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Jewish teens in South Africa, where crime and Israel criticism are sky-high, see little future at home
This article was produced as part of JTA’s Teen Journalism Fellowship, a program that works with Jewish teens around the world to report on issues that affect their lives.
(JTA) — When she was in sixth grade, Kiara Cohen decided she was going to leave South Africa.
At a Shabbat gathering held by the youth organization Bnei Akiva in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, she was on the way to fill her water bottle when a few adults on the other side of the fence from her campgrounds told her they were going to assault and kill her and her friends because she was Jewish. The scared 12-year-old decided on the spot that she wanted to live somewhere where antisemitism wasn’t tolerated.
Now 16, Cohen still has her marks set on leaving South Africa after university — a move that would make her typical of her country’s Jews. Since 1970, the number of Jews in South Africa, home to the continent’s largest Jewish population, fell by 60%, to 50,000, according to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research. Many of those who depart head to Israel, where anyone who is Jewish may immigrate. In 2021, a full 1% of Jewish South Africans moved to Israel — the highest aliyah rate in South Africa’s history.
And that was before the current Israel-Hamas war, in which South African leaders have been taken an aggressive anti-Israel stance. The country has brought genocide charges against Israel in the International Court of Justice and threatened to prosecute South Africans who serve in the Israel Defense Forces. It has also welcomed a Hamas leader for an official visit since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
“The main antisemitism I feel that makes me want to leave this country is the government,” said Danni Hellman, 16, of Johannesburg. “They are anti-Israel and not exactly fond of Jews. I know every country in the world has its problems but when the hate comes from inside the people who are in power it is not exactly easy to want to stay.”
JTA interviewed 20 Jewish high school students from Johannesburg about their future plans. Eighty percent said they are planning to leave South Africa. More than half of them, 55%, said they are leaving after they graduate from high school. Another quarter said they would head for the border after graduating from college.
While some, like Hellman, said the country’s stance toward Israel is contributing to their thinking, most cited more pragmatic concerns: a lack of opportunities for their future and a desire to escape South Africa’s high crime rate. Overwhelmingly, they felt safety concerns about being Jews in South Africa.
“As a young Jew I am planning to leave South Africa due to the antisemitism and due to the social, political and economic circumstances in the country,’’ said Eitan Klein, 16. Last February, while gaming online, Klein was called an antisemitic slur by a South African Palestinian supporter. He said he wants to avoid experiencing that kind of harassment in person by making aliyah and joining the IDF after graduating high school — no matter what the war situation is in Israel.
The Jewish community in South Africa dates to the 19th century, with the immigration of a small number of Jews from Great Britain. Diamond- and gold-mining drew a significant number of Jews in the late 1800s, especially from Eastern Europe, changing the South African Jewish community and forming a strong connection to Zionism. As the 20th century began, Eastern European Jewish immigration continued, and as World War II approached, there were slightly more than 90,000 Jewish people in the country.
During the Holocaust, South Africa implemented an immigration quota that banned Eastern European Jews from entering the country. Despite the ban, 3,615 German Jews came to South Africa. The community kept growing and hit its highest point at 118,200 in 1970. The numbers started going down after 1970, according to South African Jewish Board of Deputies.
The current exodus follows the demise of apartheid in the early 1990s, which while ending years of fiercely racist discrimination against the country’s Black population also ushered in a period of rising crime and economic uncertainty. As many as 1 million white South Africans emigrated between 1995 and 2005; currently whites make up about 4.5 million of a total population of about 57 million.
Several of the teens interviewed said they saw a lack of opportunity in South Africa for future generations. Over 50% of the population lives in poverty and nearly 19% lives in extreme poverty, according to the World Bank. South Africa is also struggling with an extremely high unemployment rate of 33%, daily power cuts, extensive corruption in public entities and high crime rates. Last year, a prominent Jewish South African journalist was murdered in a home invasion — shortly after writing in a column that he thought his young adult children should abandon their country and move abroad.
“It is common knowledge that young Jews are leaving South Africa,” said Rabbi Mendel Rabinowitz of Johannesburg’s based Victory Park synagogue. He said he understood why most young Jews would rather study overseas and use those qualifications to get a job elsewhere, rather than deal with the high unemployment in South Africa.
“The reality is that it’s easier to get into some of the overseas universities than it is to get into South African universities,” he said.
The teens also say vociferous opposition to Israel is palpable in their daily lives. The country’s Israel boycott campaign rebranded as “Africa 4 Palestine” campaign in 2020 and promotes the idea on billboards around the country that Israelis stole Palestinian land. And last year, Aishah Cassiem, a South African politician and member of the provincial legislature, said that Herzlia, the local Jewish school in Cape Town, should be deregistered because a quarter of the school’s graduated students made aliyah and joined the IDF.
She compared the school to the “apartheid state of Israel” during a debate in Parliament.
Herzlia High School in Cape Town, South Africa. In June, a South African politician called for the school to be deregistered over the fact that nearly a quarter of the school’s graduating students move to Israel and join the military. (United Herzlia Schools)
“You can’t just attack one school for making aliyah and joining the IDF,” said Johannesburg teen Tali Bloch, in response to Cassiem’s remarks. “Jews all over the world do this and if this is the reason this school should be deregistered then it’s disgusting and makes me feel irritated and beyond furious.”
Bloch, 16, wants to move to London after high school. “I feel connected to Judaism here in South Africa but I don’t see the county as a place where I want to raise my kids. I just don’t see a future here.”
Not all Johannesburg teens want to leave. “I love my South Africa heritage and definitely think of this country as my home,” said Sam Bonner, 17. “I wouldn’t leave unless I absolutely had to.”
Bonner is active in the Zionist youth group Habonim Dror. “I found my connection to Judaism through youth groups. I found Habonim Dror, and my connection to Judaism only grew stronger,” said Bonner.
Brent Levine, 17, of Johannesburg is also passionate about being Jewish, but says he can’t fully embrace his Judaism while in South Africa because he hasn’t found a group of people with whom he feels comfortable expressing this aspect of himself.
“I’m moving to Israel after I matriculate because it is easier for me as a young Jewish man to fulfill the quest of finding myself spiritually as a Jew,’’ he said.
Levine, a volunteer for Medi Response ambulance service, a medical group in Johannesburg, said his plans haven’t changed with the current situation in Israel, where Israel is seeking to eliminate Hamas after the deadly attacks of Oct. 7. “If I had the opportunity to go to Israel to help fight the war I would,” said Levine.
And for many teens, the pressing issues of the moment pale in comparison to their longer-term concerns.
“This country is questionable at best,” said Hellman, who plans to pursue an acting career in London or Amsterdam after graduating from high school. “If I want kids, I don’t want them to grow up here and I want them to have better opportunities.”
JTA fellow (Fall 2022) Ella Bilu provided reporting and editing assistance on this piece
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The post Jewish teens in South Africa, where crime and Israel criticism are sky-high, see little future at home appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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London Police Arrest Dozens at Protest Against Ban on Palestine Action
Protesters hold signs, during a mass demonstration organised by Defend our Juries, against the British government’s ban on Palestine Action, at Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville
London police arrested dozens of protesters for supporting a banned pro-Palestinian group at a demonstration on Saturday which went ahead despite requests to call it off after a deadly attack at a synagogue in Manchester.
Two people were killed in the attack in the northwestern English city on Thursday and police shot dead the assailant, a British man of Syrian descent who counter-terrorism police said may have been inspired by extremist Islamist ideology.
Organizers refused requests by the police and government to call off Saturday’s demonstration, which had been announced before the attack, to protest against the banning of pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws.
STARMER CALLS FOR CALM
Calling for calm on X on Saturday morning, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognize and respect the grief of British Jews.”
“This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain. It is a time to stand together,” he said.
Police arrested protesters in Trafalgar Square in central London as they wrote slogans on placards declaring support for Palestine Action, which was proscribed in July after members broke into an airbase and damaged military planes.
Hundreds gathered for the protest, applauding and cheering those arrested as they were carried through the crowd by police without resisting. Onlookers chanted “shame on you” at officers.
“I’m disgusted by the police actually, they shouldn’t be arresting non-violent protesters here,” said protester Angie Zelter. “We have a right to protest and Palestine Action is not a violent organization, should never have been proscribed in the first place.”
Six people were arrested separately after unfurling a Palestine Action banner on Westminster Bridge outside parliament.
SERIES OF PROTESTS
The demonstration is the latest in a series of protests, during which hundreds have been arrested for defying the ban which makes it an offense to show support for Palestine Action.
Police said Saturday’s protests would draw resources away from security they have tightened around synagogues and mosques following Thursday’s attack.
Defend Our Juries, which organized Saturday’s protest, has condemned the attack on the Jewish community in Manchester, and urged police to focus on that, not policing the demonstration.
Thursday’s attack followed incidents of antisemitic and Islamophobic hate in Britain this summer, and pro-Palestinian marchers have taken to the streets to denounce Israel, drawing criticism from some members of the Jewish community.
Jewish and Muslim communities in Britain have expressed fears for their safety.
Israel has waged war on Hamas in Gaza since the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel two years ago. US President Donald Trump has urged Israel to stop its bombardment after Hamas said it was ready to release hostages and agreed to some aspects of a plan to halt the war.
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Group of 137 Gaza Flotilla Activists Arrive in Turkey
FILE PHOTO: People gather on a boat from a flotilla that had been carrying aid to Gaza until it was intercepted by Israel, docked in the port of Larnaca, Cyprus October 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo
Some 137 activists detained by Israel for taking part in a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza arrived in Istanbul on Saturday after being deported, according to Reuters reporters at the airport.
The individuals included 36 Turkish nationals, as well as citizens from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia and Jordan, ministry sources added.
The Turkish Airlines flight landed at Istanbul Airport.
MORE THAN 450 ACTIVISTS DETAINED
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 26 Italians were on board, with another 15 still held in Israel and set to be expelled over the next few days – along with activists from other nations.
Israel has faced international condemnation after its military intercepted all of about 40 boats in a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza and detained more than 450 activists.
“I have once again given instructions to the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv to ensure that the remaining compatriots are treated with respect for their rights”, Tajani wrote on X.
A first group of Italians from the flotilla – four parliamentarians – arrived in Rome on Friday.
“Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza,” Arturo Scotto, one of the Italian lawmakers who took part in the mission, told a press conference in Rome.
“We were brutally stopped … brutally taken hostage”, said Benedetta Scuderi, another Italian parliamentarian.
ZIP-TIED ON THEIR KNEES FOR HOURS
Israel’s foreign ministry wrote on X that all detained activists were “safe and in good health,” adding it was keen to complete the deportations “as quickly as possible.”
In a separate X post, it accused some flotilla members of “deliberately obstructing” the deportation process, without providing evidence. Reuters was unable to independently verify the allegation.
According to Adalah, an Israeli group offering legal assistance to flotilla members, some of them were denied access to lawyers, and denied access to water and medications, as well as the use of toilets.
Activists were also “forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for at least five hours, after some participants chanted ‘Free Palestine,’” Adalah said.
Israel denied the allegations. “All of Adalah’s claims are complete lies. Of course, all detainees … were given access to water, food, and restrooms; they were not denied access to legal counsel, and all their legal rights were fully upheld,” a foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters.
The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where Israel has been waging a war since Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel in October 2023.
Israeli officials repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt and warned it against violating a “lawful naval blockade.”
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‘Make Zionists Afraid’: Pro-Hamas Agitators in Germany Vandalize Gov’t Buildings, Intimidate Local Business
Anti-Israel protesters march in Germany, March 26, 2025. Photo: Sebastian Willnow/dpa via Reuters Connect
Pro-Hamas agitators in Germany carried out a series of antisemitic attacks this week, vandalizing government offices and targeting a Berlin bar with death threats and intimidation.
On Tuesday, an antisemitic flyer began circulating in Berlin, targeting the owners of Bajszel, a local bar in the city’s southeastern Neukölln neighborhood, with threats of violence and death, German media reported.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the local bar — which hosts cultural programs and political events dedicated to fighting antisemitism — has been repeatedly targeted, with customers and staff threatened as “Jewish child killers” and the establishment repeatedly vandalized.
In this latest targeted incident, unknown individuals plastered flyers on the bar’s facade bearing the headline “Make Zionists Afraid.” Designed like a wanted poster, the handout showed photos of the three owners, each stamped with an inverted red triangle, which Hamas has used in its propaganda videos to indicate Israeli targets about to be attacked. The symbol has become a demonstration of support for the Palestinian terrorist group amid the war in Gaza.
The flyer accused the owners of “openly expressing their support for the colonial state of Israel” through the events they host at their bar.
“Anyone who sides with the perpetrators of genocide should feel unsafe everywhere. We want these three to be silenced forever and serve as a warning to all Zionists in Berlin and Neukölln,” the flyer read, referring to the bar’s owners.
The handout also included the antisemitic phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — a popular slogan among anti-Israel activists that has been widely interpreted as a genocidal call for the destruction of the Jewish state, which is located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Local authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the incident, but no arrests have been made so far.
Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, strongly condemned the attack, calling on law enforcement to act swiftly and urging immediate protection for the bar’s owners.
“Supporting Israel … should never put anyone’s life in danger. The antisemitic death threats against Bajszel in Berlin-Neukölln are completely unacceptable,” Beck said in a statement.
“Threatening people … with death for openly expressing their loyalty to Israel is a form of everyday terrorism that cannot be tolerated,” he continued.
In a separate incident on Thursday, the office of Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Württemberg-Hohenzollern, a southwestern region of the country, was vandalized with antisemitic slogans. This marks one of the latest in a string of attacks by anti-Israel protesters targeting CDU offices nationwide.
Unknown perpetrators covered the office facade in red paint, scrawling messages such as “Accomplice,” “Stop the Genocide,” and “Flotilla Sumud.”
On Wednesday, the CDU building in Göttingen, a central German city, was vandalized, with several windows smashed and antisemitic slogans scrawled across the facade.
The perpetrators spray-painted slogans on the walls, including “Free Palestine,” “From the River to the Sea,” “Kill Zionists,” and “FCK CDU.”
Anti-Israel demonstrators even vandalized the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin-Mitte, covering the facade with red paint and scrawling antisemitic slogans.
Shortly after this incident, a pro-Palestinian demonstration was held outside the Foreign Ministry, where protesters chanted slogans such as “Free Palestine,” “Genocide,” and “All of Berlin hates the police.”
Berlin: Aktivisten beschmieren Auswärtiges Amt mit roter Farbe
Mehrere Aktivisten haben am Donnerstag die Fassade des Auswärtigen Amtes in Berlin mit roter Farbe beschmiert. Zudem sei ein Schriftzug angebracht worden. Dieser soll einen Bezug zum Nahost-Konflikt aufweisen. pic.twitter.com/dgPBqL5lHv
— TAVI (@xTAVIx) October 2, 2025
According to local authorities, an investigation has been launched into these latest incidents, and four activists have been arrested in connection with them.
Carina Hermann, chair of CDU’s municipal association, strongly condemned the recent wave of violence and vandalism, calling for immediate measures to ensure public safety.
“With broken windows, political slogans, and destroyed locks, the goal is to silence opposing voices and intimidate them with all the force possible,” Hermann said in a statement. “This is no longer a simple protest; it is a direct attack by extremists who have no regard for democracy or free discourse.”
In recent weeks, CDU offices in Hanover, Oldenburg, and other cities have also been vandalized. In Göttingen, additional buildings — including those of the Social Democratic Party of Germany — have been defaced.