Ideally Speaking is a series of interviews with a wide cross-section of South African and ex-South African Jews.
Steve Hellmann and Lindsay Talmud explore the memories, thoughts and present day activities of people whose youthful experiences led them to try and make the world a better place. The interviews were done with graduates of Habonim, Betar and Hashomer Hatzair, as well as with people who were not active members of Zionist youth movements.
Set against the backdrop of Israel's struggle to sustain a credible democracy and the many challenges facing post-apartheid South Africa, this question is particularly relevant and sometimes painful.
Ideally Speaking is bound to stimulate serious discussion as well as a lot of nostalgia.
List of participants
Israel: Alan Apter Steven Aschheim Moshe ben Ami Louise Bethlehem Arnie Friedman Aryeh Gilat Merle Guttman Alan Hoffmann Harry Hurwitz Meir Jaffe Janina Kahn-Horwitz Hertzel Katz Jerrold Kessel David Kretzmer Ron Lapid Zeev Mankowitz Raphael Melmed Tzvi Pantanowitz Benjamin Pogrund Gideon Shimoni Itz Stein Meir Winokur
South Africa: Lael Bethlehem Johnny Broomberg Jules Browde Selma Browde Geoff Budlender Johnny Copelyn Dennis Davis Mickey Korzennik Michael Kuper Leon and Lorna Levy Alan Lipman Ronnie Miller Illona Tip
Elsewhere: Sidney Bloch Sam Fanaroff Michael Hayden Manfred Kagan Ronni Kahn Richard Kuper Shula Marks Vivian Rakoff Michael Schneider
The Editors
Steve Hellmann and Lindsay Talmud are graduates of South African Habonim, Steve from Johannesburg, Lindsay from Cape Town. They came on aliyah in the sixties as members of Garin Etgar and settled on kibbutz Tzora.
Steve: Still lives on Tzora, where he has been actively involved in various aspects of kibbutz life. He worked as Central Shaliach in Johannesburg for South African Habonim in 1976-8. Steve has worked primarily in education, with English teaching and teacher training as his main focus. He is the co-author of Kidworld, an ESL textbook.
Lindsay: Was a member of Tzora for five years and then went to London to study Middle Eastern History and Arabic. He returned to Israel in 1998 and now lives on moshav Ramat Raziel, where he has his pottery studio. Lindsay's professional life has encompassed teaching history and special needs, designing furniture, translating, editing and writing.
The book can be ordered from Amazon ; Barnes & Noble,
The Book Depository; and as a Kindle e-book. Also available from Ingram, and Baker & Taylor. Prices fluctuate around $16
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