Author Neville Frankel Discusses Jewish Involvement in South African Anti-Apartheid Movement Nov. 6 in Palo Alto

Oshman Family JCC presents best-selling author Neville Frankel in a reading and discussion of his acclaimed novel “Bloodlines.” Inspired by the author’s childhood in South Africa, this harrowing narrative exposes readers to a part of history largely overlooked—that the vanguard of the white South African anti-apartheid movement was heavily Jewish.

The event will open and close with the Pacific Boychoir Academy singing a selection from Paul Simon’s “Graceland” as well as songs honoring South Africa.

The discussion will take place Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 7:30 pm at the Oshman Family JCC Schultz Cultural Arts Hall, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto.

Neville Frankel’s newest novel is a sweeping family tale unfolding against the violent South African apartheid. With historical accuracy and vivid immediacy, “Bloodlines” captures the day-to-day brutality of apartheid, the rich customs and spirituality of Zulu culture, and the breathtaking beauty and daunting wilds of South Africa. Bloodlines raises universal questions about the limits of tolerance and forgiveness, the hold of the past, and the enduring bond between mother and child. The Atlantic Monthly says, “(Frankel) takes his readers into a journey that explores the vivid contrasts of a country both beautiful and brutal, and rewards us with a book that is a triumphant celebration of human dignity and the abiding power of love.”

Frankel’s first novel, The Third Power, is a gripping political thriller about the transformation of Rhodesia to Zimbabwe. In this fascinating World War III scenario, the South African Prime Minister threatens to use atomic warheads on neighboring Zimbabwe if Soviet-inspired invaders do not leave the country. The New York Times Book Review says, “Certainly the subject is big enough to command the reader’s attention, and Mr. Frankel handles it quite nicely.”

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Neville Frankel immigrated to Boston with his family when he was fourteen. After graduating from Dartmouth College, he pursued doctoral work in English literature at the University of Toronto.

While in Canada, he wrote The Third Power and received an Emmy for his work on a BBC documentary, The Hillside Strangler: Mind of a Murderer. In 2002 he returned to South Africa for the first time in thirty-eight years. Over the next decade he went back several more times, researching what would become Bloodlines.

The Pacific Boychoir Academy (PBA) was founded in 1998 with six boys and today comprises over 170 boys and young men ages 4 to 18 in seven choirs, which have performed across the USA and around the world. The PBA is known for its rich sound, musicianship, phrasing, and talented soloists.

The New York Times said the PBA goes “beyond the reach of most youth choirs” and the Los Angeles Times described the PBA quality of sound and musicianship as “astonishing.” With the addition of a day school in 2004, the PBA is the only choir school on America’s West Coast. The PBA has appeared frequently with the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) Along with the San Francisco Girls Chorus, the PBA recorded Mahler’s Third Symphony with the SFS, and were awarded the Grammy for Best Classical Album in February 2004.The group has deep connections to South Africa. In 2009, the choir toured South Africa and sang at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, considered to be the biggest celebration of the arts in all of Africa and the second largest arts festival in the world after the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.

On July 18, 2009, Nelson Mandela’s 91st birthday, the boys were interviewed on South African radio and dedicated their music to him. The choir learned to sing in the Zulu and Xhosa languages, and sang at the Ihlombe South African Choral Festival, which is the largest international choral festival in South Africa.

The boys visited Mandela’s family home and performed at the Regina Mundi Church in Soweto, which was a haven and rallying point during the anti-apartheid movement.

The choir spent a week at the Drakensberg Boys Choir School, and has continued its relationship with the internationally acclaimed Drakensberg Boys Choir by hosting it during its US tour in 2011 and being the first to send an American student to study at the Drakensberg Boys Choir School.

For tickets and more information visit www.paloaltojcc.org/frankel or call (650) 223-8664.