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VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY 20 May 2021

•

9 Sivan 5781

sity Univer Jewish incy Chapla

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Issue No.1211

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@JewishNewsUK

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J E W I S H WOM E N ’ S A I D U R G E N T A P P E A L

HELP US CREATE A CULTURE OF CONSENT AND RESPECT

We have all been shocked by national news reports about sexual harassment and sexual violence going unchecked in schools and on campuses across the UK. Some Jewish schools, as well as university Jewish societies, have been named as the educational settings where young people have experienced sexual harassment, misogyny, abuse and assault at the hands of their peers.

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Peace in pieces 70 years of lost opportunities in the Middle East Page 29

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Israel qualifies for Eurovision final P30

VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY 20 May 2021

•

9 Sivan 5781

•

Issue No.1211

•

@JewishNewsUK

Not the country we know Antisemitic effigy at Saturday’s demo

• Antisemitic attacks Parchment from a desecrated mezuzah

up by more than 600% • Car convoy filmed yelling: ‘F*** Jews’ • Mezuzahs torn from doorposts

• Teachers and students

abused on campuses • Driver ‘chased and rammed’ in Hendon • Nine police officers hurt at pro-Hamas rally

…Home secretary tells JN readers: ‘We’ve got your back’ WEEK FROM HELL: 15 PAGES OF UNRIVALLED REPORTS & ANALYSIS

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Graffiti scrawled on a door in Norwich

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

News / Israel-Hamas: the backlash NEWS IN BRIEF

COMPLAINT OVER STURGEON VIEWS The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities and the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council will complain to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon about statements she made on the escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians in Jerusalem. Sturgeon wrote: “Attacking a place of worship at any time is reprehensible but attacking a mosque during Ramadan is utterly indefensible.” Neither she nor her justice minister condemned Hamas bombarding Israel with thousands of missiles.

GAL GADOT ABUSED FOR PEACE TWEET Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot has received vicious online abuse over her tweet about the escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza. The Israeli actress and former Miss Israel posted: “Israel deserves to live as a free and safe nation”, adding: “Our neighbours deserve the same.”

But she was forced to switch off replies to the Instagram post after receiving thousands of messages – some openly antisemitic, accusing her of supporting “mass genocide” and “ethnic cleansing”.

Hopes raised that end to fighting could be in sight

by Michael Daventry mike@jewishnews.co.uk @MichaelDaventry

On day nine, even as Israel insisted there was no timeframe for winding down the fighting in Gaza, the indications were that the end was now much closer than the beginning.

The hopes were raised by the fourth phone call in a week between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu. The US president told the Israeli prime

Israel continues to target Hamas in the Gaza Strip

minister that he expected a “significant de-escalation” within hours.

It was the most explicit sign yet that the White House’s indulgence, which made the United States become the only major country not to demand an immediate ceasefire over what it termed “Israel’s right to self-defence”, was over.

Meanwhile, as Hamas and Islamic Jihad continued to lob rockets into the sky and Israel pummelled Gaza, the conflict had changed: it was now being described in statistics, not events.

It was as if all sides had reached an unspoken agreement that numbers were the best way to describe what had spiralled into a cyclical routine.

The same thing happened in 2014, the last time Israel and Gaza confronted each other with this degree of rancour, but this year’s numbers were no

A synagogue in Ashkelon seen through a hole created by a Hamas rocket

less striking. Since Monday, 10 May, 12 people in Israel and at least 219 in Gaza have died and more than 1,500 injured.

The total number of rockets launched aimlessly towards southern Israel was close to 4,000. Most were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system.

Hundreds of others fell short and landed in Gaza itself.

However, the minority that made it through were sufficient to force thousands of Israelis from Ashkelon to Beersheba to spend successive nights in their bomb shelters.

Israel’s response – air strikes its Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said were targeting infrastructure and

fighters – was having a wider effect. Multiple high-rise blocks were flattened. At least 18 hospitals and clinics, including Gaza’s only Covid-19 testing facility, were destroyed. Some 58,000 Palestinians have fled their homes.

There were fewer signs of last week’s sectarian violence that tore through Israeli towns inhabited by both Jews and Arabs, but the anger was still palpable.

On Tuesday, Palestinians called a strike, a protest that led to shutters dropping around the usually bustling markets of Jerusalem’s Old City.

In the West Bank, hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets, many hurling

stones at an Israeli military checkpoint in Ramallah.

Three Palestinians were killed.

Two soldiers were wounded by gunshots.

Four rockets were launched from across Israel’s border with Lebanon. The IDF blamed a Palestinian faction. No casualties were reported.

A flurry of diplomacy has taken hold over the past week. Envoys from Egypt and Qatar waited several days for Israel’s response to the terms of a ceasefire deal reportedly agreed with Hamas. Germany’s Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, was due in the region on Thursday for talks with Israelis and Palestinians. � Editorial comment, p22

CONVOY WAS A WARNING

BY GHANEM NUSEIBEH

CHAIRMAN, MUSLIMS AGAINST ANTISEMITISM

Once again, the Jewish community in the UK is expected by antisemites to answer for events in the Middle East. This culminated in the Finchley Road car convoy calling, in broad daylight in one of London’s most Jewish areas, for the rape of the daughters of Jews.

The convoy exposes a number of problematic challenges that face the Jewish community in Britain with serious implications for intercommunal relations between minorities in the UK generally. The culprits have taken over a legitimate right to protest about Israel-Gaza clashes and turned it into a reprehensible display of antisemitic intimidation.

To see an MP such as Jeremy Corbyn standing by an effigy of a United Arab Emirates leader dressed in Arab garb is a blatant incite-

ment against moderate Arabs and Muslims who call for an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The mere presence of Corbyn next to this effigy may have encouraged racists to take this a step further, as we saw on Finchley Road. If Corbyn really cared about Palestinians, he should have asked that antisemitic chants stop and the effigy be removed before he went onto the stage.

The racist events over the past few days should be seen as a warning sign to lawmakers and the security services that the situation needs to change if we are to preserve peace among Britain’s minorities in general.

The Jewish community finds itself once again at the front line, through no fault of its own. For years, non-violent extremism, intimidation and incitement by Islamist extremists has largely been tolerated by the police.

Lawmakers and communities need to work together to make it more difficult for extremists to operate, because extremists are capable of wreaking havoc. We must all work together to stop them.

20 May 2021 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

3

Israel-Hamas: the backlash / News

Jews taunted at demo, Israeli flag ripped apart

by Lee Harpin lee@jewishnews.co.uk @lmharpin

The Israeli flag was ripped apart and set alight at a pro-Palestinian march in central London last weekend. After a man climbed on to a traffic light close to the Israeli embassy in Kensington, west London, to set alight a flag only the rain had prevented it from burning.

Elsewhere, young men wearing T-shirts with pictures of Saddam Hussein were heard chanting “Khayber Khayber Ya Yehud jaish Mohammad Sauf Ya’ud” (“Khayber Khaybar, oh Jews, Mohammad’s army is returning”).

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign claimed that more than 100,000 joined Saturday’s dem-

The Israeli flag is ripped up

onstration against what they called the “brutal” violence against the Palestinian people.

Jewish News spoke to some of those who attended the protest, during which banners calling for the destruction of Israel were held aloft by thousands of people. One male had wrapped himself in a flag that openly equated Zionism with Nazism. It also clearly bore the name of the pro-Iranian Islamic Human Rights Commission.

Asked why he believed Zionism was Nazism, the man initially said: “I don’t know – you will have to ask the organisers.” But he then added: “It is not antisemitism. Zionism is not Judaism.”

As the protestors sang the familiar “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free” chant along with claims that “Israel is a terrorist state”, two female attendees said they had given up on a two-state solution to the conflict.

“We’ve waiting too long for that to happen,” said one of the women, both of whom wore the hijab. “That would need the oppressor to stop oppressing.” Asked if they believed Jews would be safe in a one state Palestine, both women said they felt they would.

“Look what happened before there was Israel,” they said. “Jews and Muslims lived in peace. It is Zionism that has caused this.”

Four Muslim men from Slough were also keen to stress, after I identified myself as being Jewish, that they do not believe this to be a religious conflict. Like so many on the march, they are convinced that they are not antisemitic and instead object only to Zionism.

“Jews who are not Zionist, they could live in peace in one Palestine,” says one.

Asked about their view of Hamas and the fact that the terrorist group that aimed to kill and maim innocent Israelis, all four said they did not support the terrorists.

Protesters set fire to the Israeli flag during Saturday’s pro-Palestinian rally in London

But one of the group added: “Hamas are the symptom – Israel is the cause. Blaming Hamas for the conflict is like blaming a woman who has just been raped for the crime. It’s just wrong.” The men also said they had met up with the same group of Jewish supporters they had seen in 2014 at an Israel demo.

Jewish News later spotted leading figures with the Jewish Socialist Group on the demo.

The Socialist Workers Party group were also out in force distributing banners claiming “Israel is a terrorist state”.

Police turned out in force to stop the protestors getting close to the Israeli embassy building.

While most demonstrators were peaceful, there seemed little doubt there would have been problems had the embassy building been approachable.

As well as ripping up an Israeli flag, one pro-

testor was seen trying to set alight an umbrella that was simply coloured blue and white.

Demonstrators arrived at Hyde Park at noon on Saturday before marching to the Israeli embassy, holding banners and chanting.

At a rally there, Husam Zomlot, Palestinian ambassador to the UK, told crowds: “This time is different. This time we will not be denied any more. We are united. We have had enough of oppression.

“Today we are saying enough, enough with the complicity. Thank you for standing with us.”

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has said in the past that Hamas are his “friends”, also spoke at the event.

Similar marches have been held around the world in recent days, including events in Sydney, Brussels, Paris, Lebanon, Jordan and Bangladesh.

Four bailed over convoy arrested over ‘similar’ incident in Salford

Hate fuelled: Sickening scenes on Finchley Road

Four men arrested in connection with an investigation into a video that showed antisemitic abuse being shouted from cars in north London have been arrested in connection with a “similar” incident in Salford, Greater Manchester, writes Lee Harpin.

Police confirmed the men – who were in a car travelling as part of a convoy of vehicles through the St John’s Wood area last Sunday afternoon – have been linked to an incident in the Broughton Park area of Salford early that morning.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Metroplitan Police said that the four males had been bailed

on suspicion of racially pending further invesaggravated public tigations into both order offences and incidents. taken into custody.

Police said they The Met conreceived reports firmed that the men of people shouting “were additionally antisemitic abuse arrested in connecfrom a car traveltion with a similar inciling as part of a convoy dent which took place of vehicles through A suspected at around 01.35hrs on St John’s Wood. convoy organiser Sunday, 16 May in the Inquiries were carried out and officers traced the car Broughton Park area of Salford, to the A40 in Hillingdon. A police Manchester. They have since been helicopter was deployed, and released on bail pending further officers stopped the car at approx- inquiries”.

Police are also believed to be imately 6.30pm.

The four men were arrested looking into the link between an

organisation named Palestine Forum in Britain (PFB) and the London convoy protest.

During a video promoting the Convoy 4 Palestine a male (pictured) confirms that the convoy “in support of our brothers and sisters who have been oppressed for too long” left the city of Bradford at 9am on Sunday, before stopping off in Sheffield and Leicester to meet other supporters on the journey down to London.

Jewish News understands that vehicles registered in the cities of Preston and Oldham have also been linked to the event by police.

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

News / Israel-Hamas: the backlash NEWS IN BRIEF

BLAIR’S ‘PERPETUAL VIOLENCE’ WARNING Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned that unless the “underlying problems” in the Middle East are solved, Israel will remain in a perpetual cycle of violence with the Palestinians. Only a “viable, clear process” for resolving the issues would prevent returns to violence, he said.

“Every so often you’re going to get these conflicts that are horrific in their consequence for ordinary people. It will continue… until the conditions are right for a ceasefire – but that is only a ceasefire and what we need is to tackle those underlying problems.”

MCDONNELL’S EID LINK SPARKS ANGER Labour’s John McDonnell sparked anger after tweeting a message to Muslims linking a religious celebration with a protest in support of the Palestinians. The former shadow chancellor wrote “Eid Mubarak” – the greeting for the end of Ramadan – “to all my Muslim constituents”, adding: “Islam is a religion of peace. I urge my Muslim constituents to join me on Saturday in the demonstration in London to support the Palestinian people in their call for peace and justice.”

Jenrick: Non-Jews don’t get it walkway, thankfully [they are] now removed.”

Halfon also made reference to those he said “use the conflict in Israel as an excuse”. He continued: “Whether it is Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen telling Jews to has warned that “a lot of young British read negative articles about Jews, or NUS Jews are discovering for the first time [National Union of Students] giving moral that their friends don’t understand equivalence to antisemitism and what antisemitism, can’t recognise it and they call the ‘liberation of Palestine’. don’t care they are spreading it”.

“I remind the House that this so-called In the House of Commons on liberation is being conducted by IranianMonday, he spoke of the negative funded extreme Islamist terrorist groups, impact the current conflict between Hamas and Hezbollah.”

Israel and the Palestinians was having Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick on young people in the community.

Thomas-Symonds called for those found “They are not responsible for the guilty of involvement in the convoy inciactions of a government thousands of miles away but are made to feel as if The crown prince of the UAE, which has normalised ties with Israel, as a devil dents in north London on Sunday to “feel the full force of the law”. they are,” Jenrick said. “Seeing their He added that “time and time again we see these He also appeared to suggest police could have friends post social media content that glorifies Hamas – an illegal, terrorist organisation, whose charter calls reacted faster, saying: “We need to ensure our police attacks against the Jewish community”.

Thomas-Symonds said he had contacted both the services are equipped to take action quickly and for every Jew in the world to be killed.”

He also said universities “dragging their feet” in robustly when this happens again. The home secre- Board of Deputies and the Community Security Trust to express the disgust of those who sit on his party’s adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance tary will be speaking again to her counterparts.”

Securing an urgent question on rising antisemtism frontbench at what happened in north London.

Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism would be Conservative MP Andrew Percy warned that antiin the UK, Harlow MP Robert Halfon said: “Sadly, “named and shamed” by the government.

Referring to Sunday’s incidents on the Finchley after yesterday’s incidents, in which a mob drove semitism on campuses was being ignored. He also said Road, Golders Green and Hendon, Jenrick said: through north London shouting antisemitic and language was used against Israel that is “not used in “I for one never thought I would see banners being sexual obscenities to Jewish residents, and a rabbi other conflicts” while Hamas built its terror tunnels.

Dame Margaret Hodge, the Jewish Labour held aloft on the streets of London, apparently with was beaten up in Chigwell in Essex, I fear Jews no Movement’s parliamentary chair, said discussion and impunity, saying ‘death to Jews’ or individuals being longer feel secure.”

He added: “In Harlow, just a few days ago, disagreement about an international conflict should allowed to drive for some time through neighbourswastikas were graffitied on walls in a public not morph into a national expression of hate. hoods broadcasting antisemitic bile.”

by Lee Harpin lee@jewishnews.co.uk @lmharpin

Fly the Palestinian flag, urges assistant mayor

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The assistant mayor of Leicester has sparked anger after asking Jewish and Muslim leaders in his city to sign a declaration to “condemn the killings of the innocent and Palestinian people”.

Labour’s Kirk Master, assistant mayor for neighbourhoods, also wanted “communities to show their support by displaying the Palestinian flag everywhere”.

He wrote that he wanted “our Faith Council to produce a statement condemning the Israelis’ occupation and apartheid”.

Kirk Master’s tweets to people in Leicester led to criticism Master claimed: “This is not Labour MPs aligned to the left-wing Socialist against our Jewish brothers and sisters whom many stand by our sides. This is against crimes Campaign Group have been among the vocal pro-Palestinian voices in Westminster. But there towards humanity that cannot be ignored.”

The former deputy police and crime commis- has also been an increase in partisan support for sioner for Leicester was criticised after posting the Palestinian cause among Tories.

Former Foreign Office minister Sir Alan the one-sided statement on social media.

Rupert Matthews, the local Police & Crime Duncan wrote on the Conservative Home webCommissioner, told Masters to remove ref- site: “The last few weeks have starkly illustrated erence to his police history from his Twitter that the UK government has been living a lie for profile. He wrote on his personal Twitter page: years. Its policy, such as it is, exists in a moral “You are no longer the Deputy PCC [Police and vacuum.”

Chris Doyle, of the Council for Arab-British Crime Commissioner] for Leicestershire. Please remove this from your Twitter handle. I do not Understanding, told the Guardian: “It was want either my office nor myself to be associated noticeable how many Conservative MPs last week in the Commons criticised Israel security with your views.”

Historian Chris Williams said: “We need to forces’ role at al-Aqsa mosque.”

He added that “this may reflect the Conservadisaggregate politics of support for Palestine from positions by Jewish people in Britain. tives’ recent success with Muslim voters and Thus, they ought not be challenged, individually the number of Tory MPs representing seats not or jointly, about behaviour of state of Israel [sic].” previously won by the Conservatives”.

www.jewishnews.co.uk

20 May 2021 Jewish News

5

Israel-Hamas: the backlash / News

Mezuzahs are vandalised

by Francine Wolfisz francine@jewishnews.co.uk @FWolfisz

Two families were left “petrified” after one had their mezuzah ripped from their doorframe on Monday, while another discovered their parchment had been removed, scrunched up and trodden into the ground.

Police are treating the incidents, which occurred at neighbouring properties in Borehamwood during daylight hours on Monday, as a racially motivated crime.

Martine Stone, 55, told Jewish News, she has felt “physically sick” since discovering her mezuzah had been destroyed.

She said: “At about 5pm I picked up a package from Amazon and then saw something on the ground. I realised it was my mezuzah. The top had been opened and the parchment had been scrunched up and then trodden into the mud.

“We’ve had that mezuzah for years.

My son is now 18 and we’ve had it all his life, so it’s very special to us.”

Stone, who is studying for a PhD, added: “It’s had a terrible effect. My son and I couldn’t sleep last night and I’ve been throwing up. I think I went into shock.”

Her neighbour Suzie Wilson, 44, also had her mezuzah removed.

“I went outside yesterday morning and realised the mezuzah wasn’t on the door,” she said. “Then my neighbour phoned in tears because her mezuzah had been destroyed. Something clicked in my head. I went outside again to look for my mezuzah.

We searched all around, but found nothing.

“It’s clearly malicious. You don’t want to believe it’s a hate crime, but that’s exactly what it is.”

The mother-of-three said the incident had left her youngest children “petrified”.

She added: “My son, who is at secondary school, doesn’t want to walk by himself, while my daughter, who is at primary

school, knows someone has targeted her house. It’s not nice at all.”

Both women praised Hertfordshire Police, saying their response had been “incredible”. The force has pledged extra patrols in the area, which has one of the largest Jewish communities in the UK. The CST also confirmed there had been “increasingly serious ‘pro-Palestinian’ antisemitic attacks and anti-Jewish intimidations across London” in recent days.

In a statement, Hertsmere Chief Inspector Mark Bilsdon said: “We will not tolerate antisemitism. The victims are understandably shaken by what has happened and we will be putting them in touch with a specially trained hate crime officer in case they want extra support.”  Anyone with information can contact the police on 101 or visit herts.police.uk/report and quote crime reference numbers 41/36556/21 and 41/36605/21

One parchment had been removed and scrunched up

Car with Palestinian flag ‘rammed me in Hendon’ A woman in Hendon has told of the terrifying moment on Sunday afternoon when her car was rammed by vehicles draped with Palestinian flags.

The Jewish victim, who asked not to be named, had just left home to see a

friend with her four-year-old strapped in at the back. It is understood that he was wearing a bright blue kippah and she was playing Jewish music.

She said: “As I came to the top of the road I noticed two cars with huge

Palestinian flags on their bonnet. I turned right and both cars started to chase me down the road and rammed into the back of my car.”

She said she sped through a red light. “The cars continued to chase

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“Thankfully I found a small alley where I parked my car behind a large truck. I called my friend to check the

cars had gone and made my way to his home to calm down.” Police are investigating. It’s unknown whether the incident was linked to the convoy of cars that travelled through north London that afternoon.

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6

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

News / Israel-Hamas: the backlash

Officer investigated for joining protest on duty The Metropolitan Police is investigating after one of its officers shouted “free Palestine” at last week’s demonstration in London.

In a video clip the official is seen embracing a demonstrator who gives her a flower.

After the two hug, the female offer puts her hand in the air and is heard shouting “free free Palestine”.

The video appears to have

been filmed at a London demonstration from the weekend protesting against Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

Responding to someone who posted the clip on Twitter, Police Chief Superintendent Roy Smith said: “I can confirm that colleagues @MetCC [Metropolitan Police Contact Centre] are aware of this incident and it has been passed to the relevant department for investigation.

“While we expect officers to engage they must remain impartial.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesman told Jewish News: “We are aware of a video that has been posted on social media which shows a police officer joining in with chanting while on duty at a demonstration.

“While officers are encouraged to positively

TORY MP CRITICISED FOR ‘PRIMITIVE’ TWEET Tory MP Michael Fabricant has been criticised for describing pro-Palestine demonstrators clashing with police as “primitives”. Anti-racism campaign Hope Not Hate on Sunday called for the Conservative Party to suspend the backbencher, accusing him of “hateful racism that stirs up division”.

The MP for Lichfield, who is Jewish, shared a video of clashes with police outside the Israeli Embassy. He tweeted: “These primitives are trying to bring to London what they do in the Middle East.” Fabricant deleted the message after it drew criticism.

HACK FIRED AFTER ANTISEMITIC TWEET

Wrong arm of the law: The officer reportedly told a protester she was from Iran

engage with those attending demonstrations, they know they are not to actively participate or adopt political positions.

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“This is vital to ensuring the public have confidence in our officers.

“The Directorate of Professional Standards has been

informed and are investigating the full circumstances of this incident and to determine what further action is appropriate.”

A freelance journalist for CNN has raised objections to being fired after he wrote on social media: “The world today needs another Hitler.” Adeel Raja said he had been fired from his job with the American TV channel after he had posted the tweet having “contributed to the Palestinian cause” and said this impacted on “the West’s claim of freedom of expression and human rights!” But an investigation into Pakistani-based Raja’s social media use found he had made inflammatory and openly antisemitic statements.

Councillor’s boycott tweet The newly-elected mayor of Liverpool has promoted a Labour councillor who posted a picture of himself carrying a child last weekend with a banner saying, “My hobbies include boycotting Israel” as head of education in her new cabinet.

Joanne Anderson was elected earlier this month as the new Labour mayor of the city, replacing Joe Anderson (no relation) who had stepped aside following his arrest in December.

Anderson has confirmed that Tom Logan, who represents the ward of Princes Park as a Labour councillor, will be handed the education and skills brief.

On Saturday, Logan tweeted a photo of himself with a child on his shoulders (pictured).

The child held aloft a cardboard sign reading (in cap-

tials): “My hobbies include boycotting Irael.”

Logan is believed to have attended a pro-Palestinian demo in the city that day.

He tweeted: “Brilliant turnout in Liverpool today. #FreePalestine ”.

Meanwhile, another appointment in Anderson’s cabinet is Riverside Labour Councillor Sarah Doyle, who will take the cabinet role for development and economy.

In 2019, Doyle apologised for a series of tweets she sent, including one in 2013 that used the phrase ‘typical Jew’, while another from 2014 said “Hahahahahaha you jew.’

Doyle said: “I now realise the comment was ill-judged and unacceptable.”

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The head of a top London university has condemned “disturbing reports” of antisemitism, including death threats to Jewish students, writes Jack Mendel.

The University College London (UCL) Jewish society (JSoc) told Jewish News its Instagram account had a number of deaths threats and calls for physical violence, as well as Holocaust references.

One message included a death threat that is being investigated, while student paper The Tab reported an image sent included a Jewish student photoshopped under a guillotine. Another said: “I wish death upon you and curses for life

and inshallah to your unborns. Your mother, your father and you will burn in this life and the life after.”

A further one said there would be “a lot of Muslims waiting for you” on campus, and that they “didn’t learn from the Holocaust. Killing Palestinians how the Germans killed you”.

UCL president and provost Dr Michael Spence said: “We unreservedly condemn abuse, harassment or bullying directed at Jewish and Israeli students. We will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against anyone who is found to have engaged in antisemitism, either by word or deed.”

www.jewishnews.co.uk

20 May 2021 Jewish News

7

Special Report

Riots, sirens, fear and rage

by Ben Lynfield in Lod, Israel @benlynfield

Fear and hatred permeate the streets of the mixed Jewish and Arab city of Lod. “Riots, gunshots, sirens, that’s our lives,” says Netanel Cannon, 36, whose parents emigrated from Golders Green back in 1967, told Jewish News. An operations manager at a high tech company, Cannon is braced for yet more violence. “Prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” he says.

A handful of Arabs stand outside al-Omari mosque, the main mosque in Lod, to protect the sacred structure. In its parking lot are remains of five Arab owned vehicles torched by Jews.

One of the vehicles belonged to the mosque and was used to transport the dead for ritual ablutions before burial.

Elsewhere, a Jewish youth blares through a megaphone: “No open season on Jewish blood!

Arabs are sons of whores!”

Outside the Ohel Yehuda synagogue, attacked while no one was mercifully present, Lod mayor Yair Revivo led afternoon minha prayers after Torah scrolls were evacuated to safety. “There has been 70 years of coexistence here,” he said.

“We won’t accept a situation in which the synagogue and municipality are attacked”.

Outside the gutted outside synagogue, Yoel Frankenburg, 34, tells Jewish News: ”We live terrified.”

Suddenly Arabs from nearby Herzog Streeet

Divided city: An Israeli man looks into a synagogue in Lod after it was set on fire

run up to Revivo shouting that a Jew had pointed his gun at the head of an eight-year-old boy. More Arabs arrive and argue with Revivo and his entourage.

The mayor tries to calm them but decides to leave as tensions spiral. An Arab youth picks up a stone but does not throw it. Two young Jews, their tzitzit hanging prominently, stride ostentatiously through the Arab area. “They are

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trying to provoke us,” notes a middle-aged Arab man. Israeli police have detained three Jews in connection with the fatal shooting of Arab resident Musa Hasouna, 25. Jews who said they witnessed the incident said Hasouna was part of a mob carrying stones and molotov cocktails as they rushed toward Jews.

Religious-nationalist Jews have been moving into Lod in recent years in a deliberate

bid to alter its demography and character. Arabs still make up about a third of the population.

“We don’t want Jews in Lod,,” said one Arab youth. “It’s a Palestinian city.” Frankenburg, however, who has lived in Lod for 12 years, takes an opposing view: “It’s not a settlement. It’s a free city in the heart of Israel.” Arab residents say they are discriminated against, prevented by zoning regulations from building on their own land and have their homes demolished.

Mohammed Ardis, an Arab carpenter who works in Tel Aviv, says “Former Jewish residents of Lod left the city. I had many friends among them. They were replaced by settlers who have an extreme way of thinking.”

Jewish city councillor Meir Asoulin denies this and city officials say the trend is to offer building opportunities and better services.

“Demolish Arab houses? Who says so? I wish we could.” he says.

Another Jewish resident, who asked not to be named, helped salvage Torahs from the burned out synagogue, says the violence by Lod Arabs was a turning point. He says: “Their tremendous hatred of Jews has become clear. I’ve never been so scared, even when I was having rockets fired towards me as a soldier in Lebanon.

At nightfall the sirens sound again, signaling incoming rocket fire from Gaza. Most Jewish locals lay their heads down on pavements in accordance with safety regulations.

The Arabs, still guarding the mosque, however, remain standing.

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

Opinion

Hatemongers will not win L

ike many people, I have been distressed to see the escalating violence and loss of life in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The UK government has been clear that all sides must avoid civilian casualties, work to de-escalate the violence and find a political pathway to peace.

Understandably, many have strong views on the conflict in the Middle East. But the appalling examples of antisemitism we saw in London last weekend are never acceptable. This includes the reprehensible threats of rape against Jewish women that were bellowed out of a car window in St John’s Wood.

These incidents are rightly being investigated by the police and they have my full support in taking the toughest action against those responsible.

For the UK’s Jewish community to be subjected to horrific racism is completely unacceptable.

But I know this is not just about antisemites cynically using current

BY PRITI PATEL, MP HOME SECRETARY events to justify and spew their hatred. According to Community Security Trust (CST) figures, there were 1,668 antisemitic incidents in 2020, despite the nation being under lockdown for much of the year. In addition to violent attacks, the daubing of offensive symbols on synagogues and the desecration of Jewish cemeteries, we are also seeing a deeply worrying rise in online antisemitism. Social media sites are awash with dangerous anti-Jewish tropes and conspiracy theories.

As home secretary, I take a strong stance against antisemitism and hate crime of all forms. No one should ever have to fear persecution simply for who they are.

I want to assure our Jewish communities that this government is absolutely determined to tackle hate crime and ensure offenders face justice.

We have some of the toughest laws to deal with hate crime and, through our most recent strategy, we have worked hard to encourage victims to report incidents to the police so they can go after perpetrators. The government works closely with Jewish community groups, as well as with police and prosecutors, so we can respond quickly to emerging threats and address concerns.

We know we must continually adapt our approach according to the changing picture on the ground

❝

and what we are hearing from Jewish communities. That is why the prime minister appointed Lord John Mann as the government’s independent advisor on antisemitism to provide advice on the most effective methods to tackle this scourge.

We have also agreed to provide £14 million this year to protect Jewish schools, synagogues and community buildings. This funding helps to provide security guards as well as other protective measures to keep Jewish people safe.

Tackling the evil of antisemitism requires everyone to play their part.

There is far too much racist bile on social media platforms. Unfortunately, there are also high-profile

I WANT TO ASSURE OUR JEWISH COMMUNITIES THIS GOVERNMENT IS DETERMINED TO TACKLE HATE CRIME AND ENSURE OFFENDERS FACE JUSTICE

figures who have used their platforms to spew hate to their millions of followers. I strongly condemned the Twitter posts from grime artist Wiley, in which he spread ugly stereotypes about Jewish people.

I was pleased to see Twitter and others permanently suspend him from their platforms.

It is vital the technology firms play their part. They cannot turn a blind eye to the racism and hatred hosted on their platforms.

Our Online Safety Bill will hold companies to account on tackling illegal activity and content on their platforms, such as hate crime and harassment. Firms that fail to comply can face fines of up to 10 percent of their annual turnover.

Across the UK, British Jews are integral to our communities, which is why it is shameful that in the 21st century, this wonderful community faces the hatred and intolerance we witnessed over the weekend.

There is no place in our country or society for racism and we will never give up our fight to eradicate antisemitism from our society.

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9

Opinion

Virus without vaccine W e are going through difficult times in Israel. The country is under attack by a terrorist organisation with a jihadist ideology, backed

by Iran that aspires to replace Israel with a theocratic state.

I know many of you have family and loved ones in Israel who are currently experiencing the distressing realities of conflict. Children, too young to fully comprehend the difficulty of the situation, fearing for their lives, have elderly relatives who are too fragile to quickly reach bomb shelters.

Last weekend we saw the same hateful radical ideology that controls the Gaza Strip penetrate the streets of London, further highlighting the lack of distinction between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. We stand united against this extremism and together we shall prevail.

Since the beginning of the current operation, I have been moved by the support Israel has received from the Jewish community. People have called and written to the embassy and sent messages of solidarity to the government and the Israel Defense Forces, who are doing everything possible to protect the lives of our citizens.

It was pleasing to witness the UK government also expressing its support for Israel’s right to defend itself and condemn Hamas for launching rockets on Israel’s civilian population indiscriminately, through foreign ministers’ frequent

BY TZIPI HOTOVELY

AMBASSADOR OF ISRAEL TO THE UK

communication, and in high level conversations I’ve held over the past week – as we would have expected from a like-minded democratic friend.

Unfortunately, we have witnessed the devastating impact of Hamas’ true nature here in the UK, be it in London, Manchester, smaller communities or online.

Some pro-Palestinian activists tore up and stamped on Israeli flags, chanted antisemitic slurs and threw stones at police.

The vaccine-less pandemic of antisemitism and hate speech has spread further on social media platforms and in Jewish neighbourhoods. The fact that over the past weekend, on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, we celebrated against the backdrop of calls

❝

EVENTS IN ISRAEL HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE ENTIRE JEWISH PEOPLE

to kill the Jews and rape their daughters, is alarming.

Although the swift condemnation by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, senior members of his cabinet, as well as the leader of the opposition was reassuring, the prevalence and imminence of these behaviours should be of grave concern to us all.

The people who committed these acts share the same radical ideology Hamas and Iran are promoting in our region; an ideology spread via social media to all corners of the world. This ideology is not interested in any form of dialogue or even of acknowledging the existence of Israel, irrespective of borders.

We should confront them together.

Events in Israel have an impact on the entire Jewish people – as a community and as individuals, in your daily lives. Your care and concern goes beyond the safety and security of your loved ones.

Indeed, the recent escalation has also challenged the delicate intricacies of Israeli society.

It is in such times we have to remember that although the violent minority is loud, the majority of Israelis – Jews and Arabs – have chosen for decades, day after day, to live together.

In this challenging period, it is evident that even if, at times, we may differ in our views, we are still united by our love of Israel and the Jewish people.

It is of the utmost importance to me you know that, as you stand in solidarity with Israel, the people and the state of Israel stands firmly in solidarity with you.

RALLY FOR ISRAEL ON SUNDAY A mass rally will be held in London this Sunday in support of Israel, amid continued violence in the Middle East and a sharp rise in antisemitism, writes Jack Mendel.

Organised by the Zionist Federation of UK and Ireland (ZF UK), the event is welcome to all supporters of the Jewish state but, for security reasons, the time and location has not yet been revealed, and attendees are advised not to travel in visible Israel-related clothing. It has been arranged in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police and Community Security Trust, as well as being endorsed by numerous pro-Israel groups.

Paul Charney, chairman of the Zionist Federation, said: “We are seeing an unprecedented rise in antisemitism.

We hope our friends in Israel see this act of solidarity and know that they are not alone.”  Join the Facebook event for the rally here: https://fb.me/ e/29jpk6YcB

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

News / Denial fears / Web filter / News briefs

MPs attack free speech bill over Shoah denial

by Lee Harpin lee@jewishnews.co.uk @lmharpin

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Labour is calling on Conservative MPs to support a bid to ditch the Government’s plans for a new free speech law on university campuses over claims it could protect speakers who engage in Holocaust denial.

The Government say the Bill, announced in last week’s Queen’s Speech, will encourage “open intellectual debate” and counter the “chilling effect of censorship on campus”.

For the first time, student unions will be legally obliged to protect freedom of speech and could be taken to court by cancelled speakers.

Labour want the proposals to be scrapped after an admission by Universities Minister Michelle Donelan that the planned legislation could give legal protection to antisemites on university campuses.

Donelan said: “A lot of these things that we would be standing up for would be hugely offensive, would be hugely hurtful.”

The minister was

Revisionist David Irving

responding to a question on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme on whether Holocaust deniers would have the right to speak at campuses – and could demand compensation if blocked – because such denial is lawful in this country.

Asked if the historian and Holocaust denier such as David Irving would be able to give a talk if invited to do so by a student group, Donelan said: “What this bill is designed to do is to ensure we protect free speech that is lawful.”

Radio 4’s Evan Davies then said:”Holocaust deniel is legal, isn’t it?”

The minister than responded saying:”Yes... Obviously, it would depend on exactly what they were saying,

whether they were straying in racism, into hate crimes.”

She then added: “There is a difference between condoning and supporting something when standing up for free speech.”

Labour is warning that unless the Government shelve the Bill it will force votes in the House of Commons leaving Tory MPs having to address the prospect of legislation that could give a green light to antisemites to speak on campuses.

Shadow education minister Kate Green told Jewish News: “It is shocking that the Government is planning to give Holocaust deniers free rein across our universities.

“The Queen’s Speech sets out no plans to boost young people’s wellbeing or recover lost learning and no plans to create the jobs and training opportunities young people need, yet the Conservatives can find time to protect people whose only aim is to cause deep hurt and offence.

“These are clearly the wrong priorities for Britain and the Government should drop these plans that would have dangerous and deeply troubling consequences.”

Jew jokes dodge Google filter Google’s SafeSearch function for filtering offensive images is “not fit for purpose” a new report has claimed – after discovering that antisemitic images and “Jew jokes” remain online.

A report produced jointly by the Community Security Trust (CST) and Antisemitism Policy Trust (APT), found the SafeSearch function had no impact on the amount of antisemitic images found in Google image searches. The function is promoted as a tool parents can use to block inappropriate content from children.

Based on research by data scientists at Cambridge University’s Woolf Institute, the report’s key findings were that searches for “Jewish jokes” and “Jew jokes” return a high proportion of antisemitic images, regardless of whether Google’s SafeSearch function is switched on.

It also emerged Google has software that enables developers to identify explicit or offensive content – sometimes categorised as “spoof” – but it is not yet capable of accurately identifying antisemitic images. The report also revealed Google has no available function enabling users to filter out content that is likely to be antisemitic.

The new study added to research by Big Data expert Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, which found that the most common antisemitic Google searches in the UK are for jokes mocking Jews.

There is a direct correlation between these searches, the report found, and those mocking other minorities: someone who searches for “Jew jokes” is 100 times more likely to also search for “n****r jokes”.

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BBC JOURNALIST PRAISES WIZO

MESSIANIC SYNGOGUE TARGETED

BBC Panorama journalist John Ware has said the work of WIZO “embodies the very best intentions of Zionism historically” after speaking of his decision to become a trustee of the charity. Speaking about his role with the organisation, which raises money for social welfare projects in Israel, he said it was a visit to the Jewish state in 2015, to witness WIZO projects first-hand that convinced him to do more. “I saw how they were about consolidating some of those founding principles of the Zionist ideal.”

A Norwich synagogue was targeted with antisemitic graffiti including swastikas alongside the words ‘Free Palestine’. Vandals daubed racial slurs on the door of the Adat Yeshua Messianic Synagogue and the grafffiti, which is being investigated by police, was discovered as the shul opened for prayers last Friday. Adat Yeshua’s Rabbi, Binyamin Sheldrake, told Jewish News he thought the worsening situation in the Middle East had emboldened antisemites to “jump on the bandwagon”.

www.jewishnews.co.uk

20 May 2021 Jewish News

11

JW3 event / BBYO party / News

Tribute to iconic radio show’s 50th

by Francine Wolfisz francine@jewishnews.co.uk @FWolfisz

A heavy dose of nostalgia and the opening strains from Fiddler on the Roof will fill the air at a special virtual event marking 50 years of Michael Freedland’s iconic radio show, You Don’t Have To Be Jewish.

Conceived and presented by the late broadcaster, the programme became a weekly fixture in the lives of Jewish Londoners for two decades.

During more than 1,500 programmes, which aired from 23 May 1971 on BBC Radio London and later on LBC, Freedland interviewed every British prime minister from Harold Wilson to Margaret Thatcher and every Israeli premier from Golda Meir to Benjamin Netanyahu.

It also attracted star power,

featuring Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck and even a live recording of Barbra Streisand singing Hatikva.

Freedland – who died in 2018 aged 83 – scored a number of scoops, including being the first programme in Britain to break news of the Entebbe rescue and the first to uncover the oppression endured by Russian refuseniks.

On Sunday, JW3 will host a virtual event to celebrate the anniversary with Michael’s son, author and columnist Jonathan Freedland, alongside historian Simon Schama, former Israeli Labor party leader Isaac Herzog and the Holocaust Education Trust’s Karen Pollock.

BBC Sounds will also republish 50 episodes online, “lovingly digitised” from their original tape format

by Freedland’s grandson, Jacob.

Speaking to Jewish News, Jona-

than recalled how as a young child he accompanied his father in July 1976 as news of the Entebbe rescue broke.

“There was no 5 Live, no news channel and that story broke on a Sunday morning, so my father was the first to go on air with it,” he said.

“I remember the moment, because as a nine-year-old, I went in the car with him to the Israeli ambassador’s residence. He sat there with a Uher portable tape machine on his knees and a microphone interviewing the Israeli ambassador for immediate reaction.

“He got back in the car, drove to the studios in Marylebone High Street and then went on air to say this extraordinary thing had happened.

He had that story to himself.”

He also revealed how his father, determined to hear first-hand from Jewish refuseniks living under a Soviet regime, travelled to Russia,

Michael Freedland’s show was a fixture on the airwaves for decades

concealing recording equipment in his suitcase and cassette tapes in his socks. When he returned a year later, he again hid recordings of previous shows and handed them out to Russian-Jewish families.

“They desperately wanted Jewish content,” says Jonathan. “They were thrilled to have these programmes.”  You Don’t Have to Be Jewish will be streamed on Sunday, 23 May, 7.30pm, www.jw3.org.uk

BBYO HOLDS ONLINE BASH TO CELEBRATE 80TH

Stars: Oberman and Lipman

Dame Maureen Lipman and Tracy-Ann Oberman will help BBYO celebrate its 80th birthday this weekend during the largest gathering in the Jewish youth group’s history.

The virtual event, on Sunday evening, will combine entertainment from famous alumni with the opportunity for teens on its national executive to grill its former

president, the cabinet minister Grant Schapps.

Media partnered by Jewish News, the free gathering is aimed at raising £100,000 to secure the BBYO UK and Ireland’s future, while an ‘80 stories for 80 years’ project will give past participants to reflect on their time in the movement.

Lord Morris of Kenwood, BBYO director,

MAGEN DAVID ADOM IS ISRAEL’S ONLY NATIONAL BLOOD AND MEDICAL EMERGENCY SERVICE. As rockets continue to hit Israel, Magen David Adom’s brave men and women remain on the frontline in their fight to save lives. The UK community has already raised enough money to purchase two new Mobile Intensive Care Units for the people of Israel.

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said: “This will be a fabulous and unique event to commemorate 80 years of BBYO in the UK and Ireland. BBYO gave so much to my boys and now I’m proud and honoured to be able to give back to this amazing organisation.”

The programme will feature TV producer Nicola Shindler and composer Murray Gold.

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

News / Photographic display / Royal Jubilee / Prince’s visit

WHY THESE PICTURES MEAN SO MUCH TO ME

BY THE DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE

Left: Yvonne Bernstein with her granddaughter, Chloe Wright (photo: The Duchess of Cambridge).

Centre: Joan Slater with husband and daughter (photo: Frederic Aranda).

Above: John Hajdu with grandson Jack (photo: Jillian Edelstein).

Kate’s pics in IWM exhibit

by Justin Cohen justin@jewishnews.co.uk @CohenJust

Photographs taken by the Duchess of Cambridge will be among more than 50 evocative images of Holocaust survivors and their families to go on display at London’s Imperial War Museum this summer.

Following a lengthy delay amid Covid restrictions, the worldfamous institution announced that an exhibition will open on 6 August – the final part of a project conceived by Jewish News to mark last year’s 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Over the past few weeks, the final images have been snapped – some reflecting lingering coronavirus

restrictions – by 14 contemporary photographers, all members or fellows of the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), which partnered on the project, along with the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.

Generations: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors – which will run for five months and is supported by Dangoor Education – is designed to celebrate the resilience and achievements of survivors who, after coming through Nazi horrors, built new lives in Britain and had children and grandchildren.

Tracy Marshall-Grant, the RPS’s curator for the exhibition, said: “The portraits seek to simultaneously inspire audiences to consider their own responsibility to remember and to share the stories of those

who ensured persecution. It creates a legacy that will allow descendants to connect directly back and inspire future generations.”

Most of the subjects are featured with items of significance to them from those years or since. Jillian Edelstein’s darkened photograph of John Hajdu, for example, includes the teddy bear he brought to the UK as a refugee from Hungary.

Smiling from ear to ear, Sir Ben Helfgott is pictured by Frederic Aranda with his grandson Sam in matching hats and part of the former Olympian’s weightlifting gear. Aranda also photographed Freddie Knoller, at his 100th birthday party with his wife Freida, daughters Susie and Marcia and grandson Nadav.

Prince visits Welsh shul Prince Charles visited a 150-year old synagogue that has remained unused for almost 40 years, writes Jack Mendel.

The heir to the throne made his first trip to the site in Merthyr Tydfil, where he was told about its history as well as plans for the future.

The synagogue was built in the 1870s, and was functioning for more than 100 years, before the community closed in 1983.

The Foundation for Jewish Heritage bought it in 2019 and carried out urgent repairs with the help of the Welsh government, and now plans to transform it into a Jewish heritage centre.

During his visit, Prince Charles was welcomed by the leaders of the foundation, before being shown its Victorian gothic exterior, delving into its history, and being presented with a lino print of the building.

Foundation chair Dame Helen Hyde said: “It has been a great honour to welcome His Royal Highness to the former synagogue of Merthyr Tydfil. The synagogue represents Synagogue building a flagship project for

His Royal Highness, Michael Mail and FJH trustee and former MP Jim Murphy

the Foundation and we have an exciting vision for the building.”

Michael Mail, its founder and chief executive, said: “Merthyr Tydfil, which was Wales’ largest town in the 19th century, is home to what is the most important historic synagogue building still standing in Wales.

“We have been delighted to host this very special visit of The Prince of Wales, which in itself underscores the significance of the building.

It is a unique Jewish and Welsh heritage site.

His Royal Highness was very interested in the project and our future plans for the synagogue.”

They will be featured alongside the duchess’ intimate photographs of Yvonne Bernstein and Steven Frank, which were published by media around the world and conceived as part of a special issue of Jewish News edited by the children and grandchildren of survivors.

The princess spent hours painstakingly preparing for the shoot at Kensington Palace, and later described the pair as the most “lifeaffirming people I’ve ever met”.

Others photographers taking part in the project are veteran Royal photographer Arthur Edwards, Sian Bonnell, Anna Fox, Joy Gregory, Jane Hilton, Tom Hunter, Karen Knorr, Carolyn Mendelsohn, Simon Roberts, Michelle Sank and Hannah Starkey.

The harrowing atrocities of the Holocaust, which were caused by the most unthinkable evil, will forever lay heavy in our hearts. Yet it is so often through the most unimaginable adversity that the most remarkable people flourish.

Despite unbelievable trauma at the start of their lives, Yvonne Bernstein and Steven Frank are two of the most lifeaffirming people I have had the privilege to meet. They look back on their experiences with sadness but also with gratitude that they were some of the lucky few to make it through. Their stories will stay with me forever.

While I have been lucky enough to meet two of the now very few survivors, I recognise not everyone in the future will be able to hear these stories first-hand. It is vital that their memories are preserved and passed on to future generations, so what they went through is not forgotten.

One of the most moving accounts I read as a young girl was The Diary of Anne Frank, which tells a very personal reflection of life under Nazi occupation from a child’s perspective. Her sensitive and intimate interpretation of the horrors at the time was the underlying inspiration behind the images.

I wanted to make the portraits deeply personal to Yvonne and Steven – a celebration of family and the life that they have built since they arrived in Britain in the 1940s.

The families brought items of significance that are included in the photographs.

It was an honour to participate.

I hope Yvonne and Steven’s memories will be kept alive as they pass the baton to the next generation.

CHIEF BACKS TREE SCHEME TO MARK QUEEN’S JUBILEE Faith leaders including Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis have spoken out in support of a project to encourage communities, schools and gardeners to plant trees to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Mirvis has been joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, along with senior clerics from Islam, Hinduism and other religions, to urge their communities to honour the head of state’s lifetime of service by planting a tree.

In a video message for which the leaders each speak a line, Mirvis said: “In Jewish tradition, people are similar to trees; like them we can bless and protect our environment.”

Imam Qari Muhammad Asim, chair of Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, said: “Prophet Mohammed spent his life caring for the creatures of God and urged humanity to plant trees to protect the environment.”

The Queen’s Green Canopy scheme has been launched to encourage people to plant trees from the start of the tree-planting

season in October through to the end of 2022, to mark the Queen’s 70-year reign, which will be celebrated next year.

The scheme will also highlight 70 irreplaceable ancient woodlands across the UK and identify 70 ancient trees, and create a pilot training programme for unemployed young people to plant and manage trees.

Celebrity gardeners Alan Titchmarsh and Monty Don are among the project’s official ambassadors, which include former children’s television presenter Baroness Floella Benjamin, chair of UK Sport Dame Katherine Grainger, former international rugby union referee Nigel Owens and actress Dame Judi Dench.

Schools and community groups will be able to apply for three million free saplings from The Woodland Trust as part of the project.

The Prince of Wales was joined by the Queen for the first jubilee tree-planting in the grounds of Windsor earlier this year, during the tree-planting season.

www.jewishnews.co.uk

20 May 2021 Jewish News

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

News / Write stuff / Scroll tribute / Rabbi attacked

Baddiel to judge JN young writers’ contest

by Francine Wolfisz fran@jewishnews.co.uk @FWolfisz

Children’s author and television scriptwriter Ivor Baddiel has been named as the guest judge for Jewish News’ third annual Young Writers Competition, in association with WIZO and PJ Library.

Baddiel (pictured), who has worked on reality shows such as The Voice, I’m A Celebrity and X Factor, recently published a comedy whodunnit for children, Britain’s Biggest Star…Is Dad? The older

brother of comedian and author David Baddiel, has also penned more than 14 books aimed at teenagers and football fans, as well as Cock-aDoodle Quack! Quack! for the youngest among his readers.

The competition is open to ages seven to 18 in two categories and is centred around the theme of courage.

Baddiel said: “I’m chuffed to be the guest judge for this competition.

“Courage is a great topic to write about because writing, and especially showing your writing to someone else, takes

a lot of courage, so everyone who enters has already shown themselves to be courageous.”

The prizes include an iPad for the winners and one for

their school, while runners-up and their schools will receive books or book tokens.  See jewishnews.co.uk

Torah scroll honours Rabbi Kraft They decided to commission the A new Torah Scroll will be written in memory of a popular rabbi who died writing of a new Torah scroll in his name.

Two months ago they set a target of raising of Covid in March last year.

After the passing of Rabbi Neil Kraft, of £30,000, which was achieved last week, Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue, with more than 200 people donating.

“We expected it to take many months members of his congregation wanted to to reach our target, but provide a memorial to him.

HALF PAGE ADVERT JAN 2020:Layout 1 09/01/2020 16:04 Page 1 Rabbi Kraft was a

much loved, respected and greatly appreciated man and rabbi, and those who admired him wanted to donate as quickly as they could,” said Laurence Stein, who chaired the fundraising drive.

To donate to buy new breastplates, rimmonim and a yad, email scroll@ehrs.uk.

TWO ARRESTED AFTER ESSEX RABBI ATTACKED Two men have been arrested intent, and are currently in over the religiously-aggravated custody.

Chief Superintendent assault of a Chigwell rabbi.

Stuart Hooper said: Rabbi Rafi Goodwin “We know this is a was taken to King very important time George’s Hospital – a time for comwith cuts to the top of munities to come his head and around together, to be around one eye after being set upon by two individ- Rabbi Rafi each other and celebrate. We do not want uals around the Limes Goodwin anyone to feel that they Estate, on Sunday.

It was reported he had been cannot do that safely.

“Officers have spent the day attacked with an unknown item following a verbal alterca- speaking with the Jewish community to provide reassurance. tion, According to Essex police, At this time we do not believe two men from Ilford, aged this incident is related to events 18 and 25 were arrested on taking place overseas or inciMonday on suspicion of dents which have taken place Grievous Bodily Harm with elsewhere in the country.”

Kisharon’s new head A new headteacher has been appointed at the Wohl Campus, Kisharon Noé School in Hendon.

Dr Emily Haddock will start duties at the school from 1 June.

She will work with current interim headteacher, Sharon Mullish, until the end of the academic year to ensure a smooth handover, said the school. Haddock has previously been the executive headteacher of two residential SEND schools, which cater for children with special educational needs.

“I can’t wait to join Kisharon and get to know the young people, staff and families,” she said.

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20 May 2021 Jewish News

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Libel case / Racist jailed / JLM chief / News

Riley loses in latest round of libel battle Television presenter Rachel Riley has lost the latest round of a libel battle with a political blogger and Jeremy Corbyn supporter over an article that alleged she engaged in a “campaign of online abuse and harassment” against a teenager on Twitter.

Riley, 35, the numbers expert on the Channel 4 show Countdown, sued Mike Sivier after he published an article on his website, Vox Political, in January 2019 with the headline: “Serial abuser Rachel Riley to receive ‘extra protection’ – on grounds that she is receiving abuse”.

Sivier defended what he had published, arguing that it was “substantially true”, honest opinion and a matter of public interest.

A High Court judge had ruled in favour of Riley and struck out Sivier’s

Rachel Riley arrives at court

defences. Mrs Justice Collins Rice had concluded that he had “no prospect” of succeeding at a trial. But Sivier has now won an appeal.

Three Court of Appeal judges ruled that Sivier’s public interest defence should be assessed at a trial.

“I would allow the appeal,”

said one appeal judge, Lord Justice Warby, in a written ruling. “I would set aside the order striking out the defence of publication on matter of public interest.”

He added: “In my view, the appropriate course is for the public interest defence to be assessed at a trial.”

The two other appeal judges, Lord Justice Henderson and Dame Victoria Sharp, said they agreed.

Riley is waiting to hear whether she has won a separate damages fight after suing a former aide to Jeremy Corbyn for libel. She sued Laura Murray, 32, over a tweet posted two years ago.

A High Court judge finished overseeing a three-day trial at the High Court in London. Mr Justice Nicklin is expected to publish his ruling in the near future.

‘Nazi’ dog owner jailed A white supremacist supporter who posted “abhorrent” racist material online, including a photograph of his dog carrying out a Nazi salute, has been jailed for three years for hate crime offences.

Tobias Powell, of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, also created an avatar on the Fifa football video game using an offensive racial slur – with the word Nazi on the back of the player’s shirt, Portsmouth Crown Court heard.

Amy Packham, prosecuting, told the court that the image posted by Powell of his dog with its paw raised was accompanied by the Nazi salute “sieg heil”. The 33-year-old also posted photographs of his tattoos, which featured the Nazi iron cross and swastika as well as a Celtic cross.

Packham added that Powell also used the name Adolf Hitler for his Apple ID and shared tweets by Donald Trump and far-right figures including Nick Griffin, Tommy Robinson (whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) and American white supremacist David Lane.

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In a tweet on 6 July 2018, Powell mentioned MP Joanne Cox, who was murdered by a man holding right-wing views, saying she was an “alleged open traitor and enemy of the people”.

Pierce Power, defending, said Powell “is no Tommy Robinson” and added: “He is a petty criminal, he is a drug addict living at home, unemployed, with nothing to do with his time or his day.”

JLM’S PETER MASON RESIGNS Peter Mason has stepped down as national secretary of the Jewish Labour Movement after being elected leader of Ealing Council in west London.

Mason, pictured, said: “With both the recovery from Covid-19 ongoing, as well as impending local elections next year, all of my focus now needs to be ensuring Labour win in Ealing.

“Since taking over as secretary in 2013, the Jewish

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK?

Labour Movement has gone from strength to strength, and I am incredibly proud to have played my part in

helping to grow our movement.” Mason added that JLM has “been a huge part of my life, and leaving my role is bittersweet”.

The organisation, which has grown to about 4000 members under Mason’s leadership, will be discussing national secretary succession plans at a meeting in the near future.

Mason remains a member of Labour’s national constitutional committee (NCC).

Post holder will be required to: • Conduct all Sabbath & Festival services in line with residents’ abilities • Befriend all residents, regardless affiliation or non-affiliation and enable them to maximise their Jewish religious or cultural involvement and to support them and their families during their stay • To encourage and foster interest amongst residents, including those living with dementia, in Jewish religious and cultural matters • To be responsible for pastoral and religious needs of residents • It is a fundamental requirement for the postholder to engage with all streams within the Jewish Community with equal respect

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We provide care for older people in the Jewish community at Nightingale House in Clapham and at Hammerson House in Hampstead.

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

News / Israeli elections / Broadcast concern

Herzog presidential bid country after years of division, positioning him as an early frontrunner for the mostly ceremonial role.

The candidacy of the Jewish Agency chairman, Isaac Herzog has announced his bid to become who led Israel’s Labour Party to a second-place Israel’s next president with a vow to unify the finish in the 2015 Knesset election, had been widely anticipated.

“The next president of the state of Israel will need to heal the sifts among us,” Herzog said in a statement on Facebook.

“He will have to connect Jews here in Zion with their brothers I am looking for someone to help with in the diaspora, improve Israel’s childcare and light housekeeping duties international image, defend its good name in the family of nations from Monday to Thursday. The live-out and struggle against its haters.” position will pay £650 per week.

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the experience of his family: his father, Chaim, served as Israel’s sixth president until 1993, while his grandfather was Israel’s first Ashkenazi chief rabbi.

The person to succeed Reuven Rivlin, whose term ends this summer, will be elected by the 120 members of the Knesset on 2 June. Candidates need the support of at least 10 MKs to file their paperwork before midnight on Thursday.

In addition to Herzog, only educator Miriam Peretz is understood to have crossed that threshold. Peretz became a public speaker on Zionism after two of her sons were killed in combat 12 years apart.

Others thought to be running for the role include the former Labour MKs Shimon Shetreet, Michael Bar-Zohar and Yehudah Glick, a former Likud MK.

Presidential bid: Isaac Herzog

MP aims to breach Sayle island Hendon MP Mathew Offord has written to the director-general of the BBC to demand he stop the broadcast of Desert Island Discs featuring Alexei Sayle, scheduled for Sunday.

In a letter, Offord said that every broadcaster “should be wary of giving a platform to anyone who is seen to be excusing antisemitism”.

It pointed to a 2017 interview with Sky

News in which the TV comedian, who is Jewish, claimed all allegations of antisemitism “amongst supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are a complete fabrication”.

In 2014, Sayle claimed BBC presenter Emma Barnett was abusing antisemitism to discredit Palestinians before denouncing her as “supporting the murder of children, the murder of women…from a fascist, Zionist ideology”.

On his website, Offord said: “For a person to state publicly that another who made allegations of antisemitism is a liar is not only wrong but also allows antisemitism to continue and in some cases flourish. In addition, to conflate Jewish identity with Zionism ensures British Jews are physically and verbally attacked for actions that occur in Israel, for which they have no cause or control.”

J O I N U S F O R A FA B U LO U S O N L I N E E V E N T T O C E L E B R AT E 8 0 Y E A R S O F B BYO U K & I R E L A N D S U N D AY 2 3 R D M AY D O O R S O P E N 7 : 0 0 P M | M A I N E V E N T 7 : 3 0 P M | A F T E R - S H O W PA R T Y 8 : 3 0 P M WITH SPECIAL GUESTS M A U R E E N L I P M A N | T R A C Y A N N O B E R M A N | G R A N T S H A P P S | M U R R AY G O L D | N I C O L A S H I N D L E R T O AT T E N D , R E G I S T E R AT W W W. B B YO . O R G . U K / B BYO 8 0 MEDIA PA R T N E R

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

World News / Arab visit / Synagogue tragedy

Arab leader at torched shul One of Israel’s most senior Arab politicians visited a synagogue torched by rioters in Lod last week in a show of solidarity with its congregants, writes Michael Daventry.

Mansour Abbas, the leader of the United Arab List (UAL), said he wanted to demonstrate that “Islam is not like that and real Muslims are not like that”.

He said the visit to the Dosa Synagogue was a spontaneous one on the invitation of the central Israeli town’s mayor, Yair Revivo.

Several synagogues were set ablaze by Arab mobs during days of rioting in Lod, during which

Jewish extremists also hurled rocks at Arab Israelis. One Arab resident was shot and killed by a Jewish Israeli in contested circumstances.

The UAL leader drew criticism from some supporters for meeting Revivo, a one-time Likud election chief who once hailed the arrival of new religious Jews in Lod as having “saved” it from becoming an Arab city.

But Abbas said: “For those who attack me, saying I met a settler, I say that I met him in his official capacity as the mayor of Lod. I met him because he

represents the other side in the dispute.”

In a Facebook post, Revivo described Abbas’ visit as an act of bravery. He added: “We must encourage more voices who condemn violence and choose a shared life without finding any expression of his past.”

Abbas had been leading negotiations on potentially joining an Israeli governing coalition with the centrist Yair Lapid and rightwing Naftali Bennett before the upsurge in violence and conflict in Gaza. The talks have been frozen, but not yet formally called off.

The scene as the grandstand on the left falls

Mansour Abbas, left, with Lod’s mayor, Yair Revivo

tion in the settlement of Givat Zeev in the West Bank. A police spokesman said 650 worshippers were at the site.

Security footage showed a crowded grandstand collapsing and worshippers falling on top of each other.

It raised more questions about safety measures at large strictly-Orthodox events, happening mere weeks after

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BAN ON ANTISEMITIC DEMONSTRATORS Germany has vowed to crack down on demonstrators who have used antisemitic rhetoric and have attacked Jewish institutions. “Anyone who spreads antisemitic hatred will feel the full force of the law,” German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said in a statement. He added: “We will not tolerate the burning of Israeli flags on German soil and attacks on Jewish facilities.”

Last year, Germany made it illegal to publicly destroy or damage the flag of a foreign state with which it has diplomatic relations.

TWO DIE AS STAND COLLAPSES AT SYNAGOGUE Two people died and 167 people were hurt, five of them seriously, after a stand holding up dozens of worshippers collapsed during a Shavuot celebration on Sunday night, writes Michael Daventry.

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45 people died in a crush at Lag B’Omer celebrations in northern Israel. The mayor and senior fire brigade and police officers said the event had gone ahead despite the lack of a permit and official warnings the building zone was unsafe.

“There will be arrests,” Jerusalem District police chief Doron Turgeman told Israel’s Channel 12’s live broadcast.

AOC CALLS ISRAEL ‘APARTHEID STATE’ Influential American politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Israel an apartheid state in a tweet that marked an inflection point in her increasing criticism of Israel.

“Apartheid states aren’t democracies”, she wrote in a tweet that garnered 321,000 likes. Ocasio-Cortez has been critical of Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies since joining Congress, but has stopped short of endorsing the BDS movement, unlike colleagues Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.

20 May 2021 Jewish News

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COV I D- 19

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

Special Report

Israel’s umbrella Iron Dome saves many lives but does it make Israel safer, asks Lazar Berman Hamas and Islamic Jihad have launched more than 3,300 rockets and mortars at Israel in the last 10 days, sending Israelis around the country — including some of its most upscale neighbourhoods in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area — running from restaurants and coffee shops into bomb shelters. The rocket attacks from Gaza have taken 12 lives in Israel, as of Wednesday morning.

The death toll would doubtless be far higher if it wasn’t for the Iron Dome, Israel’s short-range air defence system that has become something of a main character in the episodes of violence between Israel and Gaza-based terror groups.

March 2021 marked a decade since the groundbreaking system was first deployed. In that time, it has exceeded expectations, intercepting over 2,500 rockets and missiles in a range of weather conditions, and saving hundreds if not thousands of lives.

Other countries are paying close attention, especially the United States. American investment in the system enabled its development to expand significantly, and to date two Iron Dome batteries have been sold to the US. Other countries have also confirmed deals to buy the

system. The Iron Dome is an unquestioned tactical and technological success.

But technological and tactical achievement does not equal strategic success. Sometimes, it can have the opposite effect, blinding leaders to threatening trends and giving them a narrative of success they can sell to the public while they let dangerous problems fester.

A decade into the Iron Dome era, Israel must take a step back and ask — is Israel better off with the system or without it?

Defensive initiatives that have made the IDF more effective in the past were properly integrated into existing concepts, complementing Israel’s decisive offensive capabilities. But Iron Dome was never properly integrated, and remains something of a standalone capability.

Much of this situation can be traced to the particular interest the political echelon has taken in the Iron Dome.

“The IDF does not believe in the possibility of achieving victory in a war, campaign or a limited conflict through the defence,” wrote IDF Dado Center researchers in 2015. “A victory always entails an offensive.”

But military offensives create problems for Israel’s political leaders, who have to face

The Iron Dome (inset) saving lives above Ashkelon last week

international investigations like the Goldstone Report after Cast Lead, and the anger of allies.

“The political echelon regards defence as enabling a reduction in the need to take the offensive and thus defense belongs to the political, not the military, toolbox,” wrote the Dado Centre researchers.

As Israel faces round after round of Hamas rocket fire at its civilians, its leaders point to the Iron Dome as evidence of the success of their approach, which is based on pounding Gaza with fire from the air force and artillery in order to restore deterrence. But as the prime minister and others declare victory in front of Iron Dome

batteries, Hamas’s and Islamic Jihad’s capabilities continue to grow.

The Iron Dome is a breakthrough Israel should be proud of. When sirens sound and the booms of Iron Dome interceptions reverberate across cities, the nation thanks the visionary developers for the system. Circumstances and even morality demanded that such a solution be found. But until it is integrated into a concept alongside the IDF’s offensive might, and a political approach that broaches a long-term solution to the Gaza challenge, it can only provide temporary shelter for civilians while dangers continue to multiply just across the borders.

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20 May 2021 Jewish News

21

US survey / Protest instruction / War commemoration / Diaspora News

Survey says American Jews polarised A new report has shown how American Jews are polarising around the question of religion, with an increased likelihood that they identify as “Orthodox” or “atheist”.

The reflection came last week from the nationwide survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, which flagged up that rates of intermarriage had increased significantly over the past decade.

Four in 10 young Jewish adults aged 29 or under no longer describe themselves as ‘Jewish’ when it comes to religion, while 17 percent now say ‘Orthodox’, compared to just three percent of those aged 65 or over.

“Two sharply divergent expressions of Jewishness appear to be gaining ground,” Pew reported last week, “one involving religion deeply enmeshed in every aspect of life and the other involving little or no religion at all.”

The report’s authors added that “the youngest US Jews count among their ranks both a relatively large share of traditionally observant, Orthodox Jews and an even larger group of people who see

Your weekly digest of stories from the international press BAHRAIN

GERMANY

UKRAINE

FRANCE

A Torah scroll commissioned by Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, after several Gulf states signed normalisation agreements with Israel last year has finally arrived in Bahrain. The Jewish community in the capital Manama took receipt of the scroll on Monday for its newly refurbished synagogue.

A US serviceman lights a menorah on the first night of Chanukah

themselves as Jewish for cultural, ethnic or family reasons but do not identify with Judaism – as a religion – at all”.

While both got involved in cultural activities, such as cooking traditional foods, visiting Jewish historical sites, or listening to Jewish or Israeli music, the two groups “feel they have not much or nothing at all in common” with each other.

Divergence stretches into politics, the survey found, with 75 percent of nonreligious Jews voting for the Democrats

and 86 percent of Orthodox Jews voting Republican.

The report also highlighted the rapid rise in intermarriage. Before 1980, only 18 percent of Jews married non-Jews, but in the past decade, that percentage is now between 61 and 72 percent, equating to roughly two in every three marriages.

For the first time, less than half of all young American adults aged 18 to 29 said they do not feel “attached to Israel”, as did two thirds of their parents’ generation.

Germans told to cut star from Covid protests Germany’s commissioner on antisemitism, Felix Klein, has called for a ban on the Star of David being worn at protests decrying Covid-19 restrictions.

Highlighting an inconsistent approach across the country, he said that while some cities had laid down the law on the use of the Magen David, others had not.

“When people attach Jewish stars to demonstrations and thus make comparisons that relativise the Holocaust, the possibilities of regulatory law should be used,” he said, when asked about anti-vaccination activists wearing yellow stars.

“The city of Munich has set in the requirements for such demonstrations that the use of these Jewish stars is not permitted. If they are shown anyway, the police intervene. I hope other cities will follow Munich’s example and I support this.”

Klein also said a new development seen over the course of the pandemic was that previously unconnected antisemitic groups had found common ground

A similar protest against lockdown restrictions in the UK shows protesters wearing yellow stars

over the coronavirus, with anti-Jewish conspiracy theories surging in popularity. “In times of crisis, people are more open to irrational explanations, including antisemitic stereotypes,” he said.

“Unfortunately, it has been a tradition in Germany for centuries that Jews are held responsible for crises.

This mostly comes from right-wing extremists and conspiracy theorists, but there are also anti-Jewish arguments on the left.”

TRIPADVISOR APOLOGISES OVER OFFENSIVE AUSCHWITZ COMMENTS Review platform TripAdvisor has apologised after leaving online an offensive review of the Auschwitz Museum before finally deleting it.

The post joked about bringing a baby to the gas chambers of the death camp as it described the visit as “fun for the family”. The museum complained about it, but was initially told that it fell with the site’s guidelines.

It was only later taken down.

TripAdvisor has now apologised, blaming a screening “failure”. It said it used a “blend of technology and people” to review comments, adding: “Our initial screening failed to identify this review as promoting intolerance.”

It added: “We apologise to the

WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF

Auschwitz Memorial and Museum, the Jewish community at large and all communities and individuals affected by this initial miss.”

During a ceremony at the Babyn Yar massacre site in Kyiv, the Ukrainian prime minister marked the country’s first Remembrance Day for Ukrainians who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. He said 18 living Ukrainian “Righteous Among the Nations” will get state recognition of their bravery with a monthly stipend.

An Israeli woman living in Germany says she was assaulted by a left-wing German neighbour after being overheard speaking Hebrew. The Israeli claims that her neighbour – a female former parliamentary worker who uses a walking aid – assaulted her and tried to break into her apartment.

The claims are denied.

The Holocaust museum in Paris has described the ‘incredible discovery’ of 98 photos showing the round-up and deportation of Jews from the city in 1941.

They show how unsuspecting Jewish men were trapped by French police in the operation.

Most died in Auschwitz.

The photos were picked up in a flea market in Rheims.

RED ARMY VETERANS RECALL VE DAY Jewish veterans of the Red Army commemorated Victory in Europe (VE) Day across the world last week, just before fighting in Gaza made headlines.

Around 3,000 former Russian-speaking fighters who fought for the Red Army live in Israel today and soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces and youth groups joined in recognition.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz, Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata, and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion all honoured the former fighters.

The US, Britain and

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets former Red Army veterans in 2017

Western allies declared Victory in Europe on 8 May 1945, but countries from the former Soviet

Union mark the event a day later because hostilities ceased at 11pm Central European Time.

Vienna exhibition shows Khaldei’s work An exhibition in Vienna presenting the photos of wartime chronicler Yevgeny Khaldei has launched at the city’s Jewish museum.

Khaldei, a Jewish photographer from Ukraine, accompanied the Red Army as an official war reporter during the liberation of Vienna. After the war, he became known for his iconic shot of Soviet soldiers raising the flag over the Reichstag.

Historians say his experience in knowing what Moscow would find ideologically acceptable led to him taking the official Soviet

picture of the liberation of Vienna: soldiers carrying machine guns with the Austrian flag fluttering in the background.

The exhibition, which runs until 1 November, shows potent images of fierce fighting for Vienna where, even in the final hours before Soviet troops finally captured the city, the SS continued killing Jews.

Khaldei’s images capture the street fighting, bombs, ruins, hunger and homelessness, as well as the new hope for a newly liberated population.

Soldiers raise the Soviet flag over the Reichstag

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

Editorial comment and letters ISSUE NO.

1211

VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS

A silver lining in a sickening week Let’s not speculate about why it’s this conflict – the one involving the Jewish state – brings people on to the streets like no other.

Let’s assume the masses are rightly moved by the tragic pictures coming out of Gaza over the last 10 days – just as the Jewish community has.

As in previous conflicts many of the dead in Gaza will be shown to be terrorists, but every single innocent – including the 60 children who have died in this latest conflict – is one too many.

We pray that Hamas’ capabilities to harm innocent Israelis – let’s not forget that is its stated aim – is severely depleted and a ceasefire imminent, as was reported at the time of going to press.

But why wasn’t there a single banner at last weekend’s mass pro-Palestine rally calling for peace for all or even just for Hamas to stop firing?

Why do some seem incapable of supporting the Palestinians without resorting to naked antisemitism – at that demonstration and in the days since?

An Arabic reference to the death of Jews at the demonstration was followed by the sickening sight of a convoy of cars cruising through north London, spewing antisemitic abuse and calling for the rape of Jewish women.

British Jews have been targeted at work, on campus and on social media. Mezuzot were removed from homes in Borehamwood and a young family targeted in their car in Hendon. Their crime: being Jewish.

Over the last 10 days there has been a 600 percent rise in reported hate crimes against Jews. That figure is expected to rise further.

The 2021 conflict may be set to reach a conclusion far quicker than in 2014 but it’s little wonder that the last few days have, for many in our community, felt scarier than ever.

Those behind the hate care not one jot for Palestinians, do nothing to further the cause of an independent Palestinian state and are rightly admonished by the vast majority of those wanting a peaceful solution.

Theirs is not the Britain we know and cherish. The outpouring of disgust at the convoy from across the political spectrum – and overwhelming support for our community – has been the one bright spot in a truly awful week.

As has, as ever, the inspiring work of the CST.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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

Offended by your editorial I was disturbed by your editorial of 6 May on the Mount Meron disaster. The premature apportioning of blame on the victims by stating the loss of Jewish life was caused by recklessness and negligence of the attendees echoed sentiments of The Sun newspaper scandal following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.

Moreover, before an investigation is completed, and while the jury is out, it is highly inappropriate and reckless for a newspaper to pass judgment, especially as there are multiple witness accounts that the police had, this year, set up barriers. Why did Jewish News not report this?

It is similarly bizarre that Jewish News questioned the decision of those wishing to attend based on a tragedy that occurred at the site 110 years ago. With that reasoning, it would be

Sketches & kvetches

Shabbat goes out Saturday night 9.56pm

Sedra: Nasso

THE FIGHT IS CONSTANT Israel is suffering once more. As the rockets go out, hitting our precious citizens in Ashkelon and Jerusalem, we think of the families and children living on the borders with Gaza who rush, again, to their sealed rooms.

Those youngsters in the army, including my grandchildren, must be receiving orders to be vigilant

should more attacks occur. Two weeks ago, with the Mount Meron tragedy, we thought, “enough suffering”. As we come out of Shavuot and look forward to the next festival we pray – “let there be light from darkness”. Our land has to be fought for constantly.

Let’s pray for peace.

Norma Neville, Hendon

PEACE IS A PIPE DREAM

THIS WEEKEND'S SHABBAT TIMES...

Shabbat comes in Friday night 8.40pm

reckless to attend many venues in and around Jerusalem and Tel Aviv’s city centres as a result of the tragic bombings that occurred in them just a mere 20 years ago.

Jewish News went further to question whether the Charedi community would have obeyed a plan to restrict numbers. Yes, they would.

Just as they obeyed restrictions ongoing at the Western Wall over much of the past year.

But most disturbing was the vicious attack on Charedim towards the end of the piece.

Jewish News asserted that “many of those” (obviously referring to Charedim, as per the preceding paragraphs of the piece) haven’t got the “remotest interest in rulings created by ‘the Zionists’’ who they talk about so disparagingly”. This is simply offensive.

Eli Cohen, NW11

“I mentioned them once, but I think I got away with it!”

The massive number of rockets fired on Israel from the Gaza Strip shows how open it is, that Iranian money is pouring into it, to pay for all these thousands of rockets, while all the time complaining that they have no power, or proper

sanitation, and that Gaza is a prison.

Gaza has now shown what happens when the Palestinians control their own land; any sort of trust for peace is shown for what it is – a pipe dream.

Sidney Sands, Finchley

20 May 2021 Jewish News

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23

Editorial comment and letters

Legislating morality The government has legislated that we must all wear face masks against Covid, as if it is a moral duty. We should always make our own moral judgments and, as Jews, being agreeable to a government issuing laws on morality has ramifications.

Take two of our pillar practices: brit milah and shechita. There will come a time in this country, as is evident already in other European countries, when the questioning and restricting of both will be commonplace on moral grounds.

For those concerned with the legal compliance aspect of mask wearing, hav-

ing readily acceeded to the government’s ability to pass laws on supposed moral grounds, at what point before the government opposes brit milah would they limit its ability in making such judgments?

This is not remotely comparable with the laws of mask wearing, but is just a few stops along the same track; the common ground is in the government’s ability to legislate on supposed moral standards.

We should be wearing masks as it is the moral thing to do, not because other people have commanded us to do so.

Joe Gordon, By email

WRONG MAYOR

True Zionists

It was unfortunate that Sadiq Khan was re-elected as London’s mayor in the recent election for City Hall.

Readers may recall that, back in 2015, Mr Khan was one of the former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s original sponsors to become leader of the party. In the 2017 general election, he even tried to convince British voters that Corbyn should be elected as our prime minister.

Yisroel Davis, NW11

A small group of provocateurs centered on Herut UK seem bent on presenting themselves as heroes and Israel’s greatest allies in the country by attending and disrupting various pro-Palestinian actions. This is not the case. If they were the committed Zionists they purport to be, they would have made aliyah and, if young enough, volunteered to serve in the IDF. That would be true courage over shouting at other activists.

Geoffrey Cohen, Hendon

SENSIBLE? PROPORTIONATE? I’ve been a Zionist for nearly 60 years but am losing my faith. As I understand it, the present troubles stem from the threat of eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem. This stems not from officialdom but from families of the previous owners of the properties involved.

The justification is that these homes were lost to their Jewish owners at the time of partition, but now that they are once again in territory controlled by Israel rent should be paid for their continued occupation. No rent has been paid. On the basis of this non-payment, the eviction notice is/was due to come before an Israeli court, but that hearing has been postponed.

So far so good, but there is a serious catch: whereas Jewish/Israeli owners may claim back property that passed into Arab hands at the time of partition but is now situated in Israeli controlled/occupied areas, Palestinians may not claim back property previously held by their families but which is now occupied by Jewish Israelis.

That’s how I understand the situation.

So I’m struggling here. I understand why Palestinians cannot claim back their land.

During the latter half of the 20th century, some 800,000 Jews lost their homes and their livelihoods in Muslim lands. There

was, in effect, a population exchange. This for me has always been the justification for the continued existence of Israel. Hundreds of thousands of Jews fled to Israel, and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled and ended up in refugee camps.

This cannot be undone, any more than Pakistani lands can be returned to their former Hindu inhabitants or Indian homes be returned to their former Muslim owners. If the justification for the existence of the state of Israel is that there was such a population exchange, entailing the exchange in ownership of property, then it is arguable that such an exchange should be maintained. It seems to me that evicting families is not in the spirit of such a policy.

Even if I’m mistaken in my analysis of the legal background, is Israel’s response proportionate? Or sensible? This is about a handful of families facing eviction and has led to rockets landing in Tel Aviv and massive and tragic slaughter in Gaza. When the first rockets were fired, was it already too late for Israel to offer concessions to the families facing eviction? Was it impossible to offer talks to Hamas? Was it too late for a rethink of the law? I despair. Where are our wise men? Where are we heading?

Marylou Grimberg, By email

Most disturbing is the violence in mixed cities ALEX BRUMMER

CITY EDITOR, THE DAILY MAIL

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he ‘special’ international Zoom call, on a strategy report from Israel’s mixed cities, barely was under way when Israeli-Arab chief executive Dr Thabet Abu Rass of the Abraham Initiatives vanished from the screen after a rocket from Gaza landed 200 metres from his door.

Moments later, we were told that his IsraeliJewish counterpart, Amnon Be’eri-Sulitzeanu, wouldn’t be joining as the sirens had sounded over Tel Aviv. Once again Israel and the adjacent territories under the control of the Palestinian Authority and Gaza were a war zone.

For many years I wrote the media monitoring column in the JC – always a thankless task. Journalists (including this writer) are never shy about framing stories and comment through they own eyes. But they don’t much like it when the spotlight is turned on them.

When the Middle East is concerned, everyone in the British Jewish community wants a say.

It is often framed by a predominant ‘Israel right or wrong’ view and the ‘terrible’ media coverage. The current conflict has followed that pattern. A counting game is played with

contrasting the number of Gaza deaths, children in particular, with the lesser number in Israel. It is only the readership of the Financial Times that has had this explained properly.

The paper detailed how ‘Iron Dome defence keeps Israeli death toll in check’. It noted that in the first wave, some 1,800 rockets had been aimed by Gaza’s Islamic militants at Israel’s major cities, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Some 90 percent of the rockets were intercepted but not enough to protect all citizens, including children, from death.

Another familiar narrative is the different cultural approach to death and destruction on both sides. From Gaza, tragic images are beamed around the world of lives lost, grieving, mutilated bodies and child deaths. No video is too terrible to show. In Israel, even in ravaged mixed cities, the approach is different.

Death is not widely shown and the objective of the civic authorities is to remove the evidence – burnt-out cars and ravaged bodies – as quickly as possible to encourage normality.

No journalist can take any pleasure in the assault on the Al Jazeera tower in Gaza (also housing the Associated Press news agency).

It is a dangerous abuse of freedom of the press and the messengers. Nevertheless, one can understand why an over-zealous Israeli

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YEARS OF WORK IN LOD HAVE GONE INTO BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND SHARED SPACES

commander or right-wing politician crazily might have thought this was a good idea.

The impact was to stir up a hornet’s nest of its own as if the conflagration itself were not enough. Many people in British Jewry have found themselves glued to Al Jazeera for detailed reporting because the coverage of events by other broadcasters has been scratchy.

There is a history of non-governmental organisations and the liberal media condemning Israel’s actions and suggesting international law has been transgressed.

The dangers of a rush to judgment are being learned. The BBC website has an analysis by Guglielmo Verdirame, of the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, which examines all angles.

Amnesty International issued a press

release headlined ‘Likely War Crimes on Both Sides.’ It argues that the launch of Hamas rockets ‘are unguided and inherently indiscriminate’. But it doesn’t much like ‘the collective punishment of Palestinians’ either. The reality is that Israeli intelligence has tried to warn Gaza residents of impending targets.

As UK chairman of the Abraham Initiatives, which works on a shared society for IsraeliArabs, I find the most disturbing aspect of this conflict has been the violence in mixed cities, and Lod in particular. Years of work have gone into building relationships and shared spaces for Israeli Arabs and their Israeli Jewish neighbours.

Israel’s Jewish right-wing bullies, through their provocative antics, have stirred up long-standing and justified Arab grievances and sectarian violence and destruction. The reporting of violence from this new front is abhorrent and it may become impossible for neighbours to look each other in the eye again.

If there is a saving grace it is that IsraeliJewish citizens and the diaspora is reminded that 20 percent of Israel’s population is Palestinian and their rights have been betrayed by the discriminatory Nation State Law. If that were to be understood better then it could be used to rebuild a patchwork quilt of relationships that have been ripped asunder.

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

Opinion

To fight extremism Israel must first fix its politics SIR MICK DAVIS

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was in Israel last week as Hamas fired an unprecedented number of missiles at the south and centre of Israel.

Yet again, Israel is under attack and Israelis are running for shelter.

We stand in solidarity with our Israeli brothers and sisters as we yet again make the case that no country could tolerate thousands of missiles fired at its citizens without responding and find ourselves frustrated that such a self-evident fact is still not unequivocally accepted. And yet again we see the mask of the anti-Israel frenzy slip, revealing the Jew-hating extremists behind it. We see cars bedecked in Palestinian flags making by megaphone public threats to rape British Jews.

Contrary to the hysterical mob, we know that Israel goes to great lengths to minimise civilian casualties even as it must deter and disable the Hamas threat. But inevitably innocents in Gaza are caught in the crossfire.

For too long they have suffered the conse-

quences of Hamas’s reign of terror. I watch in anguish and want it to end.

This time, however, we also confront the dystopian scenes of sectarian violence on the streets of Israel. Jewish thugs beating an Arab driver in Bat Yam. Arab thugs beating Jewish drivers in the Galil. Arab thugs torching synagogues in Lod and a restaurant in Akko. Jewish thugs throwing Molotov cocktails in Jaffa. The list goes on.

Stabbings. Beatings. Thuggery. Hatred burning out of control.

Israelis are famously resilient. Not much fazes them. But in conversations this past week I have noticed a palpable sense of uncharacteristic angst regarding the violent domestic turmoil. Deep traumas among both Jews and Arabs, long swept under the carpet or worse deliberately fanned for political gain, have exploded. The violent mob scenes suggest an existential challenge whose time has arrived. Growing anger among Israel’s Arab population at unfairness and discrimination rising in parallel with a trenchant Jewish extremism means the tinder box

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is now on both sides of the Green Line.

Responsible leaders, both Jewish and Arab, must calm tensions rather than exploit them.

It offered a nugget of hope perhaps when Mansour Abbas, the leader of Israel’s Islamist party visited Lod on Sunday and renounced the violence.

The cessation of Hamas rocket fire from across the border, and the restoration of order and calm within the border are immediate priorities. But, if I was an Israeli voter, then once the missile fire abates and often literal fires of hatred and thuggery are dampened, for now, I would I think be struck by two realisations.

The first is that Israel’s political system is structurally flawed, unfit for purpose and a strategic liability. It is not a system capable of delivering effective democratic governance by, for and of the people but a system to be played by cynics. The formation of a government after an election is more like a Sicilian knife fight than a reflection of the will of voters. Such a system cannot provide long-term strategic leadership. For any emergent government to be a success, it must put serious systemic reform on the table.

The second is that the notion that the conflict with the Palestinians can be “managed” is a dangerous falsehood.

Conflicts cannot be managed; they must be solved. That’s not to say solutions are easy or readily available. But the idea that advancing a vision is more dangerous than pretending stability can be maintained without one has been disproved.

When confronting a virus, we today well understand that without vaccines an unchecked virus will mutate with potentially catastrophic results. The same applies to the conflict. It has been untreated for too long, mutated and left to rip, and the new variant is more dangerous than envisaged.

Those two realisations are of course related. Even for those who feel the conflict can’t be solved the latest eruption suggests it certainly can’t be “managed” with a vacuum of responsible, decisive and strategic political leadership. Unelected institutions, such as the police, have been left to manage potential flashpoints as in Jerusalem and, as we have seen, that will rarely end well.

Israel’s electoral system has, paradoxically given its direct proportionality, disempowered the mainstream majority of its citizens to an anti-democratic extent. Four elections in two years have failed to produce a coherent government and certainly not one that anybody really voted for. It has, meanwhile rewarded reckless political cynicism

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Violence on the streets of East Jerusalem

and empowered the thugs correctly described recently by Yair Lapid as “a bunch of pathetic racists.” Those racists should be side-lined to the fringe, but instead are now well represented in the Knesset and we are all diminished by that fact.

Every strategic issue Israel faces – economic, infrastructural, educational and conflict related – can only be effectively addressed by a secure and stable government, not one that veers from one political crisis to another with the sole aim of political survival. I applaud those political leaders seeking to put the national interest above sectoral, political or legal micro-interests.

But I remain sceptical that a coalition formed solely on the basis of “anyone but Bibi” could find enough common ground to get to grips with the big issues, including and perhaps especially the conflict.

We have seen in recent days that the conflict remains a live volcano, capable of erupting at any time with devastating consequences. Pretending the Palestinian issue is confined to the West Bank and Gaza and would simply disappear if ignored for long enough does not seem to have been a recipe for success.

Allowing violent extremism to gain momentum among Israeli citizens does not seem to have made Israel safer, stronger or more cohesive.

There are no easy answers but for now, I pray for calm in our Land as it suffers the fire of violent extremism from outside and within.

I acknowledge the monumental challenges Israelis face daily and the ever-present reality of annihilationist terror.

But I yearn for political leadership capable of addressing the long-term interests of the nation, rather than the short-term interests of its own survival.

ISRAEL'S ELECTORIAL SYSTEM HAS, PARADOXICALLY GIVEN ITS PROPORTIONALITY, DISEMPOWERED THE MAINSTEAM MAJORITY OF ITS CITIZENS

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Opinion / News

We can build a future or repeat old mistakes AMNON BE'ERI-SULITZEANU & DR THABET ABU RASS CO-CEOS, THE ABRAHAM INITIATIVES

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t’s hard to overstate the depth of the crisis we are experiencing in JewishArab relations in Israel. With the ninth round of war on the southern border with Gaza, and innocent lives being claimed on both sides, it is vital to focus on the new and most worrying dimension of the current wave of fighting: civilian conflicts on the streets of Israel.

Unlike previous rounds of conflict when we have seen demonstrations of Arab citizens of Israel and clashes with the Israeli police, this time there are clashes between communities taking place at the local level, between young Arabs and young Jews. In recent days we have witnessed events that have pushed our society to the brink of civil war and threaten a Balkanisation of Israeli society.

At least in part, these serious events are the result of a deliberate escalation whose motives are political and aimed at thwarting political partnership between Arabs and Jews in forming a government in Israel. The other root cause of this escalation is the attempt by Hamas to win political support among Palestinians by engaging in conflict with Israel, including rocketing civilians. We have all become victims of Operation ‘Political Rescue’ and the price will be paid, by both Jews and Arabs, for many years to come.

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WE JEWS AND ARABS ARE DESTINED TO LIVE TOGETHER IN ISRAEL AND WE MUST STOP THE VIOLENCE

For about a month now, we have witnessed a planned escalation: deliberately defiant operations in East Jerusalem, including the threatened evacuation of Palestinian residents in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah and the planned introduction of settlers in their place; a major increase of violent activities of ultra-nationalist Jewish groups; severe and arbitrary constraints on the freedom of worship of Arab citizens of Israel include restricting their access to the al-Aqsa Mosque and abusive policing practices such as collective punishment.

The younger generation of Arab society, a generation that is more Israeli in the individual sense, and more Palestinian in the collective sense, is a generation that feels humiliated in the face of the violation of its religious and national values. This generation, which has a legitimate right to act and demonstrate within the framework of the law, operates outside the parties and also challenges the existing leadership and its discourse.

The younger generation, which emphasises national issues and brings Jerusalem to its forefront, is not always attentive to the Arab leadership, which in the last election campaign, like the other parties in Israel, did not address the issue of occupation and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And now they are taking to the streets to demonstrate, spontaneously and disorganised.

Among these disenfranchised youth is another element of Arab society, rooted in the existing crime and violence that has spiralled out of control in Arab society over the past decade. Illegal weapon ownership, crime organisations and street violence have become a plague within Arab society. The country is now suffering a further consequence of the lack of policy and government investment in addressing this social crisis.

The conflicts we see today on the ground are mainly concentrated in Israel’s mixed cities, where Jews and Arabs live in close proximity and there is a heightened potential for conflict.

A straight line connects the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem to the Arab neighbourhoods in the mixed cities.

The communes of religious Zionist Jews that have been established in these neighbourhoods in recent years, in part with the aim of Judaising the cities, increase tensions, which can lead to violence and even killing or murder.

This fear materialised last week, in an incident in Lod, during which a young Arab man, Musa Hassona, was killed. He was allegedly shot by a Jewish shooter, a member of the religious commune. The tensions boiled over and in the violence that followed, there was arson of public buildings, attempted lynching and random attacks on Jews and Arabs.

The Minister of Internal Security, Amir Ohana MK (Likud), decided to throw more oil onto this fire and called for the release of the suspect in the shooting because, in his opinion, civilians carrying weapons, if they are Jews, of course, “act as a multiplier of the power in the hands of the authorities”.

The truth is we Jews and Arabs are destined to live together in Israel, and we must stop the violence and confrontations in order to rebuild our common life here. We live in the same neighbourhoods, work together, study together and use the same public space. This country is shared by its Jewish and Arab populations, and a process of Balkanisation of the region must not take place here; it will destroy the possibility of living together in peace and in harmony.

To this end, our organisation, the Abraham Initiatives, a long-running Jewish-Arab civil society organisation, has stepped into the chaos to pull our society back from the brink. In recent days, our staff has been working around the clock to lower tensions and rebuild relations.

We created a joint statement signed by a dozen Jewish and Arab elected officials from mixed cities, calling for calm; we have provided help

Israel declared a state of emergency in Lod after rioting last week. Photo courtesy of Twitter

to universities, schools and mixed workplaces to navigate the crisis they are facing. We have also launched a national campaign to remind our communities that only together can we overcome the threat to our shared society, for the future of our land is a shared one, and it is our choice if that will descend into violence and fear, or if we can regain a sense of togetherness and build a better future for our children.

 To support the campaign visit: The Abraham Initiatives @ JustGiving Amnon Be’eri-Sulitzeanu & Dr Thabet Abu Rass are the Jewish and Arab co-CEOs of the Abraham Initiatives. They lead the organisation in its work to build shared society and equality between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel. The Abraham Initiatives operates dozens of co-existence projects in Israel.

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

Opinion

Israel is being bombed and we’re holding signs LIONEL SALAMA CO-FOUNDER, BRAND CONSULTANCY HOPE

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ast weekend an estimated 100,000 people attended a rally against Israel. So, how does the Jewish community shows its solidarity with Israel? A virtual event in our gardens, with us all taking selfies holding a card saying, ‘No to Rockets, Yes to Peace’.

Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl said she wanted us “to send a strong message of support to Israelis who are being subjected to Hamas”. This was not an act of solidarity, it was an insult.

Those of us with families and friends in Israel have been using social media channels to check that everyone is safe. So the idea of fatuous selfies on a Sunday morning is beyond a joke.

No, our leaders should have followed other Jewish communities such as Rome, who were already out on the streets in public acts of

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WE SHOULD BE OUT ON THE STREETS SHOWING ISRAEL OUR SUPPORT – NOT IN OUR GARDENS solidarity. What does this say to the young in our community? That we keep our heads down when Israel is in danger?

Ms van der Zyl continued: “We also want to declare our support for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”

Obviously the right message, but again, the wrong medium. Social media is the new battleground but slogans like ‘No to Rockets, Yes to Peace’ aren’t going to cut through. It needs a far more comprehensive communications campaign, which really should have begun years ago. In the midst of a conflict, it stands no chance of gaining traction.

This all smacks of a sense of resignation,

that the battle to have the full narrative heard is lost. As if somehow, speaking out publicly in support of Israel in this country is no longer appropriate – except perhaps when we’re kvelling over the success of a vaccination programme.

For sure, we need to be critical of Israel.

We’ve known the problems inside and beyond its borders for a long time.

Indeed, if we gave our teenagers a more balanced education on Israel, they might cope better on campus.

But right now, in a week that has seen our families and friends running day and night for their lives, we should have been out on the streets of London showing them our support.

Not taking photos from the shelter of our back gardens.

A Palestinian flag isn’t an existential threat to Jews HANNAH WEISFELD FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, YACHAD

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ensions are running high – as they always do – when violence breaks out in Israel-Palestine. Over the past few days, the attention of many has shifted from the Middle East to the UK, where we seem to be importing hatred.

Over the weekend, a convoy of cars driving through north London flew Palestinian flags whilst shouting from loudspeakers that Jewish daughters should be raped.

There were also scenes from the 100,000strong march in central London in support of Palestine over the weekend of people chanting the deeply antisemitic slogan “Khayber Khayber Ya Yehud jaish Mohammed Sauf Ya’ud” (“Khayber Khaybar oh Jews, Mohammed’s army is returning”).

Of course – and rightly – this has generated anger and fear in Jewish communities; fear that Jews may be targeted on the streets, blamed for a conflict thousands of miles away.

It has led some members of the Jewish community to conclude that no one has our backs. In the Daily Telegraph, one person wrote “how ludicrous it is to claim that a demonstration in support of Hamas is not antisemitic,

when the organisation is committed in its founding charter to the elimination of Jews – Jews, not Israel – from the planet”.

Let’s be clear: Palestinians are not Hamas.

Suggesting that they are is akin to suggesting Israelis are Benjamin Netanyahu. And when you imply that the demonstration in central London was in support of Hamas, you are effectively erasing the legitimacy of the Palestinian cause and the integrity of anyone who dares support it.

There was a demonstration in support of the Palestinian people, at which there were some antisemites and some who supported Hamas. The antisemites should be called out, condemned and, where appropriate, arrested and prosecuted. There were people who drove through London waving a Palestinian flag – and they have been arrested. But that does not make the Palestinian flag antisemitic.

The extremists want us to import this conflict. They want Jews to turn on Palestinians – for us to say that fighting for Palestinian

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freedom and dignity is antisemitic. So, when Palestinian freedom and dignity does not happen the Jews can be blamed.

Rather than using public platforms to drive that wedge deeper, and elevate solely the voices of extremists, how about pointing to the fact that the ‘drive by’ calls for rape have been widely condemned by Palestinians all over the world, including by the Palestinian Ambassador in the UK and those with family sitting in Gaza whose lives are in immediate danger?

The rhetoric around Israel-Palestine is always represented as a zero-sum game. Those who condemn the rocket fire from Hamas, which is indiscriminately terrorising and killing Israel civilians, must hate Palestinians.

Those who criticise Israel’s response because of the horrendous impact it is having on Gaza – the number of people killed, the destruction of health facilities and the list goes on – hate Israelis and Jews, because Hamas is antisemitic. And that applies here. It seems impossible to say people are genuinely concerned

ISRAEL WILL NEVER BE SAFE WITHOUT FREEDOM AND DIGNITY FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

for Palestinians human rights and dignity and there are also antisemites who exploit that.

British politicians do not need to divert their attention from Gaza, as some have suggested, because there are antisemites capitalising on the conflict and roaming London’s streets. They need to deal with the antisemitism whilst simultaneously finding a way for Britain to play a role in ending this conflict.

This is not about ‘two-siding’ the conflict.

It is not a war of equals. Israel should not be under bombardment by rocket fire – be under no illusion that targeting civilians is a war crime and should be roundly condemned. But the Palestinian people should not be occupied and dispossessed as they have been for 54 years. When this latest violence with Gaza is over, we cannot go back to that status quo.

Hamas will not disappear after the occupation ends, but its ability to manipulate and exploit injustice will be significantly diminished.

Those who care about Israel and its people – who are scared for their friends and family under rocket fire – should not run from the Palestinian flag. We should embrace it. Israel will never be safe and secure without freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people.

A Palestinian flag is not an existential threat to Jewish life; quite the opposite in fact.

Do not let extremists set the agenda.

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20 May 2021 Jewish News

27

Opinion

Labour MPs must stop behaving like students NICOLE LAMPERT

JOURNALIST & COMMENTATOR

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housands of words have been written about why Labour still isn’t appealing to the electorate and what can be done about it. But having seen the behaviour of their elected officials over the last few days I think I can sum it up; they simply need to grow up.

They need to stop with the virtue signalling and the student politics and show that they are a party which one day could take the reins of government.

Boris Johnson may appear to be a buffoon but even he knows that Israel is a democratic ally and Hamas is a genocidal terrorist organisation which uses human shields while firing on citizens. Most of the country knows this too; we Brits have suffered from terrorist attacks inspired by Islamic fundamentalism and we know you can’t make peace with people who want to wipe out your whole way of life.

The Labour lot might like to pontifi-

cate about how there are dozens of types of gender and sexuality but when it comes to the extremely complex and long running Israel Palestine conflict, they see it in entirely binary terms; good versus evil. David versus Goliath.

It would be one thing if it was just the Corbyn cranks who were at this. I don’t think we’d expect anything other than the likes of John McDonnell using an Eid message to the Muslim community to suggest they demonstrate in ‘support the Palestinian people in their call for peace and justice.’ Or Richard Burgon demanding that sanctions should be placed on Israel.

And, of course Corbyn himself, who looked like a pig in mud on Saturday, when pro-Palestinian protesters briefly broke off from their chant of ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free,’ to indulge him with a musically painful version of, ‘Oh, Jeremy Corbyn.’

This is where they are happiest, waving Palestinian flags (while denouncing anyone who waves a Union Jack) and hearing the crowd singing about their genocidal impulses towards Israeli Jews. But, I have to be honest, I did expect a bit more from the people who are meant to be

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THE BINARY VIEW OF GOOD VERSUS BAD MEANS THAT WE – ALL OF US ZIONISTS – ARE THEREFORE EVIL TOO moderate and who have vowed to rid the party of the shameful stain of antisemitism.

Two hours after Hamas first suddenly started firing rockets at the Israeli capital, the party leader Keir Starmer wrote: ‘Israel must respect international law and must take steps, immediately, to work with Palestinian leaders to de-escalate tensions.’ What about the rockets, Keir? The rockets headed towards the capital city of one of our democratic allies?

Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, wrote a strongly worded letter demanding action from the Government about what needs to be

done to solve the situation which never once appeared to acknowledge that Hamas is a genocidal terrorist organisation which doesn’t want peace with Israel but to wipe it out.

While new Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar opined in a tweet: ‘The root cause of this is illegal occupation, illegal settlement growth, the illegal siege of Gaza and human rights violations.’ He doesn’t mention Hamas at all.

Its hard to know if this is performative politicking – are they doing this simply to appeal to their base? Or if its sheer ignorance. I am not sure what is worse.

All I know is that this binary view of good versus bad means that people who appear to side with the evil ones – all of us Zionist Jews – means that we therefore are evil too. Because how can you be a good person if you side with the people they regard as malevolent ethnic cleansing, apartheid-loving, baby-killing colonialists?

Labour needs to see that this obsessive virtue signalling hate fest towards the one and only Jewish state in the world is not only dangerous for us Jews but – and this will count more for them – unappealing to the electorate at large.

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29

Documentary / Weekend

‘There’s a difference between leaders like Rabin and small, petty politicians’ Stephen Applebaum speaks to Dror Moreh about The Human Factor, a new documentary exploring how personalities have impacted the Middle East peace process

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here is no peace process and there are no leaders, on the Israeli and the Palestinian sides, who can move anything towards any kind of peace,” Israeli filmmaker Dror Moreh tells me candidly.

Just a few days later, violence erupts in Jerusalem, leading to the worst escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 2014. How did we get here? And why haven't attempts to resolve the decades-old hostilities using diplomacy succeeded?

Moreh's new feature documentary, The Human Factor, tries to find the answers. Where his Oscarnominated documentary, The Gatekeepers, grippingly explored the work of the Shin Bet through interviews with some of its erstwhile heads, The Human Factor sits Moreh down with former American negotiators to uncover the inside story of the US-led Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

The film's title emerged from a conversation between Moreh and his wife, Martina, in a Berlin restaurant, and refers to the role of empathy and the small gestures with big meanings they realised connected the anecdotes fascinatingly related by the director's interviewees.

“The Human Factor shows, in a lot of ways, the importance of being able to put yourself in other people's shoes," Moreh tells me, "and trying to act from understanding their grievances and their way of looking at the world, trying to accommodate both and trying to reach some kind of solution.”

The human element is complex and can make or break a negotiation. In 2000, a “summit of summits”, at Camp David, optimistically brought together Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat, under the aegis of President Bill Clinton, in the hope of finally wrestling into being an end-of-conflict agreement.

Instead, it resulted in failure, creating a trauma

Yasser Arafat, Hosni Mubarak, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres during peace negotiations

in the Israeli-Palestinian relationship that has never healed, says former State Department Middle East analyst and negotiator Aaron Miller. Rather than understanding and bridge-building, the human factor had led to “a tragic ending”, says Moreh, “because of the people involved and their personalities and their way of treating their counterpart.”

Barak had pledged to finish the work started by Yitzhak Rabin, who had talked about a Palestinian state before he was assassinated in 1995. He gave Moreh hope because, like the film-maker, Barak was also from the Israeli peace camp. “I was devastated when Rabin was assassinated. It was my birthday, fourth of November. So, all of a sudden, my representative comes and says, 'I'm going for a peace.'”

But the talks failed. Moreh believed Barak and Clinton when they blamed Arafat. “The narrative was that we and the Americans gave him a generous offer, which he couldn't dream of, and he said no.”

A few weeks later, the second intifada broke out. Thousands of Israelis and Palestinians died.

“The peace camp was completely shattered and it never recovered.”

While making The Human Factor, the director discovered that the Camp David story was not exactly as it had been framed. Arafat did reject the deal on offer but, he says, “Nobody told us Barak humiliated Arafat for almost a year before that.”

At the summit itself, the Israeli prime minister, who saw himself as Churchill, often refused to talk to him. It was a complete change from the close relationship the PLO leader had developed with Rabin and pretty much doomed the process.

“You can be the most intelligent person in the world, have an IQ of 250, and yet fail miserably as a human being and as a politician,” explains Moreh.

“Barak is a very smart person, very intelli-

gent, but a very poor statesman and a poor human factor guy. His emotional intelligence does not really exist. Arafat is a problematic character, always was. But I understand his motives much more now.”

Arafat believed he would be killed by other Muslims if he accepted what was on the table and Miller agrees. Rabin knew there were dangers in seeking peace and candidly told negotiator Dennis Ross he was glad he had the support of the military because what he was going to do could lead Israel into all-out civil war. The jaw-dropping revelation makes Moreh gasp off-camera in the documentary.

“That's the difference between a leader and a politician,” he says. “A leader sees where he thinks his people should be and knows he's going to pay a dear price, but he's willing to pay [it]. That was Rabin. Leaders [today], especially in this region, don't have this kind of capacity. Most of what we have here is politicians. Small, petty politicians."

The Human Factor feels at once timely and nostalgic. Its clever use of contemporaneous photographs from inside the White House, Camp David and elsewhere, to illustrate and corroborate the negotiators' oral testimony, captures the humanity amid the politics, underscoring the power of touch and its centrality to our relationships and interactions, whether it be a handshake, a hug or a hand warmly placed on the back of an enemy-turnedpartner-in-peace. The effect is surprisingly moving.

“It's all about the human factor,” says Moreh.

“We respond to human emotions, human feelings, all of that. This is what we stand for.”

The Human Factor (15) is on release now in select cinemas and streamed from tomorrow, 21 May, www.humanfactorfilm.co.uk

A look

Inside Her chance at last: Eden represents Israel at Eurovision

A bit of a do: Rita Simons return in Hairspray

Birthday boy: Music icon Bob Dylan turns 80 US President Bill Clinton with Yasser Arafat and Benjamin Netanyahu

From left: Ehud Barak, Bill Clinton and Yasser Arafat at Camp David

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

Weekend / Entertainment

THEATRE

MUSIC

Hairspray

Eurovision Song Contest 2021

Don’t hold back the lacquer! EastEnders actress Rita Simons is getting her updo ready as she prepares to reprise her role in Hairspray, which returns for a limited season at the London Coliseum next month.

Simons – who is the niece of business guru Lord Alan Sugar – will tread the boards as Velma Von Tussle, alongside the recently-announced Les Dennis as Wilbur Turnblad, West End star Michael Ball as Edna Turnblad and Sex Education’s Jonny Amies as Link Larkin.

Lizzie Bea will star as Tracy Turnblad, while Marisha Wallace takes on the role of Motormouth.

It’s 1962 and Baltimore teenager Tracy Turnblad dreams of dancing on The Corny Collins Show.

When she wins a role on the show, she become a celebrity

Eden Alene will become the first singer of Ethiopian descent to represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest after storming through the competition’s first semi-final in Rotterdam on Tuesday night.

Alene, 21 (pictured), was originally due to sing at last year’s contest with her entry, Feker Libi, which featured four languages – English, Hebrew, Amharic and Arabic – but never got the chance after the event was cancelled owing to the pandemic.

This time around, the Eurovision hopeful will sing pop anthem Set Me Free and compete alongside 25 other nations, including hosts the Netherlands, on Saturday night.

Alene, who was born in Jerusalem, is the daughter of Ethiopian-Jewish immigrants.

After studying ballet for 11 years, she began

overnight – but will her newfound legion of fans still follow her as she campaigns for the show to become more inclusive – whatever a person’s colour, size or hairdo?

The Olivier Award-winning show, produced by Adam Spiegel Productions and Fiery Angel, features a punchy soundtrack including Good Morning Baltimore, Baltimore Big, Blonde and Beautiful and You Can’t Stop Beat. the Beat Hairspray opens at London Coliseum from 21 June, www.hairspraythe musical.co.uk

DOCUMENTARY

The Bank Job (15)

EXHIBITION

Death Marches: Evidence and Memory

A Jewish film-maker and his artist wife team up to tackle the dark world of debt in their thought-provoking documentary, The Bank Job, which is released in cinemas next week.

Dan Edelstyn and Hilary Powell embarked on a journey to highlight how the financial

The brutality of the Nazi death marches and those who were forced to endure them is the focus of a new exhibition from The Wiener Library, which opened on Tuesday.

Death Marches: Evidence and Memory explores how, towards the end of the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of inmates were forcibly evacuated in terrible conditions and ordered to walk for days from one camp to another, despite their already emaciated state.

Tens of thousands of people died at the roadside of exhaustion, being shot for failing to keep up, or murdered in seemingly random massacres.

These “mobile concentration camps” overturn the idea that the brutality of the camps was kept entirely separate from the German population.

No one could fail to observe the emaciated, weakened inmates, the dead bodies that littered the roads and the brutality of the SS guards. Indeed, a broad spectrum of

the German population persecuted these evacuated prisoners.

Some civilians shot inmates, while others refused them food. Local people also denounced to the SS prisoners who had escaped from marches.

While there are instances of civilians helping inmates by sheltering them in their homes, resistance was rare.

Co-curated by professor Dan Stone and Dr Christine Schmidt, the exhibition features first-hand testimonies of those who survived, including from Eugene Black (pictured) who, as a teenager, was sent to three camps, including AuschwitzBirkenau, before surviving a death march just a month before the war ended in April 1945.

Death Marches: Evidence and Memory runs until 27 August, Tuesdays to Fridays, 10am-5pm at The Wiener Holocaust Library, Russell Square, London. Pre-booking is essential, www.wienerholocaustlibrary.org

taking vocal training lessons and decided to pursue a career in music. She won Israeli X Factor in 2018.

Israel has won the Eurovision Song Contest four times, most recently in 2018 thanks to Netta Barzilai and her upbeat pop track, Toy.

system has pushed us all to live in a world that operates on credit.

Inspired by the Strike Debt movement in the US, which aims to cancel all student debt, the pair decided to set up a bank in Walthamstow, print their own money with the faces of local heroes and use the proceeds to purchase £1.2 million of debt that they could write off – or, in this case, blow up.

In an interview earlier this year with Jewish News, Edelstyn said of his idea: “We know the debt buy isn’t a solution, but it’s a lightning rod to expose the shadows of the financial system, the secondary markets and the injustices of the economy.”

The Bank Job is released in selected cinemas from Friday, 28 May, www.bankjob.pictures

TELEVISION

Bob Dylan As music legend Bob Dylan turns 80 next week, Sky Arts will mark the milestone with two special programmes.

Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan, which airs next Monday at 9pm, features the celebrated Pretenders lead vocalist covering 10 of Dylan’s greatest tracks in her signature style.

Bob Dylan: The Other Side of the Mirror, which broadcasts next Tuesday at 9pm, documents the music icon’s historic Newport Folk Festival performances from 1963 to 1965 in this critically-acclaimed film from director Murray Lerner.

The documentary observes Dylan’s metamorphosis from folk prodigy to rock’s fiercely confrontational poet, as he electrified and inspired an entire nation through his three successive appearances at the festival.

Dylan – who was born Robert Allen Zimmerman – is regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time and a leading figure of counterculture.

His songs, Blowin’ in the Wind and The Times

They Are a-Changin’ became anthems for the civil rights and anti-war movements during the 1960s and he has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.

20 May 2021 Jewish News

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Funding to help you retrain Looking to change career but worried about the cost? Financial support is available, says leading employment charity Work Avenue

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mily Zinkin wanted to change careers. But, like many in this position, she felt trapped. Any potential employer she spoke to wanted either direct experience she didn’t have or a qualification for which she couldn’t afford to study.

That’s why Emily turned to the Richard Mintz Bursary Fund (RMBF), administered by Work Avenue to provide grants to those in the Jewish community wishing to train for a new career.

Having given out close to £70,000 to date, the fund has helped many people onto vocational courses that provide training and qualifications to new career pathways so they can earn a living in today’s competitive workplace.

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She explains: “Trying to change careers is never easy, especially as we had been

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It wasn’t long before she was offered the perfect role – as an inclusion community engagement manager in the Civil Service.

Emily added: “They were so impressed by my initiative at getting onto the course, as well as the essential qualification I would have at the end of it.

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

Business / Digital profile

candicekrieger@googlemail.com

With Candice Krieger

HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR ONLINE BRAND The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted in-person networking. The CEO of a company building personal brands for business people tells Candice Krieger how best to create an online presence

A

digital presence has become more important than ever.

Covid-19 forced businesses, and business leaders alike, to boost their online brand at an unprecedented rate as people were unable to network in person – a trend that looks set to stick as people embrace a hybrid working world.

“The pandemic has accelerated the trend towards a digital world. Now, the opportunities to proactively shape our reputations as businesspeople are endless,” says Joe Binder, whose company WOAW builds personal brands on social media for founders and CEOs including Dragons’ Den stars Tej Lalvani and James Caan CBE. “In the volatile world of social media, being on the front foot is essential. The best way to network online is to create an aura where

people want to network with you, rather than the other way around.”

An online profile is only as good as the content and brand you create, something Binder knows first-hand.

A former YouTuber and influencer, Binder, 25, built his YouTube channel from scratch. It grew to some Joe Binder 20,000 subscribers and attracted more than two million views before Binder, who has a geography degree from Cambridge University, decided to change direction.

“There had been a growing trend towards the ‘social CEO’ with more and more expected from a company’s leadership team,” says Binder.

“PR for business leaders has always existed, but social media was always an

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afterthought. For us, it’s the priority.

I wanted to create a company to cater for this niche.”

Launched in 2018, WOAW services three main divisions: highprofile entrepreneurs, leadership teams of high-growth businesses and corporates. Monthly revenue for its personal branding services has tripled since the start of the pandemic.

Recently added board members include Craig Fenton, Google’s strategy and operations lead for business in the UK, Ireland and Southern Europe, and Rubik’s brand CEO, Christoph Bettin.

While growth in business is a result of the crisis, as companies are increasingly allocating their spending towards technology and digital activity versus in-person events, it is also a reflection of Binder’s continued diligence and determination.

The former JFS student was mocked at school for being the “dumb kid”. He recalls: “I even earned the nickname ‘3B’ because I was in bottom sets for all subjects. People set low expectations of me, and I began to agree with them.”

But then something changed. “I knew I could do better, work harder and achieve more.” Determined to prove people wrong, Binder swapped lunch breaks for extra homework and convinced his teachers to move him up a set. His hard work paid off and he became deputy head boy before gaining a place at Cambridge University.

It was there that Binder started his own YouTube channel, documenting the life of a Cambridge student. “I would upload different segments of the same video to YouTube; some would get under 10,000 views while others would get over 40,000.

“Small things like this led me to question the branding and positioning of each video, which is arguably as important as the content of the videos themselves.”

Binder was able to leverage his personal brand to win his first few clients for WOAW. “It allowed me to say: ‘I’ve done it for myself, I can do it for you, too.’”

A big break was securing famous entrepreneur Caan as a client. “This gave us a new level of credibility.”

What advice would he give those looking to scale their public profile during an increasingly competitive digital world? “Identify your target demographic and optimise your LinkedIn profile and cater it to your desired audience; work on your tagline, profile banner and ‘about’ section. You have the ability to shape your own narrative; your profile is your own space, so it deserves a lot of strategic thought.

“Post regular content to bring people onto your profile – your profile is your shop window.

Creating content is the main way for people to discover you. Engage with others on the platform: if you’re new to posting content, you’re unlikely to get a lot of engagement when you

Joe together with members of his team

start. So spend time commenting on other people’s content. Start conversations. That way, you build familiarity with people who will see your content, and it will increase the likelihood of them engaging with your content. Finally, use conversational language on the platform.

“Remember: 1) LinkedIn makes money from users spending time on the platform, so your job is to create content that keeps other users engaged. If you do that, your content will be rewarded in the algorithm and will have a higher reach. 2) LinkedIn has changed a lot and people respond much better to a conversational tone. Reflect on the language of your copy and ask yourself: Does this sound like an advert or a conversation?”

Consumers are demanding more from brands and are holding the leadership more accountable than ever. “It’s so important for leadership to build trust and authenticity online. We’ve now entered a world where the pace of the company’s values and ethics start at the top with its management team.

“The personal branding space is growing faster than ever before and we can’t wait to grow with it.” www.woaw.co

BINDER’S 5 TOP TIPS TO BOOST YOUR ONLINE PROFILE 1. Identify your target demographic 2. Optimise your LinkedIn profile and cater it to your desired audience 3. Post regular content to bring people onto your profile – your profile is your shop window 4. Engage with others on the platform via commenting and private messages 5. Use conversational language on the platform; your job is to create content that keeps other users engaged.

20 May 2021 Jewish News

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Orthodox Judaism

SEDRA

Torah For Today

Naso

What does the Torah say about: Israel under attack

BY REBBETZIN DR HADASSAH FROMSON As a psychologist, I see people struggling with a range of mental health challenges. This past year, there has been a substantial spike in people suffering from work-related anxiety and stress. Therapy can help, but the best thing I can do is help people to help themselves.

When people are struggling or overwhelmed, the first thing they often cut back on are their hobbies.

We view these activities as extras in our life: there’s not really any point to them, they’re just for fun.

But there is a paradox: rather than having more time to be productive, they lose their simple pleasures and their emotional outlet, and this makes their situation worse.

This makes me think of something we learn from the Nazir in this week’s parasha. A Nazir is a person who takes a vow to live by a strict and holy lifestyle for a duration of time as a way of attaining greater spirituality.

One of the things this vow includes is abstaining from drinking wine. At the end of this time, the Nazir is required to bring a sin offering. Why? The Talmud offers two options: either the Nazir is atoning for abandoning their refined level of spirituality and returning to an everyday routine, or perhaps has to atone for causing suffering to themselves by refraining from wine, which represents physical and earthly pleasures.

We are not a religion of ascetics. We embrace the pleasures of this world and, moreover, we need a healthy relationship with those pleasures in order to thrive.

The Talmud and modern psychology give a clear message: God made the world for us to enjoy and we are better for allowing ourselves to enjoy it.

◆ Dr Hadassah Fromson is the Community Rebbetzin of Golders Green Synagogue

BY RABBI ZVI SOLOMONS The events of the past two weeks show that Israel today finds itself in a very difficult situation – one often ratcheted up by our enemies. What does the Torah say about military strikes in the face of terrorist activity?

Anyone learning theology needs to understand that Judaism is different from Christianity.

Our religious outlook may include turning the other cheek, but that concept is not a mainstream strand in our traditions.

More to our way of thinking is the necessity for survival in a world that is not always predictable or safe.

The Talmud says in three separate places: “If someone comes to kill you, get up early in the morning to kill him first.”

This is not about an offensive war, but more a war on the defensive.

When in 1967 the message came through that the Kotel was in our hands, for a few years people believed

this would herald a new age of peace. However, the use of religious buildings for war is almost universal in the Middle East, as is the outrage when soldiers try to put down riots based in those buildings.

The values of Judaism teach us to preserve human life whenever possible, as each life is worth a universe of human lives. The warnings given to residents of buildings about to be attacked also allow our enemies to escape. We see a media building and Hamas headquarters

neatly collapsed leaving its neighbours untouched.

Yet the images of the dead and the devastation will continue to stoke outrage and, as ever, antisemitism rises, with British Jews on our streets paying for the violence.

Israel must defend its citizens and try to calm things down while depleting the weapons; a rain of death from Hamas or Hezbollah cannot be allowed to overwhelm defences.

But neither can we behave in anything but a moral way.

We must pray for strength and use our ingenuity to move away from this cycle. It is a terrible curse on a people to be perpetually at war, although support from the Gulf states gives us at least a glimmer of hope that peace is on the horizon. ◆ Zvi Solomons is rabbi of the Jewish Community of Berkshire in Reading, JCoB.org

THE JEWISH LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

Come and join our team!

The Jewish Leadership Council [JLC]’s mission is to support development and excellence in our member organisations, challenging them to lead the way in sustaining, building, and celebrating vibrant Jewish communities across the UK.

We’re recruiting for: Head of Strategic Collaboration – identifying and coordinating closer engagement between JLC member organisations and the wider community on areas that will improve and enable community sustainability

We are a small professional staff team that is goal driven and committed to working flexibly and creatively. We embrace personal and team development and see building relationships as a vital tool of our success.

Membership Manager – a new role focused on supporting our members ensuring their needs are understood and met

The roles we are recruiting for build on staff members who have previously held responsibility in these areas and also develop new areas of capacity in our team.

Yorkshire & East Coast Regional Manager – working in the region to serve the needs of our members and develop relationships with local representatives

Digital Content Officer – a new role focused on communicating our core mission and better servicing our diverse membership

These roles are advertised as full time positions. We would also welcome and consider applications from participants who are looking to work more flexibly including part time or with a job share.

For detailed information including salary, benefits and how to apply: please visit www.thejlc.org/vacancies Applications close on 4th June 2021 Supporting Jewish Schools

The Jewish Leadership Council is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons.

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

Progressive Judaism

Progressively Speaking

The Bible Says What?

‘You must buy back your firstborn’

Let’s learn to talk to each other about Israel and Palestine

BY RABBI DEBBIE YOUNG-SOMERS The birth of a first child is an incredibly proud moment for a parent.

Anyone would agree it would be cruel to take that child and demand a monetary ransom for their return – yet that is exactly what the Torah tells us to do.

This is a process called the redemption of the first-born. In principle, the first-born child – specifically a son, in the Torah – had a duty to commit themselves to the service of God. In the book of Bamidbar, we are told that instead of carrying out this duty, the whole tribe of Levi would take the place of all firstborn children.

They would serve God in the Mishkan (the portable Temple in the wilderness) and later the Temple.

The Levites would not do this automatically though – the child still had to be redeemed from the duty by giving the Levites five shekels of silver. It may seem like a steep price just to keep your own

child, but it was the price set and is a ritual that some Jews still practice symbolically to this day.

This redemption process gives an important message about our duty to the community.

While it made sense for the children of Israel to have a tribe dedicated to the running of the ritual processes the community needed, it was important that everyone else didn’t then think they had no wider responsibility.

The redemption was an immediate reminder that everyone has a duty to the community.

We, too, must remember that it is not just clergy or lay leaders who owe themselves to serve the community.

Our Jewish communities become holy communities when we all do our bit and are there to support one another.

◆ Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers serves Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue

BY RABBI CHARLEY BAGINSKY One thing I have heard more than anything over the past week, from my fellow rabbis and those in leadership positions across the Jewish community, is a feeling of paralysis when it comes to speaking about the situation in Israel and Palestine.

People who are usually brave and articulate feel silenced by the abuse inevitably levelled at anyone who says something that is considered wrong.

While I understand people on both sides feel they own the moral high ground, the deliberate attempts to shame, humiliate and intimidate others is not acceptable.

I am a religious progressive Zionist who supports a two-state solution with a free and prosperous Palestine, one that could be a good neighbour to Israel. But I also know that there is no easy solution.

In 2021, Israel finds herself continually berated and often friendless.

She is the subject of constant discus-

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sion, UN resolutions and media speculation. So, I understand why there are some people who argue that, as Israel has enough distractors, we, as Jews, must instead give the country our unequivocal support. I get it, I really do.

But this move to try to prevent those Jews who want to criticise Israel from feeling comfortable in doing so, the attempts to try to silence even those who do so from a position of love and support, is not the way.

I am saddened that too often I have heard genuine thoughtful Jewish

critiques of Israel being labelled as self-hating Jews and Israel bashers.

It happens the other way as well. I have seen those who speak out in favour of Israel met with shaming and name calling, being told they have a lack of morality and support a racist agenda.

I cannot believe such threats and shaming do anything to change another’s mind; rather it entrenches some and buries others in fear and silence.

We have all seen and heard so much from all sides and perspectives.

But we must try to keep telling the whole story for the sake of justice, for the sake of peace and for the sake of Israel and Palestine.

We cannot talk the words of peace and expect it of others while we ourselves cannot show that we really believe it. ◆ Rabbi Charley Baginsky is chief executive officer of Liberal Judaism

Non Executive Board and Sub Committee Recruitment We are the largest provider of sheltered housing to the Jewish community in the UK. We deliver services to around 450 properties; primarily sheltered housing with some other supported housing and general needs homes.

JNF UK, Britain’s oldest Israel charity, is looking for a creative and results-driven Head of Marketing to join the senior management team at a pivotal time in the charity’s history, as we celebrate our 120th anniversary.

Can you lead and develop the marketing and communications function to drive forward stakeholder engagement and income generation?

For a full Job Description and details of how to apply visit:

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As we look to the future and in line with our commitment to strong governance we are now seeking to recruit additional non executive members for our various sub committees and the main Board. These are voluntary roles and require a commitment to attend quarterly meetings throughout the year. Meetings are held in the early evening.

Many of our sub committee members have progressed to become duly elected members of the main Board. All non executive members receive the support of the established senior executive team and we are proud that our non executive and executive members enjoy strong and positive working relationships.

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20 May 2021 Jewish News

Ask our

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Jewish News (Ask the Expert) 10x2 - 2021.indd 1

Dear Susan We are buyers of everything you have Dear Jonathan I follow your gold prices every week and have mentioned. We have a very large client base in the UK and globally and have much success noticed how much sovereigns and krugerrands have risen in the past couple of years – online so we always need the items you have to and even the price of silver. I have many coins sell.

Regarding the auctioneers, they have big and Judaica silver. None of my children commissions and photography costs, a long or grandchildren want the silve, so I was time scale for cataloguing and the wait for their wondering if this is something you buy. settlement payment will probably be up to 30 Is now a good time to sell? I also have days after the auction. diamond jewellery from my mother and You will end up with much more from us and grandmother, hence nearly 100 years old (I have the funds instantly! am 91!), in the form of brooches, bracelets If you wish to make an appointment to visit and rings. I have offered them to my grandchildren but they said they’re unfashionable, us in our Hendon Lane showroom, you are more than welcome. so I would rather give them the money from

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STEPHEN MORRIS SHIPPING LTD Dear Stephen Given the current pandemic and general situation with the Indian strain of Covid-19 in the UK and the rocket attacks in Israel, is it worth pursuing our plans to make aliyah just now?

Rachel Dear Rachel Yes, it is worth pursuing.

The world is still turning and we will hopefully all get through this in time.

So, please do email or call me with your questions.

It is never too early to start planning.

You will need to decide where you are going to live, if you do not have somewhere already, and you will need to decide what you are going to take with you to your new home.

Kitchen appliances, including washing machine, dryer, fridge, freezer, dishwasher and microwave are all sensible items to ship, as are sofas and chairs and beds. These are generally all cheaper in the UK than in Israel. If you are making aliyah, you can sometimes have the VAT refunded on

new goods when you ship, and generally no VAT or duty will be charged on import into Israel.

We will need to survey your move in order to obtain a volume and so be able to quote. I can offer approximate prices now and will issue a firm price and contract once the survey is complete. The survey can still be conducted during Covid times, provided strict procedures are followed and we will establish these prior to the actual survey date.

That date should be booked approximately six weeks prior to your move and once you know for certain what items you would like to ship and what items will remain in the UK. Keep safe, keep sane!

JACOB BERNSTEIN FINANCIAL SERVICES (FCA) COMPLIANCE

RICHDALE CONSULTANTS Dear Jacob I notice that some financial services firms are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and others are not. Should this influence my decision about using their services?

Laura Dear Laura When weighing up using a financial service provider,

11/02/2021 15:17:31

Since 2002 SweetTree has provided award winning care and support to people in their own homes and in the community

C all us for a free assessment or advice

Live-in & live-out home care Dementia - End-of-life care - Learning disabilities - Autism - Brain injuries Neurological conditions

020 7644 9554 www.sweettree.co.uk a key consideration is whether it is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Businesses can either be directly authorised, or may be authorised indirectly as an ‘appointed representative’ of another directly authorised firm, which is known as the principal firm or network, for example, our sister company, Richdale Brokers and Financial Services Ltd. There are various benefits to working with an authorised firm. These include the comfort you can take: 1. that the business has undergone a rigorous assessment of its operations by the FCA (or by their principal firm), prior to the business obtaining authorisation; 2. that the business must adhere to strict regula-

tory processes to ensure the services it provides are appropriate and provided in a manner that is fair, clear and not misleading; and 3. that should the business have fallen short in the quality of the service it provided, you are likely to be able to refer this to the Financial Ombudsman Service and potentially seek recourse from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Although a business that is not appropriately authorised may be committing a criminal offence if it provides you with a service that requires authorisation, it should also be noted that the specific requirements for FCA authorisation are complex, as they are specific to the activity being performed by the business.

36

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

Ask Our Experts / Professional advice from our panel

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

Email: editorial@jewishnews.co.uk PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SPECIALIST

BREAST, GROIN & HERNIA SURGEON

EMPLOYMENT LAW AND DATA PROTECTION

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.

SIMON MARSH Qualifications: • Consultant General Surgeon with specialist interest in dealing with both breast cancer and non-cancer breast conditions.

• Surgical Director of the Gilmore Groin and Hernia Clinic experienced in hernia surgery, including “non-mesh” hernia repair and Sportsman’s Hernia.

• Local anaesthetic surgery including lipomas, cysts and skin cancers.

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.

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

108 HARLEY STREET 0207 563 1234 www.108harleystreet.co.uk info@108harleystreet.co.uk

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

DIRECTOR OF LEGACIES

JEWELLER

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

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

Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

• •

JONATHAN WILLIAMS Qualifications: • Jewellery manufacturer since 1980s.

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

• Specialist in supply of diamonds to the public at trade prices.

KKL EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE COMPANY 020 8732 6101 www.kkl.org.uk enquiries@kkl.org.uk

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

•

Got a question for a member of our team?

Email: editorial@jewishnews.co.uk

Save money on transfers to and from Israel

COMMERCIAL LAWYER ADAM LOVATT Qualifications: • Lawyer with more than 11 years of experience working in the legal sector.

Specialist in corporate, commercial, media, sport and start-ups.

• Master’s degree in Intellectual Property Law from the University of London.

• Non-Executive Director of various companies advising on all governance matters.

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

CONSULTANT DERMATOLOGIST

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

DR LAURENCE LEVER Qualifications: • MBBS FRCP, private practice at 108 Harley Street The Skin Clinic.

• Consultant Dermatologist with a special interest in the management of malignant and pre-malignant conditions of the skin • Looks after all dermatological conditions, including dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, acne, moles, warts, cysts, skin tumours/cancer/oncology, dermatological surgery.

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.

108 HARLEY STREET SKIN CLINIC 0207 563 1234 www.108harleystreet.co.uk info@108harleystreet.co.uk

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

Whether you’re buying foreign property or moving money home, you can benefit from:

REMOVALS MANAGING DIRECTOR

Excellent exchange rates No transfer fees

Find out more +44 (0) 20 7847 9494 | currenciesdirect.com/jn

IS18526EN

Personal Support

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.

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

DANCING WITH LOUISE 020 3740 7900 www.dancingwithlouise.co.uk Info@dancingwithlouise.com

20 May 2021 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

37

Professional advice from our panel / Ask Our Experts

FINANCIAL SERVICES (FCA) COMPLIANCE

ACCOUNTANT

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.

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.

SHANTI PANCHANI Qualifications: • Experienced designer with 25+ years’ experience in German and English kitchens.

• We provide a full-circle approach: from designing and supplying to installing your new kitchen including appliances and speciality worktops.

• Our suppliers are flexible in design, ensuring the customer remains the priority.

• We have been supplying kosher-friendly kitchens for over 15 years.

RICHDALE CONSULTANTS LTD 020 7781 8019 www.richdale.co.uk jacob@richdale.co.uk

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

THE KITCHEN CONSULTANCY 07738 067 671 www.thekitchenconsultancy.com shanti@thekitchenconsultancy.com

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

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

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

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.

LEON SMITH Qualifications: • Career spent in running one of the country’s largest care homes for older people (Nightingale Hammerson) • Extensive experience in political lobbying on matters relating to older people • Experience in housing matters related to older people and current board member of JLiving

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

SWEETTREE HOME CARE SERVICES 020 7644 9522 www.sweettree.co.uk info@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

38

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Jewish News 20 May 2021

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

E

G D I R

“ I had a chat with my best friend from school.

DB E R Y IN VER AY! W E SD O R N U TH

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

Guess what, Shirley has remarried for the sixth time! ”

Thanks to JDA, everyone can have clean, working hearing aids and remain connected to their loved ones and the world around them at this difficult time.

To book an appointment: North London Email andrew@jdeaf.org.uk or call 020 8446 0214 Redbridge Email richard@jdeaf.org.uk or call 020 8551 7700

020 8446 0502 www.jdeaf.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1105845 Company Limited by Guarantee 4983830

20 May 2021 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

39

Fun, games and prizes

THE JEWISH NEWS CROSSWORD 1

2

3

4

5

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

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10 11 13 15 17 19 20 21

7 8

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ACROSS 1 Engine seal (6) 4 Spend (time) (4)

8 Debt reminder (inits) (3) 9 Bravery (7)

P D E N

1

G S R S Z E A Y X R O K A

6

D V E F B U R R O W M N B

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O N B H L E E W U U D Y D

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A E V A

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E Z D H B S E

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AQUARIUM AVIARY BARN BELFRY BURROW

BYRE COOP DEN HIVE HOLT

HUTCH KENNEL LAIR LODGE NEST

Last issue’s solutions Crossword ACROSS: 1 Dowry 4 Dense 7 Airmail 8 Cur 9 Flu 11 Seabed 14 Trilby 17 Rye 19 Rug 20 Warthog 22 Altar 23 Sever DOWN: 1 Dwarfs 2 War 3 Years 4 Delta 5 Nuclear 6 Ears 10 Upright 12 Ebb 13 Geiger 15 Lower 16 Yarns 18 Area 21 HGV

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PEN WARREN POND WEB SETT STABLE STY

2 5 3 1 8 7 4 6 9

6 7 9 4 3 5 1 8 2

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21 13

21

5

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5 8 7 3 2 6 9 4 1

4 2 1 5 7 9 6 3 8

9 3 4 7 5 8 2 1 6

6 3 4 9

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

21

13

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25

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Suguru 3 9 6 8 4 1 7 2 5

7

9 2 3 5 1 6 4 2 2 8 9 8 4 6 9 1 2 5 7

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 1 4 8 9 6 2 3 5 7

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E M H P O O C C T W O

7

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25

6

B D C A B X E N L U U B

2 6 7 3 8

In this finished crossword, every letter of the alphabet appears as a code number. All you have to do is crack the code and fill in the grid. Replacing the decoded numbers 5, 8 and 17 with their letters in the grid will help you to guess the identity of other letters.

The creatures’ homes 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.

I

9

CODEWORD

WORDSEARCH

E Y S G T F W K

Sing like a Tyrolean mountaineer (5) Card‑pack jack (5) Paint thinner (5) 33.33% (5) French word for ‘castle’ (7) Pipistrelle or mouse‑eared, eg (3) Measuring reel (4) Naff, kitschy (6)

DOWN 1 Grubby, filthy (5) 2 Quiver (7) 3 Do very well (5) 5 Turkish commander (3) 6 View, vista (5) 7 Dip (a biscuit) (4) 12 Obliging (7) 13 Unspoken but understood (5) 14 Irish ___, traditional dish (4) 15 One of the five senses (5) 16 Little song (5) 18 Computer software facility (3)

16

18

SUDOKU

7 6 5 2 1 3 8 9 4

8 1 2 6 9 4 5 7 3

1 5 2 1 2 4

2 4 3 4 3 1

5 1 2 1 5 2

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

Wordsearch 2 3 5 3 4 1

1 4 1 2 5 2

3 2 3 4 1 3

1 4 1 4 2 4

2 5 2 5 1 3

3 4 3 4 2 4

5 1 2 1 3 1

2 3 4 5 2 5

1 5 1 3 1 3

T A L E B U F F Y K S T C

A L L I N A V R N V X H W

T N R P G Y R Y O G U R T

O E A B E E M N O Z S A G

F N R N B Q Z I M T E R C

F Z O P A M D R R T E N B

E H S C D B W A P E Q Y Z

Codeword E A C U N Q W D K E K Y J

R I H S W B G N O L A H O

I H E X E X J A R L E C H

U F R R S Y P M D K V E H

F V R T O C I R P A I A A

V Y Y F R U I T P J L I G

S R I J OK E C L A E E V A D E D E G P R E CON O F R I GH T O U QUO T E D S E O Z E A L C D L K

C S OO WH M O A T T A O C E P T I U A E N I NG V S Y N T O U A R L I T L

P OM N C K H ON L Y I A X B L Y E

B N D Z J Y R C A L Q X V O F G W M T E U P S H K I20/05

40 Jewish News

20 May 2021

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Business Services Directory ANTIQUES 44

The Jewish News 22 September 2016

Stirling BUSINESS SERVICES DIRECTORY Antique – Reproduction – Retro Furniture Top prices paid (any condition)

Hille, G Plan, etc.

CarerEpstein, Archie Shine,Clothing

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

FURS WANTED Auxiliary Nurse Cash paid for Mink House clearances Available to support

WE BUY ANTIQUES VERY HIGH PRICES PAID. FREE HOME VISITS. All Antique Furniture Hille & Epstein Diamond Jewellery, Gold, Silver, Paintings, Porcelain, Glass, Bronzes, Ivories, Oriental & Judaica Antiques etc.

Full house clearances organised.

Please look at our website for more details

jackets, coats, you in your home. boleros, stoles, Single items to complete homes also fox coats, Days/nights. jackets etc.

MARYLEBONE rates.

ANTIQUES - 8 CHURCH STREET NW8 8ED Very reasonable Wardrobes cleared Call 0208 958 2939 614 744 (ANYTIME) Call 01277 352 560 or 0749507866 026 168

www.antiquesbuyers.co.uk

Computer

FOR APPOINTMENTS CALL SUE ON: 0800 840 2035 or 07956268290

0207 723 7415 (SHOP) closed Sunday & Monday

STUART SHUSTER - e-mail - info@maryleboneantiques.co.uk Man on a Bike will get MAKE SURE YOUfast!

CONTACT US BEFORE SELLING you working

OPEN 8am TO 9pm 7 DAYS. PORTOBELLO RD LONDON.

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

For small businesses & home users.

CHARITY & WELFARE

of Kensal Green

Antiques

Established over 60 years.

Know who you are dealing with.

All quality furniture bought & sold.

Best prices paid for complete house clearances china, books, WEincluding BUY ANTIQUES clothing etc. Also rubbish clearance VERY HIGH PRICES PAID. FREE HOME VISITS. service, lofts, sheds, etc All Antique Furniture Hillegarages & Epstein

Ep Dini D

Diamond Jewellery, Gold, Silver, Paintings, Porcelain, Please contact Gordon Stirling Glass, Bronzes, Ivories, Oriental & Judaica Antiques etc.

Full house clearances organised.

020 8960 5401 or 07825 224144

C

Please lookgordonstirling65@gmail.com at our website for more details Email:

www.antiquesbuyers.co.uk

FOR APPOINTMENTS CALL SUE ON:

HOUSE CLEARANCES 0800 840 2035 or 07956268290 OPEN 8am TO 9pm 7 DAYS.

Call Ian Green, Man on a Bike on

ARE YOU BEREAVED?

Anti

PORTOBELLO RD LONDON.

020 8731 6171 • www.manonabike.co.uk

S

MAKE

Charity & Welfare

Bereavement Counselling for adults and children individually. Support Groups available.

During the pandemic, we offer telephone and online counselling.

Contact Jewish Bereavement Counselling Service in confidence.

0208 951 3881 enquiries@jbcs.org.uk | www.jbcs.org.uk

Labels are for jars.

Refer yourself or a loved one

by YOU BEREAVED? ARE Not people. calling 020 8458 2223 or visit Counselling for adults & children who are www.jamiuk.org

experiencing loss. Support groups offered.

REGISTERED CHARITY NO. 1003345 Call The Jewish Bereavement Counselling Service in confidence

CHARITY & WELFARE

IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHICH WAY TO TURN, REMEMBER OUR HELPLINE. For confidential advice, information and support don’t forget Jewish Care Direct.

020 8922 2222 jcdirect@jcare.org

jewishcare.org/helpline

020 8951 3881 • 07765 693 160 HOUSE CLEARANCE E: enquiries@jbcs.org.uk

We hav warden a in Eal warden

For furth West

Charity Reg No. 802559

PLUMBSAFE (UK) LTD “Better Safe Than Sorry”

For all your heating and plumbing requirements

Fast & Efficient House Clearance

| boiler repairs and installation | complete central heating | | power flushing | complete bathroom installation service | | landlords certificates | project management | home purchase reports |

All NW-London postcodes covered

We are reliable, cover all neighbourhoods & suit all budgets.

We also buy good quality furniture, old books & Judaica.

Give support • Get support • Get involved

Call: 078 060 79299

020 8458 2223 | info@jamiuk.org www.jamiuk.org

07860 881505 or 0800 610 12 12 Not shabbat

PLUMBSAFEUK.COM

CHARITY & WELFARE

We have an open waiting list in our friendly and comfortable warden assisted sheltered housing schemes in Ealing, East Finchley and Hendon. We provide 24-hour warden support, seven days a week; a residents’ lounge and kitchen, laundry, a sunny patio and garden.

For further details and application forms, please contact Westlon Housing Association on 020 8201 8484 or email: johnsilverman@btconnect.com

Contact: Anthony – 07850 590415

w

Reg Charity No. 1003345

HOME & MAINTENANCE

Sheltered Accommodation

MOTOR VEHICLES PURCHASED CLASSIC OR CARS for vehicles over 10 years old preferably with low mileage

A Wi

#jamithinkahead

Home & Maintenance

WESTLON HOUSING ASSOCIATION

AUTOMOTIVE

Jami supports and represents people with mental illness across the Jewish community.

PEST CONTROL

L

K

PLUMBSAFE (UK) LTD

No further, your

LOCAL PLUMBERS

Hall & Randall Plumbers

CENTRAL HEATING, PLUMBING REPAIRS & ADVISORY SERVICE EMERGENCY REPAIRS, BLOCKED PIPES DRAINAGE GUTTERING, ROOFING, CENTRAL HEATING AND BOILERS 12 MONTHS GUARANTEE, 40 YEARS EXPERIENCE

Home & Maintenance

Including mice treatment and mouse proofing with 1 year guarantee.

0203 405 5000 Email: info@inoculand.co.uk Web www.inoculand.co.uk

| boiler repairs and installation | complete central heating | | power flushing | complete bathroom installation service | | landlords certificates | project management | home purchase reports |

All NW-London postcodes covered

!

Not shabbat

office@hallandrandall.com

PLUMBSAFEUK.COM

STONEMASON

SAFE AND DISCREET PROFESSIONAL PEST CONTROL We cover all aspects of pest control for residential and commercial properties.

For all your heating and plumbing requirements

07860 881505 or 0800 610 12 12

020 8953 2094 office 020 8207 3286 home 020 8386 8798 hallandrandallplumbers.com

“Better Safe Than Sorry”

PROFESSIONAL PAINTING, DECORATING & PAPER HANGING

Over 20 years experience Friendly, reliable & service. personal The specialist masons in creating bespoke Granite and Marble Memorials for all Cemeteries. competitive rates Very Clayhall Showroom 14 Claybury Broadway Ilford. IG5 0LQ T: 0208 551 6866

Edgware Showroom 41 Manor Park Crescent Edgware. HA8 7LY T: 0208 381 1525

STEPHEN: 07973 342 422 srindsmc@hotmail.com

Email : info@garygreenmemorials.co.uk

www.garygreenmemorials.co.uk

Gary Green ad 84 x 40mm JM Group v2.indd 1

18/03/2019 12:50:51

City and A. ELFES LTDGuilds Elect

All types of electrical work un

New memorials Rewiring, extrainscriptions sockets, BT points, Economy 7 Additional storage heaters, Shabbat time switches, securi & renovations LED spotlights, fault finding, CCTVportable ap landlord tests and house buyer’s surveys.

Gants Hill Edgware

12 Beehive Lane 130 High Street For Hill, anIG1 efficient reliable and friendly Gants 3RD Edgware, HA8 7EL Call Harvey Solomons on Telephone Telephone

0207 754 4646 0207 4659 020 754 8958 6495 / 07836 648 554

www.memorialgroup.co.uk

20 May 2021 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

41

Business Services Directory SILVER

ANTIQUES

ANTIQUE JUDAICA & HEBRAICA Books, Manuscripts, Ephemera, Works of Art and Silver

ADVERTISE IN THE UK’S BIGGEST JEWISH NEWSPAPER FOR LESS THAN

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JCL Antiques Ltd. 07791 798492 joseph.landau@yahoo.co.uk

£24 A WEEK

CLEANING

Professional standard with elegant finishing.

End of tenancy, deep cleaning, post renovation cleaning services. We create a clean environment with our clean projects.

Email Sales today at sales@jewishnews.co.uk

Call us on 07907 017869 or email us via our website, www.cleanthecity.co.uk, to discuss your specific requirements – we are happy to provide a free quote.

OFFICE FURNITURE

LEGACY- LEAVE A GIFT IN YOUR MEMORY

JEWISH WAR VETERANS

Leave the legacy of independence to people like Joel.

& THEIR DEPENDANTS NEED

YOUR LEGACY

PLease remember us in your wiLL.

eNABLeD

Tel: 020 8202 2323 Web: www.ajex.org.uk Email: headoffice@ajex.org.uk

visit www.Jbd.org

Registered Charity

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

Registered Charity No: 1082148

Need to furnish your home or office?

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Free assembly and delivery next working day on most items – call now!

HELP US CONTINUE TO BE THERE FOR OUR COMMUNITY WITH A GIFT IN YOUR WILL. Call Alison on 020 8922 2833 for more information or email legacyteam@jcare.org Chancellors House, Brampton Lane, London, NW4 4AB Tel: 020 8903 8746 | Fax: 020 8795 2240 www.bfiwd.org | email: info@bfiwd.org

Charity Reg No. 802559

legacy@cst.org.uk ► www.cst.org.uk ► 0208 457 3700 ►

Together

we protect our children’s future Please include CST in your will

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COMPUTER Legacy advert 84x40.indd 1

Call 0800 559 3917 Email sales@andrewsofficefurniture.com www.andrewsofficefurniture.com

16/04/2021 10:55

ADVERTISE IN THE UK’S BIGGEST JEWISH NEWSPAPER FOR LESS THAN

ADVERTISE IN THE UK’S BIGGEST JEWISH NEWSPAPER FOR LESS THAN

Email Sales today at sales@jewishnews.co.uk

Email Sales today at sales@jewishnews.co.uk

£24 A WEEK

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D

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Jewish News 20 May 2021

Supporting Students with:

sity Univer Jewish incy Chapla

Mental Health issues AntiSemitism

Exams JEWISH CONTINUITY

a home away from home

174 874.5 10,

PASTORAL HOURS

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ISSUES RESOLVED

7754 MEALS

000

BOWLS OF CHICKEN SOUP

8212 EVENTS

Please donate at charityextra.com/chaplaincy Chaplaincy is the operating name of University Jewish Chaplaincy. A company limited by guarantee. Registered Charity No. 1126031

“

STUDENT YEARS ARE AMONG THE MOST CHALLENGING FOR YOUNG JEWS. IT’S OFTEN THE FIRST TIME THEY’RE AWAY FROM HOME MEETING PEOPLE AND IDEAS THAT ARE UNFAMILIAR. IT’S UNNERVING, IT’S CHALLENGING, IT’S THREATENING, ESPECIALLY TODAY WITH THE AMOUNT OF ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVITY ON CAMPUS .

”

RABBI LORD JONATHAN SACKS ‫זצ‘‘ל‬