History of the Jews in Botswana

Last updated

Botswanan Jews
Total population
21
Regions with significant populations
Gaborone
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism

The history of the Jews in Botswana is relatively modern and centered in the city of Gaborone. Most Jews in Botswana are Israelis and South Africans. [1]

Contents

History

In 1938, with the rise of Nazism in Europe, the colonial authorities in Botswana, South Africa, and Great Britain attempted to resettle some Jewish refugees in Botswana to leverage their capital and agricultural skills to help improve the territory’s struggling economy. However, the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 abruptly ended these efforts. [2]

In 2004 there were about one hundred Jews in Botswana. In the wake of an African Jewish Congress visit in 2003 where in addition a plea was made to be vigilant against terror [3] [4] and which included a meeting with Botswana President Festus Mogae, a committee was set up to run the affairs of the small but growing community. Botswana Jewry is one of the youngest organized Jewish communities in the world, having been formally constituted only in 1994. Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, spiritual leader to the African Jewish Congress, made a special visit to Gaborone to participate in the meeting where it was decided to call the community the Jewish Community of Botswana. [5]

As of 2020, an estimated 21-100 Jews lived in Botswana, with almost all living in Gaborone. The community was predominantly Israeli Jews working in agriculture, business, and industry. [6]

Religious practice

No synagogues exist in Botswana. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies provides rabbis for the community during the High Holidays. Services are typically held at Jewish homes or at communal centers. Jews in Botswana are buried in non-Jewish cemeteries, as there is no Jewish cemetery in the country.[ citation needed ] Kosher food is delivered through the South African Jewish Board of Deputies. During major religious holidays and times of prayer, the African Jewish Congress and the South African Jewish Board of Deputies assist visiting Jews. [7]

Religious services for Shabbat and the Jewish holidays, with Kosher meals provided, are held in private homes. [8]

Botswana–Israel relations

Botswana and Israel established full diplomatic relations in 1972 following Botswana's independence from Great Britian in 1966.

Six Israeli-centered diamond firms have operations in Botswana's Gaborone Diamond District, apparently employing about 1,000 Botswana citizens. [9]

In 2012, Ben Gurion University (BGU) agreed to facilitate a new institution called the Botswana International University of Science and Technology. BGU will be in charge of teaching and building the university's research capacity. Students from Botswana will also be invited to Israel to complete their studies before returning to build the staff of the university. According to Israeli ambassador Dan Shaham: "Some 250 students will be selected to begin their studies in the coming months. More and more students and more and more subjects will be added gradually, until it becomes a real university." [10]

Botswana is fighting a severe desertification problem. Israel has been suggested as a model for combating the problem based on the country's technological developments in agriculture and desalination. [11]

Botswana renewed diplomatic recognition of Israel in 1993. [12]

In May 2021, the Baruch Padeh Medical Center sent a delegation of Israeli doctors to assist Botswana during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Israeli delegation partnered with the Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital in Gaborone. [13] [14]

As of June 2021, Ofra Farhi serves as the non-resident Israeli ambassador to Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. [15]

Notable individuals

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben-Gurion University of the Negev</span> Public research university in Beersheba, Israel

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Named after Israeli national founder David Ben-Gurion, the university was founded in 1969 and currently has five campuses: three in Beersheba, one in Sede Boqer and one in Eilat.

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a civil rights group and Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to The New York Times, is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish organizations".

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenhazel</span> Place in Gauteng, South Africa

Glenhazel is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region E, bordering Fairmount, Sandringham, Lyndhurst and Percelia Estate. The area lies on a sloping hill with a park in the valley. It is known for its large Jewish population as well as for being home to the largest Jewish kosher hub in Johannesburg, which attracts many Jewish tourists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Union of Jewish Students</span> Umbrella organization

The World Union of Jewish Students is the international, pluralistic, non-partisan umbrella organisation of independent Jewish student groups in 38 countries. The World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS) aims to connect, represent, and empower Jewish students globally, promoting the unity and participation of these students in advancing the Jewish people's aspirations, continuity, and cultural heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Qatar</span>

The history of Jews in Qatar is relatively limited unlike some of the neighboring countries in the Gulf of Persia.

The history of the Jews in the United Arab Emirates describes the historical and modern presence of Jews over the millennia in the Middle East and the recorded meetings with Jewish communities in areas that are today in the geographic territories of the United Arab Emirates.

Jews are a minor ethno-religious group in Vietnam, consisting of only about 300 people as of 2007. Although Jews have been present in Vietnam and Judaism has been practiced since the late 19th century, most adherents have been, and remain today, expatriates, with few to no native Vietnamese converts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Botswana</span>

Christianity is the largest religion in Botswana. However, the country is officially secular and allows freedom of religious practice.

The history of the Jews in Haiti stretches from the beginning of the European settlement until the modern day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Botswana–Israel relations</span> Bilateral relations

Israel and Botswana have official relations though neither country maintains a formal consulate or embassy in the other. The two countries, nevertheless, have reached cooperate agreements at the government level and there is private sector activity between the two countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestinian wine</span> Wine making in Palestine

Wine in Palestine has been in production for several years. In the region of Palestine, the use of wine was not only an important factor in Jewish religious ritual, but also a necessity for social interaction, general dietary consumption and medicinal purposes. During the Byzantine period, large-scale production led to international commerce in the commodity, and Palestinian wine was exported around the Mediterranean region. Production by Christians diminished with the Islamic conquest in the 7th century and was temporarily revived with the settlement of Frankish Christians under the Crusades in the 12th-13th centuries. Jews continued to cultivate vineyards in the late 15th century into the Ottoman period. The first modern wineries were established by German settlers at Sarona in 1874/5 and by Jews supported by Baron Edmond de Rothschild from France at Rishon LeZion in 1882.

Belgium is a European country with a Jewish population of approximately 35,000 out of a total population of about 11.4 million. It is among the countries experiencing an increase in both antisemitic attitudes and in physical attacks on Jews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Jewish Board of Deputies</span>

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies is an organisation formed in 1912 from the merger of the Board for the Transvaal and the Board for the Cape. It serves as the central representative institution of most of the country's Hebrew congregations, Jewish societies, and institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moshe Silberhaft</span>

Moshe Silberhaft is an Orthodox Rabbi who serves as the Spiritual Leader and CEO: African Jewish Congress, Botswana, DRC, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia & Zimbabwe; Rabbi to South African Country Communities, South African Jewish Board of Deputies. he is also known as "The Travelling Rabbi".

The history of the Jews in Washington, D.C. dates back to the late 18th century and continues today. From only individual Jews settling in the city to the waves of Jewish migration in the 1840s, during the American Civil War, and in the late 19th century to the early 20th century and beyond, the community has steadily grown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Eswatini</span>

The history of the Jews of Eswatini, formerly Swaziland.

Ethiopian Jewish cuisine is the cuisine of the Beta Israel. The cuisine of the Ethiopian Jews is similar to the cuisine of other Ethiopians, with some variations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob Blaustein</span> American businessman and diplomat (1892–1970)

Jacob Blaustein was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and diplomat who founded the American Oil Company with his father Louis Blaustein. Blaustein was an ardent supporter of human rights, the rights of Jewish people, and an advocate for multilateralism through the United Nations, serving as a United States delegate to the UN under five U.S. presidents.

The history of the Jews in Lesotho is connected to the much larger Jewish community of the surrounding country of South Africa. The Jewish community is small.

References

  1. ↑ "Around the Jewish World in Botswana, African Jews Ask Leader to Be Vigilant Against Terror". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  2. ↑ Makgala, Christian John. "Bid to Settle Jewish Refugees from Nazi-Germany in Botswana, 1938-1939". journals.co.za. African Journals. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  3. ↑ African Jewish Congress. "In Botswana, African Jews ask leader to be vigilant against terror". africanjewishcongress.com. African Jewish Congress. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  4. ↑ Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "Around the Jewish World in Botswana, African Jews Ask Leader to Be Vigilant Against Terror". jta.org. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  5. ↑ African Jewish Congress. "Botswana: A Safe Haven for Jews". africanjewishcongress.com. African Jewish Congress. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  6. ↑ "Community in Botswana". World Jewish Congress . Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  7. ↑ "LOCATING THE BUILDINGS AND JEWISH COMMUNITIES". AfricanSynagogues.org. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  8. ↑ Doctrow, Jamie. "Doctrow Finds Religious Connection in the Last Likely Place". jewishlouisville.org. Jewish Louisville Community. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  9. ↑ Israel, North Korea Present Credentials Archived 2014-05-03 at the Wayback Machine iBotswana
  10. ↑ Ben Gurion University, Botswana Branch Archived March 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Official Website of the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles, December 24, 2012
  11. ↑ Swatuk, Larry A.; Rahm, Dianne (2004-01-01). "Integrating policy, disintegrating practice: water resources management in Botswana". Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C. Water, Science, Technology and Policy Convergence and Action by All (A Meeting Point for Action leading to Sustainable Development). 29 (15): 1357–1364. doi:10.1016/j.pce.2004.09.011. ISSN   1474-7065. Agriculture is a primary consumer of water. .... Israel is being looked at as a model for improvements to irrigation (Mmopi, interview, 2002).
  12. ↑ "Countries that Recognize Israel 2024". World Population Review. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  13. ↑ Jaffe-Hoffman, Maayan. "Israel's Baruch Padeh sends medical delegation to Botswana, Africa". jpost.com. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  14. ↑ "Botswana Virtual Jewish History Tour". Jewish Virtual Library . Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  15. ↑ Harkov, Lahav (June 20, 2021). "Meet the 36 new ambassadors approved to new posts around the world". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.