1283 - 7th October 2022

The long run

or a capital

Bold

The Board of Deputies president’s decision to use a speech at a Conservative Friends of Israel event to back calls for the government to move the UK embassy in Israel to Jerusalem has sharply divided opinion across the community, writes Lee Harpin.

To cheers, Marie van der Zyl told the audience at Sunday’s event at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, attended by Prime Minister Liz Truss: “We are really hopeful that the government is going to move the embassy, like America, to Jerusalem – the capital of Israel.”

Following her speech, the Board’s president is understood to have been contacted by deputies and other communal figures with messages of both praise and sharp criticism.

Her decision to speak out in favour the embassy move was also discussed at a pre-Yom Kippur weekly meeting of the Board’s honorary o cers on Tuesday.

Van der Zyl remarks were immediately praised by former deputy Gary Mond, who told Jewish News his new organisation, the National Jewish Assembly, gave its “total support” to her

stance on the embassy issue.

Another deputy, not known to be from the political right, also defended van der Zyl saying they could not see how she could have delivered a speech at the CFI event which gave the impression she did not support the prime minister’s earlier pledge to “review” moving the embassy to Jerusalem.

A Board of Deputies source also stressed that the president would not have mentioned the embassy as an issue if Truss had not mentioned it herself since she became PM.

But “pro-peace” group Yachad issued its

own speedy response to the Board president’s remarks, tweeting that with many in the community facing the impact of the cost of living crisis it was “absurd for our communal leadership to call on the UK government to make such a costly and unnecessary embassy move – one the British taxpayer will pay for and one the Israeli public did not demand.”

After the Board tweeted a video of the president’s speech, which also included a call

Marie van der Zyl at the Tory conference with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly

Truss: ‘I’m a huge Zionist and supporter of Israel’

Prime Minister Liz Truss told a Conservative Friends of Israel reception she is a “huge Zionist and huge supporter of Israel” and once again pledged she would “take the UKIsrael relationship from strength to strength”, writes Lee Harpin.

Speaking at Sunday’s party conference in Birmingham, she raised further concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Truss asserted: “Believe me, the UK will never allow – together with our allies – Iran to get a nuclear weapon.”

She added: “In this world – where we are facing threats from authoritarian regimes who don’t believe in freedom and democracy – two free democracies, the UK and Israel, need to stand shoulder to shoulder and we will be even closer in the future.”

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly spoke of his “incredible pride” at being involved in the “warming of relations between Israel and its neighbours in the region”, adding that it is “something the UK should celebrate”. Recalling his time playing Perchik in an amateur production of Fiddler on the Roof in

his youth, the foreign secretary said the UK can “very e ectively play the role of matchmaker”.

He said the UK would be “trying to make those relationships stronger. Making sure they are permanent. Making sure that they work for everybody at all levels – government to government, people to people, business to business”.

Committing to visiting Israel soon, Cleverly said: “You know what I know… Israel has been a beacon of democracy, liberalism, openness, tolerance in a part of the world where that has not been the history.”

On relations with Israel, he added: “I see how closely we work on medical science and technology – the kind of collaboration that will hopefully prevent something like coronavirus ever happening again.”

Conservative Party chairman Jake Berry said: “I follow the prime minister in stating in no uncertain terms the commitment of this party to support the State of Israel.

“You have my unwavering commitment as chairman of the party that we will continue to build strong relationships with the State of Israel and to support it in its fight to ensure that

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it remains safe and that the capital in Jerusalem is the home to our new embassy.”

International trade secretary Kemi Badenoch said the UK–Israel Free Trade Agreement would be “right at the top of the list” of her priorities during her time in o ce.

Secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport Michelle Donelan, meanwhile, announced one of her first international visits will be to Israel and said “there are so many lessons that we can take from Israel”.

The culture secretary also said she was “exceptionally proud” of the work she had done during her time as universities minister “to crack down on the antisemitism that runs through some of the political movements still in this country”.

She pledged: “As a government, we remain firm on our commitment to stamp out antisemitism in every corner of our society.

“One of the things I did was to put the largest set of sanctions on the NUS because they fail

to recognise what they were doing. Under this prime minister, we will be taking even more of those actions because we certainly should be ensuring that people who grow up in the society of modern Britain don’t even have to consider antisemitism.”

Liam Fox MP, who is standing for election to be the chairman of the foreign a airs select committee, heralded the “ground-breaking” Abraham Accords, which he said would “bring prosperity across the region”.

He called for the UK to follow the United States in proscribing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and expressed concern about Iran’s escalating nuclear activities.

“If we don’t make the tough choices today, the price tomorrow will be infinitely higher,” Fox added.

The event was chaired by CFI’s parliamentary chairman (Lords), Eric Pickles, and featured appearances from CFI’s parliamentary chairman (Commons), Stephen Crabb.

Online Safety Bill backed in debate on free speech

Former Conservative minister Baroness Morgan has criticised those “hung up on freedom of speech” after defending the government’s attempt to legislate against online hate, writes Lee Harpin. Nicky Morgan told the Antisemitism Policy Trust fringe event at the Tory Party conference: “We are not better o as a society by allowing certain content to flourish, including antisemitism, selfharm and misogyny.”

Appearing on a panel with Lord Pickles, the former cul-

ture and education secretary criticised attempts to rewrite the government’s Online Safety Bill to satisfy free speech advocates.

“Talking about the Bill, people are hung up on freedom of speech,” said Morgan. “But is it better to allow people to say anything even when it is very harmful and isn’t beneficial to society, such as posting images of self-harm?”

Morgan, who now sits in the Lords, said the Bill should legislate against legal but harmful content.

Lord Pickles stressed “antisemitism is not a trivial thing” and while social media can be positive, “it can a ect people in a very deep and negative way”.

There were “consequences to antisemitism”, which was “responsible for the killing of six million Jews”.

During Monday’s discussion, chaired by APT chief executive Danny Stone, Morgan confirmed that she has had talks about reinstating in the Bill a digital media literacy strategy, which had been removed.

has never been simpler.

Liz Truss makes a point during her speech at the CFI gathering

TORY FRINGE SPEAKERS LABEL IHRA ‘RESTRICTIVE’

A fringe event at the Conservative Party conference included claims that the IHRA definition of antisemitism “restricts” debate over Israel and the Palestinians, writes Lee Harpin.

At Sunday’s joint Taxpayers Alliance and Institute of Economic A airs event at the Birmingham conference, panellist Eric Kaufmann backed claims by an audience member that there is “no doubt” IHRA “does restrict what people can say about the Israel/Palestine conflict”.

Kaufmann, a professor at Birkbeck, University of London, responded to the suggestion saying: “IHRA – I totally agree with you.”

The audience member had referred to the decision by former education secretary Gavin Williamson two years ago to force universities to adopt the IHRA definition, or risk losing their funding.

He said this was a “strong, tough move against antisemitism”, but then raised his concern about the definition’s impact on free speech.

The same event also featured repeat attacks on the government’s proposed Online Safety Bill, over claims that it impacts on free speech.

At one stage, the panellist Marc Glend-

ening, head of cultural a airs at the Institute of Economic A airs, openly challenged claims that teenagers, including Molly Russell, who took her own life aged 14 after viewing self-harm images online, could be damaged by what they viewed on the internet.

He said: “The whole notion that you could be made unsafe by looking at a computer screen I would challenge. There is no way being exposed to a particular viewpoint or seeing some unpleasant imagery can actually harm you.”

Glendening was then challenged over his views by another panellist, who raised the tragic case of Molly, whose father said was harmed by the images she viewed on the internet.

“I disagree,” he said, when presented with the father’s claim. “I think there are a range of other issues there. There is not a deterministic relationship between what a person, whether teenager or adult, sees online and what they do.”

Glendening suggested online safety legislation was a result of the “centre right” adopting the views of the “new left”.

But in an interview with the Times, culture secretary Michelle Donelan accused social media companies of “abysmal” conduct in relation to the death of 14 year-old teenager Molly.

She said: “If Instagram applied its own terms terms and conditions, it’s my understanding Molly Russell wouldn’t have been fed the content she was.”

JVL co-founder forced to give unreserved apology

Jewish Voice for Labour co-founder Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi has “apologised unreservedly” to the journalist John Ware in the High Court after accepting she made “untrue” and “defamatory” remarks about his political leanings, writes Lee Harpin.

The apology, made in open court on Tuesday, followed a libel action brought by Ware against JVL, Wimborne-Idrissi, and the group’s website editor Richard Kuper following the broadcast of the July 2019 BBC Panorama programme that investigated antisemitism within Labour under Jeremy Corbyn.

The day after transmission JVL media o cer Wimborne-Idrissi told BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show that Ware had “a terrible record of Islamophobia, far-right politics, he’s been disciplined at – BBC has had to apologise”. She also wrote on her Facebook page that Ware was a journalist with a “record of right wing, racist work”.

Last month, the JVL group, its co-founder Wimborne-Idrissi, and website editor Richard Kuper, released a statement confirming they settled and apologised for the libellous remarks.

JVL subsequently issued a plea to its supporters for £250,000 on the Crowd Justice website after admitting the settlement with Ware “comes at considerable financial cost”.

A legal source suggested that the size of this fundraising suggests JVL has had to pay both costs and damages, and leaves the pro-Corbyn group facing an uncertain future.

In a statement read in court on Tuesday,

Wimborne-Idrissi said: “I accept the court’s judgment that my comments about John Ware in a live radio programme on the Jeremy Vine show were defamatory. I should not have asserted that the BBC had taken action against Mr Ware in connection with allegations he has engaged in Islamophobia and extreme farright/or racist politics, nor that this was in any way reflected in his journalistic work.

“I accept these allegations are untrue. JVL and I have apologised unreservedly to Mr Ware and explained I spoke in the way that I did because I was angry at the content of the programme.”

Netanyahu taken ill on Yom Kippur

Israel’s opposition leader

Benjamin Netanyahu felt unwell during a Yom Kippur service and after checks at the synagogue where he was praying, he was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

He was still in the hospital on Wednesday night, where he was having tests. His doctor, Zvi Herman Berkowitz, was quoted as saying he looked “excellent, not even pale”.

According to a statement on behalf of the Likud party leader, Netanyahu, 72, began to feel unwell during prayers, at Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue.

the time that he felt unwell.

According to an unsourced report from the Kan public broadcaster, Netanyahu suffered from chest pains. He was driven to the hospital by his driver.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement that he wished Netanyahu a speedy recovery.

Israel goes to its fifth election in less than four years on 1 November. Netanyahu is bidding to oust Lapid, having been prime minister for 12 consecutive years until 2021.

Paramedics annually treat hundreds who faint, are dehydrated, or feel ill owing to the Yom Kippur.

to the Yom Kippur.

checks at the shul which deciding to go to the

The statement said he underwent a number of checks at the shul which came out normal, before deciding to go to the city’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

A second statement said Netanyahu was fasting at

TV broadfor the holiday.

Israel shuts down on Yom Kippur, with public transport, government services and TV broadcasters stopping for the holiday.

Brian’s mum Bertie loved being around people. That’s why she used to say that volunteering for Jewish Care was the happiest time of her later life.

Before Bertie passed away, she never got a chance to amend her Will so she could leave something to Jewish Care. Brian has since told us that he has included Jewish Care in his Will on her behalf; “I don’t want to leave it until it’s too late, like Mum. I’m doing this for her”. With a gift in your Will to Jewish Care, you can make sure that future generations of our community get the care they need, when they need it most.

For more information about leaving a gift in your Will and our free Will Writing Service, please call Sarit on 020 8922 2819, email legacyteam@jcare.org or visit jewishcare.org/legacy

“Jewish Care meant everything to my mum, Bertie. That’s why I’m leaving them a gift in my Will”.

Brian, Legacy Pledger

Panellists at the fringe event at the Conservative Party conference

Ware received an ‘unreserved apology’

Shift ‘would marginalise UK’

Continued from page 1 for the proscription of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, on its o cial social media account, Jewish News received a message saying “a large group of Deputies have been stunned.”

Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel chair Gavin Stollar was among those later to question why the embassy issue was being so enthusiastically pushed by the Board’s president.

He said: “The Board of Deputies’ remit and outlook is UK domestic Jewry. Unless a vote in their plenary has been taken formalising a view on the location of the UK’s embassy in Israel, the president of the Board would be well advised to keep this tubthumping Trump-esque rhetoric to herself as it is deeply unhelpful.”

One deputy told Jewish News they were also concerned “the president has taken a line without the executive, the international division or the plenary of deputies discussing it”.

Another accused van der Zyl of “looking like she is cosying up to one political party at time of intense national criticism for Liz Truss”.

From Israel the lawyer and writer on Jerusalem a airs Daniel Seidemann said: “The push to move the UK embassy to Jerusalem is both wellintended and dangerously misguided.

“The move of the UK embassy will be a colossal act self marginalisation. Ask the US. It will inflict major damage on its foreign policy and its standing in Mid-East and beyond. “

In 2018 former Board president

Jonathan Arkush was criticised after he defended ex-US president Donald Trump’s decision to the move its embassy to Jerusalem. Some depu-

ties accused him of being “wildly out of step” with their views, but others called for Arkush to go further and call for a UK embassy move.

On Monday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said: “Any change in the status quo in Jerusalem would undermine the two-state solution.”

Truss had first pledged to “review” moving the UK embassy to Jerusalem at a CFI leadership campaign debate.

A Foreign O ce spokesperson said Truss “understands the importance and sensitivity of the location of the British embassy in Israel”. It added: “We are undertaking a review of the current location to ensure that we are in the best possible position to continue promoting British interests in Israel, peace and stability in the region, and in support of a two-state solution.”  Editorial comment, page 20; Jenni Frazer, page 24

... AS ARAB AMBASSADORS PROTEST

Arab ambassadors in the UK have written to Liz Truss to protest at what they say is “an illegal and ill-judged” plan to move the British embassy to Jerusalem, writes Lee Harpin.

According to the Guardian, they include diplomats from Gulf states that have been supportive of the Abraham Accords initiative.

There are also claims that the plan could

jeopardise talks on a free trade deal between the UK and the Gulf Cooperation Council due to be completed this year.

During her leadership campaign, the prime minister told Conservative Friends of Israel she would “review” the embassy location and repeated the pledge at a meeting in New York with Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid.

One former diplomat told the Guardian Truss “seems to think she should ape Donald Trump. The di erence is that the US is big enough to get its way in the Middle East. The UK is not. If the UK shifted its embassy it would have a domino e ect among some countries in the European Union, and will damage British interest in the Arab world.”

Truss with Israel minister Orna Barbivai (left)

Ivanka Trump at the unveiling of the US embassy in Jerusalem in 2018

loved ones.

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Daniel Barenboim / German attack / Tennis triumph

Barenboim: Illness means

The celebrated Jewish pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim has announced he is stepping back from performing after being diag nosed with a “serious neurological condition”.

“It is with a combination of pride and sadness that I announce today that I am taking a step back from some of my performing activi ties, especially conducting engage ments, for the coming months,” Barenboim confirmed on Twitter.

He added: “My health has dete riorated over the last months.

impact on the conflict between Israel and Arab states in the Middle East.

His musical ensemble WestEastern Divan Orchestra brought together young Israeli and Arab per formers. He was also an outspoken critic of Israel’s occupation of terri tory in the West Bank.

In May 2011, he conducted the Orchestra for Gaza, composed of volunteers from the Berlin Phil harmonic, the Berlin Staatskapelle, the Orchestra of La Scala in Milan, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Orchestre de Paris.

DJOKOVIC TRIUMPHS

IN TEL AVIV

Tennis legend Novak Djokovic claimed his third title of 2022 and 89th of his career with a straight-sets victory over Marin Cilic in final of the Tel Aviv Watergen Open on Sunday. The 35-year-old triumphed 6-3, 6-4.

“I must now focus on my physical well-being. I have lived all my life in and through music, and I will con tinue to do so as long as my health allows me to.”

Born in Argentina in 1942, to Jewish parents, Barenboim, 79, is renowned for his brilliant piano ren ditions of Beethoven and Schubert.

As a conductor his direction of masterpieces by Wagner and Elgar received universal acclaim.

In Israel he was at he centre of the debate around whether Wag ner’s music should be performed

because of the composers link to the Nazis and his antisemitic writings.

A decision eventually to perform Wagner in Jerusalem sparked con troversy in 2001, with audience mem bers who objected offered the chance by Barenboim to leave the venue. A small number inside the venue left.

But in a 2012 interview in Ger many, he sparked further contro versy, saying: “It saddens me that official Israel so doggedly refuses to allow Wagner to be performed – as was the case, once again, at the Uni versity of Tel Aviv two weeks ago

– because I see it as a symptom of a disease. The words I’m about to use are harsh, but I choose them deliber ately: there is a politicisation of the remembrance of the Holocaust in Israel, and that’s terrible.”

Barenboim was married to the outstanding British cellist Jacqueline du Pré. Her career was cut short by multiple sclerosis, which forced her to stop performing at the age of 28; she died 14 years later, in 1987. They were married at the Western Wall after du Pré converted to Judaism.

Barenboim has also attempted to

Barenboim later said: “Everyone has to understand that the Pales tinian cause is a just cause, there fore it can be only given justice if it is achieved without violence. Violence can only weaken the righteousness of the Palestinian cause.”

Barenboim’s parents moved to Israel themselves when he was 10 years old. Later in his life he announced that he was the first person to hold Palestinian and Israeli citizenship simultaneously. He lives in Berlin

Sir Simon Rattle, musical director with the London Symphony Orchestra, said he could not think of any classical musician “who has not been influenced by Daniel”.

I must retire SHUL WINDOW SMASHED

A broken window inter rupted the final moments of Yom Kippur services in Han nover, Germany.

It was unclear late on Wednesday evening what had happened at the Orthodox synagogue in the northern city, officials there said. Police are investigating and had learned that there are no video cam eras in the vicinity, according to local media. No one was injured in the incident.

The chair of the synagogue said he believed someone had entered the synagogue grounds and thrown an object through the window. The shul’s rabbi said he believed that the breakage represented an assault on his community.

“I don’t want to play down what happened, but such criminal acts were often our historical companions,” Rabbi Shlomo Afanasev wrote on Twitter, where he posted

videos of the broken window. “We will not be intimidated and will continue to build: our communities, our families, and Judaism in Germany.”

The incident comes three years after an attack on a shul in Halle, Germany, during Yom Kippur perpetrated by a neoNazi extremist who is now serving a life sentence. Last year, German police said they foiled a planned Yom Kippur attack on a shul in Hagen.

Big rise in anti-Jewish offenders

Police in England and Wales recorded 1,919 hate crimes targeting Jews in the year ending March 2022 – a stag gering 49 percent increase on the pre vious year, writes Lee Harpin.

Newly-released Home Office statistics showed 23 percent of all religious hate crime offences were directed at the Jewish community during that period.

In the year to the end of March, where the perceived religion of the victim was recorded, two in five (42 percent) of religious hate crime offences were shown to be targeted against Muslims (3,459 offences).

The next most commonly targeted group were Jews, who were targeted in just under one in four (23 per cent) of religious hate crimes (1,919 offences). With fewer than 300, 000 Jews living in the UK, the statistics confirm that the community was dis proportionately targeted during the 12 month period.

Religious hate crimes increased by 37 percent between year ending March 2021 and year ending March 2022 (from 6,383 to 8,730).

This increase follows two years where the number of these offences had fallen.

Better recording of hate crime by police can explain some of this rise, but the Community Security Trust

said that even allowing for improved police methods, “this is a staggering and deeply troubling increase in antiJewish hate”.

But the CST also suggested that the big increase in hate crimes

directed at Jews was “probably due to antisemitic reactions to the May 2021 Israel/Gaza war”.

Figures published on Thursday confirmed there were 155,841 hate crimes recorded by the police in Eng

land and Wales, a 26 percent increase compared with the previous year.

This was the biggest percentage increase in hate crimes since year ending March 2017, when there was a 29 percent rise.

Explaining the rise in hate crimes, the Home Office said: “Due to sig nificant improvements in police recorded crime made in recent years, it is uncertain to what degree the increase in police recorded hate crime is a genuine rise, or due to con tinued recording improvements and more victims having the confidence to report these crimes to the police.”

Hate crime is defined as “any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or preju dice towards someone based on a personal characteristic”.

The statistics showed that while religiously linked offences rose by 37 percent, there was a 41 percent increase in offences that were linked to sexual orientation, and a 52 per cent increase in offences linked to transgender issues.

Deadline looms to nominate hate crime heroes

Nominations of people or groups who have stood up to hate are about to close for the National No2H8 Crime Awards

2022. Sponsored by Jewish News, the Mirror, the Com munity Security Trust (CST), TellMAMA and GALOP, the awards celebrate those who push back against abuse directed at someone’s identity, race, gender, religion, dis ability or sexuality.

Awards chair Fiyaz Mughal, who founded an anti-Islam ophobia charity, said: “These heroes and heroines stand up for the dignity of others. The awards recognise and cele brate their courageous actions and their social values.”

There are awards for Upstanders – those to stand up to hate – in sport, media, parliament, social research, com munity, the Crown Prosecution Service, local authority, law enforcement and business.

There is also a Young Upstander Award.

Past Jewish winners include former Labour MP Luciana Berger as well as senior Masorti rabbi Jonathan Witten berg, who was jointly honoured alongside Imam Mamadou Bocoum for interfaith work.

“The No2H8 Awards are the annual event to celebrate the men and women in our communities who stand up for any man, woman or child who is abused because of his or her identities, whether that be race, religion or people with disabilities,” said Mughal.

“More than ever, we need to challenge the world of street-based and online hate so our society continues to be one based on kindness, merit and care.”

The awards ceremony will be next month at a central London venue.

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percent of all religious hate crime was directed at the Jewish community

Former MP Shahid Malik; British Transport Police’s Barry Boffy; TellMAMA director Iman Atta and No2H8 Awards founder Fiyaz Mughal

battle

Uni halts Arab-Israel course over alleged ‘antisemitism’

The University of Birmingham this week remained tight-lipped over allegations of antisemitic comments made in politics lectures that led to a module on the Arab-Israeli conflict being cancelled, writes Adam Decker.

In an email sent on Monday by Prof René Lindstädt, head of the university’s School of Government, masters students were told the ‘Politics of the Arab-Israeli Conflict’ module had been shelved after just one lecture because of “unforeseen circumstances”.

A source familiar with the matter claimed the action had been taken “after an antisemitic comment was made” in the lecture last Monday, adding that university bosses were left concerned about the impact on students’ mental health.

Asked to confirm the reasons for the module cancellation and whether antisemitic comments had been made, the university only repeated that the module “was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances”.

A spokesperson added: “We apologise for any disappointment this may have caused to students and are pleased to say that we will be o ering an alternative module covering similar issues during the next semester.”

The allegedly antisemitic comments are believed to have been made by a student during the first lesson of the first semester module.

“They started making the comments in the lecture, with people leaving during the half-way break because they felt so uncomfort-

able,” said the source. “It was Rosh Hashanah, too.”

It is understood that a series of meetings were held in the days following the comments, together with students and the module lead. About 20 students were enrolled on to the module.

Jewish News has been told that the student was asked to choose a di erent module, but that the university could not guarantee that they would not attend future lectures, which led to disquiet and ultimately to the module’s cancellation.

The university, which has traditionally be a popular choice for Jewish students, did not elaborate following requests for clarification.

Lindstädt in her email: “We note some students may have a specific interest in this topic and will

cricketer leads

A Jewish councillor who played Maccabi League cricket for Chigwell and Hainault is at the centre of the ongoing fight against the pro-Jeremy Corbyn Momentum organisation in the Labour Party, writes Lee Harpin.

Lloyd Duddridge, a former King Solomon High pupil, was praised by Labour

therefore feel disappointed by this announcement. We will be o ering an alternative module covering sim-

colleagues this week for his role ensuring the hard-left faction su ered a resounding defeat in pushing forward its policies at the annual party conference in Liverpool.

Duddridge, 34, took on the role of national organiser of the Labour To Win grouping in the party five years ago, telling Jewish News: “One of the reasons was that I needed to play my part in fighting the stain of antisemitism in Labour.

“For five years it was hard work. But I knew there were two options – I either quit the party, or I stayed to fight. I chose the latter one. I hope people will agree now it was worth it.”

Founded from a merger of the old Progress and Labour First groups, Labour To Win aims to represent the party’s progressive but moderate members and has been at the centre of supporting Keir Starmer since he was elected leader in April 2020.

Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary, Bridget Phillipson, who holds the shadow education brief, and Jes Phillips, shadow domestic violence minister, are among the group’s supporters.

ilar issues – ethnic conflict and civil war”, adding that this would begin in semester two.

At a packed Labour To Win rally at this year’s conference, Streeting drew loud cheers as he told supporters, “We have won the party – now let’s win the country.”

“Our job is to fight to give Keir the space to be the leader he wants to be,” explains Duddridge. “Unlike Corbyn, Keir is somebody who is not openly factional himself. But he has our support.”

One of Labour To Win’s major achievements at this year’s conference was to organise and win the decision taken by delegates over the priorities ballot, which determines which six policy issues are discussed and voted on at the annual gathering.

Duddridge, a Labour councillor in Redbridge, says even during Labour’s high years under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, domination of the priorities ballot was not secured by the moderate faction of the party.

“We organise for the mainstream, moderate tradition of the Labour Party, the tradition that wants to support Keir and see him excel,” he added.

How does Chai care?

University of Birmingham students at the Edgbaston campus

Lloyd

leafleting; and on the campaign trail with fellow Labour

are invited to

PARTS OF

TECHNION UK TRIP TO ISRAEL

Monday 24th - Friday 28th October 2022

Visit the Technion Institute of Science & Technology

Meet the Professors who are helping make a better world

Visit historical museums and learn more about the pioneers of Israel

Visit a leading Tech incubator and meet some of Israel’s top scientists, entrepreneurs and venture capitalist experts

Visit an IDF Tactical counter-terrorism training simulator, lunch with IDF Soldiers and visit an Iron Dome

Enjoy a scenic ferry ride from Haifa to Acco

Special Tour of a Jerusalem market, meet interesting new vendors Meet amazing speakers including…

The UK Ambassador to Israel

The editor of the Jerusalem Post

The Mayor of Haifa Plus so much more...

Oak tribute at Essex farm that grew olim

An oak tree has been planted at the site of a training farm in Essex where Jewish refugees from Europe learned the agricultural skills they then took to Israel, writes Adam Decker.

The Bachad Farm Institute in Thaxted operated from 1944 to 1962 and was run by Arieh Handler, a founder of Bnei Akiva, who died in 2011. He was the last living witness to the signing of the Declaration of the State of Israel.

Planted on 18 September, the native oak was sponsored by Handler’s children, Danny and Gabriel, in honour of their father, who furnished young Jewish men and women with the skills they would use after making aliyah.

“This event was the realisation of a dream,” said Verity Steele, an academic who arranged for a new information plaque about Bachad farm for walkers. “We were treated to first-hand accounts of life on the farm by former Bachad pioneers, which brought its 18-year-long presence in Thaxted to life,” she said. “It was of inestimable value to the refugees from Nazism who sheltered in its various training farms.”

She said it o ered “a sense of belonging, the opportunity to stay connected to religious heritage, and preparation for a future life in Israel… This meant and still means so much to those who trained at Thaxted and to their families and is something Thaxted should be proud of”.

Local historian Bruce Munro described the event as “impressive and moving”, saying: “Many of us knew something of the Holocaust, but little or nothing about the Jewish refugees at Bachad or the role it played in providing a hopeful future for the refugees in Israel.”

Adam Waters of Bnei Akiva UK said it was “symbolic” that the youth movement’s current gap year students were on a kibbutz in Israel learning how to farm while the event at Thaxted took place.

Shlomo Manns, 90, who trained at the farm in the 1950s, said: “It was an amazing and exciting experience to be back and to see again the site where we learnt farming and met up with other chlutzim.”

Michal Barkan, whose father Max arrived on the Kindertransport and became farm manager from 1952-54, said: “Coming here and meeting people who have decided to tell the world about the Jewish history of this place was very moving.”

manager from 1952-54, said: “Coming

Debra Barnes of the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) said the location of Bachad was “an excellent site to plant one of the last of our 80 Trees for 80 Years, in memory of such an important figure - Arieh Handler”.

The planting initiative is a nationwide campaign to plant oak trees “in honour of people

and places that symbolise the enormous contribution made to every walk of British life by refugees who escaped from Nazi Europe”.

AJR chief executive Michael Newman said it

was “poignant” that the event took place a day before the Queen’s funeral, because the tree will form part of the Queen’s Green Canopy to mark her Platinum Jubilee.

your savings keeping up with the

of inflation?

the current rate ofinflation at

staggering 10.1%(August 22 CPI

savers face theirgreatest

£100,000 left in a non interest earning bankaccount will

power of less than £62,000 in only 5 years time

of England predicts inflation will continue to growthis year, potentially reaching over 13%.

Main image, left to right: Tom Magness (farmer); Aviv Handler (grandson of Arieh Handler); Danny Handler; Alan Philipp (grandson of Oscar Philipp), Verity Steele; George Magness (farmer); Colin Magness (farmer); Debra Barnes (AJR); Mike Levy (historian); Chaya Rivlin (lived on the farm as a young child); Bruce Munro (Thaxted historian).

News / Green Party

JEWISH NEWS ONLINE EDITOR

Jewish News (Free Weekly Newspaper of the Year 2021/22) is looking for an ambitious, passionate and creative online editor to take its ever-growing brand to the next level.

As online editor you will be responsible for:

• Maintaining the timeliness, impact and quality of jewishnews.co.uk

• Managing the homepage, writing enticing must-click headlines and writing and editing web content.

• Editing and publishing our Daily Newsletter, delivered to 20,000 inboxes every a ernoon.

• Responding to breaking news and developing stories in real time.

• Compiling picture galleries and video content and ensuring the weekly podcast, newspaper page turner and supplements are uploaded.

• Ensuring newspaper content is online and feeding online content into the newspaper.

• Managing an extensive list of Jewish News bloggers.

• Tracking and analysing website tra ic.

• Promoting content on social media in an engaging way to drive web tra ic.

• Updating the site out-of-hours when necessary.

We’re looking for someone with at least three years editorial experience who can write crystal-clear news and feature copy to tight deadlines. Experience in Photoshop and content management systems preferable.

Sounds like you? Then email your CV and a covering letter to the editor at richard@jewishnews.co.uk.

Closing date: Friday 4th November.

PROTECT

Nobel prize

Work

Greens’ deputy leader cheered

The new deputy leader of the Greens has been loudly cheered at the party’s conference after confirming he was “the first Jewish and gay” person “in British history” to hold the role.

Zack Polanski also told delegates at the party’s autumn conference in Harrogate that he had been targeted online with questions about why his identity “was relevant”.

After accusing the Conservative government of “creating phoney culture wars” the London Assembly member said: “They only have one tactic – to scapegoat”.

He then told the conference: “When I was elected as deputy leader I talked about being the first Jewish and gay deputy leader in history...” Applause then rang out in the hall. Polanski then revealed that online people had contacting him asking, “Why is that important?” He said this was a “fair question”.

But he added: “I think there’s an even fairer answer. Representation is important. Diversity is important. Not just for me to advocate for my communities, although I’ll certainly do that too.”

Polanski said he now wanted to use his platform to “connect” with those who “do not have a voice”. He also drew loud applause when he defended trans people, saying: “There is no LGB without the T.”

Polanski added: “History has horrifically

demonstrated we need to stick together, and conference, we will stick together.”

Green Party of England and Wales members elected Polanski as their deputy in a result confirmed last month. Responding at the time to concerns that the Greens had become a party of choice for some of those expelled from Labour over allegations including antisemitism, Polanski told Jewish News: “There’s no place for antisemitism in our party.

“I was proud to co-propose with fellow Jewish Green members last year comprehensive antisemitism guidance. This guidance passed overwhelmingly... and further underlines our party is an inclusive, progressive space for all.”

Ernaux, Literary Nobel for Annie Ernaux

French Jewish author Annie Ernaux, who mined her own biography to explore life in France since the 1940s, was yesterday awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in literature, for work that illuminates murky corners of memory, family and society.

The Swedish Academy said Ernaux was recognised for “the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory.” She is the first French literature laureate since Patrick Modiano in 2014.

Ernaux, 82, started out writing autobiographical novels, but quickly abandoned fiction in favour of memoirs.

Anders Olsson, chairman of the Nobel literature committee, said Ernaux had used the term “an ethnologist of herself” rather than a writer of fiction.

Her more than 20 books, most of them very short, chronicle events in her life and the lives of those around her. They present uncompromising portraits of sexual encounters, abortion, illness and the deaths of her parents.

“She has achieved something admirable and enduring,” Olsson told reporters after the announcement in Stockholm, Sweden.

Ernaux describes her style as “flat writing” — aiming for an very objective view of the events she is describing, unshaped by florid description or overwhelming emotions.

In the book that made her name, La Place (A Man’s Place), about her relationship with her father, she writes: “No lyrical reminiscences, no triumphant displays of irony. This neutral writing style comes to me naturally.”

Her 2000 novel Happening depicts the consequences of illegal abortion.

NEW HEAD FOR WORK AVENUE

Former Hasmonean headteacher Debbie Lebrett has been appointed the new head of Work Avenue, which helps Jews to land jobs or set up companies.

Lebrett, an English teacher who was a member of the Jewish News Eighteen Under 18 judging panel, led Hasmonean High School for Boys in Hendon since her appointment in 2016, having joined the school in 2012 as an assistant head.

Before that, she was deputy head at Menorah and head of English at Tiferes, both of which are high schools for girls.

Hailed a ‘Covid hero’ for her work during the pandemic to get all Hasmonean teachers vaccinated before pupils returned, she presided over a series of league-topping academic

results, but said she was now excited about a new challenge.

“Having worked for many years in the community, I have always known of the transformative achievements of Work Avenue, supporting people to earn a living with dignity,” she said.

“I could not be more proud and excited to be joining them at a time when Work Avenue’s services are needed more than ever.”

Work Avenue’s chair, Mark Morris, said the team were “delighted” to welcome Lebrett, adding: “Her reputation for excellence is well known and I am certain she will bring all her skills and experience to Work Avenue, taking our organisation to the next level at this pivotal time.”

Zack Polanski: first Jewish gay person in role

Rahat

MDA marks reopening of ambulance station serving Israel’s main Arab city

by Justin Cohen in Israel Justin@jewishnews.co.uk @CohenJust

An ambulance station in the largest Arab city in Israel has been refurbished with the help of participants in Magen David Adom’s Jordan trek, including Rob Rinder.

With 80,000 residents, Rahat in Israel’s south is also the world’s largest Bedouin city. But when leaders of MDA UK visited the emergency service’s base there four years ago they found facilities not fit for purpose.

The charity set its sights on improving conditions for the station’s heroic volunteers, including building an extension to host training of paramedics, separate sleeping quarters for men and women and an area to keep oxygen tanks so medics would no longer have to travel to Beer Sheva to retrieve them when needed.

Speaking at the o cial opening of the refurbished facility, Suleiman al Atayka, who leads on higher education at the Rahat municipality, said: “This station covers a huge area – all across the Negev region – and the sta who work here feel a huge di erence. They say it feels a lot more welcoming and those outside can recognise there’s a huge importance to this station.

“We want to thank the donors and volunteers who work here. When it comes to human life it makes no di erence if the patient is a Jew or Arab.” He said he hoped the new facilities would lead to more volunteers coming forward. Attracting more Bedouin women into studying

medicine was a goal for the authority, he added.

MDA’s latest trek to Jordan last October raised more than £50,000 and saw participants spending time with the head of the Jordanian Red Crescent, Mohammed Al-Hadid, who is himself a Bedouin and paved the way for MDA’s

inclusion into the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement when he chaired the movement in 2006.

With Al-Hadid unable to attend the event, MDA UK vice president Judy Saphra cut the ribbon to open the refurbished centre.

The charity’s CEO, Daniel Burger, said MDA jumped at the chance to support enhancing working conditions, while chair Russell Jacobs said: “What we didn’t know was it would also increase the number of volunteers, men and women, because they felt more comfortable.”

The charity also donated a mobile intensive care unit to the Rahat station last year.

Aldi has apologised after its website described the book Schindler’s Ark as “a work of fiction” and ideal for a relaxing holiday, writes Michael Daventry.

The German-owned discount supermarket chain told customers the book was suitable to take on a break to “relax” and “unwind”.

The novel, which was published in 1982 and later adapted into Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster film Schindler’s List, tells the true story of Nazi Party member Oskar Schindler’s e orts to

save hundreds of Jewish lives from genocide.

The post was discovered by Antisemitism Policy Trust chief executive Danny Stone, who asked Aldi on Twitter: “Does anyone check your book descriptions before they’re published?”

“Do you think maybe a description of Schindler’s Ark might feature some reference to the genocide of Jews which people are supposed to, apparently, ‘relax and unwind’ to?”

The novel was still available to buy from Aldi’s web-

site for £1.99, discounted by £1, after Stone’s tweet but within a few hours appeared to have been removed.

Aldi’s post showed the book’s cover and the words: “Relax, unwind and read with the Schindler’s Ark Book” which it described as an “exciting, trending and best- selling work of fiction”. It added: “Discover a gripping story that will have you hooked as your body soaks in those sun rays.” An Aldi spokesperson said: “We are very sorry for this error and any o ence caused.”

The official opening of the new ambulance station in Israel’s largest city

election

Was it something I said?

A lone woman scoots along a street in Jerusalem on 5 October. The nation ground to a standstill on Yom Kippur, from sundown on Tuesday 4 October until three stars were seen the following evening.

Local radio and television broadcasts are silenced, public transport comes to a halt, Ben Gurion airport shuts, as does Israel’s air space, and roads are deserted.

Secular Israelis, meanwhile, take advantage of the empty roads for a cycling holiday. For many of them it is a day of two-wheeled fun known as chag ha’ofanayim (the festival of the bicycle).

Without a car in sight, children (and adults) take over the streets, riding scooters, tricycles, Rollerblades and, of course, bicycles.

There is, however, another side to chag ha’ofanayim. This year, 285 cycle, scooter and skateboard riders needed treatment for injuries on roads; most wounds were minor but six were classified as ‘moderate’.

Also, 133 pregnant women were taken to hospital, MDA reported, with medics assisting one woman in Jerusalem in delivering her baby.

The success of Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party in a national election last week means the country is poised to have its most right-wing government since the Second World War, when Italy was Hitler’s staunchest ally in Europe. The prospect has

unnerved many Italian Jews, though several of their leaders appear to be taking a wait-and-see approach to Meloni’s leadership.

President of Italy’s Jewish

Youth group David Fiorentini said: “Faced with the prospect of a prime minister a liated with a party that ideologically is the heir of the Italian Social Movement, a good part of Italian Jews are concerned.”

Meloni’s first stop in politics was in the youth movement of the Italian Social Movement, known as MSI, a neofascist party founded in 1946 by people who had worked with Hitler

and Benito Mussolini, Italy’s fascist leader from 1922 to 1943. Brothers of Italy is closely tied to the group, even housing its o ce in the same building where MSI operated and using an identical logo, a tricolor flame.

Together with the right-wing coalition, Meloni got nearly 44 percent of the overall vote, enough to form a government, which she is likely to lead as Italy’s first female prime minister.

Stefano Jesurum, author and former board member of the Jewish community of Milan, said some are willing to overlook the fact that farright leaders are “intrinsically fascist”, focusing on their parties’ championing of Israel.

But Meloni has not always portrayed herself as a staunch supporter of Israel. In 2014 she praised Hezbollah for defending Christians there.

Hurricane Ian / AIPAC dialogue / Iran claim

Memories of tashlich banished by the power of Florida storm

After finishing Rosh Hashanah services, the congregants of Bat Yam Temple of the Islands headed to the beach to perform the Jewish ritual of tashlich, letting symbols of their sins be swept away by the warm gulf water that surrounds Sanibel Island, writes Jackie Hajdenberg.

By the next day, almost every person there had headed o the island, fearing the wrath of those same waters.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis said Sanibel Island experienced “biblical” destruction when the storm hit on Wednesday, bringing with it a predicted 12ft-18ft surge and punishing winds. The bridge linking the island with the mainland was damaged so severely that no one can access the island – striking fear into Bat Yam members about what has happened to the two couples from the synagogue who stayed, despite a county-wide evacuation.

While the island was among the places hardest hit by Ian, the

Abbas encourages dialogue with pro-Israel lobbyists

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has strongly encouraged dialogue with the American Israel Public A airs Committee, or AIPAC, despite his disagreements with the pro-Israel lobby and calls among the proPalestinian community to disengage from the group.

In a recording of his meeting last month with Palestinian Americans on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, he

also faulted the Biden administration for not doing enough to pressure Israel into reopening negotiations.

“You must talk to everyone in order to arrive at your goal … You must not exclude anyone … including the Zionist lobby,” Abbas said. “There are many people who say that the Zionist lobby is the most dangerous. No. We must speak to the Zionist lobby.”

Abbas’ endorsement of

engagement with AIPAC is significant as calls from the left and among pro-Palestinians to disengage from the group grow louder, in part because it is friendly with Republicans who are close to former president Donald Trump and in part because it was seen as an enabler of former Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who largely abandoned the IsraeliPalestinian peace process over the course of his long tenure.

INDEPENDENCE. DIGNITY. CHOICE.

“

Raymond

storm cut a path of devastation up and down Florida’s west coast and across the mainland. About two and a half million people were without power in Florida, where o cials say rebuilding could take years.

Florida’s most substantial Jewish population centres, in the south near Miami, experienced only heavy rains and wind. But the cities of Sarasota, Orlando and Naples, all hard hit by Ian, are home to at least 70,000 Jews, according to a 2020 analysis of population data, and other cities have smaller Jewish populations.

Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowicz, of the Chabad of Southwest Florida, rode out the storm at home, not by choice but because the evacuation order had come during Rosh Hashanah, when Orthodox Jews refrain from using technology.

“We couldn’t leave because we only found out after yom tov and it was too late to leave,” Minkowicz said. “Now it’s a matter of helping people get back on their feet, helping

them fix up the houses, getting them food, getting them what to drink, getting them supplies. That’s our next big job.”

Relief e orts from beyond Florida are already under way. The Jewish Federations of North America is opening an emergency collection for donations and preparing to provide emergency grants to a ected communities.

For now, residents of southwest Florida are in shock, hoping that the communication systems will be back online soon so they can check in with their friends, neighbours, and family members.

Block Chaddock, who chairs Bat Yam’s governance committee, could account for the locations of several members of Bat Yam’s leadership, many of whom are sheltering in nearby Fort Myers or Naples. But she wishes more of her neighbours had chosen to evacuate. “All I can think about is their health and safety right now,” she said.

PROTESTS, SAYS KHAMENEI

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has blamed Israel and the United States for mounting protests against the brutal repression of women in his country.

“The recent riots and unrest in Iran were schemes designed by the US; the usurping, fake Zionist regime; their mercenaries; and some treasonous Iranians abroad who helped them,” Khamenei said on Monday in a speech to police cadets in Tehran, remarks which were later posted in English on his Twitter account.

The protests that have engulfed the country

since 17 September were sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested for not properly wearing a headscarf. Hundreds have been arrested and state TV has reported over 40 deaths of protesters and police.

Simultaneous demonstrations in support of Iran’s protests took place across the world on Saturday.

Khamenei did not o er any evidence to back up his assertion on Monday, other than to claim that protests in other countries do not garner as much international attention.

Hurricane Ian caused these cars to float into a canal in Bonita Beach, Florida

Special

The rise of J-Pop: How Miami Boys Choir broke the internet

By Jackie Hajdenberg

“K-pop is over,” one Twitter user declared. “We’re listening to Orthodox Pop from now on.”

With those words, the Miami Boys Choir has transformed over the last two weeks from a singing group popular among Jewish insiders to a viral sensation.

On TikTok and Twitter, users have shared clips of the group’s concerts, overlaid its music with other scenes and inserted themselves into split-screen duets. New fans of MBC, as the group is known, have chosen their favourite singers through their stage presence, their vocals, or simply, their “it” factor.

Some are finding it hard to choose. “How does every single one of these kids have the it factor?” asked one person who shared the now-viral video of a 2008 performance of Yerushalayim.

Some basics for newcomers to the cult of MBC: The Miami Boys Choir is not based in Miami. Its members do as much dancing as singing. And the

boys in the viral videos are, well, men now. Some of them have joined in the fun, ri ng on their own long-ago performances with lip sync videos and an a cappella rendition of Yerushalayim by MBC alumni in the all-vocal group, the Maccabeats.

David Herskowitz even pulled out his old silver satin shirt and red tie to reenact his performance, which he posted to TikTok.

“It was hilarious,” Herskowitz recalled about his time as a choir member, speaking to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “I mean, it was awesome. You got to travel the world, perform for various communities.”

Herskowitz was five when his father took him to see the Miami Boys Choir in concert. The group had already been in existence for nearly a quarter-century since being founded in Miami in 1977 by an Orthodox composer and musical director named Yerachmiel Begun. (Begun moved the group to New York City in 1980 but kept the Miami name.)

Jewish comedian Eitan Levine declared the Miami Boys Choir to be

“the Jewish BTS” in one video, with commenters suggesting that perhaps “K-Pop” could stand for “Kosher Pop.” But creating something to appeal to the general public was never the

goal with their music, or the TikTok account, Chananya Begun said. After all, the video that went viral is from more than 10 years ago, when MBC’s audience was primarily Orthodox.

“We didn’t do anything that wasn’t genuinely Miami Boys Choir,” he said. “It just spoke to us that being genuine is the most powerful weapon to change the world.”

Tik Tok fans of the Miami Boys Choir. The group has become a viral sensation on the social media platform

President’s tribute

Biden quotes Sacks at White House

by Erica Morris in the White House

Joe Biden recalled the words of the late former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks when he addressed the first High Holy Days reception at the White House.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur gatherings have previously been hosted at the US vice president’s residence. But last week’s event was hosted in the East Room of the White House and also attended by the first lady, the vice president and Jewish second gentleman Doug Emho .

Also there were local rabbis, Jewish friends and media. Renowned Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman performed for attendees.

President Biden said: “The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks who passed away two years ago once said that the most important lesson of the High Holy Days is nothing is broken beyond repair.

“It’s never too late to change and to be better. I’ve always believed that message and also believe it’s universal. We’ve emerged from one of our most di cult moments in our history – I believe nothing is broken beyond repair and there’s a lot we can do to change things and bring people together.”

The observance came at a critical point for Biden, currently responding to an ongoing hurricane crisis in the southeast US as well as rising pressure to respond to Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions.

While Biden hesitated to call out Russian President Vladimir Putin by name at the event, he did refer to the Ukrainian crisis, saying he is “rallying the world in support of Ukraine…[in their] right to exist as a people”.

The president noted alarming spikes in antisemitic hate crimes in the US and abroad, saying: “Hate can have no safe harbour… failure

to call it out is complicity. I’m not going to remain silent.”

On recovery e orts in the wake of Hurricane Ian, Biden said: “To Jewish families in Florida, our hearts go out to everyone there experiencing what could be one of the most devastating hurricanes in that state’s history.

He said he was working closely with the Florida governor to provide aid and relief to those in need. “Whatever it takes, we’re going to be there as

one nation, one America.”

The president said he appreciated the High Holy Days as a ording “a time to ask for forgiveness and repair our relationships.

“The Jewish tradition holds that from the time the book of life is opened to the time it is sealed, our fate hangs in the balance. It’s in our hands to change, to do better…I hope for the year ahead we emerge stronger…It’s not required that you

complete the work, but neither may you refrain from it…may we all be inscribed in the book of life.”

Emho , husband of Vice President Kamala Harris and the first Jewish spouse in an executive o ce, said the president as “one of the Jewish community’s best friends.”, adding: “Jews worldwide face tremendous discrimination, violence and antisemitism. Americans must be able to worship without fear and violence.”

President Biden, left, and wife Jill greeting Doug Emhoff at the White House reception

Embassy switch would be defiant

Liz Truss says she is willing to review the location of the British embassy in Israel, a move wholeheartedly backed by the president of the Board of Deputies. It would be the boldest move this country has made on the international stage in decades.

In most countries around the world, embassies tend to be in the capital city – like London, where there are nearly 200 of them. But Israel’s choice of capital city is Jerusalem and right now Britain doesn’t recognise that. It says the city’s status is undecided because the Palestinians call Jerusalem their capital too and there needs to be a peace deal first.

That’s why the British embassy in Israel is in Tel Aviv; most other countries also have their embassies in Tel Aviv. The big exception is the United States: in 2018, then president Donald Trump moved the American embassy to Jerusalem, and only a few other countries –Kosovo, Guatemala, Honduras – have followed his example.

The future of Jerusalem has always been key to reaching a new workable status quo. The two-state solution (remember that?) was built on the historic city being a joint capital for two states.

If Liz Truss were to move the British embassy it would be biggest change to our country’s foreign policy in Israel for half a century. Unilaterally moving embassies would send a defiant message to the likes of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who relentlessly work towards destroying hopes of coexistence, while simultaneously alienating and angering more moderate Palestinians who need to be recognised as allies in any future deal.

Send us your comments

letters@jewishnews.co.uk

Give blood, not bloodmobile

I read with interest about Jewish News’ donation of a bloodmobile to Magen David Adom – the Israeli ambulance service – in honour of the late Rabbi Lord Sacks.

In my job as a journalist for Israeli newspaper Maariv, I often report on MDA’s success. As much as I love their work in all fields, I think donating a bloodmobile by Brits is wrong.

With all due respect, people from Britain gifting a bloodmobile to a country that doesn’t allow Brits to donate blood doesn’t seem right.

Brits, due to Mad Cow disease, cannot donate blood in Israel, an issue which has come up multiple times on the popular Facebook group ‘Brits living in Israel’. It angers most members.

As an activist, I have tried to get this rule changed multiple times, being in contact with

driving Rabbi

legacy forward

health minister Nitzan Horowitz and MDA spokesman Zaki Heller, to no avail.

The pride of Brits in Israel when we see the names of British donors on MDA items is well documented and a credit to Diaspora, British and Israel relations.

If you want to donate an ambulance or other vital equipment to MDA, fine, but make it dependent on the cancellation of the ridiculous rule of Brits not being able to donate blood. Until Brits can give blood, you won’t get a bloodmobile from us!

And especially in the name of Rabbi Lord Sacks – someone who was passionate about including everyone, no matter where they were from, what their lifestyle was or if they thought differently from you.

Josh Aronson, Israel

REMEMBER FINE MESS

AJEX is proud to have a plot again at this year’s 93rd Westminster Abbey Royal British Legion Field of Remembrance. If you had a family member in the British or Commonwealth armed forces killed in action, please inform us no later than 1 November. AJEX will lay a Magen David marker in his or her name.

Please contact us at headoffice@ajex.org.uk with his or her rank, name, age, date of death and the unit served in.

The Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey will be opened officially on Thursday 10 November and will be accessible to the public from 1pm to 4pm. From Friday 11 to Sunday 20, the Field is scheduled to be open from 9am to 4pm.

Brian Bloom, AJEX vice president

MORAL STAND

Israel has found the courage of its convictions to take a clear and moral stand against Putin’s wicked war in Ukraine. Yes, it is caught between a rock and hard place with its large Russian population and need to maintain contact with the Russian army for its missions against Iranian-backed forces in Syria. But it was a relief to see it condemn the sham referendum in eastern Ukraine, putting it on equal footing with its western partners.

Saul Sofer, By email

BYE, BYE LIZ?

While it’s always helpful to have friends in high place, I fear Liz ‘I’m a huge Zionist’ Truss will not be in her job long enough for a prime ministerial visit to Israel.

Simi Lang, By email

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Even for a novice prime minister, Liz Truss has made what looks like a remarkable mess of her first days. Time will tell whether her early actions work and she will have no shortage of advice.

May I contribute to the debate by quoting the old adage that those who try to please everybody end up pleasing nobody? Of course I have the embassy saga in mind and the suspicion Liz was out to win a few votes by giving Jews what they want to hear. Reminds me of another old saying: if in doubt about your audience, make ‘em laugh. Oh – they are already.

Linda Shaw, By email

Jewish News is owned by The Jacob Foundation, a registered UK charity promoting cohesion and common ground across the UK Jewish community and between British Jews and wider society. Jewish News promotes these aims by delivering dependable and balanced news reporting and analysis and celebrating the achievements of its vibrant and varied readership.

Through the Jacob Foundation, Jewish News acts as a reliable and independent advocate for British Jews and a crucial communication vehicle for other communal charities.

Time to fix this failure in Britain’s Mid-East policy

STEVE MCCABE, MP CHAIR, LABOUR FRIENDS OF ISRAEL

Among the much-hyped but ultimately unrealised ambitions of Boris Johnson’s premiership was the government’s talk of a “global Britain” which punched above its weight on the international scene.

This failure was much evident in the Middle East, where the absence of a strategy capitalising on Britain’s historic ties and our economic and diplomatic power has left the UK as a bystander to the rapid changes sweeping the region and its challenges. In February’s reshu e, the position of minister of state for the Middle East and North Africa was axed.

New foreign secretary James Cleverly should seek to address this failing and rebuild our reputation as a trusted and respected partner and friend to the region and its people.

In a region which often appears to generate little good news, the ground-breaking Abraham Accords should have been championed by the

last government. They o er the potential to provide needed stability against Iranian adventurism and advance other long-standing British foreign policy goals, including promoting economic prosperity, the forces of moderation and social change, and cooperation against pressing environmental threats.

Despite this, and despite the Accords already generating once-unthinkable progress, the UK government’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy last year made no mention of them.

Similarly, despite the talk of making Britain a “soft power superpower”, the review ignored the proposed International Fund for IsraeliPalestinian Peace.

Modelled on the International Fund for Ireland, it would allow the international community to invest in civic society peace-

building work and help lay the foundations for a negotiated two-state solution. Academic evaluations have found existing people-topeople projects foster values of peace, reconciliation and coexistence. But the work has been woefully underfunded: while the International Fund for Ireland invested $44 per person per year in peace-building work in Ireland, the equivalent in Israel and Palestine is around $2.

This is no pie in the sky initiative: the US Congress passed $250m in funds for peacebuilding work in late 2020 which as part of a wider international initiative could give the fund just the impetus it needs, especially given the Israeli government’s current outreach to the Palestinian Authority.

Instead, the UK axed its own modest peopleto-people programme in Israel-Palestine which was launched only in 2017 despite research

showing such investment reaps real reward only over the medium to long-term.

As Labour Friends of Israel argued last year, at the root of these failures is the fact the government’s approach toward the Middle East is unmoored from any underlying set of principles which can guide its policies.

As well as supporting peace-building e orts, we must work with our allies in the region and beyond to counter the principal threat: the government in Tehran. While the US has rightly attempted to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, the hardline regime has steadfastly refused to engage constructively with these e orts.

Britain has largely sat on the sidelines, with the government failing to outline or launch a debate surrounding how we confront the key challenges which lay ahead: not simply halting Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but also stymying its expansionist regional agenda, ballistic missile programme and support for terror groups and proxy armies such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Despite all their rhetoric, the Conservatives have presided over a global retreat, defined by missed opportunities and empty slogans. It’s time to pursue an alternative, active approach.

Antiques Buyers

Truss, the embassy and empty gesture politics

JENNI FRAZER

These days, more than most, columnists are on a hiding to nothing. Get out your tiny violins and weep for those of us doomed to predict things and within a heartbeat become overtaken by events.

So it is with a certain amount of trepidation that I turn to (and I can’t believe I am typing this) Prime Minister Liz Truss, currently in 10 Downing Street but for all I know on her way out of the back door along with Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng the minute these words hit the street.

For, not content with plunging the pound into freefall and wreaking untold damage on the UK economy in JUST THREE WEEKS (I know, I can’t believe it either, even Johnson took longer than that), Truss has been tossing sweeteners in Israel’s direction.

Please, I thought, registering the malign effect Truss’s dead-hand politics was having domestically, please leave the rest of the world alone, and particularly, do please

leave Israel out of your calculations. But no. Truss has decided, for reasons which elude me — and everyone else — to announce that she is considering moving the British embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

She first made this suggestion at a pre-election event hosted by the Conservative Friends of Israel, and I can see why she might have said this to an audience of the faithful. It’s gesture politics, but an empty gesture at that: a cheap shot to rouse the rabble and get them onside, with no discernible benefit.

I thought then that Truss had made her announcement as a crowd-pleaser, and predicted she would never deliver on this pointless pledge. So for those getting exercised at her comment, I thought, really, calm down, she won’t do it.

But now she’s said it again , this time in New York for the UN General Assembly. Fresh from the Queen’s funeral where she wasn’t required to do much other than wear black and read something in a monotone at Westminster Abbey, Truss appears to have decided to make herself “interesting”

❝

IT WOULD RENDER US INCAPABLE OF OFFERING A NEUTRAL VOICE IN THE ARABISRAELI CONFLICT

by repeating this “considering” suggestion The “considering” is about the only wise thing about this — because if she doesn’t deliver on the offer to move the embassy, she can always say she was advised against it and it wasn’t a full-scale pledge in the first place.

This week, however, The Guardian recalled that Donald Trump’s relocation of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018 sparked widespread protests by Palestinians — and the move, indeed, was strongly criticised by the then British government.

Now I can’t say, hand on heart, that the

Palestinians care over-much about what Britain does, and it may well be the case that should the embassy actually does the unthinkable and moves to Jerusalem, about as much notice will be taken of its new premises as those of Guatemala or Honduras, which followed in Trump’s concrete footsteps.

I know what certain elements of Israeli society believe would be the necessity of Britain moving out of its Hayarkon Street building in Tel Aviv for some hot-desks in Jerusalem, which, given the way sterling is performing against the dollar, is about all Britain is likely to be able to afford.

But what would really be the benefit for Britain? Such a move would render us incapable of offering a neutral voice in the Arab-Israeli conflict, to try to persuade the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

I’m going to stick my neck out here and predict Truss won’t stay in office long enough to enact on any such rash “consideration”. And those in Israel in support of the move shouldn’t bank on her longevity either. Promises, promises…

Three crucial issues that will sway Israeli election

this election can be summarised as turnout, extremism, and the economy.

❝

As a fifth election in three years looms for Israelis on 1 November, an interested observer from the UK, let alone voter from Israel, can be forgiven for being confused and bemused in equal measure.

I am a committed devotee to a proportional voting system for the UK and a long-standing advocate for Israel, but that country’s electoral system leaves me conflicted. Regardless, the facts are out there and Israelis will be asked to decide, again.

It is not widely appreciated but Yesh Atid – the party of Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid– is the sister party of my own, the Liberal Democrats, and both are members of the Liberal International alliance.

Yesh Atid is a secular, liberal, Zionist political party and I have just returned from Israel where I had detailed discussions with its activists, MPs and senior advisers with very close proximity to the prime minister, as well as talking to residents living on the Gaza border and British expats in Jerusalem.

I believe the three issues that will decide

First, turnout. Based on the cross-section of voices I heard, this is the uniform issue cited. Cutting through the noise, if the number of people who vote is low and more specifically if the 20 percent Arab-Israeli population vote is low, this is very good news for former prime minister Netanyahu.

The centrist Lapid-led bloc needs to get out the vote. Lapid led the first Israeli Government so far to have included the ArabIsraeli parties.

He needs them again and they need to turn out in big numbers.

Second comes extremism. Here I speak of the “Religious Zionism Party bloc” which is on course to win 13 seats and is headed by Itamar Ben Gvir. Ben Gvir is seen as an extremist and regarded as unpalatable to most in Israel and certainly to the diaspora.

The issue is simple: if Netanyahu requires Ben Gvir’s seats to form a government, does he do a deal with the devil or does he proposition Benny Gantz’ Blue and White Party?

Unfortunately for Bibi, Gantz has stated unequivocally he will not join a Netanyahuled government, but faced with the opportunity to stay in government and keep extremists out, will Gantz listen if the wily

ISRAEL NEEDS A STATESMAN LIKE LAPID TO BRING THE PEACE SO MANY STILL YEARN FOR

Netanyahu is able to coax him in? We shall see. It is a critical issue on a number of levels and for many of those concerned.

Finally, there is the economy. It was said to me across the board that Israelis are enjoying boom times. There are not enough people to fill the thousands of high-tech and digital jobs that the high-rise city of Tel Aviv has to o er.

The country has a higher GDP per capita than the UK, Germany, South Korea, France, Spain and Japan, to name but a few. Israelis are feeling positive about the historical focus on the financial state of their country.

What does this mean? One typical reaction is electoral apathy, with people saying they are doing all right so there is no need to run to the polls and vote. This leads to low turnout, which is good news for Netanyahu.

A second reaction is voters thinking they need another reason to change their allegiance from the person credited (rightly or wrongly) with this prosperity.

That would be Netanyahu again. So, what could that reason be?

At the recent United Nations General Assembly, Lapid spoke of Israel’s need to be courageous by seeking a peace with the Palestinians. Strikingly, this was the first time an Israeli PM had mentioned the Palestinian conflict at the UN in six years.

Clearly, Lapid feels he could be the man to deliver where all before him have failed.

Selling a dream of peace alongside a politically altruistic message of hope has characterised Lapid’s political career to date. And this new emphasis on peace, interestingly, seems to be resonating.

Having shared dinner with Yitzhak Rabin’s former press secretary, I left Israel feeling hopeful and fearful in equal measure, reminded of lessons of the past but with hopes for the future – a future for Israel, which in my estimation, needs a statesman like Lapid to deliver a peace that 70 percentplus of Israelis still yearn for.

Running rampant for good causes

Hundreds of thousands of pounds were raised for a range of Jewish causes when runners of all ages took to the streets for the London Marathon. Charities from Jewish Care to Shaare Zedek and Chai to Emunah were among the beneficiaries.

United Synagogue Property Department Building Surveyor

Salary: £45,000, dependent on experience

Hours: Full-Time (Part-Time will be considered)

The United Synagogue is the largest synagogal body in the UK, with over 60 synagogues and 40,000 members primarily in the greater London. Our central office in North Finchley provides core services for each of our communities.

A unique opportunity has arisen for a Building Surveyor within our Property Team, to be responsible for the delivery of building surveying services. You will manage a range of building assets, including Project Management of a variety of building projects.

You must have proven knowledge of making insurance claims and completing associated works, and experience with a similar clientele. A full driving license and access to a car is essential to this role.

You will have good CAD skills and ability to produce drawings for planning applications, concept designs as well as work with very little supervision. Ideally, an understanding of the Halacha in relation to building design/construction, and your ability to carry out measured surveys would be an advantage.

Closing date for receipt of applications is: Sunday 30th October 2022

To view the job description and apply for this position, please visit: www.theus.org.uk/vacancies

Gavriel and Dov Seitler – Jami

Brian Ward and family –running for Camp Simcha Clive Goodman – Emunah

Jonny Phillips (far right), running for Camp Simcha

Jeremy Feldman – Shaare Zedek

Simone Mazin – Jewish Blind & Disabled

Mia and Nitzan Yaniv – Norwood

Danny Ogen – Chai

Eli

Norwood

Laura

LIFE

A look

The Royal Court’s act of atonement Sukkot feast

HOUSE LADY OF THE

Cliveden – just the name conjures up images of glamour, grandeur and glory. As it prepares for its fifth annual literary festival, Nicole Lampert meets the woman behind its success

There is something about the women of Cliveden. Its first chatelaine was Anna Maria, Countess of Shrewsbury, who inspired it. The house was built in the 17th century as a place for George Villiers, the Duke of Buck ingham, to conduct their scandalous affair. From the start it was – in the words of Alexander Pope – a disrep utable but magical place, “bower of wanton Shrewsbury and love”.

There was always an air of mystique, excitement, possibly even a hint of danger associated with beautiful Cliveden (pronounced, for those in the know, as cliv-din). Society hostess Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland, was followed by Nancy Astor, the first woman to take a seat in parliament. She might have had a tinge of the antisemite about her – she’s said to have discouraged the hiring of Jews and Catholics to

her husband’s paper the Observer and openly made sneery comments about them - but that didn’t stop the great and the good, from Charlie Chaplin to Winston Churchill, and Rudyard Kipling to FD Roosevelt, all flocking to be entertained in the gorgeous splendour of Cliveden’s French dining room.

And then, perhaps most infamous of all the Cliveden women, there was Christine Keeler, who was just a guest at the house. The young woman met minister of war John Profumo at Cliveden, leading to an affair while she was also sleeping with a Soviet naval attaché. That led to a scandal which brought down a government and is also credited with heralding the start of the Swinging Sixties.

Today’s keeper is a very different beast. For a start, the house is no longer a home but a luxury hotel, the jewel in the crown of a bricks and mortar empire belonging to property tycoon Ian Livingstone. What’s more, instead of a sneering aristocrat or sharp-elbowed American heiress, the woman at the helm, Ian’s wife Natalie, is a Jew from Finchley (although home is now Notting Hill). But in terms of gathering the elite of today’s world of literature, politics and arts, Natalie Livingstone is just as polished as the society women she follows.

For the last few years, she’s hosted the Cliveden Literary Festival and this, her fifth, may be her most

Hollywood glamour, in the form of Succession’s Brian Cox, will be fraternising with literary stars William Boyd and Robert Harris alongside fashion royalty, with Vogue editor Edward Enninful there to talk about his memoirs.

Royal experts Tina Brown, Robert Hardman and Camilla Tominey will be rubbing shoulders with politicians Michael Gove and Nadhim Zahawi.

There are a few Jewish writers: Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland will be there with his fantastic book The Escape Artist, technology writer Jamie Susskind and Natalie herself, who has written two historical books – one on the women of Cliveden and another on the Rothschild women.

And there is even a real genuine King – His Majesty King Simeon of the Bulgarians.

“While in the popular imagina tion Cliveden is often associated with scandal, what is lesser known is that its been a treasure trove of supreme creativity from Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift and Tennyson, to George Bernard Shaw and Rudyard Kipling,” says Natalie, 45, a mother of three. “All of the glittering greats have been inspired by Cliveden and have written at Cliveden. That’s why I wanted to revive its history as a literary icon and recreate it as a sanctuary for lovers of literature. For

becomes just that.

“I am particularly excited about the King of Bulgaria, who is the last head of state from World War Two. It’s going to be fascinating to hear about his life from when Bulgaria was invaded by Hitler to the present day. We’ve also got fabulous panels on women’s history, China and India. I think there is something to cater for everyone’s interest.”

Natalie spends all year organising the festival, aided by her co-founders – historians Simon Sebag Montefiore and Andrew Roberts, and former Tatler editor Catherine Ostler. “It is a juggle to ensure we have the right mix of speakers for our guests but I love it, it’s an abiding passion of mine.”

Each year the weekend-long festival, which starts at £110 a day, attracts more than 600 visitors and this year’s is already almost sold out.

“I think there is something special about the atmosphere here,” says Natalie. “There is this sense of history which you can feel in all the rooms, knowing what’s happened in them. The house itself really is an ode to poetry and literature and art and architecture. The whole house is infused with a glorious history and I am very lucky to be part of that.”

Festival

Natalie Livingstone

MORE THAN a Night to Remember

he atmosphere at the opening night at the Royal Court felt a bit like shul on yomtov: groups of two or three, tickets in hand, smiling and nodding at familiar faces, and chatting a lot both before and after; and when it was over, moving to another room – in this case the bar – for a noisy kiddush.

T

No wonder it was so loud. What is happening is wonderful and needs to be discussed. Less than a year after the theatre admitted to ‘unconscious bias’ – the perpetuation of an antisemitic trope – it is putting on a play that can be seen as a genuine act of atonement. And, more wonderful, this ‘theatrical inquiry’, as it is being called, is the debut play by Jonathan Freedland, the hugely respected Guardian journalist and writer known for his pitch-perfect analyses of current a airs.

I went first with my daughter, who hadn’t known about the background. So I told her that the produc-

tion was a response to the outrage about Rare Earth Mettle: word had spread during rehearsals that the odious character of a greedy billionaire (who was not Jewish) had been given the name Hershel Fink. There was an outcry from Jews, and a lastminute change (to Henry Finn).

As well as being an apology from the theatre and its artistic director, Vicky Featherstone, who co-directs alongside Audrey She eld, Jews. In Their Own Words. is an exploration of contemporary antisemitism, and a plea to make that antisemitism stop.

Freedland has created – from an idea by Tracy-Ann Oberman – a verbatim drama, using interviews he conducted with 12 Jews; many of them, including Howard Jacobson, Margaret Hodge and Luciana Berger, were there for the opening (press) night, which I also attended.

The congregation comprised plenty of other familiar faces, including David and Ivor Baddiel, Rob Rinder and Michael Grade, as well as plenty of less famous Jews. That most of

the interviewees are public figures, but ones in whose personal experiences we share, makes this drama as hot an o er as a seat in the main shul: and it resonates. Not that the resonance is comfortable; some scenes are deeply unsettling.

While the interviews were done individually, Freedland writes the characters on stage together to create a mostly flowing quasi-dialogue, and with episodes of ironic humour: during a discussion of conspiracy tropes, they become a highkicking chorus line, singing a rather (too) catchy number, “It’s the Jews that did it, those dirty stinking Jews.” That got a big round of applause on

the opening night, and I did find myself singing it afterwards.

In more sincere mode, the characters’ conversation shifts from the tropes of money, blood and power to responses of non-Jews to accusations of antisemitism, including the inevitable: “But my problem is not Jews, it’s Israel.”

But it is the monologues that contain the most interesting and troubling stories, this time beyond the experience of most of us. Businessman and philanthropist Edwin Shuker (played by Hemi Yeroham) tells of seeing the public hanging of Jews in his native Iraq, Hodge (Debbie Chazen) describes hostile o cials visiting her first-generation parents’ home to check how English they are, and Luciana Berger – in a speech delivered by Louisa Clein with a searing emotional intensity –recalls being threatened, abused and hounded out of the Labour Party by supporters of Jeremy Corbyn.

One problem for the play is the make-up of the audience; the people who need to see it probably won’t.

Guardian opinion writer Polly Toynbee was at the opening. (Full disclosure: I also work for the paper.) But its theatre critic seemed to argue with Jacobson’s description of Caryl Churchill’s Seven Jewish Children –which played at the Royal Court in 2009 – as ‘medieval’, and her online review is hyperlinked to a defence of it by the writer and director.

That question of who would see the play is one I discussed with Margaret on the tube home. She rightly suggested that rather than stay in London, it needed to tour the country.

Only by reaching an audience beyond shul-goers can this play hope to fulfil the intention its superpunctuated title suggests: of ‘putting a full stop’ to antisemitism. The final scene, in which the actors break the fourth wall to reveal that they are all Jewish, is certainly a moving finale to a wonderful moment for the Royal Court, and one which may prove to be a turning point for the theatre.

• Jews. In Their Own Words. is at the Royal Court until 22 October. Book at royalcourttheatre.com

Decorator Phillip Abrahams (Steve Furst, front) narrates an unpleasant encounter

Margaret Hodge (le ) with Beatrice

“That warm feeling you get being part of a tradition that connects you to our past and our future.”

Natalie Press, school administrator

“Can I have two sentences?”

Bennett Arron, stand-up comedian

“Being Jewish allows me to live my life based on a solid foundation of ethics, morals and values that have shaped my identity.”

Sharon Walters, teacher at Kerem school

“It’s about being part of a transnational community that connects me with others all over the world”

Toby Cohen, financial technology analyst

"I am a product of Jewish immigrants and Holocaust survivors and have a responsibility to represent those things, as the possibility of me being alive is so slim."

Rashida Jones, actress daughter of Quincy

“Cooking too much, feeding anyone the moment they walk through the door and giving them things to take home in foil.”

Nigella Lawson, TV chef and author

“Oy vey – two words that say everything and nothing.”

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, actor, star of Brian Epstein bio-pic The Midas Man

“In my experience the Jews are ‘a difficult minority’ for the English.”

Julia Pascal, playwright and theatre director

“Being a Jew means so many di erent things to me – most of all it means family, and the wider community, which I feel extremely fortunate to be part of.”

Jonny Benjamin, author and Mental Health Campaigner

“I'm an atheist, but I'm very proud of being Jewish which means I have a good work ethic, get Jewish humour and I’m allowed to tell Jewish jokes.”

“Being part of an enriching and evolving culture of wisdom and tradition.”

Maxine Levy, art and yoga mentor

“She wants me to describe Jewish in one sentence, with my back, and everything else I have to do, and I haven’t eaten yet, no, I can’t do it, I’ll just tell her that, but I feel so guilty, so maybe I will, yes, okay, I’ll send her something, but do I get paid?”

“Being part of a culture that accepts so many unique people.”

“It’s not a religion, it’s a feeling of belonging.”

Russ Kane, writer and broadcaster

“It’s belonging to an ethnicity that could get me killed, along with a comedic tradition and some shared trauma, culture and history.”

Andrew Gold, Living on the Edge podcaster and presenter

“Being in a close community, looking out for each other.”

Phil Dave, Talk TV host

“What am I, chopped liver?”

Graham Gouldman, 10CC

Madison Grant-Gold, Year 10 pupil at JCoSS

“Family history, contemporary politics, and everything in between.”

David Legmann, UJS sabbatical o icer

“Jewish for 5783 years!”

Saul Hyman, tennis coach

“We have to work so much harder just to stay in the same place.”

Maureen Lipman

Daniel Radcli e, actor

Ivor Baddiel, script writer and author

“Two Jews can have eight opinions on a single topic and are convinced every one of them is right.”

Mizel,

Jonathan Freedland spoke to 12 Jews. In homage to his efforts, Jewish News asked 21 to sum up ‘Jewish’ in just one sentence...

NORMAL makes a difference

“It is one of the most surreal things to ever happen to me,” says Victoria Hart, who is one of the ‘normal’ Jews depicted in Jonathan Freedland’s Royal Court experience featuring such luminaries as Howard Jacobson and Luciana Berger.

“There’s all these famous people and then there is someone playing me – using words I actually said. Obviously, I knew it was going to be there; I’d had transcripts sent to me to check. But seeing an actress play me was something else entirely.”

Victoria, a social worker who lives in south London, was introduced to Freedland thanks to Jewish News

The Guardian journalist was in the middle of writing his play – in which themes of contemporary antisemitism are explored – when I interviewed him about his Holocaust book The Escape Artist for this newspaper.

He said he was looking for ordinary people who had learned to speak out more about their Judaism during the Corbyn years and I gave him the details of Victoria, whose experiences of antisemitism in the world of social work led her becoming a founding member of the NHS Jewish Network.

Some of her scenes – from her anger at a swastika being scratched on to her father’s car when she was a child to the moment when a fellow social worker loudly talked in the office about how the Jewish woman she’d recently been to see must have been lying or have hidden her money because everyone knew all Jews were rich – are

among the hardest hitting in what is, at times, a tough watch.

“When I was interviewed by Jonathan I’d just finished at a social worker’s conference where there’d been a big row over the IHRA definition of antisemitism and it had been so bruising,” she recalls.

“Someone was sitting next to me and said,

By Nicole Lampert

‘Oh you can’t criticise Israel or they’ll come and get you booted out of your job.’ I’d had to explain – like we all have to explain – the differ ence between criticising the Israeli govern ment and the existence of Israel. And in the end, it was a real eye-opener for her – I don’t think she’d ever met a Jewish person before.

“Sometimes I feel charitable about this kind of stuff – yes, we need to educate people. But other times I am angry – it shouldn’t be my duty to make people aware of this. They should know better.

“When that thing happened to me – when my colleague talked about the Jews and their money and no one spoke up against it – I didn’t speak either. But after that I vowed to always tell people that I was Jewish, partly because I didn’t want to hear antisemitism like that being said in front of me.”

Victoria saw the show, in which she is played by Rachel-Leah Hosker, just before opening night and says she hopes it will make some sort of difference.

“I think it will have an impact,’ she says. “For us, as Jews, it does at least acknowledge what has gone on – someone is listening to us. And for people on the outside, I hope there is a greater understand of what anti semitism is and how it is still with us.”

Victoria Hart (left), a social worker from south London, is played by Rachel-Leah Hosker

BOOK NOW

AJEX ANNUAL REMEMBRANCE PARADE AND CEREMONY

SUNDAY 20TH NOVEMBER 2022

at Horse Guards Parade 1pm. March off at 1.45pm.

The AJEX Annual Remembrance Parade & Ceremony will take place at The Cenotaph on Sunday 20th November 2022.

theme for Remembrance this year is ‘Connection’ and

invite people of all ages, right across the community to

help in connecting the generations. This is a

honour and remember the thousands of

Servicemen and Women who fought and served for our

especially poignant time, honour and remember

Queen Elizabeth II and all she did as Commander-in-

James and The Jews

TV

With Professor Robert Winston’s son Ben as his longtime producer, James Corden has had a Jewish bestie by his side in LA since taking over The Late Late Show in 2015. Of course in the City of Angels he only had to throw a latke and it would land in the lap of a Jewish entertainer, or a performer who was at least savvy about our faith. And so the actor has learnt a lot, notably through various segments in the chat show, including donning a kippah to work as a kosher butcher, performing in the fictional band Boyz II Menorah with Jewish actors Zach Bra , Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Josh Peck and Jewish musician Charlie Puth while singing “Girl you spin me like a dreidel” for a Chanukah special, and getting Gal Gadot to tell a joke in Hebrew. The joke: “A baby is like instant co ee, do you know why? It’s easy to make it and it keeps you up all night,” was a smile at best, but when was the last time Jonathan Ross or even Graham Norton invited an Israeli guest to jest in their native tongue? Or had an Israeli guest? Corden will be leaving LA before next summer, so there is time for more Yiddish ribaldry, though he would have to go some distance to better last week’s show on which Mayim Bialik and New Girl star Max Greenfield did their Rosh Hashanah shofar impressions. Mayim has her own Yemenite shofar (a gi from her grandmother) and blows it regularly, while Max delivered the tekiah, shevarim and teruah. Best of all, Corden wished them both “Shana Tova” as they sat down. Here’s hoping he gets to say it again on TV next year back in Blighty. Don’t hold your breath (especially when shofar blowing).

Tell Her About It

We thought it would never happen, but it is. A er watching with envy from across the pond as Billy Joel appeared in concert at Madison Square Garden, he has announced his appearance at Hyde Park for British Summertime on 7 July 2023. We thought you just might be interested. There is also a Billy Joel biopic in the works that will chart his early years, but the film, titled Piano Man, hasn’t been granted rights to his music, name, likeness or life story. So maybe stick with the concert for now.

Touch Black History

The Jewish Museum is embracing Black History Month by celebrating two important women in the Tanakh –Zipporah (wife of Moses) and the Queen of Sheba, who are both believed to have been black. An activity trail about the women has been set up in the galleries and there is an opportunity to handle objects linked to black Jewish communities and bake bread inspired by black Jewish cuisine. This all takes place on 27 October.

jewishmuseum.org.uk

BACK TO BLACK

It hasn’t gone into production yet, but HBO Max is making a new comedy series based on the life of Chasidic rapper Nissim Black. The rapper, who is from Seattle, Washington, and lives in Israel, is developing the series Motherland Bounce (the title of one of Black’s singles) with American stand-up Moshe Kasher. There is no denying the comedic potential in Black’s transformation from gangster rapper to Chasidic hip-hop star, but Black takes his spiritual quest very seriously. “Everybody has questions about me. Not too many people can put on too good of a game face when they see me because everybody has to have questions, you know what I’m saying? But I think the fact is that my general personality is such that I’m a people person. I know that everybody has journeys. One of my biggest things is that way a the book starts doesn’t mean that’s the way that is has to end.” Black lives with his wife Adina in Ramat Beit Shemesh and on 13 September welcomed new baby Sarah Chaya, the couple’s first girl, who joins six brothers. Posting about their new arrival on Twitter, Black mentioned the upcoming TV series briefly: “I hope it brings joy, and dispels a lot of the misinformation going on out there, with God’s help. Stay tuned.” How could we not?

This Month in Jewish History

By Jewish News historian, Derek Taylor

He is only half Jewish (on dad’s side) and an atheist to boot, but we are claiming director David O’Russell, because he has a new film out this week, Amsterdam, which reunites him with his American Hustle star Christian Bale and Robert De Niro, who was in the Oscar-nominated Silver Linings Playbook. That it was the late Jewish directors Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella who actually gave O’Russell the Silver Linings novel brings him closer to the fold and so it should as his grandfather, a butcher, lost most of his family in the Holocaust. Neither parent wanted anything to do with religion, to the point that when David asked to become either a barmitzvah or be confirmed in the Catholic Church of his mother’s faith, they replied that he was Italian and Jewish and Russian and “so what?” Naturally this made

the Oscar-winning director even more interested in all things spiritual and he can now recite Jewish and Christian prayers. Amsterdam follows three friends who witness a murder, become suspects themselves, and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history. That Bale plays a half-Catholic/half-Jewish doctor is enough for us to ignore the tepid reviews.

On 4 October 1936 a demonstration took place in London which is still remembered whenever the need for positive action against racialism comes up – the Battle of Cable Street. The British Union of Fascists had decided to march through the East End, led by their leader, Sir Oswald Mosley. Their antisemitic rhetoric was well known and a combination of Jews, trade unionists, communists and socialists decided to stop them. Enough was enough. The police were attacked as they tried to keep order, and dressing stations had to be set up. Roughly 3,000 fascists were opposed by about 250,000 protesters, with about 7,000 police on duty; 175 people were injured. Eventually, the fascists were stopped from going through the East End by the police and demonstrated in the West End instead. The Public Order Act was later passed by parliament to stop the wearing of uniforms by organisations with political objectives.

FILM

David O’Russell (le ) and the Silver Linings cast

Nissim Black with his growing family

James Corden with Max Greenfield and Mayim Bialik; (inset) as a kosher butcher

Feast

Duck is a mild, versatile meat that’s easy to pair with your favourite seasonings, stu ings, and glazes. It also pairs well with aromatics like garlic cloves, lemon slices, sprigs of fresh thyme, and shallots, as it does with fruits such as cherries, cranberries and apricots. Le over duck is great in salads (such as one with spinach leaves, mango, strawberries, caramelised pecans and a sweet vinaigrette), or can be shredded for duck pancakes. Summer fruits, unlike the name suggests, are available all year round in the supermarket freezer section, making this a wonderful dish for Succot.

Duck with an orange and summer fruit glaze

Ingredients

1 whole duck from Kosher Deli

500g frozen summer fruit mix

250g sugar

200ml orange juice (no bits)

Optional: 50ml cherry liqueur for an extra level of flavour

Pinch of kosher salt

Method

For this recipe, you start by putting the duck in the oven for 30 minutes and only then the sauce is added. You can either prepare the glaze while the duck is in the oven or it can be done beforehand.

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.

2. Sit the duck, breast side up, in a roasting tin and dry the skin with a paper towel.

3. Using a sharp knife, carefully score the skin and the breast and legs in crisscross fashion, roughly 1.5cm apart – making sure not to cut into the meat.

4. Sprinkle the duck with kosher salt and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, uncovered.

5. While the duck is roasting, make the glaze. Place the summer fruits, orange juice (if using the cherry liqueur, add it in now) and sugar into a pot on high heat until the sugar has melted and is no longer visible. Turn down to a low heat and keep stirring to help the ingredients combine. Keep on the stove for 20 minutes.

6. At this stage, remove the duck from the oven, drain all the fat from the roasting tin (keep it for the next time you make roast potatoes) and pour the glaze over the duck.

7. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C and return the duck to the oven covered with foil for 1hr 20 minutes or until you have an internal temp of 75°.

8. Remove the duck from the oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes before carving.

9. Gather the glaze from the roasting tin into a gravy boat and serve over the duck.

By Asher Stefansky for Kosher Deli

RESTAURANT

MAKING SENSE OF THE SEDRA

BY RABBI ALEX CHAPPER BOREHAMWOOD & ELSTREE SYNAGOGUE

Even the pandemic and Brexit feel like they have faded into the past.

The UK appears to be in financial chaos. The country is facing a cost-of-living crisis, inflation has risen sharply, interest rates are at their highest in well over a decade, the stock market has been wobbling badly and the pound has tanked.

Some analysts predict that house prices could fall by as much as 20 percent. Coupled with events on the global stage, all the headlines seem to be doom and gloom.

We are so consumed by today’s challenges that yesterday’s news appears to be just that - old news.

At the same time, there is a sense of history just repeating itself. As we near the end of the Torah, we read in Ha’azinu how Moses prepares the Jewish people for their future without him as leader.

An exciting future awaits, as they conclude the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and stand on the verge of entry into the Promised Land. At this point, Moses o ers some final words of advice.

He says: “Remember the days of old, consider the years of ages past; ask your parent, who will inform you, your elders, who will tell you…”

What timeless message is being conveyed here?

The Seforno explains that the people are being reminded of God’s

righteousness and how He has been proven to be loyal in showering goodness upon the nation. This provided us with the optimum conditions to serve Him joyfully while enjoying all the material advantages that life on earth has to o er. And now He has given us a beautiful country, one flowing with milk and honey, to do this in.

But Moses, the prophet, foresees the danger posed by material wealth and success.

Instead of remaining faithful to God as the minimum symbol of appreciation for Divine benevolence, we will forget not only the wilderness years but also the generations who su ered the privations of slavery.

The memory of that miraculous freedom will have faded and given

way to rebellion, repaying good with evil.

The Chizkuni understands the instruction, “remember the days of old” as Moses’ way of reminding us of a whole list of acts of loving kindness that God has performed for us.

We have a duty to take it to heart and to understand that just as God is eternal, so too should be our trust in Him.

Markets fluctuate, fortunes are made and lost in the blink of an eye, economies grow at times, while at

other times they experience recession. As the saying goes, “Change is the only constant.”

Here Moses’ sage advice is presented in the form of a song. The words are pro ered without any harshness but instead are meant to be a sweet melody that should ring in our ears.

Material possessions are by their very nature ephemeral; the only permanence we can enjoy is God’s presence and the blessings He confers on our lives.

Progressive

LEAP OF FAITH

BY RABBI DANNY RICH VICE PRESIDENT OF LIBERAL JUDAISM

blood of another,” and this is extended in rabbinic tradition to involve an obligation to intervene when one witnesses wrongdoing, and prevent it where possible.

Bullies rely, of course, on the notion that an imbalance of power or relationship will prevent the bullied defending themselves. Judaism is quite clear that in the event of being bullied one may respond with all reasonable means, including appropriate physical resistance or reporting to an authority.

While within each of us is the capacity to be unkind, bullying – which I define as a word or deed or indeed conduct against another person who cannot e ectively respond – is against the very essence of Jewish teaching. The Torah repeatedly demands that Jews treat others as they would wish to be treated, because the Jewish people have experienced an extreme bullying: slavery.

Leviticus 19:34 requires: “Love the stranger as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” The obligation to care for the vulnerable is brought closer to home in Exodus 22:22-24, which urges: “You shall not mistreat any widow or orphan,” and Psalm 82:3, which enjoins: “Judge [generously] the wretched and the orphan, vindicate the lowly and the poor, rescue the wretched and the needy; save them from the hand of the wicked.” In terms of bullying, the psalmist hints at a further requirement. Leviticus 19:16 says: “Do not stand by the

In today’s world, bullying via social media – from that of schoolchildren to celebrities – has become pervasive and, in some cases, tragic. Its prevalence, coupled with its frequent anonymity, has surely led to the fulfilment of the Talmudic warning (Baba Metzia 58b): “The shaming of another in public is akin to the shedding of [the shamed one’s] blood.”

While it is only in a small number of cases that bullying on social media has contributed to the deaths of its victims, even one death is too many.

It is also fair to conclude that social media bullying can lead to social isolation, mental instability and physical symptoms, including fear of leaving one’s home.

The Babylonian Talmud (Eruvin 65b) teaches that a person’s character can be assessed by three things: their cos (cup), cees (wallet) and ca’as (anger). The bully is usually a person who is quick to be a ronted, uses whatever is at their

disposal to pick on a vulnerable person, and is controlled – not necessarily by alcohol as the Talmud infers – by an inability or lack of concern about how their behaviour impacts on others.

With a calm, practical and thoughtful attitude, bullying on social media or elsewhere can – and should – be resisted, in accord with Jewish teaching.

Professional advice from our panel / Ask Our Experts

Ask our

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

This week: Moving belongings to Israel, preparing a will and making the most of your jewellery

not make sense to have more than you need whilst you look for somewhere to buy.

MORRIS

Dear Stephen

My husband and I are making aliyah in three months’ time. We have sold our house and are planning to move into rented accommodation in Netanya and so do not need to take furniture or anything large until we have bought our own place. Is it worth just taking small things for now or should we take everything and store it in Israel? Our furniture, etc. has huge sentimental value to us and we don’t want to lose it.

Rachel

Dear Rachel

If you are moving into rented accommodation that is probably furnished, then it does

Storage in Israel was much the same price as in the UK but, with the pound as low as it is now, you really do not need to exchange more sterling right now than is necessary!

The transit time for a container from the UK to Israel is currently just two weeks ‘on the water’ and, even with UK and Israeli Customs formalities, the whole move can be completed in less than a month.

So, it makes sense to place the items that you do not need in Israel just yet into store in the UK and then ship them with whatever else you discover you need when you finally buy somewhere.

You are allowed three shipments within three years under your aliyah rights.

Do talk to me about storage. We have secure, dry warehouses with 24-hour security and sensible storage rates to o er you.

CAROLYN ADDLEMAN DIRECTOR OF LEGACIES KKL EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE COMPANY

Dear Carolyn

At the age of 50 am I too young to make a lasting power of attorney?

Rachel Dear Rachel

Clients often say, ‘I’ll get around to it but not now –LPAs are something only older people need think about’. But it’s a sad fact

of life that these things can take us by surprise or sometimes just creep up on us sooner than we think. Not being able to make important decisions can occur at any age – it’s not just a right or privilege exclusive to the old or vulnerable.

Sadly, accidents and illnesses just happen. It is a common misconception that an LPA is only needed for people of an older age.

The reality is that capacity could be lost at any time due to an accident, stroke or degenerative condition such as Alzheimer's.

Whilst you have mental capacity, do then think about making an LPA whether in relation to your property and finances,

healthcare or both. Once the forms are completed, importantly with your choice of attorney(s), and duly registered, you can put them away somewhere safe, and rest assured they are there for you if and when you find you and your family may need them.

If you leave it until you can’t make such decisions, you may lose the ability to choose your own attorney and instead the Court of Protection would appoint someone for you – potentially a time consuming and costly exercise and this may mean someone you don’t know acting as your attorney. Do then contact us at KKL if this is something you would like to look at.

Certainly worth a chat!

JONATHAN WILLIAMS

JEWELLER

JEWELLERY CAVE

Dear Jonathan

I have always looked forward to reading your questions and answers over the years in Jewish News.

I currently don’t have anything to sell, but I would like a fresh makeover with all the jewellery I have.

It looks very tired and outdated, plus I have seen what you do on Instagram

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on @jewellerycave and I like your styles very much. Can you help?

Tanya

Dear Tanya

Look no further! If you would like to make an appointment and come to our Hendon Lane showroom, bring all your items, we can

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Then we can create some CAD designs, so you know what you will be getting before we produce it.

I think you will be happy with the end result

Feel free to phone us to make an appointment on

HEALTH

JEWELLER

EMPLOYMENT LAW AND DATA PROTECTION

EMMA GROSS

Qualifications:

• Specialist in claims of unfair dismissal, redundancy and discrimination.

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

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

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JONATHAN WILLIAMS

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CAROLYN ADDLEMAN

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www.kkl.org.uk enquiries@kkl.org.uk

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STEPHEN MORRIS

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ADAM LOVATT

Qualifications:

• Lawyer with more than 11 years of experience working in the legal sector. Specialist in corporate, commercial, media, sport and start-ups.

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

• Non-Executive Director of various companies advising on all governance matters.

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