[2] The history of the Jews in South Africa began during the period of Portuguese exploration in the early modern era, though a permanent presence was not established until the beginning of Dutch colonisation in the region.

During the period of British colonial rule in the 19th century, the Jewish South African community expanded greatly, in part thanks to encouragement from Britain.

Jewish cartographers in Portugal, many of whom were member of the Portuguese upper class, assisted explorers Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama who sailed around the Cape of Good Hope to India in 1488 and 1497, respectively.

[10] In 1652, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) established a colonial settlement at the Cape of Good Hope under the direction of Jan van Riebeeck.

The first service was held on the eve of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) at the home of Benjamin Norden on the corner of Weltevreden and Hof streets.

Though freedom of worship was granted to all residents in 1870, the revised Grondwet of 1894 still debarred Jews and Catholics from military posts, from the positions of president, state secretary, or magistrate, from membership in the First and Second Volksraad ("parliament"), and from superintendencies of natives and mines.

[citation needed] Before the Boer War (1899–1902), Jews were often considered uitlanders ("foreigners") and excluded from the mainstream of South African life.

[13] Jews fought on both sides during the Second Boer War (1899–1902), and Jewish soldiers, such as British Army officer Karrie Davies, participated in some of the most significant engagements of the conflict, including the siege of Ladysmith.

Captured Boerjode were held in prisoner-of-war camps in South Africa, Ceylon, Saint Helena, Bermuda and India.

[18] The 1937 Aliens Act, motivated by a sharp increase the previous year in the number of German Jewish refugees coming to South Africa, brought such migration to almost a complete halt.

[19] During this period, many Afrikaners sympathised with Nazi Germany due to their anti-British sentiment, and organisations such as Louis Weichardt's "Grayshirts" and the pro-Nazi Ossewabrandwag were openly antisemitic.

South Africa's Jews were permitted to collect huge sums of money to be sent on as official aid to Israel, despite strict exchange-control regulations.

[30] In addition to the well-known high-profile Jewish anti-apartheid personalities, there were very many ordinary Jews who expressed their revulsion of apartheid in diverse ways and contributed to its eventual downfall.

Johannesburg's Oxford Synagogue and Cape Town's Temple Israel established nurseries, medical clinics and adult education programs in the townships and provided legal aid for victims of apartheid laws.

The prime example of the more moderate approach is that of the highly assimilated Harry Oppenheimer (1908–2000) (born Jewish but converted to Anglicanism upon his marriage), the richest man in South Africa and the chairman of the De Beers and Anglo American corporations.

The banner for this cause was held high by Helen Suzman, as the lone Progressive Party member in South Africa's parliament, representing the voting district of Houghton, home to many wealthy Jewish families at the time.

Harry Schwarz, a refugee from Nazi Germany, also played a key role in national opposition to Apartheid and later became South Africa's Ambassador to the US during its transition to democracy.

In 1980, after 77 years of neutrality, South Africa's National Congress of the Jewish Board of Deputies passed a resolution urging "all concerned [people] and, in particular, members of our community to cooperate in securing the immediate amelioration and ultimate removal of all unjust discriminatory laws and practices based on race, creed, or colour".

This inspired some Jews to intensify their anti-apartheid activism, but the bulk of the community either emigrated or avoided public conflict with the National Party government.

Despite low intermarriage rates (around 7%),[5] approximately 1,800 Jews emigrate every year, mainly to Israel, Australia, Canada and the United States.

The current Orthodox chief rabbi, Warren Goldstein (2008), has been widely credited for initiating a "Bill of Responsibilities" which the government has incorporated in the national school curriculum.

[5] The 2016 Community Survey mini-census conducted by Statistics South Africa found the largest numbers in the following municipalities: Johannesburg 23,420; Cape Town 12,672; Ethekwini (Durban) 3,599; Ekurhuleni (East Rand) 1,846; Tshwane (Pretoria) 1,579; Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth) 623; Msunduzi (Pietermaritzburg) 600; Mangaung (Bloemfontein) 343; Stellenbosch 316; Buffalo City (East London) 251; Mbombela (Nelspruit) 242.

These agencies provide certification and supervision services to ensure that food products meet the strict dietary requirements of Jewish law.

[37][38] Judaism in South African music, has evolved with the introduction of new technology well articulated and educated hip hop music artists such as Pope Troy with his second and only global academically accredited Hip Hop music album in South Africa "Ancient African Gravity Guardian of Netanyahu, The Chronicles of Ezekiel" plays a role in ensuring that Jewish heritage has a significant footprint in Africa and the world as a whole, through music as a medium and a tool for spreading common knowledge and ideologues, the Jewish heritage and history remains strongly supported in South Africa, celebrating the Jewish culture, products and ideas as well as its religious prospects, have pushed South Africa away from, acts of anti-Semitism,[39] with very little media reports of dubious acts against Jews as a people until recently given the altercations between Palestine and Israel.

[40][41][42] The Lemba, Remba, or Mwenye[43] are an ethnic group which is native to South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe of mixed Bantu, Ethiopian and Yemeni heritage.

Since the late twentieth century, there has been increased media and scholarly attention about the Lemba's claim of common descent from First Temple-era Jews.

[50] In total, nineteen Day Schools, affiliated to the South African Board of Jewish Education, have been established in the main centres.

As an institution with hundreds of pupils, Yeshivah College is today the largest religious school in the country, with Torah studied alongside the national curriculum.

Notable figures such as Moshe Sternbuch and Aharon Pfeuffer played a major role in the Haredi community at that time, with Akiva Tatz being an especially popular speaker.

Aish HaTorah emphasizes student-focused programming – lectures and retreats, as well as various group trips to Israel – and also runs a community synagogue for singles and young marrieds.