September 2016 marked the 175th anniversary of Jewish life in South Africa.
To mark this historic occasion the South African Jewish Museum developed an exhibition entitled ‘The Goldene Medina’ [The Golden Land] which reflected on the religious, social, and political history of the Jews of South Africa, from 1841 to 2016.
This exhibition offers unique insight into the day-to-day lives of generations of ordinary South African Jews. The anecdotes are presented anonymously; they are curated from first-person accounts, unpublished memoirs, and diaries. These anecdotes are not only relatable to Jewish South Africans, but they also reflect the common shared experiences of Jewish communities throughout the Diaspora. Read more
FREE REGISTRATION IS NECESSARY – Select the day you wish to attend.
Details of the location will be sent to you once your registration is completed.
Janice Masur, author of ‘Shalom Uganda – a Jewish Community on the Equator’ is our guest speaker.
Ann Lapedus’ new book, “When Irish Eyes are Not Smiling‘ is now available on Amazon
Can words said so many years ago affect a life?
Can being abused lead you to drugs, alcohol, or suicide?
Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will ALWAYS hurt me.
Bones mend, but the pain caused by abuse lives on forever.
Two girls, two different stories ~ but they lived them together.
Behind their constant laughter and gaiety, lay their hurt, their pain, their anxiety.
Date: Sunday, June 12th, 2022 Time: 10.00 am – 12.00 pm PST Venue: ON ZOOM Registration is necessary for ‘Lithuanian Untruths Exposed’.
Space is limited.
SAJAC is honored to have Silvia Foti, Grant Gochin and Michael Kretzmer discuss their efforts to expose the truth of Lithuanian participation in the annihilation of the local Jewish community during the Holocaust.
Silvia Foti, the granddaughter of a Lithuanian hero, honored to this day in Lithuania, has exposed the truth including his responsibility for murdering approximately 14,000 Jews. She has detailed this claim in her book: “The Nazi’s Granddaughter: How I Discovered My Grandfather Was a War Criminal“.
Grant Gochin, originally from South Africa, continues to pursue justice with the Lithuanian government in order to honor those Lithuanian Jews who perished at the hands of members of the Lithuanian Community during the 2nd World War.
Michael Kretzmer has produced a powerful movie exposing Lithuania’s attempt to cover up this ugly chapter in its history.
Please join this important SAJAC event to hear the truth about what happened to many South African Jewish family members who lived in Lithuania during the war.
Our three speakers have braved tremendous challenges in exposing the truth.
Silvia made a deathbed promise to her mother to write a book about her famous, WWII hero grandfather, Jonas Noreika, twenty-one years ago. Silvia’s grandmother begged her not to write about her husband.
“Just let history lie,” she whispered. Silvia had no idea that in keeping her promise to her mother, her discoveries would bring her to a personal crisis, challenge her Catholic faith, unearth Holocaust denial, and expose an official cover-up by the Lithuanian government.
Jonas Noreika
Her goal in writing this story of her grandfather, known as General Storm in Lithuania, is to upend Lithuania’s narrative that Lithuanians had nothing to do with killing Jews, that it was all done by German Nazis.
Silvia’s most recent book is now available in paperback and a complimentary copy will be given to TWO attendees of our upcoming event.
Grant Gochin
Grant Gochin
South African-born, Los Angeles-based, Litvak Grant Gochin is currently bringing another lawsuit against Lithuania’s Center for the Study of the Genocide and Resistance of Residents of Lithuania, or Genocide Center, over their mendacious claims that Lithuanian Nazi collaborator, Jonas Noreika, actually led an underground anti-Nazi network to rescue Jews.
Gochin says Noreika was directly responsible for the murder of his relatives in Šiauliai and calls for Genocide Center apologies and equivocations of Holocaust denial.
Michael was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to parents of Lithuanian Jewish background. His uncle was HerbieKretzmer zl”, songwriter from Kroonstad.
He studied Law and Literature at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and then did an LL.M. at UCL in International Law.
After university he worked as a journalist, eventually becoming a travel writer for the Sunday Times and a director/producer for the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4. A former active member of Peace Now and a member of Birmingham Progressive Synagogue he has briefly lived in Israel and visits as often as he can. He has traveled widely in the Muslim world, including the Palestinian Territories.
He was also a former BBC TV producer. Now, he has created a video, “J’Accuse”, commemorating the Holocaust in Lithuania. Seventy-nine years ago, the 2,400 Jews of Biržai (Birj in Yiddish) – a small, pretty, northern Lithuanian town, were murdered and thrown into a pit. This included no fewer than 30 of the Kretzmer family.
Michael is passionate about a virulent, new form of Holocaust denial that is gaining ground across Eastern Europe. It is characterized by the dishonest re-writing of holocaust history and nowhere is this dark art more cynically developed than in Lithuania.
The crimes were of unimaginable ferocity; they separated, abused, humiliated, tortured, raped, starved, and killed over 220,000 people; they also robbed the Jews’ property and erased their memory. Almost nobody survived.
In Lithuania today they are glorifying the killers who organized these terrible crimes. Killers like Jonas Noreika. This murderer, who wrote the Lithuanian ‘Mein Kampf’, organized the murder of 14,500 Jews in the Plunge region (where many SAs came from) is today, unbelievably, a national hero in Lithuania defended with official lies issued by the government’s repellent and Orwellian “Genocide Centre’. Michael, as a Litvak descendant of this murdered community, feels a duty to respond to this terrible insult.
SPECIAL GIVEAWAY:
Storm in the Land of Rain by Silvia Foti
2 lucky attendees will receive a
complimentary paperback copy
of Silvia Foti’s most recent book,
‘Storm in
Can words said so many years ago affect a life?
Can being abused lead you to drugs, alcohol, or suicide?
Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will ALWAYS hurt me.
Bones mend, but the pain caused by abuse lives on forever.
Two girls, two different stories ~ but they lived them together.
Behind their constant laughter and gaiety, lay their hurt, their pain, their anxiety.
Yiddish Arts and Academics Association of North America
Weeekly
@YiddishCulture · Nonprofit Organization
Gib a shnuf tsu dayn guf
– Our Sunday Yiddish yoga class with English translation comes back!
RSVP to info@yaaana.com
I am a pragmatic and goal-driven individual and I welcome challenges as an opportunity to learn dynamically. I am privileged to have received a tertiary education in Business Studies & IT Management which has enabled me to think critically and find solutions that not only fix problems, but also focus on sustainability. I am goal- driven, hard working and I value integrity as integral to all I do. I am a third-generation car fanatic & I am a problem solver and enjoy analyzing any situation and finding the best possible solution. I have also become proficient with hardware and physically have built Computers and Networks. I can diagnose and troubleshoot most issues. My degree has assisted me in learning and doing Object oriented programming and SQL which are skills I have incorporated into my personal business.
Willing to relocate to: United States of America
—————————————————————————————————————————————-
Work Experience
Owner Custom Car Care – Johannesburg, Gauteng
August 2013 to Present
In 2014 I realized a lifelong dream by opening my own business . The business offers a variety of services such as vehicle repairs, servicing, diagnostics, engine rebuilds, body work, project car builds, etc. The client base encompasses private individuals, companies, schools & contracting on behalf of other providers. As owner I manage client interactions, quote, assign workload, complete mechanical work and manage my team of workers and service providers as needed. My skills from my degree have been applied into all aspects of business management and client interactions which has led me to become successful in the field.
Systems Implementer Sybrin Systems – Johannesburg, Gauteng
January 2013 to August 2013
I started out working on a big project for major bank in South Africa ,initially I was shown the ropes in how to manage a virtual server. We used a live and test system which was based in India .I was responsible for management of FICA system at a Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC). Eventually i was needed to be on the clients site alone . I formed part of the team that ensured that this bank based system was functional to ensure the running of the client’s daily operations & to continually maintain this system . I was also tasked with communicating the issues on the test system with the programmers and on some issues i would be able to resolve them myself . I was part of the link between the Business itself and the IT part of the system. I gained valuable experience in client liaison and database administration.
—————————————————————————————————————————————–
Education
Bachelor’s in Information Technology Management University of Johannesburg – Johannesburg, Gauteng January 2012 to December 2015
High School (matric) King David Linksfield – Johannesburg, Gauteng January 2004 to December 2008
Yeshiva College – Johannesburg, Gauteng January 1998 to December 2003
I have been involved in a community program in training educators on how to use a computer systems where they would teach these skills to learners. I have also completed computer competency courses on the Microsoft service Suite. I am Familiar with the SDLC and ITIL Frameworks . I have enjoyed building networks and now possess detailed hardware and software knowledge as well.
