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Kupiskis Descendants |
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Kupiskis Descendants Reunion, Israel 1960 |
Click here to a larger copy and the names of some of the participants |
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Kupiskis Descendants Reunion,
South Africa 1997 |
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Meeting of Kupishokers and their descendants, Cape Town, SA, November, 1997. Ann Rabinowitz pictured with individuals who were all born in Kupiskis. |
| Here is the list of people who attended the Cape Town Kupiskis meeting in 1997: |
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Betty
Abramowitz |
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Read the description of this landsman meeting that appeared first in the Cape Jewish Chronicle and then the South African SIG newletter |
The Kupishok (Kupiskis) - Cape Town ConnectionSouth African SIG Newsletter, Vol 2, Issue 1, March 2001; (from an article in the Cape Jewish Chronicle, December 1997)
Kupishok, or in the
Lithuanian, Kupiskis, was one of the many thousands of small shtetlach
in "der Heim" which was set in a cluster of small villages, in the near
vicinity of Ponevez. The first erosion of this community, which in 1923
numbered 1444 people (over 50% of the population), began in the early
decades of the 20th century with a steady stream of departures of
families to "goldene medina" in search of better lives. Most of those
left behind, who were still living in May 1941 when the Germans began
their savage path of slaughter through Lithuania, were murdered by local
Lithuanians.
In Cape Town in the early
1930's, the Kupishok Benevolent Society was established under its first
chairman, Velva Sachar. An ebullient Percy Berger clearly recalled those
days - how they collected 2/16d a year from each of the 45 - 50 members
which they used to make up parcels of clothing and material to send home
via an agent in London. Lily Marcus, who was secretary from the late
1930's also has vivid memories. Bom in Kupishok, she came to South
Africa when she was 3 years old, living in Hopefield for 12 years and
then in Cape Town. While Lily was a little young, Percy has clear
memories of his shtetl as he was near Bar mitzvah age when he came to
South Africa with his
Ann Rabinowitz of Miami,
U.S.A. arrived in Cape Town in November 1997, and brought about a
gathering of some 30 enthusiastic Kupishikers, "native" born or
descendants, at the home of Charles and Debby Myers in Sea Point
Now, 20 years on, Ann has accumulated and computerised an enormous amount of material pertaining to Kupishok, as well as other Shtetlach, and she formed the Kupishok Special Interest Group.
Ann mentioned they were also working on naturalization lists and records from the Jewish Shelter in London giving names and details of ships and sailings of all those who used the Shelter when they stopped over in London on their way to South Africa.
It was also advised at this
meeting, that findings at the University of Cape Tom Medical School
noted that in descendants of Kupishok there was a noticeably greater
than normal incidence of the specifically Jewish genetic Tay-Sachs
disease (brought on, it was thought, because of the high incidence of
inter-marriage within the shtetl community) The interest level in families and their Lithuanian backgrounds soared that evening as Ann explained that the need to know everything about one's origins is becoming increasingly important. There is no doubt that Ann Rabinowitz, from Miami, whose father originally settled in the Cape, before moving out of South Africa, did a great deal that night in November when she introduced her Kupishok (Kupiskis) information to the Cape Town Jewish Community. |
mother
and sisters to join his father and brothers at the end of 1929.
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| The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Kupiskis residents met at a Kupiskis SIG meeting at the 22nd International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Toronto, Ontario in August, 2002. We shared stories, exchanged information, and got to know one another a little. No doubt our ancestors were neighbors and friends. |
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L to r; Linda Cantor, Monica Leonards z'l, Gary Gershfield, and Michael Pertain |
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L to r: Michael Pertain, Linda Cantor, Joseph Winston |
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Kupiskis Descendants Reunion, London, 2004 |
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Kupiskis Descendants Reunion, Israel, August 16. 2004
[Reunion of the Daughters
of the Daughters
of Kupiskis group that were born after World War II, to the first
generation which settled in Israel from Kupiskis]
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(Photo from Zipora Peer and
Chana Eidelman) |
Photo taken at Sara Oren's Home At Moshav Ein Vered (Daughter of Chava Gafenawitz/Gafni-Hirshberg) Front, L to R: Chana Finkelstein (daughter of Ben Lion Gafenowitz/Gafni); Sima Ruzon (daughter of Chasia Gafenowitz-Lipshitz); Sara Orens (daughter of Chava Gafenowitz/Gafni-Hirschberg); Alec Meyer; Chana Eidelman (was a Gulis and granddaughter of Feiga Gafenowitz married to Rifkin who lived in Panevezys) Back, L to R: Chana Moller/Muller (daughter of Shlomo Kodesh, who was a teacher and wrote many books); Dr. Mervyn Shapiro; Chava Vzelet Lorberbaum; Yehuda Zalk (mother was a Karpuch); Illiana Mautner (sister of Sima Ruzon, daughter of Chasia Gafenowitz-Lipshitz); Zipora Peer Zuk (her mother was a Kessel); Ofra Burda (daughter of Chana Eidelman) |
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| Photo courtesy of Helen Katz |
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Front Row L to R: Richard Courant, Sara Courant, Gary Gershman, Margie Segall Back Row L to R: Robinn Magid, Harvey Scherzer, Ellen Stepak, Zvi Stepak, Avrum Geller z'l, Ann Rabinowitz, Linda Cantor |
