David Rabkin (1948 – November 22, 1985) was an

anti-apartheid activist The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid, apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by ...

known for publishing subversive pamphlets. He served seven years of a ten-year sentence for his anti-apartheid activities. After his accidental death during military training in Angola, he received a hero's burial in

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...

Life

He was born in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa in 1948, but his family immigrated to Britain following the

Sharpeville massacre The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa (today part of Gauteng). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of ...

. He received a PhD in literature from the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

after a study on Black South African writers. He moved back to Cape Town with his wife, Susan and started working at

Cape Argus The ''Cape Argus'' is a daily newspaper co-founded in 1857 by Saul Solomon and published by Sekunjalo in Cape Town, South Africa. It is commonly referred to as ''The Argus''. Although not the first English-language newspaper in South Africa ...

in 1972. At the time of his arrest in September 1976, Rabkin and his wife, Susan had distributed around 15 different pamphlets supporting the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

(ANC) and

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...

(SACP).

Imprisonment

In September 1976, he pled guilty to charges related to the terrorism and internal security act promoting the aims of the ANC and the SACP. The court found him guilty of publishing pamphlets calling for the overthrow of law and order. Rabkin was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for "furthering the aims of banned organizations". His wife, Susan, was eight months pregnant and was sentenced to a year, eleven months of which were suspended. During the trial, he stated:

The course of action laid out by the ANC and its sister organisations, including the SACP, offered the hope of releasing for the benefit of all South Africans, the energies, talents and aspirations of all our people. From the liberation of the African people, the most oppressed section of our population, would flow a just and democratic society, a South Africa that belonged to all who live in it, black and white.

After he pled guilty and was sentenced by judge Marius Diemont he gave the clenched-fist black power salute to the courtroom gallery. He was mistreated in prison, but helped those in the 1979

Pretoria Central Prison Pretoria Central Prison, renamed Kgosi Mampuru II Management Area by former President Jacob Zuma on 13 April 2013 and sometimes referred to as Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Services is a large prison in central Pretoria, within the City of Tshwane ...

break. He allowed

Denis Goldberg Denis Theodore Goldberg (11 April 1933 – 29 April 2020) was a South African social campaigner, who was active in the struggle against apartheid. He was accused No. 3 in the Rivonia Trial, alongside the better-known Nelson Mandela and Walter ...

to purposefully break his loudspeaker to have an excuse to get a soldering iron, which allowed them to solder a makeshift key to facilitate an escape. Following the prison break he was questioned by prison authorities, but international attention led the punishments to be moderate for him and the other conspirators. He served seven years of his ten-year sentence and was released in 1983.

Personal life

He was married to Susan and they had two children, Jobe and Franny. Following his release from prison in 1983, he continued working in journalism, and he moved to

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

to continue reporting. His wife Susan was exiled after her one month prison sentence and after David's release from prison he too was exiled.

Death

He was killed in an UMkhonto we Sizwe military training accident in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

November 22, 1985, and was buried in

. He received a hero's burial and an armed guard of Umkhonto we Sizwe stood guard at his coffin, which was draped in the two flags: the

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installe ...

and

Sacp The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...

. At his funeral South African politician

Joe Slovo Joe Slovo (born Yossel Mashel Slovo; 23 May 1926 – 6 January 1995) was a South African politician, and an opponent of the apartheid system. A Marxist-Leninist, he was a long-time leader and theorist in the South African Communist Pa ...

and anti-apartheid activist

Chris Hani Chris Hani (28 June 1942 – 10 April 1993), born Martin Thembisile Hani , was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). He was a fierce ...

, gave speeches about Rabkin's qualities, courage and contributions.

Legacy

In 2007 South African politician

Ronnie Kasrils Ronald Kasrils (born 15 November 1938) is a South African politician, Marxist revolutionary, guerrilla and military commander. He was Minister for Intelligence Services from 27 April 2004 to 25 September 2008. He was a member of the National E ...

gave a speech to South African parliament. He dedicated his speech about Israeli aggression to the memory of David Rabkin.

References

{{Reflist

External links

David Rabkin doctoral thesis
1948 births 1985 deaths People from Cape Town Anti-apartheid activists Jewish activists