5780 – a year of two halves

Historians use the term BCE (Before the Common Era) for events preceding the birth of Jesus, and CE (the Common Era) for the last 2020 years. Looking back at the Jewish Year 5780, it too divides into BCE (Before the COVID-19 Epidemic) and CE (in the COVID-19 Epidemic).

To remember what happened since last Rosh Hashanah, I scrolled through the SA Jewish Report’s online archives. It was like travelling in a time machine to a forgotten era. The headlines were dominated by rising online antisemitism, the second and third Israeli elections, and the indictment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the arrival of Lana Marks, the American Ambassador to South Africa (and designer of extremely expensive handbags). The newspaper celebrated the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup triumph in Tokyo, the annual Shabbos Project (the world’s newest Chag), and the failed attempt to get the University of Cape Town to cut ties with Israel. The only masks in sight were for Purim.

We heard from ex-South Africans affected by the bushfires that devastated Australia. Other former-South Africans were worried about a possible win for Jeremy Corbin’s Labour in the United Kingdom elections in December, but he was beaten by Boris Johnson’s Conservatives. The South African Embassy in Israel remains operational, but has had no ambassador since May 2018. So it’s a downgrade without a downgrade.

Jewish Members of Parliament weighed in on the high-profile resignations from the Democratic Alliance. Israel faced barrages of Hamas rockets, yet again, from Gaza. Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions South Africa (BDS-SA) rebranded itself as ‘Africa4Palestine’ amid swirling rumours of scandals. In January, United States President Donald Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ peace plan for the Middle East was unveiled. It was largely welcomed by the Jewish world, but roundly condemned by pro-Palestinian groups, including the South African government.

Then, slowly, stories about the novel coronavirus that began in Wuhan, China started appearing in the paper from mid-February. We read about the ordeals of Jewish South Africans on their travels, stranded in China and Italy. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies showed solidarity with the Chinese community that had been the subject of xenophobic words and deeds. Israel was one of the first countries to introduce lockdowns and quarantine, and was working on a vaccine.

South Africa registered its first COVID-19 case in early March, and the first infections in the Jewish community soon surfaced. Jewish schools closed their doors, first in Cape Town and then in Johannesburg, as did old aged homes. The painful decision to shut down shuls – probably for the first time ever in this country – was taken in mid-March. The country went into a five-week total lockdown. One silver lining was that the pandemic resulted in the hateful annual ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ being cancelled.

The trickle of COVID-19 stories became a tsunami. Families could not celebrate Pesach together, and Jewish health professionals were on the front line. Professor Barry Schoub and Dr Anton Meyberg became household names as they advised the community how to avoid infection. Communal commemoration of the Yomim – Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron, Yom Ha’Atzmaut, and Yom Yerushalayim – went online. So did brisses, barmitzvahs, and weddings. We all had to learn to live with the ‘new abnormal’.

The SA Jewish Report broadcast over 40 online events, from food and fashion to emigration and epidemics, with thousands tuning in from around the world. The paper tackled the pandemic from every angle imaginable. It brought us many remarkable stories of Jewish organisations and individuals helping those around them in these torrid times. Funding became strained for Jewish communal bodies.

There were non-COVID-19 stories too, of course. The Jewish Community Survey of South Africa, released in April by the Isaac and Jessie Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies and Research at the University of Cape Town, showed that South Africa’s Jewish population is just 52 300. It has declined 20% over the last 20 years.

Israel was finally able to cobble together a unity government in May, avoiding a fourth election. In June, ISIS-linked rebels increased their violent attacks in Mozambique. In July, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng was under attack for pro-Israel statements. In August, the United Arab Emirates became only the third Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. The first El Al flight to Abu Dhabi took off and landed safely (piloted by South African-born Tal Becker).

During the year, prominent Jewish figures who passed away included Sir Donald Gordon, Ben Turok, Denis Goldberg, and Sol Kerzner.

Let’s hope 5781 is a better year for everyone, and that we can pass into ACE – After the COVID Era.