David Rabkin

David Rabkin (948-1985) was an anti-apartheid activist known for publishing subversive pamphlets. He served seven years of a ten year sentence for his anti-apartheid activities. After his accidental death in Angola he He received a hero 's burial in Luanda and a street in Cape Town was named after him.

David Rabkin
Born1948
Cape Town
DiedNovember 22, 1985
Angola
SpouseSusan

Life

He was born in South Africa in 1948, but his family immigrated to Britain following the Sharpeville massacre. He received a Ph.D. in literature from the University of Leeds after a study on Black South African writers. He moved back to Cape Town with his wife, Susan and started working at Cape Argus in 1972. At the time of his arrest in September 1976, Rabkin and his wife, Susan had distributed around 15 different pamphlets supporting the African National Congress and South African Communist Party.[1]

Imprisonment

In September 1976, Rabkin was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for "furthering the aims of banned organizations". He ended up serving seven years and was released in 1983.[2] His wife, Susan, was eight months pregnant and was sentenced to a year, eleven months of which were suspended.[3] During the trial, he stated:

The course of action laid out by the ANC and its sister organisations, including the SACP, offered the hope of releasing for the benefit of all South Africans, the energies, talents and aspirations of all our people. From the liberation of the African people, the most oppressed section of our population, would flow a just and democratic society, a South Africa that belonged to all who live in it, black and white.[4]

He was mistreated in prison, but helped those in the 1979 Pretoria Central Prison break. He allowed Denis Goldberg to purposefully break his loudspeaker in order to have an excuse to get a soldering iron, which allowed them to solder a makeshift key for the escape. Following the prison break he was heavily questioned, but international attention led the punishments to be moderate for him and the other conspirators.[5]

Personal life

He was married to Susan and they had two children, Jobe and Franny.[2].[3] Following his release from prison in 1983, he continued working in journalism, and he moved to to Maputo to continue reporting.[4] After his release he was exiled.[6] He was killed in an UMkhonto we Sizwe military training accident in Angola in November 1985, and was buried in Luanda.[4][7] He received a hero 's burial and an armed guard of Umkhonto we Sizwe stood guard at his coffin, which was draped in the two flags: the ANC and Sacp. At the funeral South African politician Joe Slovo and anti-apartheid activist Chris Hani, gave speeches about Rabkin’s qualities, courage and contributions.[2] After his death a street (David Rabkin Street) was named after him in Cape Town.[6]

References
  1. "David Rabkin | South African History Online". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  2. Manenze, Jacob. "The Politicization of Funerals in South Africa During the 20th Century (1900-1994)". UPSpace. UPSpace. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  3. "South Africa Sentences Journalist to 10 Years". The New York Times. 1976-09-30. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  4. "David Rabkin". web.archive.org. 2011-09-17. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  5. Goldberg, Denis (2016). A Life for Freedom: The Mission to End Racial Injustice in South Africa. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813166853.
  6. Ndenze, Babalo (2 December 2011). "Renaming 'ignores Muslim residents'". Independent Online. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  7. Jenkin, Tim (2003). Inside out : escape from Pretoria Prison. Bellevue, South Africa: Jacana. p. 332. ISBN 9781919931500. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
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