South African Jewish Museum
South African Jewish Museum stands in Cape Town’s Gardens area, within a complex devoted to Jewish community life and memory. It shares the setting with Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre and Gardens Jewish Community Centre. Inside, exhibitions trace Jewish history, identity, and contributions across South Africa, including Progressive Judaism and cricket.
A reconstruction of a Lithuanian shtetl shows conditions Jewish migrants encountered before reaching South Africa. Founded by philanthropist Mendel Kaplan and opened by Nelson Mandela, the museum connects migration stories with public life, politics, sport, and culture. Ali Bacher’s life brings South African cricket into that wider account of Jewish contribution.
The Old Shul, described as Southern Africa’s oldest synagogue, forms the entrance beside modern architecture. A collection of netsuke, Japanese miniature art, adds a striking artistic thread to the historical displays. Wheelchair access is available, adding practical ease to a visit through these layered galleries.
- City
- Cape Town
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The myTuur app is free, and once you are standing at a spot its story starts by itself.
Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Cape Town. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.
What is myTuur?
myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.