1241 by Jewish News

Mind bending! Cirque du Soleil’s Shelli Epstein on what it’s like to take ﬂight

Honouring Lira’s legacy Tributes to an iconic educator

VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY 16 December 2021

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12 Tevet 5782

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Issue No.1241

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@JewishNewsUK

Page 23

Pages 6 & 18

Chief ’s booster for UK Jews ‘Unprecedented’ project launched today to get community on its feet JEWISH NEWS EXCLUSIVE by Jenni Frazer @Jennifrazer

The Chief Rabbi today unveils an “unprecedented” campaign to get the community back up and running post-Covid. Launching Project Welcome exclusively in the Jewish News, Ephraim Mirvis reveals his plan, in partnership with the United Synagogue. It consists of four goals to build back better. They are: specialised help for shul leadership teams to go through a strategic thinking process, to develop a vision, mission and goals for the community; a series of videos and webinars on strategy, engaging particular demographic groups, and programming; programme ideas and ‘how-to’ guides; and a special pot of funding from the Chief Rabbi’s Centre for Community Excellence and United Synagogue to help communities to achieve these goals. Project Welcome, said Mirvis, “has the potential to change the very fabric of our community life for-

ever for the better”. The campaign, which is aimed at existing US communities, has been designed as a result of what has happened during the pandemic. It is both a financial and intellectual response, with the intention of bringing people back to their communities, and attracting new members. The brainstorming which led to Project Welcome took place as part of a comprehensive search for how best to respond to the challenges of the coronavirus. As the Chief Rabbi observes: “Synagogue has always been the hub of communal activity. How would we cope without it?” And although he praises the “tireless, dedicated work of our rabbis, rebbetzins and lay leaders”, during the first wave of the virus, he says that “this era of profound change for our society presents an invaluable opportunity for our communities to change as well. It will simply not be good enough for us to return to do what we have always done.” Chief Rabbi Mirvis adds: “At this historic watershed moment, no effort should be spared to draw all of our Continued on page 6

BBC BUSTED Hundreds of people took part this week in a protest at the BBC against the broadcaster’s coverage of an antisemitic attack on a busload of Jewish youngsters. Full story on page 3.

BDS MOVEMENT HAS BEEN ‘BEATEN BACK’ IN BRITAIN Former minister Robert Jenrick this week claimed the Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment (BDS) movement has been “beaten back” now that “no political party” supports it in Britain, writes Lee Harpin. In remarks made during a panel discussion on relations between the UK, Israel and Australia, the MP and

former communities secretary said he was “confident” legislation would be introduced in the Queen’s Speech next spring proposing outlawing BDS. Speaking in a panel entitled ‘Why Do So Many People Hate Jews?’ – moderated by the UK’s former minister for immigration Joan Ryan and Australian journalist Alan Howe

– Jenrick said: “I do think BDS is being beaten back here… there is no political party in the UK that would support BDS today and it’s becoming much more of a fringe activity. “ He then suggested the government would attempt to honour a pledge made during the 2019 election manifesto on BDS. “What we want

to do is pass legislation here, and I’m confident it will be in the next legislative programme which will outlaw BDS in the UK.” Other speakers at the event included former Australian Labour Party MPs Mary Easson and Michael Danby, economist Henry Ergas, and Israeli MK Avi Dichter.

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Jewish News 16 December 2021

News / UAE talks / Iran warning / Beijing Olympics

Bennett crowns historic first UAE visit by meeting prince by Michael Daventry mike@jewishnews.co.uk @michaeldaventry

Naftali Bennett said he was returning home “very optimistic” after a two-day trip to the United Arab Emirates, the first official visit by an Israeli prime minister. He met the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan – the Emirates’ de facto ruler – for four hours of talks on Monday. Aides said more than half of the meeting was in one-to-one talks between the leaders. He also discussed the possibility of cooperation between the two countries in technology, trade and energy, especially projects in the field of renewable energy with the Emirati industry minister, Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber. Bennett also held talks with culture minister Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi on how the countries could work together in sport and on joint film and television productions. Israel and the UAE normalised relations last year as part of the Abraham Accords that saw Israel form ties with Arab countries including Bahrain and Morocco. Both nations have

Great shakes: Naftali Bennett meets with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

expressed concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme amid ongoing talks in Vienna between Tehran and representatives of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The deal signed in 2015 – formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – suffered a blow when former US president Donald Trump withdrew from it. Talks have restarted

under Joe Biden despite Israeli opposition, but optimism that a deal could be struck was receding this week after Britain, France and Germany warned Iran was violating its existing commitments under the JCPOA. Bennett said his contacts in the UAE, which covered not just the Iran nuclear programme but Israeli-Emirati economic ties, had been “meaningful, in-depth and straightforward”. “I’m flying back to Israel very optimistic that this relationship can set an example of how we can make peace in the Middle East,” he said. The Israeli prime minister earlier told the Emirates News Agency: “This is the new reality this region is witnessing, and we are working together to ensure a better future for our children. I expect that our relations will remain good, especially in the economic field. In my opinion, cooperation in the field of health and food security will constitute a major part of the mutual cooperation.” The crown prince is also understood to have accepted an invitation to visit Israel, although a date has not been agreed.

See our report on Bennett’s trip at jewishnews.co.uk

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Foreign secretary Liz Truss has said Iran has a “last chance” to strike a deal over its nuclear programme amid claims Israel and America are ready to launch attacks. She said: “This is really the last chance for Iran to sign up and I strongly urge them to do that because we are determined to work with our allies to prevent Iran securing nuclear weapons. “So they do need to sign up to the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] agreement. It’s in their interests to do so.” Her speech to the Chatham House think tank came as Benny Gantz, Israel’s defence

Liz Truss: ‘I urge Iran to sign’

minister, held talks in Washington with White House advisers. Reuters claims one option discussed was a simulated bombing raid to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme. Truss added: “We will also work night and day to prevent the Iranian regime from ever getting a nuclear weapon.” She also spoke of her “partnership” with Israel, saying:

“In my 12 weeks as foreign secretary, we’ve already secured partnership agreements with seven countries, from Greece to Israel to Malaysia.” Truss also outlined her belief in a network of democratic nations who believed in liberty. “Hostile forces are using disinformation to undermine truth. Extremists are perpetuating malign ideologies through social media. Autocratic regimes are using this maelstrom of militancy, mistrust and misinformation to gain the upper hand.” Talks to persuade Iran to return to the 2015 deal limiting is nuclear programme are under way in Vienna.

ISRAEL OPTS OUT OF BOYCOTT

Israeli officials are expected to attend the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing next year, unlike their British and American counterparts who will boycott in protest against China’s abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority. The boycott applies only to diplomatic officials and does not impact the American athletes who will compete in the games. Australia has also said it would boycott the Games because of to China’s human rights abuses. Despite close ties to the United States, Israel has grown closer to China in recent years because of trade ties between the countries. In October, Israel chose not to sign a United Nations statement expressing concern about welfare of the Uyghurs, who have been forced

into ‘re-education camps’, which some have likened to concentration camps. The statement was signed by 43 countries, including the United States, the UK, Germany and Australia. At the time, an Israeli diplomatic official told The Times of Israel that the government had “other interests that it has to balance” in its relationship with China. Concern about China’s treatment of the Uyghur minority have been growing among Jews for years. Activists in the United States have tried to mobilise the Jewish community behind the Uyghurs’ cause as in the case of the genocide in Darfur in the early 2000s, while British Jews have led the fight in the UK against abuses against the Uyghurs.

16 December 2021 Jewish News

www.jewishnews.co.uk

BBC protest / MP apology / Labour hopefuls / News

BBC doubles down on bus claim: ‘Anti-Muslim abuse WAS heard’ by Richard Ferrer richard@jewishnews.co.uk @richferrer

The BBC complained this week that its coverage of an attack on a busload of Jewish youngsters on Oxford Street has been “misrepresented” and revealed it “consulted Hebrew speakers” in determining an anti-Muslim slur was spoken in English as the bus was attacked. Jewish News can also reveal that Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has written privately to Tim Davie, director-general of the BBC, to express his concerns. The broadcaster’s reporting of the sickening assault on a group of Charedim celebrating Chanukah sparked unbridled anger across the Jewish community and beyond, with the BBC report blaming victims for “a slur about Muslims” while describing the shouting, spitting and Nazi salutes from outside the bus as “alleged” antisemitism. In the audio someone is heard saying in apparent Hebrew: “Tikra lemishehu, ze dachuf” – “Call someone, it’s urgent”. It is understood that the BBC took this to be someone shouting in English: “Dirty Muslims”. Former BBC chairman Lord (Michael) Grade has urged the corporation to prove its claim or apologise. Writing to Jewish News on Monday, BBC nations director Rhodri Talfan Davies said: “We have been cautious in our response because of the ongoing police investigation but we want to address the accusation the BBC has acted unfairly.

recording. Our report reflected this.” He adds: “It has been claimed what we considered to be an abusive term in English was in fact someone speaking in Hebrew. We have consulted a number of Hebrew speakers in determining that the slur was spoken in English. “The brief reference to the slur was included to ensure the fullest account of the incident. The idea it was included to ‘balance’ our coverage is simply untrue. Nor was it included to diminish the trauma suffered by those on the bus or justify the actions of those shouting abuse. We have never repeated the words of the slur, as has been suggested.” Jewish News understands conversations between the corporation and Chief Rabbi’s office have been ongoing since last week, specifically in regard to an adequate explanation for the anti-Muslim racial Call police on 101 or tweet slur claim. @MetCC quoting 6184/29Nov. On Monday Alternatively, call the Charing Cross evening around 250 Hate Crime Unit on 07900 608 252 people attended a Camor email AWMailboxpaign Against AntisemHateCrimeUnit@met. itism protest outside the police.uk BBC’s Broadcasting House building in central London.  Letters, page 18

Can you help catch these yobs?

Fiyaz Mughal from Faith Matters spoke at the protest

“Our story was a factual report that overwhelmingly focused on the individuals the police want to identify. In the eighth paragraph, there was a reference to a slur, captured in a video recording, that appeared to come from the bus. “The slur was expressed in English and can be heard in the

Conservative MP sorry for vaccine passport ‘Nazi’ slur The Conservative MP Marcus Fysh has apol- clubs. Parliament voted yesterday to approve ogised for telling BBC Radio 5 Live that he the measures. Asked about the proposals in a radio would “vote against vaccine passports” as interview, the MP for Yeovil said: the UK is not “Nazi Germany”, writes “We live in a free society in this Lee Harpin. country” where “people have Board of Deputies President the freedom to do what they Marie van der Zyl described the want with their own bodies and remarks made during an interfreedom of association”. view on Monday as “completely He added that the concept of unacceptable.” vaccine passports would be “segDame Margaret Hodge, the regating society based on an unacLabour MP, added: “When will we ceptable thing”. ever learn? Let’s hope 2022 is the The pro-Brexit MP conyear when we stop making flipMP Marcus Fysh tinued by saying: “We are not a pant comparisons to the Nazis.” The prime minister announced last week ‘Papers, please’ society”. He then added: “This that Covid passes – showing either proof of is not Nazi Germany –it’s the thin end of an vaccination or a negative test – will be required authoritarian wedge.” He apologised the folfor entry for some venues including night- lowing day.

ROSE AND VELLEMAN STAND Two young Jewish activists have been selected to stand as Labour candidates in the newly created Whetstone ward at next May’s Barnet Council election. Ella Rose and Liron Velleman were confirmed as candidates after a local Barnet Labour selection meeting took place on Monday evening. Former Union of Jewish Students president Rose previously won plaudits for her

spell as Jewish Labour Movement director at the height of the antisemitism crisis under Jeremy Corbyn. She said she was “honoured” to be selected to stand in Whetstone, with the Labour leadership targeting Barnet as a council it wants to take from the Conservatives in elections taking place across the UK. Velleman is the current JLM policy officer and after his selection was confirmed

he tweeted: “Can’t wait to campaign alongside Ella Rose. Two young Jewish candidates ready to win the ward.” Barnet has been Conservative-controlled since 1964, except for a couple of brief spells in which no one party had a majority. Dan Thomas, leader of the council, told Jewish News last week that he believed Barnet Labour was still “rife” with antisemites.

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Jewish News 16 December 2021

News / Online Safety

Tighter rules against online hate by Lee Harpin lee@jewishnews.co.uk @lmharpin

Social media companies such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram must design their systems to identify, limit the spread of, and remove antisemitic material quickly after it is reported, a report by a parliamentary committee has recommended. The report recommended tech companies designate a senior manager as their “safety controller” who would be personally liable if they fail to comply with the new law, potentially leading to a prison term “at the end of an exhaustive legal process”. Online services should also take steps to prevent abuse by disposable anonymous accounts and should be required to ensure there are governance processes in place to ensure proper requests from law enforcement are responded to quickly, the group of MPs and peers have warned. The committee said being able to post without revealing your identity was “crucial to online safety for marginalised groups, for whistle-blowers, and for victims of domestic abuse and other forms of offline violence”.

rently be covered,” the report continues. “Platforms will have a duty to design their systems to identify, limit the spread of, and remove racist abuse quickly following a user report. “The joint committee call for Ofcom to produce a code of practice on system and platform design against which platforms will be held responsible for the way in which such material is recommended and amplified. Addressing racist online abuse linked to football supporters the report says that where possible “service providers should also share information about known offenders with the football authorities so that they can consider whether offences have been committed that would require further penalties, like the imposition of stadium banning orders. Giving evidence to the committee, former England star Rio Ferdinand had said:”Social media platforms became the toxic and racist safe place… [for people to] continually abuse our England players knowing that they are safe to be able to stay anonymous.”

“Anonymity and pseudo-anonymity themselves are not the problem and ending them would not be a proportionate response,” it added. But it recommended that more be done so that traceability was available for law enforcement investigating these accounts. The findings are made in a report published on Tuesday by the Joint Committee on the Draft Online Bill, which calls for “major changes” to proposed government legislation. “No one should be abused for their religious faith or identity and tech companies must take steps to prevent the spread of such material and remove it from their platforms,” states the report. It also recommends that social media firms should be required to address the risks that algorithmic recommendation tools and hashtags may amplify antisemitic abuse or religious hatred. “Our recommendations ensure that in addition to encompassing abuse, harassment, and threats on the grounds of race against individuals, online services will also have to address hate crimes such as stirring up racial hatred that may not cur-

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“The 200page report includes what the joint committee said were “moving testimonies about the impact that religious hatred and antisemitism online has on individuals, families and communities.” Danny Stone, director the Antisemitism Policy Trust, who gave evidence to the committee, told Jewish News:”I don’t think I am overstating the case by suggesting that this is a moment in history, and what begins with this Bill will mark a shift in

with being the land of the lawless. A lack of regulation online has left too many people vulnerable to abuse, fraud, violence and in some cases even loss of life. “The committee has set out recommendations to bring more offences clearly within the scope of the Online Safety Bill, give Ofcom the power in law to set minimum safety standards for the services they will regulate, and to take enforcement action against companies if they don’t comply.” Labour’s new shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell also welcomed the report’s recommendations.

Report: Half a million antiJewish tweets sent a year

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approach for the generations that come after us. The Bill must be strong, and well crafted.” Damian Collins, Conservative chairman of the joint committee, said: “For too long, big tech has gotten away

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Almost half a million explicitly antisemitic tweets are sent a year – representing two for every Jewish person in the UK – a report reveals, writes Lee Harpin. After 18 months of research, the data estimates that up to 1,350 such tweets are sent every day, representing 495,000 a year. The figures were revealed in a study released by the Woolf Institute, presented in a report by the Community Security Trust and Antisemitism Policy Trust. Examples of the antisemitic social media posts include messages about Hitler and the Holocaust, tropes about Jewish owners of football clubs and comparisons of the Shoah to Covid vaccines. This comes as the government considers the Online Safety Bill. Danny Stone, chief executive at the Antisemitism Policy Trust, criticised the UK’’s approach, saying: “Policies to deal with online abuse aren’t worth the paper they’re written on if companies cannot effectively enforce them. “This new report makes it crystal clear that Twitter’s systems for discovering and acting against anti-Jewish racism still aren’t good enough. As the government considers new internet safety laws, I hope this report will weigh heavily on ministers’ minds.” Dave Rich, director of policy at the Community Security Trust, said: “It has long been known that social media is the engine of modern antisemitism, and it increasingly features in the antisemitic incidents that are reported to CST. “This new research not only demonstrates how widespread this is, but shows exactly how the social media companies are failing to control the problem of anti-Jewish hatred on their

Twitter hosts grossly offensive posts

platforms.” The report, commissioned by CST and APT based on data from the Woolf Institute, is the third instalment of a project exploring anti-Jewish hatred on social media. The previous documents looked at Google and Instagram, and found that Google’s publicfacing Safesearch facility has no impact on the amount of antisemitic content, while antisemitism was found to be extensive on Instagram, owing to “chaotic” trolling, conspiracy theories and anti-Israel attitudes. Dr Julian Hargreaves, who led the research project, said: “This series identifies and underlines that antisemitism persists on major social media platforms, and that either the tools for addressing it are not fit-for-purpose, or the public policies professed by the world’s leading social media giants are at best, poorly enforced and at worst, are completely ineffectual... “If antisemitism online and within our societies is to be effectively tackled and reduced, we will need platforms, in this instance acting as agents of harm, to better understand and to act upon what the evidence is clearly telling them.”

16 December 2021 Jewish News

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Online Safety / News

Outstanding work to make sure Bill protects everyone BY DANNY STONE CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ANTISEMITISM POLICY TRUST This article will appear on the internet. Jewish News may well post it on social media. On a bad day, anonymous individuals will jump on the message, signposting others and the resultant hate will span pages. Jewish News, you, or I, would need to go through and report the abuse, and if change came it would be likely to take a long time. The UK government’s draft Online Safety Bill seeks to redress the balance, putting the onus on platforms and their systems, rather than users. The Bill is complex, covering different types of service and applying different duties on the platforms to protect people. It is for this reason, and others, that the draft Bill was tabled for scrutiny by a joint committee of parliament (constituting members from both Houses of Commons and Lords) which has probed, digested and now published a nearly 200-page report with recommendations to improve the Bill.

The report has already been welcomed by numerous civil society groups, and though I have only read it the once so far, I can say that the committee has done an outstanding job of listening and considering the issues, and that its members and chair, Damian Collins MP, should be congratulated. The Pre-Legislative Scrutiny Committee (PLS) report is detailed and thorough. It describes the journey to this point, passing policy papers and rounds of consultation on the way. It also sets the context for action, with descriptions of the harms occurring throughout the digital world. The summary, and first conclusion, is that self-regulation has failed, and that government must act. Discussion of how government should act forms the substance of the report. The committee believes that the Bill should start, and have at its core, objectives for online safety. It does not believe that the current objectives are clear or strong enough. If well designed, from these objectives, everything else would flow – the direction of travel for the regulator, Ofcom, public expectations – both in relation to combating harms and protecting freedoms, and certainty for the companies as regards what they must do.

A campaign against Twitter’s inaction

In simple terms, the committee thinks that the Bill should set Ofcom’s agenda, the regulator will then write guides for social media companies and others to follow, and the companies will be required to act, and then judged on their compliance. The centrepiece of this compliance will be assessing for risk, and the focus of the assessment is on systems. The whole Bill, and indeed legislation across the world, is moving from a focus on content, to a focus on the systems that deliver that content.

The committee’s report seeks to underline this approach, using the example that systems which help a joke to go viral can also allow vaccine conspiracism, or indeed antisemitism, to do so too. The committee therefore recommends that companies be compelled to address the risk of ‘reasonably foreseeable harms’ occurring through the systems they operate. Action to deal with antisemitism is apparent in various elements of the draft Bill, and in the committee’s report on it. Significant thought has been put into the area of addressing ‘legal but harmful’ content. For example, Holocaust denial is not technically illegal, but it has been prosecuted under offences linked to stirring up racial hatred and grossly offensive communications. We know it is harmful. The committee here has tried to ensure that more content can be clearly determined as illegal, through the adoption of recommendations by the Law Commission to our communications and hate crime offences, but also to come to a more societal view of legal harms, leaning on the Equality Act and hate crime laws to guide that understanding.

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Jewish News 16 December 2021

News / Lady Winston / Sponsors quit / Project Welcome

Tributes to educator Lira Winston Heartfelt tributes were paid this week to one of the “brightest lights of Anglo-Jewry”, Lira Winston, who died suddenly last Thursday, aged 72, writes Jack Mendel. Lady Winston dedicated her life to Jewish education, culminating in a Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Rabbi Lord Sacks at the Jewish Schools Awards in 2020. Lira, wife of academic and peer Robert Winston, started her career as a history researcher before moving in to the Jewish community in 1991 as director of the Sinclair Charitable Trust and for Jewish Continuity. From 2000 she ran the UJIA Ashdown Fellowship, a leadership programme for education professionals, and in 2008 became project manager of the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) report The Future of Jewish Schools. She worked at PaJes, Partnerships for Jewish Schools, in 2012 as assistant director, supporting Jewish education, and was recognised in 2020 for 25 years of service at the awards, held by Jewish News and the Partnerships for Jewish Schools. Her award was presented by former One Direction star Harry Styles, with the late rabbi Lord Sacks saying it was “a privilege to present Lady Lira Winston with the Lifetime Achievement Award”. Lord Sacks added: “Lira has dedicated her life to Jewish education in the UK and our community owes her an enormous debt of gratitude for everything she has done”.

We are deeply saddened… and our thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones. May her memory be blessed.” Henry Grunwald QC, chair of the Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust, said Winston was a woman of “immense intellect, compassion and talent”, adding: “Her role in furthering Jewish education in Britain and beyond cannot be underestimated.” Lord and lady Winston married in 1973 and have three children, Joel, Tanya and Ben Winston, who is a TV producer in the US.  Editorial comment, page 17

Lira receives her achievement for Rabbi Sacks at last year’s Jewish News awards

PaJeS said: “It is hard to describe the role she played in our lives driven by her love for Jewish education and determination to ensure the best for us all. She was a caring and trusted friend and through her wisdom and love for Jewish education she has been the driving force behind PaJeS since its inception.” “It is so poignant that the [Lifetime

Achievement] Award was presented by Rabbi Sacks z”l, in such a short time we have lost two of the brightest lights of Anglo-Jewry. She will be greatly missed by us all and our thoughts are with her husband, children and grandchildren at this time.” The JLC said she was “a dear colleague and mentor to so many of us.

Lord Robert and Lady Lira Winston

Theatre backers pull out

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Two law firms have withdrawn condemn in the strongest possible funding from the Royal Court terms any and all forms of racism Theatre in the fallout from a and discrimination, including new play that named a billionantisemitism, and in light of the aire villain character as Herrecent events, we were unable to shel Fink. continue our sponsorship.” Weil, Kirkland & Ellis and Weil, Gotshal & Manges issued a simGotshal & Manges confirmed ilar statement. they will no longer be sponsors. After critics pointed out the antiThe Royal Court was forced semitic connotations of the name, to apologise last month and The character formerly the Royal Court initially said the change the name of the char- known as Hershel Fink character was not actually Jewish. acter following a backlash over Author David Baddiel wrote “perpetuating an antisemitic stereotype”. on Twitter: “Apparently @royalcourt claim Theatre chiefs agreed to change Hershel Fink, they didn’t realise ‘Hershel Fink’ was a Jewish a non-Jewish part in Rare Earth Mettle by Al name. Hmm. Somehow it just sounded so Smith, to Henry Finn. right for a world-conquering billionaire.” On Thursday BBC London News aired proThe theatre then admitted that the naming motional footage of the character – and con- was an example of “unconscious bias” and firmed reports that Jewish staff had warned changed it, apologising “unreservedly.” the theatre about the character’s name. A review of the play for the i newspaper Confirming its decision to pull funding was headlined: “A bloated three hours of incofrom the theatre, Kirkland & Ellis said: “We herence.”

CHIEF POST-PANDEMIC PLAN Continued from page 1 trusted ‘regulars’ back to synagogue, and to engage meaningfully with those who have not previously made a habit of crossing the threshold. “In addition, the pandemic has highlighted for us that communities are primarily about people and not buildings, crucial though they are, and we must continue to build and sustain communal vitality well beyond any communal edifice.” Rabbi Mirvis adds: “There are so many who are thirsting for a deeper connection with their Judaism. Now is the moment to provide it.”

Michael Goldstein, president of the United Synagogue, said the project “does exactly what it says on the tin”. He added: “We must reach out and welcome back members who have not yet felt comfortable to return to synagogue due to the pandemic. In partnership with the Chief Rabbi and his office, Project Welcome will provide support and resources to help each community to seize this opportunity. I can’t wait to get started.”  Opinion, page 20

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16 December 2021 Jewish News

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Jewish News 16 December 2021

News / UJS present / Platforming non-Zionists

Rosen ‘humbled’ to be first openly LGBT+ UJS president Joel Rosen, a third-year student at Cambridge University, was this week voted president-elect of the Union of Jewish Students, writes Lee Harpin. The former Hasmonean pupil secured 59.7 percent of votes in the first round of Sunday elections – a victory margin far greater than in other recent UJS elections. As the first round results were counted at UJS conference it emerged that Rosen had secured 547 votes, Joel Azulay 300 and Daniel Burns 56 – a majority large enough to ensure there was no need for a second round. Rosen, a member of Ner synagogue in Hendon, will be president for the 2022-23 academic year. City of London sixthform attendee Rosen had run on a campaign to both unify and defend Jewish students. He also called for improvements to systems to tackle antisemitism and for a more pluralistic approach to religious observance within Jewish societies. He told Jewish News: “I’m delighted to have been elected to

represent a bold, ambitious generation of Jewish students. I’ll bring fresh ideas and a great deal of energy to the role. “I’m humbled to have been the first openly LGBT+ president elected – it’s a sign of how far the community has come. I hope it encourages more people to put themselves forwards in the future.” Among those to congratulate Rosen was the former deputy leader of the Labour party Tom Watson,who wrote“mazal tov” on Twitter. Former UJS president, Ella Rose, said Rosen’s victory “made her proud to see an openly LGBT+ president”. The Jewish Labour Movement’s Adam Langleben said Rosen’s victory served as an example of young Jewish leaders “battle-hardened” by the experience of fighting antisemitism within the Labour party. Rosen’s partner Jack Lubner wrote that he “couldn’t give a bigger mazeltov” to the new president-elect. Lubner – like

Joel Rosen: ‘I’ll bring fresh ideas and a great deal of energy’

Rosen, an active member of the JLM – joked: “My role as First Lady of UJS starts soon!” In June, Rosen confronted Jeremy Corbyn at a Cambridge Union debate on the former leader’s record on antisemitism.

Members vote narrowly to ensure platforming of non-Zionist Jews Union of Jewish Students members have voted to “ensure representations on panels and events” for “40 percent of Jews who do not identify as Zionist”, writes Lee Harpin. The motion at the organisation’s annual conference on Sunday, proposed by Warwick University JSoc

president Toby Kunin, called for Jewish organisations to welcome students not identifying as Zionist. The UJS For ALL Jewish Students motion is understood to have passed by a handful of votes. Kunin, Noam UK’s Board of Deputies representative, told Jewish News afterwards: “I

hope other communal organisations will follow suit in explicitly opening their doors to the significant number of Jews who have often felt excluded from communal spaces.” He pointed to a paper by City University’s sociology department on attitudes of British Jews for his claim

that 40 percent do not identify as Zionist; research by the JPR puts the figure at 70-30 in favour of Zionism. Kunin insisted this estimate was not the central point of the motion, with the overall aim to make “all welcome” in communal organisations. Jewish News understands that a

bloc, described by those in it as “soft left”, outnumbered support for more traditional student political groupings under the wing of organisations such as Stand By Us. UJS said: “Israel engagement remains and will continue to be one of UJS’ four core values.”

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16 December 2021 Jewish News

Health warning / Journalist mourned / News briefs / News Mike Karp named new chair of AJR

The Association of Jewish Refugees has announced its new chair as Mike Karp, son of a Holocaust survivor and a Kindertransport refugee. He takes over from Andrew Kaufman, who was awarded an MBE in 2018 for services to Holocaust education after 25 years at the helm of the organisation. Karp is a retired partner of the accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers, and trustee of the Holocaust Educational Trust.

Albright receives top interfaith award

Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, 84, has been given a Council of Christian and Jews interfaith award. Born in Czechoslovakia to Jewish parents, they fled the Nazis in 1939 when she was a toddler to come to Britain. She received the 2021 Bridge Award at a Zoom ceremony at South Hampstead Synagogue in honour of her work promoting relations between the two faiths.

Orthodox obesity fears dren, and both lower incomes and dietary Teams from two leading universities — ignorance cause a less than ideal nutritional Leeds in the UK and Israel’s Bar-Ilan food intake. — have carried out an unusual study of Problems were observed in yeshivot, strictly-Orthodox communities and their where one educator noted: “The nutritional dietary routines, writes Jenni Frazer. quality of meals is especially poor, consisting Their conclusion is that such commuof refined carbohydrates, sugars and a small nities experience higher levels of obesity, quantity of fresh vegetables…” anaemia and diabetes. A school psychologist, who is also a The study was conducted among 20 member of one of the two communities surleaders of the Gur and Chabad commuveyed, said: “Sweets in the strictly-Orthodox nities in Israel, responding to questions communities are an ‘issue’ as [the boys] about their food lifestyles. come with pockets full of sweets from the One of the central problems, it synagogue.” emerged, was that some interviewees Now the researchers – who say their believed that so-called healthy food was a The study looked at 20 Gur and findings are applicable to strictly-Orthodox form of “body-worshipping, at the cost of Chabad communities in Israel communities worldwide – are designing a worshipping the soul”. The researchers found particular problems because of the programme to teach young couples, before they start having size of some of the strictly-Orthodox families, where older children, about healthy lifestyles and which food choices are girls are sometimes responsible for feeding the younger chil- best.

JOURNALIST WHO SAW KRISTALLNACHT MOURNED

John at the Daily Telegraph

John Izbicki, long-time education correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, who has died aged 91, was renowned in Fleet Street as urbane and witty company, and always stylishly dressed. But behind his gravelly voice was an unhappy secret, one he considered his “present from Hitler”. Izbicki turned

eight just before Kristallnacht in 1938, and the scenes he witnessed caused him to scream so hard that he did permanent damage to his vocal chords. Izbicki became the Telegraph’s education correspondent in 1969, then relocated to Paris where he covered, among many things, the

trial of the Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, infamous as “the Butcher of Lyon”. His family told Jewish News: “John was a gentle soul with a twinkle in his eye and a winning smile. He inspired and entertained everyone he met. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family.”

Hasmonean raises £350k for its 75th

More than £350,000 has been raised to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Hasmonean Primary School’s founding. The school’s match-funding campaign included an impressive 1,770 donors, and the money will go towards modernisation of teaching and upgrade work for the school’s building. Funds will also be used to provide more special educational needs and mental health support.

Ebner named next Immanuel head

Immanuel College has named Joanna Ebner, head of a preparatory school in Kensington, as its new headteacher. Ebner, who will join the Jewish day school in Bushey next September, has been a headteacher for 16 years and has worked in a range of educational environments in London. She is currently at Thomas’s Kensington, part of the Thomas’s London Day Schools’ Group.

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16 December 2021 Jewish News

Special Report

Death sentence 60 years ago was a ‘turning point’ Survivors recall Holocaust mastermind’s 1961 trial and its impact since

he landmark trial of a Nazi for masterminding the murder of millions of Jewish people should be remembered as a “turning point” in the telling of the Holocaust, survivors and experts reflected this week, writes Ryan Hooper. Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death on 15 December 1961 for war crimes and crimes against humanity following a four-month trial in Israel, which was broadcast on television around the world. He was hanged the following year. It brought to life the horrors Hungarian-born Ivor Perl and Czech-born Vera Schaufeld of the Nazi Final Solution, of which Eichmann was the architect, creating a evidence’ because by that time people started blueprint to wipe out the entire Jewish poputo say the Holocaust never happened.” lation of Europe. Ivor said he “didn’t care much either way” The trial was significant because it gave that Eichmann was sentenced to death. an astonishing insight into the horror of the He said: “To me, the most important thing death camps as victims were seen relaying was somebody there to tell you, ‘Look, come their experiences, and marked the only time on, you’ve paid a tremendous price for the Israel has carried out a death sentence. Holocaust, it did happen. Denying it is cerBritish-based survivors, speaking on the tainly not acceptable.’” 60th anniversary of Eichmann’s death senVera Schaufeld, 91, said she was “gripped” tence, said the trial and subsequent punishwatching the trial on her new television set ment was a significant moment in the telling of with her husband, Avram, in their family home the Holocaust. in England. Ivor Perl, a Hungarian Jew who survived Vera was a nine-year-old child when she for years as a little boy in the Auschwitz death fled her village of Klatovy, in what is now the camp in German-occupied Poland before it Czech Republic, on Sir Nicholas Winton’s was liberated, said the trial gave credence to Kindertransport in 1939. the horrors suffered by him and the millions of She recalled her parents waving white others persecuted by the Nazis. handkerchiefs from behind the platform barIvor, a widowed father-of-four who settled riers at Prague station, suddenly aware she in Ascot, Berkshire, upon fleeing to Britain would be travelling alone. It was the last time in 1945, said: “I felt as though something was she saw her family again. being done to prove (the Holocaust) to the Vera, who lives in Wembley, said: “My husworld, because by that time people kept on band read every book that he could find about denying the Holocaust. the Holocaust, trying to understand how this “I felt, ‘thank God, there’s some practical could happen.

“I remember we sat and watched the Eichmann trial on television. “We found it totally ludicrous to imagine that somebody who could organise all the trains that took people to the camps, whose efficiency had been part of the really important bits of the extermination of the Jews, that he (Eichmann) could say, or expect people to believe, that he was only obeying orders, and was a small cog in this process, and not one of the major movers of the Holocaust.” She added: “A lot of people by then went weren’t thinking so much about the Holocaust – this brought it to a much wider audience.” Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said the trial brought the atrocities to “an enormous global audience”, but was also significant for the role survivors played in getting justice. Architect of annihilation: Eichmann “This trial was a turning point,” she said. “And once survivors had broken that silence, and came forward to share their testimony, it opened up the way for Caring with compassion others to do so. “People around the Live-in Care Specialists world really listened and learned, and were stay safe and independent in your own home shocked by what they 24 hrs a day-7 days a week were hearing. This trial * Preferred alternative to a nursing or care home took place in 1961, many * Personal care, mental and physical impairments years after the end of * Fully employed, vetted and supervised carers the war, but perpetra* Experienced management and supervisors tors should never be able to feel comfort* CQC registered - rated ‘Good’ consistently able if they’ve not been * Established 30 years in North London brought to account. * 24-hour 365-day backup and support “The trial reminds us For more information how difficult it was for or survivors to share their free assessment   experiences. They did it Call Rita then because they were 020 8202 1220, Mob-07884472242 motivated by seeking www.hcchomecare.co.uk justice.”

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Jewish News 16 December 2021

News / Family investigates

Mystery of family documents solved because I could see the enormity of the documents. I’ve done my good deed.” Daniel says: “Cissi When Nicola Stow bought some German docuwas very active in runments dating from the 1920s in a charity shop a ning the Tylers Green few years ago, she had no idea she would later hostel for refugee chilforge a connection with relatives of the woman dren during the war they belonged to and hand them the paperwork. and the Jews’ TempoThe assistant manager of a charity shop, of rary Shelter for many Ware, Hertfordshire, bought the paperwork years after it.” belonging to a woman called Cissi Rosenfelder It is unclear how for about £50 in her local St Elizabeth’s store. the documents ended It included Cissi’s passport, her marriage up in the charity certificate to Max, dated 21 December 1921 shop, but Daniel in Frankfurt, school reports for her daughter, believes that Cissi’s Carmel, from a school in Cologne, and postdaughter-in-law or cards from her father, who worked in London, one of her grandin Westminster, addressed to her at an address children may have in Wales. donated them after a “There are a variety of documents, but the clearout. He is delighted passport caught my eye,” says Stow. to be able to offer them “Having been born in London, Cissi seems From left: Nicola Stow, Doris Rau, Ruth and Daniel Rosenfelder to Cissi’s niece, Doris, to to have travelled quite extensively. Her passwhom she was very close. port is stamped quite a few times, and she so took out a membership of the Ancestry web- her father, Daniel. Stow and the Rosenmarried in Amsterdam. There are letters from site and sent messages to people on Facebook Stow was finally able felders have since met up Carmel written in German from Germany who shared the same family names. But she to meet with Nicola again at a dinner hosted on and Switzerland in 1931 and 1932. There is drew a blank and resigned them to a cupboard – and her mother, Ruth, Papers belonging to Cissi Rosenfelder Sunday night by Doris. in London in early one particular letter from her brother Fred until this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day. Doris said: “It’s a total mystery as to why they She contacted Jewish News and, with the help May after the easing of lockdown restrictions. regarding the death of their rabbi, who obviStow said: “It was a bit of a wrench handing ended up in a charity shop in Hertfordshire. of the Association of Jewish Refugees, the conously meant a lot to the family.” Stow, whose sister-in-law is from Cologne, nection was made with a family member, Nicola over the documents, but they need to be with This is an extraordinary story and I’m extremely the people they should be with. I bought them happy to be the recipient of the documents.” Rosenfelder; Cissi wanted to return the documents to Cissi’s 1family, HALF PAGE ADVERT JAN 2020:Layout 09/01/2020 16:04 Page 1 was the “favourite aunt” of by Alex Galbinski alex@jewishnews.co.uk @AlexG_journo

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16 December 2021 Jewish News

Street incident / Neo-Nazi convicted / Berger role / News

The gang loiter in Osbaldeston Road...

...then approach the nine-year-old boy

... and one of them carries him off across the road

Child snatched in Stamford Hill Police have increased patrols around an estate near Stamford Hill after footage emerged of a Jewish boy standing on the pavement apparently being snatched off his feet by a local gang, writes Michael Daventry. The incident occurred last week on the Webb Estate, which neighbours Springfield Park, the security organisation Shomrim said. One suspect has been issued with an anti-social behaviour warning. Police said the parents of the boy,

who is nine-years-old, had chosen not to press charges. Pictures released on Twitter appear to show a gang of three youths cornering the boy against a wall. He is then picked up and carried across the road and out of view of the security camera. The boy was subsequently released into nearby front garden. He suffered no injuries but was left frightened by the incident. On Tuesday, local police in Stam-

ford Hill tweeted an image of officers patrolling the Webb Estate. They tweeted: “Officers have been patrolling in response and are making good progress in identifying suspects. “Individuals connected are being investigated for both ASB [antisocial behaviour] and more serious criminal offences.” A Met spokesperson said: “Police were called at around 18:30hrs on Thursday, 9 December to a report

that a group of teenagers had approached a boy, aged nine, as he was walking down Osbaldeston Road, N16. “It was reported that one of the group picked up the boy and carried him to a nearby front garden where they let him go. He received no injuries. “Officers attended and spoke to the victim’s mother. She did not wish to take any further action and the incident is not being treated as

a hate crime. One suspect has been identified and issued with an antisocial behaviour warning. Enquiries are under way to identify others involved.”  Can you help police with their inquiries? Call them on 101 or tweet @MetCC. See the shocking video at jewishnews.co.uk

Nazi Covid denier guilty antisemitic themes and admiration for A neo-Nazi coronavirus conspiracy Hitler, the Old Bailey was told. theorist has been found guilty of Two days later, another docuspreading antisemitic hoax theories. ment appeared online suggesting Matthew Henegan stirred up that the Fishmongers’ Hall attack, racial hatred on the internet and in which two people were killed, was in leaflets posted to residents of St “set up” by a propaganda machine. Neots, Cambridgeshire, at the start Claims included that Boris Johnson was of the Covid-19 crisis in March last year. He repeatedly used a “grossly offen- Matthew Jewish and an attempt had been made to sive” term for Jewish people and claimed Henegan pass him off as English, the jury was told. Giving evidence, Henegan, 36, who has they controlled the news about coronavirus. The material came to the attention of Cam- Asperger’s syndrome, said he had not intended bridgeshire Police in mid-March last year after to stir up hatred. The unemployed defendant, residents reported receiving “offensive and who lived with his mother, told jurors he was antisemitic” leaflets through their letter boxes. interested in historical research. He rejected They included links to racially inflammatory the “commonly held view” that Hitler began the war and that six million Jews died at the video and audio files posted by Henegan. In a search of Henegan’s home, police seized hands of German authorities. Henegan was leaflets, a swastika and swastika armband. A remanded to be sentenced on 14 January. It can now be reported that Henegan had document entitled ‘Coronavirus Hoax supplement’ was posted online on 9 March last earlier attended court wearing a swastika armyear and viewed 95 times. Material referred to band and was ordered to remove it by a judge.

BERGER HOME DELIVERY ROLE Former Labour MP Luciana Berger has taken in the US in 2013, is aiming to offer a 24-hour on a new job with a rapid home-delivery com- delivery service for a fee of £1.79 each time. Last year Gopuff was valued at £3.9 billion, pany founded by two Jewish university stuhaving captured the market in the States for dents in Philadelphia. She starts work at Gopuff in the spring super-fast home delivery of goods. the comas European head of corporate affairs. pany said Berger, who left parliament in Berger leaves her current job at 2019, will “bring deep insight in sectors advocacy firm Edelman, which she including food and drink, health and joined in July 2020, for the role with sustainability, and is known for helping secure a number of legislative changes a company which is market leader in America, and which plans to be during her tenure as the MP for Liverpool Wavertree, a position operating in 33 cities in the UK Luciana Berger she held for almost a decade”. by 2022. The firm, launched

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Jewish News 16 December 2021

News / Jewish memorabilia

Fascinating items unveiled in Judaica specialist’s catalogue Documents and books for sale include leaflets from early Zionist groups and shuls – and the infamous British Union – and a post-war haggadah produced in Munich The London antiquarian and Judaica specialist Jonathan Fishburn has just issued his most recent catalogue, and as a way of ‘holding history in your hand’, it is unsurpassed. The 50 items featured in this collection of memorabilia range from a rare medical book written in Hebrew and dating from 1700, to early examples of Zionist rallies in the opening years of the 20th century. Closer to our times are items relating to the re-settlement of European Jews in Britain as they escaped from the Nazis. There is poignancy in a slim volume by a Viennese dietician, written in 1938, entitled “How Do I Cook In England” — a book aimed at the newly arrived young men and women who had entered Britain on a domestic servant visa, but who had no idea how to perform any of the bewildering duties expected of them. Other gems include the order of a special service held under the auspices of the Chief Rabbi in 1944, to mourn the death of Orde Wingate, the Christian Zionist who trained the Haganah Night Squads in mandate Palestine.

1. A poster for a rally held by the North London Zionist Society in Stamford Hill in April 1917. The guest speaker was the president of the English Zionist Federation, Dr Chaim Weizmann 2. A leaflet dating from 1933, headed ‘Keep Out Alien Jews’, inviting people to ‘hear British Union speakers put the case against alien Jewish immigration into Britain’ 3. Notification from the West London Synagogue in June 1911 that ‘a special service’ would be held at ‘half-past-five o’clock’ to mark the coronation of King George and Queen Mary

4. On 9 July 1933, a huge rally was held at the Royal Albert Hall on behalf of the Jews of Germany, just beginning to suffer restrictions to their lives only months after the Nazis had come to power. This is Chief Rabbi Dr Joseph Hertz’s sermon, Out of the Depths I Cry to Thee 5. A special Pesach Haggadah, produced in Munich in 1948 and including 20 pages of photographs of life in the postwar DP (displaced persons) camps, with images of Passover preparations and the kosher kitchen in Dachau

6. Even before the Second World War had ended, trials were taking place of some of the perpetrators of Nazi atrocities. This is a report, in Polish, of a trial of members of staff of the Majdanek concentration camp, held in Lublin in December 1944

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16 December 2021 Jewish News

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Surgery landmark / Gazan aid / News

Gazan is 6,000th child to be saved

TH Following our hugely popular October minyan, we are back

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DEC 4, 2021 PARASHAT MIKEITZ 5782 Come join a new, modern orthodox minyan open to all in and around SW3, SW5, SW6, SW7 and SW10 Recovery: Mazen at the Save A Child’s Heart International Paediatric Cardiac Centre

An 11-year-old boy from the Gaza Strip is the 6,000th child to be saved by the Israeli humanitarian organisation Save a Child’s Heart. Shortly after “Mazen” was born, doctors in Gaza diagnosed him with a complicated congenital heart condition they knew would require multiple medical procedures. He underwent surgery at just two months in Jerusalem, but a hole left in his heart was not repaired. As Mazen grew older, he suffered difficulty breathing. To survive, he needed emergency surgery. With no centres for interventional cardiac treatment in Gaza and the burden of cases made worse by border closures due to the pandemic, two partner cardiologists at the Euro-

pean Gaza Hospital referred Mazen to the new Save A Child’s Heart International Paediatric Cardiac Centre and Sylvan Adams Children’s Hospital in Holon near Tel Aviv. There he was treated by Dr. Sagi Assa, who heads the Pediatric Cardiac Care Unit, where they are pioneering the use of closure devices that enable complex cardiac procedures to close holes in hearts without any need for open heart surgery. Each week, SACH holds a weekly cardiology clinic for Palestinian children at its facility in Holon where they have saved the lives of 6,000 children from 63 countries, 50 percent of whom like Mazen are from Gaza and the West Bank.

...AS UK CHARITY SENDS MEDICAL AID INTO STRIP A shipment of medical supplies to Gaza this month is believed to be one of the first deliveries to the Palestinian territory organised by a Jewish charity in the UK. Magen David Adom UK said it had turned a £15,000 donation from a Londonbased donor into half-a-million US dollars’ worth of goods, including antivirals, anti-epileptics and antibiotics. The medicines were available in large supplies because have relatively short shelf lives and risked passing their expiry dates in the UK without being used. In such circumstances, pharmaceutical companies release their stock for health organisations around the world to arrange dispatch, delivery and distribution, MDA said. In addition to Gaza, portions of the shipment were sent to the West Bank. MDA UK chief executive Daniel Burger said: “Each our

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el’s emergency response service, but with other Red Cross and Red Crescent organisations across the Middle East. MDA UK previously sent a container to Lebanon, a country with which Israel has no diplomatic relations, following an emergency appeal after an explosion devastated the port of the capital Beirut in August 2020. The donation is the latest in the ongoing collaboration between IHP and MDA UK.

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Jewish News 16 December 2021

World News / Bomb alert / Trump rant / Miss Universe

DEAD GORGEOUS Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned the new Miss Universe in a glitzy ceremony in the Red Sea port of Eilat last weekend. Sandhu (pictured, inset) triumphed over 79 other contestants from all corners of the world, who had earlier posed for the world’s media at the Dead Sea.

Berlin Jewish hospital cleared after war-era bomb discovered A Jewish hospital in Berlin was evacuated on Sunday as officials began work on defusing a Second World War-era bomb discovered close to the building, writes Michael Daventry. Police declared a restricted zone within 500 metres of the building in the Gesundbrunnen district, with officers moving door to door to ensure residents had left their homes. Vans carrying loudhailers also combed the neighbourhood in the hope of catching anyone still left at home. The 250 kilogram device, which was dropped by an American bomber during the war, was declared safe soon after it was

The Messy Hot Drink

Police at the site of the Jewish hospital

discovered by construction workers in the grounds of hospital on 19 November. But officials said a widespread evacu-

ation would be needed as a precaution to defuse the device, triggering an operation that included removing all patients. The hospital, known by its German initials JKB, said in a statement that it began treating patients again on Monday. Bomb disposal experts posed for photographs next to the device on Sunday evening after it had been declared safe. JKB is one of Berlin’s oldest hospitals, having treated patients for over 260 years ago. It treated patients even during the Nazi era, even though its licence to practice medicine was revoked and only Jews were admitted inside.

‘BIBI? F*** HIM’ – TRUMP’S VERDICT ON NETANYAHU Donald Trump lashed out at Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu with an expletive over his decision to congratulate Joe Biden on his presidential election victory last winter, it has emerged. The former US president expressed his fury at the exIsraeli premier in an interview earlier this year by saying the two had not spoken in months and adding: “F*** him.” “Nobody did more for Bibi. And I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi,” Trump said in the remarks published by Yediot Aharonot in Israel. “But I also like loyalty…

5 9 . 5

Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake.” Netanyahu, who was prime minister at the time of the US presidential election, delivered a carefully-worded congratulation to Biden after the result was declared in which he did not refer to him as president-elect. He followed up that message on social with another praising Trump. But in the Yediot Aharonot interview conducted in April this year, Trump appeared to be incensed by Netanyahu’s perceived lack of loyalty.

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Singapore museum / Pittsburgh fund / Florida summit / Diaspora News

Singapore welcomes first Jewish Museum Singapore’s tiny Jewish community celebrated the opening of its first Jewish Museum last week, in a landmark moment for the south-east Asian state. The permanent exhibits opened in the Jacob Ballas Centre, which is named after a Singaporean Jewish philanthropist, and sits beside the pink Maghain Aboth Synagogue, which was completed in 1878. The first Jews to emigrate to Singapore were traders from Baghdad, who arrived in the 19th century. They grew a small but feisty community, whose members have since reached the top of Singaporean business, law and politics. Among their most prominent members was David Saul Marshall, Singapore’s first Chief Minister, who led the country in the 1950s and was instrumental in negotiating Singapore’s independence from the UK. At the opening of the Jews of Singapore Museum, the state’s interior minister Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam said: “We want every community in Singapore to not just take pride in their heritage, but to put it out for others.” Touring the centre, he added: “This is part of Singapore. It’s a short history but it’s made rich by the experiences of all the different communities.” The Jewish Welfare Board, which is behind the museum, said the exhibits focus on Jewish arrivals from the 1820s, profiles of Jewish leaders, as well as Jewish festivals, culture, and religion, using photos, videos, and audio recordings. The Welfare Board said the legacy of the Jewish community in Singapore “can be seen in the names of roads, institutions, and buildings, some bearing the Star of David, including Synagogue Street, Frankel Avenue, Meyer Road, Nassim Road, Elias Road, the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden, and the Ellison Building”. Items on display include a Sefer Torah, inscribed on parchment and encased in an embellished silver Torah case, commissioned in the early 20th century. There are also displays of traditional Jewish religious objects

UNITED STATES

The New York Times has finally 'lost the hyphen' and adopted the spelling ‘antisemitism’ as opposed to ‘anti-Semitism’. Alongside the BBC’s, its style guide is seen as an English-language editorial bible, so the change will be followed by others. The Associated Press did likewise earlier this year.

A struggling 125-year-old Kyoto candle company had a commercial boost from Chanukah after a newly arrived Chabad rabbi saw the chance to work together. The firm, Nakamura Rousoku, still makes candles by hand from the fruit of the haze tree, or Japanese sumac, aka ‘the wax tree’, which produces a softer light.

UKRAINE

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli President Isaac Herzog addressed the online Kyiv Jewish Forum this week. The pair met in October during Herzog’s first trip to Ukraine, to celebrate the state’s 30 years of independence and 80 years since the Babyn Yar massacre just outside Kyiv.

ARGENTINA

A Jewish community centre in the city of Tigre, in Buenos Aires province, has inaugurated its new sports complex in honour of Diego Schwartzman, who is currently 13th in the tennis world rankings. Hacoaj Sport Club, in central Buenos Aires, is where the 5ft 7in star first played.

UGANDAN CONVERT DENIED CITIZENSHIP A centuries-old Torah scroll is among the items on display

including a menorah, candlesticks, a century-old Chumash and Tanakh and the late Jacob Ballas’ personal copy of the Book of Psalms, his tallit and his tefillin set.

The US State of Pennsylvania has allocated £5.8 million to repair the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh after a white supremacist shot and killed 11 Jewish worshippers and injured six there in October 2018. Site of the deadliest antisemitic attack on American soil, the synagogue building itself was badly damaged by the shooting. The perpetrator holed up inside exchanging fire with police

and SWAT teams, until finally surrendering. Authorities say the grant will help to rectify much of the damage, which has left congregants praying in other synagogues for the past three years. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said it would “transform the site of the worst antisemitic attack in US history into a place of hope, remembrance, and education”.

2,000 flock to Israel summit in Florida Israeli and American leaders convened in South Florida last week for the 7th annual IAC National Summit for sessions spanning business, philanthropy, international relations, education and technology. With 119 speakers and an audience of around 2,000, the Israeli American Council event gathered thought leaders and influencers as discussion turned to topics such as Jewish leadership, community building, Jewish heritage, and Israeli culture. Speakers included Israel’s Defence Minister Benny Gantz, Diaspora

Your weekly digest of stories from the international press

JAPAN

£5.8m Pittsburgh shul repair fund

Tributes at the Tree of Life shul, where 11 were killed

WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF

Affairs Minister Nachman Shai, as well as Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano Shata, plus the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan. From the world of arts, culture, current affairs, and politics, there were awardwinning authors, actors, comedians, musicians, and journalists, alongside several American senators. Discussing change in the Jewish world, was political donor Dr Miriam Adelson, Eric Fingerhut of the Jewish Federations of North America, Mark Charendoff of

The event featured 119 speakers

the Maimonides Fund, and Marina Yudborovsky, chief executive of Genesis Philanthropy Group (GPG).

The Israeli government has again denied an application for citizenship from a Ugandan convert to Judaism, despite a ruling in March recognising non-Orthodox conversions performed in Israel. Kibita Yosef, who has lived in Israel for almost five years, first applied for citizenship under the Law of Return and was rejected in 2018. The law cites as eligible all those who convert to Judaism through “recognised Jewish

communities”. Israel’s Interior Ministry said it did not see Uganda’s Abayudaya community as a recognised community, so Yosef went through the conversion process with a Conservative Israeli court. In March, the Israeli Supreme Court said the government had to recognise Reform and Conservative conversions performed in Israel for the purposes of immigration. Yosef’s had been seen as a test case.

Spanish synagogue is added to heritage list The former medieval Synagogue of Hijar in Aragon, Spain, has been listed as one of the 12 “most endangered heritage sites in Europe” by the European Investment Bank Institute. Very few synagogues survived the expulsion of the Jewish community from Spain in 1492 and the synagogue building became the Church of St. Anthony, yet much of the original structure remained intact, and recent investigations revealed unique murals dating from medieval times. Hijar itself became renowned as a centre for Hebrew printing during this period and local authorities are now working with the London-based Foundation for Jewish Heritage (FJH) on plans to develop the former synagogue site into a visitor destination. Experts hope it will “convey the culture and traditions of the lost Sephardi Jewish communities of the region and foster intercultural understanding and dialogue”. Hijar mayor Luis Carlos Marquesan said the at-risk recognition “represents important support to the project to recover the Jewish heritage of Híjar, unique in Spain given the nature of the building and the found wall paintings”. FJH boss Michael Mail called it “a very significant development… The importance of the site is being recognised, both as a remnant of a remarkable forgotten culture, as a site at risk, and as a place of opportunity in terms of plans for its future.”

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Jewish News 16 December 2021

Editorial comment and letters ISSUE NO.

1241

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS

Lira’s legacy is our young generation Last year the late great Rabbi Lord Sacks, the kindest, wisest person many have known, used those two same adjectives to describe Lira Winston, as he presented her with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Partnerships for Jewish SchoolsJewish News School Awards. Lira, who passed away suddenly last Thursday aged just 72, dedicated more than 30 years of her professional life to Jewish education. She was a prime mover in the stunning growth in Jewish day schools in the 21st century. As PaJeS’s assistant director for the past nine years, Lira (whose maiden name was Feigenbaum) was responsible for leadership programmes, residential seminars and training. Accepting her award from Rabbi Sacks, she was typically humble, paying tribute to “those I’ve learned from”. In truth, generations of Jewish students have learned from her. Any parent who has sent a child to a Jewish school in the past three decades, especially one of the many scoring consistently high marks in league tables (mazeltov to Yavneh College for being named the country’s top non-selective comprehensive by the Sunday Times last weekend) owes Lira, wife of Lord Robert Winston, a debt of gratitude. Her kindness and wisdom are already profoundly missed. We wish Lord Winston and their three children long life.

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

Our story was factual This newspaper has covered at length the criticism of the BBC’s coverage of the Chanukah bus incident on Oxford Street. We have been cautious in our response because of the ongoing police investigation but we want to address the accusation the BBC has acted unfairly. Our story was a factual report that overwhelmingly focused on the individuals the police want to identify. In the eighth paragraph of the article, there was a brief reference to a slur, captured in a video recording, that appeared to come from the bus. The slur was expressed in English and can be heard in the recording. Our report reflected this. It has been claimed what we considered to be an abusive term in English was in fact someone speaking in Hebrew. We have consulted a number of Hebrew speakers in determining that the slur was spoken in English.

Sketches & kvetches

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WE NEED A BBC PETITION TO COUNTER DAMAGING REPORT Your newspaper deserves praise for drawing attention to the BBC’s unfounded claim that individuals attacked for celebrating Chanukah made antiIslamic comments. A few weeks ago you reported the concerns of the Jewish community about how the broadcaster dealt with the Professor David Miller issue at Bristol University. Baroness Deech also raised concerns about the way the matter was reported and, according to your report, she has also complained to the BBC. The corporation’s approach appears to be to tough it out and leave the issue to blow away. I urge you not to give up on this important story because, as your editorial comment pointed out, the victims of this antisemitic abuse are having their integrity abused. The BBC has form on this matter. It is not my business to tell newspaper editors what to do but can you please together with the other Jewish newspapers consider producing an online petition to be sent to the secretary of state on this matter? E Manasseh, By email

CONTACT DETAILS Publisher and Editor Richard Ferrer 020 8148 9703

The brief reference to the slur was included to ensure the fullest account of the incident. The idea it was included to ‘balance’ our coverage is simply untrue. Nor was it included to diminish the trauma suffered by those on the bus or justify the actions of those shouting abuse. We have never repeated the actual words of the slur, as has been suggested. Finally, our subsequent reporting of ‘allegations of antisemitic abuse’ reflects the fact that the events are now part of a live police investigation. Antisemitism is abhorrent. We understand this was an upsetting incident and people want to stand up for their communities. But our intentions have been misrepresented. We strive to serve the Jewish community, and all communities across our country, fairly. Rhodri Talfan Davies, BBC Nations Director

16 December 2021 Jewish News

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Editorial comment and letters

AGAINST ISRAEL

HISTORY LESSON

I write about the column headlined “Silence on settler violence is no longer an option” (2 December) by Danielle Bett. I find it interesting that Yachad styles itself as a pro-peace and proIsrael organisation on its website, yet I cannot recall anything positive written about Israel in all the articles anyone from Yachad has written to date in this newspaper. Every article from someone at Yachad leaves a bad taste. Yachad highlights negative stories about Israel. This does not sound like the behaviour of a group that is pro-Israel, or indeed a friend of Israel at all. Abraham Braun, By email

What do letter writers SM Halpern and Fraser Michelson not understand (2 December)? Judea and Samaria are not “occupied” because there was no sovereign entity previously, and more to the point, the land is under Jewish sovereignty as per the binding international treaties. The vast majority of the Palestinian Arabs live under the Palestinian Authority in no-go areas for Jews, so the “assault on their human and civil rights” should be addressed to the PA. Jewish News should stop giving a platform to people who do not reflect historical facts. James R Windsor, Leytonstone

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Jewish News 16 December 2021

Opinion

My post-Covid levelling up project for the community EPHRAIM MIRVIS

CHIEF RABBI OF THE UNITED HEBREW CONGREGATIONS OF COMMONWEALTH

his week my office, in partnership with the United Synagogue, launches Project Welcome. It is an unprecedented and exciting campaign which has the potential to change the very fabric of our community life forever, for the better. The project is aimed at helping communities not only to meet the challenges produced by the coronavirus, but to return stronger because of them. Many have already undertaken research to determine what will best serve their members. Now, through Project Welcome, we will be investing both financial and intellectual capital to provide communities with resources and support to think strategically and creatively. When the pandemic started, like many others, I was deeply concerned about the effect of the forced closure of our synagogues on the spiritual and cultural vitality of our communities. Shul has always been the hub of communal activity. How would we cope without it?

Over recent months, there has been cause for optimism. It has become clear that for many, the shul, and the community which the building represents, has remained as important as ever throughout the pandemic – a testament to the tireless, dedicated work of our rabbis, rebbetzens and lay leaders. Our communities have every reason to look back on what they have achieved with pride and satisfaction, but there is a great deal of work still to do. Earlier this year, I pointed out that this era of profound change for our society presents an opportunity for our communities to change as well. Numerous academic studies have revealed an increase in personal spirituality during the pandemic, but, understandably, synagogue attendance has not yet reached its pre-Covid level. Uncertainty around the Omicron variant highlights how challenging our mission remains. No effort should be spared to draw all of our ‘regulars’ back to shul and to engage meaningfully with those who have not previously made a habit of crossing the threshold. In addition, the pandemic has highlighted that communities are primarily about people and not buildings and we must continue to build and sustain communal vitality well beyond any communal edifice.

❝

WE WILL EXAMINE EVERY ASPECT OF COMMUNAL LIFE In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell describes the secret to the success of Sesame Street. Its founder, Joan Ganz Cooney, was determined to use the medium of television as an educational tool for children in the late 1960s. Rather than following the conventional model of creating programmes she believed would be exciting and interesting, she collected a team of expert educators and child psychologists to study, in detail, how and why children became engaged by certain aspects of some TV shows but were left uninterested by others. Was it the structure? The characters? The animation? It turned out be a complex mix of all these factors and many more. When Cooney and her team had perfected the recipe, Sesame Street went on to become the most successful programme of its kind ever created.

Cooney succeeded because she took time to devise and test creative new approaches, and adapt her offering accordingly. This was a principle taught by Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, a Torah giant of the early 20th century, who pointed out that children cannot be forced to eat. If they don’t wish to digest the food offered, they reject it. With this metaphor, Rabbi Dessler explained that a love for Torah and Judaism can’t be forced on anyone. If it is presented in an appealing and relevant manner, it will be lovingly received by many who will enthusiastically engage with it and embark on a journey of discovery. This is the principle which must guide our return to shul and to community life. Within the parameters of halachah, we will examine every aspect of communal life and determine the best recipe for creating and maintaining a keen sense of belonging and engagement. We will be encouraging and working with communities to develop a strategy to enable them to realise their unique potential. With the resources to try fresh, bold initiatives, they will be able to discover what will have the most impact and adapt accordingly. There are so many who are thirsting for a deeper connection with their Judaism. Now is the moment for us to provide it to them.

Two lost Jews who get zero sympathy from me JENNI FRAZER

repare to get out the smallest violin you can find and play a requiem today, for two men at entirely opposite ends of the political spectrum. One is an egregious and avid Jewish antisemite, the Brighton-based Tony Greenstein. And the other is the former Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Both men have – and continue to have – manifold legal troubles. Netanyahu is currently defending himself on three separate corruption cases at the Jerusalem District Court. Last week his former family spokesman and confidant, Nir Hefetz, testified that his boss tried “to rob the state’s funds for personal needs” on dozens of occasions. According to Hefetz, Netanyahu’s appetite for “gifts” from billionaires and reluctance to pay for anything out of his own pocket nudged the guidelines of legality. It’s not been a fun-filled week for Netanyahu, and, indeed, his entire family. First, former president Donald Trump turned on his ostensible former friend in an expletive-laden

attack, sulking because Bibi had the temerity to congratulate new US president Joe Biden on his electoral victory. The fact that it took Bibi long after other world leaders to make the call to Biden is an inconvenient factor which plainly was ignored by Trump, his usual modus vivendi when truth got in the way of his own narrative. Then came a spot of sustained whining by Bibi about the decision to remove the security detail for him, his wife Sara and their sons, Avner and Yair. It had been due to expire on 12 December; Bibi claimed that there had been death threats against him, Sara and Yair, and noted that only two days after the removal of his security detail, the right-wing Israeli politician Rehavam Ze’evi, better known as Gandhi, was assassinated. I am absolutely sure that there have indeed been death threats against the Netanyahus, which I am equally sure the police are taking seriously. But some portion of the blame for creating this volatile, febrile atmosphere, and the whipping up of extremist positions with inflammatory rhetoric , must be laid at Bibi’s door. In deepest Brighton, meanwhile, there is moaning from Greenstein, whose Crowd-

❝

ONE IS AN EGREGIOUS ANTISEMITE, THE OTHER IS THE FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER funder appeal for his book, Zionism during the Holocaust, was abruptly terminated by the web platform after only two days of fundraising, in which £710 was raised towards a potential £6,500. I must say that even if Greenstein had not, as an undischarged bankrupt, breached the Crowdfunder guidelines (although this has not been spelled out), the book does honestly just sound dreadful. It is, he boasts, “550 pages and some 190,000 words” long, and in a way I think anyone who is prepared to pay for it to be published ought to be condemned to read it on a weekly basis. A martyred Greenstein blames “the Zionist bookburners” for the demise of his Crowdfunder appeal, asking: “What is the difference between Joseph Goebbels and the Zionist lobby? Answer: Goebbels burnt books after they were printed. The Zionists try to burn the

books before they are printed”. Gosh, how witty. But Phoenix Greenstein is determined to rise again, and is now soliciting individual donations “if you want to help defeat the Zionist Censorship Machine”. Anyone who is the least bit tempted ought perhaps to know that disgraced former MP Chris Williamson, who was suspended from Labour over allegations of antisemitism (and then resigned from the party before he was expelled) is an admirer of Greenstein’s and has urged people to donate. I ought perhaps to add — before the usual suspects begin to foam at the mouth — that in criticising Netanyahu I do not question his true and lasting love of Israel. I just question his methodology. What he and Greenstein have in common, I am afraid, is an overweening sense of self and rightness. Neither is attractive.

16 December 2021 Jewish News

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Community / Scene & Be Seen

1 CHASIDIC HIP HOP

Chabad Essex brought the American-Israeli rapper Nissim Black – whose recent hits include The Hava Song and Love Letter – to the UK for a Chanukah concert at The City Pavilion Essex as part of Black’s Bright Lights Tour.

2 HANDMADE HUGS

Children from King David Primary School in Manchester with the Hug Tokens they made after watching GIFT’s ‘Sparks Of Giving’, for the children to give out to family and friends.

And be seen!

3 RADLETT LANDMARK

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

Radlett Reform Synagogue celebrated its 50th anniversary with a special Mincha service, followed by a Doughnut and Latke tea, lighting of the first Chanukah candle and addresses by Rabbi Paul Freedman and synagogue president Barry Hyman. They talked about the history of the community, which began as Bushey Heath Reform in 1971.

Email us at community@jewishnews.co.uk

4 INTERFAITH LIGHTING

Kingston Liberal Synagogue held an interfaith Chanukah event attended by members of the local Muslim community and the Reverand and congregants of the local parish church.

5 MAGICAL FUNDRAISER

An emotional and magical fundraising evening was held for the charity Simcha Layeled, hosted by international journalist Shirit Gal Kedar and featuring a performance by Israeli singer and celebrity Keren Peles. Sponsored by JNF UK, it was held at the Leonardo Royal London hotel, many of whose rooms are overlooked by St Paul’s Cathedral.

6 TAKING THE WRAP

This year’s Light Up A Life has kicked off with more than 1,000 secondary school students taking part in the great Chocolate Wrap – a flurry of cutting, folding and writing cards of appreciation – in partnership with Project Impact and Norwood. During a week of action, volunteering projects will be taking place at organisations such as Feast, The Marylebone Project, Gift, The Lord’s Taverners, Bedside Kosher and others.

Have you had a recent simcha? Send your picture to picturedesk@jewishnews.co.uk

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Jewish News 16 December 2021

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16 December 2021 Jewish News

LI FE

Inside A look

Mousie movie is an Oscar hopeful; Mel Brooks is scared

Shelli Epstein is Cirque Du Soleil’s butterfly. She tells Brigit Grant what it’s like to fly

Shelli Epstein

WINGS ON HER FINGERS

uy Laliberté was just a child in the early Sixties when he first saw Barnum and Bailey’s Circus in his hometown of Quebec City. Transfixed by the show, he then read PT Barnum’s biography, learnt fireeating and stilt-walking for street performance, before, in 1984, co-founding the unequivocal circus experience that is Cirque du Soleil. Fast forward to 2007, and 13-year-old Shelli Epstein is arriving at the Royal Albert Hall to see Cirque du Soleil for the first time. Mesmerised by the surreal spectacle of outlandishly attired acrobats and contortionists; like Laliberté she felt the circus beckoning. Among the many pupils at JFS, where Shelli was then a pupil, she was probably the only one contemplating a career under a Big Top. But that didn’t deter her ,and surprisingly, her parents, Janice and Avron who live in Hendon, went along with her decision to audition for the Franco Dragone company in Macau, straight after leaving school. “It was that or becoming a stunt double,” says Shelli, who displayed her natural atheleticism from the moment she enrolled in baby gymnastics and qualified for the squad at the age of four. Granted it’s big leap from toddler head stands to aerial acrobactics, but Shelli had no issue tumbling and diving in front of thousands of people every day for three years in The House of

Dancing Water show in Macau. As the director of Cirque’s shows Allegria and the phenomenal ‘O’ set on water, Dragone’s company in China was the perfect stepping stone for what Shelli did next and what she will be doing when Cirque returns to The Royal Albert Hall on 12 January. In the Mexican-themed show Luzia, Shelli is the audience’s guide aka ‘Running Woman’a character described as part Monarch butterfly, part Tarahumara tribe runner who wears wings manipulated by poles that span the stage. But there is much more to the role she has held for the past eight years than an enchanting costume. Shelli’s unique talent is riding the Russian swing; a large floor-mounted circular construction which she pumps back and forth with another acrobat until it is swinging in high arcs. That is when she jumps into an airborne summersault before landing on another swing. Throughout the audience holds their collective breath. Explaining the finer points of her act from Cirque’s rehearsal base camp in Wakefield, one simply has to ask - “And your mother watches you do this?” Shelli laughs. “My parents hate it. Mum says she can’t watch and finds it’s better not to think about it. When I show her videos, she’s like, ‘stop sending it to me. I don’t want to know what

you’re doing.’ But they’re very proud. And I’m lucky to have such supportive and amazing parents. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.” To see your child hovering somewhere in the 135ft chasm between stage and ceiling at the Royal Albert Hall wouldn’t be easy for any parent, but Shelli couldn’t be happier to be back in that space. The Pandemic put an end to her flying across auditoriums and the world with her Cirque family. “We are very close,” explains Shelli. “It’s a natural thing, especially when you go to cities where you don’t know anyone else, so you hang out and get to know each other very well. When we knew we weren’t going to see onr another for a while, it was like going through a breakup so reuniting with everyone has been so beautiful.” Having qualified as a personal trainer in 2014, Shelli put the empty Covid lockdown hours to good use and started teaching fitness. “I always had it as a backup plan, so decided to give it a really good go,” says the instructor who tells her clients that exercise should be fun while standing on her hands with toes pointed against the wall. “The aim is to push your own personal limits, see how hardy you are, overcome your fears and optimise your performance.” She makes it sound so easy, but then Shelli has optimised her own performance, returning to work at her physical peak. But did she have any trepidations about getting back on the Russian swing after the long break?

“I was a bit apprehensive,” she says, jus moments before returning to rehearsal. “But as soon as I stepped on the swing, it felt like second nature. The fear just disappeared and I’m so, so happy to be back. You have no idea what it was like to be able to fly again and do what I do. There’s nothing else that replicates that adrenaline, that feeling, and I surprised myself at how quickly I picked it back up. But it’s in my body. I’ve done it for years. I shouldn’t ever doubt myself.” Spoken like a true Tarahumara runner/ Monarch butterfly about to take flight.

• To learn more about Shelli’s coaching visit

www.shelliepstein.co.uk. For Cirque du Soleil Luzia tickets visit www.cirquedusoleil.com

Jewish News 16 December 2021

JN LIFE

www.jewishnews.co.uk

WHO WHAT WHERE EDUCATION

Pure Genius

FILM

UP WEST Could a remake of West Side Story by Steven Spielberg be anything other than brilliant? Obviously not, and the director has been artfully defending his reboot by talking about the script input from the late Stephen Sondheim and the dir ector Sondheim. Evidently he read Jewish playwright Tony Kushner’s adaptation and made suggestions. “Not criticisms,” stresses Speilberg, who took the maestro’s comments on board. Sondheim made his Broadway debut in 1957 as lyricist for the Romeo and Juliet-inspired West Side Story and went on to write Gypsy. Everything should be Coming Up Roses for Spielberg if the box office reflects the critical acclaim, but musicals rely on older women to boost numbers and they are the most reluctant cinema-goers just now. Readers may be interested to know that Tony (Maria’s true love) is played by Ansel Elgort, whose dad is Jewish, and Corey Stoll is Lieutenant Schrank. All the characters owe their existence to their Jewish creators, the late Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents, who intended to make the musical about a feud between the Jets (Catholics) and Emeralds (Jews). Deeming it too like a show called Abie’s Rose, they abandoned the idea; we can’t help wishing they hadn’t. Perhaps Spielberg could do something for Abie or Rose as we’ve never heard of them.

SHOWTIME

Mel vs Miranda Hamilton scared the hell out of Mel Brooks! This is a headline that would alarm the show’s composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, but it wasn’t the scenes in the hip hop musical that panicked 95-year-old Brooks. It was the possibility of Hamilton winning more Tony Awards than his own show The Producers. Nominated for 16 Tonys – the award was named after the actress Antoinette Perry in 1947 – Hamilton won 11 on the big night, failing to beat reigning champion The Producers, which has 12. Brooks admits his terror at being tumbled and other personal tales to Alan Yentob in an interview to promote his autobiography, All About Me, which will be on BBC iPlayer from 31 December. Be in the room when it happens. STREAMING

Toon Time If you haven’t signed up for Izzy TV, do it now. The channel which offers so many of the Israeli shows currently unavailable in the UK is hosting an animation season featuring 25 of the Holy Land’s up-and-coming award-winning filmmakers. With such intriguing tiles as The Curve of Things and When a WigglyMonster Was My World, it’s going to be a streamed adventure.

www.streamisrael.tv

It must stick in the craw for some, that whenever ‘super smart’ needs a visual, the same Jewish man gets wheeled out. So what if we don’t understand his theories on quantum physics, we can still schlep naches, because Einstein is ours and his progressive views – on abortion, gay rights, class, race, the state of Israel and Jewish identity – are still timely. Director Julia Newman is giving us the opportunity to savour all this and learn more about the man in her documentary Albert Einstein: Still a Revolutionary, which includes rarely seen archive material. Now you can do the smart thing and register to see a special live online screening of the doc on Sunday 19 December at 7pm, hosted by UK Jewish Film and Technion UK. www.ukjewishfilm.org TV

CITY TOURment And Just Like That, Sex and The City’s Carrie Bradshaw is back, only now she’s 55 in designer togs and toppling heels instead of a 30-year-old in a tutu. Of course it’s heartening to see Carrie carry off middle age stylishly, rather than succumb to schlump wear, but that was never going to happen to Jewish actress Sarah Jessica Parker, who has always shared her screen character’s fashion taste and turn of phrase. Officially faith-less, Carrie makes too many dinner reservations to not be Jewish and in Stanford Blatch, she had the perfect Jewish gay accessory. The tragic death of actor Willie Garson in September has put an end to that friendship and how it might be handled is yet to be revealed, but the first episode should have carried a warning for sensitive women because – spoiler alert! – Mr Big doesn’t make it to the final credits. If only we’d known, we might have switched channels, as we were hoping for unadulterated bar hops and Blahniks, not grief and misery. Twankey is the only widow required in the festive season. Just Like That is on Sky Comedy and Now TV

FOOD

OKaifeng Holiday In New York, 25 December is all about numbers 9, 15, 18 and 21. So that’s a hot and sour soup, steamed chicken dumplings, beef with ginger and spring onions and special fried rice. Chinese food is traditional festive fare for Jews in The Big Apple and Kaifeng, Hendon’s premier kosher Chinese, is hoping we’ll follow the trend. Open throughout the holidays while others chomp on turkey, Kaifeng will be serving up duck in black bean sauce. And should you want to stay home for the Queen’s 25 December broadcast, they will deliver party packs, so you can eat, drink and be very... Jewish about the holiday that shall not be named. www.kaifeng.co.uk

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16 December 2021 Jewish News

JN LIFE

MOUSIE:

Where Artsy beats a Nazi Andrew Gold reviews and talks to the director of a film focused on hiding from the enemy

he title of this article might come across as facetious. But it feels fitting for a short film about a Romani girl hiding from the Nazis in a bohemian cabaret club. Curious, she escapes her cell in the attic, and delves down into the theatre. There, she finds on stage all manner of demons, including a tap-dancing Dracula-like devil who points to the girl’s cultural traditions. But scarier monsters lie in wait. Directed by David Bartlett, Mousie is, among many things, a reflection of how art prevails in the face of oppression. The short film (17 minutes), made to support the Separated Child Foundation charity for lone refugees – is an Oscar hopeful, and rightly so. It hits us with scenes so harrowing and memorable they would steal the show in any Oscar ‘through the years’ reels. One particular snapshot sees the girl publicly exposed, a hand outstretched by an ally risking everything, all set against an unfurled flag of the German Reich – the first time we see it in such magnitude. Such is the power of the shot, I have to steady myself to recall it in words. But, as I reach for the tissues, let’s rewind. The film begins in darkness against archive of Hitler’s incessant ranting. “We have work to do,” he splutters, in that ominous manner, at once out of control yet perfectly in control that is peculiar to the Fuhrer. A wide-eyed Roma girl known only as Mousie opens a curtain, and taps on the walls of her enclosure. Tapping is a symbol of artistic rebelliousness throughout. In the cabaret club the flamboyancy of burlesque comes off as a

David Bartlett on set with CJ Johnson as Katharina and Jack Bennett as Otto

natural foil to the Nazis sober fury. And yet, one sits in their midst, green uniform tightly fitted, and a face as unsteady as it is unreadable. Unaware of one another in this smoky basement, Nazi predator and Roma prey let a Dracula devil entrance them with dance. Jewish people sometimes prickle when reminded of the plight of others – be they disabled, Romani or black – at the hands of the Nazis. This is particularly true when it comes from those trying to mitigate Jewish sorrow. There’s none of that in this film, which defers to Jewish hurt in scenes where a comedian – perhaps reluctantly – tells jokes to the Nazi-flagged theatre about Jewish Olympians. Regardless of any competitive victimhood we might feel, it is estimated that 220,000-500,000 Romani people were murdered by the Nazis – around half of the

European Roma diaspora at the time. Mousie, played with a vulnerable joyousness by film debutante Sasha Watson-Lobo, is a poignant symbol of Romani victims who rarely get such a filmic outing. Bartlett tells me: “Somebody in Britain – I won’t say her name – called refugees fleeing from the Syrian crisis vermin. And I thought, ‘No, no, no – not in my lifetime.’ We can’t do anything to help those people in the 30s and 40s, but we must learn from it, and carry the messages.” Another point ‘tapped’ home with grace is the thin line between good and evil. CJ Johnson doesn’t give anything away as the stoic Katharina (think Melanie Laurent in Inglorious Basterds) hiding a little girl. Jack Bennett is equally subtle as Otto, a Nazi who conjures up Ralph Fiennes and Sam Rockwell at their most doubtful in uniform. His unsteadiness is symbolised by the missing button on one shoulder lapel; something for which a Nazi might receive a lashing. “A half-born Nazi,” explains Bartlett of Otto. “Someone who might have – had this not come along – continued being a clockmaker in Freiburg, and never really discovered this dark, feral side. I think people can be turned into things, and that’s what bothers me about the world over the past five years. “People were told they had a good reason to hate Jews, even though they’ve known their Jewish neighbour for years, fed their dogs… and within ten years, they were spitting at them. That horrifies me more than Hitler, because his type is rare. I didn’t want Otto

Sasha Watson-Lobo with director David Bartlett

to stomp in there. I wanted him to be a faltering guy.” The film reminds us of the banality of evil. On opening Mousie’s enclosure, Katharina scolds her for making noise. The camera peers up at her from Mousie’s hole. “Do as your told,”Katharina barks, as we veer to a sign outside the window that reads ‘The Youth Serve Hitler’. Though she is the girl’s warden – and though the child calls her ‘The White Witch’ in anger – we come to understand she is no Nazi; she is protecting Mousie from them. And while the stakes are far higher in the film, parents during lockdown will recognise the feeling of helplessness in asking a child to stay in an enclosed space for their own good. In this case, Katharina’s warning is futile. And that’s right, because artists don’t do as they’re told; Nazis do. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game between Mousie, the White Witch, the Dancing Devil and two Nazis, culminating in an extraordinary climax that ventures into magical realism, and a meaning open to interpretation. Bartlett tells me, “Some people go: ‘Ah man, I loved the end,’ and other people are consumed by the terror and the trauma of it.” Whether you leave in triumph or despair depends on your reading of the scene, though tissues are advised in either case. Much of the film plays out without dialogue, paying tribute to the burlesque acts it portrays. “Silent film is a huge part of my artistic upbringing,”says Bartlett. “When the horrible tyranny of the blank page is staring at you, you want to fill it up. But I’m a big believer in taking lines out.” And here, the images of devils dancing,

a second Nazi’s out-stuck tongue and a little girl dressed as a mouse twirling in the street are enough to live long in the memory. As ever, it’s the uniforms – as much as the people – that command attention.

• To see Mousie for free visit: http://m.omeleto.com/257467/

Self-funded on a shoestring, none of the cast and crew were paid for making Mousie, which is executive produced by Sir Derek Jacobi. “We all believed in the message of the film, and donated our time in honour of the charity that will receive any profits from it,” explains David Bartlett pictured here with Lord Dubs, who is a patron of the Separated Child Foundation. In the absence of financial reward, there is compensation in the critical praise Mousie has received and the film has been selected for 45 festivals worldwide, including the Boca Raton Jewish Film Festival next year. Across seven countries, Mousie has accrued 28 awards and nominations – most recently three Best Film awards and a Best Director gong in Italy. And best of all, Mousie is now eligible for the Academy Awards. www.separatedchild.org

Jewish News 16 December 2021

Business / Online media

candicekrieger@googlemail.com

With Candice Krieger

PODCASTING’S PHENOMENAL RISE CONTINUES Candice Krieger discovers the latest in entertainment by speaking with Sony’s head of podcasts Steve Ackerman and founder of streaming platform Lounges.tv Scott Green

odcasts are “Podcasting has promaking all the duced for audio what Netright noise. flix and Amazon did for A digital TV. It’s created binge audio file listening,” says Steve that can be Ackerman, co-head downloaded and lisof Global Podcasts tened to on different at Sony Music devices, podcasts have Entertainment. exploded on to the scene. “The audience And Michelle Obama, Louis growth is superTheroux and Jessie Ware aggressive in almost and are among the many celebevery demographic all the rities that have got in on the act. time in multiple markets Although not a new phenomSteve Ackerman, co-head of around the world.” enon – podcasts have been on Global Podcasts at Sony Music The statistics are the rise for five or six years – they Entertainment staggering: as of this year, have hit the mainstream this year there are more than two because of shifts in the way we consume media, million podcasts, up from around 500,000 in coupled with the appeal of being able to listen 2018 (Podcast Insights), and from an adverto what and when you want: on the commute – tising perspective, podcasting is predicted to be for those still commuting to work – around the a billion-dollar industry this year and $2billion house and while multitasking, or working out. next year. And while the industry is growing at

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‘The fact podcasts can be turned into TV shows or movies has had great value in the market’

a staggering pace in the US or UK, about 20-35 percent of audiences are listening on a weekly basis – a significant proportion but a figure that underlines how much further podcasting still has to go. “There is amazing potential.” Perhaps it’s unsurprising then that Sony Music has recently ramped up its podcast production potential with the acquisition of Somethin’ Else, the UK’s largest independent podcast and audio producer. Ackerman joined Somethin’ Else over 20 years ago and will jointly spearhead Sony Music Entertainment’s global podcast content and business development strategy. He will move from London to New York for the role. Ackerman wanted to work in radio from a young age. He went on to become a radio presenter, a journalist for the BBC and then producer. Since joining Somethin’ Else in 2000 he has seen the landscape change massively. “Back in the day radio was a very a small market and not really a way to build a business so we expanded into TV and social media, yet still being a large radio producer. “So when podcasting started properly happening five to six years ago, we [Somethin’ Else] were able to dive into it quite aggressively as we had a standing army of 40-odd creatives that we could point towards podcasting and we were able to use our own money to get shows going.” He adds: “For the first time, audio has a value beyond just advertising, so the fact the podcasts can be turned into TV shows or movies, which is happening at a very fast pace now, or that you create a live show from a podcast, in a way that never really happened with radio shows, has had great value in the market. Secondly, there is a genuine market for podcasts for the first time. “Back in the day if you had an idea in the UK the only place you could go to was the BBC but now that just isn’t the case. You can release a podcast yourself regardless of your size, or can

go to companies like us or many others who will back and fund you, so there is a proper market for ideas. And finally, podcasting has made audio a global marketplace – you can create shows in London that are big hits in the US – this was never a feasible thing before.” Part of the charm of podcasts lies in their ability to be consumed at any time of day. And while they were already on this soaring trajectory, the pandemic has accelerated it, generating a new swathe of listeners into podcasting as people spent more time at home. “We have seen how people working from home had a big impact on listening,” notes Ackerman. “When people might not have been able to listen previously during their working day if they were in an office, they could do from home.” He adds: “The advantage it has is that it can fill in gaps in the day that don’t compete with other media such as on a commute where you can be a listener but couldn’t watch a screen or read a book. It is a genuine lean-in medium – people want to listen and pay attention to what they’re hearing, so from an advertising perspective that’s really attractive.” The most popular types of podcasts are interview and/or conversational podcasts, hybrid podcasts, nonfiction narrative and scripted fiction. So what does Ackerman enjoy tuning into? He is a big fan of Sony shows Rhymes with Purple, the award-winning podcast about words with Susie Dent and Gyles Brandreth, David Tennant Does A Podcast With…. the narrative series Bad Blood and recommends The Just Enough Family, which follows the meteoric rise and staggering fall of Jewish family the Steinbergs, once one of America’s richest families. Outside of Sony, he loves SmartLess with Jason Bateman. Steve is a regular panellist on The Media Podcast. In 2013 he was made a fellow of the Radio Academy.

16 December 2021 Jewish News

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Online media / Business

PAY-PER-VIEW HOSTING FOR THE PEOPLE within 24 hours. A new pay-per-view live The start-up, streaming platform due to go raised £1.3million in its recent crowdfundlive early ing campaign, as next year, online streaming has been continues to surge. backed Lounges.tv – where by industry creators can liveheavyweights stream their content – including BBC has secured £1.4million iPlayer creator in total to date ahead of its Ben Lavender plus broadcasting specialist launch early next year. Remi Abayomi and former “Online streaming is 100 per Scott Green many Motown Records. general cent the future of entertainment”, popular manager Mervyn Lyn. says technology entrepreneur Scott Green, areas such Green, a member of Edgware founder of Lounges.tv. Loungest.tv is due to launch in 2022 as music, Reform Synagogue, says: “The rev“There has been a massive shift to oncomedy, education, cooking and well-being enue models of existing streaming platforms demand viewing. People want to watch what but also ensures they are fairly rewarded, are antiquated and deeply flawed in that only they want and when they want.” while providing a new exciting and interactive a small percentage of people can financially The market is estimated to be worth $247 streaming platform for audiences to enjoy.” billion by 2027, with 82 percent of internet use gain from uploading and sharing their conThousands of creators have pre-registered, tent – despite the many millions of unheard predicted to be for streaming by 2022. with new accounts growing daily. “Netflix and and talented individuals worldwide. The Lounges.tv model is simple. Anyone Amazon have changed the mindset of how we “Lounges.tv not only provides a platform can host a pay-per-view livesteam and is guarfor these people to showcase their talent across consume media especially for the millennials.” anteed 80 percent of the stream revenue paid

Streaming is expected to keep growing

The funding will be used to build the company’s technology platform, innovate, build a lean infostructure and execute its marketing campaign, ahead of the planned launch. Green adds: “The board and I incredibly excited about our potential to disrupt and transform the industry but feel extremely encouraged by the early success of the crowdfunding campaign – so watch this space.”  www.lounges.tv

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Jewish News 16 December 2021

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16 December 2021 Jewish News

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Orthodox Judaism

SEDRA Vayechi

BY BATSHEVA WOLF Yaacov (Jacob) is nearing his death, and he is aware of it. The Talmud (Pesachim 56a) tells us that in preparation, he wanted to reveal the future to his sons. Unable to do so, due to the power of prophecy leaving him as his end nears, a sense of dread falls over him. He is concerned about the spiritual paths of his sons. Both his father and grandfather, Avraham (Abraham) and Yitzchak (Isaac), had sons who did not follow their fathers’ paths, who did not carry on their family’s legacy. Yaacov feared the same destiny for his sons. So, he asks them: “Does any of you have any other beliefs in your heart? Is your heart in the place that I hope it is?” And his sons, as if agreed, answer in unison: “Shema Yisrael…” Yaacov answers “Baruch Shem Kevod…” and is reassured. The question that arises is, why did Yaacov’s sons say the Shema as their answer and why did those words allay their father’s fears?

The Shema expresses the fact that God is our God and is one. Shema is the answer to Yaacov’s question because it shows in which direction their hearts and their beliefs were pointing. They assured him that “just as there is only one God in your heart, so, too, there is only one in our hearts”. The reverberations of this question and answer still sound today. We answer Yaacov’s question twice daily, connecting ourselves to the heritage that Yaacov was so afraid would get lost. Throughout Jewish history the Shema has been the answer. The last cry, the outcry, the cry of hope. The Shema has become our motto as a nation. It shows our identity as a monotheistic religion, which shaped our morals and ethics. Twice a day, when we utter the Shema, we reiterate that motto and recommit to God.

◆ Batsheva Wolf is the secondary and youth education manager for Tribe

Torah For Today What the Torah says about: Should Ghislaine Maxwell be in prison now? BY RABBI STEVEN DANSKY Ghislaine Maxwell is accused of grooming young underage women for sexual encounters for her associate Geoffrey Epstein. While her guilt or innocence is yet to be established, she has been imprisoned. The sages are very much in favour of the dictum ‘innocent until proven guilty’. We are told in Ethics of the Fathers to “judge every person favourably” (1:6). What does that imply about her imprisonment? From the medieval responsa of the Rivash (Rabbi Issac Ben Sheshet 1326-1408) it is clear that imprisonment is not something of which the Torah generally approves. Taking another’s freedom away is anathema to a people who were once slaves. However, there are exceptions. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 86a), discusses the case of a person who seriously hurts another to the extent that they may die. In such a case, the offender is imprisoned. According to

Torah law, if a person kills another, the result is capital punishment, but if he or she injures another then there is a financial penalty to the injured party. Rashi explains that the reason the individual is kept in prison is not only to ascertain what his punishment is to be, but also to ensure that the offender does not run away from the law. This source has much in common with Maxwell’s case. While at the moment the court has not ruled on the charges against her, she

is very much a flight risk. Whether guilty or innocent, the temptation to run away from these allegations must be very high. She is in prison not because she is guilty, but because it is imperative that she stays to face the accusations placed against her. Prisons are there not only as punishment, but as a method of protection for those inside. The Torah tells us about the cities of refuge, which were lived in by people who had inadvertently killed another. In those cities, they were safe from the relatives of the person who they had killed. When you consider the outrage of the victims and the public following the publicity of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes in the press and the Netflix documentary series, it is in Maxwell’s interests to stay safe behind prison walls for now. ◆ Rabbi Steven Dansky is Rabbi at Cranbrook Synagogue

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Jewish News 16 December 2021

Progressive Judaism

Progressively Speaking

The Bible Says What?! The bizarre ritual of the red cow

Abuse, celebration... that was the week that was

BY RABBI DR ANDREW GOLDSTEIN Between Purim and Pesach, unknown to most Jews, there is a special Shabbat called ‘Shabbat Parah’ – the Sabbath of the red cow. Those who still celebrate it take out a second scroll and read from Numbers 19: “Instruct the Israelite people to bring you a red cow without blemish. It shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered. The cow shall then be burnt… and the ashes mixed with water to be sprinkled on those made impure by touching a dead body.” As if this is not bizarre enough, the text says this ritual makes the impure pure and makes the ones carrying out the ritual, who must be pure, impure for doing it! Magic indeed, and even the early rabbis couldn’t understand it. The Midrash tell us: “Solomon was wiser than all others but when it came to the session of the red cow even he admitted: ‘I thought I could fathom it but it eludes me.’”

The great Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai was challenged by a gentile for an explanation of the verse. He fobbed him off with a clever answer but later admitted to his students that he had no idea what it meant. The whole concept is surely laughable, though it is even more fantastic that some ultra-fundamentalists in Israel are doing genetic experiments to breed perfect red cows to have them ready should the Moshiach appear next Tuesday or whenever. While probably based on some pre-Biblical superstitious beliefs, maybe the point of this chapter of the Torah today is simply to make us laugh. In a world that seems full of confusion, pain and anxiety, we need laughter to keep us sane and renew our hope that, as Hebrew poet Saul Tchernichowsky wrote: “What I dream shall yet come true... and peace at last the earth shall fill.”

◆ Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein is president of Liberal Judaism

BY RABBI MARK GOLDSMITH Last month, a group of young men shouted antisemitic abuse, spat and banged on the windows of a bus on Oxford Street carrying a group of Charedi teenagers who had been celebrating Chanukah, dancing on the pavement in front of the shops. The attack was condemned by Boris Johnson and Mayor of London Sadiq Kahn, as well as by Jewish groups. This is not the only time Jews have felt unsafe on transport. In recent years there have been incidents as students travelled to Hasmonean School and JFS. It can be difficult to separate the kind of fights between teenagers that sadly happen all over the country from those that are antisemitic. But all young people should expect to be safe on public transport. On 7 December, one of the large chanukiot placed in public spaces by Lubavitch Jews was apparently vandalised and the sandbags holding it in place were removed, causing it to break in two. These incidents are

wrong and we need to act upon all of them, making sure that our community is secure, safe and able to express our Judaism publicly and proudly. However, we do have a great deal to celebrate. Our synagogues are not fortresses; they are visible and accessible because we have worked hard to keep them so, with the support of local police and the dedication of the CST and shul security volunteers. We were able to celebrate the

public lighting of chanukiot in many places, and especially in Trafalgar Square, in a way that included the whole Jewish community, with Rabbi Charley Baginsky, CEO of Liberal Judaism, among those who said the blessings as it was lit. Even the London Eye was lit up to celebrate Chanukah on the last day of the festival and synagogue after synagogue celebrated public gatherings. Our Jewish festival was celebrated in Downing Street and in parliament. The overwhelming picture of Jewish life in the UK is that it is safe, able to thrive, and supported by central government and local authorities. Those who express hate in public must be made to face the consequences of their actions. But there is much to celebrate about being a Jew in the United Kingdom as we put away our chanukiot for another year. ◆ Rabbi Mark Goldsmith is Senior Rabbi at Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue

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KKL Executor and Trustee Company Ltd (a Company registered in England Disabled apartment and your money runs out, No. 453042) is a subsidiary of JNF Charitable Trust (Charity No. 225910) and a registered Trust Corporation (authorised capital £250,000). please know that you would still be entitled to LISA WIMBORNE CHIEF EXECUTIVE stay in your flat and there is support on hand to JEWISH BLIND & DISABLED help people in this situation. Jewish News (Ask the Expert) 10x2 - 2021.indd 1 Lloyd Platt & Co. 11/02/2021 Once your assets (including savings, bank Family Law Solicitors Dear Lisa account and any equity) are below £16,000, I’m keen to apply to Jewish Blind & Disabled you are entitled to apply for housing benefit. We are pleased to help with all aspects of Family Law, including: but have concerns around my finances. I As our tenant, we would support you with this • Divorce have some equity in my current house but process. You can apply for housing benefit (and • Pre/Post - Nuptial Agreements worry about what would happen if I was no possibly other benefits) as long as you are a UK • Cohabitation Agreements longer able to pay my rent. I’m sure there resident for over six months before applying. • Domestic Violence • Children’s cases are others in this situation too but not sure We allocate our apartments based on need • Grandparents’ rights to see grandchildren what the solution is. What would happen if and not people’s finances. We are here for • Pet disputes I moved into a flat and my money runs out? everyone who needs our unique housing and • Settlements for Cohabitees Paul support. • Financial Settlement on Divorce • Family disputes We currently have a few vacancies so would encourage you to get an application in sooner Dear Paul To make an appointment please telephone 020 8343 2998 rather than later. Our application form can be Thank you for contacting us. You are right; Lloyd Platt & Company, Third Floor, Elscot House, Arcadia Avenue, London N3 2JU found online at www.jbd.org/apply or you can many people are in a similar situation to the Website: www.divorcesolicitors.com call us on 020 8371 6611 for a copy to be posted Email: lloydplatt@divorcesolicitors.com one you describe. to you. We look forward to hearing from you. First, if you moved into a Jewish Blind & Regulated and authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority

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ADWCONNECT Dear Benjamin With the winter holidays fast approaching, what is the best way for us to make sure we don’t miss any important calls while our offices are shut? Sam Hi Sam There are a few options that you could take. First, you have the simple option of recording an automated

message on your phones to tell callers when you’ll be shut and when/how to call back. You could also set up our voicemail to email service; whereby any time you receive a voicemail, you will get an email with the audio file attached and the actual transcript of the message, meaning you can choose how to deal with it, depending on its importance. You could deploy a softphone, which can connect your office phone to your mobile or desktop. This means that you need never to miss a call because whenever your office phone rings, so would your softphone application. If you are unable to deploy a softphone, you could also look at setting up a call divert so that office calls can

15:17:31

wondering if subtitles would also benefit my daughter. Michelle

SUE CIPIN CHIEF EXECUTIVE

be diverted to your personal mobile or even home phone. Finally, you could get your calls diverted to a personal assistant who would handle the calls for you. This would come with a cost, but it gives you the luxury of fully enjoying your break. If you have any additional questions, or would like my assistance with anything else, I’d love to help so please get in touch using my details on the Experts page.

JEWISH DEAF ASSOCIATION Dear Sue My six-year-old daughter Ava has some hearing loss. I’m inspired seeing how wonderfully the Deaf actress Rose Ayling-Ellis is doing on Strictly Come Dancing. I read recently that Rose watches TV programmes with subtitles as well as those with British Sign Language interpretation. I was

Dear Michelle That’s an excellent question – and one that I’m asked a lot. Yes absolutely – subtitles will benefit Ava hugely! Not only will they increase her understanding of what’s being said on screen, but matching the spoken words with the written ones should improve her reading proficiency as well. Ultimately, all children can benefit from subtitles when learning to read and we adults actually all miss the occasional word, so you may be surprised at how your listening skills are improved with subtitles too!

It really is incredible how visual input reinforces the auditory experience! If you’d like any further help on subtitles, please call Gabrielle at JDA on 020 8446 0214. Also, Jody, our family support worker, is here for you and Ava, if you ever need guidance, information, or to be introduced to other mums. She is on 020 8446 0502.

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Sunday 12th December DIVORCE & FAMILY SOLICITOR

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Fun, games and prizes

THE JEWISH NEWS CROSSWORD 1

10 11 13 15 17 19 20 21

7 8

ACROSS 1 Fond of talking (6) 4 Interlaced structure (4)

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

Circular (5) Smooth, urbane (5) Thumb a lift (5) Person who hoards money (5) Trailblazer (7) Main point (3) Toe the line (4) Evoke (6)

8 Fuel used for heating (3) 9 Full of fun (7)

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.

CODEWORD

The animals that have shells 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.

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 with their letters in the grid will help you to guess the identity of other letters.

F Y A R C S H B B P

E E B Z S

L W A S G A N O

R N R N C L E

S R B K

O O

E E A S K

T C T Q U L Y C

F C S T X

L C O Z Y M E S

J R T M E T E R R A P

U U E S A L D T A M U J

C A R O T

L W O C B S F C

M E P R T

J C

Y A

L H Y D L

HERMIT CRAB LOBSTER MUSSEL OYSTER

PRAWN SCALLOP SEA URCHIN SNAIL

Last issue’s solutions

Crossword ACROSS: 1 Rings 4 Valve 7 Mottled 8 Lie 9 VIP 11 Drop by 14 Craggy 17 Tub 19 Eau 20 Sausage 22 Taboo 23 Spent DOWN: 1 Remove 2 Net 3 Solid 4 Video 5 Lilibet 6 Ever 10 Perturb 12 Rug 13 Absent 15 Gusto 16 Yours 18 Pelt 21 Ace

4 2 8 3 7 6 5 9 1

5 3 1 6 8 9 4 2 7

12 12

24 26

8 4 2 1 3 7 9 6 5

2 8 4 7 6 1 3 5 9

3 1 5 4

4 3

5 1 12

7 6

1 4

8 16

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 1

Suguru 9 7 6 4 5 2 1 3 8

2 4

TERRAPIN TORTOISE TURTLE WINKLE

3 9 7 5 1 4 2 8 6

Sudoku 1 6 5 2 9 8 7 4 3

X S U Q L O B S T E R Z M BARNACLES CLAM CRAYFISH CUTTLEFISH

K V X

H T N W A R P E W T R E

L N A M H A F S N V N D L G

9 4 9 5

9 7 2 6 1 9 5 7 2 3 9 2 9 3 5 7 4 6 7 8

WORDSEARCH H S

3 8 8 4

DOWN 1 Cheroot, eg (5) 2 Menacing attack (7) 3 Just warm (5) 5 Fairy (3) 6 Divide exactly into two (5) 7 Techniques (4) 12 Poisonous chemical element (7) 13 African river mammal (5) 14 Take notice of (4) 15 Lesson of a story (5) 16 Automaton (5) 18 Crude mineral (3)

SUDOKU

7 5 9 8 4 3 6 1 2

6 1 3 9 2 5 8 7 4

1 5 4 3 1 2

4 3 1 2 5 4

5 2 5 3 1 2

Wordsearch 1 4 1 4 5 3

2 5 2 3 2 1

3 1 4 1 4 3

2 3 1 3 2 1

1 4 2 5 4 5

3 5 3 1 2 3

1 4 2 5 4 1

2 3 1 3 2 3

4 5 2 5 4 1

V L R C C A F L M P N R I

A P O X O N B F O I H R M

L K S U R T H L R I Q E N

X I E B M H L W Z U L O R

C O T Y L E D O N A I Y E

A T T S N R M Y P T N T B

P F E C I E C E A H E J U

Codeword D E E S O P S N V W M G T

N O I T A R I P S N A R T

Q O V L T M O B M S T O J

U B E D R D A L U E S K R

Z A S E M U G E L L T N E

F G G C A L Y X K A B S Z

E F F E C T I V E L Y

R E V L A C QU E R E I S A A T I UN

J U V E NA T E N X P V I L P ROVO I O S K A T OR TWE T L MOR P E NC U S H I T T AB L E S R A R T I C E C I V Z S O I C E A S I NG L

P K E N E D U I L O AU S I L Y Y

H D N R K Z EWG O Y V T 16/12 F XMA S U J CBQ I L P

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The Jewish News 22 September 2016

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CHARITY & WELFARE

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PROFESSIONAL PAINTING, DECORATING & PAPER HANGING

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Take Away and Home Deliveries

Glatt Kosher Chinese - 020 8203 7888

12.30 - 2.30pm and 5.30 - 10.30pm

We blast chill for Shabbos every Thursday

Glatt Kosher Le Mahadrin under the strict supervision of the London Beth Din and Rabbi Akiva Osher Padwa

Hot Appetisers

Imperial Hors D’oeuvres (minimum 2 persons) pp £10.00 Oriental Hors D’oeuvres (minimum 2 persons) pp £10.00 Spare Ribs £13.00 Spicy Marinated Rib Pieces £13.00 Capital Spare Ribs £13.00 Chicken Spring Rolls £10.00 Beef Spring Rolls £11.50 Vegetarian Spring Rolls £7.00 Rice Paper Spring Rolls with Chicken £10.00 Duck Spring Rolls with Plum Sauce £11.00 Seaweed £7.00 Crispy Fried Won Ton £7.50 Sesame Chicken Toast £10.00 Sesame Beef Toast £11.00 Fried Beef Dumplings £11.00 Fried Chicken Dumplings £11.00 Steamed Chicken Dumplings £11.00 Saté Chicken £11.50 Saté Lamb £11.50 Vegetable Tempura £9.50 Barbequed Chicken Wings £11.00 Honey Glazed Chicken Wings £11.00 Toffee Chicken Drummers £11.00 Five Spices Bean Curd £9.50 Deep Fried Aubergine £9.50 Barbequed Beef with Pancakes £17.00 Fried Chicken Parcels £11.00

Cold Appetisers

Spicy Lamb with Garlic & Chilli Bang Bang Chicken

£17.00 £16.50

Second Course

Hunan Chicken With Lettuce Vegetarian Lettuce Wrap Hunan Lamb with Lettuce Crispy Aromatic Duck (Quarter) - extra Pancakes (each)

Soups

Hot and Sour Soup Chicken and Sweetcorn Chicken and Asparagus Straw Mushroom and Bean Curd Sliced Lamb and Cucumber Spicy Fish Soup Chicken Noodle Soup Mixed Vegetable Soup Mixed Meat Soup Minced Chicken Ball Soup Chicken & Glass Noodle Soup Sweet Corn and Bean Curd Soup

Sizzling

Steak in Black Pepper Sauce Steak Cantonese Style Beef in Black Bean Sauce Beef with Ginger & Spring Onions Beef Rib Cantonese Style Lamb in Black Bean Sauce Lamb with Spring Onion Chicken with Ginger & Spring Onion Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce Three Meats with Spring Onion Duck in Black Pepper Sauce Mixed Vegetables in Black Bean Sauce

£16.50

£11.00 £17.00 £21.00 35p

£7.00 £7.00 £7.00 £7.00 £7.00 £7.00 £7.00 £7.00 £7.00 £7.00 £7.00 £7.00

£20.50 £20.50 £20.50 £20.50 £20.50 £20.50 £20.50 £18.50 £18.50 £20.50 £23.00 £13.50

Chicken

With English Mushrooms With Straw Mushrooms With Chinese Mushrooms With Seasonal Greens With Asparagus With Lemon Smoked & Shredded With Baby Sweetcorn Sweet and Sour Kaifeng Style Sweet and Sour Hong Kong Style Special Fried With Cashew Nuts in Yellow Bean Sauce Sliced with Black Bean Sauce & Green Pepper Sliced Mango Chicken Sliced Chicken with Chinese Leaves Char Siu Chicken Pineapple Chicken Peking Style Honey Chicken Chicken & Almonds in Yellow Bean Sauce Chicken & Broccoli Kaifeng Chicken with Lemongrass Sweet Chilli Chicken Fried Chicken, Passion Fruit and Mustard Chicken with Aubergine

Fish

r e b m

e c st De 1 3 m y p a 0 d i 0 . r 2 F n e m p a O 11

Beef

With Straw Mushroom With Ginger and Spring Onion With Seasonal Vegetables Soft battered with Creamed Mustard With Chinese Leaves With Asparagus Braised Brisket With Cashew Nuts in Yellow Bean Sauce Sliced Mango Beef Deep Fried Shredded with Chilli Beef with Broccoli Minced Beef Balls Capital Beef Ribs Slow Cooked Five Spice Ribs Sesame Saté Beef

Lamb

With Asparagus With Seasonal Greens Char Siu Lamb Sweet and Sour Quick Fried with Spring Onion Deep Fried Chops with Peppercorn Salt Sliced Lamb with Chinese Leaves Lamb & Cashew Nuts Lamb with Straw Mushrooms Lamb & Broccoli Shanghai Ribs

Duck

With Spring Onion With Pineapple With Bean Sprouts With Orange Roasted Braised and Sliced Duck In Black Bean Sauce Lo Hon Duck

Party Packs

£17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £21.00

Rice and Noodles

Special Fried Rice with Meats Chicken Fried Rice Egg Rice Duck Fried Rice Beef Fried Rice with Lettuce Boiled Rice Mushroom Fried Rice Mixed Vegetable Rice Beef Fried Noodles Noodles & Bean Sprouts Chicken Fried Noodles Singapore Rice Noodles Kaifeng Fried Noodles with Meats Mixed Vegetable Noodles (Noodles can be ordered soft, crispy or Ho Fun flat noodles)

£21.00 £21.00 £21.00 £21.00 £21.00 £21.00

£25.00

£10.50 £10.50 £6.50 £10.50 £10.50 £6.00 £8.50 £8.50 £12.50 £8.00 £12.50 £12.50 £12.50 £9.50

Steamed Fish (Whole) Sea Bass, Sea Bream or S Sea Bass, Sea Bream or Salmon almon £28.00 Fried Fish in Rich Soya Sauce (Whole) Sea Bass, Sea Bream or Salmon £28.00 Sweet and Sour Fish Slices £27.00 Fillet of Fish with Garlic and Spring Onion £27.00 Stir Fried Fish Slices £27.00 Drunken Fish £27.00

Hot & Spicy

Singapore Chicken Extra Spicy Peking Chicken Spicy Kung Po Chicken Curried Chicken Wings Double Cooked Spicy Lamb Tibetan Lamb Extra Spicy Lamb Ma Po Spicy Lamb Bean Curd Extra Spicy Peking Beef Curried Beef Balls Spicy Bean Curd Family Style

£16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £17.00 £11.00

Vegetarian

Mixed Vegetables £8.00 Mixed Vegetables in Coconut Cream £8.50 Asparagus & Straw Mushrooms £12.00 Stir Fried French Beans Peking Style £8.50 Lo Hon Vegetables £8.00 Four Braised Vegetables £8.50 Egg Plant in Garlic Sauce £9.00 Stir Fried Bean Sprouts £7.00 Braised Bean Curd £11.00 Braised Bean Curd in Black Bean Sauce £11.00 Sweet and Sour Bean Curd £11.00 Spiced Vegetables in Kaifeng’s Oriental Sauce £8.00 Sweet and Sour Mixed Vegetables £8.00 Broccoli Peking Style £9.00 Broccoli & Chinese Mushrooms £12.00 Pak Choi £11.50 Chinese Leaves with Chinese Mushrooms £11.50

Reception or buffet at home?

Vegetarian Spring Rolls 20 pcs. with Sweet and Sour Sauce Seaweed * Honey Glazed Chicken Wings 25 pcs. Chicken in Black Bean Sauce * Lamb with Ginger and Spring Onion * Egg Fried Rice *

£38.00 £24.00 £40.00 £60.00 £66.00 £24.00

£16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50 £16.50

Mini Spring Rolls 30 pcs. with Sweet and Sour Sauce Sesame Chicken Toast 32 pcs. Sweet and Sour Chicken Hong Kong Style * Beef with Mushrooms * Noodles and Bean Sprouts*

* approx 4 portions

£38.00 £40.00 £60.00 £66.00 £28.00

www.jewishnews.co.uk

Jewish News 16 December 2021

Kaifeng is open Friday 31st December By customer demand, open from 11am to 2.00pm for Take Away collection or delivery As capacity is limited, we ask that you book your order before the day. We hate to disappoint!

Turn the page to see the full menu!

We are open as usual on all the public holidays Kaifeng Gift Vouchers - the gift of taste “Eating at Kaifeng is always a special experience unmatched in a Glatt Kosher restaurant anywhere. The food is always delicious and you know that it was made with the finest and highest quality ingredients and above all it was just cooked moments before, specially for you! Their attention to detail is fantastic. The tables are always covered with fresh clean, white crispy starched table clothes. Now the cleanliness and attention to safety is even better, with heated one-time use napkins replacing the hot towels to refresh yourself and staff wearing gloves and face masks. Pareve or meaty, vegan or vegetarian, all Glatt Kosher le’Mehadrin and in complete safety too!” Rabbi Akiva Osher Padwa

The Place for a Simcha Sunday - Thursday Lunch Menu now cheaper than Take Aways! Faboulous Cocktails Shabbos meals blast chilled and delivered every Thursday evening

Fine Glatt Kosher Chinese Glatt Kosher Le Mahadrin under the strict supervision of the London Beth Din and Rabbi Akiva Osher Padwa

51 Church Road, Hendon NW4 4DU Reservations:

020 8203 7888

www.kaifeng.co.uk

Open Sunday to Thursday: Lunch 12.30 - 2.30pm, Dinner 5.30 - 10.30pm, Motzei Shabbat: September - Pesach