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South Africa

South Africa

About Our Work in South Africa

Chosen People Ministries partnered with Emet Ministries South Africa in 2011 when Manfred and Isit Nochomowitz attended the Chosen People Ministries Global Conference in London.

Emet Ministries works with the local church body and has been involved in various forms of Jewish evangelism. Activities include personal ministry, monthly Sabbath services, once-a-month Saturday teaching seminars, and seventeen prayer meetings interceding for the salvation of the Jewish people and Israel.

The main thrust of our work is in Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Cape Town (which has the second-highest Jewish population in South Africa with 12,500 people). We also hold numerous equipping events to teach the local body how to reach Jewish people with the gospel. Through these methods, by the grace of God, Jewish people (as well as Gentiles) have come to salvation.

Additionally, we partner with local Messianic ministries and congregations in South Africa as well as with Messianic ministries and churches in Israel, the United States, and Ukraine. Together, we work to proclaim the gospel to Jewish people in South Africa and around the world.

Emet Ministries’ vision is to expand Jewish ministry throughout South Africa and take the truth of God’s heart for the Jewish people and Israel to the church.

52,300
Jewish Population
4
Staff Serving
P.O.Box 13393, Pretoria 0028

History of Jewish Work in South Africa

The history of the Jewish people in South Africa began with the general European settlement of the country in the nineteenth century. It is estimated around 80 percent of South African Jewish people are descendants from Lithuania. Jewish people played a prominent role in the development of the diamond and gold mines, and some were involved in the anti-apartheid movement.

The Jewish community, originally mostly nominal Orthodox, peaked in the 1970s at around 120,000. Since then, the community has become smaller due to immigration to countries like Australia and Israel. In Johannesburg, the largest center of Jewish life with 30,000 Jewish people, there is a high number and density of kosher restaurants and religious centers.