Lionel "Rusty" Bernstein (20 March 1920 – 23 June 2002) was a Jewish[2] South African anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner.

Bernstein was born on 20 March 1920 in Durban, Union of South Africa, the youngest of four children of Jewish émigrés from Europe.

He was orphaned at eight years of age, and brought up by relatives, after which he was sent to finish his education at Hilton College, a private boys' boarding school.

After matriculating, he returned to Johannesburg, where he started work at an architect's office, while studying architecture part-time at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Through Jonas, at Florian's Coffee House in Hillbrow he first learned of "the invisible world of black workers and trade unions which existed on my own doorstep.

Over the next quarter of a century, he wrote extensively for the a number of journals, including Liberation and the South African newspaper The Guardian.

This carried the same message as his other writings; that South Africa was approaching its last chance to make a peaceful transition to democracy.

Bernstein played a major part on the committee organising the Congress, and worked very closely with Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo.

By 1953, both he and his wife became subject to bans and restrictions that prohibited them from belonging to or taking part in the activities of numerous organisations including non-political bodies such as parent teacher associations.

The Bernsteins decided to leave South Africa for the sake of their children, who would be left without their parents for a very long time if both of them were sent to prison.

Despite leaving the country of his birth, he continued to work tirelessly for the abolition of apartheid without drawing a salary from the ANC, preferring to earn his living independently.

In 1998, the Bernsteins were awarded honorary degrees from the University of Natal for their role in helping to bring democracy to South Africa.

He was posthumously made a member of the Order of Luthuli (Gold), "For his political activism, abandoning privilege and dedicating his adult life to the struggle for liberation, democracy, human rights and peace, and for striving to build a better Africa and a better world through the anti-apartheid crusade.

"[7][8] In March 2011, the country of The Gambia issued a postage stamp in Bernstein's honour, naming him as one of the Legendary Heroes of Africa.