Teen emissaries take Joburg by storm

JORDAN MOSHE

The young women arrived on our shores in August last year to serve as shinshiniot in the Jewish community. A shinshin is an 18 year old, post-matric Israeli emissary sent by the Jewish Agency to a community abroad with the goal of educating people about Israel. They have been located at King David Linksfield and Victory Park over the past seven months, and their enthusiasm today is as infectious as it was on their first day.

“[Coming to Africa] was my dream from when I was younger,” says Knino. “I’d been to Miami on a partnership programme before. I fell in love with the Jewish diaspora, and wanted to do more.”

Their journey began during their Grade 11 year in May 2018, when they joined more than 4 000 applicants for the programme. Complete strangers to one another, each of them hoped to be one of the 206 successful students who would be posted somewhere abroad for an opportunity of a lifetime.

The process was gruelling. The shinshiniot say they underwent months of rigorous training exercises, each of them geared to test their interpersonal skills, ability to educate, and general suitability for the programme. Applicants are matched with appropriate diaspora communities based on their skill and level of religiosity. They aren’t given any say in which country they are based.

“Shinshins are based in communities across America, Europe, and South America,” said Yitshak. “It’s funny to see the map. You see dots representing where we’re based, and there are plenty of them across these countries. Africa is empty except for four dots in South Africa. Those became us.”

The four were notified in June last year that they had been selected to come to South Africa.

Says Yitshak, “I couldn’t believe it. I had also applied to be part of a programme in Canada, and I was sure I would get in. When I didn’t, I was devastated. Two days later, I got a text message while sitting in maths class which said, ‘Would you like to see giraffes from your window in the morning?’ I called my mom, and asked if she’d heard about a Jewish community in South Africa.”

The others were also notified of their acceptance, and together, they undertook country-specific training which prepared them to live in a place about which they knew almost nothing. Some of them had to bring their parents around to the idea by convincing them that South Africa wasn’t as bad as they had been told.

Says Knino, “I thought that South Africa was like the Lion King – a country with a lot of straw houses and that’s it. When they told me that I was going to Johannesburg, I didn’t know where that was or what I would actually do there.”

The group heard various and conflicting views of South Africa. During their security training, for example, the instructor repeatedly referred to South Africa as a “special case” which demanded its own safety protocol.

“Every time he said that, everyone in the room looked at us, and we were like, ‘We’re going to die’,” laughs Ben Basat. Others praised the country’s beauty and the community’s warmth, but in spite of conflicting reviews, the four excitedly jetted off for Johannesburg in August.

They were put to work almost the moment they landed. Operating primarily within King David schools, they play a role in educating students about Israel and establishing personal connections through activities. Their duties include Hebrew support and enrichment classes, informal activities, educating people about Israel, running various events, and participating in school shabbatonim (weekends away). They attended Bnei Akiva and Habonim camps in December, and have even engaged with people beyond the Jewish community, volunteering at Afrika Tikkun and other similar organisations.

“The whole idea of the shinshin is to let people learn about Israel through us,” they say. “They typically hear about Israel from sources like school or local news, but we give Israel a personal face. We make connections with the kids, and establish lasting friendships with them through interaction and education. It’s special.

“We’re part of many circles, and interact with many different types of people. We feel like we’re getting to know the real South Africa, and we’ve even picked up slang and Afrikaans. When we go back to Israel, others will be using American slang, but we’ll go back saying, ‘Hoe gaan dit?’ and ‘lekker’”.

When they’re not working (a rare occurrence, if ever), the four Israelis make time to go hiking, visit local attractions, socialise, and go shopping at Sandton City. They also spend time with local families who “adopt” them for certain meals and Shabbat, but they mostly take care of themselves in the flat they share in Hazelwood, Glenhazel.

“I don’t think make we very good neighbours,” laughs Knino. “We’re Israelis, so we’re a bit noisy. Israelis don’t have inside voices, so we get loud when we’re talking to each other and don’t notice. We also sing together, and I’m sure the neighbours are suffering. I think all of Hazelwood knows us.”

They are unanimous in their love for the South African Jewish community. “People are always friendly,” says Yadin. “We had the softest landing imaginable, and the best integration I could have asked for. They hugged us when we arrived, gave us food, and made us feel welcome without even knowing us.”

Although these shinshiniot won’t return to Israel until August, they are already dreading saying goodbye, and are planning a return visit. Apart from Woolworths, biltong and Flings, they agree that they’ll miss the people most of all.

“They’ll have to drag us onto the plane,” they say. “We’ve made such special connections here, and all we’ll be able to tell people In Israel is that they have to visit South Africa themselves.”