The evil of banality

her ambitions. Secondly, the respect and friendship she showed to her black partner, at a time when few else would do the same. Thirdly, the fact that she was a winner. A holder, with Althea Gibson, of two Grand Slam doubles titles but also of many other championship titles as well as being a Wimbledon singles finalist. As a Jewish woman in the 1950s this was no small achievement and Angela set a tone for sporting behaviour that has inspired many others in more recent years

In 1981 Angela was admitted to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and in 2015 to the Black Tennis Hall of Fame. In later years, living between Manchester and Florida, she enjoyed tennis journalism and mentoring young players as well as giving talks on countering prejudice within sport. Angela was never shy of voicing her views and calling out fault as and when she saw it. This frequently did not endear her to the establishment, not least that of the tennis world. However, she contained a level of self-belief and inner strength that propelled her to being the champion that she was and enabled her to overcome many hardships, not least the predeceasing of her two sons.

Angela was a loyal friend to many and a great ambassador for her sport. She will be missed, especially by her surviving daughter Rebecca Djanogly and grandchildren Tara, Kelly, Joseph, and Beth.

Julian Landy Please forgive me messing with Arendt’s famous phrase. All will become clear, or at least, clearer.

At present our city is devoid of visitors and has few visible students. Some things, however, never change, wherever there are a few Jews. Our wider community, throughout the globe, is still preyed upon, not just by anti-Semites, but by those seeking to convert us to the joys of Yoshua ben Yosef.

I think Shavuot was being celebrated when Yoshua’s followers found they could speak in tongues and set about converting the world: the aim being to save souls apparently doomed to posthumous Hell, having sinned while embodied.

The Church's Ministry Among Jewish People is perhaps the oldest of these groups. It is a registered charity and operates primarily in this country, and also in Israel, without apparent interference from state or religious leaders. It is over 200 years old and we are the sole object of its “ministry”. No Muslim or Hindu concerns it. As Yoshua was one of us, it seems they think we ought to “see the light” (as opposed to sunrise and candles on Friday night, for example). CMJ is a wealthy organisation with a number of employees. How this work is really charitable escapes me though perhaps they would claim promotion of religion.

“Jews for Jesus” is perhaps the first of these outfits you might think about. They are really chutzpadik, more assertive in their “outreach” even than dear Lubavitch (sorry Reuven). They’ve even staked out our Hendon heartland. Researchers into the conversion industry claim that there are over a thousand organisations at work, most based in the USA. They are incredibly well-funded and politically powerful. Personally, I find it banal that they exist at all, but perhaps that is just a Jewish attitude. We never seek to proselytise. So why should anyone else? It is baffling. If we can co-exist in our various communities, why do these folk continue to thrive? The only answer must be that it is a fundamental part of their faith. These people have been persistent for a very long time.

So why raise all this now? The context is political. In a few weeks, our cousins will elect a new President. In addition to the Democrats courting the “Jewish vote”, all potential Republican candidates (including the present incumbent), seek the endorsement of the fundamentalist Christian Right. These people are also the principal supporters of proselytism. And yet, some Jews also will vote for Trump. My message is simple. The Democrats will always be better for our