Simon Meyer Kuper (1906 – 20 March 1963) was a judge of the South African Supreme Court, and a noted leader in the South African Jewish community. His children include anthropologist

Adam Kuper Adam Jonathan Kuper (born 29 December 1941) is a South African anthropologist most closely linked to the school of social anthropology. In his works, he often treats the notion of "culture" skeptically, focusing as much on how it is used as on ...

Early life

Kuper was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

in 1906. He attended Jeppe High School and subsequently gained his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

and

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

Career

Kuper was admitted to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1927. He joined Group 621 of the Johannesburg Bar. After practising law for several years, he was appointed King's Counsel in 1946 and became a judge at the South African Supreme Court in 1955. The South African Supreme Court consists of several divisions. Kuper sat in the Transvaal Provincial Division, which covers

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, South Africa's administrative capital.

Civic activities

In 1946, Kuper provided evidence before the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry on Palestine, on behalf of South African Jews. At the February 1954 Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Kuper represented South African Jews, together with Abel Shaban. Kuper was chairman of the

South African Jewish Board of Deputies The South African Jewish Board of Deputies is an organisation formed in 1912 from the merger of the Board for the Transvaal and the Board for the Cape. It serves as the central representative institution of most of the country's Hebrew congregat ...

from 1944–49, and was chairman of the

South African Zionist Federation The South African Zionist Federation is an organisation formed in 1898, responsible for coordinating all the Zionist activities throughout the country. It is based in Johannesburg, with additional branches in Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabe ...

from 1950 to 1955. Kuper's resignation from the chairmanship of the latter, which was made in order to pursue his career at the Supreme Court, was honoured by a pledge to plant a grove of 1,000 trees in Israel. Kuper subsequently became honorary president of the South African Zionist Federation. Kuper was at one time president of the United Hebrew Congregation, honorary vice-president of the Israel United Appeal, and honorary vice-president of the South African Jewish Appeal.

Death

On the evening of 8 March 1963, Kuper, who was at home with his wife and daughter, was shot through a window by an unknown assailant. He died twelve days later. Later that year, a hall at the Oxford Shul in Johannesburg, where Kuper had been a member of the congregation, was named in his memory. In November 1963, a new

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peo ...

lodge, founded in Johannesburg, was named after Kuper. Mr. Justice Ludorf said of Kuper:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuper, Simon Meyer 1906 births 1963 deaths 20th-century South African lawyers History of Zionism People from Johannesburg South African barristers South African Jews South African murder victims South African Zionists University of the Witwatersrand alumni