LIFTING SHOFAR BAN IS MUSIC TO OUR EARS, SEE PAGE 3 FR
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You dunces! How exam grades debacle shook Jewish schools Pages 4 & 5
VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY 20 August 2020
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30 Av 5780
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Issue No.1172
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It’s Shalom Abu Dhabi!
The story behind the deal P2, 10 & 11
@JewishNewsUK
Don’t be silent JN leads call for MPs to pressure China over Uighurs A Jewish News appeal to MPs to turn up the pressure on China over the plight of its Uighur Muslims this week received the backing of senior figures across the community, writes Mathilde Frot. The letter was organised in partnership with World Uighur Congress, human rights charity René Cassin and Conservative MP Nusrat Ghani. Around one million Muslims are believed to be detained in camps in Xinjiang, a region in the country’s northwest, according to human rights activists. Rights groups have accused China of abuses including forced labour and sterilisation. But Chinese authorities deny any mistreatment of the Uighur and other Muslim minority groups, saying the detention camps offer vocational training. As part of the appeal, an open letter will be sent to MPs when they return next month, carrying more than 20 signatures from Reform, Masorti and Liberal rabbis, senior community leaders and charity executives. Signed by Jewish News editor Richard Ferrer, Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl
and United Synagogue president Michael Goldstein, it calls on MPs to push for an independent investigations into alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. It also petitions MPs to push for sanctions on “state and non-state perpetrators” and for the proscription of all companies and individuals “facilitating these atrocities.” Signatories also include Union of Jewish Students president James Harris, Jewish Care chief executive officer Daniel Carmel-Brown, B’nai B’rith UK president Alan Miller and Mitzvah Day founder and chair Laura Marks. Other backers are Dr Edie Friedman, executive director of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, and Marc Cave, chief executive of the National Holocaust Centre in Nottingham. The letter says: “After the ratification of the Genocide Convention the words ‘never again’ were a common political refrain. “We have an urgent moral obligation to give meaning to these words. If we fail to act now, we will have shown them to be empty.” It describes alleged abuses as “a
A mask painted with the flag of East Turkestan, homeland of the Uighurs, silenced by the Chinese flag
crime of unimaginable violence and demands us all to respond, as individuals, countries and as an international community”. “For the Jewish community, some of the reports emerging from the region bring terrifying echoes of the Holocaust,” it reads.
ISRAELI JETS OVER DACHAU Israeli and German fighter jets performed a historic joint flyover in Germany for the first time this week. They flew in formation over the Dachau concentration camp and the site of the 1972 Munich Olympics, where 11 Israeli athletes were murdered
Earlier this month, the Chinese embassy criticised the contents of another letter, signed by senior faith leaders, demanding “justice” for China’s minority community population. The contents of the letter were “sheer rumour and smear. We strongly deplore and oppose it”, a
spokesperson for the embassy told Jewish News. “The so-called genocide and forced sterilisation is nothing but a lie,” the spokesperson added, alongside a lengthy rejection of claims made about Xinjiang. Opinion, page 18
INCLUSIVITY PROBE WIDENS The Board of Deputies will reach out to Jewish groups in the coming days as its racial inclusivity commission progresses to the next stage. The umbrella group, which has heard oral testimonies from black Jews, Jews of colour, Mizrachi, Sephardi and Yemenite Jews, is still accepting written evidence using an online form until 24 August. Commission chair Stephen Bush, political editor of the New Statesman, is expected to now speak to communal organisations, including Jewish News,
with meetings held online in next month. Bush said he was “humbled by the trust” shown by participants in “sharing painful experiences, alongside positive experiences as well”. He said: “I know that this took a lot of courage, and I want to thank everyone who has come forward. Next, I will be turning to communal institutions and inviting them to work with us, to help me and the Board of Deputies reach our goal of making the Jewish community an unequivocally anti-racist environment.”
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Jewish News 20 August 2020
News / Historic agreement
‘Delight’ at Israel-UAE deal British Jewish leaders this week gave a ringing endorsement to the announcement that Israel and the United Arab Emirates are to normalise relations, writes Stephen Oryszczuk. Board of Deputies’ president Marie van der Zyl said: “I warmly welcome the normalisation of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. This is a historic development and an important step for prosperity, peace and security in the region.” Jewish Leadership Council chair Jonathan Goldstein said it was “a wel-
come step in recognising Israel’s place among the community of nations,” adding: “This offers hope for expanding peace and cooperation between Israel and her neighbours.” Zionist Federation chair Paul Charney said the UAE deal showed that Arab states were “making it clear to the Palestinians that they are frustrated by ongoing Palestinian intransigence” by refusing to engage on Donald Trump’s peace deal. He also hit out at British Jewish critics of annexation for “submitting to pop-
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Jared Kushner (second left) listens as President Donald Trump announces the agreement at the White House
ulism” and said the UAE tie-up showed that “unilateralism can and does work”, adding that peace “is gained through strength, interests and necessity”. A spokeswoman for the
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progressive Zionist group Yachad said it was “delighted” to hear of normalising relations and that Israel will not now move forward on its annexation plans – “a dangerous move that would have
put the entire region at risk”. She said: “For years Netanyahu tried to redefine the principles of peace negotiations by demonstrating that normalisation with Arab countries does not require
Israel to make any sacrifices. Instead, this agreement reaffirms the paradigm that normalisation cannot take place alongside annexation.” The story behind the deal, pages 10, 11 & 14
DEPUTY WITHDRAWS ANNEXATION MOTION A deputy has withdrawn a motion opposing “any unilateral step by either side” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, citing the Jewish state’s accord with the UAE. But two motions about Israel remain on the agenda for a plenary meeting of the Board of Deputies, to be held on Sunday. One motion, proposed by Anthony Bolchover and seconded by Karen Solomon, vows to “welcome any mutually agreed peace settlement between Israel and its neighbours, and adopts no position on the form such a settlement should take.” The second, submitted by Adrian Cohen and seconded by Ben Crowne, backs a “secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state”
while opposing “boycotts that divide communities.” Chigwell and Hainault Synagogue deputy Tal Ofer announced on Tuesday his decision to remove his motion “due to recent developments between Israel and UAE and the freeze of #Annexation.” “I will continue to support the two-state solution and if necessary will bring this motion in future,” he wrote on Twitter. Ofer’s withdrawn motion was submitted earlier this summer amid growing division over whether the British Jewish umbrella group should publicly oppose Israel’s reported plans to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank.
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Tel Aviv’s City Hall is lit up with the UAE flag to mark the historic moment
20 August 2020 Jewish News
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Shofar cleared / Labour antisemitism / News
Blow your own horn A ban on blowing wind instruments in places of worship has been lifted for congregation leaders, but not worshippers, writes Mathilde Frot. The ban, across England, would have included the shofar, traditionally blown on Rosh Hashanah and after Yom Kippur. Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl expressed gratitude for the change, effective from last Saturday. The Jewish umbrella group was in talks with government last week. “This will be welcome news across the Jewish community. Nevertheless, we continue to urge everyone to observe all health regulations so that we can all have a happier and healthier New Year,” she said. But the Reform movement is advising shuls to find alternatives to in-person gatherings over the High Holy Days and warned against a “two-tier system” favouring non-vulnerable members. “We are particularly motivated by not wishing to spread this disease, in awareness of the limits of social distancing with such big numbers for the High Holy Days, and not wishing to create a two-tier system where some members are able to attend in person and more vulnerable community members can only follow along online,” a movement spokesperson said on Monday. United Synagogue guidance recently shared with congregation leaders includes
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg sounds the shofar at home
a three metre rule, but the distance extends to four metres if the shofar blower is on a platform. Rooms must be well ventilated, and the shofar blower must be asymptomatic and not blow the instrument towards someone else’s face. The guidance suggests using a perspex screen as an extra barrier and requires the shofar to be cleaned before and after use. The latest government advice permits
small groups of singers to perform in front of worshippers, even indoors, but with no audience participation. Worshippers should avoid singing, chanting, shouting and playing instruments to avoid an increased risk of transmission. The guidance, which permits indoor theatre to resume with precautions, says the UK is in stage four of a five-step plan for the return of performing arts.
WHISTLEBLOWERS SAY THANKS TO COMMUNITY emotional support offered by the Labour Party’s Jewish affiliate, as well as the Jewish Leadership Council and the Community Security Trust. The letter thanks the Jewish Labour Movement’s legal team and their own team led by media lawyer Mark Lewis. It adds, in reference to Jewish News, that “if it was not for this newspaper and other Jewish media not giving up when others might, much of this story may never have been exposed to public scrutiny.” The letter also says that “antisemitism should never have appeared in a modern progressive political party. “That it did should shame all of us who carried a Labour Party membership card. We regret that we were unable to completely stem that tide during our time as employees of the party,” it reads. Labour last month received the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s draft report into alleged antisemitism, expected to be published later this year. Opinion, page 16
Seven of the whistleblowers who spoke out in a BBC Panorama investigation against the Labour Party’s handling of antisemitism cases have thanked the community for its support, writes Mathilde Frot. This summer the party issued a public apology to the former officials for making “defamatory and false” claims about them after they appeared on the episode entitled ‘Is Labour Anti-Semitic?’ in July 2019. Now a letter, addressed to Jewish News readers, places “on record our thanks to the Jewish community for the support we have received” over the last 12 months. The letter was signed by Kat Buckingham, Mike Creighton, Dan Hogan, Sam Matthews, Martha Robinson, Ben Westerman and Louise Withers Green “Prior to Panorama, few of us had much interaction with the Jewish community,” it says. But the whistleblowers “felt that there was a strong public interest in ensuring the whole truth was told”. They note the “practical” and
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Jewish News 20 August 2020
News / A-level fiasco
Warning over ‘extreme stress’ put on students
HOW THE ALGORITHM SKEWED RESULTS »» JFS reported a quarter of A-level grades were marked down. »» 31 percent of Yavneh College pupils achieved all A or A*. »» 87 percent of grades at Immanuel College were between A* and B. »» One third of JFS students obtained all A* and A grades. »» 49 percent of all JCoSS grades were between A* and A. »» 78 percent of JCoSS grades were between A* and B.
The “extreme” stress for A-level students caused by the government’s initial grading system could have been avoided “a lot sooner,” writes Mathilde Frot. That was the message this week from the umbrella group representing Jewish schools in the UK after exam regulator Ofqual announced a switch to centre-assessed grades for AS, A-level and GCSE pupils. This year’s GCSE and A-level exams were cancelled to curb the spread of the pandemic. Close to 40 percent of teacher assessed grades in England were marked down by regulator Ofqual using an algorithm, sparking wide- improved,” PaJeS added. spread criticism of Education Secretary Speaking prior to GCSE results day on Gavin Williamson. Thursday, Ofqual chairman Roger Taylor apoloPaJeS (Partnerships for Jewish gised for the uncertainty and anxiety caused by Schools) said in a statement: “These the grading approach. past few days have put a significant He said: “Our goal has always been to protect number of school leavers under the trust that the public rightly has in educaextreme stress – a situation tional qualifications. that could have been avoided or “But we recognise that while the approach ameliorated a lot sooner. we adopted attempted to achieve these goals “We hope that using centre- we also appreciate that it has also caused real assessed grades addresses some anguish and damaged public confidence. of the concerns that have been “Expecting schools to submit appeals raised and acknowledges the where grades were incorrect placed a burden Students celebrate grades as Ofqual apologised for the ‘real anguish’ caused. Inset: Gavin Williamson hard work of students over the on teachers when they need to be preparing past two years.” for the new term and has created uncertainty PaJeS said teachers in Jewish schools “who and anxiety for students. For all of that, we are spent hours applying professional judgment to extremely sorry.” produce centre assessed grades to best reflect Editorial comment, page 16 student attainment will feel vindicated for their students”. PaJeS also said the U-turn highlights an “over-reliance on the outcomes of examinations” and suggested it might be time to consider additional assessing methods. “It is time now to take action to ensure that next year’s GCSEs and A-level results are not impacted in the same way as it is clear that the actions taken to date are inadequate and need to be A-level students protesting outside Parliament this week
Yavneh College A*s
Ben Gruneberg: A*A*A*A*
Sophie Horne: A*A*A*A
Daniella Khalastchi: A*A*A*A
20 August 2020 Jewish News
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A-level fiasco / News
Pupils ‘robbed’ of academic rewards The head of Kantor King Solomon in Barkingside has criticised the way exams were moderated this year for denying pupils the chance to show what they had learned. Speaking before the government’s U-turn earlier this week, Hannele Reece, who heads the modern Orthodox comprehensive, said she was “disappointed that the cancellation of examinations led to a system that robbed our students of the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities”. She said the “debacle around the
way students’ results were calculated led to a situation where they were judged on the basis of a moderation system that had not seen any of their work.” “Having already coped with the challenges of Covid-19 and unprecedented school closures they were asked to accept results that may determine their futures on the basis of a statistical exercise,” she added. But some Jewish schools reported “excellent” results. At JCoSS in Barnet, 49 percent of all initial grades were A* or A. A total of
78 percent of grades were between A* and B, the school said. Headteacher Patrick Moriarty added: “We are both relieved and delighted that these excellent results recognise [our pupils’] huge strengths.” Immanuel College reported 87 percent of grades between A* and B, with 31 percent of A*s. Headteacher Gary Griffin said he was “delighted” for students, who “worked so diligently and effectively over their two years in the sixth form.” Close to one third of Yavneh College pupils (31 percent) achieved all
Concern: Kantor King Solomon headteacher Hannele Reece
A or A*, with 100 percent of grades A* to C, and 89 percent of grades A* to B, the school said. JFS reported a quarter of grades were initially marked down, suggesting the discrepancy to be less than national figures. One third of students got all A* and A grades. Over half
of grades were between A* and A, while 77.3 percent were between A* and B. Fourteen JFS pupils secured places at Oxbridge and six accepted to medical school. Hasmonean said “the vast majority” got the grades needed for university or continue career paths”.
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A survey has shown the impact of a charity that has sent Jewish children’s books to families during the virus lockdown, with those least engaged in Jewish communal life most likely to benefit. The PJ Library poll of 600 recipients found that 58 percent were less ensconced in organised Jewish life, such as those for whom Hebrew or Russian is a first language. The US-based charity, which receives support from Genesis Philanthropy Group, continued sending monthly books and resources to subscriber families
across the UK during lockdown, and wanted to gauge its impact. Efforts have been made to share the books with families not otherwise engaged in Jewish community life, and 58 percent of recipients identified as “least likely to be engaged”, including those living outside big cities. Among this group, 48 percent said PJ Library was the only or one of the few ways their family could learn about Jewish values and traditions. GPG chief executive Marina Yudborovsky said the power of family reading “never ceases to amaze us”.
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Jewish News 20 August 2020
News / Far-right warning / Online denial
New far-right group promotes Jew hate Anti-fascist campaigners in the UK have warned of a virulent new far-right group that spreads Holocaust denial in its efforts to push a white nationalist agenda, writes Adam Decker. Researchers at Hope Not Hate reported this week on the threat from Patriotic Alternative (PA), an antisemitic group attracting neo-Nazi adherents created in 2019 by Mark Collett, former head of publicity for the British National Party. Hope Not Hate researcher Simon Murdoch said: “Collett is a longstanding antisemite who has spoken sympathetically of Nazi Germany, described the Holocaust
as the ‘alleged extermination of six million Jews’, and has regularly collaborated with David Duke, a former leader in the Ku Klux Klan.” PA is described in the report as “a racist far-right organisation with antisemitism at its very core” which aims to combat what it says is the “replacement and displacement” of white Britons by people who “have no right to these lands”. Its supporters hold fast to a conspiracy theory that Jewish elites are the driving force behind this ‘replacement and displacement’. PA’s manifesto says: “No minority should ever be allowed to wield
disproportionate power over the British people or hold disproportionate influence over or within the government.” In a nod to some well-worn antisemitic tropes, the group warns of “unscrupulous lenders or predatory providers of financial services” and says Britain “should never be used as a pawn for foreign powers”. Several members were unabashed about their Holocaust denial in group messages, the Hope Not Hate report detailed. One wrote: “A factoid is a claim that is widely accepted as fact through repetition but isn’t necessarily (and often isn’t) true, such as the Holocaust.”
Algorithms ‘actively promote’ denial British researchers have said pushing Holocaust denial, Media Jakob Guhl and Jacob social media platforms “only are contained in a report Davey examined how Shoah serve to amplify and main- published by the Institute denial content was “readily stream” Holocaust denial, for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), accessible” across Facebook, with Facebook algorithms a London-based think-tank, Twitter and Reddit. “actively promoting” it, following an investigation. Of the 36 Facebook groups, writes Adam Decker. In Hosting the ‘Holo- totalling 366,000 followers, The findings, which hoax’: A Snapshot of Holo- nine were far-right commuinclude 36 Facebook groups caust 1Denial Across Social HALF PAGE ADVERT JAN 2020:Layout 09/01/2020 16:04 Page 1nities, seven were described
as “anti-Zionist”, 13 hosted conspiracy theorists, five comprised Palestinian supporters, one was Islamist, and one was Christian. They found that typing “holocaust” into the Facebook search function brought up suggestions for
Mark Collett with the group’s deputy director Laura Towler
denial pages, which then recommended links to publishers selling work casting doubt on the Holocaust, as well as pages relating to the convicted Holocaust denier David Irving. The report said: “Using a ‘snowball’ discovery method we found that when a user follows public pages containing Holocaust denial
content, Facebook actively promotes further denial content to that user.” Denying the Holocaust is only illegal in some countries, such as Germany, Poland and France, so Facebook says it aims to “strike a balance” between free speech and hate speech, only removing Holocaust celebration and justification.
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20 August 2020 Jewish News
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Boys are back / Lebanon aid / News
Rinder retells the story of The Boys Exactly 75 years after The Boys began new lives in England, the 732 orphaned child survivors of the Holocaust have had their powerful story commemorated in a new short film narrated by TV personality Robert Rinder. The three-minute video, released by World Jewish Relief and the ’45 Aid Society, marks the anniversary of 14 August, when 305 young survivors were flown to Crosby-onEden near Carlisle on Royal Army Force aircraft. The remainder of the group – known as The Boys but including many girls – arrived in subsequent trips. Rinder paid tribute to his grandfather Morris Malinicky, a Polish Holocaust survivor of Buchenwald and Schlieben concentration camps, who was among those who were brought to recuperate in Lake
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Robert Rinder with his ‘beloved zayde’ Morris
Windermere. “My beloved zayde was gifted a chance to come to this country, to come to heaven from the hell of the Holocaust,” Rinder said. “That happened for him and over 700 other young people because of the work of the Jewish community, World Jewish Relief and then a family that was born out of it, The Boys.”
The Boys – including Ben Helfgott, who went on to captain Britain in weightlighting at two Olympic Games – went on to build lasting friendships. They also formed the ’45 Aid Society, which is now run by descendants but has raised thousands of pounds for charity and continues to deliver a Holocaust education programme.
Spellbinding Hebrew exhibit
16th century spells, at the British Library
From escaping demons to catching thieves, the British Library’s new Hebrew exhibition promises to be spellbinding when it finally opens next month. A 16th century spell book claiming to have 125 magical and medical answers to life’s dilemmas is among the treasured Hebrew manuscripts set to go on display at the British Library. The Hebrew Manuscripts: Journeys of the Written Word exhibition, delayed from its initial March opening until 1 September, showcases manuscripts, some of which date to the 10th century, many displayed for the first time.
The volumes, which span topics such as science, alchemy, religion and philosophy, were produced in diaspora communities across Europe, north Africa, the Middle East and China. “Written culture is one of the most important bonds connecting Jewish communities all around the world,” says lead curator Ilana Tahan. “Jewish writings reflect the diasporic communities of the Jewish people, taking inspiration from and interacting with local cultures and shaping local stories and ideas in return. We are thrilled to be able to display many of these incredible items for the first time, and hope visitors enjoy these journeys of the written word.” Exhibition highlights include a letter written in 1530 by an Italian rabbi. Addressed to Henry VIII, it lays out a biblical rationale for annulling his marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. An ornate ketubah from Calcutta dated 1881 is also on display. Other treasured items are a 13th century copy of the Babylonian Talmud and what is thought to be the earliest dated copy of a book of theology by Sephardic philosopher Moses Maimonides.
BOREHAMWOOD TO BEIRUT A small charity in Borehamwood supported by London’s Jewish community is asking for £3,400 to cover the costs of shipping emergency medical aid to Beirut. Goods for Good, founded by Roz Bluestone, said it was sending 8,520 treatments to the Lebanese capital after its port was torn apart by an
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explosion this month, the blast damaging several hospitals. “We have been working to help support our partners on the ground to deliver urgent medical aid,” said the charity’s Stephanie Rukin. “We need help to make this happen. These are vulnerable people who lost eve-
rything in a second.” Access to medicines in Lebanon is precarious, since the coronavirus-hit country, which has the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, is essentially bankrupt. Mass protests against corruption and mismanagement followed the blast, causing the government to resign.
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News / Refugee tragedy / Israel restriction / Services online
Dubbs urges ‘sympathy’ Labour peer Lord Dubs has called on the UK to be “more sympathetic” towards migrant children after the body of a Sudanese teen was discovered on a French beach. The 16-year-old migrant was found dead on Wednesday morning after officials were told a makeshift boat had capsized at sea. Home Secretary Priti Patel, who has pledged to make the route “unviable”, said the death was “an upsetting and tragic
Lord Dubs with campaigners for refugees
loss of a young life”. “This horrendous incident serves as a brutal reminder of the abhorrent criminal gangs
and people smugglers who exploit vulnerable people,” she added. Lord Dubs, who fled the Nazis on the Kinder-
transport, urged Patel to adopt a more welcoming stance towards migrant children, particularly those with family in the UK. “We should be more sympathetic to some of the children who want to come here, often to join relatives in this country, and so it’s up to Priti Patel to say ‘look we’ll welcome these people, if they’ve got family here particularly, some of them may be unaccompanied, and cooperate with France to bring them over,” he said.
No quarantine for returning Israelis Israelis returning from the UK no longer have to quarantine. The health ministry this week designated 20 countries including Britain, Canada and Greece as ‘green’, writes Jack Mendel. The ministry confirmed: “There is no duty to go into isolation if you arrive in Israel from a ‘green’ location, as long as you did not stay in a ‘red’ location during a 14-day period before your flight to Israel.” Israelis were also told that from
Israel has removed the restriction
Sunday they can travel to Greece, Croatia and Bulgaria, without having to isolate. The Israeli
embassy in London told Jewish News: “We would like to reiterate that the government of Israel’s regulations on individuals eligible to enter Israel has not changed.” The Foreign Office advises British nationals against all but essential international travel, and has produced a list of countries exempt from this advice, which does not include Israel. This means those travelling to Israel need to self-isolate on return.
ONLINE FOR YOMTOV Maidenhead synagogue has become one of the first shuls in the country to announce it will only provide online services for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, writes James Martin. Rabbi Jonathan Romain, of the Reform synagogue, said: “The decision to live-stream was taken reluctantly but it will not be possible to hold gatherings of several hundred people inside the shul building.” To make it more authentic he is asking con- Rabbi Jonathan Romain gregants to “put on shul clothes, sit on a chair and wear a tallit”. He added: “There will be a chance to say hello to each other in a Zoom kiddush after.” The United Synagogue is consulting members of its shuls about their approach to holding services. Adaptations will include shofar-blowing taking place outdoors and holding several different services at the same time.
Abuse victims ‘not ostracised’ A senior Charedi leader has told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse that Jewish sexual abuse victims are not ostracised, directly contradicting statements from victims and support groups. Rabbi Jehuda Baumgarten, 72, heads the education committee the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, and said that around 20,000 Charedi children came under the Union’s auspices. He said he “did not recognise” claims by organisations such as Migdal Emunah that victims who report their abuse are ostracised,
saying: “The Union has never been involved in ostracising. Victims are not ostracised. On the contrary, they are helped and guided in a way that they should not be damaged for life.” Baumgarten also flatly denied the accusation levelled by child sexual abuse victim Yehudis Goldsobel that rabbis put the needs of the community ahead of the needs of victims, saying: “I do not recognise that and cannot see that is the case.” Baumgarten is among the most senior Charedi figures and responsible for child safety Opinion, page 16
20 August 2020 Jewish News
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US election / Auschwitz donation / Buxton dies/ News WORLD NEWS BRIEFS
ISRAEL ‘PARTNER’ ON RUSSIA VACCINE The director of Hadassah hospital in Israel said his institution’s branch in Moscow is a “partner” in the development of what President Vladimir Putin called the world’s first effective coronavirus vaccine. Dr Zeev Rotstein was speaking to an Israeli radio station shortly after Putin’s assertion that the vaccine has been successfully tried on humans, including his daughter. Hadassah “is a partner in the clinical trials of the new Russian vaccine,” Rotstein said. “We’re examining firstly safety levels, it’ll take time.” Hadassah’s work in Russia is unconnected to Israeli efforts to develop its own vaccine, Rotstein said.
US VETOES EMBARGO EXTENSION ON IRAN The United Nations Security Council voted against a USdrafted resolution to extend the international arms embargo on Iran. Russia and China opposed the proposal. Only the United States and the Dominican Republic voted for the resolution. Britain, France and Germany were among the 11 abstentions. A resolution requires at least nine ‘yes’ votes and no vetoes in order to pass. The weapons ban is set to expire in October as part of the 2015 nuclear deal.
Trump ‘stoking antisemitism’ Democrats held their virtual convention this week with appeals for a once-fractured party to come together and oust Donald Trump from the US presidency, making a case that the racial divisions they say Trump stokes are ripping the country apart. One of the most pointed appeals for unity Monday night came from Bernie Sanders, the Jewish senator from Vermont who was the most serious rival to the eventual nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden. Sanders, given one of the longest speaking slots, appealed to his progressive followers to embrace Biden, a centrist. Sanders endorsed
Biden in March after a divisive primary season, but party leaders fear that the Vermont senator’s followers remain skeptical of Biden. “Together we must build a nation that is more equitable, more compassionate, and more inclusive,” Sanders said. “I know that Joe Biden will begin that fight on day one.” He said Biden would advance health care protections, raise the minimum wage and protect infrastructure, and then he pivoted to what was a major theme of the evening, the racial divisions Democrats say Trump has spurred with bigoted policies and statements.
“To heal the soul of our nation, Joe Biden will end the hate and division Trump has created,” Sanders said. “He will stop the demonisation of immigrants, the coddling of white nationalists, the racist dog-whistling, the religious bigotry, and the ugly attacks on women.” The deadly march by neoNazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 took center stage. The convention — all virtual, because of limitations imposed by the coronavirus pandemic — started with a montage of unrest that included both the Charlottesville march and the recent Black Lives Matter protests.
Democratic candidate Joe Biden with Kamala Harris
Biden made Charlottesville a central feature of his campaign at its launch in April 2019, saying he decided to run primarily because of Trump’s equivocations over the issue.
Last week, Biden announced his selection of Kamala Harris, a Black woman, as his running mate on the third anniversary of that march.
Footballers donate £61k to camp
Germans Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich
A German organisation that two professional football players established to fight the coronavirus has donated £61,000 ($80,000) to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland. The WeKickCorona Initiative, set up by Bayern Munich players Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich, gave the money after the museum asked for public con-
Tennis champ who fought racism dies A Jewish Wimbledon champion who won the women’s doubles in 1956 before fighting antisemitism in the sport has died aged 85, writes Jack Mendel. Angela Buxton, who won the championship in 1956 with her American partner Althea Gibson, claimed that she was refused entry to join the All England Club because of her faith. In July 2019, Buxton told The Sunday Times the refusal was “an unfortunate example of how the British really treat Jews in this country. “This sort of thing exacerbates the feeling towards Jews. It’s perfectly ridiculous, it’s laughable. It speaks volumes.” The club disagreed with Buxton’s claim at the time, saying: “While the decision-making process for membership of the All England Club is a private matter, we strongly refute any suggestion that race or religion plays a factor,” a statement from the club said, according to The Daily Mail. Buxton also said she had experienced antisemitism during her career. Bruce Schoenfeld in his book The Match: How Two Outsiders — One Black, the Other Jewish — Forged a Friendship and Made Sports History reported that Simon Marks, the Jewish owner of the department store Marks & Spencer, allowed her to practise on his tennis court. As a teenager, Buxton applied to join the Cumberland Club, the top tennis facility in north London. Coach Bill Blake reportedly rejected Buxton, saying: “You’re perfectly good, but you’re Jewish. We don’t take Jews here.”
tributions in the wake of the pandemic, which has paralysed tourism. “Auschwitz is part of our history and its memory is omnipresent 75 years after the end of the war. “We are all challenged to ensure that one of the darkest chapters in human history does not repeat itself. It is a matter close to our hearts to help ensure that the cul-
ture of remembrance is upheld even in the corona pandemic,” the WeKickCorona Initiative said in a statement. Kimmich and Goretzka are both 25 and both play for the German national team as well. More than 1.5 million people, most of them Jews, were murdered at the Auschwitz concentration camp in occupied Poland.
Definition ‘on track’ The leader of a local authority in Hertfordshire under growing pressure to adopt an international definition of antisemitism has sought to reassure Jewish leaders this week. Three Rivers District Council leader Sarah Nelmes told Jewish News on Wednesday the authority is “on track” to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism at a meeting, expected to be held on 1 September, adding that she was not “anticipating” any opposition. The local authority recently drew media coverage after local synagogue leaders criticised its “continuing failure” to adopt the definition.
Councillors in the Liberal Democrat-led council were set to debate whether to adopt the definition during a meeting last month, but instead the authority voted to withdraw all motions about racial equality while a subcommittee discusses changes to its equality policy. Council leader Sarah Nelmes expressed “regret” at the time over the delay. This week a letter sent to councillor Nelmes, signed by the communal leaders, warned against further delay. In response, councillor Nelmes said: “I can confirm that we are due to adopt the definition at a meeting on 1 September. ”
LIPMAN ON BEING BEATTIE
Buxton on her way to Wimbledon victory in 1956
one woman’s recollection, from Maureen Lipman has opened the Holocaust to the Six-Day up about her role as doting War, and slightly beyond, Jewish grandmother and how she comes to make Beattie in British Telecom’s a stand herself, rather than 1980s adverts which catajust survive”. pulted her from a “jobbing In the interview, Lipman actress to a Jewish actress”. said the BT ads, which The actress, who plays “suddenly turned me Evelyn Plummer in CoroLipman as Beattie from a jobbing actress to a nation Street, spoke to the Guardian about her role in a revival of Jewish actress”. Beattie made a comeback last year Martin Sherman’s one-woman play Rose, which premieres on 10 Sep- in a clip criticising the Labour Party, produced by a campaign led by former tember. The play, she says, tells the “story of MP Ian Austin.
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News / Israel–UAE agreement
‘Greatest triumph in 26 years’ World leaders congratulated Israel and the United Arab Emirates this week after they announced the historic “normalisation of relations” between them, writes Stephen Oryszczuk. The landmark moment was delivered in a joint statement with the United States and heralds a new era of diplomatic and economic connections between Jerusalem and the Gulf states, which took political analysts by surprise. The letter, posted online by Donald Trump, said Israel and the UAE “share a similar outlook regarding threats and opportunities in the region”, in reference to Iran and its proxies. Describing it as “a historic diplomatic breakthrough” that required “courage” from both Israel and Abu Dhabi, they said agreements would be signed in the coming week that would cover investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecoms, energy, healthcare, the environment “and other areas of mutual benefit”. However, Israel’s large settler movement hit out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because the tie-up appeared conditional on Israel not going ahead with plans to annex large chunks of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley. This week the UAE removed the ban on incoming calls from Israeli telephone numbers, an Emirati and Israeli company signed the first bilateral commercial agreement and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin invited Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Jerusalem. Netanyahu said the agreement was “the greatest advancement toward peace between Israel and the Arab world in the last 26 years” but added that there was no change in his plan to impose Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank. Trump seemed to contradict him, however, saying Israel had agreed not to annex parts of the West Bank and that this was “more than just off the table”. Likewise, the Crown Prince tweeted that “during a call with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, an agreement was reached to stop further Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories”. He added: “The UAE and Israel also agreed to cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship.” The Palestinian Authority reacted angrily, withdrawing its envoys from Abu Dhabi and calling an urgent meeting of the Arab League. Hamas and Fatah said they “stood as one” against the normalisation of relations. The letter said there would follow the crea-
Pictures of Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are burnt at a protest in Gaza City
tion of an Emirati embassy in Israel and an Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi – a first for both Gulf states and Jerusalem – and that annexation was now suspended. “As a result of this historic breakthrough and at the request of President Trump with the support of the United Arab Emirates, Israel will now suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the President’s Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.” Israel and UAE recently raised eyebrows by agreeing to work together on medical efforts to combat the coronavirus, including a vaccine, and said they would “immediately expand and accelerate cooperation” in this area. Other Sunni Muslim kingdoms in the Gulf and beyond may soon follow the UAE’s lead in normalising relations with Israel, with analysts suggesting that Bahrain and Oman may be next. The three signatories said they were “confident of additional diplomatic breakthroughs” in the
region. Israel’s Defence Minister Benny Gantz said: “This agreement demonstrates the alliance between countries in the region who are interested in prosperity and regional stability, and it stresses Israel’s eternal ambition for peace with its neighbours”. Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said it was “proof that negotiations and agreements, not unilateral steps like annexation, which would harm Israel’s security, are the way forward for our diplomatic relations”. Former settler leader Naftali Bennett said: “It is unfortunate that Netanyahu has squandered the chance to extend sovereignty to the Jordan Valley, Malleh Adumim, Beit El and the rest of the settlements.” Likewise, the rightwing Sovereignty Movement of settler activists said Netanyahu had “turned to the left, perhaps due to his legal troubles,” adding: “Under his leadership the Land of Israel has become a currency for trade.” Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson
described the agreement as “hugely good news” while US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden praised the UAE’s acceptance as a “welcome, brave and badly-needed act of statesmanship”. The move was also welcomed by Bahrain and Egypt, but Iran’s foreign ministry denounced it as “shameful” while Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was considering suspending ties with the UAE. “History and the conscience of the region’s peoples will not forget and never forgive this hypocritical behaviour of the UAE, betraying the Palestinian cause for the sake of its narrow interests,” he said. “It is extremely worrying that the UAE should, with a unilateral action, try and do away with the [2002] Arab Peace Plan developed by the Arab League. It is not in the slightest credible that this three-way declaration should be presented as supporting the Palestinian cause.” Editorial comment, page 14
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Israel–UAE agreement / News
ORIGINS OF THE DEAL DATE Three-way gain as Israel BACK TO 2009 IRAN TALKS finally earns acceptance Israeli and Emirati leaders knew they were on the same page on Iran back in 2009 when, in a meeting with new US President Barack Obama’s new Middle East envoy, their representatives both advised that he take a tough line. The journey to friendship suffered a diversion in 2010 when Hamas commander Mahmoud alMabhouh was killed in Dubai in an operation attributed to the Mossad. In 2012, Benjamin Netanyahu secretly met UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in New York, when he was told there would be no official warming of relations without a peace deal with the Palestinians. At a lunch four years later, where bin Zayed was the guest speaker, then Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni was told the same thing by her UAE counterpart. Those familiar with the rapprochement say the Emiratis spurned numerous meeting invites with Israelis, but the two states’ shared anger at Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 spurred contact. Israel opened an official diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi, to the
Iranian President Rouhani
International Renewable Energy Agency, later that year. In 2017, the UAE arranged a meeting between the Israelis and Libyan warlord General Khalifa Haftar, who controls the east of the country. Abu Dhabi had thrown its weight behind the strongman and wanted Israel to give him weapons. In 2018, the UAE was again hosting secret meetings, this time between Israeli and Turkish envoys, the Emiratis seeking a de-escalation between the countries: months earlier, each had pulled its ambassador. Later that year, Dubai’s 150-
strong business-oriented Jewish community inaugurated the Emirate’s first synagogue, precipitating what a British scholar has called “a religious glasnost” in the UAE. In 2019, Israeli and Emirati representatives met in the US to discuss their positions on Iran, where the possibility of a “non-aggression pact” between Israel and Abu Dhabi was first mooted. Early in 2020 relations looked to have hit a snag, when a confidant of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan hit out against Israeli annexation as “illegal” and undermining efforts for peace. He also rejected Netanyahu’s belief that Arab countries would accept it. Cue the coronavirus and an announcement that scientists from both countries would be working together on a vaccine. Around the same time, in June, Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE ambassador to the US, reportedly approached Jared Kushner and White House envoy Avi Berkowitz with a proposal: the UAE would normalise relations with Israel if annexation came off the table. It didn’t take long for Netanyahu to say yes.
STEPHEN ORYSZCZUK FOREIGN EDITOR, JEWISH NEWS
New relations with the UAE are Israel’s gateway to a world that is supposed to hate it and everything it stands for. While the madrassas may still preach that line, Gulf leaders have long known that Israel is an ally worth having. Now, for the first time, Israelis are to be invited in through the front door. In myriad industries and arenas, this is the opportunity of a generation. Seven decades after crow-barring its way into the region, the Gulf diehards finally accept the State of Israel, yet this is a deal that works well three ways. For Donald Trump, facing defeat to Joe Biden, he gets to show wouldbe benefactors a certificate that says he did something to advance Middle East peace. Until now, he only had the shredded remnants of Obama’s nuclear deal and his son-in-law’s peace push that nobody liked. Now, a Nobel Prize awaits. He must scarcely believe it. For the UAE, Abu Dhabi can say it saved the West Bank from being annexed while accessing Israeli knowhow and making a powerful new friend. It can also now make Israeli-Gulf
introductions, all thanks to the Crown Prince managing public perception, inching Emiratis towards acceptance. For Netanyahu, facing protests and a corruption trial, this ticks a lot of timely boxes too. Despite what he says, he really doesn’t want the hassle of annexation. Now he gets to put it on the backburner to tackle a second wave of Covid-19 infections while claiming that the prize for pausing on sovereignty claims is a game-changing détente that only he could have pulled off. It’s a big moment for everyone, and for the region. For eight years I’ve been reporting on ‘under-the-radar’ IsraeliGulf contacts, with security types all telling the same story – that relations are deep, and in sensitive areas, like security. If you don’t trust a culture, nation, leader or religion, trust in common aims: in this case keeping Iran and its proxies in their boxes. As Trump laps up the applause, as Israelis and Emiratis go public with their affair, and as diplomats drool over the prospect of a peace treaty later down the line, the world absorbs a remarkable feat, one whose back story will no doubt be told by dinner party speakers over the next three decades, but whose effects will be felt for much, much longer.
Bin Zayed: pragmatic diplomat Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 59, has ruled the Emirate of Abu Dhabi since 2004 and been among the region’s most outward-facing rulers, developing relations with countries such as France, Singapore and Russia. Bin Zayed, better known as MBZ, is a soldier who trained at Britain’s Sandhurst military academy in 1979 and later hosted the Queen in Abu Dhabi in 2010. In power he has proved a master at geopolitical positioning, rubbing all the right shoulders and even mediating between Washington and Moscow. In foreign affairs, he is hawkish and interventionist, driving military efforts to remove the Iran-backed Houthi militia from Yemen
and also getting involved in Libya. While he tends to get things done quietly, he can be loud when needed, such as when voicing public anger at President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. In the Gulf and beyond his words are heeded. Former senior Saudi spy Saad Jabri said this is especially true for the young Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (known as MBS), whose approach to the civil war in Syria was reportedly “flipped” by MBZ in 2015, from backing an assortment of rebels to secretly backing Russia’s involvement. At home MBZ has sharply cracked down on Islamists while projecting a public image of tolerance.
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World News / Ambulance demand / News briefs NEWS IN BRIEF
ISRAEL TESTS OUT NEW DEFENCE TECH Israeli missile manufacturers successfully tested the new Arrow 2 Weapon System over central Israel, with ministers saying it represented an advance in the country’s defences. The hypersonic weapon developed jointly with American teams, successfully intercepted a Sparrow long-range surface-to-surface missile in a test conducted last week. Defence Minister Benny Gantz said: “Our elite technological unit ensures we will always be one step ahead of our enemies.”
ANCIENT CREMATION SITE IS UNEARTHED Scientists working on an archaeological site in northern Israel have found evidence that ancient societies cremated their dead as far back as 9,000 years ago. Researchers came across a charred corpse in a pyre-pit specifically designed for cremation at the Neolithic site of Beisamoun, dating both the skeleton and fragments of plants burned at the same time. The open pit with strong insulating walls was revealed as scientists showed from the bones that the adult male was cremated.
Emergency calls in Israel triple Israel’s leading emergency service says its call centres are registering a “significant increase” in inquiries, at almost three times its normal level, writes Adam Decker. Magen David Adom (MDA) took 16,237 calls this week, up 270 percent, as it revealed that its testing for coronavirus now encompassed around a tenth of the Israeli population, at 871,931 people. MDA teams have been taking samples in private homes, clinics, hospitals, care homes, schools and drive-in centres, with paramedics and technicians sampling more than 73,000 people last week. The country is currently experiencing the largest spike in coronavirus deaths since the outbreak began,
with 1,819 new cases confirmed last Wednesday alone. A total of 643 Israelis have so far died of Covid-19, amid almost 89,000 confirmed infections. Such is the severity of the country’s second wave, exacerbated by Netanyahu’s early relaxation of restrictions, that only four countries currently allow entry to Israelis. Israel’s emergency services organisation said its call centres were seeing a “significant increase” at almost three times expected levels. Protests against Netanyahu’s handling of the crisis have continued throughout Israel’s major cities, as aid agencies worry about the spread of the virus through the West Bank and Gaza.
Israel’s Health Minister Yuli Edelstein at MDA in Kiryat Ono this week
Ukraine to recognise festivals
Ukraine looks set to grant Pesach, Chanukah and Rosh Hashanah official holiday status, according to the country’s president. Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the announcement in a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week, during which the two leaders also discussed an Israel-
Ukraine trade agreement. In a statement from the president’s office, Zelenskyy’s spokesman said the Ukrainian leader had congratulated Netanyahu on last week’s announcement that Israel and the United Arab Emirates were normalising ties. After updating Netanyahu on the stalemate military position against Russian-backed
rebels in the east of Ukraine, Zelenskyy paid tribute to the UAE tie-up as “an historic achievement and a clear example of the opportunities for dialogue and diplomacy that other countries in the region can follow”. He was speaking on the day Ukraine registered its highest daily total of confirmed coronavirus cases.
ANTI-VIRUS BLING Israeli jewellers Orna and Isaac Levy have designed the world’s most expensive coronavirus mask with a price tag of £1.2million. It was made for a Chinese millionaire from Shanghai. The Levys are the founders of the Jerusalembased jewellery brand Yvel, which is renowned for employing Ethiopian immigrants.
20 August 2020 Jewish News
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Tirana remembers / Redstone mourned / Sephardi boost / Diaspora News
Survivor architect builds new Albanian memorial saved Jewish lives during the Second World War. Born Stefan Jakubowicz in the Polish city of Lodz, Jacobs and his secular family moved to Piotrków, later the site of the first Nazi ghetto housing 25,000 people, which was liquidated in 1942. Aged five, he was then sent to Buchenwald. Jacobs has told of “fleeting memories” spent at the camp’s shoemaker’s shop or hiding in the tuberculosis ward of the camp hospital, where his father worked. His family survived and moved to the United States after its liberation on 11 April 1945. The only Holocaust survivor to design a stone memorial, he was asked in the late 1990s to come up with the Buchenwald Holocaust Memorial by the US Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad. The memorial was in the ‘Little Camp’ area of Buchen-
Your weekly digest of stories from the international press
Photo by Stephen B. Jacobs
A feted New York architect who rose to prominence after surviving Buchenwald has spoken of his experience designing a Holocaust memorial for the Grand Park in the Albanian capital of Tirana. Stephen B Jacobs, 81, whose memorial incorporating three stone plaques was opened last month, told JTA that it was “not simply about designing… it was a personal experience”. The plaques, inscribed in Albanian, English and Hebrew, showcase the stories of Albanians who saved Jews during the Holocaust. Jacobs said he agreed to help when he learned that the Muslim-majority state was the only country in Europe with more Jews after the war than before. “I thought this was a very important story that needed to be told,” he said, in a reference to the relative lack of international recognition for Albanians who
WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF
The Holocaust memorial in Tirana’s Grand Park
wald, where Jews were mostly confined, and inaugurated in 2002, on the 57th anniversary of the camp’s liberation. “Albania was more remote, because I wasn’t there,” he said. “I didn’t know much about Albania before. I certainly didn’t know the story.” Holocaust memorials in the former Soviet Union “tend to be one of two extremes,”
he said. “Either heroic or so totally abstract that the lay viewer needs an explanation of what he’s looking at.” He added: “Neither of these directions was appropriate. The most meaningful thing about a Holocaust memorial, particularly since we’re doing this for future generations, is to tell people exactly what happened here.”
Media mogul Sumner Redstone dies
Redstone owned Viacom and CBS
The billionaire owner of Viacom and CBS Sumner Redstone has died at his home in Los Angeles, aged 97. Born Sumner Murray Rothstein in Boston in 1923, Redstone took his father’s small drive-in cinema business and turned it into one of the United States’ biggest media companies that also included Paramount Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and publisher Simon & Schuster. After studying law, he made a series of astute acquisitions to grow his portfolio, eventually rivalling famed media owners Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner. Described as having a “six-foot frame, shock of orange hair, Boston brogue and billionaire’s bearing”,
Redstone was a demanding boss who refused to give up day-to-day control of the business even into his 90s. This had to be wrenched from him by shareholders in 2016 with courtordered psychiatric assessments of the 92-year old forcing him to resign. Estimated to be worth around $5billion, Redstone was a generous donor to medical schools and universities, and served on the committee of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. He “led an extraordinary life that not only shaped entertainment as we know it today but created an incredible family legacy”, said his daughter Shari, who litigated against her father’s associates over control of CBS and Viacom.
BRAZIL
YEMEN
HUNGARY
AUSTRALIA
‘The soul of Jewish folk dancing’ in Rio de Janeiro for 30 years has died after suffering a massive stroke at the age of 52. Choreographer Luiz Filipe Barbosa was a regular at festivals and taught children, adults and the elderly. A former member of Habonim Dror, he criticised a boycott of the Rio Hebraica dance festival in 2017 by young left-wing Jews angered by the community hosting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
A rabbi in Budapest who said Zionism was ‘causing another Holocaust’ and putting diaspora Jews in danger has been told he is persona non grata by the rabbinical council of the Mazsihisz, Hungary’s Jewish umbrella group. Israeli Ambassador Yacov HadasHandelsman was told the relationship between Mazsihisz and Rabbi Gabor Finali was ‘suspended’. Finali is the rabbi at Ohel Avraham Synagogue.
A pan-Arab media outlet in London is reporting that Yemen’s few remaining Jews are to emigrate to Abu Dhabi following last week’s announcement that Israel and the United Arab Emirates are to normalise ties. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoted a Yemeni rabbi about the plans, which are yet to be officially confirmed. Yemen’s elderly Jewish community is understood to number about 50, down from 50,000 in 1948.
Police in Victoria have told Australia’s Jewish community not to take matters into their own hands if members of the strictly Orthodox Satmar sect refuse to socially-distance despite coronavirus restrictions. During lockdown they were seen in an illegal minyan and officers say members of the mainstream Jewish community are now ‘harassing’ the sect. Insp Nigel McGuire-White said it came from ‘frustration’.
SHLICHIM STICK WITH IT
Jewish Agency bosses were this week delighted after their online summer camps throughout the former Soviet Union managed to boost youngsters’ Jewish identity despite strict coronavirus restrictions. Every year, the Jewish Agency sends hundreds of emissaries to summer camps around the world to “bring the spirit of Israel” to tens of thousands of Jewish children and teenagers. This year, however, organisers had to think differently.
“We started thinking about ways to incorporate Israel and Israelis as an integral part of the summer’s virtual activities,” said one Jewish Agency shaliach, who arrived on time – just not in-person. Held under the auspices of the Jewish Agency, in conjunction with Genesis Philanthropy Group, the camps are aimed at increasing the Jewish identity of the younger generation. Jewish Agency executives were surprised but pleased at how effective they were online.
YIDDISH WEIMAR CLOSES
Murcia Sephardi heritage boost
This year’s special edition Yiddish Summer Weimar (YSW) in Germany drew to a close this week as organisers heralded the success of creating a communal atmosphere while still observing Covid-19 guidelines. This three-week festival attracted a diverse crowd with artists, chamber music concerts and workshops all taking place outdoors in Weimar and the surrounding state of Thuringia, with performances drawing on the region’s cultural heritage.
Jewish heritage leaders have expressed hope that a centuries-old Sephardi legacy in south-eastern Spain will be given national prominence after a collaboration agreement with regional authorities. The Hispanic Jewish Foundation (HJF) agreed to work with the autonomous region of Murcia at a signing ceremony in the old synagogue of Lorca, the only surviving synagogue from before the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. The agreement is aimed at spreading the “historical, archaeological, architectural and human legacy” of Murcia, once a frontier town straddling Christian and Islamic empires which had a “long-
Festival founder Alan Bern said: “While the catalyst for having to redesign YSW this year is horrible, I see the challenge of finding a way to be both distant and together as the latest of the many challenges posed by contemporary society.” Memorable moments last week included performances in the ruins of a medieval church and in Herder Square, named after the Enlightenment philosopher who was also a forerunner of the concept of folk music.
standing and flourishing Jewish presence”. Murcia president Fernando López Miras said: “We pride ourselves on our history, where we once lived together, and are obligated to rescue this story that was once buried.” HJF president David Hatchwell said Murcia was a “clear example of a long-standing and flourishing Jewish presence, and of centuries of Spanish-Jewish coexistence”, adding: “The presence and entwining of these differing cultures have brought mutual enrichment to our society.” There is still a “small but relevant” Jewish community in Murcia,
Spanish Jews were expelled in 1492
said Hatchwell, adding that notable Jews who once lived there included the senior official Moses ibn Turiel as well as Don Isaac ibn Yaish, who was entrusted with the jurisdiction of the kingdom’s Muslims.
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Editorial comment and letters ISSUE NO.
1172
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS
Winners all round
For the first time in his presidency, and with an election just three months away, Donald Trump showed ‘the art of the deal’ by presiding over a most unlikely, yet earth-shaking, geopolitical matrimony. Regardless of whether Trump’s ‘person, woman, man, camera, TV’ brainpower was behind it, or his was simply the signature fronting the announcement that Israel and the United Arab Emirates were normalising ties, it was nevertheless stunning, in part because vanishingly few saw it coming. This US–Israel–UAE deal was a win–win–win. In fact, it was a winwin–win–win if you count the Palestinians, given that large chunks of the West Bank will not soon be coming under Israeli sovereignty as a result. If you go further and count the other Gulf states itching to follow Abu Dhabi’s lead, it represents a quintuplet of wins. If only the Arab world officially drank, we’d raise a glass and say ‘L’Chaim’.
Bypassing fairness
Pupils and parents breathed a sigh of relief on Monday after a four-day fiasco that threw the secondary education system into turmoil. Gavin Williamson was still muddling on as education secretary as Jewish News went to press, despite overseeing an algorithm that reduced almost 40 percent of A-level grades to below teachers’ predictions. Common sense finally prevailed, leaving final grades in the hands of the teachers and sparing GCSE pupils, who receive their results today, a similar ordeal. Now the onus is on ensuring that there’s no repeat in the next academic year, which will surely suffer the pandemic’s long-term effects.
Send us your comments PO Box 815, Edgware, HA8 4SX | letters@thejngroup.com
A difficult debate I would like to respond to the letter by Ann Cohen that appeared in your issue of 6 August, regarding the difficult issue of abortion. Ms Cohen wrote: “The only exception (should be) to save the pregnant mother’s life.” This blanket statement is incorrect. I’m a religious midwife and well-versed in the subject. There are many reasons why one could terminate in addition to saving the mother’s life. Probably the most common one I see in the Jewish community is if a baby has a disorder incompatible with life, is life limiting or has severe defects. Another reason would be a non-viable pregnancy. Yet another example is selective reduction, where one or more of a multiple pregnancy are terminated to give the others a better chance of survival. This is more complicated, with the ques-
Sketches & kvetches
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Printed in England: West Ferry Printers Limited Published by: The Jewish News & Media Group. www.thejngroup. com. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form of advertising without prior permission in writing from the editor. Registered as a newspaper by Royal Mail. The Jewish News reserves the right to make any alterations necessary to conform to the style and standards of The Jewish News and does not guarantee the insertion of any particular advertisement on a specified date or at all – although every effort will be made to meet the wishes of the advertisers. Further it does not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by an error or inaccuracy Member of in the publication of an advertisement. Signatures of both parties involved are sometimes required in the case of Audit Bureau some announcements. An order for an advertisement shall amount to an acceptance of the above conditions. Hotels, products and restaurants which are not supervised are marked with an [N]. The Jewish News reserves the right to edit of Circulations letters for size and content without prior consent. Submission of letters is no guarantee of publication.
A Jewish NHS midwife working in the Jewish community
REFUGEE RHETORIC IS DIVISIVE We are deeply concerned by the prime minister’s comments in response to attempts by refugees to cross the Channel in small boats. As Jews we know all too well the consequences of such divisive rhetoric. If the UK government is serious about stopping these hazardous channel crossings, then it must provide refugees with
safe and legal routes and commit to continue to allow refugee family reunification. The UK must show the same openness for today’s refugees as it did towards Jewish and Basque refugee children fleeing Europe in the late 1930s.
Dr Edie Friedman The Jewish Council for Racial Equality
PLEASE USE MISS, MRS OR MS
THIS WEEKEND'S SHABBAT TIMES... Shabbat comes in Friday night 7.57pm 8.13pm
tion being which baby is the rodef (beyond the scope of this letter). Also, terminations for maternal mental health benefits can be permissible. If the pregnant woman has a severe mental health disorder it can be exacerbated in the perinatal period and could be detrimental to the mother. In all such cases, rabbis have been consulted and terminations have taken place under guidance. I hope this clarifies the very basics of the Jewish law on terminations of pregnancy. Every individual should contact their rabbi to discuss appropriate steps to take after a diagnosis of any type which could influence a decision regarding pregnancy.
“The UAE came as a big surprise. No, not the deal with Israel – I’m talking about my son’s A-level grades!”
Am I the only person offended when a woman referred to in articles in your newspaper, after being named in full, is subsequently referred to by just her surname? I am of the respectful school of English usage that refers to a woman either as Miss, Mrs, or Ms. I would not be happy for my wife, mother
or daughter to be referred to simply by their surname. This struck me when you referred to brave campaigner Marsha Gladstone, whose son Yoni was killed by a suicide bomb, as ‘Gladstone’. It would be more polite to call her ‘Mrs Gladstone’ or even ‘Marsha’.
Garry Harris Bushey Heath
Caring. Compassionate. Communicative. Call 020 8908 4151 • Email info@jewishchoice.org • jewishchoice.org RESIDENTIAL
RESPITE | INDEPENDENT LIVING
Extraordinary Care from Extraordinary People
20 August 2020 Jewish News
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Editorial comment and letters
MIRIAM’S MESHUGANAH VIEWS I was baffled by your Miriam Marogolyes interview. Her diatribe is that Israel created misery for Palestinians. From 1788, when Australia was a penal colony, the British devastated the indigenous Aborigines. Australia is her adopted home. Can she explain her meshuganah double standards?
Mike Abramov By email I write after having read your interview with Miriam Margolyes. I’m one of the many she refers to who dislike her intensely. That’s
not only for her vilification of Israel but her foul-mouthed crudeness. One of her ridiculous (non-political) claims is that “Jewish mothers always want their daughters to marry”. What stereotypical rubbish. My mother came from a poor family and was denied an education. Her mantra throughout my childhood was: “Go to university; don’t get married.” I suppose the only argument in favour of giving her the full page is to show readers her stupidity.
L Moore By email
‘Badly timed’ survey? Bizarre Bizzarely, Laura Marks criticises the Henry Jackson Society survey of British Muslim antisemitism as “badly timed”, (Jewish News, 13 August). When does she suggest it should have been published? Ms Marks writes that because “the results are not compared with anything”, that makes them “impossible to calibrate”. She’s simply wrong, see the Executive Summary: “A December 2019 ICM Unlimited poll found that 18 percent of the general population felt Jews have disproportionate influence
over business and finance. In this survey of British Muslims, 34 percent were of the view that Jews have too much control over the global banking system.” There are many more examples. For Muslims who have attended university, the net figure is close to 40 percent. Worthy though Ms Marks’ interfaith activities are, they hardly scratch the surface of Muslim antisemitism.
Jonathan Hoffman By email
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Opinion
We, the whistleblowers, give our heartfelt thanks THE PANORAMA WHISTLEBLOWERS
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ear Jewish News readers. We would like to place on record our thanks to the Jewish community for the support we have received since we appeared on the BBC Panorama programme ‘Is Labour Antisemitic?’ in July 2019. The Labour Party and others attempted to discredit the allegations in the programme, by attacking our reputations as whistleblowers. Labour claimed we acted in bad faith, and that we set out to harm the party when we worked for it. This couldn’t have been further from the truth, and we were left with little choice. Prior to Panorama, few of us had much interaction with the Jewish community. When it became apparent that the party was, in our view and experience, offering a misleading defence of the apparent lack of action when dealing with the tide of antisemitism, we felt that there was a strong public interest in ensuring the truth was told. This is why we now want to place on record our thanks to the Jewish Labour Movement for their practical and moral support, without
which it is doubtful that any of this would have been possible. The JLM provided us and 65 other whistleblowers the confidence to come forward and contribute to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s investigation. JLM has enabled a process that will, in the immediate and long term, allow Labour to regain the trust of those it seeks to serve. Combating antisemitism within Labour was never a battle any of us or the JLM realised we would have to undertake – we a have all tried to bring the best of ourselves to this painful situation and to remain true to best of Labour’s anti-racist traditions. After we appeared on Panorama, the practical and emotional support we received, notably from the Jewish Leadership Council and the Community Security Trust among others, was invaluable. We would also like to thank JLM’s legal team at Mishcon de Reya, led by James Libson, in their diligent probing interrogation of our testimony and evidence as well as our own legal team, led by Mark Lewis of Patron Law, who has been hugely supportive throughout. Recently, Labour, under new leadership, apologised unreservedly to us in court, “for the distress and embarrassment that the publica-
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HAD JEWISH NEWS AND OTHERS GIVEN UP, THIS STORY MIGHT NEVER HAVE BEEN EXPOSED tion of the false allegations have caused them and for the continuing damage that has been caused to their reputations”. Such an apology, in front of a High Court judge, is not made for merely ‘political’ reasons as some have erroneously claimed. There was never any doubt that our original case would succeed. That was our view, and the position of the clear, unequivocal legal advice given to us. When the party offered the apology and retraction that we sought from the outset, we were proved right. We all now await the publication of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s report of their investigation to which we have all given sworn evidence. We appreciate the collective support offered by the Jewish community to the Jewish Labour Movement which has enabled it to make a robust and comprehensive argument to the EHRC. In addition, if it was not for this newspaper and other Jewish media not giving up when
others might, much of this story might never have been exposed to public scrutiny. Antisemitism should never have appeared in a modern progressive political party. That it did should shame all of us who carried a Labour Party membership card. We regret that we were unable to completely stem that tide during our time as employees of the party. Moving on, we must all learn to recognise and address antisemitism regardless of faction or friendship. Only when we tackle antisemitism along with all other forms of racism can we then ask people to truly trust the Labour Party as an unambiguously anti-racist movement once again. We hope, through our legal victory, the Jewish community can be confident that there will always be allies who care passionately about restoring that trust. • Kat Buckingham, Mike Creighton, Dan Hogan, Sam Matthews, Martha Robinson, Ben Westerman and Louise Withers Green
Child abuse inquiry knows danger of ‘chaste’ culture YEHUDIS FLETCHER CO-FOUNDER, NAHAMU
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he Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales was announced by Theresa May, on 7 July 2014. The inquiry was established to examine how the country’s institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse, particularly in light of the revelations relating to the conduct of Jimmy Savile. IICSA is a statutory inquiry with the power to compel sworn testimony and examine classified information. The Inquiry has commissioned 12 separate sectoral investigations, including most recently, into religious organisations and settings. The past two weeks have been devoted to examining responses to allegations of child sexual abuse in ‘nonconformist’ Christian denominations – the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baptists, Methodists – as well as Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Rabbi Jehuda Baumgarten, speaking on
behalf of the Stamford Hill based Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, started his evidence on Wednesday by interrupting Fiona Scolding QC, counsel to the Inquiry, to remind her that he doesn’t speak English very well, and he may need extra time to respond. If the Inquiry would have been conducted in Yiddish, he said, he would have had no problem keeping up. The rabbi was born and raised in the UK. In his written statement, he said that “City and Hackney’s Safeguarding Board, run by its chief executive, Jim Gamble, was arrogant, overbearing and intrusive”. He argued that community members have a very different culture from the Board’s in respect of keeping children safe, although he did not provide details of the nature of any such safeguards. He also criticised Migdal Emunah for not seeking “collaboration or consent”. Migdal Emunah is a charity which provides support to survivors of sexual abuse and their families, for which I work. It also raises awareness and provides education on the way sexual abuse affects our community. There is no impediment to collaboration with institutions and individuals in the Charedi community, if that is something he seeks. However,
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THE RABBI SAID ABUSE WAS RARE IN THE COMMUNITY BUT ADMITTED HE HAD NO DATA TO PROVE THAT nobody should need “consent” to contact a charity if they need their services. Migdal Emunah can be reached on 03330 064898. Rabbi Baumgarten advanced the various theories that underpin his belief that abuse is rare in the charedi community, but admitted that he has no data to actually prove that assertion. He provided a series of arguments in support of this strongly held belief. Modesty, he argued, “acts as a protection from unwanted advances”, and the laws of yichud, the prohibition against a man and woman secluding themselves together is a “protective factor”. However, this belief does not take into account the fact that abuse may be perpetrated by abusers of the same sex as their victims. It is also distinctly possible
that abusers do not actually care about restrictions in Jewish law. Other “protective factors” that he listed include strong faith, strong nuclear families, strong community values and “a very chaste culture”. Fiona Scolding QC reminded him that these are the very factors that might make it difficult to report abuse. Rabbi Baumgarten welcomed Scolding’s suggestion that rabbis could do with being DBS-checked “as it was something that wouldn’t interfere with their charedi values”. DBS checks reveal spent and unspent convictions. However, such checks would constitute a toothless safeguard in a community where rates of reporting of sexual offences, leading to recorded convictions, are so low that they are statistically irrelevant. Rabbi Baumgarten was not alone in his rejection of Migdal Emunah. In closing, the United Synagogue posited: “The ability of victim-focused organisations to put aside their understandable suspicion of religious communities and to adopt an approach based on positive engagement and dialogue as opposed to criticism and conflict is key, for it is in this way that their valuable input will be best accepted and absorbed by others seeking to safeguard and protect children.”
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Opinion
Never again can never again be left to chance DR KATE FERGUSON & OLIVIA MARKSWOLDMAN
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ur world often feels fragile and vulnerable and we cannot be complacent. We all have a responsibility to learn where prejudice and identity-based hostility can lead – if unchecked and normalised. These words, spoken by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust Chairperson, Laura Marks, opened the UK ceremony for Holocaust Memorial Day in January this year. We repeat them now, because identitybased persecution is continuing, unchecked, in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, where Uighur Muslims are subject to horrific oppression. Verified footage of Uighur Muslims, blindfolded and herded onto trains, has been published and shared widely online. Robust reports have detailed the slave labour conditions under which Uighurs are forced to work – often for our high street brands such as Nike. Verified photos have been circulated of tonnes of hair shaved from Uighur women. As chief executive of the Holocaust Memo-
rial Day Trust, and co-executive director of Protection Approaches, we know the Holocaust and more recent genocides are remembered for a purpose – to learn from the past and to take steps towards a more just, safer world. Remembrance of these difficult periods should inspire us to action today. We know that the millions of people who engage with Holocaust Memorial Day learn more about genocide, empathise more – especially with those from different backgrounds – and are inspired to take action. The Holocaust was unique, as all atrocities are. But there are parallels and patterns that cannot, and must not, be ignored. The situation in the Xinjiang province of China is abhorrent and the parallels with Nazi Germany, such as train deportations and the removal of human hair, seem stark. Thoughtful remembrance of the past helps us understand that atrocities are not inevitable; that they can, and must, be prevented. Doing more to help prevent mass atrocities should not be contentious. Successive UK governments have reiterated their commitment to help prevent mass atrocities and whilst challenging the persecution of Uighur Muslims in China will take a concerted,
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IDENTITY-BASED PERSECUTION CONTINUES TODAY IN XINJIANG global approach, the UK Government has many tools at its own disposal. Last year it set out for the first time its approach to preventing mass atrocities – a step which both our organisations fully support. A national atrocity prevention strategy would encourage consistency both within government and with UK partners, and it would ensure that UK policy makers consider how best to mitigate or prevent widespread loss of life. The commitment to learn from the past would be embedded in Britain’s embassies, in Ministers’ portfolios, and in Britain’s contributions abroad. Without such a strategy – without applying a framework of how best to help prevent future atrocities to the human rights crisis in Xinjiang or elsewhere – opportunities to influence and
mitigate will always be missed. We also wish to raise a point of caution. Preventing identity-based violence, whether hate crime or genocide, requires consistency. Robust condemnation of the atrocities in Xinjiang must never be conflated with antiChinese hate speech or divisive, jingoistic tropes – something unfortunately all too common following anxieties over Huawei and divisive rhetoric about the pandemic. During this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration, the prime minister asked: “What happened to our resolve in the genocides that followed?” Mr Johnson has gone on to undertake the largest review of the UK’s foreign, defence and development policy since the end of the Cold War. This review is a rare moment to demonstrate the strength of its commitment to never again. It’s time to embed a national strategy of atrocity prevention in the heart of British international policy, as events in China have clarified. It must never again be left to chance. Dr Kate Ferguson led the development of education materials at the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. Olivia MarksWoldman is chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust
Muslim antisemitism – time to face reality WASIQ WASIQ
MUSLIMS AGAINST ANTISEMITISM
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he think tank the Henry Jackson Society recently published a report entitled Muslim AntiSemitism In Contemporary Great Britain. Its author, Dr Rakib Ehsan, a Muslim himself, describes this report and, more importantly, the polling that makes up its body, as: “one of the most systematic and comprehensive surveys into the socio-political attitudes – both domestic and international – of British Muslims”. Its findings will add to the body of literature that, thus far, appear to be scant and will therefore assist in understanding the manifestation of antisemitism in religious minority communities in Great Britain. The summary of the report asserts a number of claims. First, when it comes to perception of other faith groups, British Muslims view Jews the least favourably. Only atheists, as a social group, are viewed less favourably. In addition, over a third (34 percent) of British Muslims polled for ComRes, thought Jews had too much control over the global banking system. This antisemitic trope appears to maintain strength.
Looking at domestic politics, a third (33 percent) of British Muslims polled thought Jews had too much control of political leadership, in comparison to 15 percent of the general population. With regards to dual loyalty, a staggering 44 percent of British Muslims believe Jews are more loyal to Israel than to Britain compared with 24 percent of the general population. Additionally, if you are a British Muslim and university educated, you are more likely to believe in this and the belief in Jews having too much global control. There also appears to be a link between attending mosque at least three to four times a week, which could impact on British Muslim attitudes on Jews. For example, the ComRes poll found 55 percent of British Muslims who attended frequently, compared to 34 percent who didn’t, were more likely to hold this view. This report has shed light on how antisemitism and its types manifest in religious minority communities. The report raises a number of questions. Firstly, why are Jews looked at in this way by British Muslims and what can be done to reduce this animosity towards an ethnic and religious minority that finds itself continuously blamed for all the ills in the world? Social integration is a key theme Dr Ehsan
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WHAT CAN BE DONE TO REDUCE THIS ANIMOSITY TOWARDS A MINORITY BLAMED FOR ALL THE ILLS? recommends. For example, British Muslims expanding their friendship groups outside of their own religious identity can foster a more favourable view of the outgroup. If the friendship group is predominantly non-Muslim, this could lead to more positive orientations towards countries such as the United States and Israel, which many Muslims see as the aggressor owing to their foreign and domestic policy towards Muslim populations and countries. There is also a need to examine the role mosques play and what can be done to reduce this perception of Jews by Muslims who frequent them more often. Dr Ehsan also finds that while the findings may appear to be somewhat contradictory in nature, there is still a need to make a distinction between anti-Jewish sentiment compared with anti-Israeli sentiment. The former being more favourable than the latter, meaning that British Muslims have more of an issue with
Israel than Jews. Moreover, the report also finds that British Muslims are more likely to believe the Holocaust is a myth and that Jews believe themselves to be superior to non-Jews. What is clear is that antisemitism in the Muslim community exists. Compared to the general population, it is much higher and this should be very concerning. Antisemitism from British Muslims is now coming to light. With more reports like this, and organisations such as Muslims Against Antisemitism, we are already seeking to tackle this scourge. But we cannot be complacent and must not, through fear of being accused of Islamophobia, ignore important research such as this. The Muslim community deserves and is entitled to be helped in this regard and Jewish communities even more so. This should be seen as a joint effort to tackle antisemitism, not an isolated campaign to blame all Muslims for the actions of a few.
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Scene & Be Seen / Community
1 IN TENTS SUMMER
Nearly 400 campers aged eight to 16 spent time in nature and volunteered with United Synagogue and the charity GIFT on day trips with Bnei Akiva UK across London and Manchester. “They have done everything from fruit-picking, volunteering with GIFT and the United Synagogue and visiting theme parks, to shelter building, working with chickens and a bonfire under the stars,” said Rafi Cohen, national director of the Zionist youth movement. “And all these experiences have been infused with classic Bnei Akiva style activities and education thanks to the tireless work of our 70 incredible madrichim.”
And be seen! The latest news, pictures and (virtual) social events from across the community
2 THE WRITE STUFF
Email us at community@jewishnews.co.uk
Batmitzvah girl Maytal Field led efforts to bring 255 pencil cases and stationery to children unable to afford school supplies, supported by the charity GIFT. “I have been volunteering with GIFT for the past three years, as well as weekly fruit and veg packing with my family during lockdown. I thought this project would be a really helpful way to support the children of the families that GIFT helps,” she said. “It makes me happy to think that I have helped in this small way.” The 11 year-old, due to start at JFS next month, said she is extremely grateful to family, friends, and others who donated to the project. Her mother, Deborah, said she is proud of the way Maytal chose to celebrate her milestone. To sponsor Maytal, visit the web page www.gift.enthuse.com/pf/ maytalfield
3 SCIENCE APPLIANCE
Former teacher Emily BenZe’ev, who runs interactive workshops under the name ‘Emily’s Adventures in Wonderland’, has been entertaining children across north-west London, including (pictured) at the London Jewish Family Centre at Golders Green, where she led a science show, performing more than 20 experiments. She also introduced pupils at Langdon College in Edgware to instruments from around the world and performed Jewish songs on her clarinet.
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4 SWEET REUNION
Husband and wife Beryl and Mef Sharpe (pictured), shared their first hug after being apart for five months. Mef, who was recuperating at Jewish Care’s Hyman Fine House in Brighton during lockdown, is now returning home where the pair can be together. Beryl said: “It’s good to have Mef home again but the staff at the home were fantastic, it’s a really great place.”
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Exhibition / Weekend
The unknown
HEROES
Fascinating accounts of Jewish resistance in the Holocaust, including by many women, are on display at the Wiener Library, writes Stephen Oryszczuk
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‘The Avengers’ return to Vilna at the liberation of the city by the Red Army, July 1944
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were involved in resistance HAZAK V’AMATZ” – “Be strong rights across Europe.” and courageous” – is a phrase Fighting and saboknown from the Bible, tage were important used by God to encourage elements, but visitors Joshua after the death of Moses. soon learn that armed But these were also the last resistance was far from defiant words of 23-year-old Róża its only form, because Robota, a Polish Jew and leader of Jewish resistance also Tosia Altman, who organised four women hanged at Auschwitz for included intelligence- armed resistance in ghettos smuggling gunpowder from a munigathering and getting tions factory to the camp’s Sonderkomin German-occupied Poland evidence out. mando, as part of a prisoner revolt that ance groups who Such was the task of Auschwitz took place on 7 October, 1944. travelled on false Robota’s parting call to fellow Róza Robota detainees Rudi Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, who in 1944 hid for three days in a woodpile papers to move in inmatesis among the fascinating details and out of ghettos, near the camp’s perimeter, then escaped when the explored in the Wiener Library’s new exhibition, training people Nazi search was called off. Jewish Resistance To The Holocaust, which is now Herbert Baum, leader of the and organising They took with them lists of Jews killed by open and runs until 30 November. Baum Group, c1935. He was armed revolt. nationality, transport numbers, details of SS officers During the 1950s, researcher Eva Reichmann probably killed by the Nazis “The stories of involved, and a label from a Zyklon B gas canister. gathered more than 1,000 eyewitness testimonies women come up time and time again. They can get When they reached Slovakia, they told how Jews from resisters in countless ghettos such as Theroverlooked as the more dramatic rebellions, such and others were being gassed on arrival (not “resetesienstadt, where people like Philipp Manes kept as the Sonderkommando uprising at Auschwitz, tled” as the Germans said) and described the camp’s diaries, and camps such as Treblinka, Sobibor and were led by men, but women were essential to them layout and workings. Their report, first lodged in Auschwitz, where uprisings took place. happening – it’s just that they had different roles.” Switzerland, soon made headlines around the world Many of these accounts and stories are being Jewish resistance around Europe was nothing if shown for the first time in this Covid-secure London and persuaded Hungarian leader Miklós Horthy to not varied, with Zionist groups of left- and righthalt the deportations. exhibition curated by Dr Barbara Warnock. wing persuasions, anti-Zionist organisation, groups Although they resumed some months later, this The library’s director, Dr Toby Simpson, says: of Jewish Polish army officers, social democratic “pause” saved up to 250,000 Hungarian Jews. “What makes these collections really stand out is groups such as the Bund, and communist groups. Auschwitz survivor Filip Müller was among the their immediacy, whether we’re talking about a They united to great effect in the Warsaw Ghetto, Geheimnisträger (bearers of secrets), disposing of quiet act of bravery or a bold act of rebellion, these bodies in Sonderkommando, and in 1957 told Reich- which helped in obtaining weapons, yet in other stories really leap off the page, in part because they places they were in conflict, partly because they had mann about Jewish resistance within the unit. were gathered either during the Holocaust or very different priorities. Although resistance took different forms, it soon after.” In some northern European ghettos, such as in In Britain, we know little about Jewish anti-Nazi occurred in every country in Europe. “Even in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, Jews fully embraced Ukraine, where it was actually very difficult to resist resistance during the Holocaust, says Warnock, a social, cultural, educational and religious resistdue to the way the Holocaust unfolded, there were particularly in the former Soviet Union. ance – performing plays, conducting covert religious pockets of resistance,” says Warnock. Individual “That was one of the main reasons we wanted to services and teaching classes in illegal schools. stories abound: of those who hid in attics, do the exhibition. People just don’t know that Jews Yet while scholars such as Prof Samuel Kassow cellars and sewers, and of Norbert Gottsay this spiritual resistance essential to sustaining lieb, who escaped from a ghetto in Nazithe armed resistance, it caused problems at the occupied Poland during mass arrests time. In the Vilna ghetto, for instance, armed by hiding in a cavity beneath a pile of resisters were furious at this “theatre in the midst of potatoes until rescued by the Red Army. genocide”, famously distributing leaflets titled: “You Another comes from Ida Sterno, who don’t put plays on in cemeteries.” worked on child rescue with the Jewish The curator’s hope is that people appreciate the underground. “She concealed Jewish “scale and variety” of Jewish anti-Nazi resistance girls in a Catholic orphanage,” Warnock and “the enormous constraints they faced”. says. “When the nuns heard that the Róża Robota’s call to be “strong and courageous” Gestapo were closing in, she worked was exactly what they needed to be – and as this with the Committee for the Defence of exhibition shows, they so often were. Jews and other local Jewish partisans to stage a fake raid on the orphanage, Jewish Resistance To The Holocaust even tying the nuns up to make it look realistic. It worked. It saved the girls.” is at the Wiener Holocaust Library Women feature prominently until 30 November. Open Tuesdays and in this exhibition, including Tosia Thursdays, 11am-3pm. Visitors must Altman, a courier for Jewish resistbook at www.wienerlibrary.co.uk Camp diaries of Esther Lloyd, from Jersey
A look
Inside Our entertainment round-up of the week includes two Jewish-themed Netflix shows Rabbi Abel on what the Torah tells us about the Beirut blast Try your hand at our wordsearch, codeword, crossword and sudoku!
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Jewish News 20 August 2020
Weekend / Entertainment
SCI-FI Away
DRAMA The Syndicate Kay Mellor’s critically acclaimed drama The Syndicate is in production for its fourth series. The six-part story showcases a stellar-line up, including Line of Duty star Neil Morrissey and Emmerdale actress Emily Head, alongside Taj Atwall, Katherine Rose Morley, Kieran Urquhart and Liberty Hobbs. Mellor says: “Lockdown has been a roller-coaster of emotions for all of us. I was devastated not to be able to begin shooting the new Syndicate. All the scripts were written and we were four days away from principal photography but now we’re ready for the stage and I couldn’t be more excited.” The new storyline revolves around a syndicate of low paid kennel workers who
Executive producer Jason Katims’ thrilling scifi drama, Away, starring Hilary Swank, is set to arrive on Netflix next month. American astronaut Emma Green (Swank) prepares to lead an international crew on the first mission to Mars, but she must also reconcile her decision to leave behind her husband (Josh Charles) and teenage daughter (Talitha Bateman) when they need her the most. As the crew’s journey into space
intensifies, their personal dynamics and the effects of being away from their loved ones back on Earth become increasingly complex. Away shows that sometimes to reach for the stars, life at home must be left far behind. The cast also features Ukrainian-Israeli actor Mark Ivanir as Russian cosmonaut Misha Popov, who accompanies the team to Mars. Away premieres on Netflix on Friday, 4 September
FILM I’m Thinking of Ending Things Award-winning writer Charlie Kaufman, best known for his 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, returns to direct his latest project, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, which arrives on Netflix next month. Inspired by Iain Reid’s novel of the same name, the story revolves around a a young woman (Jessie Buckley) who takes a road trip with her new boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to his family farm, despite having reservations
about their relationship. Trapped at the farm during a snowstorm with Jake’s mother (Toni Collette) and father (David Thewlis), the young woman begins to question the nature of everything she knew or understood about her boyfriend, herself, and the world in this exploration of regret and longing. I’m Thinking of Ending Things premieres on Netflix on 4 September
think they have won the lottery but have been robbed of their ticket. They are determined to see justice done, even if that means leaving their Yorkshire homes and travelling to Monaco to confront the culprit.
EXHIBITION Midnight’s Family: 70 Years of Indian Artists in Britain Sculptor Anish Kapoor, who was born in Mumbai to an Iraqi-Jewish mother and an Indian Punjabi Hindu father, features in a new virtual exhibition of works from the Ben Uri Gallery. Midnight’s Family: 70 Years of Indian Artists in Britain has been launched to coincide with the anniversary of Indian Independence, which was declared at midnight on 15 August, 1947. Providing a snapshot of Indian artists in Britain, the exhibition includes modernists, such as Frances Newton Souza and S K Bakre, who lived for a brief period in Britain, as well as the Singh Twins, who are second generation Brits. Also featured are Avinash Chandra, whose painting was the first modernist work by an Indian artist to enter the national collection at Tate in 1965; Sutapa Biswas, who grew up in Britain, as well as Shanti Panchal and Paul Gopal Chowdhury, who arrived as adults in the 1960s and 1970s. Midnight’s Family is available online now until 23 October, www.benuri.org/exhibitions
ART Ahuva Zeloof: Imperfection A new solo exhibition of works by Iraqi-born sculptor Ahuva Zeloof will go on show at Diba Art, London. The exhibition, which will be presented virtually, as well as by appointment, includes more than 30 sculptures from the last decade, as well as a new series in stone, Five Black Books, created by Zeloof during lockdown. Imperfection will show Zeloof’s progression as a sculptor, as well as the vast array of mediums she has used, from wax, bronze and glass, to hand sculpted and polished works in stone. The 74-year-old artist turned to sculpture only in recent years, but has had two solo London exhibitions, as well as exhibited in group shows with Tracy Emin, David Hockney and Sir Peter Blake. Her sculptures are deeply influenced by yoga movements and explore the human form. Imperfection opens virtually and by appointment from 20 August at Diba Art, London, www.dibaartlondon.com
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Orthodox Judaism
Torah For Today
SEDRA Shoftim
What does the Torah say about: The Beirut blast
BY RABBI ALEX CHAPPER In preparing the Jewof the heart, tongue, and ish people for the future limbs be alike, and that without him, Moses warns they support and confirm them not to adopt praceach other. tices of the surrounding Bachya continues nations. He also gives a by saying that whoever general piece of advice: exhibits conflicting be“You shall be wholehaviour in word or deed, hearted with Hashem your people do not believe God” (Devarim 18:13). This in his integrity and have is a bold statement, but no confidence in his what does it mean? Moses on a menorah truthfulness. If our According to the outside the Knesset heart’s intent conflicts Divrei Emet, we must with our words, our involve our whole being, heart and service to our God will not be whole, soul, in developing our connection for He will not accept fake service to God. from us. From here we can underThe expression ‘wholehearted’ is stand the genius of Moses. understood by the Chizkuni (13th The call to be “wholehearted with century French rabbi) to mean “to Hashem” urges us to be sincere in have an exclusive relationship with everything we do both physically either man or God.” and spiritually, to act with integrity In the introduction to his 11th so our actions reflect our thoughts century classic work, Duties of the and we commit fully to our relationHeart, Rabbeinu Bachya says this ship with God. verse requires our exterior and Rabbi Alex Chapper serves Borehamwood and Elstree interior to be consistent in the United Synagogue service of God, so the testimony
BY RABBI ARIEL ABEL Hundred were killed and thousands injured following the huge blast in Beirut, when 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded So, what does the Torah say about keeping dangerous items and the responsibility to protect life? The first civil code drawn up for the Israelites after the Sinai Covenant, Mishpatim, includes sections on tort and negligence. When an ox gores a citizen, if it is a happen-chance occurrence incurred through the owner’s negligence, compensation is due to the victim’s family. If, however, the ox habitually gores and the owner takes no safety precautions, the offence attracts a maximum penalty of death. The ox is to ancient Israel what a car driven dangerously is to us, and what negligent storage of highly combustible materials is to a government authority. In the Second Temple era, the High Priest in Jeru-
salem recognised a moral obligation to the health and safety of pilgrims, by including in his prayers in the Holy of Holies that the rains prayed for winter should not come in strength too early after the harvest (Succot) festivities so that neither pilgrims would be hampered on their way home, nor would dwellers of mud brick-built structures find their homes collapse on them. The Talmud forbids owning of a dangerous dog, presumably in a situation where others could be harmed. This implicitly admits liability for
foreseeable harm. Thus, the matter of storage of highly combustible materials without sufficient care taken is a serious issue in Jewish law where harm is not only foreseeable but highly likely. Corporate manslaughter is certainly relevant here, and damages by the State would include an obligation to rebuild all damaged property as well as compensate the families of the dead, and the injured. Additionally, the Torah orders leaders at fault to atone publicly for acts of negligence which incur damages to the public. The Lebanese government officials responsible should not simply resign but be held fully accountable for six years of continuing negligence which has led to this terrible disaster. ◆ Rabbi Ariel Abel serves Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation and is padre to Merseyside Army Cadet Force
COVID -19 TRAVEL INSURANCE – ALERT PROBLEM Most Insurers will not provide travel insurance cover if the journey is not deemed as “essential” as stated on HM Foreign Office website. This means that people who wish to travel for a Simcha, learn in Yeshiva or Seminary or see their family may not satisfy the Foreign Office meaning of “essential” travel under the terms of their insurance policy. The outcome of such a situation with most Insurers would invalidate cover.
SOLUTION M&N can offer you cover with one of our Insurers who do not make “essential” travel a policy condition. Annual cover is not yet available with this particular provider, however each trip can be as long as 365 days. Please note that Covid-19 cover is restricted to people up to the age of 59. This Insurer can provide travel cover for policyholders up to the age of 79, but cover for Covid-19 would be excluded. For further information please visit our website: https://www.mninsure.com/travel.htm M & N Insurance and Financial Services Limited Registered Office: 248-250 Hendon Way London NW4 3NL. Registered in England & Wales No 763777. M & N Insurance Service Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our Firm Reference Number (FRN) is 305837
M & N established in the 1950s, provides a full range of Insurance and Financial Service solutions for the following: • Tailor made Property Owners policies for the Investor • Private Medical Health • Jewellers Block – Wholesalers, Retailers and Brokers • High Net worth Home Insurance • Inheritance Tax Planning • Pensions, Tax Effective Life Assurance, • Savings & Investments If you need assistance for Insurance or Financial Services, please send us an email with your contact details to:
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Progressive Judaism
The Bible Says What? ‘Be the first to kill your own family’ BY RABBI LAURA JANNER-KLAUSNER You may be unpleasantly surprised to hear killing isn’t always so bad – in Torah-theory at least. Last week we read Parashat Re’eh and Moses’ reminder not succumb to worship of idols, or be swayed by false prophets to worship other gods. Not only must you kill these people, much worse – you should relish it. “If your brother, or your child, or your spouse, or your closest friend entices you [...] show them no pity, but take their life. Let your hand be the first against them to put them to death.” (Deuteronomy 13:7-10) The death penalty was not unheard of in biblical times, but what should we make of the instruction to be so desperate to carry it out that we should rush to be the first one to do it? Even to our own child – a grimly ironic demand given idolworshippers are chastised for killing their children in the name of their gods mere verses earlier. The death penalty is repugnant.
The need to rid our community of negative influences remains pertinent, though. Throughout our tradition, being led to idolatry is tied to all manner of harmful and immoral behaviour. While we are rightly uncomfortable with instructions to kill other people, we must hold to the command to be eager to put a stop to negative influences in our midst. It’s upsetting that we see behaviour from fellow Jews which is unacceptable – prejudice and calls to violence. We must take action, and speedily. This is especially true when it is someone close to us, who we may be best placed to influence. Calling out close friends and family is very uncomfortable, but the Torah is teaching us: we must be ready for that discomfort in the cause of ridding these harmful attitudes from our community.
◆ Laura Janner-Klausner is a senior rabbi at the Movement for Reform Judaism
Progressively Speaking We’re duty bound to support refugees crossing the Channel BY RABBI DANNY RICH “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens/ You shall love the stranger as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Leviticus (19:33-34) It’s hard to understand how any human being could be anything but anguished by the sight of men, women and particularly children stranded in the world’s busiest shipping lane, the English Channel, in overcrowded, makeshift vessels. For Jews, however, such a scene evokes sympathy which arises from both Jewish history and teaching. Jewish history from its origin until its recent past is one of both glory and degradation but in those moments of humiliation the Jew has known what it is to flee one’s country of origin usually on account of the action of others. The story of Judaism begins when Abraham hears the Divine command (Genesis 12:1-2) to leave his home and country, uprooting
his family for the unknown land of Canaan. He is promised great reward but on arrival famine forces him to depart for Egypt before his eventual return. In the more recent past a combination of anti-Jewish prejudice and economic desperation forced my own family to leave Warsaw on route to the United States – remaining in London only by a further cruel quirk of fate. The sentiment to “love the stranger as yourself” is repeated in different versions numerous times in Torah. It demands that
the measure of a Godly and goodly society is the provision of safety and protection of the one in need. Of course, this responsibility rests not only upon the Jewish community or indeed upon the United Kingdom. An international effort is required to bring stability including the supply of food, water, shelter and employment to the fractured regions of the world, to bring to justice the smugglers and other players who profit from the misery of desperate people, and to evolve fair and efficient legal systems to settle the displaced in secure environments where they can thrive. We might then see a reduction in the numbers of those who feel forced to engage on perilous journeys, and we might all, to paraphrase the Hebrew Prophet Isaiah (11:5), proudly dwell in a society “girded around the waist by righteousness”. ◆ Rabbi Danny Rich is a vice president of Liberal Judaism
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Professional advice from our panel / Ask Our Experts
Ask our Our trusty team of advisers answers your questions about everything from law and finance to dating and dentistry. This week: Young people in supported housing, help with international payments and learning to lipread on Zoom get asked a lot. We have developments across north-west and north-east London where there LISA WIMBORNE are tenants of all ages. We have tenants in their CHARITY EXECUTIVE 20s ranging through to tenants in their 90s. JEWISH BLIND & DISABLED While I can understand you may be concerned about there not being younger Dear Lisa people in our buildings, we have a mixture of I’m a 32-year-old with multiple sclerosis. ages and tenants with a wide range of reasons I’m able to live independently but would as to why they have moved to Jewish Blind & benefit from living somewhere with support Disabled. Our multigenerational approach is to hand should I need it. I’m worried about unique and has always worked well across our moving into any form of sheltered housing buildings. In normal times, you see tenants of as I’m concerned that there won’t be other all ages socialising in the communal areas. people my age. Does Jewish Blind & DisaSince lockdown restrictions were lifted we bled only accept applications from a certain have supported around ten people to move into age? Are you currently moving people in a Jewish Blind & Disabled apartment in a safe given current circumstances? manner. I encourage you to get your applicaGary tion in sooner rather than later as we have a waiting list and are allocating apartments on a Dear Gary rolling basis, based on need. Thank you for your question, it is one that I We look forward to hearing from you. in Israel, we need to pay everything directly from the UK. Are you able to help with this? Stephen
NAOMI FELTHAM INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS SPECIALIST
CURRENCIES DIRECT Dear Naomi We currently own a property in Israel, but due to coronavirus we have been unable to travel. Obviously all of our bills and mortgage payments are still due even though we are stuck in the UK. In the past, we would send a lump sum of money to our bank account in Israel and pay all the bills from there. As we are not
Dear Stephen Thank you for getting in touch. We can definitely help you with this. When using Currencies Direct, you are able to pay bills in Israel quickly and safely. To use us is incredibly simple. First, we ask you to register with us for FREE online or over the phone. Once this short process is complete, you will get access to an account manager in our London office who can talk to you about the transfer and how much you’re looking to send. When you’re ready to book in the deal, you would
simply transfer us the pounds to our segregated UK Barclays account in London and we would then send the shekels directly to the destination in Israel. The benefit of using us is that you know exactly how many shekels will arrive in Israel, meaning your bills will be paid correctly and on time. We are also regulated by the FCA, which means all of your money is safeguarded and secure. If you have any other questions, feel free to get in touch any time.
SUE CIPIN CHARITY EXECUTIVE
JEWISH DEAF ASSOCIATION Dear Sue Since I started to lose my hearing, I’ve also lost a lot of confidence socially and sometimes feel on the outside looking in. I have read about lipreading classes and how they not only teach about different lip shapes, but are also fun. I’d like to join a class as I’m feeling isolated, even when around others. It would be good to learn to
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lipread and meet people who truly understand what this is like. Given the current situation, are you running classes at the moment? Michael Dear Michael I’m so glad you got in touch. You are right. Lipreading classes provide an opportunity for you to meet people in similar situations and develop new ways to cope socially in what is indeed a fun, lively and stimulating class. You also get to improve your communication skills, discuss common issues and access so much useful information. Our classes are all that and more – and we had no inten-
tion of letting the pandemic take that away! As soon as we realised we could no longer hold classes here at the JDA, the course continued on Zoom and was as successful as ever – definitely no less fun and no less lively! The next course starts in September. If you’d like to join us, please get in touch and we’d love to welcome you. And we can also teach you how to use Zoom if that’s necessary!
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Ask Our Experts / Professional advice from our panel
Our Experts Got a question for a member of our team? Email: editorial@jewishnews.co.uk 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. • 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
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 trade prices.
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
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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
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Professional advice from our panel / Ask Our Experts
ACCOUNTANT
ADR CONSULTANT
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.
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.
DR ADAM NEWMAN Qualifications: • Dentist at the Gingerbread House, a Bupa Platinum practice in Shenley, Radlett. • Regional clinical lead for Bupa Dental Care UK. • Providing NHS and private dentistry, whitening, implants and cosmetic treatment. • Bachelor of Dental Surgery and member of the Royal College of Physician and Surgeons Glasgow; GDC registered 212542.
SOBELL RHODES LLP 020 8429 8800 www.sobellrhodes.co.uk a.shelley@sobellrhodes.co.uk
JEWISH DISPUTE SOLUTIONS 020 3637 9638 www.jewishdisputesolutions.co.uk director@jewishdisputesolutions.co.uk
GINGERBREAD HOUSE 01923 852 852 www.gingerbreadhealth.co.uk Adam.newman@gingerbreadhealth.co.uk
INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS SPECIALIST
PROPERTY DEVELOPER
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.
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.
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
LONDON PENTHOUSE 020 7665 9604 www.londonpenthouse.com info@lphvgroup.com
MAN ON A BIKE 020 8731 6171 www.manonabike.co.uk mail@manonabike.co.uk
INSURANCE CONSULTANCY
CHARITY EXECUTIVE
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!
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.
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.
HARRIS HOROVIZ CONSULTING & TAX LTD +972-3-6123153 / + 972-54-6449398 leon@h2cat.com
RISK RESOLUTIONS 020 3411 4050 www.risk-resolutions.com ashley.prager@risk-resolutions.com
JEWISH BLIND & DISABLED 020 8371 6611 www.jbd.org Lisa@jbd.org
ISRAELI ACCOUNTANT
ALIYAH ADVISER
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
PALLIATIVE CARE 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.
POLLY LANDSBERG Qualifications: • Polly has worked in health and social care for more than 35 years. • Has a degree in nursing and a diploma in health visiting. • Polly is responsible for the day-to-day management of the palliative and end of life care service.
LLOYD PLATT & COMPANY SOLICITORS 020 8343 2998 www.divorcesolicitors.com lloydplatt@divorcesolicitors.com
SWEETTREE HOME CARE SERVICES 020 7644 9500 www.sweettree.co.uk polly.landsberg@sweettree.co.uk
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JDA’s door-to-door hearing aid service is a lifeline at this time of isolation
I used to go to the hospital to get my hearing aids “serviced but there was always such a long wait.
And now the clinic’s closed.
Thank goodness for JDA. I couldn’t believe how quick and efficient they were! I called on Monday, by Tuesday Andrew was here and my hearing aids were working. My family are so relieved - and so am I, that they don’t have to shout at me anymore. And Andrew is like a friend - we always have a nice chat when he comes round. If only JDA would do my housework!
Thanks to JDA, everyone can have clean, working hearing aids and remain connected to their loved ones and the world around them at this difficult time. To make an appointment please telephone Gabbie on 020 8446 0214.
”
Please show you care by making a donation today.
020 8446 0502 www.jdeaf.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1105845 Company Limited by Guarantee 4983830
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Fun, games and prizes
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24
22
21
20
21
2 24
17
24
24 25
T
15
24
17
22
7 20
22
25
4
3 5
2
4 3
4
5
20 12
26
13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
I
P
12 22
See next issue for puzzle solutions.
21
9
10
11
12
13
22
23
24
25
26
Suguru 4 2 8 5 9 3 1 6 7
5
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
Sudoku 8 9 2 4 5 7 6 1 3
25
1
21
24
J W O C S
6 7 4 3 2 1 5 9 8
4
22
HAWKEYE SUNSHINE LONE STAR WONDER MAGNOLIA PRAIRIE SUNFLOWER
Last issue’s solutions
20
20
15
8
L O N E S T A R N Q R I
12
9
K R D O X F N Q A
B F H G R V D U S
23
17
E N K N W E W K E W T Y T E O Y E G R L O O E A Z
24 4
2
E A A H R N F Y R
8
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 8, 13, 20 and 25 with their letters in the grid will help you to guess the identity of other letters.
The listed words that relate to American state nicknames 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.
T O N S
9
CODEWORD
WORDSEARCH H C O T
Fill the grid with the numbers 1 to 9 so that each row, column and 3x3 block contains the numbers 1 to 9.
10 Partially open (4) 13 Beverage made from the dried leaves of Camellia sinensis (3) 15 Strong desire (4) 16 Liquid quantity (4) 19 Small piece cut off (7) 21 Trifle (with) (3) 22 Symbol (5) 23 Tall stories (5) DOWN 1 Solitary (4) 2 Insulation covering (7) 3 Essential ingredient of concrete (6) 4 Prescribed amount (4) 5 And the rest (abbrev)(3) 6 Annual earnings (6) 11 Caretaker (7) 12 Start (6) 14 Torpor (6) 17 Style of bowling in cricket (4) 18 Seeing organs (4) 20 Indian ___, writing fluid (3)
8
9
SUDOKU
9 4 6 2 7 5 3 8 1
5 1 7 8 3 9 2 4 6
1 4 2 3 1 5
2 3 1 5 4 3
4 5 4 3 2 1
All puzzles © Puzzler Media Ltd - www.puzzler.com
C
T
Wordsearch 3 1 2 1 4 5
2 5 4 3 2 1
1 3 2 1 5 4
3 4 5 1 3 2
2 1 3 2 4 1
5 4 5 1 3 2
2 1 3 2 5 1
3 5 4 1 3 2
4 1 3 2 4 1
C W O J X N L S S F T A R
F A L L O F F A B U Z Z H
Y T R M S V E U B E L G G
L E I X U S R E F R U S Y
C R P I H E S G K N B P C
T H I G H W I N D S O I O
E I U Q S B G I J J A Z H
Codeword W O U P G O E K Z X R R B
R A M S G F F A R V D N T
Y U V G T Y J O C V S Q W
J T L E D E D S Q H H I M
K E W A S U W S P I L F S
S A B K W M O P X D S P T
E M B E Z Z L E R S
V I X E N S S U A I S T R U S T U O H V E R L A B J Y I R CON L A Y L P I S OD I C N U T OB S H R E O L E SWA Y S T
D R I P I N S F U R Q A E U R N UM I T O E S S E R T T R A NG E L A D D I NG D K E Y L E S
U C D L R N V O T Z X AG Y H J S K E B M Q F I P W20/08
30
www.jewishnews.co.uk
Jewish News 20 August 2020
Business Services Directory ANTIQUES 44
The Jewish News 22 September 2016
www.jewishnews.co.uk
BUSINESS SERVICES DIRECTORY
Stirling of Kensal Green
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
Established over 60 years. Know who you are dealing with.
Top prices paid
House clearances
All quality furniture bought & sold.
Antique – Reproduction – Retro Furniture
Single items to complete homes
(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
MARYLEBONE ANTIQUES - 8 CHURCH STREET NW8 8ED
WE BUY ANTIQUES
07866 614 744 (ANYTIME)
www.antiquesbuyers.co.uk
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:
0800 840 2035 or 07956268290
Single items to complete Please contact Gordonhomes Stirling
STUART SHUSTER - e-mail - info@maryleboneantiques.co.uk
Man on aOPEN Bike8am will TOget 9pm 7 DAYS. you working fast! RD LONDON. PORTOBELLO
020 8960 5401 or 07825 224144
Full house clearances organised.
CHURCH STREET ANTIQUES � 8 CHURCH STREET NW8 8ED
MAKE SURE CONTACT BEFORE SELLING Please look YOU at our websiteUS for more details
͔͚͚͛͜ ͚͕͘ ͛͘͘ (ANYTIME) Email: gordonstirling65@gmail.com
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.
0207 723 7415 (SHOP)
FOR APPOINTMENTS CALL SUE ON: 0800 840 2035 or 07956268290 OPEN 8am TO 9pm 7 DAYS.
Call Ian Green, Man on a Bike on
PORTOBELLO RD LONDON.
020 8731 6171 • www.manonabike.co.uk
closed Sunday & Monday STUART SHUSTER � e�mail � stuart@churchstreetantiques.net
MAKE SURE YOU CONTACT US BEFORE SELLING
WESTLON HOUSING ASSOCIATION
ARE YOU BEREAVED?
Sheltered Accommodation
Charity & Welfare
Bereavement Counselling for adults and children individually. Support Groups available.
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
During the pandemic, we offer telephone and online counselling.
ARE YOU BEREAVED?
Contact Jewish Bereavement Counselling Service in confidence.
Counselling for adults & children who are 0208 951 3881 experiencing loss. Support groups offered. enquiries@jbcs.org.uk | www.jbcs.org.uk Call The Jewish Bereavement Counselling Service in confidence
www.jamiuk.org
For confidential advice, information and support don’t forget Jewish Care Direct. REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1003345
020 8922 2222
jcdirect@jcare.org
020 & 8951 3881 • 07765 693 160 CHARITY WELFARE
jewishcare.org/helpline
HOUSE CLEARANCE
E: enquiries@jbcs.org.uk
PLUMBSAFE (UK) LTD Jami supports and represents people with mental illness across Fast & Efficient House the Jewish community.
For all your heating and plumbing requirements | boiler repairs and installation | complete central heating | | power flushing | complete bathroom installation service | | landlords certificates | project management | home purchase reports |
Clearance
#jamithinkahead We are reliable, cover all neighbourhoods & suit all budgets. Give support • Get support • Get involved We also buy good quality furniture, old books & Judaica.
All NW-London postcodes covered
07860 881505 or 0800 610 12 12
020 8458 2223 | info@jamiuk.org www.jamiuk.org
Call: 078 060 79299 Reg Charity No. 1003345
Not shabbat
PLUMBSAFEUK.COM
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.
BUY/SELL For further details and application forms, please contact Westlon Housing Association on 020 8201 8484
Charity Reg No. 802559
“Better Safe Than Sorry�
We have an open waiting list for our friendly and comfortable warden assisted sheltered housing schemes in Ealing, East Finchley and Hendon. We provide 24-hour warden support, WESTLON HOUSING ASSOCIATION seven days a week; a residents’ lounge and kitchen, laundry, aSheltered sunny patioAccommodation and garden.
Town & Country House Clearance We buy quality items, furniture and bric-a-brac We also clear unwanted items and rubbish For free advice or a quotation Are you a Jewish woman experiencing domestic violence? With abuse in your home, do you worry about your children?
We are here to help Contact Finlay with free support, advice and information and confidential counselling. Mobile: 07973 542018 Kosher Refuge available for women and children in need. Email:Freetowncountrymove@aol.com Confidential National Helpline 0808 801 0500 advice@jwa.org.uk • www.jwa.org.uk
HOME & MAINTENANCE
Home & Maintenance
L
K
PLUMBSAFE (UK) LTD
No further, your
LOCAL PLUMBERS
Hall & Randall Plumbers
CENTRAL HEATING, PLUMBING REPAIRS & ADVISORY SERVICE EMERGENCY REPAIRS, BLOCKED PIPES DRAINAGE GUTTERING, ROOFING, CENTRAL HEATING AND BOILERS 12 MONTHS GUARANTEE, 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE
| boiler repairs and installation | complete central heating | | power flushing | complete bathroom installation service | | landlords certificates | project management | home purchase reports |
Not shabbat
) *" " - *'
Home & Maintenance
STONEMASON
PROFESSIONAL A. ELFES LTD PAINTING, DECORATING memorials & New PAPER HANGING Additional inscriptions Over & 20renovations years experience Friendly, reliable & Gants Hill service. Edgware personal
The specialist masons in creating bespoke Granite and Marble Memorials for all Cemeteries.
Email : info@garygreenmemorials.co.uk
12Very Beehive Lane 130rates High Street competitive Gants Hill, IG1 3RD Edgware, HA8 7EL Telephone Telephone
STEPHEN: 07973 342 422 0207 754 4659 0207 754 4646
www.garygreenmemorials.co.uk
Gary Green ad 84 x 40mm JM Group v2.indd 1
LOFT CONVERSIONS & UPVC Fitter
+ " ) "# ,! " " ! # !
•DRIVEWAYS •PAINTING London 020 8485 8176 •PATIOS •PLASTERING •BRICKWORK •PLUMBING ADVERTISE IN THE AUTOMOTIVE •ROOF REPAIRS •ALL BUILDING UK’S BIGGEST •GUTTERING WORKNEWSPAPER JEWISH City and Guilds Electrician MOTOR VEHICLES
PLUMBSAFEUK.COM
office@hallandrandall.com
Edgware Showroom 41 Manor Park Crescent Edgware. HA8 7LY T: 0208 381 1525
! ! # ! " " #
All NW-London postcodes covered
07860 881505 or 0800 610 12 12
020 8953 2094 office
Clayhall Showroom 14 Claybury Broadway Ilford. IG5 0LQ T: 0208 551 6866
HI LINE ROOFING
For all your heating and plumbing requirements
020 8207 3286 home 020 8386 8798 hallandrandallplumbers.com
LONDON
“Better Safe Than Sorry�
18/03/2019 12:50:51
srindsmc@hotmail.com
www.memorialgroup.co.uk
All types of electrical work undertaken
FOR LESS THAN
PURCHASED A WEEK £24.00 FREE ESTIMATES & ADVICE Rewiring, extra sockets, BT points, Economy 7 CLASSIC OR CARS storage heaters, Shabbat time switches, security lighting, ALL tests, WORK FULLYCall GUARANTEED for vehicles 10 CCTVportable appliance LED spotlights, over fault finding, Marc today landlord tests and house buyer’s surveys. years old preferably on 020 7692 6943 581 Bowrons Ave, Wembley HA0 4QP withan low mileagereliable and friendly For efficient service.
Call Harvey Solomons on
020 8958 Anthony 6495 / 07836 Contact: – 648 554
07850 590415
01245 211 002 / 07773 102 386 Jewish hilineroofing.site123.me
20 August 2020 Jewish News
www.jewishnews.co.uk
31
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@jewishnews.co.uk
OFFICE FURNITURE
DOMICILIARY CARE FREE CARE if you book before 31st October 2019, for every 4 hours of care booked the 5th hour will be 50% Free.
Need to furnish your home or office?
HOME CARE AGENCY Established Over 30 years
Professional Care at Home Day & Night Care available North and Central London
London’s leading supplier of new and reconditioned furniture. Free assembly and delivery next working day on most items – call now!
T: 020 8088 2789 info@kells-care.com kells-care.com
LEGACY- LEAVE A GIFT IN YOUR MEMORY
JEWISH WAR VETERANS
Leave the legacy of independence to people like Joel.
& THEIR DEPENDANTS NEED
YOUR LEGACY
PLease remember us in your wiLL.
eNABLeD
Tel: 020 8202 2323 Web: www.ajex.org.uk Email: headoffice@ajex.org.uk
visit www.Jbd.org
Registered Charity
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
HELP US CONTINUE TO BE THERE FOR OUR COMMUNITY WITH A GIFT IN YOUR WILL. Call Alison on 020 8922 2833 for more information or email legacyteam@jcare.org Chancellors House, Brampton Lane, London, NW4 4AB Tel: 020 8903 8746 | Fax: 020 8795 2240 www.bfiwd.org | email: info@bfiwd.org
ADVERTISE IN THE UK’S BIGGEST JEWISH NEWSPAPER FOR LESS THAN £24 A WEEK Email Sales today at sales@jewishnews.co.uk
Charity Reg No. 802559
WASTE REMOVAL
Secure our
children’s future
Please include
CST in your Will
Charity no. 1042391
Every gift makes a difference legacy@cst.org.uk
Call 0800 559 3917 Email sales@andrewsofficefurniture.com www.andrewsofficefurniture.com
020 8457 3700
ISRAEL PROPERTY
Legacy advert 84x40.indd 1
Ramat Bet Shemesh Aleph. New Project from ₪1,290,000
www.cst.org.uk
ADVERTISE IN THE UK’S BIGGEST JEWISH NEWSPAPER FOR LESS THAN £24 A WEEK Email Sales today at sales@jewishnews.co.uk
07/04/2017 14:47
Rannana New Project from ₪2590,000
Hertzlia Pituach New Project ₪12, 999, 000
Jerusalem New Project From ₪1999, 000
www.israel-properties.com
32
Jewish News 20 August 2020
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