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VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY 28 May 2020

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5 Sivan 5780

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Issue No.1160

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@JewishNewsUK

New school rules What pupils can expect as they head back to class after the virus shutdown Pages 5 & 27

Schama’s an open book Historian shares his favourite reads P32

Cancer ‘time bomb’ caused by pandemic

70% fall in newly-diagnosed patients seeking support due to coronavirus Far fewer newly-diagnosed cancer patients have sought support during the coronavirus pandemic, a leading community charity warned this week, writes Mathilde Frot.

Latest figures show the number of patients making first calls to Chai Cancer Care dropped by almost 70 percent over the past 10 weeks compared with the same period last year.

Since 12 March the charity has logged just 17 first calls, compared with 55 over the same period last year.

Speaking to Jewish News, the charity’s chief executive, Lisa Steele, speculated that the trend could be linked to a drop in diagnoses during the pandemic.

“It’s because people haven’t been going to the GP, so if they notice something, normally people would react and there would be a referral,” she said. “Now it’s so difficult to get to the doctors and when you do, it’s even more difficult to get a referral into hospital.”

The chief executive urged Jewish News readers to consult their GP if they are seeing potential symptoms. “Please go to your doctor and at Chai we will support you every step of the way, you and your family,” Steele added.

Dr Adrian Tookman, a palliative care physician and medical director of the Marie Curie Hospice in Hampstead, told Jewish News: “Cancer has not disappeared in the past 10 weeks, but people being too scared to visit a GP or hospital could well precipitate a ticking time bomb around our health, the impact of which will be felt long after the lockdown has passed.

“There is a lot of telephone consultations and there is national work that is being undertaken looking at the delay in making diagnoses because people aren’t turning up at their GPs.” Dr Tookman added: “Up until recently, there had been a delay in treating patients to do major procedures like surgery where they needed intensive care admission to try and protect these intensive care beds, and there’s been various mechanisms put in place to try and get over that.

They’ve got surgical hubs in private hospitals for example to do urgent NHS operations.”

He urged members of the public experiencing symptoms such as breast lumps or rectal bleeding to seek medical help. “The message is get to your GP because the care in the hospital setting is ... being done in a way to make it safe for people to be seen,” he said.

A number of regional “Covid-free cancer hubs” have been set up across England to carry out thousands of urgent operations, NHS England revealed last month.

Professor Peter Johnson, the NHS clinical director for cancer, warned at the time against waiting before seeking medical help.

“From online consultations to the roll-out of cancer treatment hubs, we are doing all we can to make sure patients receive the life-saving care that they need,” he said.

“The wishes of patients and their families will always come first, and we have to make sure that people feel safe coming to hospitals, but my message is clear: people should seek help as they always would.

“We know that finding cancer early gives us the best chance to cure it, and ignoring potential problems can have serious consequences.”

But Chai Cancer Care’s figures also show the downward trend does not appear to include the charity’s other service users, such as family members and patients at a later stage in their cancer journey. Chai Cancer Care’s total number of service users has risen to 3,828 people this year, up from 3,582 in 2019. The charity, which was forced to close its centres amid the pandemic, is offering remote services to patients, including counselling, providing information, as well as meditation and mindfulness sessions.

“Even though our doors are closed, we are still continuing to support anyone who is affected by a cancer diagnosis. If you’re first diagnosed and don’t know where to go, it’s very confusing this whole new world of cancer and we can help navigate that and support the whole family through it,” Steele said.

The charity is expecting a “big rise” in demand for its services, including counselling and family therapy, once lockdown measures are lifted.

THERE’S NO MASKING IT Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his anger at the country’s justice system as he arrived at court for the start of his corruption trial, accusing police and prosecutors of conspiring to ‘depose’ him. Page 18

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Jewish News 28 May 2020

News / Virus advice / Board debate

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Covid-19 line open for calls Jewish groups have launched a coronavirus advice helpline in an effort to combat its spread in the community, writes Adam Decker.

The non-emergency Covid-19 Kehillah helpline, which can be contacted on 020 3322 8384, is aimed at answering any questions members of the community have about the virus, including self-isolation and symptoms.

It was set up by the medical advocacy charity MARS (Medical Advocacy and Referral Service) together with Jewish organisations such as Hatzola, Ezra Umarpeh, Lecheiris, the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations and Bikur Cholem.

MARS, which has expanded its health and financial support services during the pandemic, has supplied 64 oxygen machines to families shielding or isolating at home. Figures shared by MARS reveal that nearly half of all 1,350 cases taken on by the charity this year were related to the new coronavirus.

The charity’s founder and director, Rabbi Hershel Grunfeld, said: “From my experience, I know how overwhelming a sickness in the family can be and the huge impact it can have on so many people, even more so during these unprecedented and scary times.

“MARS is here to support anyone going through similarly difficult situations. We will do our utmost to ease those feelings of anxiety by ensuring that patients and their family members are able to understand their particular situation and the solutions available to them.

“We have helped people from all different parts of London’s Jewish community. No one has to do it alone. We are always here to help whatever your circumstances.”  You can use the NHS 111 online service if you believe you may have the coronavirus to find out when, whether and where to get medical help

NEWS IN BRIEF

EMBASSY DONATES £80K TO FIGHT VIRUS The British Embassy in Tel Aviv has said it will release up to £80,000 to fund urgent Covid-19 work in Israel. Its intention is to finance “scientific, innovative, economic or social projects” solely in relation to the coronavirus, and it is “looking to fund one or two small-scale, one-off or exploratory activities”.

Examples of projects include those aimed at developing vaccines, new drugs, therapeutics or testing, as well as those focusing on economic recovery or supporting vulnerable or disadvantaged communities.

COMMUNITY VIRUS DEATHS RISE TO 478 The number of coronavirus-related deaths among UK Jews has jumped to 478 as of last Friday, from 458 the previous week. The latest figure, released on Tuesday, covers deaths in hospital and beyond, using data from seven of the largest denominational burial boards, as collated by the Board of Deputies.

The national death toll for those tested positive for coronavirus across all settings reached 40,496 as of Tuesday, health authorities have said, including nearly 10,000 care home residents.

Board refuses to take sides on West Bank annexation for representing this range, we do The Board of Deputies has issued not in good faith support one a statement about Israel’s West view over another.”

Bank annexation plans but The Board’s role is “to says it “does not in good facilitate this debate from all faith support one view over sides. We also have to take the other”. into account that Israel – In Friday’s statement the the only democracy in the Board’s president, Marie Middle East – has an elected van der Zyl, acknowledges government which reflects criticisms, saying the Israeli the will of Israeli voters.” proposals have “prompted Nevertheless, she says that impassioned opinions and lively the Board, “as ever, emphadebate amongst Jews in Israel sise our continued belief and the diaspora alike”.

Board of Deputies leaders in a negotiated two-state But, she says, “in the main, this is a Zionist community and Israel solution, leading to a secure Israel alongside is of central importance to the identity of a viable Palestinian state”.

It is unlikely that the president’s statemany of us”. The issue is more complex than simply asking for the Board to support ment will bring to an end debate among deputies and the wider community, calling for the or oppose annexation, she says.

“The variation of opinion is even more Board to take a position for one side on the nuanced than this and as the body responsible annexation issue.

EVANS IS JLM GENERAL SECRETARY The Jewish Labour Movement has welcomed the party’s new general secretary, David Evans.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Jennie Formby’s successor will help to restore “trust” nationally, ahead of the publication of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission’s inquiry into claims of antisemitism.

One of the key issues facing former assistant general secretary Evans will be dealing with allegations of antisemitism by some party mem-

bers, and the watchdog’s probe. The EHRC’s inquiry is set to be made public soon.

The Jewish Labour Movement tweeted that it looked forward to working with Evans “to ensure Labour deals with its flawed disciplinary processes and the toxic culture in local parties, including acting on the 19 steps we set out for his predecessor”.

Evans worked for Labour under Tony Blair’s leadership and was seen as Sir Keir’s favourite.

28 May 2020 Jewish News

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Virus pandemic / Aliyah numbers / News

Jewish Care says 68 residents beat virus Jewish Care has said 68 residents suspected of having contracted Covid-19 have recovered, with “more consistent” testing now being rolled out across the charity.

Chief executive Daniel Carmel-Brown said: “We have 68 residents across our care homes who have now made a full recovery from what we believe were coronavirus symptoms.

“There are very few of our residents across our homes who have developed Covid-19 testing has become more consistently available Covid-19 in the last two weeks. This is of course good news, although are able to make more accurate assessments of we are careful to remain vigilant and will not their care needs.” become complacent in our measures to keep Jewish Care would begin opening its doors Covid-19 out of our homes.” to new admissions “in the coming week” and He added that the charity was “now starting start assessing the viability of family visits. to see testing become available in a more conFormer pensions minister Baroness Ros Altsistent manner”, and the focus given to the issue mann last month praised Jewish care homes for

by Jewish News helped in no small manner. acting swiftly at the start of the crisis to secure “Campaigning by Jewish Care, in addition supplies of personal protective equipment. to some external pressure and publicity on the In response to Jewish News’ inquiries, issue, contributed to our ability to test more res- Jewish Care was unable to say how many of the idents,” he said. “The increased number of tests 68 residents were tested or how many residents made available to our residents means that we had died as a result of Covid-19.

UK aliyah plummets by 60% Aliyah from the UK fell 60 percent between January and April this year as a result of the pandemic, writes Jack Mendel.

In total, 89 Brits began new lives in Israel in the first four months of 2020, down by 146 yearon-year. In January, prior to the lockdown, 32 people made aliyah, which was up five on the previous year.

Yigal Palmor, head of international relations at the Jewish Agency, cited “objective obstacles” including “entry restrictions, general shutdown of government, lockdown regulation and lack of flights”.

Shay Felber, deputy director-general of the

Jewish Agency, told Jewish News the process for making aliyah had not ground to a halt.

“People are still approaching us and we still provide services, although with the difficulties of closed offices and other restrictions.

We haven’t stopped dealing and taking care of those who want to live in Israel.”

He added that the Jewish Agency had adapted to the restrictions, with potential olim invited to “send all the documents by mail to our offices. Our representative will open them and they will hold an interview with you without you coming to the office in person.”

CHARNEY VIEWS ‘INAPPROPRIATE’ Eight affiliate organisations of the Zionist Federation have penned an open letter criticising the organisation’s chairman Paul Charney for expressing “wholly inappropriate” views on annexation, writes Adam Decker.

In a rare open challenge to the head of the ZF, signatory bodies such as the Jewish Labour Movement and several progressive religious groups took issue with Charney’s statement that Israel had “little option” than to annex the West Bank. Writing in Jewish News this month, Charney said Israel was a democratic state and “annexation will not change this,” but came in for sharp rebuke this week as members lined up to say he had no right to make such statements.

Representing “a significant number” of affiliates, they said: “The remit of the ZF is to repre-

sent the broad swathe of Zionist organisations and opinions in the UK. It does not have a mandate to formulate policy positions in response to events taking place in Israel or the wider Middle East or to make statements on behalf of the organisations it claims to represent.”

They added that “when the ZF leadership makes political statements about key issues in Israel, they undermine its credibility as a representative body and overstep its remit, misrepresenting constituent bodies”.

The signatories said Charney’s views were “personal, and therefore a wholly inappropriate remark to be made in the capacity of ZF chair”.

The letter was signed by groups including Liberal Judaism, LJY-Netzer, Meretz UK, Masorti Judaism, Reform Judaism and RSY-Netzer.

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Jewish News 28 May 2020

News / Family values / News briefs

Family tips help kids’ charity

NEWS IN BRIEF

MICHAEL ROSEN OUT OF INTENSIVE CARE

Her lockdown parenting Facebook group went viral. Now Claire Balkind is publishing an ebook inspired by the flourishing online community – in aid of the children’s charity Barnado’s, writes Mathilde Frot.

The secondary school history teacher from Barnet is the author of the 59-page ebook Family Lockdown Tips & Ideas: 20 Easy & Fun Activities, published by Bluebird on 17 May. It contains ideas to keep children busy at home inspired by entries posted on the Family Lockdown Tips & Ideas Facebook group set up by the mother of two in March amid looming school closures.

The Facebook group, which began as a way to keep her two young children busy at home, has now grown into a community of 1.1 million members, who regularly share mindfulness routines and advice about ageappropriate activities.

The ebook, she said ahead of its launch, is intended to exist as a record of the Facebook community.

Speaking to Jewish News on Wednesday, Balkind, 36, said: “The ideas are all things that I’ve done in one way or another. I’ve written them up inspired by the group, and people have said it’s really helpful.

“Rather than having – like on other

Former children’s laureate Michael Rosen is out of intensive care after “a long and difficult” 47 days, his wife has said. The poet and author, 74, was “very poorly” when he was admitted to intensive care. His wife, radio producer Emma-Louise Williams, has posted on Twitter: “His recovery is continuing on the ward and will take time. He has done so well to get through this but please don’t expect him back here (on Twitter) yet.” Rosen’s wife has not confirmed whether he has been suffering from coronavirus.

CREATING PLAN FOR POST-CRISIS WORLD Thirty Jewish communities from around the world took part in a videoconference on Tuesday to discuss plans for when the coronavirus crisis ends.The roundtable forum was convened by the Jewish Agency for Israel and Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs.

The discussion included how to effectively collect and distribute aid, meeting the current and future needs of Jewish education and preparation for future outbreaks of antisemitism.

not-to-be-named social platforms – really beautiful glossy images that look aspirational, I think what has happened in this group and what this book hopefully does too, is it makes ideas achievable and realistic and doable and manageable for people at home.”

She added: “The book is not about having money or lots of fancy crafts equipment or anything like that. It’s about doing something with what you’ve already got and using your imagination and so hopefully the book has tapped into that.”

Reactions to the book launch have been positive, she said. “I’ve never done anything like this before. I’ve never written a book. It was totally nerve-racking. I’ve had loads of personal messages from people who are saying how much the group has helped them. They’re so pleased that it’s for charity.”

A full-length paperback, Great Family Days In, containing 100 activity ideas, will be published by Bluebird in the autumn.  Family Lockdown Tips & Ideas: 20 Easy & Fun Activities, published by Bluebird, is available on Kindle and the Kindle app for £1.99

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Back to school / News

20 Jewish schools reassure parents The chairs of 20 Jewish schools across the UK signed an open letter this week reassuring parents worried about

health and safety when their children return to classrooms next week.

Acknowledging the “collaboration” of school leadership teams during the pandemic, the chairs said full risk assessments have been undertaken, with each school having unique factors dictating when and how it reopens. “School leaders are doing their very best to return our children to a normal routine as quickly as possible given their individual circumstances and the requirements of the extensive – and ever-changing – government guidance,” they said.

“The health and wellbeing of your children and our staff will continue to remain our highest priority. Please continue to support our schools and their leadership during this difficult period of transition.

“We appreciate that “Our Toby is just coming up to school none of this is ideal and that your age and we can’t decide whether to not own lives and work are affected send him to a mainstream school immensely, but your patience or a Jewish one?”

NEWS IN BRIEF

‘JEWISH UNITY FOR SHAVUOT’ LETTER Senior rabbis from five continents have called in an open letter for “a return to Jewish unity” ahead of the Jewish festival of Shavuot. The signatories, including some of the most respected religious figures in countries such as France, South Africa and Argentina, urged Jews around the world to rebuild strained or broken relations. Referring to the unity shown when the Jewish people stood at the foot of Mount Sinai, they said: “Let us do everything we can to return to this sublime moment of complete Jewish unity.”

Schools acknowledged the ‘incredible collaboration’ of leadership teams

and understanding are greatly appreciated as we take these next steps.”

It was signed by the chairs of Mathilda Marks-Kennedy, Moriah, Menorah Foundation, Wolfson Hillel, North West London Jewish Day School, Eden, Sacks Morasha, Hertsmere, North Cheshire, Alma, Nancy Reuben, Kerem, Noam, Naima, Yavneh, Independent Jewish Day School, Rosh Pinah, Hasmonean, Rimon, Akiva and Beit Shvidler.

Penning their “message of sup-

port and reassurance” to parents, the chairs said school leaderships teams “have demonstrated an outstanding level of compassionate leadership and professionalism during this most turbulent time, enabling teaching and learning to continue”.

They also paid tribute to the Partnerships for Jewish Schools umbrella body as “instrumental in helping to facilitate this muchneeded coordination”.  New school rules, page 27

UK–ISRAEL FLIGHTS STILL WEEKS AWAY Regular commercial flights between the UK and Israel will not resume until mid-July at the earliest, according to the head of Ben Gurion Airport. Shmuel Zakaim, the airport’s managing director, said that even when the flights restart, the number of departing planes will remain low. “Social distancing regulations won’t allow us to increase passenger capacity,” Zakaim said. “We should see a few dozen flights departing from Ben Gurion Airport starting mid-July.”

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Jewish News 28 May 2020

News / Virus pandemic

JW3 teams with Arsenal to tackle food poverty When a pantechnicon from Arsenal rolled up at London’s JW3 last week, carrying four and half tonnes of food, it was the high point of an extraordinary project, writes Jenni Frazer. And it started in the front garden of the centre’s chief executive, Raymond Simonson.

JW3 had to make rapid readjustments when lockdown was imposed and its building in Finchley Road was closed. “We decided to become a virtual community centre, with many online events; to be a hub for the entire community, so we launched Jewish On-Line; and the third strand was tikkun olam, saving the world, which is part of our mission,” said Simonson.

The centre, its volunteers and staff have been involved in outreach work to the local community in north-west London even before the pandemic. But Simonson and his team felt it was important, despite lockdown, to try to make use of the space in the temporarily vacated building.

“I contacted Camden Council and spoke to council leader Georgia Gould and to Jonathan Simpson, the former mayor. Both of them know JW3 well.” There was only one question to consider: how could JW3 help?

As talks with the council proceeded, Simonson was briefly diverted by the Yellow Candle project, which asks people to remember those who died in the Holocaust. When JW3 closed not all the candles had been given out, so a staffer took

‘Chesed in action’: the Arsenal pantechnicon at JW3 and, top right, donations

them home and then Simonson, networking through friends, his children’s school and on social media, put 700 candles in his front garden and they were snapped up in under a week.

“I thought, if people will come for candles, maybe they will help with food, too,” he reasoned. He put a crate in his garden and asked people to donate. Soon, he had a full crate and the project, to collect and distribute food to those who could not afford it, was snowballing.

But things really took off about three weeks

ago, when Camden Council contacted Simonson ‘out of the blue’. “They said, we have one tonne of food which we were not expecting and we have already delivered to our food banks, which are now full. It will go to waste – but if we can get it to JW3, can you distribute it from there?”

Within about 15 minutes, under the supervision of JW3’s social action co-ordinator, Jacob Forman, the project was agreed. The next day, the centre opened to receive Camden’s first delivery, of the promised tonne, followed by a

further half-tonne, representing about 3,500 meals. Because of its continuing outreach work, JW3 had a number of partner organisations and soon identified several hundred people who either needed cooked meals or food parcels.

“So we have been getting food from wherever we can, donations, people who have established collection points in their own neighbourhoods and brought filled boxes to JW3, and then if we can get food donated by one of the big companies, we added that in,” Simonson said.

But his team believed they could do more.

So Camden asked JW3 to become the central food hub for the north of the borough. JW3 welcomed the huge lorry last Wednesday from Arsenal Football Club’s Foundation, carrying 10 pallets, thought to represent 15,000 meals.

Much of the food has been collected for Arsenal from the three boroughs with which it works: Camden, Islington and Hackney. Such deliveries will arrive at JW3 on a weekly basis.

Once there, the food is sorted and packed by volunteers and then distributed to people in need.

“By working together, we hope we can continue to identify and support those most vulnerable in our local community. This is chesed – lovingkindness – in action.”

28 May 2020 Jewish News

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Faith project / Virus kindness / News

Chief backs virtual remembrance book Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has praised a virtual interfaith book of remembrance launched by St Paul’s Cathedral to commemorate British victims of Covid-19.

Mirvis was among senior faith leaders hailing the Remember Me project, which has been supported by the businessman and philanthropist Sir Lloyd Dorfman.

Members of the public of all faiths and none can register for free the details of a loved one lost to the virus on the website, including their name, photograph and a short tribute.

The online book is set to become a physical memorial at the cathedral, which has already approved designs, subject to funding.

Sir Lloyd, who has helped St Paul’s Cathedral lead the

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interfaith project backed by his foundation, said: “It will enable family, friends and loved ones from every corner of the country to memorialise those who have so tragically passed away due to the effects of Covid-19.”

Rabbi Mirvis said: “I hope this focal point for our col-

lective grief also generates a measure of comfort for the loved ones of the deceased, enabling them to record their recollections for posterity.”

Other voices of support came from the Gompertz family, which encouraged bereaved families to display a yellow heart in their window.

‘VIRUS EVOKED ACTS OF KINDNESS’ Lord Jonathan Sacks has said the “enduring memories” of the coronavirus period will be the acts of kindness it evoked.

He made the comments on BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day, at the conclusion of Mental Health Awareness Week – the theme of which was kindness.

The former Chief Rabbi (pictured) said kindness was also the theme of the Biblical book of Ruth, which is read this week during Shavuot.

“One of the enduring memories of the coronavirus period will be the extraordinary acts of kindness it evoked, from friends, neighbours, and strangers, those who helped us, kept in touch with us, or simply smiled at us,” he said.

“When fate was cruel to us, we were kind to one another. Human goodness emerged when we needed it most. And Mental Health Awareness Week reminds us that some need it more than most.”

Moishe House open in Hackney Moishe House’s recently opened space in Hackney is offering virtual events during the lockdown in a bid to bring together Jewish students and young adults.

The community centre is the second Moishe House recently established in London with support from the Genesis Philanthropy Group, with another set up in Clapham

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last year.

Other locations in London are Kilburn and Belsize Park.

The newest house, which held an online introductory event on 9 May, is to offer a cookalong over Zoom on Sunday, 31 May, inspired by the history of Jewish cooking.

Four residents, Lauren Keiles, 23, Joshua Powell, 23, Fran Kurlansky, 23 Rosa Slater,

22, moved into the Hackney venue before the UK went into lockdown in March.

The four said: “We have always valued Jewish community. Now that we are moving into the next stage of our life, we want to create a Moishe House that offers the same opportunities to engage with Judaism on a cultural, religious and social level that we have enjoyed.

NEWS IN BRIEF

UJIA LAUNCHES ITS SHAVOUT PYJAMA PARTY STUDY SCHEME

LAUGHING MATTER AS SALAMA NAMED COMIC RELIEF CHAIR

UJIA has launched its ‘Shavuot Pyjama Party’ selection of learning materials in the run-up to the Jewish festival starting this week. The name is a nod to both the de facto dress-code of the coronavirus lockdown as well as the Shavuot tradition of night-time learning, and the package of family-friendly educational activities can all be enjoyed from home. “This marks a second phase in our lockdown educational experience, from the initial novelty of using the Zoom platform to something more compatible with our current daily realities,” said a spokesman.

Comic Relief has appointed as its new board chair Eric Salama, the former chief executive officer of the market data business Kantar. The 59-year-old businessman will assume his new role on 1 July, taking over from BBC Studios chief executive Tim Davie, who served on the board for more than six years. “Comic Relief has achieved so much over the past 30 years and has the potential to achieve even more. I look forward to helping the charity grow to greater success. I’m thrilled to be joining a group of talented people and I can’t wait to start,” Salama said.

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Jewish News 28 May 2020

News / Fun run / Shabbat walk / Virtual party

On your marks, get set... log on!

Hundreds of people across the community dusted off their scooters, bicycles and running shoes to take part in Maccabi GB’s first virtual community fun run to raise funds for more than 50 charities, writes Mathilde Frot.

Participants were given the options of running, walking, hopping or skipping a distance of either 1km, 5km or 10 km, at home or a local park while following the UK’s lockdown rules.

Organisers also held a “text to run campaign” in which proceeds were split equally among the registered charities.

More than 11,000 people tuned into the online medal ceremony broadcast using the online platform JLGB Virtual and featuring messages from Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, the Israeli Ambassador Mark Regev, and 96-year-old participant, Ruth Brook, who raised funds for the social care charity Jewish Care.

Harry Darsa, 12, may hate running, but he ran a distance of

5km for the Maccabi GB Community Fun Run @ Home Online to support his mum, Jewish Blind & Disabled’s chief executive Lisa Wimborne.

“I’d like to congratulate you all on what you have achieved,” Rabbi Mirvis told participants and organisers. “It’s been absolutely extraordinary, congratulations to Maccabi GB for inspiring and empowering so many people Jewish Care Families chair Amy Woolf, with to participate this year her children Georgia, five, and Max, three, … and to all of you, the took part in the Maccabi GB Fun Run participants congratulations on running, hopping, skip- that took part while raising money ping, jumping 1km, 5km, 10 km for the community’s frontline and not just for the sake of good charities.” exercise, but far more importantly Thousands of people across in order to raise desperately 30 countries, including France, needed funds for our charities at Ireland and Scotland, held held this time.” their own Community Fun Run @ Maccabi GB chief executive, Home Online events.

Martin Berliner said: “We are thrilled with the amount of people  More pictures, page 25

Online party for Sue TV Judge Robert Rinder, platform Empower, demcomedian Simon Brodkin onstrated how to use a and former Love Island swab kit and register as contestant Eyal Booker a potential stem cell took part in the Sue donor, as he tuned into Harris Trust’s Save a the virtual event coLife Party on Monday. hosted by Rinder with The party, held with JLGB member Cidney JLGB, in a media partnerMiller. Comedians Joe Bor ship with Jewish News, was Eyal Booker and Rachel Creeger and aimed at encouraging mem- shows how to Israeli musicians Tova Swed, bers of the community to use a swab kit Bruno Grife and Yermi request a swab kit and regKaplan performed remotely ister as a potential stem cell donor. on Zoom. Booker said: “I’m going to Booker, who discussed the recent send my swab off and hopefully I will launch of his fitness subscription be able to save a life if needed.”

Brothers raise £18k for kids Four brothers from Golders Green brought smiles to the faces of children during the lockdown by raising more than £18,000 to purchase toys for 600 families.

Mikey, 22, Avi, 20, Dudi, 15, and Amiel Dubiner, seven, raised the amount together with the charity Shabbat Walk by running a combined distance of 43 miles in their garden.

They broadcasted their runs on YouTube, with more than 1,200 online users viewing the video since it was uploaded earlier this month.

Avi, a former GIFT Shabbat Walk

The Dubiner brothers ran 43 miles

coordinator, said: “This project ... shows how easy it is for the community to help each other out at times like these, which are so difficult for some.”

Support when it’s needed.

Free, safe and anonymous online counselling and support for students Message counsellors and talk to the Kooth community 24/7

Visit Jami.kooth.com “I finally feel academically and mentally prepared to live a life that I want, with the confidence to make that life regardless of what happens” – Evelyn, 18 years old

Registered charity no. 1003345. A company limited by guarantee. Registered in London no. 2618170

28 May 2020 Jewish News

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Norwood on the frontline ADVERTORIAL

For all the talk of coronavirus being a great leveller, the truth is that this crisis affects different people in different ways.

As one writer put it: ‘We are not all in the same boat. We are in the same storm.’ For the people that Norwood proudly supports, the past few months have presented a unique set of challenges. Here is how one of the UK’s largest Jewish charities has been tackling that storm with a series of innovative measures to ensure that some of the most vulnerable people in our community stay fit, fed and fully occupied during the lockdown…

T

he extraordinary people that Norwood supports have always been paramount in all of its plans and procedures. But in order to keep some of the most vulnerable people in our community fit and healthy, it is crucial that the charity itself is as robust as possible, and there is no escaping the fact that the coronavirus crisis has hit Norwood hard. In real terms, the anticipated cost of coronavirus to the charity is between £2.26m and £3.8m over just three months. This equates to the loss of around £1m a month due to the unprecedented double-impact of increases in core costs and loss of income due to the cancellation of all fundraising events.

now provides a lifeline to families in crisis and lifelong support for people with learning disabilities and autism, was putting the finishing touches to its 225th anniversary plans at precisely the time the pandemic had other ideas. Hopefully, those celebrations are only temporarily on hold.

This year was intended to be one of grand celebration at Norwood. The charity, which started life in 1795 and

In short: could the charity that invented and is famous for its Challenges, rise to this one?

But how could Norwood ensure that adults in its accommodation services would be supported to cope with the extraordinary circumstances? How would it continue to provide vital support to children and families struggling to cope with the mounting physical, psychological and economic stress?

THE FRIENDLY FACE OF YOUNG NORWOOD

HOW NORWOOD COOKED UP A PLAN OF ACTION

It started with a quiche. The week before the government announced full lockdown measures on 23 March, the team at Sara’s Kitchen – the catering school for young adults with learning disabilities in Norwood’s Kennedy Leigh Family Centre – had already sprung into action.

On Thursday 19 March, seeing that support staff in Norwood’s homes could do with some support themselves, Mariette Mensah and her team took it upon themselves to cook a vegetable casserole and a tomato quiche and deliver them by hand to two Norwood homes nearby.

Since then, the demands on Sara’s Emergency Kitchen’s services have increased to such an extent that it has outgrown its original base and is now cooking up meals for all of Norwood’s London homes from its borrowed base in Alma Primary, Whetstone (motto: “A world built on kindness”).

Meanwhile, Kennedy Leigh has become Norwood’s logistics hub. Every day at any time (the centre’s manager, Julie Marcow, has been known to meet a delivery in her pyjamas), donations of food and deliveries of vital PPE are processed here before being taken far and wide by a small army of volunteers – about 200 of whom have come forward for service since the crisis began.

The whole operation has been a Herculean team effort.

Norwood’s chief executive, Dr Beverley Jacobson, says: “The Sara’s Emergency Kitchen team is really going above and beyond and have both our thanks and our admiration. The work they have all done enables us all to focus on keeping the people we support safe and happy during this crisis.”

One of the great challenges of the lockdown for everyone has been keeping ourselves and/or our children occupied and entertained. While this is important for all, for people with learning disabilities and autism it is vital. Feelings of isolation can impact on mental and physical wellbeing, and that is why the focus of so much of Norwood’s attention has been placed on keeping the people who live in its homes entertained, active and stimulated.

One key component of this work has been provided

by Young Norwood, the network of 18-35-year-olds who, in the days before coronavirus, would regularly go into Norwood’s homes to provide a friendly face, a chat and some light entertainment in the form of karaoke and quiz evenings.

This vital friendship and companionship has certainly not been put on hold. In fact, if anything, the Young Norwood teams have been on overdrive since the lockdown with regular virtual volunteering sessions continuing to build friendships and providing crucial connection with the outside world. This committed group of young professionals have also just launched their own fundraising campaign to supply much-needed equipment to keep Norwood residents active and entertained (arts & crafts items, indoor and outdoor games and activities, karaoke machines and so on; see norwood.org.uk for more information).

Andrew Cohen, who heads up one of these volunteer teams, says: “It is heart-warming to see the growing relationships and rapport developing between the volunteers and individuals Norwood supports. One of our new volunteers said that socialising with the people Norwood supports makes him feel ‘fulfilled and happy’, so it’s a win-win for all of us.”

STILL PUTTING FAMILIES FIRST

Norwood’s Children and Family Services have always been on the frontline, but nothing could have prepared these services for the additional strain that lockdown was going to place on vulnerable families. At the precise time that this strain was increasing, it quickly became apparent that Norwood’s usual hands-on, bespoke approach was simply not going to be possible.

So what do you do when you have an expert team of professional social workers, counsellors, psychologists, therapists and support staff who are all unable to physically offer the vital services that so many families in our community rely on? The answer for Norwood was to continue those services in the best way they could.

One-to-one counselling sessions are now conducted via video connection services such as Zoom. A Binoh helpline has been set up that offers free support and advice to any family needing it from an occupational therapist, a speech and language therapist, a teacher and an educational psychologist. Resources for lessons have all been made freely available in a new Help@Home section of the Norwood website. And various members of the team have been answering questions in real time in a series of Facebook Live sessions (educational psychologist Ben Levy might be needing his own fan club if this continues much longer).

All of this has been swiftly set up with continuity and routine in mind, and it proves that Norwood has been here for the community since 1795 and continues to be here whatever the circumstances.

If you would like to donate to, volunteer for or just know more about Norwood’s invaluable work in the community, go to norwood.org.uk

Patron Her Majesty The Queen • Registered Charity No. 1059050

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Jewish News 28 May 2020

Special Report / 70 years of British–Israeli relations

United kingdoms Photo courtesy of Government Press Office

Israeli ambassadors to Britain and their UK counterparts reflect on 70 years of diplomatic relations – moments of joy, sorrow and of history being made

Prince William with Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, in June 2018

As I approach the end of my posting here in London, I have been truly fortunate to serve during such an extraordinary time for the partnership between our two democracies.

Choosing a winning moment for me is, therefore, difficult, but two stand out in particular.

The first has to be the Balfour Declaration centenary celebration at Britain’s prestigious Spencer House in November 2017. Graciously hosted by Lord Rothschild, whose predecessor was the recipient of that famous statement of British policy, and in the presence of the current Lord Balfour, the assembled great and good included Boris Johnson, then foreign secretary, and the two prime ministers, Theresa May and Benjamin Netanyahu, who was welcomed as a guest of Her Majesty’s Government.

Theresa May described the Declaration as “a letter which gave birth to a most extraordinary country”, and stressed Britain’s pride in “our pioneering role in the creation of the State of Israel”. Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the UK for its “foresighted” declaration, for “liberating the Holy Land from 400 years of Ottoman domination”, and for “valiantly standing alone against the Nazi tyranny”. He even visited Boris Johnson’s office and saw the desk from which the Declaration was signed, used by successive foreign secretaries including Dominic Raab today.

The second moment came the next year, in June 2018, when it was our turn in Israel to roll out the red carpet for a very important guest.

I was lucky enough to accompany His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge when he made history as the first senior British royal to pay an official visit to the Jewish state. During his incredibly busy schedule, including formal meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Rivlin and Israeli innovators, he found time to get together with Israel’s then newly crowned Eurovision queen, Netta Barzilai. I understand that the two did not attempt Netta’s famed chicken dance together.

Taken together, for me, both these historic occasions symbolise the enduring strength of the partnership Israel and Britain have built, and the progress we are continuing to make.

Our democracies are closer diplomatically and economically, culturally and socially than they ever have been, and I am sure there will be yet more historic occasions for the next Israeli Ambassador to London to enjoy. Perhaps one day in the not too distant future we might even see the United Kingdom open the doors of its Embassy in Israel’s capital, Jerusalem.

DANIEL TAUB, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR FROM 2011 TO 2015

Seventy years of UK Israel relations: the best of times, the worst of times Israelis often see UK attitudes to Israel as something of a conundrum. On the one hand, Britain is one of our closest and warmest partners in trade, culture and academic research.

On the other, Britain plays host to a major hub of the campaign to boycott Israel. At times these two trends come together in a Dickensian ‘the best of times, worst of times’ scenario.

In 2012, around the time of the London Olympics, I was delighted to learn that the Globe Theatre had invited Habima, Israel’s national theatre company, to participate in a

Photo courtesy of Government Press Office

MARK REGEV, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR SINCE 2016

Prime Ministers May and Netanyahu mark 100 years since the Balfour Declaration

Shakespeare Olympiad. The national theatre cial letter from the State of Israel, expressing companies of 36 different countries would each our wish to make things right and finally fulfil perform one of Shakespeare’s plays in their the opportunity that was squandered in the own language on the stage of his own reconSixties. I handed it personally to John Lenstructed theatre. non’s sister, Julia Baird, and it was also sent to I was less delighted, to say the least, when Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the family of I learned that the play that Habima had been George Harrison. asked to perform was The Merchant of Venice.

What transpired next astounded us. The Really, I muttered, is playing Shylock the only following month McCartney said he would be thing we have to contribute? happy to play in Israel and in September 2008 As the performance got closer there were history was made in Tel Aviv. 50,000 Israelis other things to worry about. The boycott got to hear Sir Paul perform live Hey Jude, movement in London began an aggressive Eleanor Rigby and, of course, Let it Be. campaign against the Israeli performance.

As someone who grew up in the Sixties, lisThe following weeks were spent in a flurry of tening to the Beatles, I felt like I gave Israel the media, political and security activity to make best present I could give it on its 60th birthday. sure that the play could go ahead as planned.

In the event, thanks to concerted efforts ZVI HEIFETZ, ISRAELI by the embassy staff and the strong support AMBASSADOR FROM 2004 TO 2007 of our friends in the British government, the We arrived in London in 2004 and before our play went ahead almost without incident. A first Chanukah holiday in the UK, I found out brief disruption was quickly shouted down that Chanukah candles had never been lit at by the supportive audience. And as I watched the Prime Minister’s House in 10 Downing the wonderful Hebrew language production, Street together with the Ambassador of the alongside Ed Vaisey, the UK culture minister who had come as a public statement of support, I began to wonder whether I had been wrong to have bridled at the choice of play and whether there wasn’t something historic about the performance.

For four centuries The Merchant of Venice had been performed about the Jews while the Jewish people could say nothing about it. But here in the rebuilt theatre of Shakespeare, in the Hebrew language which itself had risen from the ashes, an Israeli national theatre company could finally give its own interpretation in its own Zvi Heifetz watches Tony Blair light the chanukiah in 2004 distinctive voice.

State of Israel. I was told that “it never was and RON PROSOR, ISRAELI therefore never will be”.

AMBASSADOR FROM 2007 TO 2011 Eventually, after I contacted Prime It was early in Israel’s 60th anniversary year, Minister Tony Blair, a great friend of the 2008. My team and I were trying to find a State of Israel, and he was pleased to hold the way to make this Independence Day, Israel’s ceremony at his residence. Indeed, the first Diamond Jubilee, special for both countries.

Chanukah candle was lit in the presence of the An official royal visit was still a pipe dream, but prime minister, my family and myself, and the we realised that even if we can’t bring Windsor leaders of the Jewish community.

Royalty, we can bring pop music Royalty – the Today it can be said that this was the only Beatles, or at least their living members. time in the 70 years of the relationship that It wasn’t easy. The history between the Holy Chanukah candles were lit in the presence of Land and the Fab Four wasn’t very positive, the Prime Minister and the Israeli Ambassador after the Israeli government banned them from at 10 Downing Street. playing here. The official reason given then was that they “had no artistic value and were a ZVI SHTAUBER, ISRAELI bad influence on Israel’s younger generation”.

AMBASSADOR FROM 2001 TO 2004 Later it was revealed that the real reason was The scene: Trafalgar Square, bank holiday turf wars between different promoters.

Monday, 6 May 2002. The occasion: Israel Fast forward back to 2008. In January we Solidarity Rally went to Liverpool, to the Beatles Museum in “Friends of Israel, it is my great privilege as their hometown. There we presented an offithe ambassador of the State of Israel to extend

28 May 2020 Jewish News

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gratulated me on rescuing Elton John’s concert in Tel Aviv in June 1993.

SIR SHERARD COWPER-COLES, BRITISH AMBASSADOR FROM 2001 TO 2003

The story that moves me most about my time as ambassador to Israel is about something that happened long before I left London for Tel Aviv in the late summer of 2001, though going there as ambassador had been a long-held dream.

I travelled to Israel by bus from Cairo – my first posting – in the early 1980s. What a golden age that seems now. The Jerusalem Post was on sale in the Nile Hilton, parties of American Jewish tourists would spend a week in Egypt and a week in Israel. Hopes for peace were high. The purpose of that visit, an initiative

by Jim Callaghan when he was foreign secretary, was to ensure that the young diplomats posted to Britain’s embassies in the Arab world saw at an early stage in their careers the other side of what was then known as the Israeli–Arab dispute. And we did, in an unforgettable week of experiences that only Israel can provide.

Later I returned as private secretary first to the permanent secretary at the Prince Philip (left) visits Yad Vashem in 1994. Andrew Burns, Foreign Office and then to the British ambassador, is in the centre, wearing glasses the foreign secretary, each visit full of memories and and Israel, thank you for your partnership in deep emotions, all of which only reinforced my making the Zionist dream a reality, L’hiyot am ambition to serve one day as Britain’s Ambaschofshi beartzenu, to be a free people in our sador to a country we had helped to create. land. Thank you.”

And when that chance came I determined, as an Arabist, to make every effort to learn SIR ANDREW BURNS, BRITISH Hebrew – less of a challenge than it might have AMBASSADOR FROM 1992 TO 1995 seemed, given the common semitic origin of Diplomatic relations between the UK and both languages.

Israel took a decided turn for the better when A British–Israeli friend at SOAS organised I arrived in Tel Aviv in July 1992 and went the best language course I have ever had, based straight up to Jerusalem to hear newly elected at Balfour House in north London. I lodged Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin tell the Knesset with a wonderful Israeli in Hendon, who fed that one makes peace with one’s enemies, me delicious Israeli food and phrases. On the not with one’s friends. Under the guidance last day of my course, I wanted to write a letter of Shimon Peres and Yossi Beilin, the peace in Hebrew, on official Foreign Office paper, to negotiations with Jordan and then the Oslo thank my teachers for all they had done. The Peace Accords came to dominate my time in course organiser kindly agreed to go back to my Israel, though they culminated in the assaslodgings to pick up the writing paper while I sination of Rabin just as I was due to depart drafted the letter. She returned, with the paper Israel in November 1995. I shall never forget but also that day’s post. And in that post was the shock, or the ineffable sadness, of his a letter to me from someone called Sir Brian funeral on Mount Herzl, attended by a huge Young. “Dear Cowper-Coles,” he wrote. “I delegation from the UK, led by Prince Charles was so glad to learn that you were going as our and Prime Minister John Major. ambassador to Israel. You may not know that, My years as ambassador covered an in the summer of 1938, when your father was at enormously positive and constructive period in our bilateral relationship and in later years we have seen the ties between our countries strengthen so much further. I shall always remember the warmth of Israeli hospitality and the joy of welcoming more than 10,000 guests through our residence in Ramat Gan; the friendship of President Chaim Herzog, who made the first ever official visit to London, and his successor, President Ezer Weizman; and the warm welcome given to figures such as Prince Philip, Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

On a more personal note I have, perhaps naturally, the fondest memories of the astonishingly positive editorial in The Sun (never knowingly well-disposed Sherard Cowper-Coles gets a warm greeting towards British diplomats) which confrom Rabbi Grossman of Migdal HaEmek

Harrow, and I was at Eton, a group of us went down to Dovercourt holiday camp near Harwich to help with the Kindertransport. Because your father was studying German at school, he manned the switchboard, connecting the poor children with their families back in Germany…”

This was a bolt from the blue.

My father had died, suddenly, in 1968, when I was 13, and had never mentioned this to me. None of us had any idea. We knew he had been friends with Brian Young, whose father had been Chief Secretary of Palestine from 1930 to 1933, before Ambassador Tom Phillips with Professor Stephen later becoming Governor of Hong Hawking in Israel in 2006, the scientist’s fourth visit Kong. On my mother’s side, my Dutch grandmother’s family were passionate forgets its past has no future,” although Zionists, with her sister and brother hiding of course you can always argue about the Jewish children, including in a camp in the extent to which memory is selective or even woods near Apeldoorn, for which my greatcreative. More recently, I read one of Lord uncle paid with his life. They were so pleased Sacks’ weekly commentaries when he in turn and proud that I was going to Israel. But we had recalled a comment by the BBC journalist never known that my father, too, had played a Andrew Marr about how “The Jews have small part in Israel’s story. I am afraid I cried. always had stories for the rest of us,” before going on to reflect on the meaning of Moses’ SIR SIMON MCDONALD, BRITISH AMBASexhortation to the Jewish people to continue SADOR FROM 2003 TO 2006 to tell the Exodus story to their children.

I thoroughly enjoyed my posting to Israel. One Sacks concludes: “We are the story we tell of my disappointments is that I never learned about ourselves.” The Jewish story, about Hebrew (unlike my wife), but I did learn that the escape to freedom and the return to the communication is about more than words.

Promised Land has resonated down the I remember being invited to a large event centuries, and, as Andrew Marr said, not just in a theatre in Jerusalem. There seemed to for believing Jews. be more than a thousand people. Part-way Which is one of the reasons why a diplothrough proceedings, it became clear that matic posting to Israel can never be a posting ‘honoured guests’ were expected to make short to just another country, but will prompt endspeeches, in Hebrew. Ten minutes later I was less questions about human and historical on stage. First, I paraded the one sentence I identity; about the power of narrative; and had learned by heart: “Slicha, ani lo medaber about the intriguing and happily mostly posiIvrit.” Then I said in English that I reckoned tive story of UK/Israel relations. a foreigner could get by in Israel with four words of Hebrew: shalom, because that shalom meant so many things and was always positive, beseder, because the key characteristic of Israelis was being relaxed, balagan, because the second key characteristic was being honest, and kippah, because a kippah covered a multitude of sins – at which point I turned my back to the auditorium and lifted my kippah to reveal my large bald patch.

The audience laughed. Diplomats need to understand the country they work in and communicate, even when they can’t speak the language!

SIR TOM PHILLIPS, BRITISH AMBASSADOR FROM 2006 TO 2010

Ambassador David Quarrey at Tel Aviv Pride in 2018

When I returned to Israel in 2006 as UK Ambassador, I went for a walk with an old friend, a rigorously secular member of what was then called the ‘peace camp’. I asked him what – as a non-believer – being Jewish meant to him.

He said: “I am proud to be a small link in a chain of generations reaching back over 3,000 years, and of being part of a people who have overcome tremendous tragedies and contributed in many ways to humanity and mankind.”

That remark has stayed with me as I have pondered the long and unique chain of events which over many centuries led to the reestablishment of the state of Israel. I remain struck by the way the great cycle of Jewish holidays, particularly of course Pesach, embody key moments in Jewish history.

Churchill once said, “A nation that

DAVID QUARREY, BRITISH AMBASSADOR FROM 2015 TO 2019

It’s probably not wise for a former Ambassador to say that Tel Aviv beach provided some of his most memorable moments, but it’s true. There was Prince William sitting with Israeli surfers, eating watermelon and cheese and talking about protecting the oceans. It was one of those points when Israelis understood how much the prince really wanted to get to know the country and its people. And there was the joy of Tel Aviv Pride, being the first Embassy ever to have a float in the parade and looking out at a sea of 250,000 Israelis and visitors celebrating the country’s extraordinary openness and diversity. These are both powerful memories, high points of my four years. But I also miss Friday night dinners at Manta Ray with my partner.

So thank you, Tel Aviv beach.

Photo courtesy of Yossi Moyal

Photo courtesy of Sir Andrew Burns

to you all greetings from the people and the National Unity government of the State of Israel. The message of support and friendship you bring us today gives us great strength and comfort in these difficult times. We stand here today in our tens of thousands united as one, united in our belief in the right of Israel to exist and flourish, united in our belief in the right of Israel to defend itself from terror and attack and united in our commitment to peace for all.

“On behalf of the government and the people of Israel, I say to each and every one of you here today, thank you, thank you for coming together, for expressing your solidarity and support, thank you for your role in strengthening the bonds between the UK

Photo courtesy of Mati Milstein

70 years of British–Israeli relations / Special Report

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Iftar project / Stage fears / News

Faiths unite to dish up free Iftar meals A rabbi, an imam and a priest gathered in north London to give free Iftar meals to members of the public, writes Adam Decker.

The evening supper marks the end of a day of fasting at sunset during the month of Ramadan, which began this year on 23 March and ended on Saturday.

Rabbi Rebecca Birk, of Finchley Progressive Synagogue, joined the reverend Mother Carol Barrett Ford and Imam Muhammed Bodrul Haque at the Queen’s Crescent Community Association in Gospel Oak. The community centre distributed more than 1,170 takeaway meals last week as part of the Iftar For All project, which organisers hope to extend beyond Ramadan.

The centre, which has set up a Go Fund Me fundraiser for the initiative, opened its doors every evening during Ramadan to offer meat-based and vegetarian meals, fruit and desserts to members of the public to combat food poverty during the pandemic.

Rabbi Birk said: “Handing out

Final curtain? MASK BOOST A leading West End producer has warned “British theatre is on the brink of total collapse” and called on the government to roll out a rescue package for the industry.

Sonia Friedman, 55, whose producing credits include Tom Stoppard’s recent play Leopoldstadt and is the daughter of a Jewish violinist, made the stark warning in The Telegraph. More than “1,000 theatres” together with “70 percent of performing arts companies” could be shut down by the end of the year, she predicted.

The producer revealed her own company was forced to suspend and shut down more than 18 productions around the world in the past 10 weeks.

RACIST BANNER AT CEMETERY

Rabbi Rebecca Birk hands out a meal in Gospel as part of a project

meals two days before the end of Ramadan was a powerful collaborative experience and I was delighted to connect with Mother Carol, Imam Bodrul and everyone who makes QCCA [Queen’s Crescent Community Association] such a vital hub for community support.

“It was also a good learning experience to see how organisations in my next door borough of Camden are responding to Covid.”

Interfaith activists have delivered a total of 1,000 face masks and other essentials to food banks in Brent and North Paddington.

Members of the Faiths United group made the deliveries on Wednesday joined by Brent Mayor councillor Ernest Ezeajughi and Westminster North MP Karen Buck on Wednesday. Faith United activist Zaki Cooper said: “Providing for those in need is one of the principles of all the great religions. We are delighted to carry out this social action project, as a small but important gesture of all our responsibility to wider society.”

A further 2,000 masks are expected to be delivered by the organisation in the coming weeks.

The community centre’s chief executive Foyezur Miah said it was “particularly good to have Rabbi Rebecca because we don’t have a synagogue on our doorstep in Gospel Oak, but we wanted the evening to bring everyone together.

“Having three faith leaders come together here was an important reminder of the unity, love and peace that there is every community,” he said.

An antisemitic banner hung outside a Jewish cemetery in London has been taken down and condemned as “utterly sickening” after Twitter users posted photos of it, writes Jack Mendel.

The DIY-banner reading “Welcome to the Zionist Police State” was hung from the window of a house opposite Bancroft Road Jewish Cemetery in Mile End, a disused United Synagogue site dating from the early 20th century, when the area was the epicentre of London’s Jewish population before

The banner in Mile End

demographics shifted.

Labour MP Wes Streeting tweeted that he recognised the location near his grandfather’s old flat, adding that it was “utterly sickening”.

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World News / Camp finds / Leifer ruling / ‘Hate’ books

‘Crucial’ discovery at Auschwitz Utensils, tools and scraps of leather have been found in a prisoners’ block at Auschwitz during restoration work, writes Jack Mendel.

The objects were hidden beneath a chimney flue in block 17 of the main camp,

Austria’s National Fund for Victims of National Socialism told the AFP news service.

The fund’s secretary general, Hannah Lessing, said the cutlery, scissors, hooks, pieces of leather and parts of shoes, discovered last month, could

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indicate plans for an escape.

Alternatively, they could have been part of a means of surviving the camp. They have been handed to the AuschwitzBirkenau museum.

Elżbieta Cajzer, head of Auschwitz Museum Collections, said: “Those everyday objects probably originated from ‘Canada’ storage area, where the prisoners sorted the property robbed from the Jews deported for extermination and later illegally smuggled various items to the camp.

“Cutlery with very similar features can already be found among museum collections.”

Suggestions that the objects were connected with an escape or with resistance activities she said were “unfounded”.

Cajzer added: “On the items we have not found any traces of purposeful adjustment, such as sharpening. On the other hand, we know from various sources that prisoners would often use such hiding places for storing everyday objects.”

Agnieszka RóżanowskaTanistra, preservation manager at the Auschwitz-Birk-

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A pendant is among the object discovered hidden beneath a flue during restoration work

enau Museum, said the find contained common objects such as scissors, cutlery, small bottles, combs or toothbrushes.

“They are often damaged and bear traces of intense use. We have also found single coins.

“The context of their discovery is crucial, complementing historical knowledge about the camp and its victims.”

Bogumił Pilarski, an archaeologist from Global Conservation Plan, said: “These discoveries constitute for us a precious source of information for example on social behaviours in the camp.

“Objects of this kind also confirm the accounts of extermination eyewitnesses as well

The objects are ‘a precious source of information’

as broaden the knowledge and imagination on how camp

existence in fact looked like,” he added.

Leifer to be extradited An Israeli court has ruled that former Jewish school headmistress Malka Leifer is fit to stand trial and can be extradited to Australia where she is accused of child sexual abuse.

Leifer, a former head at the Adass Israel school in Melbourne, is wanted on 74 sexual assault and rape charges. She fled to Israel before police could arrest her. Australian police have been seeking her extradition for six years.

Leifer has argued throughout dozens of legal

hearings that she is mentally unfit to stand trial in a case that has involved Israeli ministers and strained Israel-diaspora relations.

Tuesday’s ruling that Leifer will be soon be on a plane was announced by Judge Chana Miriam Lomp, who referred to a psychiatric board assessment in January that the former school head had been feigning mental illness in order to avoid extradition. “I decided to accept the expert panel’s opinion,” the judge said.

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The European Parliament has passed three resolutions condemning the Palestinian Authority for using school textbooks that promote hate.

The resolutions were passed as amendments by the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control in a budgetary report, according to the EU Reporter, and passed by a vote of 402 to 263, with 13 abstentions.

Among the issues covered by the report, which was dated 3 March, is the use of EU funds transferred as foreign development assistance.

One of the resolutions calls on the European Commission to make sure that “no Union funds are used to finance... educational material

which incite religious radicalisation, intolerance, ethnic violence and martyrdom among children”. It adds that the European representatives are “concerned about the continued failure to act effectively against hate speech and violence in school textbooks”. Money given should “be used for drafting and teaching curricula which reflects Unesco standards of peace, tolerance, coexistence, and non-violence”.

The NGO Impact-se worked to draft the resolutions. CEO Marcus Sheff said huge grants were given for Palestinian education “which is promptly turned into one of the most hate-filled, violent and extreme curricula worldwide”.

28 May 2020 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

15

Jewish News meets... Herbert Haberberg / Special Report

From Belsen to state-building Herbert Haberberg tells Jenni Frazer how he helped survivors of Belsen to start new lives in the new Jewish state While visiting survivors of the liberated Belsen concentration camp in 1946, Herbert Haberberg, in his British army uniform, was assailed by a local German woman. “When,” she demanded, “are you going to get these subhumans out of here?”

Herbert was only 22, but he didn’t miss a beat. “Have you looked in the mirror lately?” he replied. “What do you mean?” she said furiously. “Well, you ought to know what a subhuman looks like,” said the young private.

An extraordinary set of circumstances had led to Herbert being at Belsen at all. Speaking to Jewish News to mark the 75th anniversary of the camp’s liberation by the British Army, the now 95-year-old, recalled a life in which he effectively helped build the young state of Israel.

He did this as the Jewish Agency’s man on the ground in Germany, using his fluent Yiddish to persuade the broken survivors to go to Palestine.

Aged 14, Herbert and his little

brother Manfred, aged six, travelled to Britain on the Kindertransport, but the boys were separated. And it was during this period of separation, while with other Jewish teenagers, that Herbert began to learn Yiddish.

It took him six months to learn English, but he picked up Yiddish, taught by a Polish academic, quickly, and was speaking it well after two months.

Neither Herbert nor Manfred learned of their parents’ fate until long after the war. Both had died in 1942, their father having been shot in a forest, while his mother had been transported to a concentration camp.

For a time, Herbert worked at a series of uninspiring jobs until he was able to join up in 1944, seeing action in Italy as a member of the Jewish Brigade, a division of the British army.

“I joined up to fight the Germans”, he says, but by 1946, still in uniform, he was stuck in a Hamburg records office. By chance, a C of E clergyman

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Herbert Haberberg learnt Yiddish to communicate with Belsen survivors in a displaced persons’ camp

suggested he meet the Jewish Relief Unit (JRU), volunteers from Britain who were trying to help Belsen survivors through social and welfare.

By this time, the Belsen camp had been destroyed by the British because of a wave of typhoid, which was killing, says Herbert, “about 2,000 people a month”. The survivors were moved to a Displaced Persons’ (DP) camp nearby; it remained open until 1950.

“The JRU had one great drawback – almost none of them spoke Yiddish.” And that was the language

to communicate with those Jews in the DP camp, because it was their mother tongue and they could not return to eastern Europe.

So Herbert began spending every weekend at the camp, talking to these Jews, aged between 15 and 55, who were living in what he says were “abysmal conditions. The British government didn’t want to know, and their main idea was to prevent them getting into [mandate] Palestine”.

But, working with the “wonderful” JRU, Herbert used his Yiddish to per-

suade the survivors to board the illegal ships to Palestine. A large number of them did. “These people were frustrated, demoralised, felt they had no future. So going to what became the state of Israel… it was a good choice.”

Recalling his experiences at the DP camp, Herbert is circumspect, but he has one marvellous story of how the Polish guards left in the camp by the British “disappeared overnight”.

Herbert used to arrive on Fridays to spend the weekend with the survivors. One Friday, he found the Polish guards “looting the supply lorries”.

The following weekend, it happened again. On the third weekend, Herbert “got hold of some of my, shall we say, Palestinian friends who had remained behind”. Presumably these were Jewish Agency agents.

“The next Friday, a jeep pulled up outside the guards’ hut, and four immaculately dressed ‘British army officers’ got out, with swagger sticks and a search warrant. They went in, and found a lot of money and gold bars.

The next day, the Poles had departed.”

Herbert stayed in Germany until his demobilisation in 1948 and then got married, became a successful metal trader – as did Manfred – and built a family in Britain.

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Jewish News 28 May 2020

Jewish News–Jewish Leadership Council Forty Under 40

Movers and shakers just outside the top 10...

Our Forty Under 40 initiative with the Jewish Leadership Council reaches its penultimate week, with numbers 20 to 11. Don’t miss next week’s issue when we conclude the countdown 16 DAN SACKER, 37

As adviser to Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Dan has played a pivotal role in expanding interest in the former Chief Rabbi. Under his stewardship, a combination of innovative educational projects and effective relationships with key opinion formers and organisations have ensured Rabbi Sacks remains a global voice across traditional and social media platforms. Dan formerly worked as director of communications and public affairs for the Office of the Chief Rabbi and was chair of UJS. He is also the chair of governors at Hasmonean Primary School.

13 GIDEON FALTER, 36

Described as a “Jewish hero” by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Gideon is one of Britain’s foremost leaders in the battle against antisemitism. As chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, Gideon oversees media, litigation and public policy strategies with hundreds of volunteers. The 36-year-old has given evidence to the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, organised a major rally outside the Royal Courts of Justice calling for zero tolerance law enforcement against antisemitism, and achieved the first UK conviction for Holocaust denial on social media.

20 RABBI YONI BIRNBAUM, 39

Praised for leading a “new era of inclusivity” in his community, Yoni joined the Hadley Wood Jewish Community in 2010 and has built a vibrant, growing community, uniting people from all nominations and levels of religious observance. A soughtafter speaker and popular lecturer on Jewish law, the 39-yearold has recently achieved a doctorate in Jewish studies and is an executive member of the Rabbinical Council on the United Synagogue. Rabbi Yoni has recently been appointed the new rabbi of the independent Toras Chaim in Hendon.

SCHONFIELD, 28 18 AMOS Amos is the founder of Our

Second Home, a groundbreaking new youth movement, it uses residential experiences and leadership training to help refugees and migrants flourish in the place they call home. A former mazkir (national director) of Noam Masorti Youth and co-chair of the Zionist Youth Council, the 28-year-old represents Yachad on the Board of Deputies, having previously worked as the organisation’s youth & student outreach worker. He also recently co-created Vashti, a media platform to discuss Jewish issues on the left.

15 DAVID DAVIDI-BROWN, 37

David is the director of community strategy at the Jewish Leadership Council and supports delivery on shared community priorities, including mental health, well-being and social care for older people. The 37-year-old was formerly UJS chief executive, having held senior roles at JHub, the UJIA and Jewish Care. He has volunteered with KeshetUK and Limmud, and was a trustee of the Jewish Youth Fund for nearly six years. He is a Schusterman Fellow and alumnus of the Institute for Youth Leaders in Jerusalem.

12 PHIL ROSENBERG, 34

Phil is the director of public affairs at the Board of Deputies of British Jews and a leading voice for the Jewish community in the heart of government.

The former Camden councillor focuses on policy formation, strategic relationships, high-level political advocacy and public affairs communications; recent achievements include successfully averting the 2019 General Election from clashing with the first day of Succot, swiftly resolving concerns around etrog import restrictions and working with the new Labour leadership to improve relations with the Jewish community.

40 UNDER

FORTY 19 ELLA ROSE, 26

Ella is a former national director of the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) and ex-president of the Union of Jewish Students (UJS). The 26-year-old has played a “pivotal role” in the fight against antisemitism in the Labour movement and in revitalising the JLM. The previous winner of Jewish News’ Top 25 under 25 list, Ella has been a remarkable ambassador for the Jewish community, often in the face of relentless abuse. She is now public affairs manager at the Holocaust Educational Trust and a trustee of UJS, Yachad and the London Jewish Forum.

MILLER, 32 17 ARIEH Arieh is chief executive of the

UJS, where he supports the elected president to fulfil their manifesto, while overseeing the organisation’s long-term strategy and fundraising efforts. The 32-year-old has a decade of professional Jewish experience, having previously served as executive director of the Zionist Federation for four years and worked at the Embassy of Israel as head of digital media and Jewish community relations. He is a community first responder with the London Ambulance Service and St Johns Ambulance.

14 CANTOR ZÖE JACOBS, 38

Zöe has transformed synagogue music as the first ordained cantor of the Reform Movement, having been ordained at the Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion. As cantor of Finchley Reform Synagogue, she has orchestrated a musical community that includes a thriving choir and monthly Shabbat song sessions. The 38-year-old has instigated a biennial music conference called Shirei Chagigah, bringing people together to learn about song-leading and take new skills back to their own synagogues.

11 ROBIN MOSS, 33

Robin is widely regarded as the community’s most erudite and effective Israel educator. The 33-year-old’s outstanding record delivering Israel engagement and Jewish education for young people saw him promoted as UJIA’s director of strategy.

Robin has overall responsibility for the development and direction of its Israel engagement work, overseeing its relevant staff and a multi-million pound budget, as well as managing UJIA’s impact measurement work. A former movement worker for LJY-Netzer, Robin also sits on the board of National Officers of Liberal Judaism and remains a keen Limmudnik.

www.jewishnews.co.uk

28 May 2020 Jewish News

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www.jewishnews.co.uk

Jewish News 28 May 2020

World News / PM trial / Sites targeted / PA stance

Bibi: Charges are bid to depose me

Cover up? Benjamin Netanyahu in court with his legal team

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a tirade against the nation’s justice system as he arrived at court for the start of his corruption trial, accusing police and prosecutors of conspiring to “depose” him.

Netanyahu’s comments opened what is sure to be a tumultuous period for Israel as he becomes the country’s first sitting prime minister to go on trial Netanyahu faces charges of fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes in a series of corruption cases stemming from ties to wealthy friends.

He is accused of accepting lavish gifts and offering to grant favours to

powerful media moguls in exchange for favourable coverage of him and his family. He denies the charges.

When he arrived at the Jerusalem courthouse, Netanyahu revived his claims that he is the victim of a deep state-type conspiracy by media, police, prosecutors and judges out to oust him.

“The objective is to depose a strong, right-wing prime minister, and thus remove the nationalist camp from the leadership of the country for many years,” he said, adding that police and prosecutors had conspired to “tailor” a case against him.

He entered the courtroom wearing

a blue surgical mask, in line with public health restriction owing to the coronavirus pandemic. He stood and talked to his lawyer and the lawyers for other defendants, refusing to sit until TV cameras left the room.

As the proceedings began, the lawyers and judges also wore masks, with the three-judge panel sitting behind a glass divider.

Netanyahu’s lawyers said they would need two to three months to respond to the arraignment and that they needed additional funds to add to their defence’s legal team. Legal analysts expect the case to stretch over several years.

ISRAELI SITES HACKED PA rejects aid over Israel link A number of Israeli websites were victims of a cyberattack by hackers to mark Al Quds Day. “The countdown of Israel destruction has begun since a long time ago,” reads the warning message in Hebrew and broken English.

The words are accompanied in the background with images of a destroyed Tel Aviv, links to anti-Israel YouTube videos and more threat-

ening phrases.

Some Israeli reports said hundreds and even thousands of websites were attacked on the eve of Jerusalem Day, which was first declared by Iran in 1979 and is marked throughout the Arab world with demonstrations against Israel support for Palestinians.

The affected websites appear to come from servers of one private company.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) rejected a humanitarian shipment of medical supplies sent by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) because it coordinated the shipment with Israel.

The Etihad Airways flight that landed in Israel on Tuesday night, carrying 14 tonnes of medical aid to deal with

the coronavirus, was reported to be the first publicly acknowledged direct flight from Abu Dhabi to Israel. Israel and the UAE do not have diplomatic relations and there is no air travel between the countries.

“The UAE authorities did not coordinate with the state of Palestine before sending the aid,”

the Palestinian Maan news agency reported.

“Palestinians refuse to be a bridge [for Arab countries] seeking to have normalised ties with Israel.”

President Mahmoud Abbas declared an end to all agreements with Israel, including security, in reaction to Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank.

IMMIGRANTS ARRIVE IN ISRAEL Ethiopian Jewish immigrants arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on 21 May amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

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28 May 2020 Jewish News

19

Camp concerns / Shuls open / Communal campaign / Virtual tour / Diaspora News

Summer camp in US will ‘give children a return to normalcy’ Organisers of Jewish summer camps around the world were looking to Maine in the United States this week to provide a possible opening model that takes account of Covid-19 precautions.

Camp Modin has said it will open on 9 July and set out a raft of measures to keep campers and counsellors safe, having worked through the changes with epidemiologists and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Staff and children, many of whom live in the nearby city of Boston, are to be tested well in advance of arrival via at-home test kits, and again throughout the summer.

The traditional buffet line for meals is being replaced with table-by-table service using disposable plates and cups. Communal bathrooms will close and parents driving their children to camp must drop them off in designated staging areas at a safe distance.

All activities will take place on camp, meaning that the 300 campers plus staff will “create their own three-week bubble”, according to Ron Hall, executive director of Maine Summer Camps, an umbrella group.

Camp co-director Howard Salzberg said: “Covid-19 will be with us for the fore-

WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF

Your weekly digest of stories from the international press SWEDEN

UKRAINE

UNITED STATES

FRANCE

Tributes have been paid to the former editor of a Jewish cultural magazine in Sweden after he died following a long illness.

Polish-born Jackie Jakubowski, who came to Sweden as a refugee in 1970, edited Judisk Krönika (Jewish Chronicle) from 1980 to 2015. Aron Verständig of the Jewish Assembly in Stockholm said it was “a great loss” to Swedish Jews.

Summer camp directors believe they can mitigate the risks

seeable future. The children have lost inperson learning, they’ve lost art, they’ve lost sports and being part of a team – how long is that acceptable for children?”

Salzberg, who runs the camp with his wife, added that they felt they had to “give the kids a return to normalcy and to mitigate the risk as best we can”.

Dozens of Jewish summer camps across the world have already announced they will not be running this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but Salz-

berg said the virus “does not adversely affect children and young healthy adults.

The hospitalisation rate of children with Covid is one-in-100,000”.

In 2009, the Modin Camp was hit with swine flu, which affected more than 130 campers, after having experienced outbreaks of measles and meningitis in the 1990s, but Salzberg said this year it was “the staff who are taking the risk”, adding that all staff members “were given the choice to come or not come, and they’re all in”.

An American diplomat who helped lead the fight to free Soviet Jews in the 1970s has died of Covid-19, aged 80.

Martin Wenick was stationed in Moscow at the time and later helped Soviet Jews resettle in the US. A career diplomat, in 1989 he led the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, a coalition of Jewish organisations working to support Jews struggling to survive under communism.

A senior policeman has been suspended after asking the leaders of the Jewish community in the eastern Ukrainian town of Kolomyya for a list of local Jews. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said it was investigating the actions of Myhaylo Bank, who also requested Jewish community members’ mobile phone numbers and home addresses.

The French Jewish community had a boost in numbers last week after a Jewish woman gave birth to sextuplets in Strasbourg. The five girls and one boy were born very prematurely, at 24 weeks, with 30 medical staff involved in the four-minute delivery. They weighed between 1.4 and 1.6lb and were immediately transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit, where they will stay for several months.

ITALY’S SHULS REOPEN Germany’s ‘meet a Jew’ scheme

Project sets up ‘stroll’ through Berlin A unique project allowing participants to “drift virtually through Berlin” has been launched by a Russian Jewish cultural organisation using a German Jewish author’s cult guidebook from 1929 as inspiration.

The ‘Dérive in Berlin’ online platform from educational project Eshkolot “brings the art of strolling into the 21st century” and harks back to the way in which Franz Hassel wrote Walking in Berlin – A Flâneur in the Capital.

A flâneur is a man who strolls around observing society, taking in the sights and sounds. Hassel’s book is widely considered to have captured the essence of

Berlin in the 1920s, as well as foreshadowing the political and social unrest that lay ahead.

Eshkolot decided to “bring Hessel’s legacy to a new generation of flâneurs”, with 50 participants from Russia and Europe and said visitors can “build their own virtual construction of the city using pictures, videos, city sounds and experiences”. The experience can be enjoyed in Russian and English.

Hessel’s wanderings were cut short by his exile shortly before Kristallnacht, followed by his internment in a French camp. He died shortly after release.

Eshkolot has used quotes from

An innovative project to introduce German non-Jews to German Jews has been launched by the country’s Jewish community.

The Central Council of Jews (CCJ) in Germany’s ‘Meet a Jew’ project is designed to increase contact with, and exposure to, a community that comprises fewer than 0.2 percent of the population, with all different denominations represented.

More than 300 Jewish volunteers have signed up to the initiative, in which they will be paired with non-Jewish Germans and talk about their lives, from schooling to religion and personal experiences of antisemitism.

“We realised that a lot of people in Germany don’t know Jewish people in person,” said project coordinator Mascha Schmerling.

“The knowledge they have about Jews comes from history books, from school, or it is connected to the

Some 300 volunteers from Germany’s Jewish community signed up

Holocaust or current antisemitism or sometimes through the policies of Israel.”

The German government has given the CCJ its backing, as Schmerling said the idea was “to introduce modern-day Jewish life, and to give Jewish people a face and a voice”, in an effort to educate and inform, with

a view to increasing tolerance.

Volunteer Dr Lina Roisenwasser, 30, said: “It’s important we talk to each other and that they’re not just talking about us as victims in history bookings, like we’re just a chapter in German history. It’s important we show that we belong to the country now. We are part of society.”

Photo by Eshkolot

opened its doors to worshippers again, with new rules requiring congregants to register in advance, so it does not exceed the limit allowed under social distancing regulations.

Congregants are also forbidden from bringing their own religious items to the synagogue, including kippot and prayer shawls. Worshippers are given a sanitised kit upon entry, which they are to hand back as they leave.

The Sinagoga Centrale in the city of Milan The country has reported Synagogues and other places of wor- more than 32,000 Covid-19 deaths, ship are reopening across Italy, after the third-highest death toll in the the southern European country world, but a steep drop in the number began to ease its coronavirus lock- of infections has led the government to ease lockdown restrictions in down restrictions.

In Milan, the main synagogue recent days.

Above and right: Jewish culture in Berlin inspired by the 1920s

Hessel’s iconic guidebook, mixed with the first-hand impressions of the project participants, with

musical accompaniment from composer Alexey Nadjarov.

Ilia Salita, president

and chief executive of Genesis Philanthropy Group, which supports the project, said: “At a time when

the world has been forced to slow down and reflect, the project has brought the work of the iconic observer Franz Hessel to a new, contemporary audience. In doing so, it provides a unique way for young adults to explore Jewish culture and identity through the complex history of Berlin, on the eve of war.”

20

Jewish News 28 May 2020

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Editorial comment and letters ISSUE NO.

1160

Another step towards breaking the silence It was profoundly gratifying to note the positive impact of last week’s Mental Health Awareness Week edition of this newspaper. Guest edited by Jonny Benjamin, one of the country’s leading mental health campaigners and produced in partnership with Jami, the Jewish community’s mental health service, the issue focused on positive steps our community has taken to tackle stigmas and shatter misconceptions surrounding a human condition that remains, to an alarming extent, shrouded in silence.

Despite Jami’s incredible work, too many people in our community still suffer in silence, under the misapprehension that others simply Last week’s front page will not – or cannot – understand.

We hope initiatives like last week’s Jewish News, which rarely dedicates an entire issue to a single subject, will encourage more members of our community to talk without fear and listen without judgment.

As Jonny’s inspiring story shows, openly acknowledging one’s own anxiety and depression can be the first and most effective route to loosening its smothering grip. After all, sharing the contents of our hearts and minds doesn’t make us weak. It makes us human.

CONTACT DETAILS Publisher and Editor Richard Ferrer 020 7692 6929 richardf@thejngroup.com Publisher and News Editor Justin Cohen 020 7692 6952 justinc@thejngroup.com Features Editor Francine Wolfisz 020 7692 6935 francinew@thejngroup.com Community Editor Mathilde Frot 020 7692 6949

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS

Design Manager Diane Spender 020 7692 6953 dianes@thejngroup.com

Sales Marc Jacobs 020 7692 6934 marcj@thejngroup.com

Production Designer Jodie Goldfinger jodieg@thejngroup.com

Accounts Zuzana Kasparova 020 7692 6936 zuzana@thejngroup.com

Sub Editor Alex Galbinski alexg@thejngroup.com

Production Designer Daniel Elias daniel@thejngroup.com

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Sales Beverley Sanford 020 7692 6931 beverleys@thejngroup.com

mathilde@thejngroup.com Foreign Editor Stephen Oryszczuk stepheno@thejngroup.com Supplements Editor Brigit Grant brigitg@thejngroup.com

Send us your comments PO Box 815, Edgware, HA8 4SX | letters@thejngroup.com

Has Hassell learned nothing?

Inner North London Coroner Mary Hassell is up to her usual shenanigans. Yet again, she has taken a wholly insensitive approach following the sad death of Rabbi Bobby Hill, and failed to communicate properly with his family about releasing his body for religious observances and the funeral.

It is sad that she has learned nothing from the court decision against her in 2018. I have said before and I say again, Ms Hassell does not have the requisite knowledge or sensitivity to serve the diverse

Sketches & kvetches

THIS WEEKS SHAVUOT AND SHABBAT TIMES...

Shavuot comes in Thursday night 28 May 8.49pm

FOCUS ON MENTAL HEALTH HELPED ME TO RECONSIDER MY SITUATION Thanks for focusing on mental health in last week’s newspaper. I’ve suffered on and off with depression for 10 years since my late 20s but have never had the confidence to speak to anyone about it beyond infrequent sessions with a therapist. Reading Jonny

Benjamin’s story made me reflect on my own decisions. I’m still not ready to speak openly – writing this email was difficult enough – but I hope with time and patience I’ll be ready to unburden myself.

Name withheld on request, By email

JAMI MENTAL HEALTH SHABBAT

Shabbat comes in Friday night 29 May 8.51pm Shabbat/Yom tov ends Saturday night 10.09pm

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religious communities that make up the population of London.

She should not have been appointed to this position, and has demonstrated again and again that she has learned nothing from her previous scandals.

Coronavirus or not, she should understand the needs of members of the Jewish and Muslim communities for immediate burials.

It really is time she did the decent thing and resigned.

Andrew Dismore AM London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden

“The amount we pay for private healthcare and you expect us to clap with everyone else?!”

Jonny Benjamin’s editorial last week mentioned that Jami started Mental Health Shabbat in 2017. This is incorrect.

Mental Health Shabbat was started by Jami founder Martin Aaron in 1996 when he visited 33 synagogues in three years.

I know as I made the necessary arrangements.

Jami has come a long way since those early days but please don’t forget those who worked so hard to make it happen.

Ruth Goldman Former Jami administrator

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Editorial comment and letters

MAN UP AND GO TO ISRAEL Having just finished reading your newspaper, I would like to add some points regarding Israel taking up the opportunity for Jews to reside and work in the disputed territory of Judea and Samaria.

Is the prospect of another Jew-free Arab state established more or less along the indefensible demarcation lines their intent?

The vast majority of Israelis live between Herzliya and Ashkelon, and makes the prospect of a lovely target regardless of expansion or not. We have a three-state solution now with Jordan, Israel and Gaza.

I belong to a synagogue and have

never completed any form regarding my opinion of Israel expanding her border.

I read the Board repeatedly stating the majority wanting a two-state solution.

Not in my name.

It would appear the vast majority who do go along with the Board’s silence are scared of the consequences for British Jewry and their own commercial standing.

Man up, go to Israel, serve and pay your taxes in Israel. Your donations do not give you the right to demand change.

Martin Cohen By email

Headline was misleading Your headline ‘Israelis crowd beaches during heat wave despite coronavirus restrictions’, although true, was somewhat hysterical as the crowding on beaches took place only on Shabbat (18 May 2020).

Israel did more things right than most and generally in timely fashion, proving the sooner measures are introduced, the sooner coming out of the lockdown leading to a new normality can be achieved.

There are, of course, lessons to be learnt

especially in respect of our health system which, like many as such around the world, have registered neglect in recent years.

It appears since 2008, in the wake of austerity, institutions suffered cutbacks.

Although there is a high cost to pay to maintain required standards, this latest epidemic proves not to do so has unfortunate deadly consequences.

Stephen Vishnick Tel Aviv

Sutherland House, based in NW London, Offers bespoke natural and medical health treatments (physiotherapy, osteopathy, neuropathology, GP services and others) to the local community and surrounding areas.

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Jewish News 28 May 2020

Opinion

Lockdown reveals true value of shul real estate ALEX BRUMMER

CITY EDITOR, THE DAILY MAIL

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ast Shabbat, days before the festival of Shavuot, was the anniversary of my barmitzvah. It was a moment for reflection on how the British Jewish community has changed in the near six decades since then. And how it has been forced to adapt again in the weeks since lockdown on 23 March.

In economics, analysts and policymakers talk about a strategy to avoid ‘scarring’ — permanent damage to business, national output and jobs. Similar questions face the Jewish community as it emerges from a shutdown of normal communal life which has stretched from the marred celebrations for Purim, through Pesach to Shavuot.

Debate already has begun as to whether the community will be ready for a full re-opening before the crowded synagogue services of the Yamim Noraim.

A bit of nostalgia to start with. My barmitzvah at Hove Hebrew Congregation, or Holland Road as it is known, took place in an age of formality and Ascot-style women’s

hats. The large shul was packed to the rafters, but that wasn’t unusual.

In the glory days of the 1960s, the Brighton community was vibrant. It supported three kosher butchering dynasties, at least two kosher delicatessens, a fishmonger and five fully functioning synagogues.

The day of my barmitzvah is as clear in my memory today as when it happened. The portion was Bemidbar (Numbers) and the haftorah Machor Chodesh, the beautiful story of fast friendship between Jonathan and David, the son of a king and a future monarch.

My voice had already broken and with the help of my teacher, Chazan Kalman Fausner, we discovered it was quite powerful and could take the roof of the shul. The harder task was getting the Ivrit to the exacting standards demanded by Kalman.

At the time the shul, a largely Eastern

European breakaway from a more Anglicised Middle Street, Brighton & Hove Hebrew Congregation, fulfilled the traditions of Anglo-Jewry. A fearsome shamash in top hat and gown spent much of the service taking up and down a red rope which prevented people moving in and out of shul during sacred parts of the service. Wardens wore top hats and morning suits and there was not a man in the congregation without a jacket and tie.

The most uncomfortable part of the whole affair was the request that I make a brief visit to my dear mother Chaya (z’’l) in the women’s gallery for a mazeltov kiss. There I was forced to dodge the embraces of every woman on the way. It might have felt differently a few years later. The kiddush was catered by the redoubtable Benny Myers (who operated a supervised hotel in Regency Square) and offered lashings of salmon of all kinds.

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THE ONLY SUSTAINABLE MODEL IS ONE WHERE MERGERS ARE HURRIED ALONG

Before lockdown, Holland Road, where my brother Daniel is a warden (as was my late father Menachen Mendel ben Shalom, z’’l) was a very different place. Top hats and morning suits are long gone, and there is sometimes a wait for a minyan on Shabbat morning with up to three rabbis present.

The numbers get up into the 40s (men and women), not the hundreds once seen.

As in the rest of the UK, lockdown has seen the rise of well-attended Jewish events.

Jews living under deep cover along the coast of West Sussex have visited online. The search of spirituality and comradeship has been strong. But what after lockdown is over?

My suspicion is that the Zoom enthusiasm will not be transferred into attendances.

The positive, which might be achieved, is that jealously independent neighbouring communities in the regions and in London might wake up and smell the coffee. They would recognise that the only long-term, sustainable model is one where differences are put aside, costs reduced and an economic reality around mergers is hurried along.

A synagogue model rich on real estate, strong online but weak on attendances, is not sustainable beyond the short-term.

Why the West Bank must again be part of Jordan DAVID WOLCHOVER BARRISTER AND AUTHOR

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or 18 years after the 1949 Armistice, the Arab inhabitants of the West Bank salient thrived as citizens of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. No less so did the so-called refugees, inflated in number out of all proportion to the actual total of selfexiles by fraudulent UN relief claimants who had little connection with the lands that became Israel.

Most would doubtless have continued to prosper under Hashemite rule had not the late King Hussein defied Israel’s warnings to stay out of the Six-Day War. For believing Nasser’s lies that the IDF was vanquished on day one he was promptly swatted out of Judea and Samaria.

Since that time there has been no moral case for Israel to withdraw to the ludicrously indefensible Green Line. The Jewish State was established by the will of the United Nations and warmongering rejectionism has underlined the legitimacy of Israel’s right to maintain permanent control of its

destiny within properly secure borders. But that imperative will never shield Israel from international obloquy if it swallows up 30 percent of the occupied territories.

That it may claim to do so ‘bilaterally’ will satisfy few of Israel’s critics when the other party is the Trump administration.

Of course, it will be no work of genius to trace a contour around a more or less contiguous Arab residency commensurate with Israel’s strategic needs.

Yet whether or not based on the joint US–Israel mapping committee’s survey an enclave contained within a winding, tortuous, probably fractured and certainly controversial boundary line need not for all that be reduced to a Bantustan, as described by Professor David Harel in Jewish News earlier this month.

Nonetheless, it is hard to see such a diminished entity elevated from autonomy to a viable Palestinian state. Jordan’s King Abdulla II was wrong to recently insist on statehood as the only way forward.

The challenge and the solution lies in reinvigorating the Perez-Hussein accord of 1987, ceding the reduced West Bank rump to an enlarged Jordanian kingdom and building

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THE SOLUTION MUST LIE IN RETURNING TO A VERSION OF WHAT EXISTED AFTER 1949 on the Israel/Jordan peace treaty brokered

by Bill Clinton in 1994.

The King has implied that if Israel goes for unilateral annexation, Jordan might tear up the treaty but, in reality, he is likely to be amenable to endorsing territorial partition between Israel and Jordan.

For years, Greater Israel proponents rejoiced in the slogan ‘Jordan is Palestine’ (they meant Transjordan of course) and now they ought to quieten their irascible comparisons between Abdullah and his namesake grandfather.

At any rate, he would be best to ignore them. Partition can succeed, but there are two caveats.

First, it would mean the relatively sophisticated Arab population of the West Bank having to stomach becoming subjects of a Bedouin monarchy. It is inconceivable that

the Hashemite Crown would ever voluntarily give up what was bestowed by the British after the First World War. But a compromise might be palatable to the disdainfully Levantine West Bankers.

Abdullah could narrow the ambit of his prerogative powers to become more of a truly constitutional monarch after the fashion of the native country of his beloved mother, the Suffolk-born Toni Gardiner.

Second, remembering the almost fatal threat posed to Jordan by the PLO in the late Sixties, Abdullah might understandably fear a repeat challenge within his own (enlarged) borders. But close co-operation with Israel would probably see off any insurgency.

There is no time to lose. Until November Donald Trump will enjoy the power to convert his ridiculed peace plan into something which really could work.

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Opinion

Nurses I’ve worked with for 20 years are in tears DR MICHAEL BRUNNER CONSULTANT, INTENSIVE CARE & ANAESTHETICS

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aving qualified in medicine in 1986, I have been a consultant in intensive care units (ICU) and anaesthetics in a London hospital since 1995. I have three children and one grandchild, who was born during the Covid-19 crisis. My postvirus goal is to hug my children and hold my grandchild for the first time.

Of the many things I have learned during this crisis is the that the devotion, resilience, bravery and compassion of my colleagues seems to have no limits.

When all of this began, it felt as if a lot of people had started shooting machine guns at us from out the blue. What was really hard was the fact that we could see this tsunami of people coming at us and yet nobody else outside could. I would drive to work and see

people going into pubs and shops and cafés and then I would get into my ICU and it was a different world. I could not understand why no one else understood. It was a very lonely feeling. But then the nightmare was on us and we just had to get on with it.

The first few weeks we were really hit. There were a huge number of people all showing the same symptoms and all needing to go on ventilators. We were not set up to be a Covid hospital, and had to do a huge turnaround at a time when we were already extremely busy. People kept on coming and we had to make space for them outside of our ICU. So many things became even more difficult than we were used to. Communication was a huge problem – how do you communicate with someone in a different room when you don’t want to open a door to let out the virus? There were so many logistical problems to deal with and, from that point of view, it was extraordinarily exhausting.

Personal protection equipment (PPE) is incredibly uncomfortable and we are all

sweating buckets the whole time.

Many nurses were coming out with pressure sores on their faces. Some will bear these scars long after this crisis is over.

Because there are not enough ICU nurses, we cannot have toilet breaks.

Amid all this, we didn’t know what we were dealing with as Covid is a very new disease. It has a huge mortality rate, much higher than our average patients.

We are used to death on ICUs, but we are not used to this much death all at the same time. Meanwhile, we would be opening another theatre to put more people in and then another and then another to accommodate all the patients coming in. To do all of this, we have brought in a lot of new staff, many of whom have never before been into an ICU ward. The people have been recruited from different wards and they have been pushed into the eye of a massive storm.

What is it like for them to go from being an orthopaedic theatre scrub nurse to going into ICU? I was with a nurse who had never seen a person die before and when she came out of the room after being with the patient, she looked really upset.

So, I sat with her, holding her hand while she held the patient’s hand and we sat there until they died.

For someone who has never seen that, it is huge as there is no time to breathe and properly go and cry, which is what you would usually do when you first see something like that.

People are scared for themselves also.

We have had colleagues who have had it – some have recovered, some have not yet.

You do worry, especially when you are looking after people who are your own age.

I didn’t think I worried until one morning I woke up and I just could not stop crying. My sister called and I just found myself telling her where my will was, and then weirdly, I felt better.

Never have I worried about contracting anything that my patients have had – Aids, swine flu – it just hasn’t crossed my mind.

But now it is different.

Then, of course, it is the conversations with loved ones. We used to receive a lot of abuse from families – there was even a note outside our door saying do not abuse staff, but that has completely eased now.

People are much kinder to us now. We have to talk to relatives over the phone as they aren’t allowed into the ICU any more.

When I tell them their relatives might die, I say: “You can’t see how upset I am, but under this mask, my face is desperately sad”.

We try to reassure them that while our patients are not our family members, we treat them as if they are, so if they die, they don’t die alone. We can’t make up for the loneliness of our patients, but we try our best.

When lockdown ends, there will still be more patients. We are overfull in the ICU

Medics are concerned about a second wave

hospital and now we are concerned about the next wave.

There is an absolute breaking point and I’m not sure when that will come.

Everyone is exhausted. I’ve never been this tired. We have lost lots of sleep; when you leave work, you feel filthy, and when you go home, you enter this other weird life.

Many of us have been having to isolate from family. I have not seen my kids or dad for a long time.

When you talk to your friends, Covid is the only thing people talk about and you don’t want to scare people so you don’t want to say too much. It is extremely isolating.

I burnt out ages ago, but now worry about younger colleagues. I have juniors who are my children’s age, who are phoning up relatives every day telling them their loved ones will die. I worry about them and whether they will be able to continue doing this. We are realising we are not bulletproof.

There has been absolutely no downtime. I wake up dreaming of ICU. It never stops. I’ve never liked the word stress, as I’ve always thought this is a job and needs to be done – but this is probably what stress is.

I’ve seen a lot over the years, but this is like nothing I’ve experienced before. It is massive. We have had nurses who have worked for 20 years who have come out of ICU and just sobbed.

One of the benefits with PPE is you can hug people, which I’ve realised is a good thing. There is one nurse who has worked here for more than 20 years and never have I seen her cry. A few days ago, she came out of the ward and broke down into tears and I went over to hug her while we were both still in our PPE and we stayed like that for a few minutes. I’ll never forget that.  The Intensive Care Society has launched a crisis appeal to support the well-being and education of all staff on intensive care units across the country. For more information, visit www.ics.ac.uk and to donate, see http://easydonate.org/now/ ICUHELP

28 May 2020 Jewish News

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Community / Scene & Be Seen

1 MENTAL HEALTH

Muriel Stempel and Josh Abeles, who ran and walked 5km, were among those taking part in the Maccabi GB community fun run to raise money for the mental health charity Jami.

They are pictured with family.

2 INCREDIBLE RESULT

Seventy people signed up to run for GIFT. Siena Sendama, three, who drove 5km on her scooter, having learnt the week before, wanted to raise money for GIFT “because some people don’t have the things they need.”

GIFT’s Roxanne Stross said: “I couldn’t imagine it was going to be the same this year, but I was so wrong.

We still got our snowcone machine to the park, thanks to the initiative of 13-year-old volunteer, Yoni Shine and the atmosphere was incredible.”

And be seen!

Despite the lockdown, many made the effort to join Sunday’s Maccabi GB Community Fun Run from parks and gardens Email us at community@thejngroup.com

3 RIO RUNS

Almost 40 people participated in the fun run for Camp Simcha, among them 11-year-old amputee and Jewish News’ Night of Heroes winner, Rio Woolf.

Nicknamed Baby Bladerunner, Rio was born with a rare bone deficiency in his right leg, which meant it had to be amputated. Rio, who turns 12 next week, said: “It was a shame not to be able to run on the track with everyone else like I did last time, but I am really pleased I could do it with my dog Rosso.”

4 FILIAL SUPPORT

Twelve-year-old Harry Darsa may hate running, but he ran 5km to support his mother, Jewish Blind & Disabled CEO Lisa Wimborne. Harry and Lisa completed the distance at their local park. He said: “My mum is working really hard because of the pandemic”. Lisa said: “So many of our tenants are in the government’s shielding or vulnerable categories. We have been doing all we can to support them through this difficult time.”

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5CHANA HELP

Three year-old Leo BenYoav walked 5km to raise funds for Chana, which helps Jewish couples in need of medical information and support to cope with the challenge of infertility. Its chief executive Carolyn Cohen said: “Chana were delighted to be involved, especially when those facing infertility need our support more than ever.”

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Jewish News 28 May 2020

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Feature / Weekend

The new school rules As Jewish schools prepare to reopen for the first time in 10 weeks for reception, Year 1 and Year 6, we ask what changes lie ahead and what can we do to help children adjust to the ‘new normal’

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hat can we do to help our children in the challenging weeks ahead?

Child psychotherapist Louis Weinstock says: Transitions can be hard for children at the best of times, but these are unique circumstances and for many children and their parents the transition back to school is likely to bring up a whole bag of mixed emotions.

Some parents and children can’t wait to get back, to have some space from each other, to see their friends again, while others have loved spending more time together in lockdown and are feeling sad and afraid about going back to ‘normal’.

For many, routines have gone out of the window since lockdown and there is fear about getting back into something regular.

Louis’ top tips: sition back to school: 1. Talk to children about the tran keep the dialogue going and t star It’s really important you ific about details, about their return to school. Be spec school on their such as who is going to take them to first day back and so on. feelings: Children won’t 2. Create a safe space to express feel safe. They need express their true feelings unless they might be having they ngs reassurance that whatever feeli re is no right The . ome welc are ol about returning to scho te safety if the parent is or wrong. It can really help to crea in reason of course. honest about their own feelings, with emotions by r thei Some children prefer to express dren better chil your w kno drawing or writing. You r feelings thei ess expr them Help . than anyone else in a way that works for them. sition objects can help 3. Use ‘transition objects’: Tran change comes along. n whe re secu e children feel mor can make a child A note from a parent or a special one nt and to home. pare the feel they are still connected to have named any difficult 4. Focus on positives: Once you ht be exciting about feelings, you can focus on what mig hers, friends or teac e going back to school — favourit activities. a family, write down three 5. Holding on to happiness: As t this lockdown period, d things that you have treasure abou way you are going one n dow e writ and for each treasure ed. to protect it once lockdown has end louisweinstock.com For more expert advice, visit

How will schools look different?

Sinai Jewish Primary School headteacher Juliette Lipshaw says: We are strictly following government guidelines and have split classes into huddles of no more than 15.

The huddles will have their own outdoor area to enjoy lunch and play outdoors.

We have sanitising-mats at all entrances to the school and handsanitisation stations in every year group and in communal areas.

We have also scheduled regular handwashing with soap and water into the daily timetables to keep up our high standard of hygiene.

We are signposting the school to ensure the children move through the corridors safely and have a staggered drop-off and socially distanced collection system in place.

We will also be doing a full clean of the site every afternoon. We are not allowing any visitors, including parents, into the building, which saddens us as we love the Sinai families to see what the children are busy doing – but we know this is for the safety of the children and staff.

Bringing the children back into the classroom is something that brings me great joy. It is where education belongs and where learning comes alive for the children.

Should I send my child back if they have special needs?

Mum-of-three Dina Corcoran is a speech and language therapist and

runs a support service for people with autism and complex behaviour needs, alongside husband, David. Both her daughter, Nola, nine, who has autism, and son Liam, five, who has a learning disability, have already returned to school. She says: We were not worried about our children missing out from an educational point of view, but for us it was more about missing out from a mental health and social point of view.

At home we don’t have enough space for the kids to go and cool down if they’re having a difficult time. We need the respite for ourselves as well.

Before lockdown we had quite a bit of support from a live-out au pair, who would help me after school, or if I need to take the kids to any appointments. All of a sudden our support network disappeared, so it’s been very tough for us.

Liam needs one-on-one support and we couldn’t offer him that at home, because we are trying to work and educate the older two. We noticed he would get very bored and started to regress, so at least now he has that support and an outdoor area to play in.

For Nola, I’m not sending her back because I think she needs to catch up academically, but rather because it’s a chance for her to see some other faces and be somewhere else.

We’ve had amazing support from the special needs co-ordinator at Nola’s school, Clore Shalom. She’s been absolutely incredible and has checked in with us almost daily, as well as ahead of Nola’s transition back to school.

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Jewish News 28 May 2020

Weekend / Entertainment

JW3’s virtual Shavuot was a Revelation!

JW3 might just have proved it really is never too late to learn something new – by hosting Revelation, an epic five-hour Jewish learning marathon yesterday evening.

Traditionally, communities forego their sleep and stay up all night to learn Jewish texts on the festival of Shavuot, which begins tonight (Thursday). But owing to the lockdown, a “virtual Mount Sinai” was created instead, featuring actor and director Steven Berkoff, author Rodger Kamenetz, filmmaker Lisa Gornick and comedian David Schneider (pictured). We caught up with David ahead of his entertaining session, Stories In The Dark,, where he explored Lord of the Rings in Yiddish.

JN: Do you normally celebrate Shavuot and what meaning does this year hold for you?

DS: I don’t normally celebrate Shavuot (or Shavuos as I should say being Ashkenazi!) or many of the festivals, other than Pesach, but I have enjoyed a number of learning evenings like this over the years.

And, despite social media shrinking my capacity to concentrate, I really appreciate learning from different people when I can.

JN: The event is billed as a “virtual Mount Sinai”, an online bringing together of the community. Have you taken part in many virtual events over lockdown and has it made you appreciate technology a bit more?

DS: I run a social media company, so have been involved in the virtual world for a while and we have been organising lots of virtual events, including some live stand-up comedy on Instagram. I think what I have appreciated in this moment is that when restrictions are imposed, creativity finds a way through.

My kids are investing huge amounts of time creating these mad virtual pub quizzes and it makes you think, ‘what if the revelation at Mount Sinai was one big virtual pub quiz where the winning nation won the 10 commandments?’ I think that lockdown can sometimes feel like we are in a prison, but virtual events have a way of providing that prison with some really good quality entertainment.

JN: The tradition on Shavuot is to forego sleep by learning. Are you someone who enjoys Jewish learning? Are you someone who likes to forego sleep?

DS: There is something about staying up at night that does feel purifying in a similar way to fasting and takes me back to my university days and of feeling desperate to finish an essay for an imminent deadline.

Night time gives us a chance to switch

ON DEMAND Buffy The Vampire Slayer Sarah Michelle Geller is back on our screens as all seven series of the epic cult-hit show Buffy The Vampire Slayer arrives on All 4.

First screened more than 20 years ago, the show revolves around Buffy Summers (Geller) attempting to live a normal teenage life at Sunnydale High School. Guided by her Watcher, Giles (Anthony Head) and helped by friends Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Xander (Nicholas Brendon), Buffy embraces her responsibilities and destiny as a hunter of vampires and demons – making her The Slayer.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer will be available on All 4 from Monday, 1 June, while individual episodes will be shown weekday evenings at 11pm on E4.

Worth a Mensch-ion If Israeli mentalist Lioz Shem Tov’s performance on Saturday night seems familiar to viewers of Britain’s Got Talent, there’s a very good reason for that: he has already appeared on the popular show in both the US and Australia, where he reached the finals. More comedian than magician, the Tel Aviv native managed to charm the audience with his smile-raising routine, which involved him tricking Amanda Holden into holding open a plastic bag to throw away his rubbish, as well as securing four “yeses” from the judges. David Walliams said simply: “I think you’re an absolute genius”. Lioz has now made it through to the next round, with the live shows set to follow later this year.

Britain’s Got Talent continues on Saturday, 8pm, on ITV

off our phones and concentrate on what we are engaging in, without the distractions.

JN: Lord of the Rings in Yiddish sounds intriguing – can you tell us a little about it?

DS: Well I love Lord of the Rings (LOTR) and I studied for a PhD in Yiddish drama at Oxford. I encountered this podcast, The Yiddish Voice or Dos Yidishe Kol with Barry Goldstein, who had translated LOTR into Yiddish. I felt a sense of cynicism, followed by a feeling of comfort in seeing two passions of mine coming together in a weird and wacky way. The language of Yiddish does have an Elvish and runic quality that appeals to me and it feels like an epic language. A bit like the continuing story of the ring in LOTR, I have inherited this love for Yiddish from my grandfather, who translated Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.

JN: The event is called Revelation – what has been your biggest revelation since lockdown began?

DS: One revelation I have had that feels a bit trite but true is that there are a lot of pretty good people out there. I often get angry on social media or see lots of things that bother me, but it’s been wonderful to see so many decent and good acts in communities and in the arts world. I live in London in a street in which the neighbours don’t speak to each other and in this crisis, we have connected and a community has been built.

A less positive, but real revelation I have also had is that there is no Jeff Goldblum character who’s going to rescue the world for us.

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The lighter side

Inspiration / Weekend

Brigit Grant’s little bit of this and little bit of that...

Where there’s a will, there’s OY VEY THE TITLE ACROSS THIS COLUMN could not be more fitting this week. The fusion of the idiom, ‘Where there’s a will…’ with the familiar Yiddish phrase for dismay, summed up the mixed

emotions generated by my daughter’s virtual batmitzvah last Saturday. Think determination and pride with a tinge of disappointment and you’ll get a picture of how we felt on a day when the weather was perfect for the marquee garden party originally planned.

So instead of green grass, there was a green screen with a backdrop of the ark at Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue. We’d briefly toyed with an image of The Simpsons’ sitting room to warm up the crowd, but realised reciting the Bamidbar required a bit of respect. Madison would have gone with the Ru Paul set backdrop, as she had ingeniously correlated a link between her portion and LGBTQ acceptance. In her opinion, neither Jews nor drag queens should be left in the wilderness – which was a persuasive concept for a socially distanced audience.

And what an audience it was, with friends and family joining the Zoom from around the

Desperately seeking DO YOU LOVE AND MISS YOUR HAIRDRESSER, personal trainer or osteopath enough to pay for their advertising?

Bruce Silverman does – and plans to continue with his campaign to save and revive Sutherland House Eva Hadjidemetri after lockdown.

“They’re angels,” declares Bruce, 66, who managed to avoid back surgery with the help of the multidisciplinary Bruce Silverman centre In Temple Fortune, which offers a wide range of innovative treatments alongside osteopathy, physiotherapy, exercise physiology, acupuncture and psychotherapy.

The sense of relief one experiences after finding a practitioner who can stop chronic pain is indescribable, and that was Bruce’s experience when Judith Landhausser physiotherapist Eva Hadjidemetri cured his severe spinal problem some years ago, followed by physio after a knee replacement and healing for residual pain from open heart surgery.

“Eva is extraordinary,” kvells Bruce, who has been doing the daily exercises on the Sutherland.life YouTube channel. “People come from all over Europe for treatment with Eva, her partner Judith Landhausser, and the other experts who work with them. In normal circumstances, I visit David the clinic weekly out of necessity, so I need them more than ever now.”

Corenswet Relaxing of restrictions means the clinic can open on 1 June, but with cut-out reduced appointments.

“We have all the personal protective equipment in place, as protecting our patients is paramount,” explains Eva. Appointments will be staggered, but it’s likely Bruce will be front of the queue. www.sutherlandhouse.life or call 020 8458 7869

CRUSH

Hollywood Hollywood, the Netflix show about post-Second World War Tinsel Town delivered a new celeb crush to our batmitzvah girl in the form of devilishly handsome David Corenswet, who happens to hail from a prominent Jewish New Orleans family. The series, which follows a group of aspiring actors, is wildly inappropriate for a 13-year-old (believe me, I’ve tried to make that clear), but has a decent helping of other Jewish talent, including veteran wit Rob Reiner and Judd Apatow’s daughter, Maude. But David has won the girl’s heart and she has invested in a cut-out until she can travel.

world, having set their alarms in their respective time zones in order to shout “Shkoyach!” once unmuted. We could never have accommodated all of them in our house, I mused later, so there are unexpected benefits to a streamed simcha.

Our intention post-bat was to fly to Israel, but empty skies kept us grounded. However, it enabled Shtisel producer Dikla Barkai to join an unsynchronished Adon Olam from the Holy Land.

As the host, Rabbi Emily ReitsmaJurman was as professional as Richard Osman, although this online event was anything but Pointless judging from the very real tears on familiar faces.

In keeping with the trend of the times,

photographs were taken on the doorstep and in the garden by Adam Soller (www.adamsoller. com) who made light work of taking memorable, perfectly-lit shots and emailing them to us soon after. I noted that unlike ‘real time’ Jewish functions, everything ran like clockwork, including delivery of a sumptuous BBQ spread with salads by caterer Kushan Marthelis, who doubles as an artisan chocolatier (www.chocimchocolate. com) and brought fruit inlaid bars surrounding a chocolate stiletto. Eating shoes was never part of my pre-simcha diet schedule, but neither was praying in a celebrity squares-style set-up on the computer. For those still to celebrate this way, prepare for a virtually perfect experience as ultimately there’s nothing like keeping it real.

www.brigitg@thejngroup.com

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Jewish News 28 May 2020

Food & Drink / Weekend

O

lives are an underutilised soup ingredient and I demand they have their day in the broth!

They add bright bursts of briny flavour to this sultry tomato lentil soup and really enhance the whole thing with a Mediterranean flair. Spinach wilted in at the end means you’ve got all your nutrition in one pot. This will be a really nice addition to your lentil soup repertoire. Since olives are salty, wait until after you’ve added them to the soup to decide if you need more salt.

You can use hot smoked paprika instead of sweet, but do remember that it’s hot! So your soup is gonna be spicy.

Start with a tablespoon and go from there...

ENTIL S OUP SMOKY TOMATO L D OLIVES WITH SPINACH AN

SERVES: 6

INGREDIENTS

2. Add the paprika, lentils, broth, ½ teaspoon, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat to medium and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally until the lentils are almost tender.

3. Add the tomatoes. Bring to a boil again, then lower the heat to a simmer for another 20 minutes or so, or until the lentils are very tender. Add the spinach and olives and stir frequently until the spinach is wilted and velvety. Add water to thin, if necessary.

Taste for salt and seasoning.

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon olive oil Salt 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 tablespoons sweet smoked paprika (see headnote) 1 cup (190g) brown or green lentils 5 cups (1.2l) vegetable broth Freshly ground black pepper 1 680g can stewed tomatoes (fire-roasted, if you can find them) 4 cups (80g) loosely packed baby spinach or chopped spinach ¾ cup (115g) pitted, roughly chopped Kalamata olives Extracted from I Can Cook Vegan by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, published by Abrams, priced £22.99 (hardback). Photographs © Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

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28 May 2020 Jewish News

Am I going to die?

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Literature / Desert Island Books With Zaki Cooper

In association with Listen to the podcast at jewishnews.co.uk

Interview:

Sir Simon Schama uncle Jakob Klausner was a terrifying Talmudic scholar. Amos describes visiting his great-uncle, drowning in an ocean of books. The touch and smell of the books, the sensuousness of the paper, the ink and the binding. It’s very tragic.

His mother commits suicide. He was an only child and felt his mother had betrayed him.

He leaves for a life in the kibbbutz and names himself ‘Oz’, strength. He starts writing this very hard Ivrit, which he imagines when he remakes himself as a Jew. As his life goes on, he is drawn back to that childhood and growing up. The memoir, in the end, is his masterpiece.

Sir Simon Schama

In the latest in our series of podcasts with Jewish people who are changing the world, Zaki Cooper talks to celebrated historian, writer and broadcaster Sir Simon Schama about his life, career and books that inspire him

S

ir Simon Schama is a historian and public intellectual. He is perhaps best known for his BBC series, A History of Britain, and, more recently, The Story of the Jews. He is University Professor of Art History and History at Columbia University, New York and was knighted in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

How did your BBC series, The Story of the Jews, happen?

A BBC producer who I had known while making a series on art history phoned me up and said: ‘I know what you should be doing next. Let’s have coffee and talk about it.’ When we did meet, I said: ‘I know what you’re going to say.” And I said: ‘I’ve got to go for it.’ It was a teshuva in lots of ways, a return. The mighty book project, with part three coming up, came about through that non-Jewish television producer.

Did the experience of making it and writing the books strengthen your Jewish identity?

Yes, for sure, it did. I knew about Maimonides and Yehuda Halevi’s poetry but I had very crude, slightly superficial knowledge of the great trials of the Talmud and many aspects of medieval Jewish history. With the TV series, I thought I have to make this for people who are not Jewish.

All Jewish history means to non-Jews is the Holocaust and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

No one will ever get what Israel means and what it means profoundly to be a Jew now unless they know the long history.

It brings us to your first selection, Yosef Yerushalmi’s Zakhor. Why select this book?

I knew Yosef at Harvard and he was a colleague of mine at Columbia [University] and I loved him. He was a beautiful writer. He showed, deep profound scholarship could actually be beautiful writing. More important than that, it crystallised a deep paradox. We think of the Bible as a kind of history, but after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem when the Tanach was closed, the rest would be apocryphal. When we have the seder service, it’s all about our obligation to remember. But it’s not history, it’s remembering. The Jewish instinct to write analytical history is at odds with what we do every Pesach or when we read ritually from the Torah. In some ways, Judaism is saturated in history, but only up to a point. The book is about that, but a religious requirement to remember where we came from.

As well as Jewish history, you have done so much in art and British history. Tell us about your new BBC2 series, The Romantic Revolution?

I taught a lot of art history at Harvard and Columbia. We are talking music and poetry, as well as painting. A lot of what they did dies in the 19th century. Blake is largely forgotten, for example, until he is picked up in the 20th century. The romantics were interested in the subconscious, the way the mind looks at itself.

They were interested in dreams, nightmares and sometimes madness. They could be seen again as incredibly fresh.

Two of the books you selected are Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities and Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, both written in the 19th century.

Why did you select them?

My father used to read Dickens out loud to my sister and I at tea on Sundays.

He was a great lover of British literature.

Being British and being Jewish were not only an easy marriage of identities but an obligatory one. I came to A Tale of Two Cities. Tolstoy and Dickens were both great historical researchers.

Dickens was helped by the historian Thomas Carlyle. Tolstoy did his own historical deep research in the archives and served as a soldier in some of the Balkan wars. War and Peace, I think, is the greatest novel ever written.

I have read it eight times and I find different things in it every time.

You have visited Israel many times over the years, and selected a book by one of its bestknown novelists, Amos Oz’s A Tale of Love and Darkness. What did you like about that book?

He’s a great novelist. His father was a scholarly librarian at the Hebrew University and his great-

You have selected Saul Bellow’s Herzog, which was written in 1964. What is it about this book that appeals?

Bellow had a way of writing on the verge of craziness. It begins with a most wonderful opening sentence, something like – “if I am going mad, then it’s alright with me”. Moses Herzog is a writer and he’s a moored in a disastrous ex-marriage, a slightly scary, very glamorous mistress and he has a hopeless life that has not quite come to an end. It’s the most exhilarating hyperbolic kvetch for many hundreds of pages, but it’s full of joy and very sensuous, glorious liberated writing.

You are a writer of many books.

Are you someone who has lots of books at home?

You haven’t seen my study! I don’t do very well with e-books.

As Amos Oz describes, the actual physical experience of turning a paper page is very important. I am just exploding with books. The art history side of me means they are often physically very large books.

I am at the stage, if a Jew can ever be a Franciscan, of giving lots away.

Simon’s reading list • A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens • War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy • Herzog by Saul Bellow • Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish

Memory by Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi • A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz

28 May 2020 Jewish News

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A GUIDE TO GIVING Volunteers represent the best of our community to help others As Shavuot approaches, our community continues to discover what ‘normality’ looks like in this truly trying time. GIFT stands for Give It Forward Today – 10 weeks ago, GIFT initiated the GIFT of Connection response to Covid-19. Thousands of people within the community responded to ensure that anyone that contacted GIFT needing assistance would be taken care of.

GIFT’s hashtag, #inittogether, really is proving to be its motto and mantra during this time.

It has been an immense privilege and blessing that GIFT has been able to play its special part in the wide-reaching efforts at such an historic time, in addition to collaborating and working together with many other welfare organisations and charities.

GIFT’s education team created a plethora of free online education sessions and activities, live and pre-recorded, as well as a free virtual tutoring club with students

tutoring in a range of different subjects.

Each GIFT volunteer has represented the very best of our community – caring, helping, empathising and supporting the vulnerable, elderly, isolated and those in need.

They have stood up extraordinarily by collecting prescriptions, delivering medication and essential shopping; they have packed and delivered thousands of food support parcels, fruit and vegetables and freshly-cooked meals.

They have given countless hours to online tutoring, ‘cards with care’ – making beautiful personalised cards for care home residents, the NHSOS project – giving thousands of gratitude packs to NHS staff, organising laptops, toys, books and flowers for families in need; making colourful posters and decorations for hospitals and care homes and telephone befriending for the elderly and isolated so they don’t feel alone.

You, our volunteers, are the real superheroes and we at GIFT are truly indebted to you all.

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Sarah

Deborah

David

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Help Me

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JEWISH WOMEN ’S A ID

ANOTHER DAY AT HOME. ANOTHER DAY IN FEAR. Since lockdown the number of women we support has surged.

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Help us to help them. Donate today at jwa.org.uk/appeal Our frontline support services: Casework & Advocacy | Helplines | Web Chat | Counselling | Children’s Therapy | Emergency Accommodation Registered Charity No. 1047045

28 May 2020 Jewish News

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Behind closed doors vulnerable people at risk need your help People with poor mental health are being hit especially hard by the coronavirus outbreak and demand for Jami’s services is rising daily. For people already living with mental illness, the additional anxiety and physical isolation they are experiencing can be life threatening.

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Orthodox Judaism

SEDRA Shavuot

BY RABBI ARIEL ABEL Shavuot marks the end of a 49-day count leading from one harvest period to another – from barley to wheat. I was amazed two weeks ago to find a single stalk of barley growing in my back garden, probably due to my five-year-old daughter having played in the garden with pearl barley ingredients for a cholent pot many moons previously.

That single stalk, standing tall and exquisitely beautiful prepared me for Shavuot, standing for the single individual in lockdown, awaiting reunification with the rest of humanity.

When we do return, let us remember the great revitalisation nature, God’s handiwork, has experienced while there was far less human induced pollution poisoning the planet.

The festivals of the Torah revolve around the seasonal crops. Ruth started out in the fields of Boaz gleaning stalks of barley. Boaz spotted her and enquired after the manner of her gleaning. This led to him taking Ruth as his wife and to them becoming the ancestors of King David and ultimately, the Messiah

yet to come.

We must go back to caring for the earth God gave to Adam. Observance of mitzvot must come back off the supermarket shelf and return to the field, the farm, the allotment.

The Igbo people, who have roots in the Israelite way of life, call this Omenana – living God’s word on the land.

We Jews recite this twice a day in the second paragraph of Shema.

Only a farmer can truly appreciate what the feast of Weeks actually means, the fate of crops hanging in the balance.

May crops worldwide be protected, and the supply chain uninterrupted in the era of Covid-19. May our appreciation of God’s creation grow and our gratitude increase for the sun, rain and human labour that brings bread out from the land.

Chag Shavuot sameach!

◆ Rabbi Abel serves Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation and is padre to Merseyside Army Cadet Force

Torah For Today What does the Torah say about: Loss of taste and smell

BY RABBI NAFTALI SCHIFF If there’s one word that sums up the ongoing pandemic it’s uncertainty. Even the symptoms of the virus are unclear, with scientists learning more each day. In recent weeks, many have suffered a loss of the sensations of smell and taste – and now this has been recognised as symptoms of Covid-19.

The Torah neither expects nor desires humans to live a monastic lifestyle. In fact, we are encouraged to take pleasure in God’s world, but we do run the risk of being distracted by materialism. The mitzvot, therefore, help elevate physical experiences to a more meaningful spiritual plane.

Both taste and smell play an important part in Jewish thought.

On the most basic level, they are viewed as gifts from God, to enhance the eating experience for our pleasure.

The Almighty could have provided for all of our nutritional needs though a bland grey plant, yet He ‘spoils’ us daily with food that pleasures the palate and tantalises the taste buds.

This is one of the reasons why we bless God before eating, drinking or even smelling fragrant spices. We stop, focus and take in

the moment, before savouring the pleasure and connecting it with its source.

The Hebrew word for taste is ta’am, which is also the same word as ‘reason’. When we know the reasons for things, they become far more palatable.

In truth, we never really know the full reason for anything, at best we can only ever have a taste of what is really going on.

Having travelled through a period of loss of taste and smell for many, perhaps it is a time to appreciate the ta’am of life and the bountiful blessings that surround us – all gratuitous gifts for us to enjoy. ◆ Rabbi Naftali Schiff is the founder and chief executive of Jewish Futures. Ta’am, which focuses on Jewish culinary traditions, is one of the member organisations

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28 May 2020

Progressive Judaism

Progressively Speaking

The Bible Says What?

How do we mark Pride Month during lockdown?

‘Naomi’s sons married out’

BY RABBI LAURA JANNER-KLAUSNER

BY RABBI DR RENÉ PFERTZEL Celebrating significant days in our

Liberal Jewish calendar while in this For Shavuot we will again read the Some of what is said today about period of lockdown and distancing Book of Ruth. The whole book is intermarriage is appalling. The most is something our community is named for Ruth, who was not an extreme version being those willing getting very good at. From packed Israelite but a Moabite. It is comto claim that those who do not take Passover seders to our flagship monly discussed how Ruth essentially a Jewish partner are “doing Hitler’s Biennial – held last weekend with converts to Judaism by following her work”. This is unambiguously vile. more than 1,500 delegates enjoying mother-in-law, declaring that “your Jewish families come in all shapes three days of services, sessions and God will be my God”. Ruth is held up and sizes – our tradition is here to online mingling – we have become a parades and events. Two years ago, rightly as an example of the value of teach us that just because a famat Kingston Liberal Synagogue, we growing virtual movement. converts to our community. ily doesn’t conform to what some Pride Month and LGBTQI+ hosted a Pride Seder. This year, we However, this moment of convermay see as an ‘ideal’ does not mean [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, were planning a similar event, but sion comes long after she has married they have nothing to offer. Indeed, queer, intersex and related commu- with an interfaith theme. This is still Naomi’s son. Both of Naomi’s sons interfaith families greatly enrich our nities] equality is central to Liberal going to go ahead, but by necessity marry Moabite women; many would communities. The only thing that Judaism. We were the first synagogal will be via Zoom. describe them as having ‘married out’. ensures our community will suffer is Liberal Judaism has always been movement in the world to introduce Indeed, if you listen to some within ostracising those families. liturgy for civil partnership ceremo- about collaboration, so we are excited our community, you would think there One of the main differences benies (in 2005), the first to (success- that the Reverend Jide Macaulay of was hardly a worse crime that could tween ‘marrying out’ and ‘marrying fully) campaign for equal marriage House of Rainbow – an organisation be committed. Yet this story, which in’ is how we choose to welcome that and the first to introduce ketubot that fosters relationships among starts with two Jewish men marrying family, or not. An ‘intermarriage’ led to written specially for same-sex BAME [black, Asian and minority non-Jews, ends with the birth of a King David. If we can be accepting of couples and those who prefer a non- ethnic] and LGBTQI+ individuals, child and a succession line leading to all Jewish families then we, too, will people of faith and allies to create a binary or gender-neutral format. the great King David. see the benefits they can bring to Every year, for Pride, our syna- safer and a more inclusive commuIt’s almost as if the decision of who our communities. gogues and members enjoy services, nity – will be part of the event. to marry cannot be viewed in such a ◆ Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner is Multi-Academy Trust’s schools areRabbi twoHasmonean Multi-Academy Trust’sat Hasmonean schools Multi-Academy of with other ProgresTrust’s common socials and attendance national areIntwo Senior toof Reform Judaism black and white way.

sive communities, we run dedicated Shabbat services for Pride. These will move online, as well as a talk by Professor Marc Baer, author of a new book, German, Jew, Muslim, Gay: The Life and Times of Hugo Marcus.

The annual month of Pride is such an important celebration of those in our LGBTQI+ communities. It is always joyful, uplifting and lots of fun – but with a really important and powerful message about the need for inclusivity in our society.

At this time of lockdown, it is just as important as ever to celebrate this, even if it cannot be done in person.

We have spent the past couple of months showing how Liberal Jewish communities can come together – if only virtually – to pray, study and celebrate. We look forward to demonstrating this once more over Pride this summer. ◆ Rabbi Dr René Pfertzel is rabbi at Kingston Liberal schools are two of Synagogue

monean p performing non-selective schools in the country. the top performing non-selective schools the topinperforming the country. non-selective schools in the country.

Hasmonean

Multi-Academy Trust

Hasmonean

Hasmonean

Multi-Academy Trust

Multi-Academy Trust

Hasmonean Multi-Academy Trust’s schools are two of the top performing non-selective schools in the country.

Hasmonean

Menahel(es) - Hasmonean High School for Girls Salary: Attractive remuneration package Start date: September 2020/ ASAP Contract term: full time, permanent Summary: For decades, Hasmonean High School for Girls, as part of Hasmonean High School, has been one of the leading Orthodox Jewish schools in Europe; it has also been consistently ranked amongst the top non-selective comprehensive schools in the UK. Excelling in both Kodesh and secular studies, it has been praised by a number of government bodies and cabinet members in recent years.

As a community school, Hasmonean aims to serve a broad range of Torah observant community members. The formal Kodesh provision at the school consists of a framework for 11-16 year olds as well as a sixth form framework for 16-18 year olds known as the Midrasha which aims to prepare the students for seminary. There is additionally significant informal Kodesh provision throughout the school.

For the first time, a pivotal role of Menahel(es) has been created for the Girls’ school to help maintain and enhance the school’s position as an engine room for the Orthodox community in the UK. As Menahel(es) the successful candidate will ensure the centrality of the principle of Torah im Derech Eretz throughout the school and promote it throughout the wider community. S/he he will be responsible for the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of girls at the school.

The Menahel(es) will have an overall responsibility for the Kodesh provision in the whole school, and will be ultimately responsible for the Midrasha being a flagship component of the school.

The successful candidate will inspire the girls toward a passion for living as Torah observant women, contributing to their broader communities, through their own passion and commitment to Torah values.

We seek an individual that will have extensive experience educating a wide range of students from different hashkafic backgrounds and with differing academic abilities and interests.The candidate must have a strong background in analytic and textual skills in order to significantly raise

Multi-Academy Trust

the standard of Kodesh provision in the Midrasha, creating an atmosphere of excellence, while understanding individual student’s requisites to succeed.

It is essential that the right candidate has a creative and innovative approach, which inspires and motivates students to achieve their spiritual, emotional, and interpersonal potential, as well as having excellent interpersonal skills to manage a significant team of teachers and staff.

The role is varied and demanding and as such, requires an individual with wisdom, inner strength, commitment and above all, integrity.

This role provides an exceptional opportunity to a make a tremendous impact on the future of Girls’ Jewish education. Our graduates will become the leaders of the UK and wider global community and your pioneering and innovative approach to Jewish education will ensure that they are given a solid foundation upon which to build this future.

Visit our website: www.hasmoneanmat.org.uk for more information about the school.

Hasmonean offers childcare facilities for all staff at our on-site facilities.

An application form and job description are available on our website or from Ms J Grant Email j.grant@hasmonean.co.uk

Closing date for applications: Monday, 15th June 2020 The appointment is subject to an enhanced DBS clearance.

The school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

www.jewishnews.co.uk

28 May 2020 Jewish News

41

Professional advice from our panel / Ask Our Experts

Ask our

Where there’s a Will there’s Our highly qualified team will:

Our trusty team of advisers answers your questions about everything from law and finance to dating and dentistry.

This week: When foreign holidays might restart, keeping safe in the office and packing up for Israel

• Offer expert legal advice.

• Reduce Inheritance Tax liability or eradicate it completely.

• Ensure your Will is legally watertight and validly executed.

• Act as Executor in the administration of your Estate.

Contact us to find out more about leaving a legacy to JNF UK to help support its vital work in Israel

Call: 0800 358 3587 Email: enquries@kkl.org.uk

KKL Executor and Trustee Company Ltd (a Company registered in England No. 453042) is a subsidiary of JNF Charitable Trust (Charity No. 225910) and a registered Trust Corporation (authorised capital £250,000).

DAVID SEGEL TRAVEL AGENT

WEST END TRAVEL

Dear David We normally go on holiday to Europe every August. Obviously the pandemic makes it impossible to plan, but if the airlines resume flying and countries open their borders without quarantine restrictions, should we still consider going abroad or plan a ‘staycation’ in the UK instead?

Jennifer Dear Jennifer This is not a straightforward question and unfortunately neither is the answer. So many variables come into play and I have never experienced such a situation in my entire

IAN GREEN IT SPECIALIST

MAN ON A BIKE Dear Man on a Bike We are a small office.

Currently, we have people working at home, but we would like to be able to open up the office for our staff although we would need to make sure we are as safe as possible from a social distancing point of view. Please could you give us some advice?

Phil

Dear Phil Technology has been a lifesaver over the past few months, literally, enabling people to work remotely.

Online meetings, cloud based storage and internet telephones have meant that many companies have been able to function to some degree. When looking to get offices prepared for re-staffing, it is important to keep everyone as safe as possible. Where possible, staff should continue to work from home and perhaps only have certain people in the office on certain days.

From an IT perspective, you need to make sure desks are separate and that means moving phones and computers too.

Whereas before, most

travel career. I cannot stress enough the importance of following government guidelines and, if the requirement to quarantine remains, then I would advise you to plan your holiday in the UK this summer.

If by August we are still unable to fly, there are many beautiful places in the UK you could Since 2002 SweetTree has provided award visit – and the tourist industry will thank you. winning care and support to people in Jewish News (Ask the Expert) 10x2 v.3.indd 1 Among them are the Lake District, National their own homes and in the community Trust for Scotland’s Culzean Castle, near C all us for a free assessment or advice Glasgow, Snowdonia in North Wales, and the Live-in & live-out home care Giant’s Causeway in County Antrim.

Dementia - End-of-life care - Learning disabilities - Autism - Brain injuries No one knows how or when the situation Neurological conditions will resolve. All we can hope for is a speedy resolution to Covid-19. The Jewish public loves to travel and I get many enquiries asking when I think it will be safe to fly abroad again.

I cannot offer a magic timeline, but let us hope that I can soon wish you and all Jewish News 020 7644 9554 readers ‘Bon voyage!’

www.sweettree.co.uk

people had desks facing each other, it is now advisable to have colleagues back-toback. This can leave cables on the floor, so suitable cable covers are required to stop tripping.

If you can, have people work in different rooms. To minimise movement around the office, think about each person having their own printer. Move photocopiers into an open area and have hand sanitiser by them.

Keyboards and mice can be cleaned with antibacterial wipes – just do not get them too wet. Telephones, screens, touchscreens and mobile phones can be damaged by the antibacterial spray, so use kitchen roll with a little soap and water on it to wipe them down.

Stay safe.

STEPHEN MORRIS REMOVALS MANAGING DIRECTOR

STEPHEN MORRIS SHIPPING LTD Dear Stephen My wife is getting stressed over the thought of our move to Israel and wonders how your company can help reduce the stress while packing up everything she has owned for more than 50 years?

Allan Dear Allan I understand how stressful

moving can be, particularly across such a distance.

However, this move is something I presume you both really want to do and something that should enhance your lives.

We always try to avoid causing any stress during the move and equally try to ease any existing stress.

For a start, it will generally be me who comes to your home to survey for the move. I will explain each part of the process in detail and my quotation will be ‘door to door’. This way, there should be no surprises.

You will know the total cost of your move and there should be no one calling and asking for further sums of money en route.

We can supply cartons so you or your wife can pack items such as personal papers ahead

of the crew’s arrival.

You can pack any non fragile items yourself, but we prefer to pack as much as there is. You can help by deciding in advance the items you want to take, the items you definitely do not want to take and those items that could go if space permits.

The packing can be spread over more than one day. We usually supply a small crew over a longer period because this greatly reduces stress and pressure. You will have time to advise what goes where and change your mind if you need to.

The main benefit is that you both can witness the quality of our packing and be reassured that your most precious belongings are safe and secure for the move.

42

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Jewish News 28 May 2020

Ask Our Experts / Professional advice from our panel

Our Experts Got a question for a member of our team?

Email: editorial@thejngroup.com PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SPECIALIST TREVOR GEE Qualifications: • Managing director, consultants in affordable family and corporate health insurance.

• Specialise in maximising cover, lowering premiums and pre-existing conditions.

• Excellent knowledge of health insurers, cover levels and hospital lists.

• Board member UK International Health Management Ass • LLB, solicitor finals, FCA Regulated 773729.

PATIENT HEALTH 020 3146 3444/5/6 www.patienthealth.co.uk trevor.gee@patienthealth.co.uk

DIRECTOR OF LEGACIES

DYSLEXIA PRACTITIONER SARAH BENARROCH Qualifications: • Director of Literacy Specialist Ltd, educational services for children with literacy difficulties and dyslexia.

• MA in Specific Learning Difficulties (dyslexia), APC, British Dyslexia Association, PATOSS, 20 years’ experience in child education and development.

• Full diagnostic assessments and reports for dyslexia.

• Primary-age tuition in reading, writing and spelling.

LITERACY SPECIALIST LTD 07940 576 286 sarah@literacyspecialist.co.uk

JEWELLER

ADR CONSULTANT DONIEL GRUNEWALD Qualifications: • Accredited mediator to International Standards offering civil/commercial and workplace mediation; in a facilitative or evaluative format, or by med-arb.

• Experienced in all Beth Din matters; including arbitration, advocacy, matrimonial settlements and written submissions.

• Providing bespoke alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to the Jewish community.

JEWISH DISPUTE SOLUTIONS 020 3637 9638 www.jewishdisputesolutions.co.uk director@jewishdisputesolutions.co.uk

ISRAELI LAWYER ELI ROSENBERG Qualifications: • All aspects of Israeli law. Specialising in property law, property tax, inheritance law and dispute management.

• Third generation lawyer from Israeli firm established in Israel in 1975.

• Authorised and regulated by the Israeli Bar Association and Ministry of Justice of the State of Israel, with teams in Tel Aviv and London.

ROSENBERG & ASSOCIATES 0203 994 2278 www.israeli-lawyer.co.uk eli@israeli-lawyer.co.uk

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

CAROLYN ADDLEMAN Qualifications: Lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in will drafting and trust and estate administration. Last 14 years at KKL Executor and Trustee Company.

In close contact with clients to ensure all legal and pastoral needs are cared for.

Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

JONATHAN WILLIAMS Qualifications: • Jewellery manufacturer since 1980s.

• Expert in the manufacture and supply of diamond jewellery, wedding rings and general jewellery.

• Specialist in supply of diamonds to the public at

SUE CIPIN Qualifications: • 18 years’ hands-on experience, leading JDA in significant growth and development.

• Deep understanding of the impact of deafness on people at all stages of life, and their families.

• Practical and emotional support for families of deaf children.

• Extensive services for people affected by hearing loss/tinnitus.

KKL EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE COMPANY 0800 358 3587 www.kkl.org.uk enquiries@kkl.org.uk

JEWELLERY CAVE LTD 020 8446 8538 www.jewellerycave.co.uk jonathan@jewellerycave.co.uk

JEWISH DEAF ASSOCIATION 020 8446 0502 www.jdeaf.org.uk mail@jdeaf.org.uk

• • •

Got a question for a member of our team?

Email: editorial@thejngroup.com

Thinking about ALIYAH? Contact the Jewish Agency for Israel certified by the Israeli government to facilitate Aliyah!

0-800-051-8227 | 020-8371-5250 | gci-en@jafi.org

TRAVEL AGENT

CRIMINAL DEFENCE SOLICITOR

DAVID SEGEL Qualifications: • Managing director of West End Travel, established in 1972.

• Leading UK El Al agent with branches in Swiss Cottage and Edgware.

• Specialist in Israel travel, cruises and kosher holidays.

• Leading business travel company, ranked in top 50 UK agents.

• Frequent travel broadcaster on radio and TV.

CARL WOOLF Qualifications: • 20+ years experience as a criminal defence solicitor and higher court advocate.

• Specialising in all aspects of criminal law including murder, drug offences, fraud and money laundering, offences of violence, sexual offences and all aspects of road traffic law.

• Visiting associate professor at Brunel University.

WEST END TRAVEL 020 7644 1500 www.westendtravel.co.uk David.Segel@westendtravel.co.uk

NOBLE SOLICITORS 01582 544 370 carl.woolf@noblesolicitors.co.uk

REMOVALS MANAGING DIRECTOR

PRINCIPAL, PERFORMING ARTS SCHOOL

STEPHEN MORRIS Qualifications: • Managing Director of Stephen Morris Shipping Ltd. • 45 years’ experience in shipping household and personal effects.

• Chosen mover for four royal families and three UK prime ministers.

• Offering proven quality specialist advice for moving anyone across the world or round the corner.

LOUISE LEACH Qualifications: • Professional choreographer qualified in dance, drama and Zumba (ZIN, ISTD & LAMDA), gaining an honours degree at Birmingham University.

• Former contestant on ITV’s Popstars, reaching bootcamp with Myleene Klass, Suzanne Shaw and Kym Marsh.

• Set up Dancing with Louise 10 years ago.

STEPHEN MORRIS SHIPPING LTD 020 8832 2222 www.shipsms.co.uk stephen@shipsms.co.uk

DANCING WITH LOUISE 020 8203 5242 www.dancingwithlouise.co.uk louise@dancingwithlouise.co.uk

28 May 2020 Jewish News

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43

Professional advice from our panel / Ask Our Experts

ACCOUNTANT

PROPERTY DEVELOPER

DENTIST

ADAM SHELLEY Qualifications: • FCCA chartered certified accountant.

• Accounting, taxation and business advisory services.

• Entrepreneurial business specialist including start-up businesses.

• Specialises in charities; Personal tax returns.

• Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation Volunteer of the Year JVN award.

JOE GRIFFIN Qualifications: • More than 13 years’ experience in the construction and property industry, with a specialism in high-end residential and commercial property • Negotiation of site acquisitions and property deals; design and planning strategies • Focus on niche market purchasing airspace above commercial and residential blocks to create additional stories of accommodation and penthouse apartments.

DR ADAM NEWMAN Qualifications: • Dentist at the Gingerbread House, a Bupa Platinum practice in Shenley, Radlett.

• Regional Clinical Services Advisor for Bupa Dental Care UK. • Providing NHS and private dentistry, whitening, implants and cosmetic treatment.

• Bachelor of Dental Surgery and Member of the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners RCS England. GDC registered 212542.

SOBELL RHODES LLP 020 8429 8800 www.sobellrhodes.co.uk a.shelley@sobellrhodes.co.uk

LONDON PENTHOUSE 020 7665 9604 www.londonpenthouse.com info@lphvgroup.com

GINGERBREAD HOUSE 01923 852 852 www.gingerbreadhealth.co.uk Adam.newman@gingerbreadhealth.co.uk

INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS SPECIALIST

INSURANCE CONSULTANCY

IT SPECIALIST

NAOMI FELTHAM Qualifications: • Leading currency transfer provider since 1996 with over 500 expert employees.

• Excellent exchange rates on your transfers to/from Israel.

• Offices worldwide, with local support in Israel, the UK, mainland Europe and the USA. • Free expert guidance from your dedicated Account Manager.

ASHLEY PRAGER Qualifications: • Professional insurance and reinsurance broker. Offering PI/D&O cover, marine and aviation, property owners, ATE insurance, home and contents, fine art, HNW. • Specialist in insurance and reinsurance disputes, utilising Insurance backed products. (Including non insurance business disputes).

• Ensuring clients do not pay more than required.

IAN GREEN Qualifications: • Launched Man on a Bike IT consultancy 15 years ago to provide computer support for the home and small businesses.

• Clients range from legal firms in the City to families, small business owners and synagogues.

• More than 18 years’ experience.

CURRENCIES DIRECT 07922 131 152 / 020 7847 9447 www.currenciesdirect.com/jn Naomi.feltham@currenciesdirect.com

RISK RESOLUTIONS 020 3411 4050 www.risk-resolutions.com ashley.prager@risk-resolutions.com

MAN ON A BIKE 020 8731 6171 www.manonabike.co.uk mail@manonabike.co.uk

ISRAELI ACCOUNTANT LEON HARRIS Qualifications: • Leon is an Israeli and UK accountant based in Ramat Gan, Israel.

• He is a Partner at Harris Horoviz Consulting & Tax Ltd. • The firm specializes in Israeli and international tax advice, accounting and tax reporting for investors, Olim and businesses.

• Leon’s motto is: Our numbers speak your language!

HARRIS HOROVIZ CONSULTING & TAX LTD +972-3-6123153 / + 972-54-6449398 leon@h2cat.com

ALIYAH ADVISER

PHOTOGRAPHER HARRISON GALGUT Qualifications: • Experienced wedding and event photographer.

• Specialism in portraits and light management.

• BSc(Hons), BTEC music tech, specialising in film, and member of Royal Photographic Society.

LISA WIMBORNE Qualifications: Able to draw on the charity’s 50 years of experience in enabling people with physical disabilities or impaired vision to live independently, including: • The provision of specialist accommodation with 24/7 on site support.

• Knowledge of the innovations that empower people and the benefits available.

• Understanding of the impact of a disability diagnosis.

EDIT6 07962599154 www.edit6.co.uk harrison@edit6.co.uk

JEWISH BLIND & DISABLED 020 8371 6611 www.jbd.org Lisa@jbd.org

CAREER ADVISER

DOV NEWMARK Qualifications: • Director of UK Aliyah for Nefesh B’Nefesh, an organisation that helps facilitate aliyah from the UK. • Conducts monthly seminars and personal aliyah meetings in London.

• An expert in working together with clients to help plan a successful aliyah.

LESLEY TRENNER Qualifications: • Provides free professional one-to-one advice at Resource to help unemployed into work.

• Offers practical support, workshops and networking opportunities to maximise job prospects.

NEFESH B’NEFESH 0800 075 7200 www.nbn.org.il dov@nbn.org.il

RESOURCE 020 8346 4000 www.resource-centre.org office@resource-centre.org

DIVORCE & FAMILY SOLICITOR

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

DEMENTIA SERVICE MANAGER

VANESSA LLOYD PLATT Qualifications: • Qualification: 40 years experience as a matrimonial and divorce solicitor and mediator, specialising in all aspects of family matrimonial law, including: • Divorce, pre/post-nuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements, domestic violence, children’s cases, grandparents’ rights to see grandchildren, adoption, family disputes.

• Frequent broadcaster on national and International radio and television.

ALEXIS CIBRANO Qualifications: • HCPC registered social worker and SweetTree Dementia Service Manager.

• Graduate of Fordham University, New York, receiving a BS degree in psychology, BSW degree in social work and MSW in social work, specialising in client-centred management.

• Completing her Executive MBA at London Business School.

LLOYD PLATT & COMPANY SOLICITORS 020 8343 2998 www.divorcesolicitors.com lloydplatt@divorcesolicitors.com

SWEETTREE HOME CARE SERVICES 020 7644 9500 www.sweettree.co.uk alexis.cibrano@sweettree.co.uk

Got a question for a member of our team?

Email: editorial@thejngroup.com

44

REMOVAL SERVICE

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Jewish News 28 May 2020

HOUSE OR OFFICE

REMO VAL SDomestic E RVRemoval ICE HOUSE OR OFFICE

Office Removal

Packing Service

Storage »» Domestic Removal »» Office Removal

»» Packing Service »» Storage

Call for a FREE quote we offer competitive rates

020 3667 2597

info@fvremovals.london www.fvremovals.london

28 May 2020 Jewish News

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45

Fun, games and prizes

THE JEWISH NEWS CROSSWORD 1

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Last issue’s solutions Crossword ACROSS: 1 Tussle 4 Fair 8 Use 9 Barge in 10 Silky 11 Twice 13 Merit 15 Local 17 Chopper 19 Net 20 Wily 21 Cheese DOWN: 1 Tours 2 Stellar 3 Lobby 5 Ale 6 Range 7 Grit 12 Incense 13 Macaw 14 Type 15 Lurch 16 Litre 18 Owl

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SUGURU Each cell in an outlined block must contain a digit: a two‑cell block contains the digits 1 and 2, a three‑cell block contains the digits 1, 2 and 3; and so on. The same digit must not appear in neighbouring cells, not even diagonally.

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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In this finished crossword, every letter of the alphabet appears as a code number. All you have to do is crack the code and fill in the grid. Replacing the decoded numbers 1, 21 and 22 with their letters in the grid will help you to guess the identity of other letters.

The listed words relating to a desert can all be found in the grid.

Words may run either forwards or backwards, in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal direction, but always in a straight, unbroken line.

J

1

CODEWORD

WORDSEARCH M V D D O N Z

Fill the grid with the numbers 1 to 9 so that each row, column and 3x3 block contains the numbers 1 to 9.

8 Illuminate (5,2) 9 Detective’s lead (4) 10 Skilfully (4) 13 Be sorry for (3) 15 Open, spacious (4) 16 Ensuing (4) 19 Unskilfully (7) 21 Debt note (inits)(3) 22 Kind of turnip (5) 23 Choose (by vote) (5) DOWN 1 Cassette (4) 2 Fawning flatterer (7) 3 Bank cashier (6) 4 Starchy pudding (4) 5 Small bird of various kinds (3) 6 Large subtropical fruit (6) 11 Rigid document holder (3,4) 12 Half a diameter (6) 14 Biochemical catalyst (6) 17 Inflamed swelling of the eyelid (4) 18 Craving (4) 20 Part of the face (3)

8

9

SUDOKU

3 1 5 8 2 7 6 4 9

2 6 9 4 3 5 7 1 8

1 2 1 2 3 2

3 4 5 4 5 1

1 2 1 3 2 4

All puzzles © Puzzler Media Ltd ‑ www.puzzler.com

Wordsearch 5 3 4 5 1 3

2 1 2 3 4 5

4 3 5 1 2 1

1 4 1 2 1 4

3 2 3 4 3 2

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N M L A O K W N S S Q F B

A O S H E L T E R W U Z H

O T I U F A Z E I A E U I

Y N O T E S G J T I U I A

X E H S A N U I X T E E Y

B M Z R E M M B V I Q L V

Q E A S O E R P S N G I S

Codeword X V S D T A B O D G R P P

K A D A V G D V F R P O E

P P B C Q E M K O N G T R

Y L S F W N R U C T I S G

E H C N E B T T R O O F C

W D L T S E U N S M J H T

ME L O S M T K I P P I I A C V A T S E H F H Y D R A A S N A Z Z S B Z A T O L L Y D E R E A D

D I N NG L B E S O A I L K A L M I

OU S L S E E X A F P QU E S L C L OC Y O Y GN J S V OW I L G T T I N

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Jewish News 28 May 2020

Business Services Directory ANTIQUES 44

The Jewish News 22 September 2016

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BUSINESS SERVICES DIRECTORY

Top prices paid

Antique – Reproduction – Retro Furniture (any condition)

Carer

Clothing

WE BUY ANTIQUES Carer FURS WANTED Auxiliary Nurse VERY HIGH PRICES PAID. FREE HOME VISITS.

Epstein, Archie Shine, Hille, G Plan, etc.

Antiques

Dining Suites, Lounges Suites, Bookcases, Desks, Cabinets, Mirrors, Lights, etc.

Cash paid for Mink Available support Allto Antique Furniture Hille & Epstein jackets, coats, you in your home.

Diamond Jewellery, Gold, Silver,boleros, Paintings, stoles, Porcelain, also fox coats, etc.

Glass,Days/nights.

Bronzes, Ivories, Oriental & Judaica Antiques jackets etc.

Very reasonable rates.

Full house clearances organised.

Wardrobes cleared Call Please 0208 look 958 at 2939 our website for more details Call 01277 352 560 or 07495 026 168

House clearances Single items to complete homes MARYLEBONE ANTIQUES - 8 CHURCH STREET NW8 8ED

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VERY HIGH PRICES PAID. FREE HOME VISITS. All Antique Hille & Epstein 0207Furniture 723 7415 (SHOP) Diamond Jewellery, Gold, Silver, Paintings, Porcelain, closed Sunday & Monday Glass, Bronzes, Ivories, Oriental & Judaica Antiques etc.

Computer FOR APPOINTMENTS CALL SUE ON:

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STUART SHUSTER - e-mail - info@maryleboneantiques.co.uk

Man on aOPEN Bike8am will TOget 9pm 7 DAYS. you working fast! RD LONDON. PORTOBELLO

Full house clearances organised.

MAKE SURE CONTACT BEFORE SELLING Please look YOU at our websiteUS for more details www.antiquesbuyers.co.uk

Rapid Response IT support for your PC & Mac Networks, virus problems, broadband, wireless systems, new computers and everything else you may need.

CHARITY & WELFARE For small businesses & home users.

FOR APPOINTMENTS CALL SUE ON: 0800 840 2035 or 07956268290 OPEN 8am TO 9pm 7 DAYS.

Call Ian Green, Man on a Bike on

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ARE YOU BEREAVED?

Stirling of Kensal Green Established over 60 years.

Know who you are dealing with.

Top prices paid

All quality furniture bought & sold.

Antique – Reproduction – Retro Furniture (any condition)

Best prices paid for complete house clearEpstein, Archie Shine, Hille, G Plan, etc. ances Lounges includingSuites, china, Bookcases, books, Dining Suites, clothing etc. Also rubbish clearance Desks, Cabinets, Mirrors, Lights, etc. service, lofts, sheds, garages etc House clearances Single items to complete Please contact Gordonhomes Stirling

020 8960 5401 or 07825 224144 CHURCH STREET ANTIQUES � 8 CHURCH STREET NW8 8ED

͔͚͚͛͜ ͚͕͘ ͛͘͘ (ANYTIME) Email: gordonstirling65@gmail.com 0207 723 7415 (SHOP) closed Sunday & Monday

STUART SHUSTER � e�mail � stuart@churchstreetantiques.net

MAKE SURE YOU CONTACT US BEFORE SELLING

WESTLON HOUSING ASSOCIATION Sheltered Accommodation

Charity & Welfare Counselling for adults & children who are experiencing loss, and support groups.

Contact The Jewish Bereavement ARE YOU BEREAVED? Counselling Service in confidence

Labels are forTURN, jars.

Refer yourself or aKNOW loved one by IF YOU DON’T WHICH WAY TO Not people. calling 020 8458 2223 orOUR visit HELPLINE. REMEMBER

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www.jamiuk.org

For confidential advice, information and support don’t forget Jewish Care Direct.

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020 8922 2222

jcdirect@jcare.org

020 & 8951 3881 • 07765 693 160 CHARITY WELFARE

jewishcare.org/helpline

HOUSE CLEARANCE

E: enquiries@jbcs.org.uk

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We have an open waiting list for our friendly and comfortable For further details and application forms, please contact warden assisted sheltered housing schemes for Jewish people Westlon on 020 8201 8484 in Ealing, EastHousing Finchley Association and Hendon. We provide 24-hour warden support, seven days a week; a residents’ lounge and kitchen, laundry, a sunny patio and garden.

For further details and application forms, please contact Westlon Housing Association on 020 8201 8484

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with free support, advice and information and confidential counselling.

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18/03/2019 12:50:51

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020 8953 2094 office 020 8207 3286 home 020 8386 8798

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28 May 2020 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

47

Business Services Directory COMPUTER

SILVER

AERIAL REPAIR

Man on a Bike will get you working fast!

Rapid Response IT support for your PC & Mac Networks, virus problems, broadband, wireless systems, new computers and everything else you may need.

For small businesses & home users.

AERIALS & SATELLITE • Repairs & Installs • Any work under taken • Sky & Freesat

Call Ian Green, Man on a Bike on

020 8953 4539

020 8731 6171 • www.manonabike.co.uk

ADVERTISE IN THE UK’S BIGGEST JEWISH NEWSPAPER FOR LESS THAN £24 A WEEK Email Sales today at sales@thejngroup.com

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Professional Care at Home Day & Night Care available North and Central London T: 020 8088 2789 info@kells-care.com kells-care.com

LEGACY- LEAVE A GIFT IN YOUR MEMORY

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Leave the legacy of independence to people like Joel.

& THEIR DEPENDANTS NEED

YOUR LEGACY

PLease remember us in your wiLL.

eNABLeD

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visit www.Jbd.org

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or caLL 020 8371 6611 No. 259480 18-361-JM Small legacy advert v1.qxp_Legacy 09/10/2018 10:27 Page 1

Registered Charity No: 1082148

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Charity Reg No. 802559

WASTE REMOVAL

Secure our

children’s future

Please include

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ISRAEL PROPERTY

Legacy advert 84x40.indd 1

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07/04/2017 14:47

Rannana New Project from ₪2590,000

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48

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Jewish News 28 May 2020

Follow our Journey: Bike4Kef

NEW DATE

19 JULY 2020 TH

IS THIS YOU?

NEW ROUTE CURRENTLY BEING PLANNED SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE KEF is a London-based charity supporting the lives of children and young adults with physical and learning disabilities and their families. With the help of devoted and energetic volunteers KEF has helped the Jewish community for 15 years. KEF provides out of school activities, recreational events and residential trips including summer and winter residential camps.

For more information and to sign up visit:

Bike4Kef.org or call Mordche 07584 327 303 Following the outbreak of COVID-19, there is an urgent need for funds Minimum sponsorship £1,250 per rider Bike4Kef is a men’s only ride

KEF JN Full page 260x330mm New Date.indd 1

27/05/2020 10:32