David Saks

The traumatic events of the past few weeks have revealed South Africans at its worst. An orgy of rage, cruelty and merciless hatred has descended on our society, reminiscent of the worst excesses of the country’s painful transition to democracy in the early years of the last decade. People are asking, and rightly, what kind […]

What Jews and Afrikaners have in common, a son of a leading anti-apartheid activist once said to me, is that they will never let you forget about their past suffering. He could say this, being himself part Jewish and part Afrikaans. In reality, though, it is true of virtually everyone. Whereas contrition and self-criticism do […]

Viewing the grave of the Xhosa chief Ngqika a few years ago affected me deeply, but not in the way I expected. Nestling in the foothills of the Amatolas on the site of Ngqika’s “Great Place”, it was once regarded as semi–sacred by the Xhosa, a shrine that became the focus of their national yearnings. […]

“Yaapies” is how the Australian writer Malcolm Knox referred to South African cricketers in his 2005 novel Adult Book. Some may take exception to this, but it has to be acknowledged that he also manages to sum up very neatly what is wrong not just with our national cricket team, but with the South African […]

I always get a kick out of recounting the story of the strictly religious Jewish youngster from the UK who a few years back accompanied me on a visit to the Sterkfontein Caves. When we arrived at the site, the first thing he did on leaving the car was to replace his yarmulka with a […]