Cape Town, South Africa – Pricey Shavuot menu is dragged into a row rocking SA’s largest Orthodox Jewish congregation.
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The country’s largest Orthodox Jewish congregation is at war with itself as accusations fly over financial audits, vote-rigging for top positions, insults — and expensive sushi on Shavuot.
The president of the Green and Sea Point Hebrew Congregation, at the Marais Road synagogue in Cape Town, is under siege from a faction of congregants and what he calls “dissidents”.
The simmering controversy, aired in a flurry of letters circulated among the congregation’s 1340 families, is expected to come to a head at the congregation’s annual meeting today.
High-profile congregants who may attend today’s meeting include Rael Levitt, chief executive of the Alliance Group, and Western Cape High Court Judge Dennis Davis.
The allegations were sparked by a damaging audit presented at last year’s AGM, when auditors voiced concern over tax compliance by the shul and AGM voting irregularities.
In a letter the firm of Gross Hendler and Frank speaks of “grave concern” over affairs at the shul.
The firm said the shul was not tax-compliant with regard to officials’ salaries — “a very serious problem”.
Further, “voting at your AGM was a complete mess. .. our role of verifying the votes was a source of embarrassment to us as a professional firm”.
The firm suggested that another appraisal be done.
Mazars Moores Rowland Forensic Services was commissioned, and released a report a few months later.
That report raised questions about donations thought to have gone missing and letters allegedly sent to various traffic departments asking for the quashing of fines involving cars linked to the congregation.
In a letter to the shul’s committee, a group of senior congregation members, including Judge Davis, demanded answers.
Subsequently, six charges were brought against the shul’s executive director, Ian Maltz. He was cleared on five of these, but received a final warning on the sixth charge after the disciplinary hearing.
He was found to have “foolishly fabricated” a letter saying he was entitled to pension and medical aid benefits from the shul — for tax purposes.
The synagogue’s website says Maltz, a former surfer from Durban, once worked as assistant manager of a dairy at Israel’s famous milk and yoghurt producing Kibbutz Yotvata.
The Sunday Times approached Maltz on Thursday afternoon for comment on points including the damning forensic investigations, tax issues and allegedly excessive catering sprees.
He said that there was not enough time to respond, due to celebrations for Shavuot, a Jewish holiday commemorating the day God gave the Torah to Moses, this weekend.
But the Shavuot celebrations themselves have raised the ire of some congregants — because of the menu.
The shul’s website invites members to celebrate the holiday by tucking into sushi at the synagogue’s hall after the service on Friday night.
In a letter circulated to congregants, former city councillor Arthur Wienburg accuses shul president Haylen Lewin of forking out R10000 for the seafood feast — an “electioneering” gimmick paid for by congregants.
According to the website, the spread will be supplied by the Blowfish Restaurant in Bloubergstrand.
Wienburg declined to comment to the Sunday Times this week. “This matter is a source of embarrassment and shame for our congregation and the wider Jewish community,” he said. “I urge you to allow us to settle it within.”
Fed up with what they call “unnecessary expenditure and prosecution”, some congregants have now threatened to withhold donations from the shul, and ignore an appeal around the year’s most solemn holiday, Yom Kippur.
In his letter of May 13, copied to each household, president Lewin denies the stinging allegations of misconduct and poor governance.
“There were errors in tax deductions in the 2008 year,” he writes. “However, once the amount was quantified, it was immediately paid to SARS by the shul on behalf of those employees who were overpaid.”
The Green and Sea Point Hebrew Congregation is considered by many as the largest synagogue in the Southern Hemisphere, with more than 2000 members.
Abi mezugt az nur chasidim ken men zich shlugen
When you have officials who are not shomrei mitzvos, what do you expect???
The Shul for years has been derelict in its Jewish and Torah focus.
I’m wondering about this sushi brocha on the second night of Shovuos. The restaurant that supplied the sushi is not a kosher one. I suppose the rabbi may have gone in and kashered the rice cooker, and ascertained that the ingredients were all kosher; but something ought to have been said about it, lest people get the impression it’s OK to eat at this place!
As a member of this Shul, I am sad to see this article from the South African Sunday Times reproduced here. First of all, the Sunday Times is anti-Semitic and looks for scandal. The article was not meant for the Jews but rather their enemies and tractors, of which there are many in the “new” South Africa. It is a rag and not worth reading. I gave up purchasing it years ago.
Secondly, there are individuals with their own agendas and axes to grind, for whatever reasons. Don’t think that the judge mentioned in the article is such a tsadik. He definitely is not! He is a well-known over-inflated ego and has a bad anti-Israel record and is also notorious for ingratiating himself to the South African government in his insatiable ambition. He is also well known for being less than truthful on a number of occasions and is also recognized as a willful bully who abuses his positions. He was put down publicly at an AGM a year ago by the Shul’s director, Ian Maltz, and has been hell bent on getting his revenge ever since. In short, he is not a nice or honest man and people, in their ignorance and wisdom, fear him as he often threatens and bluffs his enemies with taking them to court. I have been told that in the charges brought against Ian Maltz, note that five were dismissed, the judge, acting as the complainant, privately tried to influence the commissioner, a local labour lawyer and fellow member of the Board of Deputies, to find for his side. Luckily the lawyer had the sense and guts to reject this pressure this time. Not easy within the workings of the legal profession which tends to kow tow to judges’ whims and madness in and out of court. And what is meant by “a group of senior congregation members”? Is one congregant more equal than another based on what, money, age? What nonsense and just for information’s sake, the “dissidents” are mostly a small young group.
The sushi bit has become a recent fashion amongst various congregations started by a Chabad Rabbi at another Shul in Cape Town to attract congregants to come on Shabbat. In this case it was probably done to attract the congregants to the annual AGM so that a maximum would participate. You see, it all depends on how you interpret the so-called “facts”. I will remind you again that the Sunday Times is anti-Semitic. Furthermore, what fool in this congregation alerted them to report on it? The abuse of terminology such as “high profile congregants” is nonsense. Rael is a successful businessman, but so what? The Shul is full of such people, as are most Shuls around the world.
It is true that many congregants are fed-up with “unnecessary expenditure and prosecution” brought about by the judge and a small group of rebels. They will not accept a legal decision by a commissioner nor majority votes at an AGM. They are headstrong and obstinate and determined to get their way against majority decisions and are destructive in the process.
This is more than a good and magnificent congregation and it is a joy to attend their services. It has a wonderful, kind, dedicated and humane Rabbi that works extremely hard in the interests of the community. Comments about the kashrut are complete nonsense and included in the comments to add grit to the millstone. By the way, although not normally kosher, the restaurant mentioned is Jewish owned by a great Zionist, Jew and mensch. The South African Jewish community has always been a great and Zionistic community and nasty comments from people who are holier-than-thou are unnecessary, wicked and they are not exempt from the halachos of Loshon Hara (slandering or embarrassing other individuals) and religious people like the commentators above should know better and desist instead of getting a cheap thrill at their own righteousness. Shande!
Understand that the South African Jewish community is diminishing and hugely under attack from the government, from the Muslims and from the anti-Semites. Rather than express opinions about things you know very little about, look for ways to aid and assist this wonderful community.
Arthur Wienburg is right, this Shul should be allowed to settle its own issues from within. This publicity makes no contribution what-so-ever, tarnishes Jews everywhere and just plays into the hands of our enemies.
And finally to the editors of this paper/website; You are guilty of dishonesty yourselves for not showing the source of the article and crediting it. The mention of the Sunday Times in the article was not your inclusion as it was part of the original article.
Milhouse, how do you know what was said and not said? Were you there? Did your comment give you a feeling of self-righteousness and superiority? There are bigger issues at stake and your worried about the kosher sushi. I can ssure you that the Rabbi of this Shul is a finer mensch and adheres strictly to the rulings of the Beth Din. Shame on you.
To the earlier comment by David. What are you talking about? How do you know and how can you prove that the “Shul for years has been derelict in its Jewish and Torah focus”? Absolute nonsense! Regular shiurim, study classes and discussion groups are held weekly. Thuis Shul, as with others, applies itself diligently to its task and roll. That was a nasty and unjustified comment.