(first draft)
I decided recently that I really needed to reconnect with my birthplace, Zimbabwe. That feeling is hard to explain rationally but there were several factors that brought me to that decision.
I have been writing, collecting stories as well as records (e.g. cemeteries) relating to the Zimbabwe Jewish Community for a number of years and there are several people who have helped me along the way. I felt I needed to connect with them personally but also to try and be "on the ground" to record the last remaining vestiges of the community. I also had a burning desire to see a few of my favourite nature spots.
After leaving (Rhodesia) in 1973 and returning for a five-year contract with Reuters in Zimbabwe in the early 1990s my connections to the people and the place had strengthened. We had wonderful experiences and made good friends during that stint.
I booked and planned the basic schedule quite quickly and flew from Tel Aviv via Addis Ababa to Harare. First impressions are always the most important - they say.
I also made a conscious decision to mainly focus on the positive aspects of Zimbabwe and the ZJC. There would be no shortages of negatives, believe me.
After a very smooth (but long) flight to Harare I arrived to the Robert Mugabe International Airport and its immigration beaurocracy as a first taste of life in this country. I had noticed on the flight, which was pretty full, that many of the passengers were Zimbabweans returning home (I spoke to a few) but there were many Chinese. Our Air Ethiopia plane was the only one on the tarmac. Not many flights seemed to be coming in and out of Harare. It was a real hassle to get my visa sorted out but eventually it was resolved and I was out of the terminal to be greeted by Mathias my pre-arranged taxi driver.
Driving through Harare was my first experience of the significant changes to the country. There are MANY more cars on the road - traffic can be bad. There are almost no working traffic lights (I will say that a few times...) when I was visiting. There are very few street lights. Many, particularly side streets, are badly potholed and cars, trucks and buses have to meander around these obstacles. The wear and tear on vehicles (and the economy) must be horrendous. Read this perspective (Dec 2025) on the subject of poor infrastructure, written by a Zimbabwean.
You can watch this video to get somewhat of an idea of driving around Harare.
I arrived at my Airbnb cottage in the suburb of Alexandra Park - just opposite the Botanical Gardens and was greeted by a smiling Precious who is the live-in house maid. When I first approached her I had a flash of a moment when thought I was looking at a younger version of our own family maid Ivy Moyo who worked faithfully for our family for many years. I did a reset and there was Precious to show me around. Later on the owner greeted me and explained that their property had not had electricity from the grid for "a while" as a nearby transformer had been stolen and not replaced. Not to worry, she said, we have solar and backup generator. She also said they have not had municipal water for "a long time" but their prolific borehole did the job. I heard similar stories from several other people living on large properties with beautiful homes. In Zimbabwe its called "making a plan" or learning to live "off the grid".
This clip is the home on Sandringham Drive where I stayed in small cottage on the premises.
After freshening up I took a walk along Sandringham Drive, turning right on Maasdorp Road to head down to the Belgravia shopping centre to get some self-catering supplies. As mentioned, the roads are PACKED with cars even in this sleepy neighborhood. They seem to drive slowly to avoid the an abundance of potholes and there are almost no traffic lights working at intersections (did I say that already?). For those that remember Belgravia centre with its famous Dairy Den and its crazy manager/owner and the Reps Theatre - well today it is half street market in the parking area and half shops. I went into the well known Bon Marche supermarket to find the place half-empty, learning later that the chain was in liquidation and this branch was in the process of shutting down, apparently a victim of the disfunctional financial system in Zimbabwe with two official currencies - the USD and ZiG which I will not explain here (google if interested).
The other first impressions were a reminder of the luscious greenery and rich red soil of Harare especially after the heavy rains. The gardens and sidewalks are vervent/tropical green and in Alex Park where I am staying - mostly well kept. It still amazes me how some of the verges of homes are many times larger in area than our garden at home. Many of the former family homes have been converted into businesses. I had a great breakfast this morning at Cafe de Paris (!) on the corner of Falmouth and Churchill Rd. (for those that remember) which is one of these converted houses, that now houses a newly built set of offices (dentist, curio shop and cafe).
Later that morning my other trusted driver Julius, whom I am have known for a number of years, picked me up to take me to Honeydew in Greendale for a pre-arranged reunion lunch with my former Reuters staff. Now Honeydew is NOT typical Zimbabwe. It used to be many years ago merely a market for fruit and vegetables but now it is a huge expanse of shopping mall and restaurants in immaculately kept surroundings. We met at the Three Monkeys Restaurant owned and run by Ilan and Yaron Weisenbacher and we had a delicious lazy three-hour lunch reminiscing, talking politics and philosphy. We were a very special team at Reuters Harare in those days and I had a very productive and enjoyable stint of five years working there from 1989-94. I had been based in Harare, had an office in Nairobi as I was responsible for Reuters East and Southern Africa. I travelled extensively throughout the continent including West Africa. Zimbabwe was in a different place during those years - ten years after Independence. I was now returning after 45 years of Independence.
Julius took me back to my cottage via the Milton Park Jewish Community centre where we had a quick view of the Sharon School, old youth centre (now a nursery school), the former Harry Margolis Hall and the outside of the Ashkenazi Shul. The gardens are lush and green and everything seems to be kept in good shape. There are only 1 or 2 Jewish kids at the school but it is still run as a Jewish Primary School with some 200 students and the nursery school owned by the community and its Chairperson is Gwyneth Kably, representing the Jewish Community. Of course memories come flashing back from my teenage years of the many hours spent at Habonim meetings at the Youth Centre.
Another special occasion was the first wedding held at the Harry Margolis Hall in December 1965 of my sister Ann to Benjamin Schaffer (ex CT). That hall is now owned by the POAZ Christian Church. Of course another layer of memories remains the five years we spent in Harare in the early 1990s during which our daughters Orli and Liat attended Sharon School and we attended Shul at the Ashkenazi Synagogue. All good times.
An additional strong impression of Harare in 2026 is the dominant presence of the Chinese.
I reckon that half of my flight from Addis Ababa were Chinese nationals and many of the homes and businesses I encountered in Alex Park are also Chinese. I went to visit our old family home on Downie Ave Avondale and was told by the gardener that the place was occupied by Chinese either renting or owning the place. There were a few large containers in the yard next to the house indicating some sort of commercial activity. I was later told by several people that there is an estimated 280,000 Chinese nationals living and working in Zimbabwe which is more than the total (so called colonial) white population at its peak in the late 1960s.
The house where I grew up - 44 Downie Ave Avondale. Now owned or rented by Chinese.
On one of my early morning walks along Sandringham Drive to Downie Ave and down to 2nd St (now Sam Njoma) and then back up Maasdorp - I saw one former home had been completely erased and replaced with a kind of Chinese shopping mall including two restaurants, a kiosk selling Chinese products and a full-blown supermarket that also had mainly Chinese products. There was also a casino on the property. It feels like Zimbabwe really has been colonized by China. I also heard from more than once source that the Chinese often bring their own workers and Zimbabweans are not gaining at many different levels from their “operations” in Zimbabwe. I also heard from several people that the Chinese do not have a good reputation as decent employers and was told that many don’t speak English and they both exploit and treat their local Zimbabwe workers badly.
On Saturday morning I went to Shul at the Ashkenazi Shul in Milton Park which is kept immacuately both inside and out. The service was well run by Arnold Joffe (President of the Harare Hebrew Congregation) and Yossi Kably. There were 11 men and 5 women in Shul and this is a combined complement of both the Ashkenazi and Sephardi congregations. The service alternates between each shul. There is no Friday evening service because many do not like driving at night with no street lights and ever-present potholes. Driving down Lezard Ave and turning the left corner at the end is a nightmare and especially after the rain you cannot see how deep the potholes are.
The communities are a shadow of their former self as in the late 1960s early 1970s the combined Jewish population of Harare was approximately 3,500. After the service there was a kiddush in the foyer with some cakes, drinks and the traditional whisky. Arnold said a few words and kindly welcomed me to Harare and reminded members that I was hoping to interview people and collect their stories.
The night before I was warmly invited for Friday night dinner to Victor and Ilana Hasson's home in Gunhill which I remember well from the time we were in Harare in the early 1990s. Their garden and home is immaculate and we had a wonderful dinner together with Charlotte Bernstein, Henry and Lorraine Goldenberg. Lots of reminiscing, good company and excellent food.
Later on that Saturday I asked Julius to take me up the kopje overlooking Harare which was not successful as the army have closed the road going up the hill "for security reasons", I am guessing a long-standing paranoia by the Zim government. We then proceeded along Rotten Row (yep that's the name of the street) towards the working class Mbare suburb and the original Jewish cemetery known as Pioneer St cemetery. We passed the many vendors in the area and saw the workers apartment buildings which were built in the 1960s to accommodate employees in the nearby industrial area of Harare.
Julius told me that the buildings were designed with three or four floors of 10 rooms on each floor where each room originally had a single worker living in it. On each floor is a shared bathroom with a shower and toilet. He said that in 2026 these rooms are now occupied by whole families averaging 4-6 people and so each floor could have up to 60 people sharing the same bathroom facilities. Hard to imagine these living conditions but according to Julius they are actually considered lucky people to have a proper roof over their heads and any kind of access to a bathroom.
Many people in the suburbs of Mbare and Chitungwiza (further out of town) and other working class suburbs live in tin shacks with no running water or toilets. It is also true that much building of standard homes has also been done since independence but the huge problem remains the lack of infrastructure including poorly maintained (if at all) roads, no running water, poorly maintained sewage systems and erratic electricity supply.
A view of the Mbare street market opposite the Pioneer St Jewish Cemetery
The Pioneer St Cemetery Jewish section was quite overgrown with high grass but there were workers from the city council working in the grounds and I did receive pictures a few days later to show how the grass had been cleared. A few of the workers helped me to locate the tombstones of both my grandparents Phil and Annie Bloom z"l and it was quite emotional to re-connect with them even though they both passed away before I was born. One guy in the group offered to fix up the lettering on the gravestones (for a fee of course) and I agreed to that.
It is clear that they are probably paid minimal wages by the city council - which is today approximately USD 265 per month. A 10 kg bag of mealie meal (ground cornmeal) is around USD 9 and a family of four needs about 2-3 bags a month. Renting a room in Mbare apparently costs about USD 30-50 a month. There are school fees and other basic utilities. Life is tough for the working class and many people have turned to the informal sector to hustle for more income. At most major traffic intersections in Harare there are people selling everything from fruit to toys and much more. A common activity is selling cellular air-time as most people pay for the usage "on the go" and do not have bank accounts for monthly payments. Another common activity today in Zimbabwe, particularly in the rural districts is mining, particularly for gold, and I will describe that later.
Zimbabwe is very much a cash market. From luxury homes in the northern suburbs to the vendor on the street selling bananas - everything is done in USD cash.
Speaking to people during my visit it is clear that the financial system in Zimbabwe is still a complete mess. For example it is not possible to obtain a mortgage to buy a house - all property transactions are in cash. I witnessed in Harare many plush new homes in suburbs like Borrowdale and Borrowdale Brook apparently worth well over USD 1 m and even some in the USD 10 m range. There is definitely a property boom in the country as the wealthy seek to protect their money in physical assets. They have no trust in the financial system as the government has switched currency from Zim Dollars to USD and back again some three times, basically robbing people of their well earned money. Pensions and savings accounts have been wiped out, either by super-high inflation or the currency scam. Property and fancy cars appears to be the way wealthy Zimbabweans protect their money. They have been robbed too many times by the government to trust any official or financial institutions. You can read this item published by the opposition party describing the reality of the Zimbabwean Economy.
One person told me how her hard-earned USD account was recently completely cleared by the bank on the grounds that she had allegedly not paid her 2023 income tax. The amount cleared had nothing to do with her actual income tax for that year - they just cleared everything. With much effort and paying her accountant, she proved to them that they were mistaken, she had paid her tax and eventually the bank agreed to give her a credit - but not to reimburse to her account. I heard other hair-raising stories of government scams to cream money from people - especially those that have liquid assets in USD. The story of the white commercial farmers is well known and I heard many stories of how the government stole land (supposedly for distribution to the masses) but basically ensured that those in power and with political connections were given prime properties. Of the over 4,000 white commercial farmers in the early 2000s there are now only about 300 left on their land. One person I spoke to had his small (350 acre) property "listed" for acquisition by the government but he was allowed to stay on the farm. In other words his property, purchased in the 1930s, no longer belongs to him and he continues to live there at the grace of the government and can be kicked at any moment. Why would a person invest to improve that property under those conditions.
Another white farmer told me that he had been paid two installments under an agreement with the government whereby compensation would be given only for "improvements" to the property but not for the value of the land itself. Despite the loss of a huge asset that belonged to his family for nearly 100 years, he considered himself fortunate. That is how the government continues its war of attrition for over 25 years against mainly white farmers, some of whom were killed during violent land takeovers.
Back to my visit and staying positive !
My next encounter was truly remarkable.
I had heard the story of Dr. Solomon Gurumutunu and had met him in the early 1990s but very much wanted to meet him during my visit and get the full story directly from him. A friend gave me his number and I reached out to him to explain my interest and he immediately responded and we arranged to meet at his home in Borrowdale Brook outside Harare. His home sits at the top of hill overlooking the suburb's lush and rolling hills. Driving through his large iron gates I was immediately struck by the size and beauty of the propery with a long driveway meandering up the hill to the home. Wow - I thought to myself after having just witnessed some of the living conditions in Mbare.
He greeted me warmly and proceeded to tell his story to my camera. I will provide a link to the full interview after editing. In brief I had the most amazing and inspiring interview with Dr Solomon Gurumatunu - Zimbabwe’s top ophthalmologist who grew up on a farm in Inyazuru, Eastern Highlands owned by a Jewish family. The Buffensteins (Ida and Louis) facilitated him going to a private school in Swaziland and he went to study his specialty in Scotland. He was the chairman of the National Art Gallery in Zimbabwe and formerly president of the University of Zimbabwe in Harare. Really impressive and lovely guy. If you look at the background of this picture of him you can see some of the massive Zimbabwe sculptures on his magnificent property that he has collected.
So my first weekend in Harare passed quickly with a wide-range of experiences and emotions - ranging from the very familiar to the unexpected new developments and the seriously bad elements of poor infrastructure. I was pleased to have a driver and not have to tackle the traffic and potholes.
Simon Goldberg at the entrance to the Mutare Jewish Cemetery
We also visited the tiny Penhalonga Jewish cemetery with its two graves, again meticulously maintained by Simon. The walls were built by John Cinamon z"l. See below.
Simon and I went up to the Inyanga area for the day and had the priveledge of being shown by Ferai Bvirakare the Works Manager for the Nyangani Renewable Renewable Energy Company - a relatively new hydro electric power scheme on the Tsanga River, north of the Troutbeck Inn. We drove in his powerful Toyota 4-wheel drive through some rough (really rough) tracks to get down to the three stations we visited along the river's gorge. They are really impressive, top class installations with a combination of dam walls to build heads of water and large pipes to drop the water through the turbines. We visited three installations on the river (Tsanga A,B and C) which together produce some 10 mw of power to the grid of Zimbabwe. This a privately owned company which seems to have tremendous vision, deep pockets and cares for the surrounding communities by electrifying over 50 district schools and providing reliable power to the area. The company even had to help ZESA (Zim power company) to replace a couple of its transformers to enable the transmision of power from the hydro scheme.
I was impressed at the extensive effort to landscape the areas around the power stations and plant trees for a "hikers trail" down the gorge.
It felt to me that if this scheme works so well - Zimbabwe could learn from it and be in much better shape and indeed may (or could) be turning the corner from (literally) a dark place. For more background on the company's many activities - see https://www.nrezim.com/
One of the several sections of the Tsanga Hydroelectric power scheme showing the large pipes which drop water from the river to the turbines below.
The next day Simon and I drove south of Mutare towards the Vumba mountains and headed to the well-known Leopard Rock hotel. The immediate impression was of yet another property that is being maintained to a really high standard. The lobby area and the verandah overlooking the golf course were in pristine condition and surprisingly the main doors had mezuzoth on them as the owner is a Jewish man. I ordered my favourite fish - what else in Inyanga - grilled trout. Delicious.
We walked around the property's lake immediately in front of the hotel and could see that the golf course is also well looked after. We did not, however, see any players. Note the mezuzah on the entrance to the Leopard Rock Hotel.
Above the hotel is another small property called (in its day) The Vumba Castle. Gail and I stayed at the Castle during our stint in Zimbabwe in the early 1990s. It can accomodate up to 8 guests in one booking and has a unique set of rooms overlooking the hotel and its golf course plus a unique toilet installed on a raw outcrop of rock on which the castle is built. See below.
Simon and I talked for many hours about the whole Zimbabwe land acquisition story and all the fallout from those difficult years. Over 4,000 white commercial farmers were active even 10 years after Zimbabwe gained independence but when the government started the aggressive farm acquisition program in the name of land redistribution, by 2026 only a few hundred whites retained their properties.
His own family had a huge estate (a merging of four farms) known as Leigh Ranch at Odzi which became the single largest tobacco farm at the time in Rhodesia. They had cattle and other crops and his father Jack and other siblings were a formidable team in the 1950s and 60s. His uncle Benny became the Minister of Agriculture in the Federal government of Sir Roy Welensky during the 10 years of an experiment to form a federation between Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) , Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Nyasaland (now Malawi). The Goldbergs played a key part in the development of agriculture and industry in Zimbabwe. His father Jack founded the Tobacco Association and a research centre. The family took a unique decision at the time and volunteered to hand over 99 per cent of their land to the then white government for resettlement, even before majority rule was declared and Zimbabwe formed. They kept the small property known as Yardley in Penhalonga with its some 300 acres of land which is where Simon's grandparents had started and where he was now living. The full story is complicated and distressing to say the least.
One other strong impression of my visit to the area is the enormous amount of mining activity. Simon pointed out the huge scars on the mountain sides and looking carefully one can see many hundreds of blue plastic coloured "huts" scattered throughout the region, indicating the location of small mining activities. Large trucks drove backwards and forwards along the already damaged roads hauling all sorts of material for and from the miners. It really does feel like a gold-rush. With world gold prices at record peaks, everyone seems to be trying the luck and hoping for a bonanza. I did not see any of the larger commercial mines which are apparently worked by the Chinese.
Mining in Penhalonga, Zimbabwe, is a, deeply rooted, primarily gold-focused industry, centered around the major Redwing Mine and extensive, often illegal, artisanal mining activities. Located in the Mutare-Odzi greenstone belt, the area faces severe environmental degradation, including cyanide-contaminated water, land destruction, and significant conflict between community members, small-scale miners, and large-scale operators. You can read this report from the Daily Telegraph about the illegal mining in the area of Penhalonga.
It was hard to leave the beauty of the Eastern Highlands but my schedule required that I return to Harare before catching a plane to Bulawayo. Simon was a wonderful host and it was really great spending time with him and learning and appreciating why he continues to live at beautiful Yardley.
I decided to break my return drive and stay one night at the Imire Safari Lodge not far from Marondera (Marondellas). Gail and I had taken the girls there in the early 1990s and it is still going strong. Since that time Imire had built a series of lovely bungalows, a pool and dining area surrounded by immaculate gardens and amazing trees. I arrived just before the first game drive and we were shown around the 10,000 acre property. The guide was fantastic and I learned for the first time that the reference to black and white rhinos is a myth and there are only Wide-mouthed rhinos and narrow Hook-lipped Rhinocerous. They are both grey in colour. In the afternoon we went for another safari and encountered, buffalo, giraffes, warthhogs and the few elephants they have on the estate. Two of the elephants are very used to humans and enjoying being fed by visitors...quite an experience standing next to a huge tusker and dropping appropriate food into his trunk. These kind of experiences are a bit contrived but neverthless - wonderful encounters with the animals and Imire does a great job protecting Rhinos from extinction.
Mother Rhino (wide-lipped) with her calf
From there I drove directly to Harare airport to catch my plane to Bulawayo - only a 50 minute flight.
Raymond Roth kindly met me at the airport and took me into town where I stayed at a lovely B&B run by Claire Einhorn called "The Lavender".
A quick view of the Lavender B&B run by Claire Einhorn
Bulawayo is much calmer than Harare. It does feel as if it is frozen in time. Less traffic, much wider streets with their trademark dips for storm water drainage and as I mentioned before (!) - most of the traffic lights actually work. In Bulawayo the Shabbat Shul service takes place on Friday night and is run by Raymond. There were seven men in Shul. I was told that most times there is a minyan. After the service there was a kiddush and I got to meet and talk with the those who attended the service.
I managed to arrange schedules to interview several members who were keen to tell their stories.
After Shul I was kindly invited for a wonderful Friday night dinner at the home of Judy and Raphael Chitrin along with Raymond (his wife Elsa was out of town) as well as the Ross family as well as Ivor Rubinstein and his daughter Zara. We had good conversations and I continued to learn about the challenges facing the 30 members of Bulawayo Jewish Community.
Saturday and Sunday was a mixture of interviews and visiting the Shul (previously the Progressive Shul) and taking pictures. I had morning coffee with Valda Cohen and Judy Chitrin at a cafe which was previously a large Bulawayo home. That was another feature of my visit - discovering how many of the old homes we knew have been converted into businesses (both in Harare and Bulawayo). Some of the homes have been taken down and more modern buildings, mostly offices have replaced them.
I was also fortunate enough to have Ray take me for a few hours to visit Motopos national park which is about 25 kms outside Bulawayo. What a magic place it still remains. The majestic outcrops of granite rocks balancing precariously in an apparent "forever" frozen state. We walked up to see the famous "Worlds View" and the grave of Cecil John Rhodes who founded Rhodesia in the 1890s. The 360 degree views are stunning and excellent summer rains had added a hew of dark green foliage to the white and grey granite rocks. Memories of previous visits in my childhood and later when we lived in Zimbabwe in the 1990s, came flooding back in warm waves.
On the Monday I visited the Carmel Jewish Primary school and briefly encountered the well mannered students and saw how well the buildings and grounds are kept. The road leading to the school, however, is in horrific shape with huge potholes and jagged rocks sticking out of the ground. I managed to get a small group of girls to sing a Hebrew song and they chose Hatikva - a rather symbolic choice, I thought. I was told that the Jewish Community merely rents the building to the board that run the school and that they have chosen to retain its Jewish character to maintain the prestige of the place and differentiate it with other private schools. Carmel and Sharon (in Harare) are still considered to be amongst the top primary schools in Zimbabwe - a real credit to the ZJC visionaries who built them in the 1960s.
Ray took me to the Athlone Jewish Cemetery in Bulawayo with its over 1,250 graves. He rightly takes huge pride in how well the cemetery is maintained. He showed me the relatively "new section" that had been opened and also a section especially put aside for those who were not Jewish but had strong connections to the Jewish Community e.g. spouses of Jews.
I managed to interview several people in Bulawayo and will be editing and publishing those separately. I met with the President of the Community Josh LePar and was encouraged to see young blood running the show. We met at his family's well known Arenel sweets and biscuits factory which had been started by his grandfather.
Even with a tiny community of 30 - the Bulawayo community projects resilience and a strong desire to keep things going as best as they can. They certainly convinced me.
I had a couple of hours spare on the Monday morning before leaving Bulawayo and walked down Townsend Rd to visit the Matabeleland Animal Rescue & Equine Sanctury run by Claire Einhorn (my hostess at the B&B). What an inspiring place to visit. She has created an amazing place to house and feed over 120 donkeys, nearly 100 street cats, several horses and other animals. Many of these animals had been found sick or wounded and several donkeys were blind. She has built a very special place to protect these animals and let them live in dignity. Other organisations such as SPCA tend to have a policy of keeping animals for short periods until they are found homes and if that does not succeed they kill the animals. Claire cares for her animals for their natural lives. I will publish a short video I took of the place for you to get a sense of the unique work she and her staff do.
Back to Harare
On the Monday evening I flew back to Harare (FastJet - excellent service) and commenced another round of interviews over the next few days. Those will be published soon.
One afternoon I went out to Wingate Golf club to find it in excellent condition and after some significant alterations. The main plaques in the entrance continue to provide an important record of the Jewish founders of the club. We had a drink and a plate of hot chips with vinegar which was a real throwback for me to the days when there was also an active tennis and bowls section and even a cricket pitch. I drove with Mathias to see the old clubhouse to find it still standing but people living in it.
I went to the B.S. Leon Trust home for the retired where I met with Jeanette Kaplan (86) who was my nursery school teacher at the Salmon Margolis Jewish Nursery school in the 1950s×¥ She was a teacher to many generations of young kids in Harare both at that school and the later merged nursery school next to the Sephardic Shul. We had a wonderful chat and I did a short interview with her. The home is kept immacuately and she felt secure and well looked after. The B.S. Leon home is yet another wonderful institution founded by a Jewish philanthropist.
At the Sharon School I met the headmistress Kim Bizedenhout who told me that the majority non-Jewish board of governors made a choice to retain the Jewish Character of the school as it a) helped to differentiate them in a competitive market of private primary schools b) projected a high standard of academic excellence c) maintained a 60-year legacy of high standards, She said they celebrated all Jewish festivals but no longer taught Hebrew in the school. They did have a Shabbat service every Friday morning. She invited me to attend the service on the upcoming Friday. The school and its facilities are maintained to immaculately including the swimming pool, tennis courts and the next door Sharon Nursery school which used to be the Youth Centre many years ago.
Kabbalat Shabbat at Sharon School with Yossi Kably talking about parashat hashavua - the giving of the ten commandments.
General experiences
In between various scheduled meetings I had meals and coffee at Cafe de Paris and Nush Cafe (Borrowdale and Avondale) who operate to a high standard of service and could stand anywhere in the world. Other well known brands such as Nandos, Three Monkeys, Mcdonalds and several Chinese restaurants offer a range of foods. In Bulawayo there are number of cafes and restaurants mainly based in old homes in suburbs such as Khumalo and Suburbs offering an excellent standard of menus.
Nush Cafe Borrowdale - February 2026
Zimbabwe is full of contradictions. You can see people (mostly black) driving around in fancy SUVs, Porches, Jaguars, Mercedes and even a few Feraris; well dressed and eating in top restaurants. Their homes sit on properties of several acres with rolling lawns and beautiful flower beds and they may have several domestic staff living on the premises to see to their every need. On the other hand, the official unemployment level is around 70-80 percent with the vast majority of people in the informal sector, hustling for a few dollars a day. At every traffic intersection their are MANY people standing along the lanes trying to sell their wares - from toys to toilet paper. A common feature at these intersections will be a blind person being led by a seeing youngster begging for money. I mentioned the Mbare "high density" suburb where there are bustling markets selling fruit and clothes. Because Zimbabwe is a USD-based economy - the lowest item you can buy is always linked to 1 USD. There are no coins. If you want change from a small purchase - the vendor or even a supermarket will offer you another small item in lieu of change.
If you visit Zimbabwe bring lots of small denominations of USD.
I did not engage with any serious political discussions but it is clear that the main ZANU-PF party is still very much in power (since independence in 1980) and the culture strongly remains that those who show allegiance to the party tend to benefit in many ways for their loyalty. I read that parliament was seeking to pass a law that would enable President Mnangagwa to stay in power until 2030. I heard from several people that they are terrified of the CIO (Central Intelligence Organisation) that is known for its brutal tactics and intimidation of those who dare to criticize the government. The main newspapers are sycophantic and only the very daring will criticize the government.
Chapungu
I did manage to spend a couple of hours at the Chspungu Shona sculpture garden at Msasa in Harare. I was the only visitor to the expansive gardens with their huge stone sculptures. The managing artist who showed me around said that business was slow, very few tourists and those that came were not buying (including me). The founder Roy Guthrie has passed away and his wife continues to manage the business. It is still a magnificent exhibition of Shona stone culture and creativity and well worth a visit. I was showen a piece he had made which, he said, took a month to make.
The Lemba
My last few days were centered around further interviews and visits to ZJC sites like the Sephardic Shul in the "Avenues" and it too is really well maintained by a tiny community. I photographed many plaques recognising key members of the community over the years. Next door is the Rhodis Community Hall which has held many community events over the years. The pristine kitchen at the hall was the "home" of the famous WIZO ladies like Babs Naim, Anita Price and Rose Leon z"l who volunteered to cater for many events/chaggim. I could not help but feel a tug and lump in my throat when viewing these places.
I also went back to the Pioneer St Cemetery to check on the work done to fix the lettering on my grandparents tombstones and that the grass had been cut.
I attended Shul again on the Shabbat before leaving and there were 12 men and 6 women. I felt another lump in my throat as I was called to an Aliyah for the Torah Reading...recalling my own barmitzvah in the old Salisbury St Shul....Rabbi Konviser teaching me to sing my parasha...the Guild Hall...learning to lay tefillin with Julius Melman and Mr Bamburger....my father also had his barmitzvah in the same Shul .....my grandparents Philip and Annie Bloom donated a large library of books to the Shul (I photographed some in the corridor) and had been prominent members in the 1920s-1940s.
I also managed to spend a few hours at the National Archives in Gunhill to look for records of the Jewish Community. There were many and I only had time to extract and view a few random examples - one of which I had photocopied. Does anyone recall a small Reform Jewish Community newspaper in the 1970s called Sinai Synagogue Quarterly ? There are copies in the National Archives. Visiting the archives and finding records was quite an experience in its own right. Everything is still based on card-based indexing and although I was told they are in the process of computerising it seemed that there were many staff sitting around without much to do. Each time I wanted to extract or copy material I had to go through several clerks, re-enter my name on a form and then proceed to the "accounts" department and pay $1 for each copy to a totally bored woman who was more interested in her smart phone.
Wrap up
It was a whirlwind visit of two weeks and I achieved much of what I set out to do. This summary hopes to give you a sense both in written and visual form of what my experience was like. The Zimbabwean people are lovely and friendly. I never felt any aggression or heard a raised voice - except from one rather large policewoman who tried to convince my driver Julius that his license is not stuck on the windscreen "correctly" and he should pay a fine. He managed to push back and avoid the fine.
I will post a full Google Photo Album for you to view many other images and will also be publishing the many interviews I did with members of the ZJC (after editing).
The two tiny Jewish Communities in Harare and Bulawayo are proud and resilient. They are doing the best they can to maintain Jewish life. They look after the less fortunate, maintain their cemeteries and hold regular Shul Services. They were also welcoming and warm in receiving my visit and I thank them for that. We don't know what the future will bring for the ZJC in Zimbabwe but we wish them well and continued strength.
To see a draft photo and video album of my trip to Zimbabwe - click here.
I will add and edit more in the coming days.
Please also visit the ZJC facebook group for additional postings and comments from the community. You can also post a comment at the bottom of this blog.
Dave Bloom
12/2/26
