The South African Jewish community paid tribute to the fallen October 7 massacre hero and former hostage Capt. Daniel Peretz as he was buried at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery on Wednesday, remembering the Johannesburg-born man as the boy who grew up in their community.
Zev Krengel, the national vice president of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), said that it was deeply emotional for Johannesburg Jewry to watch Peretz’s funeral.
The community had prayed and ached for the return of his body ever since Peretz was taken by a Gaza terrorist two years ago, after being killed in 2023 while “courageously fighting to protect the Israeli civilians living in kibbutzim,” Krengel said.
South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) national spokesperson Rolene Marks praised Peretz’s heroism, as he commanded a tank division to protect Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7.
“Even while wounded and bleeding, he continued to fight until he could fight no more, saving countless lives and preventing a far greater massacre,” Marks said.
South Africa’s Chief Rabbi, Warren Goldstein, said that the bravery of Peretz and his tank crew “in the face of the horror of the Hamas onslaught” was “awe-inspiring.”
Marks noted that Peretz’s paratrooper brother, Yonatan, had also fought fiercely during the Hamas-led 2023 attack and was wounded – “a testament to a family whose courage and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
“The agony of losing a beloved son is beyond words, and Hamas’s theft of Daniel’s body, holding it in Gaza for two long years and denying his family the dignity of burial, is an act of calculated cruelty,” said Marks.
“Throughout this ordeal, the Peretz family has shown extraordinary faith and resilience, inspiring our community and Jews around the world,” she continued.
Goldstein, Krengel, and Marks recalled the Peretz family’s role in Johannesburg as pillars of their community.
“Many of us knew Daniel and his South African family personally, and it brought the horror of October 7 directly into our world,” said Krengel. “Daniel was born and grew up in Glenhazel, Johannesburg, where his father, Rabbi Doron Peretz, was a highly respected community rabbi and the head of one of the Yeshiva College schools.”
“Community members have warm and loving memories of Daniel growing up on the shul campus and celebrating his bar mitzvah with his family. We remember him as an energetic, happy little boy running around the shul campus on Shabbat, always with hordes of friends in tow,” Krengel said.
Peretz’s old school created a memorial of his life, spanning from a child to a Bar Mitzvah boy to when he made aliyah with his family to Israel in 2014. Goldstein shared that on Simchat Torah, the Yeshiva College campus also sang in memory of Peretz.
“Emotions filled the shul in tribute to one of the great sons of this community,” said Goldstein. “His parents, Doron and Shelley, are dear friends, and our hearts are with them at this time.”
Beginning to heal as hostage remains are returned
With the return of Peretz’s body on Monday as part of a ceasefire agreement struck last Friday with Hamas, Krengel hoped that the “healing process will now begin for the Peretz family.”
The SAJBD’s vice president said he hoped that other families would also be able to heal, and that the remaining bodies held by Gaza terrorist organizations would be returned immediately.
Marks said that with Peretz finally home, South African Jews were reflecting on how the “extraordinary bravery shown in Israel’s darkest hour” by Peretz and others exemplified the strength, unity, and resilience that defined the Jewish people.
“May the memory of Daniel Peretz forever be a blessing, a symbol of unwavering courage, of the price paid for our people’s freedom, and of the unbreakable spirit of Am Yisrael,” said Marks.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.