LA JOLLA, Calif. — On Tuesday, Nov. 8, from 6:30-9 p.m., South African Jewish American Community (SAJAC) San Diego will hold the gala opening of “The Goldene Medina: Celebrating 175 Years of Jewish Life in South Africa,” a new exhibition in La Jolla. Gourmet bites and refreshments will be served.
September 2016 marked the 175th anniversary of Jewish life in South Africa. To acknowledge this historic occasion the South African Jewish Museum developed an exhibition entitled “The Goldene Medina” (The Golden Land), which reflected on the religious, social, and political history of the Jews of South Africa, from 1841 to 2016.
This exhibition offers unique insight into the day-to-day lives of generations of ordinary South African Jews. The anecdotes are presented anonymously; they are curated from first-person accounts, unpublished memoirs, and diaries. These anecdotes are not only relatable to Jewish South Africans, but they also reflect the common shared experiences of Jewish communities throughout the Diaspora.
The exhibition draws on common personal experiences of community members with a focus on shared experiences rather than a historical timeline.
A tapestry of the communal experiences has been created which includes a curated collection of anecdotes, images, and films that, over the course of 175 years, have forged the South African Jewish identity.
The accompanying imagery was curated from the South African Jewish Museum’s digital archive (www.SAJMarchives.com) which is an online archive that seeks to secure the social history of the South African Jewish community by digitizing old family photos, documents, and films.
The free exhibition runs from Nov. 8-29 in La Jolla. Register at bit.ly/GoldeneMedina. Venue details will be emailed with registration confirmation.