Mythbuster: not all South African Jews are wealthy

A small but increasing number of South African Jews depend on food hampers from Jewish charities that receive almost no government support.

Rich listers such as Nicky Oppenheimer, Wendy Appelbaum, Adrian Gore, Sharon Wapnick, and the Ackerman family are well-known names in the South African Jewish community.

Many South African Jews are wealthy. According to The Jewish Community Survey of South Africa conducted by David Graham in 2019, almost a quarter (24%) of respondents enjoy personal annual pre-tax incomes of one R1 million ($91,000) or more, and 9% earn more than R2 million ($180,000).  

The average South African Jew lives well above the average national income of R287,00 ($26,000), with an average income in the community of R421,000 ($38,000),

It is not surprising, then, that the sentiment “there’s no such thing as a poor Jew” exists in the minds of South Africa’s non-Jews.

But averages can be distorting. The very high income of the rich list hides the reality of life for the 6% of the community who earn no more than R25,000 ($22,700) a year and depend on charitable handouts for food, shelter and education.

Yad Aharon & Michael – The Jewish Food Fund – assists 680 families annually, distributing weekly fresh produce food hampers, running a soup kitchen, providing chickens for Shabbat and school lunch ingredients.  

The fund’s Jody Eberlin said providing raw foods was important because it enabled recipients to cook their own food “allowing them the freedom to be creative and independent”.

Distribution is important: many recipients lack transport, and some are too embarrassed to be seen collecting the food they need.

Most recipients are single or living with a partner but there are 235 children being supported, with some families of up to eight people.

The Johannesburg Jewish Chevra Kadisha (The Chev) provides pre-loaded debit cards to 400 families. “This gives our welfare recipients the dignity of being able to choose their own food,” says The Chev’s Tzivia Grauman.

The Chev also provides subsidised housing to a few in need and some assistance with rental payments for others.

Jewish welfare organisations rely on private donations:  Government support is virtually non-existent. Yad Aharon & Michael gets nothing from the government; The Chev receives 3% of its R313million ($28 million) budget from public funding.

 South African ex-patriates, including the Chai Charitable Foundation in Australia, are an important resource.

Welfare organisations in South Africa apply strict vetting processes to verify needs, including requiring bank statements, salary slips, and budgets.

At The Chev, cases are reviewed every three to six months to ascertain whether needs have changed.

 “Counselling while on welfare is mandatory,” Grauman says. “Our social workers provide counselling, undertake home visits, and provide psycho-social assessments.

But despite the strict criteria demand is growing, with Covid-19 lockdowns increasing demand on both welfare organisations.  

The Chev is supporting an additional 17% of Jewish families since the start of Covid and has increased distributions by more than 30%.

At Yad Aharon & Michael, Eberlin said the flow-on effects of Covid losses continue. “The number of families needing food assistance has increased substantially over the past 20 months. Families are still approaching us weekly, for food, as a result of Covid,” she said.

In a country where 27% of the population, some 16.3 million people, live below the poverty line, the Jewish poor represent a tiny and relatively well-supported fraction.

But they are a reminder that the South African Jewish community is not all Oppenheimers and Ackermans.

Photo: A worked at Yad Aharon and Michael organises food for distribution (supplied)