The Jews of Africa -- The Jews of Rusape, Zimbabwe

Rusape, Zimbabwe

the setting

Rusape is a small city in the northeast of Zimbabwe, about two hours from the capital of Harare. While some members of the Jewish community live in the city, working as everything from school teachers, such as Cantor Martin, to railroad clerks, such as Solomon Guwazah, many live in family compounds that are tucked the rocky hills that pepper the landscape. The community’s tabernacle is a long, rectangular building about seven kilometers from Rusape, in a small trading center that borders a sprawling lake.

Summers in Zimbabwe are long and hot, but during the winter a cool breeze blows. Politics in Zimbabwe also are usually on the warm side; recent fighting between dueling national political parties has threatened to disrupt the peaceful northeastern city.