by Seth Cohen The South African Jewish community, like all Jewish communities, is filled with knowledge, creativity, chesed and, of course, complexity. It is one that has a rich and proud history, bringing its unique Jewish spirit to a continent that is rife with challenges and ripe with opportunity. Within the community, there is an array of individuals as vibrant and varied as the African fauna that surrounds them. From the exceptional community of Johannesburg, a city of commerce and insight near the great goldmines of South Africa, to the community of Cape Town, which started out as a Dutch veggie patch and now is known worldwide as an amazing center of creativity, and every point in between - innovators, activists and entrepreneurs are reshaping the South African landscape to reflect the … Continue Reading
Boldly Going Where No Jew Has Gone Before
by David Jacobson “The world is defined by change and choice. We have to inspire people to see being Jewish as relevant.” This was the challenge thrown out by philanthropist, Lynn Schusterman, at the opening of the Schusterman Family Foundation’s South African Young Jewish Innovators Gathering, held in Johannesburg on February 11-12. Innovation is defined as “the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new.” As remarkable as our South African Jewish community is, I am not sure that the innovation we bring to our lives as individuals has translated into the more closeted confines of our community. It strikes me that we humans do not naturally take that well to change. We prefer to stick with what we know rather than take a risk. “Better the devil … Continue Reading
Inspiring Jewish Connections
by Wendy Kahn A weekend devoted to innovation; 24 hours devoted to stretching the mind, broadening experiences and challenging assumptions. A space in time to think differently and be exposed to diverse individuals from different backgrounds, with rich experience and perspectives. I gained so much from the Schusterman Foundation’s South African Young Jewish Innovators Gathering on February 11-12. The weekend provided an opportunity to be exposed to remarkable individuals, each inspiring in a unique way. We were introduced to a vast array of impressive projects that are making a meaningful difference to the country in which we live. Some of these projects operate within our community, some in the broader South African environment. The Schusterman concept highlights these projects and becomes … Continue Reading
The Power of Networking from a Far Off Land
by Nicky Newfield Last summer, at the 2011 ROI Summit, Guy Lieberman had the good fortune to meet Seth Cohen from the Schusterman Family Foundation, and the idea for bringing together young Jewish innovators in South Africa was born. Why was it so appealing to me? It seemed to be serendipitous that the timing of the meeting was at a point when my new innovation, Jewish Interactive, was about to go global. As young South African Jews, we are relatively isolated from the global community. When my husband and I lived in Jerusalem, we would meet Jewish people from all over the world. It was a constant hub of ideas - a melting pot of innovation, inspiration and passion, and a spiritual home that urged people to convert potential into reality. At a Shabbat meal or during a walk on the streets, I … Continue Reading
Sparking the Flame
by Devorah Perkel The South African Young Jewish Innovators Gathering, held in Johannesburg on February 11-12 and sponsored by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and Sasfin Bank, far exceeded expectations. The experience was a cocoon for meaningful connection and a catalyst for powerful action. From the start after Shabbat right through to the conclusion Sunday night, the gathering created a transformational space in which creative ideas could be shared openly. I feel a deep sense of pride in knowing that I belong to a wider Jewish community that has within its midst a cadre of people with immense potential for changing our community, our country and the broader world. I also feel pride for the connection our community has with the people pioneering broad-scale change across … Continue Reading
The Cradle of Human Kindness
by Sarah Sassoon I woke up with a beat-bopping, racing heart. It wasn’t Monday morning, having to face the week, although it could have been that, too - rather, it was the adrenalin still running through my system from 24 hours of attending the South African Young Jewish Innovators Gathering, a pioneering initiative spearheaded by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation in conjunction with Sasfin Bank. As an Australian transplant to South Africa, I come replete with my own brand of Aussie gold exuberance, but I have nothing on Americans like Lynn Schusterman and Seth Cohen, Chair and Director of Network Initiatives, respectively, for the Schusterman Family Foundation, both of whom just bounce with belief and possibility. Unite their energy with their commitment to the core Jewish … Continue Reading
Jubuntu: Innovation Comes to South Africa
by Michalya Schonwald Moss All it took to propel the South African Jewish community into the global Jewish conversation of the 21st century was 24 hours with a “dream team” of visionary orchestrators all connected to the Schusterman Family Foundation and the ROI Community: Guy Lieberman, Seth Cohen and Jen Keys. Add to that the generosity of powerhouse philanthropist Lynn Schusterman and the Sasfin Bank, inspiring speeches and workshops by Shaka Sisulu, Helen Lieberman, Charles Maisel and Taddy Blecher among others, some speed networking and open-space sessions and the result was an event that truly catapulted the 50 participants at the South African Young Jewish Innovators Gathering into a whole new realm of possibility. An event with innovation at its core was the first of its kind for … Continue Reading
Innovation for Africa
by Benji Shulman There is an oft repeated narrative about the South African community that talks about a small, conservative, aging group of Jews stuck at the bottom of the Dark Continent. The South African Young Jewish Innovators Gathering, held Feb. 11-12 and hosted by the Schusterman Family Foundation and Sasfin Bank, not only blew this conception out of the water but also showed the interesting paths that the community may take in the future in South Africa. What was perhaps the most interesting aspect was that the big bogey men of the Jewish world were largely absent from the debates taking place among the 50-plus Jewish innovators that attended. There was no talk of anti-Semitism, religious divides, the peace process or assimilation. In general, the focus was innovation, how we could … Continue Reading
Candlesticks and Family Tales: What We Carry With Us
by Erica Lyons It was a single course my freshman year in college, Jews and the Immigrant Experience in America, that sparked the centrality of Judaism to my identity. This was no longer an identity forged by years of forced attendance in Hebrew School, where I learned to aptly memorize words without meaning. Nor was it from an occasional synagogue service or a lesson on the Holocaust transmitted through a shock strategy involving too many graphic films that haunted my nights. I knew growing up that there had to be more than that to Judaism, but this was all the Jewish world had so far offered me. I had no Jewish past. I never had the opportunity to know my paternal grandparents and my maternal grandparents rarely spoke about the old world. They had all shed their shtetl skins the second they … Continue Reading
An Israeli Experiences Limmud NY
by Regev Ben David While being very active in the area of Jewish renewal in Israel for several years now, I only heard the name Limmud for the first time during ROI summit 2011 - but there I heard it over and over and over. So when LimmudNY approached and I was fortunate to obtain ROI's Micro Grant to participate in my first Limmud, I tried to contribute back by volunteering in several positions (which definitely seems to be the great spirit of the conference) and by giving three workshops. Even though I heard many good things, what I found there was above and beyond my expectations: it was an exciting, vibrant, and vital celebration of Judaism and Jewishness in all of its forms, colors and sounds; a huge collection (over 600 participants) of open-minded and welcoming people which were … Continue Reading
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