List Of Jews From Sub-Saharan Africa
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

This is a list of
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
from
Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
. It is arranged by country of origin. The vast majority of
African Jews African Jewish communities include: *Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who primarily live in the Maghreb of North Africa, including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia, as well as Sudan and Egypt. Some were established early in the Jewish diaspora ...
inhabiting areas below the
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
live in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, and are mainly of
Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
(largely
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
n) origin. A number of
Beta Israel The Beta Israel ( he, בֵּיתֶא יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Bēteʾ Yīsrāʾēl''; gez, ቤተ እስራኤል, , modern ''Bēte 'Isrā'ēl'', EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "House of Israel" or "Community of Israel"), also known as Ethiopian Jews ...
also reside in
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. Additionally, small post-colonial communities exist elsewhere.


Cameroon

*
Yaphet Kotto Yaphet Frederick Kotto (born Frederick Samuel Kotto; November 15, 1939 – March 15, 2021) was an American actor known for numerous film roles, as well as starring in the NBC television series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999) as ...
, actor (Cameroonian father)


DR Congo

*
Léon Kengo wa Dondo Léon Kengo wa Dondo (born Leon Lubicz, 22 May 1935) is a Congolese politician who served as the "first state commissioner" (a title equivalent to prime minister) several times under Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaïre. He was one of the most powerful fi ...
,
Prime Minister of Zaire The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: link=no, 1=Premier ministre de la République démocratique du Congo, sw, 1=Waziri Mkuu wa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo, ln, 1=Minisele ya Yambo wa Republiki ya Kɔ́ngɔ ...
(Polish-Jewish father) *
Moïse Katumbi Moïse Katumbi Chapwe (; born 28 December 1964) is a Congolese businessman and politician. He was Governor of Katanga Province, located in the southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from 2007 to September 2015. He was a member of t ...
, businessman and politician (Greek-Jewish father) *
Olivier Strelli Olivier Strelli born Nissim Israel is a Belgians, Belgian fashion designer, who put Belgium on the fashion map. His name is now synonymous with a chain of male and female clothing and accessory boutiques in Belgium, Switzerland, France and China. I ...
, fashion designer


Ethiopia and Eritrea

*
Ephraim Isaac Ephraim Isaac (born 29 May 1936) is an Ethiopian scholar of ancient Ethiopian Semitic languages and of Classical African civilization, African and History of Ethiopia, Ethiopian civilizations. He is the director of the Institute of Semitic Studi ...
, Phd Princeton Scholar *
Adisu Massala Adisu Massala ( he, אדיסו מאסלה, am, አዲሱ መሰለ ''Addīsū Messele'', born 16 June 1961) is an Israeli politician. Biography Adisu Masala was born in Gondar province, Ethiopia. He made aliyah in 1980 after crossing the Ethiop ...
, politician * Esti Mamo, Ethiopian-Israeli model * Meskie Shibru-Sivan, actress and singer *
Yosef Ben-Jochannan Yosef Alfredo Antonio Ben-Jochannan (; December 31, 1918 – March 19, 2015), referred to by his admirers as "Dr. Ben", was an American writer and historian. He was considered to be one of the more prominent Afrocentricism, Afrocentric scholars ...
, historian


Kenya

*
Israel Somen Israel Somen (1903 – 9 October 1984), also known as Issy Somen, was a Jewish Kenyan politician businessman and diplomat. He was a one time Mayor of Nairobi and later Israel's Honorary Consul to Kenya. Biography Somen's family emigrated to Kenya ...
, businessman and diplomat *
Jonathan Somen Jonathan Somen is the co-founder of Access Kenya Group alongside his brother, David Somen. Early life The Somen family emigrated to Kenya in 1923 when Israel Somen relocated from South Africa to work in government. Jonathan Somen was born on 27 ...
, entrepreneur *
Erica Mann Erica Mann (1917 – 2007) was an architect and town planner who lived and worked in Kenya for almost all her adult life, after fleeing her home in Romania during the Second World War. She made a significant contribution to the 1948 master plan f ...
, architect, town planner, NGO leader, women's cooperatives developer *
Igor Mann Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling * ...
, veterinarian, senior civil service professional


Mozambique

*
Albie Sachs Albert "Albie" Louis Sachs (born 30 January 1935) is a South African lawyer, activist, writer, and former judge appointed to the first Constitutional Court of South Africa by Nelson Mandela. Early life and education Albie Sachs was born on ...
, ANC activist (lived in Mozambique during exile from South Africa) *
Ruth First Heloise Ruth First (4 May 1925 – 17 August 1982) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and scholar. She was assassinated in Mozambique, where she was working in exile, by a parcel bomb built by South African police. Family and edu ...
, ANC activist (lived in Mozambique during exile from South Africa)


Namibia

*
Harold Pupkewitz Harold Pupkewitz (14 July 1915 – 27 April 2012) was a Lithuanian born, Namibian entrepreneur and member of the President's Economic Advisory Council. He was the Executive Chairman of Pupkewitz Holdings, a group of builders' merchants, car sal ...
, entrepreneur ( Lithuanian born)


South Africa


Politicians and activists

*
Hilda Bernstein Hilda Bernstein (15 May 1915 – 8 September 2006) was a British-born author, artist, and an activist against apartheid and for women's rights. She was born Hilda Schwarz in London, England, and emigrated to South Africa at the age of 18 years, ...
, anti-apartheid activist *
Lionel Bernstein Lionel "Rusty" Bernstein (20 March 1920 – 23 June 2002) was a Jewish South African anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. He played a key role in political organizations such as the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Africa ...
, anti-apartheid activist *
Harry Bloom Harry Saul Bloom (1 January 1913 – 28 July 1981) was a South African journalist, novelist, activist and lecturer. Early life and career Solomon Harris Bloom was born into a Jewish South African family. He was educated at the University of the W ...
, anti-apartheid activist *
Jules Browde Jules Browde (1919 – 31 May 2016) was a South African advocate and acting judge as well as a human-rights activist and Jewish communal leader. He was a classmate of Nelson Mandela's and a founder member of Lawyers for Human Rights. Career Browd ...
, barrister, jurist and anti-apartheid activist. Law school classmate of Nelson Mandela. *
Arthur Chaskalson Arthur Chaskalson Order of the Baobab, SCOB, (24 November 1931 – 1 December 2012) was President of the Constitutional Court of South Africa from 1994 to 2001 and Chief Justice of South Africa from 2001 to 2005. Chaskalson was a member of the ...
, chief justice *
Abba Eban Abba Solomon Meir Eban (; he, אבא אבן ; born Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban; 2 February 1915 – 17 November 2002) was an Israeli diplomat and politician, and a scholar of the Arabic and Hebrew languages. During his career, he served as Fo ...
, Israeli diplomat (South African-born) * Andrew Feinstein, former ANC MP, author & anti-arms trade activist *
Bram Fischer Abraham Louis Fischer (23 April 1908 – 8 May 1975) was a South African Communist lawyer of Afrikaner descent, notable for anti-apartheid activism and for the legal defence of anti-apartheid figures, including Nelson Mandela, at the Rivonia T ...
, anti-apartheid activist *
Bernard Friedman Bernard Friedman (1896 – 1984) was a South African surgeon, politician, author, and businessman who co-founded the anti-apartheid Progressive Party. Biography Education, Medical Training and Role in WW2 He was educated at Pretoria Boys H ...
, anti-apartheid MP *
Richard Goldstone Richard Joseph Goldstone (born 26 October 1938) is a South African former judge. After working for 17 years as a commercial lawyer, he was appointed by the South African government to serve on the Transvaal Supreme Court from 1980 to 1989 and t ...
, judge and international war crimes prosecutor *
Joel Joffe Joel Goodman Joffe, Baron Joffe, (12 May 1932 – 18 June 2017) was a South African-born British lawyer and Labour peer in the House of Lords. Life and career Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, to the Joffe family. His mother was born in Man ...
, human rights activist *
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 ...
, former South African Intelligence Minister *
Tony Leon Anthony James Leon (born 15 December 1956) is a South African politician who served as leader of the opposition from 1999-2007 as leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA). He led the DA from its inception in 2000, until his retirement from lead ...
, former opposition leader *
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 ...
,
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 ...
activist and leader of the
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 ...
*
Harry Schwarz Harry Heinz Schwarz (13 May 1924 – 5 February 2010) was a South African lawyer, statesman and long-time political opposition leader against apartheid in South Africa, who eventually served as the South African Ambassador to the United States ...
, anti-apartheid politician, lawyer and diplomat *
Helen Suzman Helen Suzman, OMSG, DBE (née Gavronsky; 7 November 1917 – 1 January 2009) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician. She represented a series of liberal and centre-left opposition parties during her 36-year tenure in th ...
, anti-apartheid MP * Harold Hanson, QC and strong supporter of civil liberties :Other Jewish ANC activists included
Ruth First Heloise Ruth First (4 May 1925 – 17 August 1982) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and scholar. She was assassinated in Mozambique, where she was working in exile, by a parcel bomb built by South African police. Family and edu ...
,
Albie Sachs Albert "Albie" Louis Sachs (born 30 January 1935) is a South African lawyer, activist, writer, and former judge appointed to the first Constitutional Court of South Africa by Nelson Mandela. Early life and education Albie Sachs was born on ...
and five of the six whites arrested in the
Rivonia Trial The Rivonia Trial took place in South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, and led to the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and the others among the accused who were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life at the Palace of Justice ...
:
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 ...
,
Lionel Bernstein Lionel "Rusty" Bernstein (20 March 1920 – 23 June 2002) was a Jewish South African anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. He played a key role in political organizations such as the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Africa ...
,
Arthur Goldreich Arthur Goldreich (25 December 1929 – 24 May 2011) was a South African-Israeli abstract painter and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his birth and a critic of the form of Zionism practiced in Israel. Early life Gold ...
,
James Kantor James Kantor (26 February 1927 – 2 February 1974) was a South African lawyer and writer. James Kantor was born in Johannesburg to a Jewish family. A prominent Johannesburg lawyer in the 1950s, Kantor was attorney for Nelson Mandela and im ...
,
Harold Wolpe Harold Wolpe (14 January 1926 – 19 January 1996) was a South African lawyer, sociologist, political economist and anti-apartheid activist. He was arrested and put in prison in 1963 but escaped and spent 30 years in exile in the United Kingdom. ...
and Gaby Shapiro.


Academics

* Abraham Manie Adelstein, UK Chief Medical Statistician
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
*
Selig Percy Amoils Selig Percy Amoils, FRCS, born 1933, is a South African ophthalmologist and biomedical engineering inventor.
, Inventor & Surgeon *
Moses Blackman Moses Blackman Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (6 December 1908 – 3 June 1983) was a South African-born British crystallography, crystallographer. Biography Moses Blackman (known as Morris) was born in Cape Town on 6 December 1908, the son ...
, crystallographer *
Sydney Brenner Sydney Brenner (13 January 1927 – 5 April 2019) was a South African biologist. In 2002, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with H. Robert Horvitz and Sir John E. Sulston. Brenner made significant contributions to work ...
, biologist, Nobel Prize (2002) *
Leo Camron Leo Camron (14 March 1916 – 21 July 2007), aka "Leo Caminsky" or "Arieh Camron", was a South African-Israeli educationalist and sportsman, from Natal particularly remembered for his English textbooks, and rugby advocacy.Bath, Richard (ed.) '' ...
, educationalist * Sydney Cohen, pathologist (
Jewish Year Book The ''Jewish Year Book'' is an almanac targeted at the Jewish community in the United Kingdom. It has been published every year since 1896 and is currently published by Vallentine Mitchell in association with ''The Jewish Chronicle'' and is edited ...
, 2005, p214, 230) *
Meyer Fortes Meyer Fortes FBA FRAI (25 April 1906 – 27 January 1983) was a South African-born anthropologist, best known for his work among the Tallensi and Ashanti in Ghana. Originally trained in psychology, Fortes employed the notion of the "person ...
, anthropologist *
Max Gluckman Herman Max Gluckman (; 26 January 1911 – 13 April 1975) was a South African and British social anthropologist. He is best known as the founder of the Manchester School of anthropology. Biography and major works Gluckman was born in Johan ...
, anthropologist * Frank Herbstein, crystallographer, 1926-2011 *
Aaron Klug Sir Aaron Klug (11 August 1926 – 20 November 2018) was a British biophysicist and chemist. He was a winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy and his structural elucidation of bio ...
, chemist, Nobel Prize (1982) *
Ludwig Lachmann Ludwig Maurits Lachmann (; ; 1 February 1906 – 17 December 1990) was a German economist who was a theorist and important contributor to the Austrian School of Economics. Lachmann himself, Israel Kirzner, and Murray Rothbard were the three primar ...
, economist *
Arnold Lazarus Arnold Allan Lazarus (27 January 1932 – 1 October 2013) was a South African-born clinical psychologist and researcher who specialized in cognitive therapy and is best known for developing multimodal therapy (MMT). A 1955 graduate of South Africa' ...
, psychologist *
Roland Levinsky Professor Roland Levinsky (16 October 1943 – 1 January 2007) was an academic researcher in biomedicine and a university senior manager. His last post, which he held at the time of his death, was as vice-chancellor of the University of Ply ...
, biologist *
Stanley Mandelstam Stanley Mandelstam (; 12 December 1928 – 23 June 2016) was a South African theoretical physicist. He introduced the relativistically invariant Mandelstam variables into particle physics in 1958 as a convenient coordinate system for formulating ...
, physicist (
Jewish Year Book The ''Jewish Year Book'' is an almanac targeted at the Jewish community in the United Kingdom. It has been published every year since 1896 and is currently published by Vallentine Mitchell in association with ''The Jewish Chronicle'' and is edited ...
2005 p214) *
Shula Marks Shula Eta Marks, OBE, FBA (born 14 October 1938, in Cape Town) is emeritus professor of history at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. She has written at least seven books and a WHO monograph on Health and A ...
, historian (
Jewish Year Book The ''Jewish Year Book'' is an almanac targeted at the Jewish community in the United Kingdom. It has been published every year since 1896 and is currently published by Vallentine Mitchell in association with ''The Jewish Chronicle'' and is edited ...
2005 p215) *
Frank Nabarro Frank Reginald Nunes Nabarro MBE OMS FRS (7 March 1916 – 20 July 2006) was an English-born South African physicist and one of the pioneers of solid-state physics, which underpins much of 21st-century technology. Education Born 7 March 19 ...
, physicist (
Jewish Year Book The ''Jewish Year Book'' is an almanac targeted at the Jewish community in the United Kingdom. It has been published every year since 1896 and is currently published by Vallentine Mitchell in association with ''The Jewish Chronicle'' and is edited ...
2005 p214) *
Seymour Papert Seymour Aubrey Papert (; 29 February 1928 – 31 July 2016) was a South African-born American mathematician, computer scientist, and educator, who spent most of his career teaching and researching at MIT. He was one of the pioneers of artificial ...
, Artificial Intelligence pioneer *
Peter Sarnak Peter Clive Sarnak (born 18 December 1953) is a South African-born mathematician with dual South-African and American nationalities. Sarnak has been a member of the permanent faculty of the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced St ...
, mathematician *
Isaac Schapera Isaac Schapera FBA FRAI (23 June 1905 Garies, Cape Colony – 26 June 2003 London, England), was a social anthropologist at the London School of Economics specialising in South Africa. He was notable for his contributions of ethnographic and ...
, anthropologist (
Jewish Year Book The ''Jewish Year Book'' is an almanac targeted at the Jewish community in the United Kingdom. It has been published every year since 1896 and is currently published by Vallentine Mitchell in association with ''The Jewish Chronicle'' and is edited ...
2005 p215) *
Anthony Segal Anthony Walter Segal FRS FMedSci (born 24 February 1944) is a British physician/scientist. Education He was educated at the University of Cape Town (MB ChB, MD) and University of London (MSc, DSc, PhD). Career and research Tony Segal was born i ...
, biochemist (
Jewish Year Book The ''Jewish Year Book'' is an almanac targeted at the Jewish community in the United Kingdom. It has been published every year since 1896 and is currently published by Vallentine Mitchell in association with ''The Jewish Chronicle'' and is edited ...
2005 p214) *
Joseph Sonnabend Joseph Adolph Sonnabend (6 January 1933 – 24 January 2021) was a South African physician, scientist and HIV/AIDS researcher, notable for pioneering community-based research, the propagation of safe sex to prevent infection, and an early multif ...
, HIV/AIDS researcher *
Phillip V. Tobias Phillip Vallentine Tobias (14 October 1925 – 7 June 2012) was a South African palaeoanthropologist and Professor Emeritus at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He was best known for his work at South Africa's hominid fossil ...
, palaeoanthropologist *
Joseph Wolpe Joseph Wolpe (20 April 1915 in Johannesburg, South Africa – 4 December 1997 in Los Angeles) was a South African psychiatrist and one of the most influential figures in behavior therapy. Wolpe grew up in South Africa, attending Parktown Boys' ...
, psychotherapist *
Lewis Wolpert Lewis Wolpert (19 October 1929 – 28 January 2021) was a South African-born British developmental biologist, author, and broadcaster. Wolpert was best known for his French flag model of embryonic development, where he used the French flag a ...
, developmental biologist *
Basil Yamey Basil Selig Yamey CBE (4 May 1919 – 9 November 2020) was a South African economist and expert in the history of accounting. Career He was born in Cape Town in South Africa in May 1919, and educated at the University of Cape Town. For many yea ...
, economist (
Jewish Year Book The ''Jewish Year Book'' is an almanac targeted at the Jewish community in the United Kingdom. It has been published every year since 1896 and is currently published by Vallentine Mitchell in association with ''The Jewish Chronicle'' and is edited ...
2005 p215,315) *
Solly Zuckerman Solomon "Solly" Zuckerman, Baron Zuckerman (30 May 1904 – 1 April 1993) was a British public servant, zoologist and operational research pioneer. He is best remembered as a scientific advisor to the Allies on bombing strategy in the Second Wo ...
, UK zoologist * Max Price, Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...


Cultural figures

*
Lionel Abrahams Lionel Abrahams (11 April 1928 – 31 May 2004) was a South African novelist, poet, editor, critic, essayist and publisher. He was born in Johannesburg, where he lived his entire life. He was born with cerebral palsy and had to use a wheelchai ...
, poet *
Jillian Becker Jillian Becker (born 2 June 1932) is a South African-born British author, journalist, and lecturer. She specialises in research about terrorism, having written '' Hitler's Children: The Story of the Baader-Meinhof Terrorist Gang'' (1977), amo ...
, writer *
Dani Behr Dani Behr (born 9 July 1970) is an English former singer, actress, voice-over artist, and television presenter. Early life Behr was born in Mill Hill, London, of South African Jewish descent. Her father is a partner in London estate agents Be ...
, TV presenter *
Harry Bloom Harry Saul Bloom (1 January 1913 – 28 July 1981) was a South African journalist, novelist, activist and lecturer. Early life and career Solomon Harris Bloom was born into a Jewish South African family. He was educated at the University of the W ...
, writer and lecturer *
Johnny Clegg Jonathan Paul Clegg, (7 June 195316 July 2019) was a South African musician, singer-songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and anti-apartheid activist, some of whose work was in musicology focused on the music of indigenous South African people ...
, World Beat musician *
John Cranko John Cyril Cranko (15 August 1927 – 26 June 1973) was a South African ballet dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet. Life and career Early life Cranko was born in Rustenburg in the former province of Tran ...
, choreographer *
Adam Friedland Adam Dean Friedland ( ; born April 10, 1987) is an American stand-up comedian, talk-show host and podcaster based in New York City. He is best known as a host of the comedy podcast ''The Adam Friedland Show'' and its predecessor ''Cum Town''. E ...
, comedian and podcaster *
Graeme Friedman Graeme Friedman is a clinical psychologist and an award-winning writer whose short stories have appeared in anthologies published internationally. His book ''The Fossil Artist'' (Jacana, 2010), a novel about crime, authenticity, what it means to be ...
, writer *
David Goldblatt David Goldblatt HonFRPS (29 November 1930 – 25 June 2018) was a South African photographer noted for his portrayal of South Africa during the period of apartheid.Weinberg, Paul.David Goldblatt: Photographer Who Found the Human in an Inhuman ...
, photographer *
Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognized as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writin ...
, writer, Nobel Prize (1991) *
Laurence Harvey Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to South Africa at an early age, before later settling in th ...
, actor *
Ronald Harwood Sir Ronald Harwood ( né Horwitz; 9 November 1934 – 8 September 2020) was a South African-born British author, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for ''The Dresser'' (for w ...
, playwright *
Manu Herbstein Manu Herbstein (born 1936) is the South African author of ''Ama: A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade, Ama, a Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade'' (2001), which won the 2002 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book, the first time the award ha ...
, writer *
Dan Jacobson Dan Jacobson (7 March 1929 – 12 June 2014) was a South African novelist, short story writer, critic and essayist of Lithuanian Jewish descent. Early life and career Dan Jacobson was born 7 March 1929, in Johannesburg, South Africa, where his p ...
, writer *
Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mid ...
, comic actor *
Danny K Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People * Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journali ...
, pop singer *
William Kentridge William Kentridge (born 28 April 1955) is a South African artist best known for his prints, drawings, and animated films, especially noted for a sequence of hand-drawn animated films he produced during the 1990s. The latter are constructed by ...
, artist *
Lennie Lee Lennie Lee (born 4 March 1958) is a South African conceptual artist who lives and works in London. Life and career Lennie Lee is a British artist born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He moved to the UK in 1960. He was educated at Dulwich college ...
, artist *
Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English rock band, formed in London and active between 1962 and 1969. The group were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The band had two differen ...
(Manfred Lubowitz), R&B keyboardist *
Sarah Millin Sarah Gertrude Millin, née Liebson (19 March 1889 – 6 July 1968), was a South African author. Biography Millin was born in Žagarė, Kovno Governorate on 19 March 1889, was one of a family of seven children. Five months later her parents, I ...
, writer *
Trevor Rabin Trevor Charles Rabin (; born ) is a South African rock musician and composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and producing with a va ...
, guitarist & film composer *
Jonathan Shapiro Jonathan Shapiro (born 27 October 1958) is a South African cartoonist, known as Zapiro, whose work appears in numerous South African publications and has been exhibited internationally on many occasions. He is the nephew of British magician ...
(Zapiro), political cartoonist *
Antony Sher Sir Antony Sher (14 June 1949 – 2 December 2021) was a British actor, writer and theatre director of South African origin. A two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner and a four-time nominee, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982 and ...
, stage actor *
Janet Suzman Dame Janet Suzman, (born 9 February 1939) is a South African-born British actress who enjoyed a successful early career in the Royal Shakespeare Company, later replaying many Shakespearean roles, among others, on TV. In her first film, ''Nicho ...
, stage actress


Business and professional figures

* Raymond Ackerman, supermarket tycoon *
Alfred Beit Alfred Beit (15 February 1853 – 16 July 1906) was a Anglo-German gold and diamond magnate in South Africa, and a major donor and profiteer of infrastructure development on the African continent. He also donated much money to university edu ...
, diamond magnate * Donald Gordon, founder of insurance company
Liberty Life Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society f ...
, shopping centre owner & philanthropist *
Sydney Jacobson Sydney Jacobson, Baron Jacobson MC, (26 October 1908, Zeerost, Transvaal – 13 August 1988, St Albans, Hertfordshire) was a British journalist, editor and political commentator. Early years Jacobson was the only son and elder child of ...
, newspaper editor *
Solomon Joel Solomon Barnato "Solly" Joel (23 May 1865 – 22 May 1931), born in London, England, moved to South Africa in the 1880s where he made his fortune in connection with diamonds, later becoming a financier with interests in mining, brewing and railw ...
, financier *
Sol Kerzner Solomon Kerzner, (23 August 1935 – 21 March 2020) was a South African accountant and business magnate. He founded both of South Africa's largest hotel groups, the Southern Sun Hotel Group and Sun International. He was also the Founder, Chai ...
, hotel & casino owner *
Sammy Marks Sammy is a nickname, frequently for people named Samuel, and also an English spelling of the Arabic name Sami. People Music *Sammy Adams (born 1987), American rapper and songwriter *Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), American songwriter *Sammy Davis Jr. (1 ...
, early entrepreneur from
Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
*
Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...
&
Harry Oppenheimer Harry Frederick Oppenheimer (28 October 1908 – 19 August 2000) was a prominent South African businessman, industrialist and philanthropist. Oppenheimer was often ranked as one of the wealthiest people in the world, and was considered South A ...
, diamond tycoons & philanthropists (Harry converted to Christianity) *
Percy Yutar Percy Yutar (29 July 1911 – 13 July 2002) was a lawyer who became South Africa's first Jewish attorney-general. He is most noted as the state prosecutor in the Rivonia trial in which anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela and seven others were c ...
, South Africa's first Jewish
attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
and
prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...
of
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
in the 1963 Rivonia Treason Trial. *Walter Matulis JR. Co owner of a driver training business. Walter was raised as Roman Catholic only to find out in the 6th decade of his life that his ancestors were Lithuanian Jews. Walter remains a Christian while identifying himself as being of Jewish blood.


Sports figures

*
Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
&
Adam Bacher Adam Marc Bacher (born 29 October 1973) is a South African cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler. He is the nephew of former South African captain and cricket chief Ali Bacher. Biography Bacher entered Sout ...
, cricketers *
Leo Camron Leo Camron (14 March 1916 – 21 July 2007), aka "Leo Caminsky" or "Arieh Camron", was a South African-Israeli educationalist and sportsman, from Natal particularly remembered for his English textbooks, and rugby advocacy.Bath, Richard (ed.) '' ...
, rugby union player and cricketer. * Okey Geffin, rugby union player * Harry Isaacs, Olympic boxing medalist *
Ilana Kloss Ilana Sheryl Kloss (born 22 March 1956) is a former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and commissioner of World TeamTennis from 2001-21. She was the World's No. 1 ranked doubles player in 1976, and World No. 19 in singles in 1979. She w ...
, tennis player *
Sarah Poewe Sarah Poewe (born 3 March 1983) is an Olympic breaststroke swimmer who has competed internationally for both South Africa and Germany. Poewe was born in Cape Town, South Africa, the daughter of Lorrain (née Stoch) and Reinhardt Poewe. She li ...
, swimmer * Philip Rabinowitz (runner), 100-year-old sprinter * Jeremy Reingold, World Champion Swimmer, Rugby Player *
Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter (born 29 January 1950) is a South African business proprietor and former motor racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980, winning the Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari. Scheckter remains the only Afr ...
, Formula 1 driver *
Shaun Tomson Shaun Tomson (born 21 August 1955) is a South African professional surfer and former world champion, environmentalist, actor, author, and businessman. He has been listed among the top 10 surfers of the century, and was the 1977 World Surfing C ...
, surfer *
Mandy Yachad Mandy Yachad (born 17 November 1960) is a former South African cricketer and field hockey player who represented the South African national team in both sports. He is a qualified attorney, and an active business executive. Yachad made his inte ...
, cricketer


Rugby union

* Max Baise, South African rugby union referee. * Louis Babrow *
Leo Camron Leo Camron (14 March 1916 – 21 July 2007), aka "Leo Caminsky" or "Arieh Camron", was a South African-Israeli educationalist and sportsman, from Natal particularly remembered for his English textbooks, and rugby advocacy.Bath, Richard (ed.) '' ...
, South African who helped introduce rugby to Israel.,Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) p68 also a cricketer * Okey Geffin, South African Rugby Union player''
Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, langua ...
'', Second Edition, volume 19, p146
*
Joe Kaminer Joe Kaminer (25 January 1934 – 3 August 2021) was a South African rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the ...
*
Jonathan Kaplan Jonathan Kaplan (born November 25, 1947) is an American film producer and director. His film ''The Accused'' (1988) earned actress Jodie Foster an Oscar for Best Actress and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 39th Berlin International ...
, South African who holds the world record for refereeing the highest number of international rugby union test matches. * Alan Menter, South African Rugby Union Player *
Cecil Moss Cecil Moss (12 February 1925 – 27 October 2017) was a South African rugby union player, coach and a professional physician. He was also a qualified medical doctor (anaesthetist) and was part of the medical team who removed the heart from the f ...
, South African rugby union player and coach * Sydney Nomis, South African Rugby Union player *
Wilf Rosenberg Wilf Rosenberg (18 June 1934 – 14 January 2019) was a South African rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. Career Born in South Africa, Rosenberg moved to Australia as a child and started playing rugby unio ...
, rugby union player *
Fred Smollan Frederick Cecil Smollan (20 August 1908 – 8 February 1998, Johannesburg) was a South Africa international rugby union player. Career history Fred Smollan was born in Uitenhage, South Africa in 1908 to David Smollan and Mathilda Goldwater, the ...
*
Joel Stransky Joel Theodore Stransky (born 16 July 1967) is a South African former rugby union player. A fly-half, he is known for scoring all of South Africa's points, including the winning drop goal, against New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. ...
, South African rugby union player


Uganda

*
Gershom Sizomu Gershom Sizomu (born 1972) is a Ugandan rabbi serving the Abayudaya, a Baganda community in eastern Uganda near the town of Mbale who practice Judaism. Sizomu is the first native-born black rabbi in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is also the first chief ...
, rabbi


Zambia

*
Denise Scott Brown Denise Scott Brown (née Lakofski; born October 3, 1931) is an American architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia. Scott Brown and her husband and partner, Robert Venturi, ...
, architect *
Stanley Fischer Stanley Fischer ( he, סטנלי פישר; born October 15, 1943) is an Israeli American economist who served as the 20th Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017. Fisher previously served as the 8th governor of the Bank of Israel fro ...
, IMF economist


Zimbabwe

*
Norman Geras Norman Geras (; 25 August 1943 – 18 October 2013) was a political theorist and Professor Emeritus of Politics at the University of Manchester. He contributed to an analysis of the works of Karl Marx in his book '' Marx and Human Nature'' and the ...
, professor of Government *
Anthony Gubbay Anthony Ray Gubbay (born 26 April 1932) is the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe. He served in the position from 1990 to 2001, when he was forced to take early retirement and replaced by Godfrey Chidyausiku. He was previously a ...
, former chief justice * Laurence Levy, pioneering neurosurgeon *
Alexander Pines Alexander Pines (born June 22, 1945) is an American chemist. He is the Glenn T. Seaborg Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, Chancellor's Professor Emeritus and Professor of the Graduate School, University of California, Berkel ...
, chemist *
Roy Welensky Sir Roland "Roy" Welensky, (''né'' Raphael Welensky; 20 January 1907 – 5 December 1991) was a Northern Rhodesian politician and the second and last Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Born in Salisbury, Southern Rh ...
, prime minister of the
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...


See also

*
African Jews African Jewish communities include: *Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who primarily live in the Maghreb of North Africa, including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia, as well as Sudan and Egypt. Some were established early in the Jewish diaspora ...
*
List of Jews This list of lists may include both lists that distinguish between ethnic origin and religious practice, and lists that make no such distinction. Some of the constituent lists also may have experienced additions and/or deletions that reflect inco ...
*
List of African-American Jews This is a list of African-American Jews {, class="wikitable sortable" , - !width=200, Name !!width=85, Lifespan !!width=150, Nationality !!width=250, Occupation , - , Eric Andre , born 1983 , United States , Actor and comedian , - yyyoung ...
*
List of South Africans This is a list of notable and famous South Africans who are the subjects of Wikipedia articles. Academics Academics *Estian Calitz, academic (born 1949) * Jakes Gerwel, academic and anti-apartheid activist (1946–2012) *Miriam Green, acad ...
* Black Jewish people


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Jews From Sub-Saharan Africa
African Jews African Jewish communities include: *Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who primarily live in the Maghreb of North Africa, including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia, as well as Sudan and Egypt. Some were established early in the Jewish diaspora ...
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...