During the first half of the twentieth century many Jewish immigrants supported the British-oriented political parties. While some individuals in the United Party worked to establish a more just society, they could not prevent the development of an increasingly sophisticated policy of segregation between the two World Wars. This culminated in the introduction of apartheid in 1948 when the Nationalist Party came to power. In 1959 the more liberal wing of the United Party broke away to form the Progressive Party with two of the five Jews in parliament joining them.
Albie Sachs (second from left) and Hymie Rochman being escorted from a 'blacks only' entrance to the Cape Town Post Office during the Defiance Campaign.
One of them was Helen Suzman. For thirteen years she was the sole Progressive Party member in Parliament and often the only person to challenge the oppressive apartheid laws. An example of courage and integrity, she visited prisons and scenes of forced removals, and exposed police torture.
In 1961, Lilliesleaf Farm in Rivonia was purchased by Arthur Goldreich as headquarters for the underground Communist Party and a safe house for political fugitives. In July 1963, security police raided the farm and captured Nelson Mandela and nine members of the underground, charging them with sabotage. The trial, which ran from October 1963 to June 1964, culminated in the imposition of life sentences for eight of the accused. All five whites apprehended were Jewish.| HOME |  |