Timeline of Jewish life in Beaufort West
1860s: The earliest Jewish settlers in Beaufort West were of German or English origin.
1879: Upon application from ten Jewish inhabitants of the town, a piece of land to be used as a cemetery was allotted in March 1879 against a hill known as Powder Magazine Hill. According to the Courier of 15 August 1879 (one of the oldest newspapers and established in 1869), the young daughter of Mrs Norden of Carnarvon was the first person to be buried there.
1881: Jews from Eastern Europe (chiefly Lithuania) started to arrive.
1898: Informal services were being held in the Lyric Hall in Meintjies Street by 1898, courtesy of the efforts of August Cohen (1849-1921) as a lay leader.
1918: In September 1918 a building committee was elected.
1919: A deed of transfer was filed for some land for the erection of a synagogue in Union Street. The land had been purchased for ₤600. Construction of the synagogue commenced soon thereafter.
1922: The cornerstone was laid in March 1922 by Mr Isadore Bakst, Chairman of the Beaufort West Hebrew Congregation. The shul could accommodate about 50 men downstairs and about 50 women in the gallery and the minister’s house was adjacent to the synagogue.
1936: According to official census records, the Jewish population of Beaufort West reached about 123 and at its zenith in about 1936.
1943: Rev Aaron Myburg came to Beaufort West. He performed schechita, taught the children in cheder and conducted all services in the synagogue.
1960: Rev Aaron Myburg left Beaufort West. This seemed to toll the death knell of the Jewish presence in the town (or maybe it was indicative of it).
1961: From 1961 to the middle of the 1970s the few Jews left in the town tried to keep the Jewish flame burning and even engaged Major Jacob Potashnik from Cape Town to conduct services on the High Holy Days (Major Potashnik was a chaplain to Jewish servicemen in the Second World War).
1964: Community records show the Jewish community had declined to 42.
1978: By this time, the synagogue property was in a poor state due to neglect and lack of maintenance. Repairs were carried out.
1979: Both the synagogue and minister’s house were sold to Mr G T Botha for R5000. Sadly, the empty synagogue is used as a storehouse, but the minister’s house is now occupied by a descendant of Mr Botha.
1990s: By the early 1990s there were no more Jews resident in the town and the major impact and invaluable contribution the Jews of yesteryear played in every aspect of Beaufort West life was lost in the mists of time.
History compiled by Natie Finkelstein, February 2023, using the following reference sources:
- Hooyvlakte, by W G H and S Vivier, published by Nasionale Boekhandel, 1969, pages 131-132.
- Jewish Life in the South African Country Communities, Volume II, published by South African Friends of Beth Hatefutsoth, 2004, pages 339-356.
