Bomb explodes at Johannesburg synagogue

Date: 6 Aug 1983
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

A limpet mine exploded outside the Temple of Israel synagogue in central Johannesburg, the mother 'shul' of the Johannesburg Jewish Reform Congregation. The explosion took place four hours before State President Marais Viljoen was due to attend a ceremony there and was an attempt to prevent him from attending the temple's 50th anniversary. No one was injured, however, and Viljoen attended the celebration. It later emerged in Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) hearings that the Dolphin Unit of Umkhonto we Siswe (MK) was responsible for the incident. Mr Mahommed Iqbal Shaik received amnesty for the attack.

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01Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999). Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood).
02Justice,'Truth And Reconciliation Commission,from Justice,[Online],Available at www.justice.gov.za,[Accessed: 06 August 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Bomb explodes at Johannesburg synagogue. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012526

South African History Online (2011) 'Bomb explodes at Johannesburg synagogue', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012526 (Accessed: 23 July 2026).

South African History Online, Bomb explodes at Johannesburg synagogue [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012526, (accessed 23 July 2026).

"Bomb explodes at Johannesburg synagogue." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012526. Accessed 23 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Bomb explodes at Johannesburg synagogue." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012526.