Finally, recognition for a father lost on June 16

NICOLA MILTZ

It was the day in 1976 that ripped the family apart, following the murder of its pivotal member, Dr Melville Edelstein, who remained the unsung hero of Soweto.

Dr Edelstein was the only Jewish person among what was believed to be up to 700 people killed on June 16, 1976. A sociologist and highly regarded academic, he had devoted his life’s work and efforts to humanitarian and social welfare projects in Soweto.

For him it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time on that fateful day, when the peaceful protests turned violent as students took their anger and frustrations out on him – a lone white man – after police had opened fire on the protesters.

His untimely death and the uprisings throughout the country, sent shock waves through the Jewish community, resulting in a mass wave of emigration, panic and fear.

But a grieving Jewish family was left to pick up the pieces and chart a new way forward in a country that they didn’t believe recognised his efforts to bring about peace and transformation in the highly fractured and racially divided South Africa.

Only in recent times has his indelible contribution to the changing socio-political landscape been marked and acknowledged as forming an integral part of our history.

“It used to upset me every year on June 16 to know that my husband had died in vain, that no one acknowledged his part in helping to alleviate the struggles of the people of Soweto,” said Rhona Edelstein this week.

However, following a highly acclaimed and note-worthy 52-minute documentary on Dr Edelstein’s life and times, by filmmaker and director Kevin Harris, he has finally –  belatedly –  received the recognition he so richly deserves.

Last year – 40 years after Edelstein’s tragic killing – a memorial with a blue plaque was inaugurated, in the presence of his family, at the site where he died – 3940 Mphuthi Street, at the corner of Mailula Street in Central Western Jabavu.

In Israel this week, the family has been invited to attend a special re-screening of the documentary: Remembering Dr Melville Edelstein – The Life & Death of a Good Man – at Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People.

“Our father loved Israel with all his heart. This special day will mean so much to his family here in Israel, who have for years mourned his passing,” said his daughter Shana Rosenthal.

She and her sister Janet Goldblatt and their mother Rhona, have travelled to Israel for this event.

When they return to South Africa, there will be a wreath-laying ceremony organised by the City of Johannesburg’s heritage committee on community development. It was going to take place this week on June 16, but has been rescheduled to allow for the family’s return from Israel.

The Community Development Department has invited the Edelstein family to return once more to the site in Soweto where Dr Edelstein was killed, for a solemn wreath-laying ceremony.

“The family of schoolboy Hastings Ndlovu, one of the first victims killed by police on June 16, has been invited. There is a shared sense of loss and solidarity between the two families,” said a spokesman from the Department.

Janet Goldblatt and her family’s wish for recognition has come true.

Testifying before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Soweto hearings in 1996, Goldblatt, appealed for a monument to be dedicated to her father.

She said at the time: “He loved the people of Soweto almost like he did his own family,” and he believed in equal education for everybody she added.

Dr Edelstein was serving as deputy chief welfare officer of the then West Rand. He had instituted many projects aimed at assisting youth, disabled, poor and marginalised communities within Soweto where he had worked for many years.

Although the family’s wounds of pain run deep, they are comforted by the knowledge that Dr Edelstein has left a lasting legacy which has now been recognised.