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13 Tammuz 5761 - July 4, 2001 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Zimbabwe Jewry Keep The Wheels Turning -- For Now
by D. Saks

Despite its steadily diminishing numbers and the unstable political and economic environment, the small Jewish community of Zimbabwe continues to function. There are just over 750 Jews left in Zimbabwe, a landlocked African republic on South Africa's northern border. Two-thirds live in the capital, Harare, and nearly all the remainder in the country's other major city, Bulawayo. Daily shul services take place in both centers -- twice daily in the case of Bulawayo -- and all yomim tovim are observed.

The situation in Zimbabwe has continued to deteriorate, with Prime Minister Robert Mugabe adopting increasingly repressive measures to remain in power and the fragile economy rapidly disintegrating. Mugabe's strident anti-white rhetoric and the orchestrated mob seizure of white-owned farms over the past 18 months has led to fears for the safety of the country's Jewish community. Thus far, however, there are no plans to evacuate the community.

Zimbabwe Jewry recently suffered a double blow, with the death of its Harare lay leader Harold Abramson and the departure of Bulawayo's Rabbi Opert to take up a new position in South Africa. In addition, due to the unavailability of foreign currency, the community will be less able to avail themselves of the services of Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, spiritual leader to the African Jewish Congress, who is based in South Africa.

The Zimbabwe community still manages to run a Jewish day school in both Harare and Bulawayo, although because of the paucity of Jews of school age, 90 percent of the pupils at these schools are non-Jewish. There remains, in addition, a Jewish nursery school in Harare, but its counterpart in Bulawayo was forced to close down at the end of last year.

The Zimbabwe Jewish Board of Deputies, the recognized representative body of the community, has busied itself in recent years in selling off the assets of defunct rural Jewish communities and taking steps to ensure the maintenance of the Jewish cemeteries there.

 

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