Young Johannesburg Jews’ J’salem Birthday bash

BENJI SHULMAN

This year the celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut was held together with Yom Yerushalayim which fell on the evening. With the theme being “Israel”, the club was decked out in blue, white and silver and of course many Israeli flags, including a giant digital one on a big screen.

In the background various landscapes of Israel were shown, as well as a scene from “Happy Jerusalem” a parody on the famous Will Pharrell song.

The community is extremely blessed with a number of famous DJs who generously agreed to play a number of their latest sets on the night.

This provided an excellent vibe for the 400 young people who packed the club to enjoy the entertainment.

RIGHT: Newly-appointed SA Zionist Federation chair Ben Swartz, right, and SA Jewish Board of Deputies president Zev Krengel

Special guests on the night included Aviad Sela of the Israel Centre, Ben Swartz of the South African Zionist Federation and Zev Krengel of the Jewish Board of Deputies, who all got into the swing of things

Israel’s Ambassador to South Africa Arthur Lenk, thanked everyone for coming to the event and for their support of Israel.

He then asked the DJ to play a special request, Israel’s latest entry into the Eurovision song contest.

The party lasted into the early hours of Sunday morning when exhausted partygoers reluctantly decided to go home for some sleep.

The event was organised by passionate young Zionists in the community who felt that a space was needed to be created for a celebration of this kind.

The group includes the owners of Black Sugar Events Company which specialises in club-style parties and they brought their considerable experience to bear to help making this event such a success.

The high attendance was extremely encouraging and shows the wide support for Zionism that it expressed. 

ABOVE: Israeli Ambassador Arthur Lenk got into the spirit of things and spun a few discs to keep the guests dancing