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Fleeing my forced Purim, but no parties marriage How one brave mother found the courage to break free after 14 years of agony

VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY 11 February 2021

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29 Shvat 5781

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Issue No.1197

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@JewishNewsUK

More shuls to open for festival Page 7

Page 17

The art of hate How Britain funds radicalisation in Palestinian schools

Stock image of a Palestinian classroom

Palestinian Grade 5 class exercise…

Colour in a Palestinian flag, dripping with blood, against the backdrop of the Dome of the Rock, accompanied by a map of Palestine without Israel.

Pages 2, 3, 4, 5 & 22

‘Paralysed by grief ’ for murdered son Mum unable to say goodbye as police hunt killers of aspiring young lawyer

The grieving mother of an aspiring young lawyer murdered in north London last weekend says she is “paralysed by grief ” as the hunt for his killers continues, writes Jack Mendel.

Sven Badzak, 22, whose father is Jewish, was with a friend outside Bagel Baby in Willesden Lane in Kilburn on Saturday when the pair were attacked by a gang of youths.

Badzak’s mother, Jasna, paid tribute to her only son last night, telling Jewish News he was “beloved by everyone”.

Calling the assailants “scumbags and monsters”, she described how one of the

wounds was “seven centimetres into the chest” with three more into his lower back.

Jasna said she was “paralysed by grief” and “couldn’t even hug him and kiss him” to say goodbye.

Police described the attack as “barbaric”.

Lead detective, Chief Inspector Darren Jones of the Metropolitan Police, said: “As this group chased the pair, Sven and his friend became separated. Sven fell to the ground and was attacked by a number of the group. His friend was also attacked but managed to seek sanctuary in a shop. However, he remains critically ill in hospital.”

Jones said police would support the families through their investigation and that a “team of highly experienced officers will be working tirelessly to locate and apprehend those responsible for this horrific attack”.

After police “said they believe “Sven and his friend became involved in an altercation with a group of males”, his mother responded: “There was no altercation, they were attacked for no reason whatsoever.”

A 17-year-old male was arrested over the killing on Tuesday, with police urging anyone with information to telephone 101 quoting the

Continued on page 8

Sven celebrating Chanukah and Christmas

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Jewish News 11 February 2021

Jewish News investigation / Schools of hate

How Britain is funding rra

by Jenni Frazer jenni@jennifrazer.com @Jennifrazer

• Palestinians learn maths by adding up ‘martyrs’ • Pupils taught Jews ‘control the media’ • Jew-killers hailed as heroes and role models • Poems call for ‘the annihilation of foreigners’ • UK has given an estimated £105m to this since 2016 BRITISH TAXPAYERS are continuing to pay for a Palestinian education system in which school pupils are routinely taught incitement, hatred of Israel and glorification of terrorism. Many of the textbooks are written by vetted officials, whose salaries are paid by the UK. Despite numerous assurances from the Palestinian education minister, detailed reports from the Israel-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) show that as recently as September last year, Palestinian school students were still learning maths by adding up the number of ‘martyrs’, including those who have led suicide bombings on buses and shopping centres. The curriculum is taught in Palestinian Authority and UNRWA schools in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem.

In this Palestinian school textbook, physics students are asked to calculate the forces at play when a slingshot is fired at Israeli soldiers

Not only does Britain continue to pay – in the past five years it has spent an estimated £105 million on Palestinian education professionals, including on the salaries of teachers who write the textbooks – but it appears to have a blind spot when it comes to challenging the Palestinians on the content of those books.

The UK and the Palestinian Authority (PA)

have a Memorandum of Understanding, or MoU, which supposedly commits the Palestinians not only to “uphold the principle of non-violence”, but to take action against “incitement to violence, including addressing allegations of incitement in the educational curriculum”. Money paid by Britain to the Palestinian partner is supposedly contingent on

the PA’s performance on “curriculum reform”.

However, the UK’s criteria for judging the PA’s performance appear narrow. It deemed an internal government target in the 2017-18 MoU for the PA to carry out “curriculum reform” was met, but then admitted it did not include the actual contents of the curriculum.

In a letter written shortly before his resigna-

The deformative years: Five years of failure and delay over Palestinian aid

APRIL 2017 IMPACT-se presents its finding on the new PA curriculum to DfID and FCO officials in the UK’s consulate in Ramallah.

28 MARCH 2018 DfID admits that UK-funded teachers and civil servants are “involved in the implementation process” of the Palestinian Authority curriculum reviewed

by IMPACT-se, meaning that British aid is helping to support the delivery of a curriculum that promotes terrorism, violence, Jihad and ‘martyrdom’.

2017

13 SEPTEMBER 2017 DfiD Minister Alistair Burt says he is very concerned at some of the findings of the IMPACT-SE report and that DfID officials had met IMPACT-SE to discuss them.

18 APRIL 2018 Alistair Burt concedes that the UK’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Palestinian Authority “includes requirements for the PA to commit to the principle of non-violence and address allegations of incitement in the education curriculum”.

12 SEPTEMBER 2018 Burt states that in May 2018, Britain had “assessed the PA had adhered to the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding”, which includes requirements of non-violence and addressing allegations of incitement in the curriculum.

9 OCTOBER 2018 Burt states that in his last meeting with the Palestinian minister of education in May, he “challenged him on the need to prepare their population for peaceful coexistence”.

2018

1 APRIL 2018 After media reports in Sunday Times and The Daily Mail, DfID announces for the first time a planned UK “thorough assessment” of the Palestinian curriculum.

In a statement, DfID adds that it is “very concerned” by the IMPACT-se findings, and it will “take action” if evidence of material that incites violence is found.

8 JANUARY 2019 Dame Louise Ellman succeeds in getting first stage of legislation ensuring that UK assistance to the PA education system complies with international values of peace and tolerance. An annual review is required to ensure compliance.

21 JANUARY 2019 Burt meets Palestinian Education Minister, Sabri Saidam, and raises renewed allegations of incitement and antisemitism in textbooks. Saidam says he will “engage constructively with findings of textbook review and consider its recommendations”.

2019

4 JULY 2018 MP Joan Ryan initiates debate on Palestinian textbook content in Westminster Hall.

18 SEPTEMBER 2018 Burt tells Joan Ryan that the PA has “taken action to help address concerns raised”, including “piloting new textbooks”.

Separate assessments in September 2018, 2019 and 2020

by IMPACT-se totally undermine this claim.

15 DECEMBER 2018 The Daily Mail runs second story. DfID issues press release stating for first time that UK review of PA curriculum is “to be completed by September 2019”.

21 JANUARY 2019 Burt confirms that DfID still hasn’t commissioned the planned review of the Palestinian curriculum since “the UK has been convening discussions with potential international partners on commissioning the review together, in order to increase the impact of the study”, adding: “We will commission the review once we have concluded these discussions.”

19 MARCH 2019 DfID finally announces it has commissioned review into Palestinian textbooks, to be undertaken by Georg Eckert Institute in Germany and to be published by September 2019.

11 February 2021 Jewish News

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Schools of hate / Jewish News investigation

adicalisation tion in March 2019, Alistair Burt, then Middle East Minister, said: “DfiD [Department for International Development] assessed that the PA did meet this KPI [key performance indicator] as the Grades 5-10 pilot textbooks were rolled out by the agreed deadline.”

But he added: “The content of the textbooks was not covered by a KPI, and DfID was not involved in the selection of material.”

Ministers have refused requests to publish the government’s annual internal reviews of the PA’s compliance with the MoU. However, they have repeatedly stated that, as Middle East Minister James Cleverly told Labour Friends of Israel chair Steve McCabe last November: “We continue to judge that the PA is demonstrating a credible commitment to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s partnership principles.”

It is not the first time Cleverly or his predecessor, Burt, has responded in this way.

LFI MPs Ian Austin and Joan Ryan, both of whom have now left Parliament, asked on four occasions what Britain was doing. Each time, the government said it judged the PA to be in compliance.

Britain insists that “UK aid does not pay for textbooks in the Occupied Palestinian Territories”, a line critics call “civil service speak”. An official spokesman for the FCDO told Jewish News: “The UK government strongly condemns all forms of violence. We have repeatedly raised concerns regarding allegations of incitement to violence in the Palestinian Authority’s curriculum at the highest levels, and successfully lobbied our European partners to commission an independent review into these textbooks.”

Behind the scenes, however, there was obviously concern about the content of Palestinian textbooks, hard copies of which were handed to Burt at a Westminster Hall debate in July 2018 (a second debate was held last March).

Accordingly, Britain said it would commis-

10 MARCH 2020 Second Westminster Hall debate. James Cleverly, Minister of State for the Middle East, challenged on when the EU report will be made public, says it is up to the Europeans but “transparency is our friend”.

29 APRIL 2020 DfID says it is pleased “that the Palestinian Authority is undertaking a review of its textbooks and updating them for the new academic year”.

sion a review of the textbooks, to be undertaken by a specialist educational body, the Georg Eckert Institute in Germany.

Burt held a meeting with then Palestinian Education Minister Sabri Saidam in January 2019 and reported: “The PA minister confirmed he was willing to take into account the findings of an expert textbook review.” At this point, he was agreeing to a non-existent review as the Institute was commissioned that March.

Weeks after his meeting with Burt, the PA put out a press release deploring what it called “attacks and slander of the Palestinian curriculum”, adding: “The ministry will remain invincible against these attempts, calling [on] the civil society institutions and the Palestinian people to defend the national curriculum with all their might.”

THE CONTENT IMPACT-se has made detailed studies of the contents of Palestinian textbooks over the past five years. In its analysis of the most recent books, researchers found that “no changes, in relation to hate and incitement, have been made to 82 percent of the Palestinian Authority’s 2020-21 school textbooks made available this month by the Palestinian Ministry of Education for the 2020-21 academic year”.

The research identified 152 modifications in the remaining 40 newly-revised textbooks.

“Almost 90 percent reflect adjustments that keep problematic material intact or made it worse.”

Maths, says the report, “is still taught by adding numbers of ‘martyrs’ who died in each intifada. However, after what appears to be a recount, the number was corrected from 2,026 to 1,392 martyrs. This number includes the bombers of buses and shopping malls.”

In another modification, in a reading comprehension, Dalal Mughrabi, who led the Coastal Road Massacre in 1978 that killed 38 Israelis including 13 children, has been

21 JULY 2020 Cleverly says PA still demonstrating “a credible commitment to MoU and the ‘partnership principles’”.

11 AUGUST 2020 IMPACT-se releases review of Eckert interim report. In damning findings, IMPACT-se says Israeli textbooks, which promote peace and tolerance, were mistakenly presented as Palestinian. The Palestinian textbooks reviewed continue to glorify terrorism and violence.

2020

31 MARCH 2020 DfID says PA is “demonstrating a credible commitment to MoU”… despite IMPACT-se findings of antisemitism and incitement to violence in the PA 2019-20 textbooks.

4 JUNE 2020 Cleverly discusses with PA education minister planned revision of textbooks for September 2020.

12 & 13 AUGUST 2020 CFI sends letter on flawed Eckert report to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab; LFI sends letter on same issue to James Cleverly.

UK HAS KEPT DOGGEDLY TO SAME WRONG PATH MARCUS SHEFF

CEO, INSTITUTE FOR MONITORING PEACE AND CULTURAL TOLERANCE (IMPACT-SE)

You have to admire the British government’s tenacity. Once set on a path, nothing changes its course.

Ministers have faced dozens of reports, parliamentary questions, Westminster Hall debates and media revelations about the use of UK aid to support teaching of the radical Palestinian curriculum, which has been shown to encourage antisemitism and erase peacemaking, encourage young Palestinian people to sacrifice themselves in violent jihad and to file lawsuits against Britain in international courts.

Yet, despite this, ministers have stayed the course, doggedly trotting out the same lines.

Former Foreign and Commonwealth Minister Alistair Burt came closest when he wrote to us in 2018 that he was “deeply concerned when I read the findings of the IMPACT-se report into the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s new curriculum, and discussed this with officials… I assure you the material you have presented is being acted upon”.

But it was not acted upon. The government received five separate reports from us between 2017 and 2021 detailing the hate in the PA cur-

riculum, with hundreds of translated examples.

MPs rained down questions on ministers. Joan Ryan and Jonathan Gullis led debates in Parliament about the textbooks.

But as late as 10 November last year, the Department for International Development stated that the PA has not violated the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and the PA, which includes in it the curriculum. Meanwhile, four full years of UK aid has contributed to the racialisation of Palestinian children.

Others have been less blasé. Following IMPACT-se policy work, the Norwegian Parliament cut aid to the PA, the European Parliament passed legislation condemning the Palestinian failure to remove hate, and the United Nations published a report for the Human Rights Council noting the extreme levels of hatred and incitement appearing in Palestinian textbooks.

Around the Middle East, countries are making efforts to take out antisemitism and hate from textbooks. The United Arab Emirates has a remarkable unit that teaches peacemaking and respect for the ‘other’.

Jordan has made great improvements and Morocco has begun to teach about the country’s Jewish history. Only the Palestinian curriculum has worsened over the past four years, supported by UK taxpayer funds.

Guy, aged 5, lives in the UJIA Carmiel Children’s Village thanks to

..

The connection continues with a UJIA legacy gift

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Gerald (1920 - 2014)

During his lifetime, Gerald Crossman scaled the heights of the music world, playing alongside showbiz greats including Charlie Chaplin, Morecambe & Wise and even Marlene Dietrich. Yet it was after his death that he made perhaps his most lifechanging impact.

In 2019, Guy moved into Carmiel Children’s Village, giving him a new start in life away from a life of abuse and poverty. This was made possible in no small part thanks to the legacy gift left by Gerald to UJIA in his Will.

To find out more about the difference a legacy gift to UJIA can make, call Harvey Bratt on 020 7424 6431 or email harvey.bratt@ujia.org United Jewish Israel Appeal is a registered charity No. 1060078 (England & Wales) and Sc 039181 (Scotland).

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Jewish News 11 February 2021

Jewish News investigation / Schools of hate

Children are tested on addition with a question about ‘martyrs’ killed in the two intifadas

replaced by Khalil al-Sakakini, a notorious antisemite and Nazi sympathiser. Mughrabi has been moved to another section of the textbook and is referred to as the “crown of the nation’’.

IMPACT-se says that in the entire curriculum “there are a handful of examples of peace advocacy as a universal ideal; but there is no mention of the current Palestinian-Israeli con-

flict. On the contrary, in one example, when students are asked to read and discuss the motives of war, the ‘Zionist colonial settlement in Palestine’ is blamed for ‘the implementation of colonial projects to control the land and the population’ ”.

The research adds: “Jews and Israel are vilified to a greater extent than in previous curricula and antisemitism is more prevalent throughout. The state of Israel is mostly described as the ‘Zionist Occupation’ throughout the entire corpus of the new curriculum.

“The curriculum teaches antisemitic canards such as that Jews are corrupt and control finance, the media and politics. Images include an arm with a Star of David holding a globe.

“Khalil al-Sakakini, well known as an antisemite and Nazi supporter who applauded terror attacks against Jewish civilians, is described as a Palestinian hero and role model whose footsteps should be followed. Sakakini stated Jews control the media and that Hitler opened the world’s eyes to the myth of Jewish power”. Nine-year-olds are taught to recite a violent poem calling for

“sacrificing blood” to remove the enemy [Israel] from the land by “eliminating the usurper” and to “annihilate the remnants of the foreigners”.

Other modifications in the 2020 textbooks include making neutral material worse. A passage mentioning the Jezreel Valley (Marj Ibn Amir in Arabic), located in Israel proper, which was previously referred to as a geographical example of plains, is now taught as located specifically in Palestine. A sentence in an Arabic language textbook used to teach the past tense, which previously read “they tore my toy to pieces” now reads “the soldiers tore my toy to pieces”, in a gratuitous reference to the conflict.

THE REVIEW MISTAKE Britain aimed to publish results of the Georg Eckert Institute’s review in September 2019 but months went by with no sign of publication.

In the meantime, European politicians also decided to ask the Institute to carry out a review into the textbooks on its behalf.

By last August, there was a shocking finding: the researchers had been looking at the wrong textbooks. They had been analysing the content of schoolbooks used in east Jerusalem – where teaching takes place under Israeli education auspices. So the researchers praised the content of these books, and said the Palestinians were doing everything pos-

We must suspend aid that finances curriculum STEVE MCABE, MP CHAIR, LABOUR FRIENDS OF ISRAEL

Britain is a long-standing advocate of a two-state solution, but its funding for these lessons in hate undermines this.

We should support efforts to bring about peace, reconciliation and coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. Instead, UK aid is helping to teach five-year-olds the word for ‘martyr’ and teenage boys that they’ll be rewarded with ‘72 virgin brides in paradise’ if they die in terror attacks. This poison infuses

the curriculum: science lessons, for instance, teach Newton’s Second Law through the image of a boy with a slingshot targeting soldiers.

Indeed, research by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education shows that, across the curriculum, there are nearly 2,800 references to violence.

The government was first warned about the contents of the curriculum when the PA introduced it in September 2017. But ministers dismissed those warnings and instead spent three years dragging their feet and saying they were waiting for the findings of an international review commissioned by the European Union.

That review, which was supposed to have been completed in September 2019, remains

shrouded in secrecy and it is not even clear that it will ever be published. All our government currently has to say is that it continues to raise the issue with the PA and that it supports the publication of the EU review.

But the government knows that the PA has repeatedly ignored pleas by ministers to clean up its act. It’s not hard to work out why the PA seems so indifferent to ministers’ pleas.

The agreement between the UK and the PA that governs aid states that Ramallah must take action against “incitement to violence, including allegations of incitement in the educational curriculum”. The PA has entered into that commitment every year since 2016 – the very year, in fact, in which it was intro-

ducing its new curriculum – and every year it’s broken that commitment.

Despite this, the UK government cheques that pay the salaries of 33,000 teachers and civil servants in the PA Education Ministry – the salaries of those who devised, implemented and teach the curriculum – have continued to flow.

We believe that the UK should follow Norway and suspend all aid to the PA that directly or indirectly finances those teaching and implementing this curriculum until the PA commits to wholesale and urgent revisions of it. While that money remains suspended, it should be redirected to Palestinian education NGOs that have a proven track record of promoting peace and the values of tolerance, respect and coexistence.

The deformative years: Five years of failure and delay over Palestinian aid

25 AUGUST 2020 Dominic Raab raises incitement in textbooks with PA officials.

SEPTEMBER 2020 IMPACT-se releases review that finds no substantive changes to newly published PA 2020-21 school textbooks. Foreign Office and DfID merge.

10 NOVEMBER 2020 Newly-merged Foreign Office and DfiD statement insists: “Our partnership with the Palestinian Authority is underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding and our ‘partnership principles’. We continue to judge that the PA is demonstrating a credible commitment to this Memorandum and the ‘partnership principles’.”

DECEMBER 2020 The Norwegian Parliament cuts aid to the Palestinians by £2.45 million, owing to the PA’s abuse of funds by promoting hate and incitement in textbooks. Cut follows freeze in aid to PA announced in June 2020 by Norway’s foreign minister, to be lifted only when curriculum amended. Norwegian Parliament, after briefing by IMPACT-se, issues statement referring to Palestinian textbooks as “devastating to the peace process”.

2017 2020 15 SEPTEMBER 2020 Two weeks after the announcement of the Abraham Accords, the UAE textbooks, which were overhauled in 2016, show details of the Accords in textbooks and a positive peace message being taught to young Emiratis.

21 JANUARY 2021 James Cleverly answers parliamentary question and says Eckert report will be completed “in early 2021”.

2021

OCTOBER 2020 Twenty-one MEPs from 15 countries call for cutting of ties with Eckert and for the study to be renewed with a different institute. They request partial funding cut to PA education until positive changes are made to textbooks.

DECEMBER 2020 Saudi Arabia begins to remove hardline Islamists and antisemitic content from official state textbooks.

31 JANUARY 2021 Statement from FCDO to Jewish News says: “UK aid does not pay for textbooks in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The UK government strongly condemns all forms of violence. We have repeatedly raised concerns regarding allegations of incitement to violence in the Palestinian Authority's curriculum at the highest levels, and successfully lobbied our European partners to commission an independent review into these textbooks.”

11 February 2021 Jewish News

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Schools of hate / Jewish News investigation

Pupils are tasked with analysing ‘energy transformations’ in a slingshot aimed at Israelis

sible to prepare their children for peace.

The Eckert reviewers did assess some Palestinian textbooks. They described acts of terrorism as “resistance” and said the glorification of Mughrabi was “a positive example of women empowerment in an attempt to imply gender equality”.

It took until last October for the Eckert Institute to admit to a German newspaper that Israeli textbooks had been “mistakenly” included in the research. But the error meant more delay to the publication of its report.

Britain says the EU “is now moving towards the final reporting stage of the study. To ensure that the final report is thorough, the study has been extended to include a sample of textbooks introduced for school year 2020-21. We will carefully study its findings before we decide on next steps.”

THE EXASPERATION In the wake of the Eckert admission, anger about apparent Palestinian refusal to comply with European guidelines on its education

provision bubbled over. In October last year, 21 MEPs from 15 countries called for the cutting of ties with the Eckert Institute and for the review to be moved to another body – but this did not happen. The MEPs also requested partial funding be cut to PA education until positive changes made to the textbooks. Last May, the European Parliament voted, with a majority of 60 percent, for resolutions condemning the Palestinian failure to stop hate in textbooks. The aim was to prevent abuse of EU aid used to pay the salaries of Palestinian educators who teach hate and incitement.

ments between the UAE and Israel and Bahrain and Israel – the UAE textbooks were referring in positive terms to the Accords.

Last December, a new IMPACT-se report looked at curriculum changes in Saudi Arabia. It found that while there was no new “tolerant” material in the Saudi textbooks, nevertheless “a substantial amount of offensive material has been removed”. This year’s textbooks no longer include a religious prediction of a war in which Muslims would kill all the Jews – and the classic antisemitic trope that Jews, identified as ‘Zionist forces’, use villainous methods, including money, women and drugs to control the world – has been

dropped.

Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) Parliamentary chairman in the House of Commons, Stephen Crabb MP said: “It is of grave concern that incitement to violence and demonisation of Israel has become endemic in Palestinian society, from Palestinian Authority-run schools named after terrorists to a curriculum filled with hatred. The rot has truly now set in, with UNRWA recently being caught distributing its own educational material to children glorifying

Palestinian terrorism. As the government reviews its overseas aid commitments, I hope ministers will take this opportunity to fundamentally question how aid is being used in the Palestinian Territories”.

CFI vice-chairman Theresa Villiers MP said: “I first raised the issue of incitement in Palestinian textbooks in the European Parliament nearly 20 years ago. The UK government has made repeated efforts to try to tackle this, but the Palestinian Authority has failed to make the necessary changes, despite repeated assurances. The UK government must take urgent action to ensure our aid promotes peace, not violence.”

Conservative MP Jon Gullis said: “UK taxpayers rightly expect their hard-earned money to be used to support prospects for peace, yet this expectation is not being met. I wrote to Minister Cleverly in October raising concerns over this issue as continued inaction has resulted in another year of Palestinian children being indoctrinated under our watch – we must act now.”

A FCO spokesperson said: “UK aid does not pay for textbooks in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” but did not address the claim

by IMPACT-se that the textbooks are often written by Palestinian teachers, whose salaries are paid through UK aid. They added: “The UK government strongly condemns all forms of violence. We have repeatedly raised concerns regarding allegations of incitement to violence in the PA’s curriculum at the highest levels and lobbied European partners to commission an independent review.”  Editorial comment, page 22

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE CAMP SIMCHA LIFELINE CAMPAIGN

OTHER COUNTRIES In the past five years, there has been a demonstrable shift in attitudes in Arab countries, with a meaningful effort to change the curriculum. Such a move began in 2016 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which overhauled its textbooks to send out a strong, peace-related message. It meant that only two weeks after the announcement last September of the Abraham Accords – the peace agree-

For 25 years Camp Simcha has been making a vital difference to seriously ill children and their families. We are their lifeline, bringing practical and therapeutic support, together with hope and joy at the darkest of times.

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A Palestinian teacher and his class at a school in Nablus, in the northern West Bank CS_Matched funding_JN_Week2Thank You_128x165mm_v1.indd 1

08/02/2021 14:49

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Jewish News 11 February 2021

News / Anti-Jewish racism

Hate crime shifts to Zoom The UK’s antisemitism monitor has said a reduction in anti-Jewish racism last year was “clearly influenced” by the pandemic, as it published its 2020 figures, writes Adam Decker.

The annual report from the Community Security Trust (CST) showed 1,668 incidents last year, an 8 percent fall on the year before.

This was “largely due” to lockdown restrictions from March, it said.

Figures back that up, the lowest monthly totals correlating to the first and second wave, and consequently to the first and second national lockdowns. The highest monthly totals included January and February – before the virus hit.

The charity also reported on 41 instances of antisemitism that specifically referenced the coronavirus, and on a new method favoured by locked-down antisemites, which has been termed ‘Zoombombing’.

Despite the reduced incidents, 2020 was still the third-highest annual total the CST has ever recorded, as several online events, typically held over the Zoom app, were breached (or Zoombombed) by digital intruders expressing antisemitic abuse.

“This is an entirely new type of incident, informed by a sudden widespread reliance on such platforms,” said the CST. “It demonstrates the ability, opportunism and speed of antisemitic offenders to adapt to a new social

Antisemitic incidents in 2020 fell eight percent ‘largely’ because of lockdown, the CST said

reality.” Covid-19 has also affected where and how antisemitic incidents are occurring.

The number of incidents relating to Jewish schools or schoolchildren fell from 122 in 2019 to 53 last year, reflecting extended school closures. Likewise, incidents at or near home, such as those involving neighbours, shot up by 25 percent. The charity commented that pandemic-related conspir-

acies were unsurprising, because “antisemitism follows events in the news cycle”.

Online antisemitic incidents fell by 9 percent, but the year’s most shocking example of Jew hatred – espoused over several days by the grime artist Wiley – was broadcast to his millions of followers through social media sites.

Drawing on tropes about Jewish power

and money while comparing Jews to the Ku Klux Klan, he even “appeared to encourage others to express their own antisemitism”, said the CST, which recorded 23 incidents in relation to it.

Home secretary Priti Patel said it was “shameful” that the Jewish community still faced antisemitism, while Labour’s shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, said overall numbers were “still too high”.

Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, said the pandemic had led to “a rise in antisemitic conspiracy theories and the use of dangerous alterative media platforms”, a point echoed by law enforcers.

The pandemic “provided a new focus for historic hostilities”, said Mark Hamilton deputy chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for hate crime. “We’ve seen conspiracy theories affecting many communities often include antisemitic tropes. This presented us with new challenges in 2020.”

CST boss Mark Gardner said he had hoped that antisemitism would fall by more than it had done during 2020. “The fact it didn’t means we must remain even more vigilant for 2021,” he added, “especially as the economic impact of Covid-19 may cause more extremism and division within society.”

Bus families endure antisemitic tirade An elderly Charedi couple were told to go “back to your country” and threatened with violence in an antisemitic tirade on a London bus, writes Jack Mendel.

Police are investigating after a Jewish disabled victim and their family were on the receiving end of abuse for 10 minutes on Monday, revealed in a video posted by the community watch group Shomrim on Twitter.

During the expletive-laden clip, the assailant in a hood shouts abusive language on the 253 bus near Manor House station in Hackney, including at a Charedi couple sitting down. He said: “”You f*** p*** this is our country, I will batter the f*** out of you. You think you can come over here and f*** with us English people”.

When the Jewish couple tell him to “go away”, he hurls more abuse, telling them to “f*** off back to your country then”.

In a statement, police said: “On the evening of Monday 8 February 2021, we were made aware of a video clip of a racially aggravated incident that took place on a bus near Manor House tube station at around 12.45hrs that day.”

Initial inquiries were carried out by officers from the Central East Command. Given the incident occurred on a bus the investigation has been passed to the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command to investigate.

Neighbourhood Superintendent for Hackney, Andy Port, said: “We take all forms of hate crime seriously whether that be a crime based on a person’s race, religion, sexual orien-

A clip from the video posted by Shomrim

tation, disability or prejudice against a person who is transgender. We deplore any form of hate crime and will do everything in our power to bring to justice those responsible. Should anyone have any information with regards to the incident please contact 101 quoting CAD 5662/8Feb or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville, wrote on Twitter: “Disgusting to see, please pass on my thoughts to the victims if you are supporting them.

“I assume the police will have been in touch with the council for any additional support around CCTV.”

www.jewishnews.co.uk

11 February 2021 Jewish News

7

Festival plans / Covid ‘sacrifices’ / News

More shuls open for Purim but no party At least six United Synagogue communities are set to reopen for Purim, under strict guidance on celebrating the festival, writes Jack Mendel.

At indoor communal Megillah readings there must be “no shouting or blowing instruments at Haman’s name” and no one under 11.

The guidance was given after the London Beth Din was asked by the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue to rule on celebrating the festival during the pandemic.

A summary issued this week tells congregants: “If you can hear a reading in shul or from somebody else whilst complying with government and [United Synagogue] Covid regulations, or if you can read it yourself from a kosher scroll, then you should do so.

If owing to Covid restrictions it is not possible, then you should listen to one of the live

Purim pre-pandemic: Children out and about in fancy dress

recitals we are broadcasting, rather than a recording.”

The United Synagogue said six communities were planning to re-open by 25 February, bringing the total number of shuls that will be physically open to 15, with more expected to be announced this week.

Under existing lockdown

rules, places of worship may open provided they follow Covid regulations.

Dayan Menachem Gelley, head of the London Beth Din, said: “Given that Covid poses a grave threat to our health and is putting immense strain on the NHS... all government health directives should be

strictly adhered to” when hearing the Megillah.

For communities that are open or intending to open, celebrations must not be “a Purim event or party”, with no food or drink allowed. The added risk means “those aged over 70 should be asked not to attend” and over-50s should “be reminded” of the danger.

Under-11s must not go to shul.

The Megillah “should be read at pace and not be drawn out”, the guidance adds, and there should be no “shouting or blowing of instruments at Haman’s name”. Numbers “should not exceed 50 in one space”; smaller shuls are asked to have a lower capacity.

For outdoor readings on shul grounds, there must be an open-sided marquee with all congregants seated. It is “not permitted” to hold readings for “multiple people in public spaces or on streets”, it adds.

Change in tone from Stamford Hill rabbi The Covid coordinator for London’s strictly-Orthodox community centred on Stamford Hill has urged members to “keep up the sacrifices” in a change in tone from his comments two months ago, writes Adam Decker.

Writing in the latest community newsletter, Rabbi Yossi Teitelbaum urged matchmakers to delay meet-ups where possible, and for shuls to determine, and stick to, maximum capacities as determined by a Covid risk assessment.

“If more people than allowed show up, such as for a simcha, it becomes impossible to follow government guidelines and the gabaim [leadership] are liable to suffer the consequences. The gabaim are pleading with you to take it seriously!” He added: “Please do not go after davening from shul to shul. Should you want to take part in a close relative’s simcha in shul, check with gabaim of that particular shul about attending the entire davening.”

Rabbi Teitelbaum was criticised for his December advice, which a barrister said was “riddled with errors” and designed to “get around” national Covid restrictions. Its hostile tone and unfounded allegations caused upset far beyond Stamford Hill.

However, he now urges strictly-Orthodox Jews to extend their mask wearing and treat the virus as deadly. “Those who can wear a mask on the road wherever they go will do a big kiddush Hashem [holy deed],” he said. “The importance of wearing a mask while shopping cannot be emphasised enough!”

Referring to the Jewish Chronicle, he said: “Random passersby have photographed clusters of shoppers without masks and have plastered it on the front page of their newspapers. We are giving the news too many reasons to be busy with us!”

Strictly-Orthodox leaders are working on guidance ahead of Purim, which proved devastating to community infection rates last year. Ideas being floated are a ban on the open-top lorries that typically carry partying youngsters through the streets and a ban on children visiting the homes of teachers to give them gifts.

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Jewish News 11 February 2021

News / Mental health / Tonge retires / Anti-vaxx poster NEWS IN BRIEF

OXFORD UNI HOLDS EVENT WITH LOACH An Oxford college held an event on Monday featuring film director Ken Loach, despite calls from Jewish community leaders for it to be cancelled.

The film-maker and activist was in conversation with Professor Judith Buchanan, master of St Peter’s College.

Loach has provoked outrage by downplaying and denying claims of antisemitism in the Labour Party. He urged Bafta to reconsider nominating the Panorama episode featuring Labour whistleblowers for an award and caused anger at a 2017 fringe event of the party conference with comments about Holocaust denial, saying: “I think history is for us all to discuss, wouldn’t you?”

Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl urged Buchanan not to give Loach a platform when there was a “public history of antisemitism denial and great offence given”, while the Union of Jewish Students said the college should not give a platform to someone who has repeatedly been “an apologist for antisemitism”.

Professor Buchanan said: “[The] college is committed to creating further opportunities for these concerns to be properly respected and discussed. St Peter’s stands against all forms of discrimination.”

‘Talking is first step’ A record number of synagogues, schools and Jewish communal organisations joined the mental health charity Jami in marking the fifth Mental Health Awareness Shabbat (MHAS).

Organisers say its need was greater than ever this year after the cumulative toll of several lockdowns was widely reported to have created new mental health issues and exacerbated existing problems.

The impact of the pandemic was a primary focus for many speakers discussing increasingly common issues such as loneliness, anxiety, and stress.

“For those already living with mental illness or caring for someone with mental health problems, these past months have been tougher than

ever,” said coordinators.

This year’s MHAS was held on 22 and 23 January, coinciding with Shabbat ‘Bo’, during which the weekly Torah portion about the plague of darkness is read. “The description of this plague has particular resonance with mental illness,” they said.

More than 200 organisations marked the occasion with events including United Synagogue’s

MHAS-dedicated Kabbalat Shabbat on US.TV, a Board of Deputies’ panel event featuring Jami chief executive Laurie Rackind and a panel event featuring mental health advocate Jonny Benjamin at Chabad’s Jewish Life Centre. Northern Reform shuls came together for a virtual MHAS programme for adults, primary and secondary school children, while others such as Senior Masorti Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg opted to raise funds for Jami by running a half-marathon.

“Challenging stigma and encouraging people to talk about mental health without fear of discrimination is a vital step to making sure people get the help they need,” said Rackind.  Details: www.jamiuk.org or call 020 8458 2223

TONGE TO LEAVE LORDS Corbyn bro held Anti-Israel peer Baroness (Jenny) Tonge is to step down from the House of Lords next Friday (19 February).

The politician, who was kicked out of the Liberal Democrats over comments deemed to be antisemitic, said she would continue her

activism for Palestinians. She told Jewish News: “I have always promised myself and my family that I would retire when I am 80-years-old which is in mid-February.

“However, I shall continue to campaign for justice for the people of Palestine.”

Anti-vaccination activist Piers Corbyn has been arrested over posters on which his name appears comparing vaccines to Auschwitz.

Police confirmed officers were investigating reports of “malicious material in the form of a leaflet circulated in south London in late January have made two arrests”, including a 73-year-old man in Southwark “on suspicion of malicious communications and public nuisance.”

Mum’s tears for murdered son

Continued from page 1

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Badzak’s (pictured above with Boris Johnson in 2008) Jewish grandmother survived a Nazi round-up during the Holocaust.

From the town of Rogatica, now in Bosnia and Herzegovina, his paternal grandmother’s family were captured, but as a fiveyear-old, she “was in the neighbour’s house playing with other kids”, so evaded the round-up. Jasna said: “She was orphaned, and those who took her in changed the family name from Bararor, “in order to not sound anything like it was Jewish. When she was older she was told that she was Jewish.”

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Jewish News 11 February 2021

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ooking for a care home which is safe as possible in the current pandemic? Then you could do no better than to join us as a resident in one of the homes in the Springdene Group, one of the premier care organisations in north London.

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Liberal tribute / Tribunal threat / News

Tributes to Liberals’ ‘guiding force’ Rosita Rosita Rosenberg, one of the leading figures in Liberal Judaism, has died aged 86.

Rosenberg, who served as executive director of Liberal Judaism from 1989 to 1997 and was the first woman to hold the position, played a significant role in the movement for many decades.

She helped to establish many Liberal communities including in Peterborough, Lincolnshire, Norwich, Kent and Herefordshire, as well as The Liberal Synagogue Elstree, then known as Stanmore Liberal Synagogue, of which she became an active member.

Last week she was honoured in Jewish News’ 120 Over 80 list, where she was described as “a guiding force of Liberal and Progressive Judaism for many years”.

During the 1960s, Rosenberg managed Liberal Judaism’s Development Committee that also helped to establish communities in Bedfordshire-Hertfordshire and Kingston.

Rosita Rosenberg helped to establish many communities

Despite stepping down as executive director in 1997, she still served as a vice president of the movement and inspired and supported many new generations of leaders and members.

She co-wrote the definitive history of the movement, Liberal Judaism: The First 100 Years, along with Rabbi Lawrence Rigal.

Liberal Judaism’s current chief executive officer, Rabbi Charley Baginsky, said: “Rosita was an inspiration, a mentor and a confidante to me and so

many others. She was loved by all who knew her and will be deeply missed. Her achievements for Liberal Judaism still stand and inspire to this day.”

Rabbi Rebecca Birk and Rabbi Dr René Pfertzel, cochairs of the Conference of Liberal Rabbis and Cantors said: “We are deeply saddened at the death of Rosita Rosenberg. Rosita led our movement as its executive director for almost 10 years, her strong commitment to Liberal Judaism, its history and values guided her always.”

Rabbi takes on trustees The public battle between an Orthodox Sephardi rabbi in Golders Green and his synagogue’s lay leadership took a new twist last week, after Charedi leaders said he could not be removed without a ruling from a Beth Din. In a letter to the trustees of Beth Hamedrash Knesset Yehezkel, the Office of the Rabbinate at the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations (UOHC) said a delegation of shul members had alleged Rabbi Aaron Bassous was being removed.

The trustees have claimed the rabbi had on three occasions stated he was resigning. But Bassous, who claims the broad support of congregants, threatened to take the shul trustees – including a local councillor – to an employment tribunal after denying he had resigned.

His employment is due to end on 11 February. In a leaked letter, he said “claims will flow” if they removed him, and now the UOHC has backed his argument with religious reasoning.

“It is the view of the Beth Din that the Rav of a shul cannot be removed against his will without there first being a Psak of a Beth Din which has first heard both sides according to Halacho,” said the UOHC registrar in a letter dated 4 February.

“The trustees are of course free to present their version of the situation if it differs from [the account of Rabbi Bassous]. In any event if there is no resolution, the sides should agree on a neutral Beth Din, or convene a Borrerus (Zablo) Beth Din.” Bassous, who led a boycott of the JW3 community centre for honouring the contribution of gay and transgender Jews, has seen his increasingly fractious employment dispute slide out into the public domain, with letters of support from congregants.

The relationship between the synagogue and the rabbi has grown increasingly fraught, with Bassous resigning as a trustee in 2019.

BOARD PRESIDENT CHALLENGED Marie van der Zyl could be the first incumbent Board of Deputies president to face a challenge in a bid for a second term since 1964.

While there are no official candidates of the representative body until nomination forms go out and candidates obtain 20 supporting signatures to get on the ballot, solicitor Jonathan Neumann has put his hat into the ring, citing experience battling

antisemitism and work in the charity sector.

Despite this being the first time an incumbent has faced opposition for nearly six decades, he insisted: “I do not view my candidacy as a ‘challenge’, because I’m less interested in the past three years than in what we can achieve in the next three to six years, and that is what I want this positive campaign to be about.”

As part of his vision, he said

“for too long the Board has acted as a blockage rather than an encouragement to Deputies’ talent and willingness to apply their skills and experience for the good of AngloJewry”, adding he wanted to “unleash” its “full potential”.

Marie van der Zyl told Jewish News: “I will be standing for re-election on my record of service and accomplishments over the last six years.”

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Jewish News 11 February 2021

News / Forced marriages NEWS IN BRIEF

TORY PARTY DROPS ‘ARYAN’ TWEETER The Conservative Party has dropped a local election candidate for telling a Jewish MP that she wanted to “keep the Aryan race going”. Sharon Thomason, who later proposed building a statue to the late anti-immigrant MP Enoch Powell, posted a tweet last year to Labour’s Charlotte Nichols. The message, sent after Nichols questioned the timing of Boris Johnson’s engagement announcement, was shared with Warrington Tories nearly a year ago, leaving analysts asking why HQ took so long to act.

NEO-NAZI TEEN AVOIDS CUSTODY Britain’s youngest convicted terrorist, who led a neo-Nazi cell from his grandmother’s house, has avoided custody. The boy was aged 13 when he got his hands on instructions for explosives. During a hearing at the Old Bailey on 1 February, the court heard that he talked about “gassing” Jews, hanging gays and wanting to “shoot up their parades”. He admitted to 12 offences – two of dissemination of terrorist documents and 10 of possession of terrorist material.

Entreaty on forced marriage A document highlighting the prevalence of forced marriage in the strictlyOrthodox community was delivered this week to the British government, writes Ellie Jacobs.

The paper, written by Nahamu, an organisation aimed at combating Jewish extremism, in collaboration with the National Commission of Forced Marriage UK, is based on the testimony of dozens of women and some men from the Chasidic community and argues that many arranged marriages are in violation of British law.

Co-author Yehudis Fletcher told Jewish News that the paper examines “what the systemic issues are that run through our community and put people at risk to forced marriage”.

Whereas previously, she said there has been “a stereotypical view on who is likely to encounter forced marriage, we are arguing that it cuts across class and happens in every community. There is nothing to be ashamed of, it happens everywhere. The shame is in absolutely denying it and refusing to tackle it.”

The paper argues that many Chasidic marriages fall within the definition of forced marriage in UK law but that the context of how Chasidic youth are raised means that most go along with the situation and comply with

marriage to someone they have only met once or twice.

Fletcher, who appeared on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour on Monday, told presenter Emma Barnett that forced marriage did not always mean violence. “The guidance to the legislation includes emotional and psychological pressure. While there can be a spectrum of different kinds of pressure... in this paper we are primarily talking about emotional and psychological pressure.”

The report says: “Survivors have reported a level of social coercion which arises from their insular upbringing….Children are primed from early childhood that all matches are arranged by parents… their outlook and education is severely limited such that Charedi schools redact any material that is not consistent with the Charedi world views.”

In the document, Nahamu has recommended that the government “ensure that education around forced marriage be included in the mandatory SRE [sex and relationship education lessons]”.

Fletcher told Jewish News: “We are citizens of this country, but there seems to be a lower threshold for safeguarding in our community. Why do we not deserve to be safe?”

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Though she says she was not telling individuals what to think and believe, she added: “I can hold the authorities to account. Why are they applying lower standards to our community than they are applying to others?”

Nahamu proposes criminal prosecutions for those conducting religious-only ceremonies, particularly for children under 18. In the Chasidic community, most couples are aged 17-19 when their marriage is arranged.

However, Chaya Spitz, CEO of

strictly-Orthodox charity Interlink, told Woman’s Hour that “forced marriage is a complete alien concept in Judaism. Consent and marrying of one’s free choice are absolutely fundamental principles”.

But Beatrice Webber, a divorced mother of 10, who was married to a strictly-Orthodox man in the USA, told the programme “the issue of consent is almost non-existent and was non-existent for many years for me”.  How I finally broke free, page 17

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Anti-extremist groups have given the government a paper on Charedi weddings

I recently watched Pixar’s Brave. Merida, the heroine, is being pressurised by her mother to get married. It struck me that Merida was subject to a forced marriage, as UK law sets out: You have the right to choose who you marry, when you marry or if you marry at all. Forced marriage is when you face physical pressure to marry… or emotional and psychological pressure.

Merida tells her mother she isn’t ready to marry. Her mother insists she will bring shame on her family by not following their cultural heritage. Merida can’t dictate the timing, or whom she will marry, or whether to marry at all.

Her mother exerts emotional pressure.

Despite Brave being set in medieval Scotland, Merida is a 21st-century feminist who can loudly articulate her opinion. As it’s Pixar, she turns her mother into a bear and she reconsiders, so that Merida can marry who she wants and new traditions can be made.

As a teenager in Glasgow, I knew some Charedi girls, daughters of the kollel rabbis; I attended a weekly Chumash shiur with them. I recall the first of these girls getting engaged to the first boy she met, after one short meeting.

I didn’t understand why she would agree to marry someone she’d met once but concluded that it was because she knew no different.

We have been writing a position paper on forced marriage, which has resulted in us reflecting on what would make an

arranged marriage a forced marriage. I have met Chasidic Jews who have told me they married someone they met just once, briefly, and only in hindsight do they realise they were subject to a forced marriage.

I have come to realise it is the social pressure in some communities that creates a lack of autonomy for young people to give full and free consent. We aren’t saying all Charedi marriages are forced. Rather, we are saying there are aspects of shidduch arrangements in some Charedi communities that fall within the UK’s definition of a forced marriage. But we

❝

ASPECTS OF THE SHIDDUCH PROCESS FALL WITHIN THE UK’S DEFINITION OF FORCED MARRIAGE have faced resistance from the Jewish community to talking about forced marriage at all.

This is an uncomfortable conversation to have but it won’t be easier at any other time. It affects too many people in too severe a way. It is time we grasped the nettle and reflected on the issues, so that no one has to choose between being safe and remaining part of the Charedi community.

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Jewish News 11 February 2021

News / Charity fundraising

Camp Simcha appeal raises £3m An online fundraising appeal by a charity that supports seriously ill Jewish children and their families has soared past £3million, writes Sandy Rashty.

All funds that were donated to Camp Simcha on Sunday and Monday are to be doubled by generous donors – giving the charity a chance to boost its funds over the Covid-19 pandemic, which has robbed it of the chance to raise money through usual meals, such as its gala dinner.

Since the 36-hour campaign launched on Sunday, around £3million has been donated by people across the community – surpassing the initial goal of £2m.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “Sadly due to Covid-19, we had to

cancel our 25th anniversary biennial fundraising dinner, leaving the continuity of our vital services to families in peril. “We will instead be running a 36-hour Match Funding Campaign on 7th-8th February, during which every donation we receive will be doubled by our generous group of match funders.”

They added: “Thank you for your support which will make a real difference to families with seriously ill children in our community.”

Camp Simcha, which was set up 25 years ago, supports seriously ill Jewish children and their family members across the UK and needs to raise £2.4m every year to provide essential services for the families.

It has reported a surge in request

for services over the pandemic, highlighted with its #isolatedbutnotalone campaign.

Among other services, family liaison officers working with Camp Simcha support children and their families. One worker highlighted a situation they often face – including sourcing feeding machines at short notice for children when the one they are using breaks.

Another situation included: “One of the children we support was rushed to hospital by ambulance. Mum jumped in the ambulance with no coat, just her bag. She messaged me late that evening to let me know.

“Her husband was away on business and she was alone so I said I insisted on coming. She said she

Gifts for children supported by Camp Simcha brighten up a hospital stay

was cold so I said I would bring her a jacket… I sat with her and waited until her child was settled with his carer

and then I took her home and saw her into her house.”

• Editorial comment, page 22

‘Mental health impact long-lasting’

Hundreds of people around the world tuned in to a unique fundraising event held by Jami, the community’s mental health charity.

Hosted by Countdown presenter and community activist Rachel Riley, the hour-long web event featured cameo messages from a variety of household names – including Dame Maureen Lipman, Stephen Fry, Vanessa Feltz, Claire Balding and Howard Jacobson.

Rachel Riley ADVERT hosted Jami’s fundraiser1 09/01/2020 But16:04 the main was on Jami’s work and HALF PAGE JAN 2020:Layout Pagefocus 1

its recipients. The pandemic has had enormous mental health impact as well as physical problems, and Jami’s workload has skyrocketed as the numbers of people who have suffered from depression owing to isolation have risen to unheard of proportions.

It’s chief executive Laurie Rackind told viewers it has cost Jami £600,000 more than usual to provide services. “The past 10 months have been the most challenging of my career,” he said, noting

“the mental health impact of the virus is likely to be far more long-lasting than the virus itself”.

Jami has had to adapt and change, closing its four London hubs and its Head Room Café in Golders Green; instead it has taken on more staff and is delivering hot meals directly to clients.

New cases have risen by 110 percent and 25 percent more staff have been recruited to provide online or phone mentoring, occupational therapy and guidance.

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Trade Bill / Safeguarding debate / News

Tory ‘tricks’ stifle genocide clause The government was accused of “tricks” to avoid voting on the Genocide Amendment, pressing China on its persecution of Uyghur Muslims.

There was anger from backbench Tories after Boris Johnson narrowly saw off a mutiny over the UK’s trade approach to countries suspected of committing genocide.

Jewish News had led a campaign to raise awareness about persecution of the Uyghurs in the region of Xinjiang. It is thought that up to one million of the minority are locked up in ‘re-education’ camps, with

reports of forced sterilisation, forced labour and mass surveillance.

MPs voted by 318 to 303 to remove two Lords amendments from the Trade Bill, including the Genocide Amendment, which would have forced ministers to withdraw from any free trade agreement with any country which the High Court ruled is committing genocide.

It was replaced by a governmentbacked compromise aimed at giving parliament a vote on whether to pursue agreements with such countries. A total of 31 Conservatives

rebelled to oppose the removal of the Genocide Amendment, which the independent crossbencher Lord Alton of Liverpool is planning to re-table when the Bill returns to the Lords.

Former minister Nus Ghani, who led the Tory rebels, previously handed a JN-organised letter to Number 10 signed by 150 parliamentarians urging action to end persecution of Uyghur Muslims. Following the compromise, she accused the government of using “every tactic and trick in the book to prevent a

The Trade Bill amendment was aimed at protecting China’s Uyghur Muslims

vote on the new Genocide Amendment”. She asked: “Is this really how we want our country to behave in the face of genocide?”

Rahima Mahmut, the London-

based director of the World Uyghur Congress, said: “I am glad that the House of Lords will not stand for this, and is likely to send the Amendment back [to the Commons].”

‘We’re not doing enough on child abuse’ The community must not “wait and put the responsibility on children and those who have been abused” to implement changes to safeguard them, child welfare experts have warned.

Yehudis Goldsobel, who in 2013 established Migdal Emunah, a charity that supports victims of sexual abuse, spoke last Wednesday night as part of a virtual panel discussion on communal safeguarding.

The event was chaired by Jewish News features editor Francine Wolfisz and coincided with Sexual Abuse and Sexual myKoCoNews’ half page ad 165x260mm Pesach closing 04-02-2021 v2.qxp_Layout 05/02/2021Week, 17:12which Pagewas 1 started by Goldsobel five Jewish Francine Wolfisz, top centre, chairs the panel Violence1Awareness

years ago. She said that while some progress had been made and “even the Chief Rabbi tweeted about it”, communal organisations were still not being proactive enough in supporting victims.

Goldsobel said: “We do have a tendency to water things down, to make it more palatable when actually there is nothing comfortable about the sexual abuse of children. We shouldn’t be comfortable when we are being trained to safeguard from it.”

Also taking part were consultant social worker Alma Reisel, Israeli-based certified sex therapist Talli Rosenbaum and barrister Simon Myerson.

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Special Report / Jurisdiction ruling

ICC to consider Israeli action Experts say the investigation into alleged British war crimes in Iraq could be crucial after the International Criminal Court (ICC) chose to look at allegations against Israel, writes Stephen Oryszczuk.

It follows a 2-1 decision by the ICC’s threemember Pre-Trial Chamber that the court does have jurisdiction over possible crimes committed in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

It now plans to investigate Israeli settlement building, the 2014 military incursion into the Gaza Strip (Operation Protective Edge), and the shooting of weekly ‘Great March of Return’ protesters at the Gaza border from March 2018.

Ever since ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda determined that the court should investigate in December 2019, lawyers on all sides have been arguing over whether Palestine – as a nonstate actor – is a party to the Rome Statute.

Both the United States and Israel had argued vigorously against this, to no avail, and Israel’s cabinet this week hit out at the “scandalous” decision to investigate, but Professor Yuval Shany of the Israel Democracy Institute said an ICC decision less than two months ago regarding British soldiers in Iraq may give cause to pause.

“We still have a lot of time before any investigations ripen into indictments against specific individuals and arrest warrants,” he said.

“The prosecution in The Hague will have to formulate a position before then on the ques-

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Palestinians extinguish a fire in a collapsed building, hit during an Israeli strike in Gaza in 2014

tion of whether the investigations by the IDF’s [Israel Defense Forces] investigations are sufficient to prevent soldiers from being prosecuted.

“In a similar issue, pertaining to allegations as if British soldiers had committed war crimes in Iraq [in particular relating to the treatment of detainees], the court recently set very low standards for adequate investigation.”

He said this was “something that increases the chances the military investigations

regarding Operation Protective Edge will block legal proceedings against IDF soldiers in connection to that operation”.

Writing in Yediot Ahronoth, Ben-Dror Yemini said: “Exactly two months ago, Bensouda decided that Britain had committed war crimes in Iraq in 2003-2009. The decision, 184 pages long, details the alleged crimes. But the bottom line is there will be no investigation because it was not proven that Britain had given the per-

petrators immunity. This is interesting because the law enforcement mechanisms in Britain are excessively lenient toward the criminals.

“For example, the indictment against a group of soldiers for abusing prisoners, which caused the death of one of them, ended with 12 months’ imprisonment for only one soldier. But European countries fund organisations in Israel that collect dubious ‘testimony’ about war crimes committed by Israeli soldiers.”

The UK government, which is currently chairing the UN Security Council, has not yet issued a comment on the ICC ruling, but Middle East Minister James Cleverly did criticise Israel’s demolition of Palestinian shelters in Humsa al-Bqai’a, paid for in part by UK aid.

Bensouda, who has said she will also investigate Palestinian armed groups, can begin legal proceedings that could lead to criminal charges and international arrest warrants against senior Israeli political and security officials.

However, she completes her nine-year term in June and much will depend on her successor.

In the UK, Zionist Federation chair Paul Charney said the decision was “clearly politically driven and will serve no other purpose than to drive both sides even further apart”.

The Board of Deputies suggested the court was applying different standards, tweeting that the ICC “dodged investigating China over claims of actual genocide against the Uyghurs, yet we see this”.

11 February 2021 Jewish News

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Forced marriages / Special Report

‘It took 14 years to realise I wanted to live before I died’ In the week that dozens of testimonies on forced marriage in the strictlyOrthodox community were presented to the government, one victim reveals in her own words how she found the courage to break free

E

ven before I was engaged, I knew I didn’t want to marry the kind of person my parents wanted me to marry. I didn’t want to live in Stamford Hill, I didn’t want to marry someone Chasidic. It didn’t feel right for my soul.

But I also knew if I didn’t want to live like my community, then at 19 I would be out on the street, with no family and no one to support me. I felt there was no alternative.

It took me 14 years to realise that actually there was and that I had to live before I died.

I met my husband once before we got engaged and we spoke once on the phone. I knew I didn’t want to go ahead and I cried so much during the engagement. My parents said it was the right thing for me. They had the rabbi’s blessing and, in Stamford Hill, the stigma of a broken engagement is nearly the same as being divorced.

I was very sad on my wedding day… and wedding night. People may say they have been prepared for it intellectually, but my body responded as if I were being raped. It was a choked feeling.

I felt forced to have sex and didn’t know how to express the fact my body was screaming ‘no’.

In the community, there’s an understanding that you have to do this with your husband. But you can’t work on a relationship if there is no

The former forced bride on a skiing trip

physical intimacy and you are feeling raped every time you have sex. By the end, we didn’t have any physical contact and he wouldn’t even hug me.

For two-and-a-half years before the divorce, I refused to go to the mikveh. He wouldn’t touch me if I hadn’t been and it would have killed me spiritually to have sex with him.

About three months after we married, I came home and he wasn’t there. I was living in an apartment and the others in the building could hear things. But I couldn’t control myself.

I started crying so loudly and so deeply; it was almost primal, as if my soul was trapped and all I could do was let out this horrendous sound from within. It was a cry of feeling so trapped.

The things that get glorified in the shidduch system are your lineage, whether your parents are respected and have money. I was looked at as second or third class and my parents didn’t have money. Neither did my ex-husband, so that was why the matchmaker decided we were right. But we were never compatible. He was married to Stamford Hill, never to me.

The community’s goal is to get a man and woman engaged and get them married. The purpose is not whether there is a likelihood of them connecting and making something of it. No one cares about compatibility, that real connection, that real desire. That is not part of the equation.

For 14 years, I desperately tried not to break apart the marriage because we are taught how dreadful that is. Then you start having children and it becomes about not breaking apart a family.

By 20, I was a mother. By 30, a mother of four.

I felt I had to keep having children until the end of my life and it was killing me.

When I finally told him: “I can’t live with you anymore. My sanity and well-being are in danger.

I cannot survive this,” he told me my request to end the marriage was not valid without someone, such as a rabbi, deciding it was over.

Then for six months, he refused to leave the house. If I said I was going out, he would follow me. It was so harmful to me and the children.

My son blames me. He has been conditioned so strongly that he believes I am the bad one for taking him away from his home in Stamford Hill.

He is a teenager, yet at the national curriculum

level of a seven-year-old. He has been taught that God loves Chasidim more than other Jews and that he is fine to live off benefits and charities.

I want more for my kids.

The community is trying to take custody of my children; they have hired and paid for a QC to represent my husband and they see the situation as an attack on the community. I’ve been cut off by friends and am frightened because I don’t know what the consequences are going to be. People say I’m crazy, that I’ve had a nervous breakdown.

They don’t believe you can be normal and leave the community.

I wish someone could have told my younger self that when you do leave, you will be lost, your family will not support you, your friends will reject you and you will feel really isolated, but also that you can make a choice to live another life. I chose not to stay in the cage but to fly free.”

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‘It was marital rape for me’ Esther Davis, 42, closed the doors on her strictly-Orthodox life when her 17-year marriage ended.

“I have always considered my marriage as a forced one,” she says. “I was proposed to on the fourth date, with our parents in the other room, waiting to celebrate.”

She was married aged 19 but says about her wedding night:

“It is marital rape to me. I was sobbing my heart out telling him to stop because I was in so much pain, but he just continued regardless because that was what was expected.”

Esther says an older woman from the community phoned her the next morning. “She told me: ‘You’ll get used to it.

Remember to never say no to him or he will find another

woman and it’ll be your fault.’”

By the time Esther was 25, she had three children and said she didn’t want any more.

Six years ago, she finally left her marriage, but faced heavy opposition from her community and became embroiled in a bitter custody battle.

“Even though I’ve lost everything, the freedom I now have is worth it.”

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World News / Covid drug / George Shultz / ‘Nazi’ hearing / US embassy / Arms deal / Trump trial

An Israeli Covid cure?

Researchers at Tel Aviv’s biggest hospital, Ichilov, are reporting what could be a major game-changer in the fight against the Covid-19 virus – a drug that is curing patients with coronavirus with a 96 percent success rate, writes Jenni Frazer.

Thirty patients who were suffering from moderate or serious levels of coronavirus were given the new EXOCD24 drug, developed by Professor Nadir Arber from Ichilov’s Cancer Prevention Centre. Only one patient failed to respond: 29 others showed “a marked improvement” within two days of taking the drug.

Arber says the treatment is

“effective and inexpensive”, adding: “The medicine is administered through inhalation, once a day, in a procedure that takes only a few minutes, for five days.”

The 29 who improved after taking the drug were able to leave hospital between three and five days later.

Now, Professor Ronni Gamzu, the former state coronavirus “czar”, who has returned to his role as chief executive of Ichilov, says he will personally assist Arber in getting the green light from Israel’s Health Ministry in order to test the medication on a wider pool of patients.

He said: “‘I’m proud that here at

Ichilov we are among the world leaders in finding the cure for the horrible epidemic”.

A similar treatment has been announced by Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem. In its trial, 21 patients in critical condition – who had underlying health conditions – received a drug called Allocetra.

According to the doctors, 19 patients recovered within six days and were released from the hospital on average after eight days.

The drug was developed by Professor Dror Mevorach, director of Hadassah’s Research Centre for Rheumatology and Internal Medicine.

People wait to receive Covid-19 vaccines in Givatayim, Israel

SHULTZ DIES, AGED 100

Woman, 95, indicted US embassy to remain

Tributes were paid this week to US statesman George P Shultz after he died at the age of 100.

Shultz played a leading role in US-led efforts to open the gates of the USSR to large-scale Jewish immigration to Israel, and later helped Israel weather a period of hyper-inflation that threatened its entire economy.

He served as US secretary of state under Ronald Reagan and

Prosecutors in Germany have charged a 95-yearold woman who served as a secretary to a Nazi death camp’s commander during the Holocaust.

The woman, identified under German privacy laws only as Irmgard F, is charged with complicity in the murders of 10,000 people at Stutthof, a camp in occupied Poland. She will be tried in a juvenile court because she was under 21 when she worked at the camp.

The charge against the woman, who reportedly lives in a care home north of Hamburg, is based on testimonies from survivors of the camps who are now in the United States and Israel.

US secretary to the Treasury under Richard Nixon, two of four Cabinet positions he held.

As Reagan’s top envoy he helped negotiate an end to hostilities between Israel and Lebanon in 1985 and established dialogue with the PLO in 1988.

In later life he lobbied for the release of jailed spy Jonathan Pollard, who passed US secrets to Israel.

The US Senate has overwhelmingly voted to keep the country’s embassy in Jerusalem.

It voted 97-3 on an amendment that sets aside funding to maintain the embassy in the city, making it harder to reverse former president Donald Trump’s embassy move from Tel Aviv. President Joe Biden has said he does not intend to move it back.

The amendment, co-sponsored by 21 Republicans led

by James Inhofe of Oklahoma, was added to the $1.9 trillion budget bill the Senate passed as part of Biden’s relief package.

The three senators who voted against were Democrats: Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Tom Carper of Delaware.

Israel signs £2bn US deal Israel has approved the purchase of American weapons worth £2 billion after the US told Jerusalem that if a decision were not forthcoming in two weeks it would lose its place in the queue.

The security cabinet quickly rubberstamped the deal on Sunday for combat aircraft, refuelling planes, helicopters, armoured personnel carriers, and bombs, after Washington’s take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum ended months of objections from Israel’s Treasury.

Further stalling would have put Israeli armed forces procurement two years behind, prompting panic from Israel’s military leaders, who are increasingly in favour of a defence pact with the US. Israel will now get its arsenal, including Sikorsky CH-53K cargo helicopters, F-35s and F-16s, after agreeing to take out loans with American banks to pay for the weaponry, some of which has been jointly designed by the Israeli company Elbit.

Meanwhile an Israeli defence firm has heralded a new era of aerial surveillance using technology that lets a drone’s roving eye cover a far wider area.

Israel’s purchase includes F-35 and F-16 jets

Until now, cameras embedded in aerial vehicles have had a reasonably narrow target view, which analysts have likened to a drinking straw, but Israel Aerospace Industries said that its new WASP aerial surveillance system uses AI algorithms to detect and identify movement, allowing coverage of up to 10 miles.

Promising “persistent surveillance capabilities day and night” through electro-optical and infra-red systems, it said that WASP could be fitted to unmanned aerial vehicles, manned aircraft, and surveillance balloons.

NO SHABBAT DELAY FOR TRUMP TRIAL Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial will not be delayed by Shabbat now that his Orthodox Jewish lawyer has withdrawn his request for the delay.

Last week, David Schoen asked for and received permission to delay the proceedings should they extend into Friday

evening and Saturday, as they are expected. But on Monday he withdrew the request, saying he had worked out a solution with the former president’s legal team: Schoen’s role would be completed by the time Shabbat begins.

“The role I would have played will be fully covered to

the satisfaction of the defense team,” Schoen said in the letter, first posted by Maggie Haberman, a New York Times reporter, on Twitter.

In a note of civility rare for this bitter trial, Schoen thanked the Senate leaders for their “graciousness” in considering his request.

11 February 2021 Jewish News

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Hospital meals / Special Report

Chicken soup for my spirit and soul Naomi Frankel, who in hospital was served kosher meals from a new charity, speaks to its founder Spending a week in hospital is never pleasant, but slap in a severe case of tonsilitis, pancreatitis and a pandemic and it’s more a hell than a haven of recovery.

For those who keep kosher, hospital stays are even grimmer, with the only sustenance offered in the way of vacuum-packed frozen meals often consisting of unpalatable choices such as fish pie or tough inedible meat goulash – not the ideal thing for an empty stomach and a sore throat scratchier than a woollen jumper.

Lying dolefully in my hospital bed, listening to the steady beeping of the machinery and smelling the hot fresh soup and other practically gourmet-looking fare my neighbours were enjoying was slowly sending me insane with longing.

Embarking on a random Google search to distract my growling stomach, I was shocked to discover that, since 1968, only frozen kosher meals with a shelf life of up to one year have been formally provided to hospitals in the UK, while other patients are given fresh daily meals, including breakfast and snacks.

My darling mum, like every good Jewish mother, felt helpless that she couldn’t fuss over me and feed me, as Covid regulations, especially last April meant that nothing from outside – (both food and visitors) could enter the hospital. And, as stated previously, the kosher fare on offer was severely lacking, to say the least.

My tonsils were the size of large swollen plums and I was hooked up to an IV most of the time. There was nothing I craved more than

the relief of piping hot, fresh chicken soup to soothe my poor throat. Not to be dramatic or anything, but I even dreamt about it, in between a blur of fitful sleep and being woken up for bloods and blood pressure checks. But, as I don’t eat non- kosher meat, I thought my visions of some good old Jewish penicillin would remain a distant dream.

So, when my mum rang, excitedly telling me about an amazing new hospital charity called Bedside Kosher that could get me the soup I so desperately craved, I didn’t believe her at first.

But, after a brief text conversation with the kind and sympathetic founder, Ari Feferkorn (who, like me, originates from Stamford Hill) I soon saw it was very much a blessed reality.

A volunteer soon rang me to go through the options available and was exceedingly patient and polite, although I was practically incoherent, with my thick tonsillitis croak.

In fact, it was too painful for me to talk properly so I ended up sending him a list via Whatsapp and he not only got everything I asked for, but some extras he thought might help soothe my throat, such as fruit purée.

As well as the much craved for chicken soup, I was given fresh mini rolls, yoghurt, soft cheeses and lots more. All were labelled and in separate bags so it was easier for the harried hospital staff to deal with.

Volunteers deliver meals from Bedside Kosher to Although my appetite and ability hospitals across London and the south-east to swallow was still weak, the fresh food, as well as the managers, nurses and dieticians through to heart-warming feeling of kitchen orderlies. being cared for by the The sessions aim to explain the principles community even in of kashrut and how the kosher meals should be a cold, sterile hos- heated and served in hospitals. The charity has pital environment, also produced a useful, clear information leaflet helped give me for hospital staff to refer back to. Having experimy much-needed enced the understandable confusion from hosstrength back. pital staff when I struggled to explain my kosher Now an estab- chicken soup dilemma, I very much feel this is lished, registered a much-needed and valuable resource. charity in full swing, Recently, ITV News featured a story on how Bedside Kosher has an elderly Orthodox man from Stamford Hill 400 volunteers deliv- did not receive kosher food while in hospital ering around 100 fresh and his family say he died hungry and alone. kosher meals and snacks daily Upon reflection, being young and otherwise to Jewish patients in all hospitals across healthy, without Bedside Kosher I probably London and the south-east and, from this could have survived on the minimum. Howweek, Manchester. ever, other elderly Jewish patients with Covid As my wonderful experience shows, the all over the country are most likely too weak organisation is willing to cater to different and fragile to do so. Proof that Bedside Kosher’s tastes and service any other dietary require- work is not only pioneering, it’s also crucial for ments, offering vegetarian, gluten free, lactose the kosher observant community at large. free and sugar free options.

Sadly, I was still in hospital over Shabbat Bedside Kosher also provides a special but, sipping my grape juice and flicking child- friendly menu for children having treat- through the complimentary magazines and ment or siblings of a hospital patient. newspapers that were so kindly provided along While researching this article, I was with the dedicated Shabbat meal kit, really did impressed to find out that nine months on give me “a taste of Shabbat” as Feferkorn had from my hospital stay, Bedside Kosher is even envisioned. providing china plates on which all of the Luckily, I was out of hospital before Shavuot meals can be served. Feferkorn explains: “If we but, had I still been there, a slice of the cheeseare doing it, we are going all the way and pro- cake from the Bedside Kosher Yom Tov kit viding five-star worthy dining. We are not cut- would definitely have cheered me up. ting corners.”

As well as not cutting corners, the organisa-  Bedside Kosher has a 24-hour tion has been busy creating courses, offering phone line for orders: 020 3746 3803. free training to staff whose duties require bedsidekosher.co.uk an understanding of the basics of a kosher Follow @bedsidekosher diet. This can cover all levels from catering on Facebook and Instagram

HOW YOU CAN HELP: • As a volunteer-led organisation, Bedside Kosher depends heavily on the help of

Above: Some of the meals organised by Bedside Kosher. Right: Naomi Frankel in hospital

many amazing people to distribute hundreds of kosher meals each week to hospitals where they have no service agreement in place. So if you’re looking for something to do during lockdown – whether that’s delivering or packaging food or helping out with admin, your time is more than precious to your (hungry) fellow Jews.

• Need to order some essentials off Amazon during lockdown? You can easily donate to Bedside Kosher via Amazon Smile at no extra cost to you and 5% of the net purchase price (excluding VAT, returns and shipping fees) will be donated.

• You can also donate an amount of your choice or sponsor a daily meal by visiting the ‘Support us’ section of the charity’s website – www.bedsidekosher.co.uk

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Special Report / Netanyahu trial

Will there be a Bibi backlash?

The street of the Jerusalem courthouse was thronged with protesters as Israel’s prime minister appeared in his corruption trial on Monday, writes Nathan Jeffay. He is battling for an acquittal from the judge — but more immediately, for the country to re-elect him.

Benjamin Netanyahu tried to project authority, as much as possible, by quitting the courtroom part-way through the hearing, sending out a message that far more important things need his attention.

“Thank you very much,” he said before leaving, with permission.

His only contribution to the hearing was to deny the charges against him, reflecting his position that he has done nothing wrong.

Even for Netanyahu, the resilient leader famous for turning lemons in to lemonade, it is hard to put on a brave face as a trial against him gathers pace amid another election campaign. But it doesn’t look set to dampen his standing.

“Whatever damage this trial will do to him politically has already been done,” said criminal and constitutional law expert Dr Amir

Fuchs. “It doesn’t look like there will be more damage now.”

Fuchs, senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, has been closely monitoring the three cases against Netanyahu, and their political fallout, since the first of the investigations in December 2016.

He gave this interview shortly after Netanyahu’s brief court appearance, which was his second of the trial.

The situation is confusing, especially for people following from abroad. What will happen now?

A file now needs to be delivered to enable the questioning of witnesses, which will take 10 days, and there will then be a few weeks to prepare for the questioning. This means it could happen a little before the election or just afterwards. I wouldn’t be surprised if the evidence starts after the election, and the reason wouldn’t be politics, but just the fact that trials run slowly.

Won’t images of Netanyahu going to court or even evidence being brought to light, negatively impact his election campaign?

No. It’s like the stock market, when

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enters the Jerusalem District Court room with his lawyer at his corruption trial

everyone knows something will happen and therefore the effect isn’t felt on the markets when it does.

I don’t think people will change their minds on whether or not they would vote for Netanyahu because we’re at a certain stage in the trial. Yes, maybe some people changed their mind about him based on the legal cases a year or two ago, but not now.

Have we already seen this dynamic in action?

Yes. We were surprised that nothing happened regarding Netanyahu’s

popularity when the indictment was issued and other steps were taken.

Maybe something would happen to public opinion if he is convicted, but this won’t be any time soon. The fact this trial is moving along as we prepare for an election won’t change anything politically.

Despite this, there are strong suggestions that the story of the trial and the story of the election are closely tied. Can you explain this purported link?

The trial won’t change the outcome

of the election, but politics is very, very relevant for the future of the trial. If Netanyahu has 61 out of 120 Knesset members who support him, he could change immunity rules, for example with a retroactive law saying a prime minister can’t go to trial, or a change to the way that Israel’s attorney general is appointed, and then select someone for the job who would stop the trial.

There would be enough public opposition that this wouldn’t happen, but it seems to be the intention. Netanyahu had a comfortable government, and this is the only explanation for him going to elections again.

If Netanyahu did have support for measures that could give him immunity post-election, could this happen before a trial verdict?

The election is in March; the verdict in the trial will be at least a year from now. So there is certainly enough time. Israel doesn’t have a constitution, but it has Basic Laws, the closest alternative. These can be amended in one day, so changes that could confer immunity could be very quick.

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Film nominations / Restitution agreement / Far-right threat / Diaspora News

Haas gets Golden Globe nod for Unorthodox role Shira Haas has become the first Israeli actress to be nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in hit series Unorthodox, about leaving Chasidic life.

The four-part show, based on Deborah Feldman’s 2012 memoir, got the nod for Best Limited Series, with Haas nominated for Best Actress in a limited series, anthology series or motion picture made for television.

With the awards ceremony at the end of the month, she is up against Cate Blanchett for Mrs America, Anya TaylorJoy for The Queen’s Gambit, Nicole Kidman for The Undoing and Daisy EdgarJones for Normal People.

Haas, 25, stars as Esther Shapiro, a young strictlyOrthodox woman from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who leaves the community for a life in Berlin.

Despite an upbringing in a secular Jewish family, Haas also played a strictlyOrthodox character in Shtisel – her break-out role.

Feldman was born into Brooklyn’s famously insular Satmar sect, spoke mainly Yiddish and – aged 17 – was engaged to a virtual stranger.

She was told what to wear, what to read and to whom to speak.

Denied sex education, she was trapped in a sexually and emotionally dysfunctional marriage, the failure to get pregnant dominating her life. Once she was, she realised that she wanted something more for her child and planned her escape.

Responding to her nomination, Haas said: “I’m very, very excited. I wanted to say thank you to all the supporters and fans. I’m still taking it in.”

the Shoah.

“The agreement today is a profound statement by Luxembourg of its abiding commitment to preserving the memory of Jews who were persecuted and murdered during the Nazi occupation of Luxembourg,” said WJRO chair Gideon Taylor.

The Nazis occupied Luxembourg in May 1940 and about 2,000 Luxembourg Jews were killed during the Holocaust.

Under the deal, the government also agreed to purchase and renovate a memorial to Jews who were sent to death camps from the country.

Your weekly digest of stories from the international press KOSOVO

UNITED STATES

BELARUS

AUSTRALIA

The tiny Muslim-majority Balkan state of Kosovo has formalised diplomatic ties with Israel and said it plans to open an embassy in Jerusalem.

In response, Israel became the 117th country to formally recognise Kosovo following its struggle for independence from Serbia. The latter criticised the move, as did Turkey.

Shira Haas as the strictly-Orthodox Esther in Unorthodox

Also nominated by the Golden Globes was Sacha Baron-Cohen for lead actor in his Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and supporting actor in Trial of the Chicago 7, where he played activist Abbie Hoffman

alongside Mark Rylance.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was nominated in the category of Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy.

The ceremony will be broadcast by NBC on 28 February.

Luxembourg signs restitution deal Luxembourg’s government has signed an agreement to pay reparations and restitute dormant bank accounts, insurance policies and looted art to Holocaust survivors.

The deal also provides financial resources to promote remembrance, education and research of the Holocaust in Luxembourg, and was welcomed by Jewish groups campaigning for justice.

It was signed with the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO), the Jewish community of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Foundation for the Memory of

WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF

A Nazi parade by the synagogue in Luxembourg in 1941

The Cinqfontaines memorial, near the site where Jews were assembled and deported, will be transformed

into a “place to memorialise Holocaust victims and to educate future generations,” the WJRO said.

The remains of a former synagogue in Belarus where the family of painter Marc Chagall used to pray have come up for sale for a nominal fee in the hope someone would be willing to restore it. The dilapidated exterior walls of what used to be the Great Lubavitch Synagogue in Vitebsk are listed as a cultural monument.

An anti-vaxxer rabbi has been fired by Chabad for social media posts urging followers not to get inoculated against Covid-19. Rabbi Michoel Green in Massachusetts wrote: ‘It’s NOT immunisation. It’s mass sterilisation.’ Chabad said it was ‘in direct conflict with the sacred task for which he was appointed’.

A federal donation of £410,000 has been committed by the Australian government to create a Holocaust museum and education centre in the capital, Canberra. It builds on similar recent funding for Jewish or Holocaust centres in Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland and Adelaide, as leaders warn of a far-right resurgence.

AUSTRALIA ‘WILL HEED THREAT WARNING’ The new head of Australia’s parliamentary intelligence committee has said the country’s security services are taking the growing far-right threat “extremely seriously”.

James Paterson was the latest politician to express concern about the rising neoNazi phenomenon in some parts of Australia and said the “horrific” terrorist attack against mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, should serve as a warning.

Paterson was appointed to head the powerful committee last Thursday and said Aus-

tralia “must ensure that violent extremism does not take hold… You only have to look around the world to see other countries are grappling with this problem”.

He said there were “lessons to be learned” from Christchurch, adding: “I think Australians were deeply shocked by it.

“It had a big impact on our psyche at the time, because it was such a horrific crime and because it was broadcast and it was very visible and because it occurred at a near neighbour.”

£2m Shoah gift to French town Merkel sees

A French mountain town collectively recog- CNN. They are among the estimated 2,500 Jews the townsfolk saved, helping many make nised as Righteous Among the Nations their way to neutral Switzerland.

by Israel’s Yad Vashem has been The town today continues left £2 million in the will of a its tradition, having more Holocaust survivor who was recently taken in refugees hidden from the Nazis there fleeing war in the Middle aged 12.

East and north Africa.

Eric Schwam, who died French media reported last year at the age of 90, that Schwam, a retired willed his estate to Le pharmacist in Lyon who Chambon-sur-Lignon, a married but had no chilcommune set amid an area dren, visited the town 10 of gorges and caverns on years before he died. the edge of Ardèche, where In his will, he reportthe majority Huguenot resiedly asks that the money be dents hid Jews during the war. used to fund educational and Austrian-born Schwam took shelter there for two years with The town hall in Le Chambon- youth initiatives, particularly scholarships. his Jewish family, according to sur-Lignon

scroll finished

German Chancellor Angela Merkel came to see the finishing touches put to the governmentfunded refurbishment of the 18th century Sulzbacher Torah in the capital Berlin last week.

The Sulzbacher Torah survived the Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938 and lay unnoticed for decades in a cabinet in a synagogue in Amberg, Bavaria, until 2015, sparking the process to bring it back to a ritually usable condition.

The German government contributed £40,000 to the restoration for it to be used once again for services in the Amberg synagogue, and Merkel watched as Rabbi Shaul Nekrich inscribed the final 12 letters of the scroll.

Angela Merkel watched the finishing touches being put to the restored Sulzbacher Torah

The chancellor, who steps down following elections in September, has been a consistent champion of Germany’s Jewish community and an ardent ally of Israel.

She heard how the Torah was written for the synagogue in Sulzbach, Bavaria, before it was moved to Amberg in 1934, one year after Hitler took power.

22

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Jewish News 11 February 2021

Editorial comment and letters ISSUE NO.

1197

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS

Maths lesson: what is hate times hate?

During the dark years of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, the government rarely lost an opportunity to denounce antisemitism in the Labour Party and won admiration in many parts of the Jewish community for its firm stance against Jewish race hatred.

This makes the government’s attitude to the Palestinian textbooks issue all the more perplexing. Britain is paying money to the Palestinian Authority — albeit through a vetted process —and has repeatedly raised the issue of the content of the textbooks used in Palestinian schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees or UNRWA. The books are filled with a litany of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hatred.

Children are taught to count by the number of “martyrs” and suicide bombers and terrorism is glorified and peace is a rare commodity.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to insist that it is satisfied with Palestinian assurances, yet a new generation of Palestinian children is absorbing hatred of Israel with every page turned at every desk. It is time, surely, that Britain followed Norway’s example: no change of textbooks, no more money. That should concentrate minds wonderfully.

Community showed its love for charities To watch the pounds tick over last Sunday on the Camp Sincha online fundraiser (well, what else is one to do at the weekend these days!) was to see our community at its very best. A staggering £2million was pledged in just seven hours, and by the time the 36-hours campaign had ended, £3.2m had been secured from 21,000 donors towards the charity’s vital work for children with life-limiting conditions and their families. It must surely be one of the finest fundraising drives in Britain during this period.

The accompanying messages of love and support were testiment to a cause that the community has taken to its very heart since its founding

by Rachely and Meir Plancey a quarter of a century ago. And this week’s achievements all came without a three-course dinner, guest list and grand hall. Once again, like several other triumphant online fundraisers in the past nine months, it will provide plenty of food for thought for communal fundraisers going forward.

Send us your comments PO Box 815, Edgware, HA8 4SX | letters@jewishnews.co.uk

JN is ‘against Torah’ I have been following your latest bashing of community life in Stamford Hill and subsequent refusal to apologise.

While I’m not defending the lawbreakers, one thing you failed to take into account is that the Torah clearly forbids any kind of lashon hara, even if it is true and even if there will be benefit to someone else. Surely, as a Jewish newspaper, the Torah laws override any feelings or questions you may have against the most religious of Jews.

You may ask: how can we consider ourselves a newspaper if we cannot relay the negative aspects of Jewish life – we will not be a real newspaper!

You are right, you have a serious problem.

But, fundamentally, a newspaper as the way you want to be is completely against the Torah.

So you can choose: do you want to be a real newspaper while living in this world, fulfilling the

Sketches & kvetches

THIS WEEKEND'S SHABBAT TIMES...

Shabbat comes in Friday night 4.55pm

Shabbat goes out Saturday night 6pm

Sedra: M ishpatim

CORRECTION

Last week’s 120 Over 80 feature included an incorrect image on Zigi Shipper’s profile.

Further, Mr Shipper turned 91 by the time we’d published his profile, which stated he was 90. We apologise for these errors and wish dear Zigi a very happy (belated) 91st birthday.

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life purpose you have created for yourself while transgressing multiple serious Torah probitions, or perhaps you will decide to reconsider what the term ‘newspaper’ means to a Jew and the best way to continue a career of journalism that fits the expectation the Torah demands of us.

Can I humbly suggest that the reason God put this crazy idea in your mind was to allow you the chance to wake up and rectify what you may not have been aware of since you began your career in journalism?

Perhaps it needed multiple people like myself to write to you (although I don’t live in London and have never read your newspaper) to help you come to this realisation that a newspaper as you and I know it to be is against Torah life!

Dov Leitner By email

CUTTING DOWN THE TREE As a religious Zionist, words cannot express my utter desperation, shared with many, at the wilful disobedience of certain sections of our community – the flagrant flouting of halachah by observant Jews! Surely the high percentage of sad deaths among them should be proof enough to obey any government!

Why do those who purport to follow the Torah with “trembling” choose to blatantly ignore halachah, which allows for the enactment of necessitous “temporary emergency measures” at times of crisis – the need to suspend schooling, limit gatherings, adhere to restrictions, etc?

Famous examples are found during the contest of Baal – Eliyahu the prophet was permitted to build a bamah (high place for offerings), which had hitherto been forbidden, once the Temple stood. The Hasmoneans, our Holy Cohanim, men of peace, were able to take up arms during the war against Hellenism. I can quote other cases.

Why do certain sections of our people blatantly ignore the mitzvah of the sanctity of life, which supersedes every single mitzvah of the Torah, even turning a deaf ear to the pleadings of those among them who see reason?

The Torah is a “Tree of Life”. Some of our own are cutting it down, causing senseless deaths.

Flora Frank By email

23

11 February 2021 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Editorial comment and letters

RULES FOR A REASON

We need positivity ADMIT YOUR ANTI-RELIGIOUS AGENDA

What a shame the 18-year-old who berated you in last week’s letters page about your investigation into illegal simchas in Stamford Hill did not have the courage to be named.

To make reference to the Holocaust is all too easy but, as he or she said, Jews were looked on as one during that time. So Jewish communities, wherever possible, tended to look out for each other back then.

Why not now? If the Charedim were true to the teachings of Hashem, they would follow the rules like the others.

Do the Charedim not realise that the loss of at least two of their eminent rabbis was owing to not following the rules?

Hashem looks after us, but only if we meet him halfway.

In the week of Holocaust Day, remembering the atrocities suffered by our brethren, I found the survivors’ stories hard to bear.

Who are we to moan at the loss of our freedom as we know it during lockdown?

We can’t travel, shop, see our loved ones when we want – the normal commodity of freedom has been taken away from us and we feel deprived. At home, as we are surrounded by the media, warmth and comforts, we still feel deprived of social interaction and I know members of the community are isolated. We should stop and think hard about what took place in the name of the Jewish race and also others who were named outcasts. We owe it to our children to present a more positive attitude to life.

Marilyn Finester, By email

Norman Neville, Hendon

Would readers assist me by letting me know if they recognise this plaque and where it was located. It was found at Bushey Cemetery and I would like to identify it for historical purposes. Email martin.sugerman@yahoo.co.uk

So when upset, scared and angry members of the Stamford Hill Jewish community came to Jewish News to tell the newspaper that illegal, potentially deadly events were taking place on their doorstep, in contravention to the laws of the land, your newspaper should have hushed it all up?

I honestly didn’t think intelligent people could hold this view until your invetigation. I’m shocked by how little I knew of the depth many in our community will sink to cover up truth in the public interest when it reflects badly on Jews.

I write, as many have done, about your coverge of lockdown lawbreaking by sections of the Stamford Hill community.

Don’t take the lawbreakers who think they represent Hackney seriously. Most are on social media groups that spread hate and gossip all the time.

However, I’m not in favour of the press generalising a community because of the selfish few. We need to keep the negativity to a minimum as it doesn’t do the Jewish community very much good. It just fuels yet more hate.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your 120 Over 80 countdowns. It was uplifting and quite moving to find out about individuals who built up British Jewish life into what it is today. Congratulations to all those who featured and thank you for all the work you’ve done – and continue to do – on our behalf.

Adam Senkin, By email

Lazar Friedlander, Elstree

Miriam Regov, By email

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a Reform wedding, Up to date! would it be on the front page? If it was School’s anger over a gay couple, would barmitzvah for 100 it be? I think we all know the answer to that. Do the right thing and admit to your anti-religious leftist agenda and maybe change the name to the JN front page about an Non-Jewish News illegal secular simcha or the Palestinan News. At least then you’d be honest.

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of having been classed @JenniFrazer as a contact of a staff member who had tested positive for Covid. She was unable, The furious headteacher she told parents, to of Primary School has condemnedRosh Pinah celebrate Christmas with her family, and a decision her own by parents of pupils plans for the holidays at the school to host would not go ahead. a barmitzvah celebration for Rosh Pinah has nearly guests as “selfish, irresponsiblearound 100 400 pupils and and quite 70 members frankly inexcusable”. of staff. In her letter, written prior to strengthened Jill Howson wrote measures introto all parents at duced by Prime Minister the Edgware school after Boris Johnson last it emerged that weeekend, around 19 families were Howson said “it does thought to have much not take to be defined as a contact”, attended the simcha this month at an despite the precautions the school unnamed “hospitality was taking. venue”.

She described herself She fumed: “I cannot as “very disapeven begin to pointed” express my anger and to be writing to parents disappointment over on such an issue and said “it really this.” isn’t a lot to ask” that parents should “spend The event took place time thinking of on the previous breach of restrictions, heels of a others rather than themselves for the next a birthday few months”. party, about which Howson had also written Andrew Rotenberg, chairman to parents. She pointed out that “it has not of governors for the school, said: gone unnoticed the “The school has parents who been focused on keeping hosted [the barmitzvah the children safe celebraand Jill Howson and tion] were one of the her senior staff first to complain when our have done an extraordinary infant job. children were sent home “It is not the first time for a she has had few days, earlier in the to send a letter reminding term”. parents of government regulations, The headteacher said and we the school was doing fully support her decision its to call “utmost” to keep everyone out those who have breached those safe, but that nevertheless regulations.” she had had to send “a He added that in addition large to number of children the governors welcoming home” the this week because letter from Howson, “parents of the risk factor surhave been overwhelmrounding infection. ingly supportive of She herself her move”. is presently at home, in isolaDisappointed: tion, because Headteacher

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I applaud the individual who wrote anonymously to your newspaper last week, criticising your reporting on Charedim breaking lockdown rules. It was a brilliant comment and very well articulated.

I wish to follow in their footsteps by asking you the following – why do you not admit you have double standards? Why do you continue to lie? If what you’re concerned about is the flouting of Covid regulations, why wasn’t it front-page news when tens of thousands of individuals marched through London chanting Black Lives Matter, especially given many Jewish organisations supported and endorsed it. Where was your outrage?

If the wedding a few weeks ago was

Jill Howson

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(x4)

sameach!

SPECIAL SIDDUR LAUNCH 22

INED IN ISRAEL - PAGES

This song was written

ED

2, 3 & 16

Sammy (surname withheld on request)

THE SELFISH FEW GIVE Overjoyed by over PLACE THIS PLAQUE THE PUBLIC INTEREST MAJORITY BAD NAME 80s celebration

Martin Sugarman, By email

Havah nagilah, havah nagilah, Havah nagilah ve’nism’chah. (x2) Havah n’ran’nah, havah n’ran’nah, hava n’ran’nah ve’nism’chah. (x2) Uru, uru achim, uru, uru achim b’lev sameach,

Uru achim b’lev sameach, Uru achim b’lev sameach, Uru achim b’lev sameach, uru achim, uru achim…

B’lev sameach!

sameach,

A prayer book that has been created with people with learning difficulties autism in mind has been and launched by cross-communal The 70-page Accessible resource JWeb. Siddur uses phonics and symbols. SEE PAGE 8

AS BRITS QUARANT

P. 5

Let us be glad and rejoice!

Let us sing joyfully! Awake, friends, with a joyful heart!

in 1915. It’s about singing

and being happy!

23

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Jewish News 11 February 2021

Opinion

Chabad is a rock in these trying times ALEX BRUMMER

CITY EDITOR, THE DAILY MAIL

T

hose of us who relish the bible and prayer book commentaries of the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks could not but be aware of his intellectual depth. His writings are laced with quotations ranging from the ancient Greek philosophers, to economists such as Nobel-prize winner Paul Samuelson and psychotherapist Viktor Frankl.

Other names that often pop up in this august company are those of Chabad and the first Lubavitcher Rebbe, Schneur Zalman, and that of his most illustrious successor, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Most accounts of his life say it was the influence of Chabad that set Sachs on a journey from the secular to the religious world while an undergraduate at Oxford.

I briefly met Schneerson, from a distance, as the US correspondent for The Guardian in the 1980s. I was one of a party of journalists accompanying the then Democratic presidential

candidate Walter Mondale on a ritual campaign stop in Crown Heights. It was hard to keep the emotions in check as he offered a blessing to the candidate. The Rebbe was a Chasidic figure of enormous spirituality and wisdom. He had such magical power that every American political leader wanted a share of it.

Lubavitch may have struggled to find a single successor to Schneerson, but his legacy lives on. It takes the form not just of his glossaries to the classic text the Tanya, but in the guise of courageous Chabad rabbis who have set up shop across the globe providing

❝

WHEN I RECALL LIFE CYCLE EVENTS, THERE IS MORE OFTEN THAN NOT A CHABAD FIGURE PLAYING A BIG ROLE

a Jewish environment to those who need it.

Charedi communities may not be the flavour of the moment in the pandemic but, for me, my family and friends, Chabad has been a rock, a source of understanding and illumination in these most trying of times.

Indeed, when I recall life cycle events, there is more often than not a Chabad figure playing a big role. I hate to talk only of death. But when my father – another Menachem Mendel – died in 2018, it was Rabbi Pesach Efune in Brighton who sat with me and my brother through the night to the early hours of the morning reciting tehilim and recalling his life. Similarly, when my Aunt Rosie died in the age of Covid, Rabbi Efune, along with another Chabad Rabbi, Zalman Lewis, were there at the funeral to make sure there was a minyan. As an Auschwitz survivor and rebbetzin, she received the sendoff she deserved.

These recent experiences are just a snapshot of Chabad understanding affecting our lives.

They have been an enormous presence to my children. Rabbi Junik taught my son Gabriel to leyn from the Torah for his barmitzvah. In a

phone call in the past week, inquiring about the health and well-being of the family, he recited the first line of Gabriel’s portion, Vayigash, a joyous remembrance from more than a quarter of a century ago. It was Menachem who encouraged Justin to lead Shacharit services when he was home from Carmel College.

Chabad has also been there for my daughter, Jessica; in Venice, when she was a history of art student there, at the Wimbledon mikveh of Rabbi Nissan Dubov before her wedding. And this Covid-year between lockdowns calling in at her north London home to shake the arba minim in the family succah. At Chanukah, it was Chabad who organised delivery of festive treats to those cut off from family and friends.

Parts of the strictly-Orthodox community rightly have been exposed by this publication for appalling breaches of Covid lockdown rules and regulations and failing to adhere to our own community guidelines. But in much the same way as the mainstream UK Jewish community has its tribes, it is true among the Chasidim.

Wherever possible, Chabad has sought to remain true to the teachings of its forbears.

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Opinion

After 274 years, we have no other choice PAUL WEINSTEIN JEWISH CHOICE

W

hen you’re part of the Jewish Choice family, it’s an inspiring environment to come in to.

You’ll experience the extraordinary care for residents, the close interaction with relatives and the sound of music or activities filling the lounges.

Those who work here have built up the utmost empathy and respect for residents.

They don’t just imagine walking in their shoes, but experience their daily lives alongside them, always remembering they have not only lived lives well, but have some living well yet to be done.

This is the backdrop to the care and compassion that have always been at a constantly high level at Jewish Choice and for which the charity is well known.

So it has been all the more galling to deliver news of the home’s closure, later this year, to relatives of residents and to tenants

in the independent living apartments.

It’s a cruel irony that the charity has provided choice for those cared for throughout its rich history, but now, after 274 years of uninterrupted care for the community as an independent charity, circumstances have dictated that it’s been given little choice but to prepare to close.

While Jewish Choice has been Covidfree since March of last year, the knockon effect of the pandemic has had such an impact on the charity’s finances that it is no longer viable.

In the wider community, there is an understandable reluctance for relatives to place their loved ones in a care home during the pandemic and, in common with many other elderly care facilities, there have become too many vacant rooms. Compounding this, the Jewish Choice building in Wembley is more than 50 years old, with repairs increasingly becoming a drain on reserves.

The reaction of relatives has naturally been one of shock and sadness but, equally, there have been many plaudits similar to:

❝

THE KNOCK-ON EFFECT OF THE PANDEMIC HAS IMPACTED THE CHARITY’S FINANCES

“You’ve set the bar so high, it’ll be difficult to find comparable care.”

There’s been a similar reaction from staff. Jewish Choice has retained its unique atmosphere, not least by not using agency carers. Many have been employed for decades, so emotionally the impact will be immeasurable as they say goodbye to residents in the coming months. The personnel are a part of the Jewish Choice family and many feel privileged to be considered part of residents’ families, too, such is the deeper level at which they have also got to know them. So, the closure will be hard felt by all.

Nevertheless, no one is being asked to leave immediately. It is anticipated that the doors of Jewish Choice will close for the final time this autumn. So, in continuing to provide

best advice to families, the charity is recommending they take this time to find the home that is right for their loved ones.

At the very least, it is advised that residents stay at Jewish Choice until they have a second dose of the vaccine and until lockdown is lifted.

In this way, residents can be thoroughly supported in their move, with the charity’s minibus transporting them, accompanied by a Jewish Choice carer who, when there are no longer Covid restrictions, can take them into their new home, stay with them for a few hours to make sure they are supported by a friendly, familiar face and they settle in.

Because at Jewish Choice, all we’ve ever wanted for our residents is to be settled, to be cared for and to live their lives well.

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Jewish News 11 February 2021

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Opinion

Teaching a man to fish is best form of charity MAURICE HELFGOTT

CHAIRMAN, WORLD JEWISH RELIEF

M

y dad, Ben, was one of “The Boys” – 732 survivors of the Holocaust who were brought to the UK after the Shoah in 1945.

If it hadn’t been for World Jewish Relief – the British Jewish organisation that conceived, funded and delivered that programme for child orphan refugees – he, me and my brothers and our children wouldn’t be here today.

So it’s particularly poignant for me to have been invited this week to succeed the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Dan Rosenfield, as chairman of that very organisation that today, inspired by its incredible history, works to actively combat poverty and disadvantage in the Jewish community and far beyond.

The magnificent film The Windermere Children, currently showing on BBC iPlayer, dramatises so effectively how WJR gave The

Boys the love, safety, skills and resources needed to thrive, despite the unimaginable start they had in life.

Dad is now quite well known as ‘Sir Ben’ – recognised for his accomplishments in captaining the British Olympic Weightlifting team and for many decades of international leadership in Holocaust remembrance and education. But I recently read his meticulous file in the WJR archive, where we found a letter from Ben to the programme architect, Leonard Montefiore. Dad explained that despite his very best efforts, he was finding it hard to persuade employers to give him a chance because of his “thick European accent” and requested help with personal introductions.

I was very moved, therefore, that – motivated by Jewish tradition that the highest form of charity is to help someone find a means to look after themselves, and inspired by its history of supporting refugees such as my father to rebuild lives in the UK – WJR responded to the Syrian refugee crisis by applying its expertise in livelihood develop-

Maurice with his father, Sir Ben Helfgott

ment. Its Specialist Training and Support (STEP) programme is today the largest provider of employment support to resettled refugees in the UK, and is widely recognised by government as delivering excellent results.

A couple of years ago, I went on an organised barmitzvah trip with my youngest son to Chisinau (Kishinev) in Moldova. We saw first-hand how vital WJR’s support is for older people living in one of the poorest countries in Europe. I recall meeting Sacha, who was the last Auschwitz survivor still alive in Moldova.

WJR had recently fixed her roof, enabling her

to keep out the biting cold, and helped her to attend the local Jewish community centre.

WJR supports 14,000 older people in Eastern Europe, many who, like Sacha, were themselves victims of Nazi persecution. Many others are elderly – and impoverished, owing to the collapse of the Soviet economy.

Over the years, WJR has responded to international emergencies on behalf of the UK Jewish community, delivering urgent disaster relief through 60 local partners around the world. Successful appeals have been launched for high-profile emergencies but, sadly, disasters also regularly unfold that do not make international headlines.

Just last month, Sulawesi in Indonesia was struck by a devastating earthquake and WJR is leading an emergency response there right now through its local partner on the ground, IBU Foundation.

My dad’s experience of appreciating being helped when he needed it, and then helping others, continues to inspire me. As does his commitment to our Jewish community and his determination to contribute to the world.

Our approach is harmful to peace STEPHEN CRABB MP

CONSERVATIVE FRIENDS OF ISRAEL PARLIAMENTARY CHAIRMAN IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

T

he landmark peace deals signed between Israel and her Gulf partners are a much-welcome development, but the prospects that the Palestinians will be the next to join negotiations remain bleak.

The high hopes that the ‘Oslo generation’ of Palestinian youth would be educated towards peaceful coexistence with Israel in accordance with the terms of the 1995 Accords have faded.

Impressively, the Palestinians rank among countries with the world’s highest literacy rates, and Palestinian girls consistently outscore their male peers. It is regrettable that this positive story is tarnished by the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) inclusion of material inciting violence against Israel and Jews in its school curriculum, which makes peace harder to achieve.

In the UK, we should rightly be proud of our reputation as a leading foreign aid donor, yet this is undermined by our inadvertent support for extremism in the Palestinian Territories.

Despite rightly asserting the importance of calling out antisemitism at every turn, the government has turned a blind eye to anti-Jewish racism in the PA curriculum.

Put simply, this antisemitic incitement would

not be tolerated in the UK. As well as paying the salaries of Palestinian teachers who use the official PA curriculum, UK aid supports schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the West Bank and Gaza, where teachers use the same curriculum.

Recent reports that UNRWA has produced and distributed educational material to Palestinian children during the Covid-19 pandemic containing material glorifying terrorism is deeply alarming. While Canada and Australia have launched a full investigation into these reports, the UK has accepted UNRWA’s assurances that the issue has been rectified.

Although I share the government’s desire to support global education, the unintended consequence of funding Palestinian teachers and providing aid to UNRWA is the indoctrination of impressionable children.

Our current approach is harmful to peace and there is an urgent need to recalibrate our aid strategy. The EU review into the content of Palestinian textbooks is not fit for purpose and we cannot wait for another generation of Palestinian children be brainwashed on our watch before we act.

In order to build on the incredible momentum of the Abraham Accords and promote peace and prosperity throughout the Middle East – for Palestinians as well as Israelis – we must acknowledge that proper scrutiny and accountability is long overdue.

11 February 2021 Jewish News

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27

Community / Scene & Be Seen

1 INNOVATIVE BAKE

Kinloss Bnei Akiva held an online bake off, where madrichim (leaders) and chanichim (participants) competed for the title of star baker. With guest judges from the BA HQ, the youngsters cooked innovative variants of cupcakes, with fillings such as cranberry and chocolate or with interesting decorations to top these vivid flavours. The children described the event as “10/10 for taste and fun”.

And be seen!

2NATURE VIEW

The latest news, pictures and (virtual) social events from across the community

Immanuel College Prep School has launched a weekly Family Fun Activity, which focuses on time away from screens and a chance for face-to-face interaction.

The first activity was a nature trail to coincide with Tu B’Shvat and The RSPB Big Bird Weekend as well as Children’s Mental Health Week this week. The children were asked to look out for different kinds of birds and spider webs, listen for dripping water and crunchy leaves and feel the breeze and the soil.

The school said the event was an “uplifting, mood enhancing wonderful afternoon for all those who took part”.

Email us at community@jewishnews.co.uk

3MENTALLY ACTIVE

Chai’s Children and Teenage Service marked this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week with a range of projects, including music, art and play therapy and Chai-ly Active Exercise Classes. A spokesperson for the charity said: “Staying active during this challenging time is hugely beneficial, not just physically but it is also vital for mental well-being. Our Zoom exercise classes for children aged five upwards are varied, interactive and fun.”

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29

Television / Weekend

of the best Golden Globe-nominated shows to watch now on Netflix, Amazon and Sky!

Political protesters, time travellers, Orthodox feminists and secret murderers are all in the mix for recognition as digital platforms sweep up this year’s nominations

The Trial of the Chicago 7 Aaron Sorkin’s star-studded drama, The Trial of the Chicago 7, is up for five awards at this year’s Golden Globes.

The star-studded film landed nominations for best motion picture, best supporting actor for Sacha Baron Cohen, best director and best screenplay for Sorkin and best original song for Hear My Voice.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 follows the real-life peaceful protests that turned violent at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Seven organisers of the protest – including Abbie Hoffman (played

by Baron Cohen), Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong) and Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) – were convicted of conspiracy to incite a riot.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 is available now on Netflix

Mank Leading the pack with the most Golden Globe nominations is Mank, a biographical drama about screenwriter Herman J Mankiewicz as he grapples to finish the screenplay of Orson Welles’ classic, Citizen Kane.

The film picked up six nominations, including for lead actor Gary Oldman, alongside best motion picture, best screenplay, best supporting actress for Amanda Seyfried, best original score and best director (David Fincher).

Mank is available now on Netflix

chess while developing an addiction to tranquilisers provided by the state as a sedative for the children.

Haunted by her personal demons and fuelled by a cocktail of narcotics and obsession, Beth transforms into an impressively skilled and glamorous outcast while determined to conquer the traditional boundaries established in the male-dominated world of competitive chess.

Frank co-created the criticallyacclaimed series with Allan Scott.

The Queen’s Gambit is available now on Netflix

The Undoing Adapted from author Jean Hanff Korelitz’s suspenseful thriller, You Should Have Known, The Undoing has picked up four Golden Globe nominations.

Sky Atlantic’s gripping drama, directed by Susanne Bier, will go head-to-head with Unorthodox for best limited series, while Nicole Kidman was nominated for best actress, Hugh Grant for best actor, and Donald Sutherland for best supporting actor.

The Undoing revolves around successful New York therapist Grace Fraser (Kidman), who is happily married with a son (Noah Jupe) and on the brink of publishing her first book.

But her seemingly perfect world is rocked by a violent death and when her husband Jonathan (played by Hugh Grant) goes missing, a chain of terrible revelations emerges.

The Undoing is available via Sky On Demand and Amazon Prime Video

The Queen’s Gambit Writer and director Scott Frank’s chess drama, The Queen’s Gambit, is up against The Undoing and Unorthodox for best television limited series, while Anya Taylor-Joy received a nod for best actress.

Based on the novel by Walter Tevis, the Netflix drama is a coming-of-age story that explores the true cost of genius.

Abandoned and entrusted to a Kentucky orphanage in the late 1950s, a young Beth Harmon (Taylor-Joy) discovers an astonishing talent for

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Sacha Baron Cohen’s surprise sequel to his 2006 box office smash, which offers plenty of Jewish moments and a wry comment on antisemitism, has picked up three nods from the Globes, including for best motion picture.

Baron Cohen’s turn as Borat, a bumbling journalist from Kazakh-

stan, earned the British-born actor a nomination in the best actor category, while his co-star Maria Bakalova, who plays his daughter, was nominated for best actress following her criticallyacclaimed breakout performance (and a memorable scene with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani).

Borat is available now on Amazon Prime Video

Palm Springs Time-looping romcom Palm Springs picked up two nominations, including for best picture, musical or comedy.

Andy Samberg notched a best actor nomination in the same category.

The much-anticipated film, directed by Max Barbakow and written by Andy Siara, follows carefree Nyles (Samberg) and reluctant maid of honour Sarah (How I Met Your Mother actress Cristin Milioti) who have a chance encounter at a wedding.

Things soon get complicated when the pair find themselves stuck in a time vortex, unable to escape the venue, themselves or each other.

Palm Springs will be released in the UK on Amazon Prime Video in April

Unorthodox The hit Netflix drama based on the 2012 memoir by Deborah Feldman of the same name about a young woman leaving her Charedi Orthodox community, has achieved two nominations, including best limited series.

Israeli star Shira Haas, who learnt Yiddish for the role, was nominated for best actress in a limited series.

The drama revolves around Esty (Haas), who runs away from her arranged marriage and her strictlyOrthodox community in Brooklyn, and moves to Berlin, where she adapts to a secular life. But when husband Yanky (Amit Rahav) discovers she is pregnant, he embarks on a journey to find her.

Unorthodox is available to watch now on Netflix

Schitt’s Creek The quirky comedy series, created by real-life father and son Eugene and Dan Levy, has garnered five Golden Globe nominations.

The show is up for best television series – musical or comedy, as well as for Eugene Levy, for best actor; Catherine O’Hara, lead actress; Dan Levy, supporting actor; and Annie Murphy, supporting actress.

Schitt’s Creek revolves around video store magnate Johnny Rose (Eugene) and his grown-up son David (played

by Dan), alongside wife and former soap star Moira (O’Hara) and daughter Alexis (Murphy).

The Roses lose their fortune after being defrauded and are forced to rebuild their lives with their sole asset: a small town named Schitt’s Creek they bought as a joke.

All six series of Schitt’s Creek are available to watch now on Netflix

Hunters Al Pacino has picked up a nomination for best actor in Amazon Prime Video’s controversial Holocaust drama, Hunters.

Created by David Weil and recently renewed for a second series, Hunters is set in 1970s New York, with Al Pacino starring as Meyer Offerman, the head of a vigilante group that embarks on a bloody quest to assassinate Nazis living in their midst. The starry cast also includes Logan Lerman, Jerrika Hinton and Josh Radnor.

Weil explained the series was “a love letter to my grandmother”, having been inspired by the stories told to him by his Holocaust survivor relative, Sarah Weil, although some of the depictions of revenge-seeking Jews did not sit well with Holocaust educators.

The Auschwitz Memorial and Museum called the show “dangerous”, while the head of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute said survivors “sought justice, not revenge”.

The first series of Hunters is available now on Amazon Prime Video

A look

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Sababa serves up a treat through lockdown

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Jewish News 11 February 2021

Weekend / Entertainment

PHOTOGRAPHY

MUSIC

#lockdownloving

JMI’s World Tour Dame Maureen Lipman (pictured) will perform a song from a lost musical about Golda Meir as part of an online gala to raise funds for the Jewish Music Institute (JMI) and Nightingale Hammerson.

JMI’s World Tour, which takes place tonight (Thursday) will feature the Coronation Street actress singing a lullaby from Lionel Bart and Roger Cook’s Next Year In Jerusalem, which was originally written in 1975 and considered lost for more than 40 years.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, photographer Blake Ezra and graphic designer Emily Theodore have collaborated on a new creative project, #lockdownloving.

The collection of 20 images craft together Ezra’s visually stunning photography with Theodore’s quirky lettering and feature phrases that play on the new vocabulary of the pandemic, such as Social Kisstancing, Tiers on my Pillow and Quarantease.

Speaking about collaborating virtually, Ezra said: “Working with Emily was a treat.

She has an amazing sense of aesthetic and really brought the ideas to life.”

Meanwhile, Theodore reciprocated the praise, saying she “had a lot of fun working with Blake – he’s not only a talented creative but a super lovely guy”.

The #lockdownloving collection is available to view on Sunday, 14 February via Instagram @BlakeEzraPhoto and @Emmtheo

The evening will also feature broadcaster Suzy Klein, historian Sir Simon Schama, Schama broadcasting executive Lord Michael Grade and Les Miserables composer Schönberg, as Claude-Michel Schönberg well as performances from singer Jessie Ware and violinist Nicola Benedetti.

Viewers will also be able to Lipovsky’s world hear Shura Lipovsky premiere of Der Iker (The Issue), her passionate Yiddish song composed during the pandemic.

JMI’s World Tour takes place tonight, Thursday, 11 February, 7.30pm, www.jmi.org.uk/ worldtour

COMPETITION

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APPLE TV+

TEHRAN Israeli espionage thriller Tehran – the first non-English language series from Apple TV+ – has been renewed for a second series.

Co-created by Fauda writer Moshe Zonder and Omri Shenhar, the drama revolves around Tamar Rabinyan, (played by Israeli actress Niv Sultan), who is a gifted young

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hacker for Israel’s intelligence unit.

She is drafted to join Mossad and sent on a perilous mission to Iran, where she is ordered to hack into an Iranian nuclear reactor.

When her ambitious mission fails, Rabinyan is stuck in the land of her childhood, where she discovers her roots and befriends local pro-democracy activists.

Tehran’s success follows in the wake of another Israeli-produced Apple Original series, Losing Alice, a neo-noir psychological thriller from creator, writer and director Sigal Avin, currently streaming on the digital provider.

The first series of Tehran is available to watch now on Apple TV+.

DOCUMENTARY

Allen v Farrow Decades of child sexual abuse allegations against Woody Allen (pictured below) will be explored in a new four-part HBO documentary, Allen v Farrow.

In 1992, the famed Hollywood director faced an allegation of sexual abuse involving Dylan, his seven-year-old adopted daughter with his then partner Mia Farrow (pictured).

The docuseries follows what happened in the aftermath of the allegation, the subsequent custody trial, Allen’s marriage to Farrow’s daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, and the lasting impact on the family.

Allen v Farrow, from award-winning investigative film-makers Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering and Amy Herdy, features home movies, court records, police evidence and never-before-heard audio tapes, as well as exclusive interviews with Dylan, Farrow and her son Ronan.

The documentary airs on 21 February on HBO, with a UK air date yet to be confirmed.

Jewish News and MATCHBOX Jewellery have teamed up to offer one lucky reader a £200 voucher to spend at www.matchboxjewellery. com!

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One winner will receive a voucher for £200 to spend at www.matchboxjewellery.com. The prize is as stated, not transferable, not refundable and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or exchanged in whole or in part for cash. By supplying your email address, you agree to receive marketing information from the JN Media Group or any of its affiliates and carefully selected third parties. The promotion excludes employees of Jewish News and the promoter, their immediate families, their agents or anyone professionally connected to the relevant promotion. Proof of eligibility must be provided on request. For full Ts and Cs, see jewishnews.co.uk. Closing date: 25 February 2021

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31

Inspiration / Weekend

The lighter side Brigit Grant’s little bit of this and little bit of that...

Brigit@jewishnews.co.uk

Where there’s a will, there’s OY VEY LIKE A DISGRUNTLED HAMSTER IN HIBERNATION, I’ve stored up a week’s worth of bluster fuelled by freezing dog walks, too many high-cal snacks and daily cold calls claiming I’ve been injured. I haven’t, but they will be if they ring again, as rage is my first response in Lockdown #3.

Hathaway and Ejiofor in HBO Max’s Locked Down

During Lockdown #1, I was polite and smiley, but since I never signed up for the trilogy, deference has been edged out by intolerance. Intolerance for the movies being made in quarantine about quarantine, so its only a matter of time before Locked Down the box set appears –and Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor lead the

way in the film... Locked Down.

Wonder how the branstorming went for the title of this HBO Max production which isn’t available here yet and I’m glad, as the platform is also showing a badly misjudged four-part doc about Woody Allen and Mia Farrow, which gives only the latter’s point of view. News of this self-serving attack on my favourite film-maker got me riled, although my husband has banned full outbursts until after midday. Evidently ranting from the moment I open my eyes is intolerable in this 24/7 together situation, so I had to wait until Spurs beat West Bromich Albion before exploding.

At school(HBS) hot-headed girls were sent to the coolingoff pantry during cookery, so it’s the cupboard for me now if I bluster or insist on watching Australia’s Married At First Sight before lights out.

Of course I realise a screaming row with INES is not the way to send a hot head to sleep, but I struggle with the alternative – reading. Sure I’ve got books – hundreds of them – and even hope to write

Virtual Love

Valentine’s Day in Covid time has its advantages for those who aren’t loved up, as they can close the door to the froth and flowers. But if you are open to possibilities, Denise Phillips, chef extraordinaire is hosting Date On A Plate online on Sunday for singletons aged 60 to 70.

Denise won’t be serving real food, just real introductions to silver surfers who may just want a chat.

To book or for more information call Denise on 07803 895 341 www.dateonaplate.com

one of the six in my head one day. But at my husband’s behest, I tried this week to take a different route to the land of nod and picked up a book written by a friend with a huge fan base among teens.

That I’m not Keren David’s target audience (even in candle-light) is obvious, but her novel, What We’re Scared Of, seemed a gentle place for me to start. And it was, as the story about twin sisters Evie and Lottie gives entry to the secret and often complex world of girls on the edge of adulthood.

Refreshingly unalike in figure and personality, the girls have a Jewish mother who is non-practising but, as the book reveals, this does not shield anyone from insidious antisemitism. Hate is only ever a keyboard click away and the girls experience the full gamut, from offensive remarks by classmates to Twitter trolling and ultimately danger.

So much for calming the rage, as I realised that if my daughter had read What We’re Scared Of, she might have been more

escape the Nazis. The story is told from his childhood perspective with family photographs and contemporary footage and the 10 minutes includes Amos’ grandfather’s eventual journey to England on Nicholas Winton’s last Kindertransport. Short never felt taller. www.bfi.org.uk/ future-film-festival

Ten

Longing for a time when we can sit in a cinema hasn’t stopped film organisations from staging festivals introducing new talent.

Director Amos Menin is one of 45 short film-makers showing his ability at the BFI’s Future Film Festival (Feb 18 - 21) and his emotive short documentary, Jude, is deeply personal because its about his grandfather, John Fieldsend (born Hans Heinrich Feige). John was seven when he fled Dresden alone on Kristallnacht and crossed the border into Czechoslovakia to

Pup Quiz

A rousing cheer for the charity Israel Guide Dogs, which took to Zoom to assist dog owners with dilemmas. In one corner sat celebrity vet, broadcaster and animal welfare campaigner Mark Abraham proffering advice, while in another, trainer Jordan Shelley solved a cockapoo’s behavioural

prepared for the moment she was identified ‘as one of them’ by the badge on her school blazer and then circled by a gang of kids who grabbed her bag and called her a rich Jew. Preparing our kids for the ‘what if’ before they fully understand ‘why’ is a Jewish parent’s duty, regardless of orthodoxy. The novel addresses antisemitism in a way teens will enjoy while being educated, and adults can join them. Sadly, the subject did nothing to quell my anger and I woke up even more ready to rant despite knowing I’d skipped reality tosh for a book. Who knows, I might even write one now I read.

issues. At one point, it looked as if a fluffy dog sitting on the lap of his owner was about to ask a question, which is a testament to the charity’s treatment of fourlegged friends. www.israelguidedog.org.uk

A-list entertainment

I’m not sure what younger participants made of the guests at the 100th episode of JLGB Virtual last week, but I was thrilled seeing actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her acclaimed film director husband Christopher Guest take questions from effusive host Cidney Miller. Cidney isn’t old enough to remember Jamie’s scream queen debut in Halloween, let alone the performances by the actress’ late parents, Janet Leigh in Psycho and father Tony Curtis in Spartacus. But

it mattered not, as the couple were there to salute the work of JLGB founder Colonel Albert E. W. Goldsmid, who happens to be Guest’s great-grandfather. Namedropping has never been more impressive and there was enough laughter to suggest the Hollywood A-listers enjoyed every minute of this JN partnered event . With JLGB evolving into the UK Jewish world’s equivalent of Graham Norton, a donation to the club is the best way to secure an invite to the next starry line-up. www.jlgb.org

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Jewish News 11 February 2021

Weekend / Food

‘It’s tough, but we carry on for you’ The owners of kosher eaterie Sababa tell Brigit Grant why they’ve been keeping the kitchens open throughout lockdown

T

here is something innately sad about chairs piled on tables. Even when life was good, it was a sight that signalled the end of a really great evening and a time to reluctantly exit. Now, chairs on tables means something very different. “It’s definitely tough,” says Sababa manager Julio Mattera.

“For us, the important thing is to keep going.”

That has been the mantra at Sababa since the first lockdown in March last year and, almost a year later, freezing sleet on a miserable Sunday doesn’t throw the staff off-track.

On the contrary, it’s all smiles and positivity at the food stand outside the double-fronted kosher eaterie in Borehamwood where Lucian is manning the stall.

“More chocolate sauce?” asks Lucian, as four-year-old Alex eyes his smartie-laden waffle. Manning the stall outside Sababa Alex is wrapped up for winter, unlike Lucian in Julio has been at the helm at Sababa while only a jumper (trousers obviously), woolly hat, the owner, Hannan, got married in India and obligatory mask and plastic gloves, but proving also had to deal with the sudden and tragic loss good service isn’t confined to eating in. of both his parents. Coping in such challenging “We know some people are very nervous times is a universal struggle and Julio knows about entering restaurants and this stall puts his support is essential, particularly as he and them at ease,” says Julio, who thinks outside Hannan, together with Romanian-born Marius access to pizzas, waffles and crepes (savoury and sweet) is good in any weather. “We can bring Cezar Cretu own the next-door eaterie Balagan.

Busy with take-out, the fascination for out all food orders from the menu for customers Balagan’s Middle Eastern menu is not just about to take away and there’s coffee and cake while the tasty food, but because the three entrepreyou wait.” neurial restaurateurs are not Jewish.

Jack, 10, doesn’t have much of a wait before “Three non-Jews getting a full kosher licence his strawberry and Nutella waffle arrives – an was big news when it ran in Jewish News,” laughs edible joy much needed on yet another grey Julio and, on cue, a kashrut supervisor drops Covid day and parents appreciate it, as even the Hampstead crêperie has closed in for a spot-check. Julio isn’t flustered as he and his partners worked and got educated at because of social distancing Soyo, Pizaza and Pizoyo before venturing into breaches. the complex kosher food landscape. “We had to know everything and now we take as much care with observing the rules as we do with the freshness of our food.”

Chef Khalid from Morocco had been in the kitchen since 11am preparing breakfasts and midday meals (the shakshuka breakfasts are in demand) just as the classic fish and chips is a popular favourite for lunch and dinner.

All of the menu (fish, pasta, huge salads and noodles) is available to order for delivery, but call Sababa direct as, according to Julio, the surcharges are huge on the well known apps beloved by our home-schooled children ordering food.

And it’s not just the delivery apps Julio doesn’t like, as he dislikes the area’s new parking restrictions created by cordoned flower boxes and pavement widening.

“But we keep going,” he says with a nod to the growing queue for waffles outside.

For Valentine’s Day, Sababa invites those who want to treat a loved one to order a meal as a surprise and they will deliver it – anonymously, if required. http://sababaa.uk

11 February 2021 Jewish News

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JDA’s door-to-door hearing aid service is a lifeline at this time of isolation

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For the first time in years, she can hear properly on the phone. We love a little gossip.

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Orthodox Judaism

SEDRA

Torah For Today

Mishpatim and Shekalim

What does the Torah say about: Captain Sir Tom Moore

BY REBBETZIN EMMA TAYLOR After the impressive sound and light show at Mount Sinai last week, this week’s Torah reading of Mishpatim seems more mundane but is filled with more than 50 mitzvot or commandments.

Among these laws we have the charge to look after the well-being of the convert, the widow and the orphan. Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch explains that the word almana, or widow, is similar to the word alam, to be mute.

Through the death of a husband or the loss of a parent, many can lose their voice, their advocate, and therefore it is up to us to stand in place of those who have been lost.

This command is not in reference only to these specific groups of people. So many of the laws written in this week’s sedra fall under the category of bein Adam lechaveiro, between man and man, the purpose of which is to fine tune our level of empathy for one another.

The fundamental principle behind all the laws relating to mitzvot between man and man is veahavta lereicha kamocha, to love your neighbour like yourself.

To do this effectively we must see everyone as our neighbour. The word implies a level of closeness: they are the people we pop into for some sugar and the ones we see in the morning while collecting our newspapers. Yet however close we are with them, we never fully know what goes on behind closed doors, the struggles they face and the lives they really lead.

Viewing every individual as our neighbour, we are commanded to see them as humans with feelings, needs and a life story of which we may not be aware. Mishpatim teaches us that true compassion for others is at the heart of Judaism.

◆ Emma Taylor is community rebbetzin and educator at Borehamwood and Elstree shul

BY REBBETZIN TANYA GARBER In the week since we lost Captain Sir Tom Moore (pictured), what does the Torah say about inspiration and those who inspire us?

We encounter so many moments of inspiration that should propel us to new levels of growth and development – but there is a tendency as humans for us to overlook even the most powerful experiences.

Last week’s Torah portion described the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. It was such a powerful moment that Jews literally experienced an ‘outer body’ moment.

The Torah portion of Mishpatim this week is one of the longest and contains more than 50 separate laws and commandments, including performing chesed (acts of kindness).

There is a strong juxtaposition between the lofty heights of Mount Sinai to discussing the details of daily living, teaching us that true spirituality comes through interaction with the mundane in an uplifting and

elevated way.

There are some special people who don’t wait for opportunities to perform, but rather actively look out for them. This unique quality is described by the prophet Micha 6:8, “Do justice, love acts of lovingkindness and walk humbly with your God.” Captain Sir Tom Moore epito-

mised this idea. He was a beacon of hope and a tremendous source of positivity and inspiration. Heeding the call to respond to the plight of the NHS under strain, he responded immediately.

We applauded him last Thursday night in recognition of all that he accomplished, as well as all those for whom he campaigned.

Captain Tom was a hero. Not just for the £33million he raised for NHS charities but also because he inspired us all. He demonstrated that each one of us can make a difference.

Like Captain Sir Tom, we, too, have the chance to create our own legacy and as he did, with small steps.

A kind word, a smile, a weekly phone call to someone who feels alone. Small acts of kindness are the very things that make the difference. ◆ Tanya Garber is rebbetzin of Shenley United Jewish Community

Online mental health support Adults throughout our community now have access to free, safe, online mental health and emotional wellbeing support via Qwell. Join immediately and anonymously through any smartphone, tablet or computer, to gain access to the following services:

Text-based counselling Online peer support Self-help tools

“I’ve felt so bad recently but whenever I come here I feel safe and it feels like an online family.”

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Sign up and login at qwell.io/jami

XenZone is the UK’s leading online mental health platform and Qwell is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

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Jewish News 11 February 2021

Progressive Judaism

The Bible Says What?

Progressively Speaking

‘Getting close to God is a terrifying experience’

We should break down barriers, not point the finger of blame

BY RABBI CELIA SURGET Getting closer to God is a constant desire in our liturgy. We express how we want to get a glimpse into the world of spirituality.

Only once in our tradition have the Jewish people as a whole had the chance to come into direct contact with God – but it wasn’t the experience they might have hoped for or we might have expected.

The occasion was the revelation at Mount Sinai, where the Ten Commandments are bellowed out by the voice of God itself.

Not only do the people hear these famous words, but they also see quite the spectacle: “the thunder and lightning, the blare of the horn and the mountain smoking” are all in front of them. The people are terrified, afraid they will surely die if they continue to be exposed to God’s voice directly. They plead with Moses that God’s instructions be mediated through him, so they don’t have to face this again.

This couldn’t be further from our modern conception of understanding God. Rabbi Lionel Blue wrote a beautiful piece, which has taken its place in the Reform liturgy for the High Holy Days giving advice on meeting God, where we are told we may not have heard from God because we keep filling the silence – “for God speaks in the silence”.

Meeting God must be good, not terrifying, surely? Trying to grapple with the entirety of godliness and spirituality is too much for us as humans – it is a genuinely scary task. We instead find our connection today in bitesize pieces as we learn and pray.

To rush to see it all at once is the direct path to being scared away. We should feel no pressure to understand everything at once.

When we learn and teach, it is okay to take it one step at a time.

◆ Rabbi Celia Surget serves Radlett Reform Synagogue

BY RABBI CHARLEY BAGINSKY Since Jewish News revealed Covid rule-breaking at a strictly-Orthodox wedding on its front page two weeks ago, it has dominated discussions within our community.

Like many, I was shocked and saddened by what I saw. But the big question for us all is: where do we go from here?

Nothing will come of us simply repeating how awful it was. Rather, we can all use the strange times in which we live to build relationships that can make a real difference and strengthen our entire community.

One of the most interesting things that has happened during this pandemic is the (virtual) round tables where parts of the Jewish community that never usually talk to each other are regularly in conversation.

I’ve spoken more to the Orthodox community in the past 12 months than in the previous 12 years combined. And not just Chief Rabbi

Ephraim Mirvis and other United Synagogue leaders but those who represent the strictly-Orthodox too.

Our talks have helped break down barriers and that is the key here.

It’s very easy to criticise what happened at the wedding and other Stamford Hill gatherings, but we must also ask ourselves how can we actually achieve change?

There’s no point shouting at people when you’re speaking a different language.

As a Progressive community, we need to start to understand the Charedi community and get them the right information in the right language – and by that I don’t mean Yiddish, but in a way that is sensitive to their community and way of life.

For me this goes beyond Covid.

We must continue to develop conversations and relationships that can only help in the future.

There are lots of discussions that need to be had in the months and years ahead, from tackling sexual abuse to ensuring education for girls.

And we’re not going to get there by shouting, castigation and public criticism – but rather by building a pathway to conversation and finding out how we can talk to each other. ◆ Rabbi Charley Baginsky is chief executive officer of Liberal Judaism

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Ask our

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Professional advice from our panel / Ask Our Experts

VIRTUAL ALIYAH CAN BE VIRTUOUS! Plan your 10 year tax holiday now, drive on the right later….

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

This week: Paying bills in Israel, asking staff to have Covid-19 vaccination and updating a will in lockdown NAOMI FELTHAM INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS SPECIALIST

CURRENCIES DIRECT

Dear Naomi Owing to current travel restrictions, I can’t visit my property in Israel but I still need to make my utility and mortgage payments. Is there a way I can pay all of my bills directly or to my property manager using your services?

Stephen Dear Stephen With Currencies Direct you have the ability to pay bills in Israel quickly and safely. You have a number of choices, including paying the company direct, paying your property manager or paying to your own personal bank account.

First, you would need to register with our services for free. All we require is some basic

EMMA GROSS EMPLOYMENT LAW AND DATA PRROTECTION

SPENCER WEST LLP Dear Emma I run a recruitment company and want to reopen my offices as soon as the government allows.

I’ve requested my staff get vaccinated and let me know once they have been so we can get back to “normal” as soon as possible. Some staff are refusing to take the vaccine and others say I am invading their privacy.

I have hinted that without

being vaccinated they may not be able to return to the office. My space is too small for social distancing, so I want to make sure my staff are protected. Legally, am I allowed to track who has been vaccinated and hold that data on file for this purpose?

David Dear David Firstly, you cannot force your staff to get vaccinated. You can request it, but it is their choice. You could be in breach of contract and open to cases of unfair dismissal if you change your employees terms without consent.

I’d suggest you treat the Covid-19 vaccination in the same way as the flu jab – share correct information to dispel

information about you and the transfers you intend to make. Once this is complete, you will get full access to our online app, which you can download on any smartphone and also be assigned a dedicated account manager.

When ready to make the transfer, you’d book in the rate over the phone or online with your dealer. You will then know exactly how many shekels you will receive in Israel, which means you never have a shortfall. You would send your sterling to our Barclays account in London and we would send the shekels from our shekel account to the destination. You can get live payment tracking and have guaranteed safety of funds as we are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

If you have a set amount going out at certain dates, you can also set up a direct debit with us. You can fix the rate for up to a year so you don’t lose out on additional money and know where you stand financially.

CAROLYN ADDLEMAN myths, and support staff to attend vaccination clinics.

In terms of storing data, it is vital you carry out a data privacy impact assessment before collecting and processing this type of information and you would need to demonstrate a very clear reason why any specific vaccination data is needed.

Medical records fall into a special category of data, and only with express consent can you store, hold or maintain this information.

DIRECTOR OF LEGACIES

KKL EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE COMPANY Dear Carolyn I need to update my will, but social distancing and lockdown rules seem to make it impossible to meet with professional advisers and have documents witnessed.

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demand for advice on will writing and lasting powers of attorney. As restrictions have been tightened, social distancing and self-isolation have created fresh challenges for practitioners. Regulatory issues around mental capacity and witnessing of documents are now presenting significant difficulties in drafting wills.

Many practitioners send out will questionnaires and then arrange to meet via video conferencing to discuss client instructions. This may be followed up with correspondence containing a draft will and an explanation of what was discussed.

Creative solutions are employed to remain within the requirements of both social distancing and the valid execution of legal documents.

T: 020 8832 2222 E: info@shipsms.co.uk W: www.shipsms.co.uk

For a will to be valid, it must by witnessed by two independent witnesses present at the same time.

Currently, this must be done while maintaining a two-metre separation and this may well present an additional difficulty for many people, particularly those isolating or who are unwell.

Some have overcome this by the signing and witnessing being done in the street, but it could be done by standing at a distance in a hallway.

The key is finding a way to put in place an up-to-date and valid will and lasting powers of attorney despite restrictions and to give clients clear written instructions and confidence that their concerns are being addressed during these stressful times.

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Ask Our Experts / Professional advice from our panel

Our Experts Do you have a question for a member of our team? Email: editorial@jewishnews.co.uk

PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SPECIALIST TREVOR GEE Qualifications: • Managing Director, consultant specialists in affordable family health insurance.

• Advising on maximising cover, lower premiums, pre-existing conditions.

• Excellent knowledge of health insurers, cover levels and hospital lists • LLB solicitors finals • Member of Chartered Insurance Institute

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

DIRECTOR OF LEGACIES

FINANCIAL SERVICES (FCA) COMPLIANCE

KITCHEN CONSULTANCY

JACOB BERNSTEIN Qualifications: • A member of the APCC, specialising in financial services compliance for: • Mortgage, protection and general insurance intermediaries; • Lenders, credit brokers, debt counsellors and debt managers; • Alternative Investment Fund managers; • E-Money, payment services, PISP, AISP and grant-making charities.

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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.

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JEWELLER

EMPLOYMENT LAW AND DATA PROTECTION EMMA GROSS Qualifications: • Specialist in claims of unfair dismissal, redundancy and discrimination.

• Negotiate out-of-court settlements and handle complex tribunal cases.

• HR services including drafting contracts and policies, advising on disciplinaries, grievances and providing staff training.

• Contributor to The Times, HR Magazine and other titles.

SPENCER WEST LLP 020 7925 8080 www.spencer-west.com emma.gross@spencer-west.com

COMMERCIAL LAWYER

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.

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

LOVATT LEGAL LIMITED 07753 802 804 adam@lovattlegal.co.uk

• • •

Got a question for a member of our team?

Email: editorial@jewishnews.co.uk

Design and supplying Kitchens for over 15 years

TRAVEL AGENT

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

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.

SUE CIPIN Qualifications: • 20 years+ hands-on experience, leading JDA in significant growth and development.

• Understanding of the impact of deafness on people, including children, at all stages.

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

• Technology room with expert advice on and facilities to try out the latest equipment.

Hearing aid advice, support and maintenance.

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

REMOVALS MANAGING DIRECTOR

PRINCIPAL, PERFORMING ARTS SCHOOL

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

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

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

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

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

• Set up Dancing with Louise 19 years ago.

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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

IT SPECIALIST

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

ISRAELI ACCOUNTANT

INSURANCE CONSULTANCY

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.

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

ALIYAH ADVISER

If you would like to advertise your services here email: sales@ jewishnews.co.uk

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.

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

• Offers mock interviews and workshops to maximise job prospects.

• Expert in corporate management holding director level marketing, commercial and general management roles.

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, pet disputes, 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

Computer problems solved PC, Mac, WiFi, Laptops & Desktops Remote Support and On-Site Man on a Bike IT Consultancy Call now 020 8731 6171 www.manonabike.co.uk

40

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Jewish News 11 February 2021

Headteacher - Kisharon Noé School Kisharon Noé School, with its brand new campus, is recruiting a visionary headteacher for its Jewish-Faith Special Free School.

We are a special school for students aged 4 to 19 with a wide range of learning disabilities.

The applicant will be able to offer strong leadership to guide the school’s continued growth to its full capacity of 72 pupils. The Headteacher should be able to demonstrate the skills to work with all stakeholders to transform the educational and life opportunities for its pupils.

The school is in Hendon, London NW4, and is proud of its state-of-the-art IT, learning and therapy provisions. The applicant will have the qualities to be the lead professional and positive role model within the community, driving forward the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievements through promoting excellence to pupils and staff.

•

Salary: L21-L35 (outer London)

•

Application deadline: Friday 19th February 2021

•

Interviews will take place: w/c 8th March 2021

This exciting role offers the chosen applicant the opportunity to shape Kisharon Noé School into the beacon of the special needs community we have all dreamed of and to nurture the Jewish ethos of the School.

To find out more about this exciting opportunity and apply visit www.kisharonschool.org.uk/vacancies for the link to all details.

Once completed please submit your application to: headship@epm.co.uk If you would like more information from the School please contact: neha.mehta@kisharon.org.uk Kisharon Noé School is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from any background. Kisharon Noé School is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and vulnerable young adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. An Enhanced DBS criminal check will be required.

Recruiting for Head of Philanthropy If you are a highly organised self-starter with a successful track record in philanthropy fundraising, a deep knowledge of the Jewish philanthropic community and the skills to develop rigorous processes to ensure that all our supporters are cultivated, engaged and stewarded to the highest standards, we would love to hear from you.

Closing date: 1st March 2021 Home based with proximity to London and regular visits to NHCM, Nottinghamshire.

Full job description on holocaust.org.uk or email recruitment@holocaust.org.uk

54 Parson Street, London NW4 1TP 020 8455 7483 • kisharonschool.org.uk • office@kisharonschool.org.uk

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Uncivil war

FR

Stakes are high as Americans 11 & 26 head to the poll P10,

Extraordinary Care from Extraordinary People

• Residential • Respite • Independent Living 020 8908 4151 jewishchoice.org

TY E COMMUNI VOICE OF TH @JewishNewsUK No.1182 • Cheshvan 5781 • Issue 30 October 2020 • 12

Unmasked Labour over • Corbyn suspended byEHRC report reaction to damning

guilty of • Watchdog finds party discrimination’ ‘unlawful acts of

ess to • There was ‘lack of willingn to do so’

•

tackle hate, not inability of shame’ Starmer speaks of ‘day e’ and vows ‘zero toleranc ent Lawyers warn employm follow now could tribunal cases

•

Analysis and expert opinion

on the EHRC’s landmark

verdict –

Special edition marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau

approved by The Institute To place an order, visit

of Science and Halacha

our website www.Hidurit.co.uk

for Shabbat and Yom

or call us today 0208

Tov

900 9400 @Hidurit @Hidurit

@Hidurit_UK

27 January 2020

‘Their stories will stay with me forever’ Duchess of Cambri dge photographs survivor s for our Holocau st Memori al Day edition

United we stand ❛ ❜ See pages 4 & 5

APER ISH NEWSP IGGEST JEW BRITAIN’S B JewishNewsUK

26 July 2018

R

14 Av 5778

•

•

@

hundreds, if not to Israel been approved, definition of anti-Semitism, of Labour and Momentum leading Jewish Alliance’s Labour MP Dame Margaret thousands, need to be expelled.

Today, Britain’s three News, Jewish provoking her leader an anti-Semite to members would in Brexit disnewspapers – Jewish to call With the government Telegraph – take Hodge yet. danger Chronicle and Jewish face, was the most sinister there is a clear and present of speaking as his to IHRA defini- array, the unprecedented step Labour has diluted the man with a default blindness same front page. government that a a man one by publishing the community’s fears, accepted in full by the the existential tion, deleting the Jewish that hateful We do so because of more than 130 local councils, has a problem seeing this country that and key examples of who can easily step threat to Jewish life in and amending four rhetoric aimed at Israel Jeremy Corbyn-led to Israel. could be our next would be posed by a anti-Semitism relating anti-Semitism, into a Labour government.

Under its adapted guidelines, Israel’s prime minister. party that was, MPs vote on We do so because the member is free to claim On 5 September, Labour home for our Party and comthe is a racist endeavour motion, calling for until recently, the natural existence emergency an integand Gervalues of Nazi definition community, has seen its Israeli policies to those to adopt the full IHRA contempt for pare – whatever that party rity eroded by Corbynite many, unless “intent” its rulebook.

“Dirty Jew” is into face a binary Jews and Israel. means – can be proved.

Following that, it will anti-Semof seen be shame game? or bitch” fair The stain and implement IHRA in full Her Maj- wrong, “Zionist a distinction choice: itism has coursed through people as an institutionally In so doing, Labour makes Jeremy Corbyn targeting by all decent party. esty’s Opposition since between racial anti-Semitism anti- racist, anti-Semitic years for became leader in 2015. (unacceptable) and political After three deeply painful to Livingstone, Jews (acceptable).

September is finally From Chakrabarti Semitism targeting Israel Had the full our community, alarming lows. Last there have been many The reason for this move? relating make or break. to adopt the full week’s stubborn refusal definition with examples Remembrance IHRA International Holocaust

E

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I’m not neurotic!

Woody Allen on the upside of social distancing and remembering his barmitzvah portion

THE VOICE O F OUR COMM UNITY

18 June 2020

Issue No.1064

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26 Sivan 5780

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Issue No.1163

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Exclusive interview on pages 22-23

@JewishNewsUK

❝

❝

THE COMMUNITY THINKS WHITE PEOPLE CAN BE ONLY JEWS

Jodeci Joseph

❝

SOME BLACK JEWS DON’T FELLOW JEWS BECAUSE SOCIALISE WITH OF RACISM

Madeline R Young

Richard Ferrer Editor

❝

I OFTEN FEEL INVISIBLE ABANDONED BY JEWISH AND LEADERS Nadine Batchelor-Hunt

Black Jews tell Jewish News of bitter communal experien as more than 30 contact ces the inclusivity inquiry in first week front

United

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Full story and analysis on pages 4,5,6,16the&18 PROUD TO BE SUPPORTING Leader of World Uyghur Congress on the Jewish response to her people’s plight Pages 3&8

UNITY F OUR COMM THE VOICE O 23 July 2020

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2 Av 5780

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Issue No.1168

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Telephone 020 8381 1717 m www.allaboardshops.co

It’s all about the charities we support

@JewishNewsUK

STARMER OVER CORBYN GOES TO WAR WITH WHISTLEBLOWERS HIGH COURT APOLOGY TO

‘I’m sorry’

workings of the parmomentous inner handling Labour issued a staffers ty’s complaints claims of public apology to former Wednesday unit contained in the High Court on interference in the fallout political after they sued over have been an investi- what should disciplinary from a BBC Panorama handling independent was strenugation into the party’s Jack process. This of antisemitism, writes ously denied by the party Mendel. before the at the time.

However, just hours According to the were reports lawyer, announcement, there Jeremy whistleblowers’ that former Labour leader William Bennett, Labour Corbyn, his former communications accused them of “acting and Labour’s and chief Seumus Milne in bad faith during Jennie with the former secretary-general that after their employment Formby had sought assurances of harming” the party, be connected intention their names would not accusations false. of lasting calling the defended to the apology. In a sign Mark Henderson, who the anger, Corbyn later dismissed not the Labour Party, said he “acknowldecision, about the apology as “a political edges that these claims a legal one”. are untrue, and we retract Claimants members, Seven former staff them and undertake about and withdraw who voiced their concerns them. Actions are being among not to repeat those who repeat the how claims of Jew-hatred with, sued taken against dealt were against those taken members will be of libel in libels and after they were accused to do so in future.” broad- who choose the Panorama documentary, cast last year. of the The hour-long dissection

ke Jewish News Thank you for helping to ma and opinion for the leading source of news Today we’re . the UK Jewish community e putting tinu con to asking for your help we do. ing ryth eve in rst fi our community t. we don’t charge for conten Unlike other Jewish media, on rely we , e we are free That won’t change. Becaus s lifeline, which has dropped Thi ts. cos er cov to advertising further due to coronavirus. in recent years, has fallen we do. help sustain the vital work For as little as £5 you can help us continue celebrating 100% of your donation will ant diversity. our community in all its vibr something worth preserving.

We hope you agree that’s Shabbat shalom.

I WAS TOLD I WASN’T COULDN’T BE IN SHULJEWISH SO – IT’S BRUTAL

Jessica Morgan

Photo by Marc Morris

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SUPPORT YOUR JEWISH COMMUNITY

2 Continued on page

‘I’m not’

SUPPORT YOUR JEWISH NEWS Make your donation at jewishnews.co.uk

Immanuel College The Charles Kalms • Henry Ronson

HMC Independent Jewish Day School for Children aged 4-18

Teacher of Jewish Studies Part time (2-3 days per week) • Required for September 2021 We are seeking a dynamic and committed individual to teach Tenach, Talmud, and Jewish Knowledge and Skills to a range of ages and abilities. Teaching will include the GCSE Religious Studies syllabus. You will prove to be an effective teacher with a wide Jewish knowledge, and will identify with the modern Orthodox ethos of the school. Applications are also welcome from NQTs or those willing to work towards a teaching qualification.

Immanuel College is a vibrant, professional and caring place to work, where every day brings new challenges and opportunities.

We are deeply committed to the emotional and professional wellbeing and development of all our staff with the added benefits of access to the TPS, a supportive CPD system, membership to a healthcare scheme, subsidised lunches and a range of wellbeing initiatives.

To apply, please visit our website www.immanuelcollege.co.uk We are a highly successful, modern orthodox, For further enquiries relating to the role please contact Rabbi Danny Baigel, Director of Jewish co-educational, independent Jewish Education at dbaigel@immanuelcollege.co.uk day school, characterised by exceptional Closing date: 10am, Monday 22 February 2021 academic standards, outstanding pastoral Interviews: w/c Monday 1 March 2021 care and a renowned programme of An Application Form, Equal Opportunities Jewish study. We recently were assessed as Monitoring Form and the names and contact “excellent” by ISI in July 2019 and achieved outstanding public exam results last Summer. details of two referees should be sent to Mr Gary Griffin, Head Master at We enjoy an environment of happy, jobs@immanuelcollege.co.uk fulfilled young people, fully engaged in the Head Master: Mr Gary Griffin BA (Soc) Hons life of the school community, aspirational and Elstree Road, Bushey, Herts, WD23 4EB committed to their studies.

Tel: 020 8950 0604 Immanuel College is a thriving and successful HMC co-educational Jewish day school for children aged 4 to 18.

We welcome, on an equal basis, all applications regardless of faith.

Immanuel College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants must be willing to undergo screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the DBS.

11 February 2021 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

41

Fun, games and prizes

THE JEWISH NEWS CROSSWORD 1

2

3

4

5

7

6

9 11 14 17 19 20 22 23

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9

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

Big bundle (of notes) (3) Spiced sausage (6) End‑to‑end distance (6) Be untruthful (3) Smallest number (3) Anxious person (7) Woefully (5) Units of distance which can be nautical or air (5)

8 1

9 5 3 4 5 3 9 4 7 9 2 5 4 3 4 7 9 3 6 5 6 8

13 14

15

16

DOWN 1 Refuse to acknowledge (6) 2 Promissory note (inits)(3) 3 Twelve month periods (5) 4 Depiction of happy innocence (5) 5 Best possible (7) 6 Imperial measure (4) 10 Swimming‑pool section (4,3) 12 Fitting (3) 13 Major suit at bridge (6) 15 Clumsy (5) 16 Group of concubines (5) 18 Lines (of cinema seats) (4) 21 Indisposed (3)

17

18 19

20

21

22

23

ACROSS 1 Flower sometimes made into a chain (5)

4 Elephant tusk substance (5) 7 Needing oiling (7) 8 Bare rocky hill (3)

N N M K T A E U U J H O P

3

L R O T C A R T E S C A K

18

X A O H R O R L G G D H Y

1

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R D U G D

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O R C H A R D C E C F O A

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R W Y C V P K H R V R L N I

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S N E H U F A R M E R E L

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X V Q ANIMALS BARN CATTLE CORN CROPS

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S O W N S L S T Y

CULTIVATOR FARMER HAY HENS HORSES

LIVESTOCK ORCHARD PADDOCK PIGS PLOUGH

Last issue’s solutions Crossword ACROSS: 1 Soda 3 Chilly 8 Salvage 9 Rug 10 Rat-catcher 13 Upbringing 17 Tag 18 Sulkily 19 Melody 20 Thin DOWN: 1 Sash 2 Delta 4 Hoe 5 Larch 6 Yogurt 7 Tai chi 11 Toggle 12 Custom 14 Bagel 15 Neigh 16 Hymn 18 Sad

3

SCARECROW SCYTHE SHEEP STY TRACTOR

6 5 8 3 2 9 4 1 7

1 9 7 4 6 5 8 3 2

3

17

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18 17

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25 25

25

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4

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3

25

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4 18

10

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4 7 5 2 3 8 1 6 9

9 6 1 5 7 4 2 8 3

7 8 6 9 4 3 5 2 1

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M

17

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20 14

25

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21

19

25

4

3

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3

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2

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20 18

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20 26

6

19

3

4

3

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2

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4 19

22 11

3 4

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25

18 4

21

4

23 3

9

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4 2

19

1

11

3 20

3

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1

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6 19

T

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Suguru 8 2 3 1 9 6 7 4 5

1

See next issue for puzzle solutions.

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 3 4 2 7 8 1 9 5 6

23

7

L M

10 20

5

C E D L S B R E K S N A

I

16

11

G L S M T T P S O Y Y U W

A P T D

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

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 5, 19 and 21 with their letters in the grid will help you to guess the identity of other letters.

The farm words 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

SUGURU

CODEWORD

WORDSEARCH

V B A C O J

5 2 1 6 9 2

2 1 4 6 5 7 3 9 8

5 3 9 8 1 2 6 7 4

1 3 2 1 2 1

2 4 5 3 5 4

1 3 1 4 1 2

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

Wordsearch 2 4 2 3 5 3

3 1 5 4 2 4

4 2 3 1 3 1

2 1 2 1 3 4

4 5 3 4 2 1

3 2 1 5 3 4

1 4 3 2 1 5

2 5 1 4 3 2

1 3 2 5 1 4

S E L C S U M O K Q G G P

A G W E I G H T S R N N B

B Y V M S E G N U L I I O

J M S I A A W N H X L W M

S P U L S E R A T E C O X

E C T D H C T B L E Y R V

J H I Q G A P Y S K C U Y

Codeword Y S Y B E L R I G G I N Z

W T D Y O O C D L R Y N D

F R D F I R K U W O E I G

C O N J E I E Z G O E N S

B P M X C E W A L T R G E

R S E T S S E N T I F K H

MONO T O O A Y C L UMP H G E A C H E B T I S P Y I NG W T E X C E E D E R R P RO V I S E F M R I T E A

N Y D A U B E A L A C U N N I NG T T B G A S I L I C A R Q G J UMB L E R E O E D K NO T C T A H O R U N N Y I I Z M L L OC A T E

K R J WQ Z P M V N Y H A F I C O X T B G E D L U S11/02

42

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Jewish News 11 February 2021

Business Services Directory ANTIQUES 44

The Jewish News 22 September 2016

www.jewishnews.co.uk

BUSINESS SERVICES DIRECTORY

Top prices paid

Antique – Reproduction – Retro Furniture (any condition)

Carer

Clothing

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

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

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MAKE SURE YOU CONTACT US BEFORE SELLING

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During the pandemic, we offer telephone and online counselling.

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11 February 2021

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