The gathering of King Davidians in the UK

SHIRA DRUION

Last week, alumni gathered to salute their alma mater and catch up with old school friends in London. Hundreds of ex-Davidians have made the United Kingdom their home and as many as possible made their way to this gathering.

Today, the bunk of alumni there are in the finance industry, but there are others who have made their mark in business, education, the arts and the charity sector, while also holding up many community organisations culturally, religiously and at a humanitarian level.

There are surprisingly many King David dentists who have been there for years because, recalls Raelene Tradonsky, King David Foundation director, “there was a time that there was a big demand for South African dentists”.

At the reunion, former long-time King David High School Linksfield Principal Elliot Wolf lit up the room with his passion for the schools and their many alumni.

Sir Mick Davis paid tribute to Wolf, “Elliot, I have yet to meet a pupil who was taught by you or was a student when you were headmaster, who does not speak graphically and sincerely of your positive influence on them and the wonderful environment for learning that you created in your long teaching career.”

“King David has inspired me to be courageous and confident,” says Linksfield alumnus Candice Rakusin who has been in the UK for three years and is currently completing her MA in psychotherapy at the Tavistock Institute.

“As Davidians we often refer to this as ‘chutzpah’ but it feels like much more than that. A King David education insists that its students learn to question, to challenge and to create opportunities.

“We are not frightened off by hard work, obstacles or failure, and these life lessons have proven to empower me with the necessary tools for life in London.”

Ralph Frank, actuary and co-head of defined contribution at Cardano Risk Management, has been in London for close on two decades and currently works in investments for a pension fund.

“I was concerned about the long-term future in South Africa and particularly the corruption and the long-term consequences it would bring. But I will always support King David because I benefited from a King David education and am very grateful for how it instilled in me a strong moral compass based on Jewish values and imbued me with a competitive streak and tenacity.

“These things have helped me in my life in London, which is a competitive city on every level.”

Former Linksfield vice head boy, Ariel Zadikov, head of technical marketing for Vitality Health in London, said: “It’s tough to pinpoint the exact things that impacted on me from being at KD. It played such a crucial role in my development.

“It’s clear to me that there is just something different about King Davidians – a different edge. It helped mould who I am, where I am, and the connections I have today. It is an incredible network and I am grateful that I am a part of it.”

Daniella Jaff-Klein is married and a mother of three and has lived in London for the last 16 years. She currently advises a number of charities, mostly involving human rights or education, teaches yoga and Jewish concepts and sits as a magistrate.

“I only arrived at KDVP when I was 15 and it was a huge eye-opener for me. It sounds like a platitude to say that a school brought out the best in each child… but coming from a state school in Johannesburg where I was fairly anonymous and where academic achievement wasn’t hugely celebrated, I found that there was a place at KD for everyone to shine.

“On the first day I was called in to Mr Wolf’s office and was fairly gobsmacked that he knew my name and had time to check on how I was doing. I definitely feel that the school nurtured my love of learning and I was fortunate to have incredible teachers, not least of all Mr Crawford, who taught (me) the importance of discipline and also how to learn.”

Klein had also made her mark in South Africa prior to coming to the UK. “Soon after qualifying as a lawyer in Johannesburg, I went to join Taddy Blecher, another KD alumni who was building Cida City Campus, the first free university in South Africa.

“I’m sure that the individual attention and nurturing that I felt at KDVP, in such stark contrast to the school I had been at before, helped me understand the importance of this and I wanted to pass this on to the students at Cida.

“The love of learning that was developed in me at KDVP, played a big role in my wanting to ignite curiosity and love of learning in others. Cida was an inspiring experience and I have been involved in education in some way or other ever since.”

King David has empowered its alumni with a deep sense of Jewish pride that has filtered into the lives of the pocket communities they create all over the world, in the safeguarding of traditions of Jewish and Zionistic values.

“I still feel very connected to my KD roots,” says Candice Shulman who has been in the UK since 2008 and is the current managing director of HR360, successfully working in human resource consulting and executive coaching.

“I still have many friends from school and remember my high school days fondly. King David has taught me the value of tradition and firmly rooted me in my Jewish culture and gave me an appreciation of the importance of surrounding myself with like-minded people. I am also proud of being able to read, write and understand Hebrew and the daily prayers.

“I was inspired to send our kids to a Jewish school in London and this has turned into a real blessing,” says Klein. “Probably most importantly, the kids feel part of a community and as kids of immigrants (although my husband mostly grew up in London), they feel as though they have a wide family throughout London.

“We are fortunate that many of our friends came from KD too – and so this network of friendship has sustained.”

The Davidian recipe seems to churn out success stories, as alumni display what Rakusin says: “King David has also armed me with a strong sense of Jewish and communal identity which has informed my sense of self-worth. All of this amounts to a lethal combination of endless determination and resilience that has allowed me to grab life with both hands.”