Martine Alperstein

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Dec 16, 2023, 8:30 PM

Tonight, I cried.

Photo Credit: ittakesateam (AI generated)

Tonight, I cried. For the first time since this war began, tears streamed down my face. I've always been the one pushing forward, 'full steam ahead,' not allowing myself to get bogged down in emotion. But tonight’s news broke me. I am...

Nov 1, 2023, 5:06 AM

Open Letter to Kelly-Jo Bluen, South African Jew

Photo credit: ittakesateam

You are such an activist. You are such a “shtetl femme”. You stand up for the rights of the LGBTQ community. You stand up for the rights of the underdog. You stand up against genocide and crimes against humanity. But have you stopped and...

Apr 22, 2015, 12:44 AM

Why Don’t You Stand When The Siren Sounds?

Yom Hazikaron. The siren sounds. The Jews of Eretz Yisrael stand together. They stop. They exit cars. They halt meetings. They stop teaching. They stand still. They stop and stand together to feel, to remember, to honour, to respect,...

Apr 15, 2015, 7:24 PM

My Name Is Rele Krok

My Name is Rella Krok. I was born in the small town of Rakashik, Lithuanian in 1918. My father Yankel Krok was a leather merchant. He was a wealthy man and upstanding member of the community. My mother, Dvora...

Oct 19, 2014, 8:35 AM

Breaking The Barriers

In every situation there is a lesson to be learnt. The holocaust was beyond horrific. It was and still is. Hitler was the epitome of evil, of everything inhuman, inhumane and indecent. But the one thing that Hitler got...

Aug 28, 2014, 10:50 PM

Shades of Grey or a Very Dense Cloud

Sixteen years ago, this month, half an hour past midnight early on a Monday morning, I was sitting in the living room of our family home in Newlands Cape Town, chatting to a friend on the phone when I...

Aug 14, 2014, 2:02 AM

An Open Letter to South African Jewry, and Bibi Netanyahu

My initial reaction to the 52 signatories of Jewish Decent published in the Cape Times, to Josh Broomberg’s so-called statement, to the petition titled ‘Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, End the Assault on Gaza’ with the opening statement...

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About Me

Martine Alperstein made aliyah from Cape Town, South Africa 26 years ago.

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