Tribute to a man of law, of reason and of community

By David E. Kaplan

(Courtesy to the Jerusalem Report where a shorter version of the tribute was first published)

“Dialogue,” is the word that I closely associate with the late ‘Judge’ Henry Shakenovsky of Ramat HaSharon, Israel who on the 8 August at the age of 95, left this troubled world a poorer place devoid of his off-the-cuff humour and wise ‘counsel’. “Resolution is best achieved by listening and understanding the other side,” he publicly expressed at a meeting well over two decades ago when I first got to know him. It’s a credence that Henry always adhered to both in public and private discourse and followed through by example. He impacted many to follow this path, myself included.

Apexed with a wad of white hair, he would like a lighthouse, illuminate any place by his presence but it was much more his personality and erudition than his appearance that would hold the floor. Armed with a vocabulary that he masterly marshaled to be so poignantly persuasive, it was little wonder that he excelled as a barrister/ advocate at the South African Bar and in later years, even following his aliyah to Israel, remaining as an Acting Judge on the Supreme Court of the Witwatersrand Local Division (WLD). How many times I recall him saying, when trying to make arrangements, “Apologies, I will be in South Africa presiding in a case.” I would welcome on his return  listening to him relate cases, usually with bizarre circumstances that would have me in stiches of laughter as he comically embellished in his inimitable way the facts of the case and the issues of law both in English as well as in Afrikaans, particularly as it related to witness testimony. Having grown up in the old Orange Free State province of South Africa, Henry spoke a “suiwer” (pure) Afrikaans and frequently teased me over my “kombuis Kaapse taal” (kitchen Cape dialect), with its own nuances and humour. Our love of the law and language was our bridge but there was so much more.

Henry’s later retirement from the Bench in South Africa never impeded him from giving ‘opinions’ or ‘judgments’ on issues in Israel. I think back to 2005, when Israel was a society divided as it agonized over the issue of separating from the Palestinians in Gaza. There was a “them” and “us” self-imposed schism in the country and a prevailing mood of “What’s the point in talking to them? They don’t understand and never will.” This did not cut with Judge Shakenovsky who some six months preceding Israel’s evacuation of Gaza, formed a group with his wife Ruth and close friend Maurice Ostroff of English speakers from opposite sides of the political spectrum to thrash out the most divisive issue on Israel’s national agenda. Appropriately named Unity in Diversity (UID) – I believe coined by Ruth – I participated at these vibrant, at times volatile gatherings where Henry acted as the moderator and I reported on it for The Jerusalem Post.

It was always as if a court was in session with Henry presiding.  In the absence of a gavel, ‘Judge Shakenovsky’ nevertheless maintained order and vociferous debate ensued.

Comprised of mainly former immigrants from South Africa, North America and the UK and from both sides of the “Green Line”, we exchanged views on issues that were dividing the nation. At the very first meeting, Henry introduced his vision with the following:

 “We aim to explore whether there are shared values which, despite our differences, could unite us.”

What followed were tough meetings held alternately in ‘safe’ zones in central Israel followed by visits in armored busses to communities in Judea and Samaria or the “West Bank” as some participants insisted or demanded on calling. Some who came to that first meeting said, “That’s enough. I’m not wasting my time again.” Participants were at loggerheads over fundamental issues. Even the choice of words by a participant could cause a furor. Was the disengagement from Gush Katif in Gaza an ‘evacuation’ or an ‘expulsion’? Although at times feeling trapped in a verbal minefield, Henry was masterful at handling the situation.

As is today in 2024, Members of the Knesset  back then were little better at setting an example of decorum and so Unity in Diversity under Shakenovsky’s co-leadership, felt it was up to them to create a fresh dynamic of intellectual discourse. “Our aim,” asserted Henry, “was never to try to change the views of the other side but to establish a forum for dialogue where people would be free to express their views to an audience that would listen.”

How frequently Henry would quote – sometimes bellow – in Latin:

“Audi alteram partem”

A fundamental legal principle of “Let the other side be heard as well” in which each party is entitled to a fair hearing and given the opportunity to respond, Henry hammered this home when rowdy participants got out of hand.

There was something poetically poignant here because Henry’s birthplace in South Africa was a small dorp named “Vrede”, which in Afrikaans means “Peace”. This name arose following a bitter feud between the early Afrikaner settlers of the area as to where the town should be located. A compromise was finally reached and peace among those early citizens was achieved, hence the name, “Vrede”.

It is that dialogue and compromise that drove Henry to constantly seek the ultimate prize of “vrede” or “peace” on a new but biblical landscape and to shift away from the paradigm of “them” and “us”.

What was most disquieting to Henry was what he so eloquently termed “the dislike of the unlike.” 

However, it was his legal insights and understanding of the “dislike” from OUTSIDE Israel who were abusing the law to legally assault the Jewish state under what became known as “Lawfare” that Henry’s contribution to our Truth be Told (TbT) committee proved so invaluable. Established in the wake of the notorious 2001 UN Conference Against Racism or “Durban Hatefest”, TbT, a grassroots organization committed to proactively articulating Israel’s narrative to the outside world, depended on erudite lawyers of Henry’s standing . He contributed immeasurably during the period of the Goldstone Report and the years following, when TbT members were responding to the lies and distortions appearing daily in the international media.

While Henry has sadly left the world stage, that stage since the October 7 massacre in southern Israel has only worsened as it pertains to the Jewish state and Jews across the world.

The global assault to undermine Israel  by the abuse of law has only but intensified and a new generation of like-minded Henrys are needed today more than ever.

May Judge Shakenovsky’s legacy endure through the lives of others he so influenced.

A “mensch” and a community man (Henry served on the executive of Beth Protea, the retirement home for Southern Africans in Israel), he will be sadly missed by friends, family and colleagues.

Condolences to wife Ruth, daughter Jill Cohen in Israel, sons Brian and Richard in Australia and their families.

*Feature Picture: Acting Judge Henry Shakenovsky on the Supreme Court of the Witwatersrand Local Division (WLD).

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While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).

Walter Robinson was a giant of a man with a giant personality and giant visions who overcame giant challenges

By David E. Kaplan

Each person’s passing is customarily marked by a stone revealing name, dates, a biblical reference and messages from loved ones. For Walter Robinson, who passed away 2 August 2023 aged 99 in Herzliya Israel, there already exists a stone  – a mighty one that has windows, doors, balconies and patios for it is a stone not marking of a person’s passing but of a community’s celebration of life. That stone – more like a sparkling gem – is called Beth Protea, a retirement home perched in the city of Herzliya north of Tel Aviv in central Israel and it would not exist were it not for the grit and determination and always inspiring presence of Walter Robinson.

When Beth Protea was just an idea – an abstract conversational point “between men enjoying a scotch” as Beth Protea’s oral folklore records  – it was Walter who grabbed that idea like a ‘loose ball’ in rugby and ran with it. There were no shortages of “tackles” along that tumultuous run for touch but nothing was going to stop this Irishman, also South African but most of all, an Israeli and a feisty proud Jew. Armed with a multitude of talents, exuberant personality, a power of persuasion delivered in lyrical  Irish, and a team of merry men, all very able and ably plied “by copious amounts of whiskey,” as Walter put it to this writer in an interview many years ago, Beth Protea was transformed from an “good idea” to the pride of the Southern African community in Israel.

I remember as a much younger young man attending Beth Protea meetings where Walter would hold the floor. Waiting for the right moment to enter the verbal fray, with a loud authoritative but so pleasantly lyrical voice,  he would  present his argument, so well packaged and when the odds were stacked against him – as they frequently were – not hesitate to bring the full weight of G-d behind him as he so adeptly dived into the Torah portion of the week and selected that which served Beth Protea best. I have no doubt, with Walter’s hand, G-d had a hand too in ensuring the success of Beth Protea.

Before getting the Beth Protea project off the ground, finding the funds proved the first of the proverbial ‘tackles’.  Walter related to this writer that “We held our first fundraising campaign back in 1985 in Haifa where there was quite a large resident Southern African community and after our presentation, you won’t believe the first question someone asked. “What are you guys planning to serve for lunch?” Can you believe it? That was the first question asked by this crowd of South Africans! We had no land to build on; we hadn’t raised a dime, and people wanted to know what we would be serving for lunch.”

Quick off the mark, Walter replied, “Well, if you don’t start donating, there will be no dining room in which to serve lunch!”  and nearly three decades later, it was Walter himself with his beloved Fanny, themselves residents at Beth Protea, who would be sitting in that dining room  and be asking:

 “What’s for lunch?”

It was only fitting that Walter would spend the final leg  of his life’s journey in the ‘The home that Walter built’. 

Before Walter and Fanny arrived to settle in Israel, there had been  a group who were toying with the idea of a retirement home but  mainly to cater for parents who were left behind in South Africa. The concept found little traction until Walter’s arrival from Cape Town in 1981. Well-known and respected for his communal work back in his adopted South Africa, the ad hoc group roped him in and within a few months of his arrival in Israel, he was chairman of a steering committee. “They allowed me to unpack my suitcases first,” he bellowed with his boisterous Dublin guffaw. That Dublin accent was his inimitable trademark and  it was only fitting that at his funeral – which in the words of his children was “a celebration of his life” – began with the playing of a joyous Irish song that many, familiar with the lyrics, joined in. Tears gave way to smiles as the song touched on life, lasses, love, green landscapes and whisky. The music and its message resonated and encapsulated the adventurous life of a man’s journey, a journey that spanned five countries ending in Israel but beginning in Dublin, Ireland, where Walter qualified as a civil engineer at Dublin’s prestigious Trinity College.

It was while there during WWII that Walter nearly ended up in jail and was rightly proud of it!

NO ROUTING OF ROBINSON

The year was 1944 and Walter and his student chums – all fervent Zionists –  started a newspaper called the Dublin Jewish Youth Magazine(DJYM). One day, Walter opens the evening paper, and “I see this MP, Oliver Flanagan, questioning whether the directors of the DJYM have a license to publish and whether our articles had been submitted for censorship as required by wartime regulations. Both were serious offences, carrying prison sentences. Of course the answer to both was – NO. Bugger it, we just did what felt was right,” says Walter, delighting in his mischievous past. Flanagan was a notorious antisemite who in his maiden speech in the Irish Lower House the previous year, had urged the government “to rout the Jews out of the country.”

Well this antisemite was not about to “rout” Robinson.  Once it was brought to fulminating Flanagan’s attention that “The owner of the paper’s printers was a great friend of Prime Minister Eamon de Valera and so if the printer could not go to prison, neither could we,” the  harassment halted. Walter’s Zionism continued to soar, culminating nearly fifty years later in his finest communal achievement – the opening of Beth Protea in 1992.

Much would happen in the intervening years. Walter would work all over the world, beginning in Ireland, then the Scottish Highlands for three years and then further afield in Pakistan working in the naval dockyards of Karachi, followed by many years in South Africa where he met and married Fanny. Fanny I too got to know well when she was editor of Telfed magazine, a position that I would later assume. Walter and Fanny married in South Africa in 1956, and after a spell in Ireland and a trip through Europe, they settled in Cape Town where Walter joined the family engineering business. Their three children, Gary, Brendon and Rena, were born there and educated at the Jewish day school, Herzlia School, where Walter was active on the board serving as vice-chairman and subsequently chairman. How poignant, as was pointed out by one of his children in a tribute at the funeral,  that from the school he immersed himself in Cape Town ‘Herzlia’ to the retirement home in the city of ‘Herzliya’ he immersed himself in Israel – covering the bookends of life’s journey – were  associated with Theodor Hertzl, whose line, “If you will it, it is no dream” pertained to Walter who transcended that other journey throughout his life –  from dreamer to doer. 

One of Walter’s other kids had it right when said in tribute “He made the impossible possible,” and to understand how, the words of one his good friends who worked very closely with Walter to get Beth Protea literally “off the ground” come to mind. At a special ceremony I attended conferring on Walter  ‘Honorary Life President of Beth Protea’ in 2013, Beth Protea’s “financial whiz” Herman Musikanth poignantly summed up Walter’s extraordinary leadership skills:

“Walter led out front, completely absorbed and dedicated, causing all those around him to follow. It was the trust, the honesty of purpose and his personal efforts, generated through his leadership that created the support.” Quoting the words  of Albert Pike written in the early 1800s that “What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and this world is, and remains, immortal,” Herman concluded with – as I do now:

 “I believe that Beth Protea is probably as immortal as one can get.”

While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).