Welcome to the website of the
Jewish Community of Calitzdorp
Calitzdorp is a town in the Little (Klein) Karoo, 50 kilometres west of Oudtshoorn on the R62 provincial road which extends from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. The town was established in 1853 around the Dutch Reformed Church. At one time in the late nineteenth century, Calitzdorp was the greatest ostrich producing district in the world and the centre of the feather industry. It was during this period that the Jewish community was established.
The first Jewish settlers were the ostrich feather buyers, brothers-in-law Moses Landau (1855-1920) and Lazarus Rapeport (1856-1924), who arrived in Calitzdorp from Lithuania in 1888. The Jewish population peaked particularly during the second ostrich feather boom from 1897 to 1914. The exact number of families resident in the town at that time is unknown, but in 1908 it was large enough to support two Jewish communities. Following the outbreak of World War I, and a devastating drought from 1914 to 1916, the ostrich feather industry collapsed, leaving many Jewish families destitute, with numerous leaving the area. In the 1930s, 37 Jews were recorded in the town and by the early 1990s there was only one Jew living in Calitzdorp.
On these pages you can read the timeline of the Jewish community and about the history of the town and the Jewish families who lived there between about 1888 and 1990 and their activities.
This website was created in March 2026 by Naomi Schamroth Rapeport. She urges any descendants of the Calitzdorp community to contribute to preserving their ancestors' heritage. Post any contributions to the CHOL Facebook Group or send them directly to her at nrapeport@global.co.za.
Click here for further information about the development of Calitzdorp and its Jewish population.
To join the CHOL email list email info@chol.website.
Click here for a map.
