Janice Masur: Shalom Uganda

Janice Masur grew up in a tiny, remote European Jewish community in Kampala, Uganda, under British Imperial rule, with no rabbi or Jewish infrastructure. And yet, this community of only twenty-three families formed a cohesive group that celebrated all Jewish festivals together and upheld their Jewish identity. Sadly, while Kampala Jewry made every effort to survive, it eventually failed and withered under the hot African sun.

In Shalom Uganda: A Jewish Community on the Equator, Masur tells her story of living in this little-known Ashkenazi Jewish community from 1949 to 1961. Because so many Jewish communities were obliterated in the last century, she documents, remembers, and preserves Kampala European Jewry with all the respect that it deserves.

Robert Jacobvitz, who serves on the Advisory Board of the Sousa Mendez Foundation, brings us this fascinating author as part of his foundation’s programs.