaism, which is part of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ). The congregation represents around 18% of Cape Town Jewry.
Rabbi Dr David Sherman was a South African and American rabbi. He was the first spiritual leader of a Reform congregation in Cape Town, where he led Temple Israel in Green Point.
The Marais Road Shul, formally, the Green & Sea Point Hebrew Congregation (G&SPHC) is a notable Modern Orthodox synagogue in Sea Point, a seaside suburb of Cape Town. The congregation was first established in 1926, and the synagogue was completed in 1934. It had initially intended to become a branch of the Gardens Shul in the City Bowl, but opted for independence, and became the larger of the two. It is the largest Jewish congregation in South Africa, and by 1994, it had become the largest in the South Hemisphere. The Sephardi Hebrew Congregation, established in 1960, also operates a shul from the G&SPHC's Weizmann Hall on Regent Road in Sea Point.
The Beit Midrash Morasha at Arthur's Road is a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Sea Point, a seaside suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. The congregation was first established in 1897 in District Six, before relocating to Vredehoek in 1945. It moved to its present location on Arthur's Road in Sea Point in 1954.
