JANUARY 2004 – This web site was in the making for a couple of years and aimed to provide a repository of community stories, biographies, pictures and records for people interested in the history of the community which at its peak in the late 1960s numbered some 7,000 souls. At the launch of the site in June 2004 there were less than 350 Jews in Zimbabwe.  Today in 2024 there are less than 100.

The project was initiated by Dave Bloom who was born in Harare (Salisbury) and brought up in the Jewish Community of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia). Dave consulted with a  a small committee of ex-Zimbabweans including Stan Harris, Nick Alhadeff, Marvyn Hatchuel and Jack Trappler.   Dave is responsible for the domain, design, content and editing of the website. The basic website software infrastructure, programming and hosting was originally hosted by Exsys Ltd. 

In 2023 Dave did a complete makeover of the site and moved the hosting to WordPress platform run by a company called Elementor. The domain and hosting is from Elementor who charge an annual subscription – covered by Dave.

The community is invited to help create and maintain this web site but this project has not been limited to a web-style and other mediums were planned (printed versions will be considered). There is an active private Facebook group for the ZJC with nearly 3000 members as at Febuary 2024.  See  https://www.facebook.com/groups/zimjewishcommunity

References to Zimbabweans refer to people of Jewish descent from Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia and Zimbabwe. Additional material has been collected and added on for Northern Rhodesia known today as Zambia.

Please note that the current contents of this version are not final and the editor takes no responsibility of any sort for its accuracy. There is  constant need for verification and cross-referencing.  The community’s input is critical in telling the story accurately and ensuring records are maintained. Please use the contact forms at the bottom of each page to send any comments. 

Thanks to Barry Mann of El Paso , Texas for his advice in the initial design of the site. You can see Barry’s site on Witbank at www.barrymann.net  Please also refer to the Southern African Genealogical  website for other related resources.