Wikipedia's first sentence called it “almost identical with the history of the jews in the united states but on a much smaller scale”. Today it says “not established until the beginning of dutch colonisation in the region”. Wikipedia's first sentence called it “almost identical with the history of the jews in the united states but on a much smaller scale”. Today it says “not established until the beginning of dutch colonisation in the region”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2025 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2025
As of 2020, the Kaplan Centre at the University of Cape Town estimates 52,300 Jews in the country. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies estimates that the figure is closer to 75,000. The history of the Jews in South Africa began during the period of Portuguese exploration in the early modern era , though a permanent presence was not established until the beginning of Dutch colonisation in the region . During the period of British colonial rule in the 19th century, the Jewish South African community expanded greatly, in part thanks to encouragement from Britain . From 1880 to 1914, the Jewish population in South Africa grew from 4,000 to over 40,000. South African Jews have played an important role in promoting diplomatic and military relations between Israel and South Africa . South Africa's Jewish community peaked in the 1970s with an estimated 120,000 Jews living in the country. The Soweto uprising in 1976 and racial tensions led to an increase in Jewish emigration. Since the end of apartheid , Jews have continued to emigrate mostly to developed countries in the English-speaking world , such as the United States , Canada , the United Kingdom , Australia , and New Zealand , as well as a significant number emigrating to Israel . As of 2021, it is estimated that 92% of the Jewish population on the African continent is concentrated in South Africa.
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1297781760.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Ethnic group The history of the Jews in South Africa mainly begins with the general European settlement in the 19th century. The early patterns of Jewish South African history are almost identical with the history of the Jews in the United States but on a much smaller scale, including the period of early discovery and settlement from the late 15th century to the early 19th century. Many Jews were involved in the anti-apartheid movement, with Harry Schwarz and Helen Suzman being the most notable.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 368961357.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Ethnic group The history of the Jews in South Africa mainly begins with the European settlement in the 19th century. The early patterns of Jewish South African history are almost identical to the history of the Jews in the United States but on a much smaller scale, including the period of early discovery and settlement from the late 15th century to the early 19th century. The community grew tenfold between 1880 and 1914, from 4,000 to over 40,000.A number of Jews were prominent in the Anti-Apartheid Movement , while the majority of the community were indifferent.Meanwhile, Israel maintained deepening military and diplomatic ties with South Africa between 1967 and 1990.South African Jewry differ significantly from those in other developing countries in that the majority of South African Jews still remain in South Africa (62% of the original 120,000 still remain), and that a significant number of those that did move abroad went to countries popular among other South African émigrés such as Australia , the United States , Canada , and the United Kingdom , as well as Israel .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 666809062.
The opening as it stood in 2020 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The history of the Jews in South Africa mainly began under the British Empire , following a general pattern of increased European settlement in the 19th century. The early patterns of Jewish South African history are almost identical to the history of the Jews in the United States but on a much smaller scale, including the period of early discovery and settlement from the late 17th century to the early 19th century. The community grew tenfold between 1880 and 1914, from 4,000 to over 40,000. Jews were instrumental in promoting the extension of diplomatic military ties between Israel and South Africa.South Africa's Jewish community differs from its counterparts in other African countries in that the majority have remained on the continent rather than emigrating to Israel .Among potential Jewish emigrants, many were likelier to select a destination popular among other South Africans, such as Australia .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 962190351.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 6 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
During the period of British colonial rule in the 19th century, the Jewish South African community expanded greatly, in part thanks to encouragement from Britain .From 1880 to 1914, the Jewish population in South Africa grew from 4,000 to over 40,000.South African Jews have played an important role in promoting diplomatic and military relations between Israel and South Africa .South Africa's Jewish community has reportedly declined from a possible peak of 120,000 to now between 52,000 and 88,000.Many South African Jews have emigrated to countries in the English-speaking world , such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, as well as some emigrating to Israel .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178647392.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “almost identical with the history of the jews in the united states but on a much smaller scale”. Today it says “not established until the beginning of dutch colonisation in the region”. Wikipedia's first sentence called it “almost identical with the history of the jews in the united states but on a much smaller scale”. Today it says “not established until the beginning of dutch colonisation in the region”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
apartheid
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Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
almost identical with the history of the jews in the united states but on a much smaller scale
Now
not established until the beginning of dutch colonisation in the region
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
