fellowship archive
The seventeenth International Nahum Goldmann Fellowship took place in Cape Town, South Africa, with its largest and most diverse cohort to date. Forty-eight Fellows from 14 countries participated, including representatives from Belarus, France, India, Israel, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Fellows were equally divided between South Africans and participants from other countries.
program
In consultation with South African alumni, the theme chosen for NGF 17 was Judaism, the other, and otherness, reflecting the alumni’s focus on addressing, as Jews, the new realities in post-apartheid South Africa. Lectures covered a broad range of subjects, including:
Achieving and celebrating Jewish distinctiveness in contemporary society
The “other” in the normative Jewish tradition
Judaism in the post-modern era
Building community: required, desired, and heroic components
After disengagement: Repairing the conflicting visions of Zionism, Apartheid and the future of South African Jewry
Additional discussion groups included:
Learning from each other: How our communities deal with external threats and internal dissension
Propagating jewish consciousness, culture, and education
Building communities: The next steps
faculty
The faculty for the South African NGF included:
Dr. Steven Bayme, Director, Department of Jewish Life, American Jewish Committee, New York, NY, USA
Professor Benjamin Ish-Shalom, Rector, Beit Morasha, Jerusalem, Israel
Mr. Mendel Kaplan, Chairman, African Jewish Congress, Johannesburg, South Africa
Professor James Kugel, Professor of Bible, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
Professor Zeev Mankowitz, Director, Melton Center for Jewish Education in the Diaspora, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Professor Michael Rosenak, Mandel Professor in Jewish Education, Melton Center for Jewish Education in the Diaspora, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Professor Shalom Rosenberg, Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Thought, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Dr. Rina Rosenberg, Private Psychologist, Jerusalem, Israel
more about the fellowship
The academic program for this NGF was developed in collaboration with local alumni to address the immediate needs of South African Jewry, build a more nuanced understanding of regional challenges, and foster global support. A panel titled “Raising Jewish Consciousness” was introduced specifically for this Fellowship and became one of the program highlights.
During her presentation, Caroline Touthang from the Bnei Menashe community in India spoke about efforts to strengthen Jewish life, particularly in remote areas. Her story inspired members of the South African community to assist her in developing a children’s library for the Bnei Menashe community in India.
The group also took time to visit nearby Hermanus, where Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, the Country Communities Spiritual Leader, gave a brief overview of Jewish life in South Africa’s rural areas.
On the final day, the group was addressed by veteran Jewish philanthropist and communal leader Mendel Kaplan, who shared his insights on the history and future of South African Jewry.
Another highlight of this NGF was the creation of the South African NGF Caucus. This group was initiated by the Fellows as an active effort to revitalize and strengthen the South African Jewish community, while also encouraging collaboration across denominational lines within the region.
In his article published in the South Africa Jewish Report, David Saks, the Associate Director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, described the experience as “a memorable week of transnational camaraderie and high-level intellectual exploration of various aspects of Jewish tradition.”
