On Cissy Harris’ birthday, the descendants of “Ochberg’s orphans” visited the lookout point erected by KKL-JNF in memory of Isaac Ochberg, who saved their parents and family from Eastern Europe after World War I. It was a moving ceremony, in which participants expressed their veneration and admiration of a wondrous man, who had changed their destiny and acted for the benefit of the entire Jewish people.
Cissy Harris could not wish for a lovelier birthday party. Some 50 South Africans, the descendants of the orphans saved by Isaac Ochberg from the after-effects of World War I, were at her side on May 18th, 2016, as they walked through the picturesque fields of Ramat Menashe to the lookout point erected by KKL-JNF in their rescuer’s memory. This moving event on the occasion of Harris’ 98th birthday combined tree planting with an annual visit to the Ochberg Lookout.
Who was Isaac Ochberg?
Isaac Ochberg was born in 1878 in Uman, Ukraine. At age 17, he left his country and moved to South Africa, where his business thrived. In 1921 he felt an awakening of Jewish sentiment. In that year, rumors circulated about thousands of orphaned children left in Eastern Europe, the result of hunger, disease and pogroms against Jews in the aftermath of World War I. Ochberg decided to take action. He left for Eastern Europe, and went from village to village. With the South African government's permission, he returned several months later to Cape Town with 187 young orphans.
There, he built there orphanages and made sure that 'his children' received a home and an education. Some of the children were adopted by Jewish families in Cape Town and Johannesburg. In so doing, Ochberg provided these children with a second opportunity in life. Beyond having a warm Jewish heart, Ochberg was also a keen Zionist, who even participated as a delegate to the 16th Zionist Congress held in Zurich in 1929.
Unfortunately, Ochberg came to a premature end, dying in 1937 at the age of 41. He left 250,000 pounds sterling to KKL-JNF in his will – a fortune in those days. This was the greatest money contribution ever received by KKL-JNF from a single person. With this deed, Ochberg expressed his belief in salvation and an end of suffering for the People of Israel, in the Land of Israel.
Cissy Harris, the last of 'Ochberg's orphans'
Cissy Harris was born in 1918 in the small village of Kostopol in northern Ukraine. Her parents died shortly after her birth in a dysentery epidemic that had struck the region. Together with her siblings, they went to live in her grandmother’s shack. Her grandmother did not have the means necessary to bring them up properly, and they starved.
Isaac Ochberg had reached Cissy Harris’ village and took her under his care. In those days her name was Zyael Zaika. “I was three at that time”, says Cissy, “and of course I cannot remember Ochberg. I grew up in the house of a Jewish childless couple from Johannesburg, who adopted me and became my new parents. Of course, I heard from people who knew Ochberg that he was an outstanding, wonderful person, who did his utmost to save as many Jews as possible”.
Cissy’s brother and sister did not come with her, being older than the orphans typically taken care of by Ochberg. The family has ultimately reunited.
“My brother was put in an orphanage in Vienna and later came to South Africa. My sister Lisa made Aliyah. When her husband passed away, she begged me to come to her. I came to Israel. I thought that I would stay for a year, but she passed away in 2003, at the age of 102, and I have lived in Haifa ever since, by the sea”.
In adulthood, Cissy worked in a large company in the electricity sector. “She even drove a truck”, relates Esther Cohen Arazi, Cissy’s niece, who was at her side throughout the event. “A small truck”, Cissy corrects modestly.
The memorial ceremony begins
The attendees took the seats provided to them by KKL-JNF, reserving a first-row seat for "aunt” Cissy Harris. Israeli, South African and KKL-JNF flags were waving in the wind, in front of Ramat Menashe’s open fields.
David Kaplan, a founding member of the Isaac Ochberg Heritage Committee, was the master of ceremonies. After greeting the attendees, he described the lookout point built in Ochberg’s memory, planned by architect Hana Livne. It is indeed a lovely spot. It has accessible pathways, a monument in Ochberg’s memory with a nearby bench, and a small amphitheater. The most striking element is a memorial bearing the names of the Ochberg Orphans.
“We didn’t want the names to be engraved on a wall”, said David. “We built a memorial from local rocks, and the names of the Ochberg Orphans are inscribed on colored ceramic plaques and attached to the stones. We intend to add an observatory tower, to provide a better view of the surrounding landscape”.
Maish Isaacson, Chairman of Telfed – the South African Zionist Federation – was the first speaker. “Five years ago we planted the first tree here”, said Maish, reminding the attendees of the inauguration ceremony of the monument in 2011. He said to Cissi Harris, who had also participated in the 2011 ceremony: “with your fine memory, you certainly remember this better than I do”.
Maish thanked Bennie Penzik, Chairman of Isaac Ochberg Heritage Committee: “thank you for everything you do in celebrating Ochberg’s memory. It is so important to promote his heritage and to make sure that his name is never forgotten”.
On the occasion of this ceremony, Maish informed the audience of another new Telfed initiative – an annual scholarship named after Isaac Ochberg, to be granted every year to a student demonstrating Zionist values and proving his commitment to the people of Israel. “This is Ochberg’s heritage – his heritage for posterity”, concluded Maish, who was loudly applauded by the attendees.
Ramat Menashe as a biospheric landscape
The next speaker was Yitzhak Holavsky, head of the Megiddo Regional Council. He greeted the attendees and spoke about his daughter, who had recently returned from a several-month long visit to South Africa. “The Ochberg memorial spot is of incomparable importance to us”, he said.
“Next Tuesday we intend to host the Ministry of Defense, Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon. We will take him to two places; to Juara - the central training base of the Haganah before the establishment of the State of Israel, where four chiefs of staff were trained, including Moshe Dayan and Yitzhak Rabin. The second spot is the Ochberg observatory."
Holavsky spoke about the Megiddo Regional Council, which spans nine Kibbutzim, three Moshavim and one village, stressing that most of the Council’s territories, with the Ochberg lookout at their center, are within a biospheric landscape spanning 80 square kilometers. The Ramat Menashe region won UNESCO recognition as a biosphere five years ago:
“KKL-JNF is our central partner in this, and together we act to preserve the nature of the open spaces in the Council. People from all around the country come here on holidays and weekends to enjoy the beauty of this region. I invite you to come and visit here in the future as well”, concluded Holavsky.
The last speaker in the ceremony was Yaacov Arak, director of the Menashe-Sharon region in KKL-JNF: “I am very excited to see you here”, he said. “I feel that in everything we do – planting forests, preparing agricultural fields and maintaining the Israeli landscape – we continue Isaac Ochberg’s dream. We created a 5km-long trail surrounding the Ochberg Lookout. Pedestrians and bike-riders from surrounding localities and everywhere else in the country tour the area en masse. This is a wonderful rural area, with a different appearance for each season. Wheat fields make it green in winter, the brown earth is waiting to be seeded in autumn and the golden hue rules in summer. I want to thank you”, Yaacov Arak concluded his speech, “for making us a messenger for bringing into reality everything wished for by Ochberg. This gives us the strength to keep to our work”.
“If Isaac Ochberg watches us now from above, he is proud of us”, David Kaplan concluded. “Look how beautiful it all is. Ever since he donated the amount necessary to purchase this region, it thrives and flourishes, and this is exactly what he wished for”.
Pilgrims to the Ochberg Lookout
After the speeches, the visitors went to the memorial of names. The excitement was great. Daughters and sons wished to see their parents’ names again, caressing with their eyes and hands the name plaques of their family members. Grandchildren learned of Ochberg’s heritage from their parents. Some followed ancient Jewish custom and placed a small stone near the name of their loved one, while others took photos with their smart phones, in the spirit of the times.
We met Leon Segal as he was cherishing the memory of his mother Chaya Gruber and his aunt Charlotte Gruber. He grew up in the Arcadia orphanage in Johannesburg. His father, Morris Segal, came to South Africa as a representative of the Russian national rings gymnastic team. Morris stayed in South Africa, married Leon’s mother and founded a thriving jewellery business.
Maish Isaacson told of the warm sentiments held by the South African Jewry towards Israel:
“out of a population numbering 120,000 Jews, 800 volunteered to fight in the War of Independence. No other Jewish community in the world can show such numbers. A blue KKL-JNF box was never missing from any school, and the warm attitude continues to this day. Telfed grants between 400 and 600 scholarships to students in Israel every year”.
Dana Ben Chail, responsible for the Telfed Volunteer Department, adds:
“I worked in several places assisting the integration of immigrants, and my conclusion is that the South Africans are the nicest. Telfed aims to assist in the absorption of immigrants and their integration into Israeli society, not only those coming from South Africa, but also coming from other communities, including from Ethiopia. We have 300 volunteers countrywide, who work within 24 local committees, and we also help immigrants coming from Australia and the Netherlands.
Planting trees for Isaac Ochberg
The event drew to a close. Meyer Nussbaum read the planter’s prayer and then, assisted by Bennie Fadida and forester Pablo Beno, Maish Isaacson and Leon Segal planted trees. The last tree was planted by none other than Cissy Harris, who insisted on personally covering the planting pit with a hoe.
Later, the audience converged around Moshe Marcus, who recited Kaddish for the Ochberg Orphans. The Israeli anthem Hatikva was sung to conclude the event.
This year, three trees were added to Isaac Ochberg’s lookout on Cissy Harris’ (or Zyael Zaika) 98th birthday. His heritage, the redemption of orphan children and of lands in Israel, is well engraved in the heart of Ramat Menashe.