Benoni is a town on the East Rand,

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

, South Africa, some east of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, within the City of Ekurhuleni municipality. Benoni was also the setting for the

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

-inspired movie ''Crazy Monkey: Straight Outta Benoni'', released internationally in 2005.

History

Jewish community

Benoni was previously home to a thriving

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community, peaking with 400 Jewish families. Jewish residents were also widely involved in the greater community, with five Jewish mayors. The Benoni Shul congregation began with a synagogue located on Woburn Avenue in 1907, before relocating to a new, larger synagogue on Park Street in 1933. The synagogue served the community for 90 years, before closing in 2023. Rabbi Lionel Mirvis, father of

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

Ephraim Mirvis Sir Ephraim Yitzchak Mirvis (born 7 September 1956) is a British Orthodox rabbi who serves as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. He served as the Chief Rabbi of Ireland between 1985 and 1992. Early life ...

, previously served the congregation. The synagogue was designed in a

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

style by the English architect, Arthur Furner, a partner in Hermann Kallenbach's architectural firm, KKF. The community was also served by Hillel, a Jewish day school, which closed in 1989, amid Jewish migration to Johannesburg's northern suburbs and emigration overseas. A Jewish cemetery was also established in Benoni in 1912, it is administered by the Benoni Chevrah Kadisha. Aura Herzog, the former First Lady of Israel, often spent

shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

in Benoni when she was a student in

Geography

Benoni is situated towards the centre of the East Rand and lies on the urban fringe where the urban area dissolves into the smallholdings and farmland to the north. It borders on Kempton Park to the north-west, Boksburg to the west, Brakpan to the south and Daveyton to the east. Benoni mainly encompasses a mixture of suburban areas and semi-rural acreage towards the north while the commercial

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

lies in the centre and a few industrial areas lie towards the south.

Transportation

Rail

Benoni lies on the main railway line between

and Springs and the main railway line between Johannesburg and Daveyton, both operated by

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the List ...

which has temporarily suspended services on these commuter lines since 2020 and have remained closed due to vandalism on these lines. Prior to 2020, Metrorail operated services on the Johannesburg-Springs line from Benoni to

Germiston Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions as the m ...

, Boksburg, Brakpan and Springs. Benoni is served by three Metrorail railway stations on the Johannesburg-Springs line including: Benoni station, New Kleinfontein station and Apex station. Prior to 2020, Metrorail operated services on the Johannesburg-Daveyton line from Benoni to Johannesburg, Germiston and Boksburg. Benoni is served by three Metrorail railway stations on the Johannesburg-Daveyton line including: Avenue station, Northmead station and Van Ryn station.

Road

The N12 is the major

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

that runs through Benoni. It enters the town from Boksburg and

in the west, bisecting the town and bypassing the CBD to its immediate north before heading east towards eMalahleni. The R23 runs north-south from Kempton Park towards Brakpan and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and runs through the CBD as Tom Jones Street (southbound) and Bunyan Street (northbound). The R29 runs east-west from Springs towards Boksburg and runs through the CBD as Ampthill Avenue (westbound) and Princess Avenue (eastbound). The R51 runs north-south from Bapsfontein, just outside Benoni towards Springs and barely by-passes Benoni to the east. Benoni is also served by three metropolitan routes linking it to surrounding towns and cities in the East Rand. The M43 links Benoni with Kempton Park to the north-west and Vosloorus to the south-west. The M44 links Benoni with Boksburg to the west. The M45 links Benoni with Kempton Park to the north-west. The M53 links Benoni with Boksburg to the west and Brakpan to the south.

People from Benoni

* Nomuzi Mabena, South African rapper * Urzila Carlson, New Zealand based comedian * R. Graham Cooks, chemist *

Charlene, Princess of Monaco Charlene ( ;Since her marriage, her name has been Gallicised by adding a grave accent to her name in French documents. born Charlene Lynette Wittstock, 25 January 1978) is princess consort of Monaco, Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Albe ...

(née Wittstock), swimmer, and consort of Prince Albert II of Monaco * Bryan Habana, former Springboks rugby player * Philip Holiday, IBF World Champion Boxer *

Morris Kahn Morris Kahn (; born 5 March 1930) is an Israeli billionaire entrepreneur. He is the founder of Golden Pages Israel, Amdocs, the Aurec Group, Coral World and other companies. Through Coral World, he founded several marine parks around the world ...

(born 1930), Israeli billionaire, founder and chairman of

Aurec Group Aurec Group (from Latin: Aurum - gold, or from Hebrew: עורק - artery), is an Israeli holding company that includes cable and telecom investments. It was established in 1968 by Morris Kahn. History Aurec Group was founded by Morris Kahn, who ...

* Denis Lindsay, cricketer * Mildred Mangxola, singer and member of the Mahotella Queens * Frith van der Merwe, schoolteacher at Benoni High and the most prolific female runner in the history of the Comrades Marathon * Jessica Marais, actress * Pops Mohamed, jazz musicianJessica Marais and James Stewart: Our love story!
''Now to Love''. 19 December 2010 * Genevieve Morton, top model *

Grace Mugabe Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe (formerly Goreraza, Birth name, née Marufu; born 23 July 1965) is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur, politician and the widow of the late President Robert Mugabe. She served as the First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1996 until her hus ...

, former First Lady of Zimbabwe * Bradley Player, cricketer * Oliver Reginald Tambo, anti-apartheid politician * Charlize Theron, Oscar-winning actress (Academy Awards: Best Actress ''

Monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

'') * Vic Toweel, former undisputed World bantamweight champion and South African boxing champion. * Jill Trappler, visual artist * Nibs van der Spuy, guitarist, singer, songwriter

Arms

References

External links

AllRefer Encyclopedia – Benoni, South Africa
{{Authority control East Rand Populated places in Ekurhuleni Populated places established in 1881