1292 - 8th December 2022

Red Shield

LORD SACKS BLOODMOBILE DEDICATED IN ISRAEL

A bloodmobile crowdfunded in memory of the late Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks was dedicated in September in a moving ceremony in Israel. The tribute - conceived following his untimely death in November 2020 - was unveiled following a fundraising drive in partnership with the Jewish News that raised the £135,000 needed to make the purchase the vehicle. The life-saving vehicle will traverse the country to collect blood from up to 80 donors a day - with each unit split between three recipients, potentially saving thousands of lives each year.

Members of Lord Sacks’ family joined with friends and Magen David Adom dignitaries at the newly opened Marcus National Blood Services Centre in Ramla, central Israel. An inscription on one side of the vehicle describes Lord Sacks as a “giant of world Jewry who’s impact crossed faiths and borders” and on the other side is a pertinent quote from Rabbi Sacks himself: “At the heart of Judaism is the principle of the sanctity of life.”

Lady Elaine Sacks, who was joined at the occasion by her son Joshua, was presented with a specially commission mezuzah, a replica of those adoring the doorframes of the centre.

Lady Elaine commented, “To remember my dear husband in this life saving way, here in Eretz Yisrael - is so very special.”

Speaking after the event, British ambassador to Israel, Neil Wigan said, “Rabbi Lord Sacks had a truly global impact and was an exceptional ambassador for the Jewish people. It is fitting that part of his lasting legacy will be to save lives on the streets of Israel.

The Sacks Bloodmobile will be stationed at MDA’s new state-of-the-art blood bank in Ramle, which it is hoped will enable the collection of 500,000 units a year, double the current capacity.

Lady Elaine Sacks hands over the keys to the new bloodmobile

SAVING LIVES KNOWS NO BORDERS

There is an international flavour to this edition of Red Shield.

Over the past six months our fundraising e orts have taken us to Italy, Jordan, Nigeria and of course Israel. Our London based team worked with French colleagues to organise an incredible dinner which raised over £450,000. Just as Magen David Adom knows no borders when it comes to saving lives, there are no geographical boundaries when it comes to raising the funds needed to save more lives. Here in the UK we have been busy up and down the country. Our Hendon, Manchester, She eld and Maidenhead committees have all been active and it was a huge privilege to be hosted by Bloomberg to celebrate the work of our organisation back in September. This coincided with the launch of Jonathan Straight’s latest book for us, DOORPOSTS. I encourage you to have a read yourself (www.mdauk.org/ doorposts). You will be blown away by the creativity of the artists from the Bezalel Art College and the designs they produced for the mezuzot at the newly opened Marcus National Blood Services Centre.

What struck me most were the markedly di erent personal backgrounds of those that participated. Israel is a multicultural, ethnically and religiously diverse country. This is refl ected in the workforce of MDA and it is amazing that an Israeli-Arab can design the mezuzah to adorn one of the main doorways at our landmark lifesaving location.

Anyone can support Magen David Adom. Anyone can help to save a life. Thanks for all that you do for our boundary breaking organisation.

FAUDA AUDIENCE OF ONE MILLION FOR MDA IN NIGERIA

On Wednesday 10th August, Magen David Adom UK Chief Executive Daniel Burger gave a keynote speech to one million people at the 2022 RCCG (The Redeemed Christian Church of God) 70th anniversary international Perfect Jubilee Convention in Lagos, Nigeria.

In his speech, Burger thanked the General Overseer Pastor E. A. Adeboye and Mother-inIsrael Pastor (Mrs) Folu Adeboye for their continuing philanthropy towards the organisation. Accompanied by the Africa Coordinator of Magen David Adom UK, Mrs Oluwatobi (Tobi) Lovv the Nigerian - Israeli entrepreneur and founder of Sharelovv International which fosters co-operation between the State of Israel and Africa - Mr Burger expressed gratitude that the ambulances donated by the Adeboyes had contributed towards saving 23,000 lives and birthing over 1,000 babies.

The Adeboyes were so moved by the tribute that they have subsequently committed to donating a further two ambulances in the coming weeks.

Speaking on his return to the UK, Mr Burger said, “The support for Magen David Adom in Nigeria is immense. I could not believe that one million people turned up and were able to hear about our work. Their commitment to saving more lives is genuinely incredible.”

Tobi Lovv, who has been instrumental in orchestrating the relationship, said, “The people of Nigeria are staunch friends of Israel. We are committed to the land and its peoples and we are committed to being a lifesaving force for good in the region.”

In September, Adom, the Emergency NEC in MDA’s paramedics life-saving industry the world. well received interest MDANET the full contacting transfer responders process.

Burger Chief Executive

Daniel

Fauda Lior Raz this week

Over 300 reception, about army commander Lior Raz screen The guests together Avi Issacharoff experiences star character, Speaking

Tobi Lovv, the Pastors Adeboye and Daniel Burger in Lagos.

The Pastors dedicating their first ambulance in Jerusalem

Commons silence to echo across nation

A minute of quiet will mark the day 80 years ago when a hushed

House was told about Holocaust

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

MPs will stand in silence to mark 80 years since Britain publicly recognised the Holocaust was taking place in Nazi Europe.

The government’s announcement on 17 December 1942 prompted a spontaneous moment of silence, the first in the history of the chamber.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the House of Commons, will lead a one-minute silence to commemorate the anniversary at the start of business on Thursday 15 December at 9.30am. To add to the occasion’s poignancy, MPs will be joined in the Speaker’s Gallery by four survivors of the Holocaust and representatives of Britain’s Jewish community.

The speaker said: “It takes a lot to quieten the House of Commons, but 80 years ago MPs were spontaneously stunned into silence after it was confirmed that the Nazis were responsible for the systematic mass murder of the Jewish population in Europe.

“It was a moment like no other and was described

by one parliamentary correspondent as being “like the frown of the conscience of mankind”.

“Given the genocides that have occurred since, and the horrific war crimes that are taking place in Ukraine now, it is important that we mark this significant anniversary with the people who survived the Holocaust.”

Olivia Marks-Woldman, of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said it was “a great privilege” for survivors to be invited to join in the MPs’ moment of silence.

In 1942, then foreign secretary Anthony Eden told a hushed House that “reliable reports” had confirmed “Hitler’s oft-repeated intention to exterminate the Jewish people in Europe...” His statement led Labour MP William Cluse to suggest that the House should “stand as a protest against this disgusting barbarism”.

Speaker Edward FitzRoy replied that this was a matter for the House itself, which prompted Conservative Sir Waldron Smithers to wave MPs up. The Daily Mail’s Percy Cater wrote at the time: “One after another MP stood until all, in their hundreds, sombregarbed and sombre-faced ranks, were on their feet. There were many eyes which were not dry and there was not, I dare swear, a throat without a lump in it.”

At the release of Charlotte, an animated biopic about Charlotte Saloman, a Jewish artist murdered in Auschwitz, we ask whether cartoons can enrich Holocaust studies. See page 27

The notorious Rev Dr Stephen Sizer engaged in conduct which “provoked and o ended the Jewish community” and in one “serious allegation” was found to have “engaged in antisemitic activity”, a church disciplinary hearing has concluded, writes Lee Harpin.

In response to a

complaint brought by the Board of Deputies, the now retired Anglican priest, who for 20 years served as vicar of Christ Church, Virginia Water, Surrey, had denied antisemitism in relation to 11 allegations about his conduct between 2005 and 2018.

Out of the 11 allegations, a panel concluded that in four of them Sizer’s conduct was “unbecoming to the o ce and work of a clerk in Holy Orders, in that he provoked

and o ended the Jewish community”.

Following the announcement, the Church of England confirmed in a statement that Sizer (pictured, left) “has committed misconduct under the Clergy Discipline Measure”.

It said the tribunal will “now determine a penalty”.

The statement added that the Church is “committed to building cohesive communi-

ties and fostering strong interfaith relations built on trust and respect” and stressed that “antisemitism has no place in our society and those in positions of power and influence must listen to concerns about it”.

In a decision announced on Tuesday, the tribunal concluded: “The most serious allegation against the respondent relates to posting a link on Facebook in January

verdict

Tribunal finds Stephen Sizer guilty of antisemitic activity

Continued from page 1

2015 to the article blaming Israel for 9/11. “The tribunal finds the article in its tone and content truly shocking.”

Sizer said he “accepted” the criticisms of his conducted and would “repeat my apology” for posting of an article blaming Israel for 9/11.

He added: “I am most grateful to the tribunal for the careful way in which they approached the evidence and reached their conclusions. I accept those conclusions, and the criticisms of my conduct and apologise unreservedly for the hurt and o ence caused.

“As I said at the time, I am particularly sorry that I posted a link on Facebook in January 2015 to an article blaming Israel for 9/11 and repeat my apology for the deep hurt that my conduct caused. I do not propose to say any more at this juncture as I pray and reflect further.”

Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl said: “I commend the tribunal’s decision. In an unprecedented judgment it was found [he] ‘engaged in antisemitic activity’, repeated conduct ‘unbecoming of a Church of England minister and engaged in conduct that ‘provoked and o ended the Jewish community over a sustained period.

“He was also criticised for being ‘disingenuous in his answers’. ”

Van der Zyl, who had lodged the complaint against Sizer in 2018, praised the tribunal for

listening to the Board’s evidence. The tribunal said the article posted by Sizer went “way beyond the criticism of Israel and is virulently antisemitic in its content”.

“After careful consideration, it finds the respondent’s evidence that he had not read the article in full before he posted the link to be implausible and untrue. The respondent is an intelligent man, familiar with the conflict in the Middle East, and the sensitivities over criticism of the Jewish race.

“It is satisfied that the respondent would not have posted the article without reading it in full first. In reaching this decision, it pays particular importance to his comment on the

post, when he said: ‘Is this antisemitic? If so, no doubt I’ll be asked to remove it. It raises so many questions.’

“It does not consider that he would have made this comment unless he knew or thought that the article was antisemitic.”

It was further concluded: “The tribunal is satisfied that the respondent reposted the article in the knowledge that it would provoke and o end the Jewish community.”

Sizer was also condemned for his “unacceptable” and “unauthorised” meeting with Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, a commander of Hezbollah forces in Beirut in the summer of 2006.

The tribunal also condemned Sizer’s conduct after in September 2010, he posted a link to an article entitled The Mother of All Coincidences. It concluded: “The tribunal considers that the respondent’s meeting with Sheikh Kaouk is an example of where he did not take into account his role as a public representative of the Church and showed a lack of sensitivity to the Jewish community.”

Referring to the article, it said: “The article raised the issue as to whether 9/11 was a plot by Israel and did not specifically refer to Jews. The final sentence, however, did not contain a clear rejection of Israel’s involvement. Whilst the article did not go as far as the 9/11 article, and blame American Jews for 9/11, the tribunal considers that the respondent, as an ordained minister, should not have been giving the oxygen of publicity to such an article. ”

The tribunal decision, following an earlier hearing in May, was handed down by the Church of England on Tuesday by chair David Pittaway KC, at Church House, Westminster.  Editorial comment, page 18

VERDICT ENRICHES OUR BOND WITH THE CHURCH

BY MARIE VAN DER ZYL PRESIDENT, BOARD OF DEPUTIES

The Church of England tribunal and verdict on Stephen Sizer has been the result of e orts over a number of years by the Board of Deputies.

We first flagged the activities of Dr Sizer back in 2014, when he took part in an antisemitic conference in Tehran, sponsored by the Iranian government. Later, he posted an article on Facebook accusing Jews and Israel of responsibility for 9/11.

The case was pursued vigorously by my predecessor, Jonathan Arkush, when he was president of the Board of Deputies, and subsequently by myself. We both gave evi-

dence to the tribunal which was fully accepted.

In total, the tribunal concluded that there had been four instances where Sizer’s conduct strayed from what would be expected of a church minister and he has been severely criticised for his conduct.

The successful conclusion of this case is important for several reasons. The Board values its good relationships with all faith communities. The fact that the Church of England, led by the King himself, upheld these serious allegations, will enrich and create stronger

bonds between us. Indeed, although this has been a long and sometimes painful court procedure, the Church has been supportive and acknowledged that an important boundary was crossed.

While we await the sentence resulting from this verdict, the magnitude of the judgment should not be underestimated. Sizer was found to have “provoked and o ended” the Jewish community. Confirmation that this type of behaviour is unacceptable will send a strong message to others who seek to demonise Jews and Israel, in the Church and beyond.

This has been a vital moment for the relationship between Jews and the Church. I thank the Church for the strength of its judgment.

Church of England vicar Stephen Sizer leaves a disciplinary hearing in central London in May

Bibi under pressure to finalise coalition talks

With three days to deadline, Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu is coming under mounting pressure to finalise the almost month-long coalition negotiations with his far-right and ultra-Orthodox partners, writes Jotam Confino.

A number of agreements have been signed so far, but some issues remain to be resolved, mainly with Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ).

UTJ signed an interim deal with Likud on Tuesday, giving the party control over the Housing and Construction Ministry.

According to Haaretz, UTJ also gets the Jerusalem A airs Ministry, chairmanships of the Knesset finance committee, the Knesset interior and environment committee, the labour, welfare and health committee, and deputy ministry portfolios in the Transportation Min-

istry and the rime Minister’s O ce. The most controversial agreements, however, will see far-right leaders Itamar BenGvir and Betzalel Smotrich as national security minister and finance minister respectively.

While Ben-Gvir managed to get his role expanded so that it oversees police in the West Bank, Smotrich also negoti-

ated his way to crucial and unprecedented access to areas that normally fall under the Defence Ministry.

Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party will be in control of appointing the head of the head of COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories) and of the Israeli Civil Administra-

tion in coordination, two posts that oversee daily life in the West Bank in particular.

COGAT, which also deals with matters related to Gaza, such as deciding which goods go in and out of the Strip, is responsible for overseeing implementation of government policies in the West Bank.

The agreement caused uproar among former and current defence o cials, with Israel Defense Forces chief of sta Aviv Kochavi reportedly saying: “I won’t allow any interference in the appointment of IDF generals. There is no possibility of this happening.”

Defence minister Benny Gantz also railed against the agreement, warning the incoming defence minister, who is expected to be Likud’s Yoav Gallant, that he will be reduced to a “second-class minister”.

 Louise Jacobs, page 23

STARMER RULES OUT A RETURN FOR CORBYN

Sir Keir Starmer has e ectively ruled out the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn standing as a Labour candidate at the next election, telling BBC Radio 4: “I don’t see the circumstances in which that can happen.”

The Labour leader was asked if could see a possible scenario in which Corbyn would defend his seat in Islington North as a candidate for the party.

Corbyn was suspended from the party in November 2020 after suggesting that the scale of antisemitism in the Labour Party, revealed in a report by the equalities watchdog the Equality and Human Rights Commission, was “dramatically overstated” by his political rivals.

Appearing on Radio 4, Starmer was asked if he could see a circumstance in which Corbyn would stand for Labour again. He said: “I don’t see the circumstances in which that can happen.

“We have not got to the selection of that particular constituency yet, but I don’t

see the circumstances in which Jeremy Corbyn will stand as a Labour candidate.” Asked about whether Corbyn would stand as an independent against Labour, he replied: “I can only speak for the party. I can’t speak for Jeremy.”

• Labour received £4.7m in donations between July and September, more than any other party, o cial figures show. The sum, emphasising the transformative change in the party’s appeal since the collapse of Corbynism, is significantly above the £2.9m donated to the Conservatives.

Labour leader Keir Starmer (left) with Jeremy Corbyn

Far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir (right) in conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset

Kanye West not in the right place, says Akon

The Senegalese-American singer Akon has said recent interviews with Kanye West have been “irresponsible” and the US rapper is currently “not in the right place”.

Akon sought to clarify recent comments he made in which he appeared to defend the views of the rapper, saying he condemns all forms of hate.

West, who has changed his name to Ye, gave an interview with US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones last week in which he praised Adolf Hitler.

Akon, who is a friend of West, previously told Sky News that the rapper’s latest comments did not concern him “because they do not a ect me personally”.

But, speaking to Channel 4 News, he said he had been caught o guard by questions about the rapper and that his responses had been taken out of context.

“That answer wasn’t based on what it was painted to be,” Akon told Channel 4.

“You know, Kanye makes a remark every day. You can’t keep up with all the o ensive remarks that he’s making.

“And I felt that it was very unfair to take that one remark and apply it to my answer when I had no idea that’s what he said 24 hours ago.”

Asked about his relationship with West,

he replied: “I know him personally. I don’t believe he’s in the right place. Honestly, it’s very irresponsible to interview him, I don’t believe that anything he says people should take to heart.

“Anyone that knows me knows that me and Kanye are nowhere near the same. We have totally di erent views. I would never, in any circumstance, hold the same position as Kanye in that matter.

“It wasn’t him that I was supporting. It was the opinion of people and having the right to have your own opinion.

“I didn’t know that it was going to be

connected to something that he specifically said.

“I condemn hate. Period. I don’t care who – if my mother hated, I wouldn’t agree with my mum.”

Last week, West had his Twitter account suspended after violating the platform’s policy against inciting violence.

He had posted a series of erratic tweets, one of which showed a symbol combining a swastika and a Magen David. His previous antisemitic remarks have resulted in the termination of his lucrative partnerships, including with the German sportswear brand Adidas.

BILL ‘WOULDN’T OUTLAW RANT’

Labour has raised fears that Kanye West’s “Hitler worship” would be allowed to continue online as a result of changes made by the government to the long-awaited Online Safety Bill, writes Lee Harpin

Speaking in the Commons, Bury South MP Christian Wakeford said: “No Jewish person should have to log online to see Hitler worship.

“But what we have seen with Kanye West has been nothing short of disgusting from saying, and I quote, ‘I love Hitler’ to inciting online pileons against Jewish people, and indeed magnified by his sheer number of followers, with Jews being attacked on the streets in the US.”

Wakeford then questioned whether “the government’s decision to drop the ‘legal but harmful’ from the Bill will allow this deeply o ensive and troubling behaviour to continue”.

Shadow digital minister Alex Davies-Jones told MPs: “Let us be absolutely clear, everything that Kanye West said online is deeply abhorrent

and has no place in our society. It is not for any of us to glorify Hitler and his comments and praise him for what he did. It is absolutely abhorrent; it should never be online.

“But sadly that is exactly the type of legal but harmful content that will now be allowed to proliferate online because of the government’s changes to this Bill, meaning that it will be allowed to be seen by everybody – the 30 million followers Kanye West has online.”

Davies-Jones added that “some of the content will be deeply o ensive to the Jewish community, but it could harm wider society”.

Earlier, digital minister Paul Scully had issued a staunch defence of the Online Safety Bill, the government’s flagship internet regulation, which returned to parliament after a five-month delay.

Right-wing Conservatives have tried to kill it o , citing free speech concerns. There was cross-party support for often “complex” issues contained in it.

Extraordinary sale of 18th-century Judaica

The BBC has honoured a Canvey Island rabbi for “breaking down barriers and bringing communities together”.

Charedi leader Joel Friedman said he was “well chu ed” to have received the BBC’sMake a Di erence award.

The honour was in recognition of his e orts in building bridges and extending outreach to the wider Essex community in Canvey Island.

His family was one of those who established a Charedi community in Canvey in 2016. Rabbi Friedman said he now considers himself the “go-to person” in the area.

He added: “There’s a lot we can’t

do, but there’s so much more we can do; we started this community in Canvey with six families and have now expanded to 105.”

The Jewish Council of Gateshead tweeted: “Well done @MrJoelFriedman. Your outstanding community activism and @PinterTrust work is bridging gaps and bringing people closer together.”

Friedman is director of public a airs for the Charedi outreach organisation Pinter Trust, which is backed by rabbis and leaders from the Charedi communities in London, Manchester, Gateshead and Essex.

An 18th century embroidered Torah ark curtain is part of what the auctioneer Sotheby’s is calling “the most important collection of Judaica to come to market in a decade”.

Torah ark curtain is part of what market in a decade”. features items collected over Abraham Halpern, who began to buy items in

Its sale on 15 December features items collected over nearly 50 years by the late Abraham Halpern, who began to buy items in the 1970s and continued for almost 50 years.

Manchester city centre’s last remaining synagogue has shut after 70 years, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

The closure of the Reform shul’s building on Jackson’s Row was marked by a final Shabbat service.

Manchester Reform Synagogue is the second-oldest Reform community in the UK after West London Synagogue.

Members had mixed feelings as they left a building that had become too costly to repair but whose sale provided funds to ensure a bright future in a new home. Jackson’s Row president Jane Black told Jewish

News the weekend achieved “a real sense of occasion”, adding: “It was a very successful, happy as well as emotional time.”

Principal rabbi of Manchester Reform synagogue Robyn Ashworth-Steen said: “It’s been a home since childhood for me and many members of the community. But it’s a very exciting and unusual chance for a religious community to have the opportunity to invest in its future, to create something new that works for us in Manchester and demonstrates our mark on the city.”

The building was sold for £15m. The community will hold services at a tem-

porary base at Manchester University’s chaplaincy on Oxford Road, a mile away, while the synagogue seeks a new home.

The Halpern Collection includes silver objects, textiles, books and manuscripts, and a German silver-gilt Torah shield by Munich silversmith Georg Zeiller, which is expected to reach about £120,000.

German silver-gilt Torah versmith Georg Zeiller, estimated to go for more

The Torah ark curtain, dating to 18th-century eastern Europe, is estimated to go for more than £40,000.

Sotheby’s in New York describes the collection as the “finest group of Judaic textiles ever to appear at auction” and says it is extremely proud to o er it for “not only its obvious scale and distinguished pedigree, but to educate the wider public on the encyclopedic survey and journey of Jewish art, tradition, and culture”.

BBC blesses Essex rabbi for ‘making a difference’

Canvey Island’s Rabbi Joel Friedman

Final service at Reform shul’s building

A Torah shield, Munich, 1825

Akon says interviews with West are ‘irresponsible’

Picture: Sotheby’s

Cost of Israel tour set to soar by up to 20∞

UJIA is gearing up for pleas for additional financial support from parents hoping to send their teenagers on Israel programmes next summer amid the mounting cost of living crisis.

The price of delivering Israel Tour has gone up by roughly 20 percent, partly due to global inflation and the fall of the pound against the dollar and the shekel, which has increased prices on the ground.

One parent from Borehamwood wants to send her son on Israel tour but has balked at the increased amount: “It’s outrageous. But I want him to have the experience so what can I do?”

Another from south London said: “It sounds completely extortionate to me but I’m planning to apply for a subsidy.”

UJIA chief executive Mandie Winston said: “We understand parental concerns about increases in price coupled with the rise in the cost of living.

“That is why UJIA is launching its Access Israel Fund, to raise £1m to support young people going on UJIA supported educational programmes in Israel

over the next two years.”

With 12 di erent youth movements and organisations operating Israel Tours with support from UJIA Israel Experience, more than 1,200 young people participated this year.

Winston says she passionately believes that cost should not be a barrier to participation.

“Israel Tour, thankfully, remains a rite of passage for Jewish teenagers and is vital for the future of our community.”

Jami dinner hears about teens’ crisis

Patrons at a Jami fundraising dinner heard first-hand about the ongoing mental health crisis for Jewish teens and the need for better provision.

About 70 guests at the charity’s first in-person dinner since the pandemic heard from director of services Louise Kermode, who spoke of the impact of its children and young person’s pilot service.

Launched in May, the scheme for 11- 18-year-olds is already making a di erence

to 40 children, including students from JCoSS.

They also heard from Sophia Graham, who benefited from Jami’s services.

She described her 15 years of poor mental health and how a combination of the right medication and “genuine, e ective, appropriate and consistent support” from Jami mean she is now far more stable, nearly symptom-free and has a support network she trusts wholeheartedly.

JEWS AND CHRISTIANS EXTEND COMMUNAL TIES

Nearly 30 Jewish and Christian leaders have brainstormed ways of enriching their work and creating community partnerships.

Jewish leaders met Church of England counterparts as part an initiative by the Board of Deputies and Lambeth Palace. Participants heard about the Church’s work followed by a presentation about

the Jewish community and the work of the Board of Deputies, made by chief executive Michael Wegier. They also shared best practice and discussed ways of bringing communities closer and overcoming communal hurdles.

Board vice-president Amanda Bowman said: “It was clear to see how valuable it was bringing people together.”

‘Ukraine could be frozen war like the Middle East’

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

The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned that comparisons between the war in Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflict represent “a very real and reasonable fear”.

The Most Reverend Justin Welby was among a group of religious leaders who travelled to the city of Kyiv on Thursday, when he spoke of his fear that the war in Ukraine could continue for decades.

He also said it would be “immoral” to pressure Ukraine into giving in to Russian terms, in the same way it was to divide up Czechoslovakia to appease Hitler.

Cricket boss steps down over social media posts

The new chairman of Essex County Cricket Club has stepped down ahead of an independent review into his social media posts, including one that compared Israel to Nazi Germany.

The Jewish Chronicle reported that Azeem Akhtar, who was named the cricket club’s new chair on Monday, 28 November, had endorsed slurs on social media, including accusations that the “Zionist lobby” has “oversized” control of the media.

takes place. The statement reads: “Essex County Cricket Club supports Azeem Akhtar’s personal decision to voluntarily step aside as chair of the club while an immediate independent review is conducted into the circumstances around some historic content on social media.

As Welby and other relispoke of his con-

As Welby and other religious o cials were forced to shelter in a bunker after air raid sirens sounded as Russian planes were reported nearby, he spoke of his concern that the Ukraine con-

parisons with Israel’s longthink it’s a very real and

flict could mirror that in the Middle East. Asked by a reporter from The if he believed it was “apt” for religious leaders to make comparisons with Israel’s longrunning conflict with the Palestinians, he said: “I think it’s a very real and very reasonable fear.

“I think western coun-

tries need to realise they will have to show long-term resilience.”

After he left the bunker, he spoke of his concern that the Ukraine conflict could last longer than the Second World War.

He referenced “what people call a ‘frozen’ war, which has moments of great activity, moments of relative calm, but not peace, like the Middle East could last 60, 70 [or] 80 years”.

The newspaper wrote: “A tweet posted on May 23 2021 and liked by Mr Akhtar declared: ‘It is not o ensive to say the pro–Israel and Zionist lobby have deep pockets and oversized influence/control over the media…’” The cricket boss also liked a tweet that claimed: ‘Comparing Israel with Nazis is not antisemitic. In fact, many Jewish people have done so themselves.’

The club said Akhtar was to “voluntarily” step aside – just three days after his appointment – while an investigation

“Essex and Azeem Akhtar are determined to uphold the values of strong leadership, governance and accountability. By initiating this review, Azeem has demonstrated his commitment to those core values.” The club adds that it has a “zero-tolerance approach” to tackling racism and discrimination.

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up Czechoslovakia to

East. Asked by a reporter from Times

Justin Welby (inset) is concerned the war in Ukraine could last decades

Investigation: Azeem Akhtar

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England fan yells ‘free Palestine’ on Israeli TV

A video of an England fan shouting “free Palestine” during a live Israeli broadcast in Qatar is going viral on social media, adding to the many clips of Israeli reporters in similar situations at the World Cup.

The correspondent from public broadcaster KAN was interviewing a couple of England fans during a live broadcast, asking them if football was coming home after England had beaten Senegal.

At the end of the interview, one of the young fans grabs the microphone, saying “but more importantly, free Palestine.”

The story was picked up in international and British media, including the Daily Mail and the Independent Israeli reporters who spoke to Jewish News at the beginning of the World Cup told

how they had been harassed numerous times on air.

Channel 13’s sports reporter Tal Shorrer said he has been abused or verbally assaulted more than 50 times, mentioning an Argentinian fan who pushed him when he saw the Hebrew letters on Shorrer’s microphone, shouting, “You are killing babies”.

Barrister enters VAR debate

A leading Jewish barrister is to dive headfirst into the debate around football’s VAR technology after his appointment to a body that oversees it.

Lord (David) Wolfson KC, who served as a junior minister under Boris Johnson, said yesterday that he had been made an independent commissioner at the Football Regulatory Authority (FRA).

The introduction of video assistant referee (VAR) technology allows certain incidents to be reviewed imme-

diately after they occur by a team reviewing footage and communicating with the referee on the pitch. This means that decisions on goals, penalties or red cards (sending a player o ) can be made with the benefit of other viewing

angles, the idea being to help the referee make the right decision.

However, its introduction has caused controversy, with players, managers, owners and fans complaining about the application of the technology, in particular about the consistency of its use.

Wolfson’s tenure is likely to include calls for an independent regulator for English football established by an Act of Parliament, after lobbying through the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Football Supporters.

An England fan on Israel TV and the Morocco team celebrating its win over Spain by waving a Palestinian flag

‘Tech-un’ olam

Four words scribbled and circled on a page: ‘tech’, ‘Israel’, ‘Malta’, ‘rabbis’. Of the four, one stands out, and it isn’t ‘tech’, ‘Israel’, or ‘Malta’. I arrange them in a north-south-east-west configu ration and stare at them for sev eral minutes. You need ‘rabbis’ to make it ‘a virtuous circle’.

For nine years, “why rabbis and why tech?” has been the doubleheaded question perplexed journal ists have asked Rabbi Pinchas Gold schmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER), which funds an annual prize for tech start-

ups using innovation that has the potential to heal the world (tikkun olam). Goldschmidt, better known as the Chief Rabbi of Moscow, is cur rently in Israel after denouncing Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Asked again ahead of this year’s awards ceremony in the middle of the Mediterranean, he spoke about how technology changes life in such core and fundamental ways that reli gious ethics simply have to be part of the conversation. There needs to be “a bridge between the spiritual world and the tech world”, he said.

Likewise, there needs to be “a bridge

between the past and the future… Our religion may be ancient, even eternal, but it has always survived because it has faith in the future.”

That future was represented last week near the Maltese capital of Val letta by six small companies led by Germans, Norwegians, Israelis, Brits, French, Slovenians, and even a Vene zuelan-Italian. They are all thinking around problems and using the latest technology to do things such as reduce corruption in the developing world, insure farmers against climate change, manage migraine care, screen people for dementia and help kids to code. The 2021 winner uses urine testing cards and an app to translate results into science-backed advice on hydration, nutrition, immunity, liver and kidney health. It was incredibly inspiring to hear.

During the day, the contestants took part in a conference co-spon sored by CER and Malta’s govern ment that outlined the benefits of doing business on an island whose airport runway is about 20 percent of its total length. That evening, they dressed up for a gala dinner, where Europe’s major rabbinical group awarded prizes of €18,000 (£15,560) and €26,000 (£22,440) – potentially game-changing sums for a start-up.

Why €18,000 and €26,000? The number 26 is significant in Judaism, delegates learned, because it has the numerical value of the word for God.

Likewise, 18 is the equivalent of chai, Hebrew for “life”, Goldschmidt said, adding that God’s purpose was for us to bring godliness into the world and to save life.

The technologies being celebrated by the CER Prize did just that.

This being a Jewish event, there were lots of schmoozing opportuni ties. Many featured Malta’s economy minister, who showed up twice at the five-star Westin Dragonara Hotel in St Julians. Silvio Schembri takes a keen interest, having drawn up Mal ta’s National Strategies for Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain.

The context and backdrop to all this matters. The Malta-Israel relationship is now worth several hundred million euros a year and that figure is rising. Both are small Mediterranean countries pursuing tech-led futures by setting the stage for creating, trading, trademarking, marketing, exporting, scaling up and branching out. Malta, CER delegates were told, has much to offer, not least its preferential tax rates, and is keen to attract the full range of Jewish talent (to add to its 200 Jews today). Several high-net worth Jewish indi

viduals, many of whom were born in Russia, have recently become citi zens.

Aside from all the talk of con nectivity, ICT adoption, digital public services and telecoms infra structure, history suggests a nat ural friendship. During the Second World War, for instance, Malta was the only European country to accept Jews visa-free. It rescued thousands from persecution, a fact that deserves to be better known.

The Jewish presence on Malta goes back much further, however –to the Semitic Phoenician settlers of 3,000 years ago. The first docu mented Jewish visitor to Malta was Paul of Tarsus, who was shipwrecked on the island on his way to Rome in about 60 CE.

“A combination of location and safe deep-water harbours have ensured that Malta has been con tinuously inhabited since prehis toric times, with the first inhabitants arriving from Sicily between 7,000 and 8,000 years ago,” says Leslie Vella, deputy chief executive of the Malta Tourist Authority. “With such a long history, it was inevitable that the Jewish diaspora prevalent across the entire Mediterranean intersected with Malta and the Maltese various times over the past 2,000 years.”

There is direct, tangible evidence of a sizeable Jewish community in Malta around the 4th/5th century through the presence of six burial sites of about 12 tombs each in the St Paul’s Catacombs complex in Rabat. This “suggests a community of around 300 people,” says Vella. Fast forward a few hundred years to 1372, and King Frederick III of Sicily is granting to the Maltese Jewish com

munity a Jewish section known as Qbur il-Lhud in Mtarfa.

Alongside the catacomb caves in Rabat, historians point to Jewish cemeteries in Kalkara (1784), Marsa (1879), and Ta’ Braxia Jewish Cem etery in Valletta. Kalkara was funded by the Leghorn Fund for ransoming Hebrew slaves taken hostage by Med pirates and was used between 1784 and 1833. Likewise, Ta’ Braxia was in use from 1836 to 1891. The cemetery in Marsa, by contrast, is still in use today. Designed by Webster Paulson, it was funded by the British Jewish philanthropist Sir Moses Montefiore, who visited Malta in 1835.

Back to today. Yards from the hotel venue is a giant casino. In terms of gross value added, there is still no industry in Malta that can touch gambling and betting as an earner, with Israelis such as Camden Market owner Teddy Sagi knowing all about this field. Yet Schembri was keen to talk about other areas too, such as tourism, research and development, and AI/machine learning.

He called Israel “our neighbour” and “national partner”, while prom ising an official delegation “soon”. It was good timing. During the confer ence, Israel’s Foreign Affairs ministry said it would invite the winners to Israel for five days of meetings and visits to innovation incubators. “The offer has the potential to further boost Maltese-Israeli ties,” said a CER spokesman.

Schembri was on the same page. “Whether for tourism, business, or investment, we invite the Jewish community, including our friends from Israel, to consider Malta as your next destination,” he said. “We will welcome you with open arms.”

This year’s annual prize for tech start-ups was held near Valetta, Malta

start-ups with the potential to heal the world were honoured at a glittering ceremony in Malta last week. Stephen Oryszczuk had a front row seat

President Isaac Herzog meets UAE’s Bin Zayed

Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrived in Abu Dhabi this week, hailing the “evolving” space partnership between Israel and the UAE.

Herzog, who delivered a keynote speech at the Abu Dhabi Space Debate, said he was “especially proud of our evolving space partnership with the UAE. Our two countries are boldly leading our region toward new frontiers in space and leaving our mark in history.”

The president also mentioned the Venus satellite, an Israeli-French pro ject, providing data for joint IsraeliEmirate research by closely monitoring vegetation in forests, croplands and nature reserves.

This will “help us better understand our global envi ronment and collaborate on new solutions to protect our planet’s green lungs”, Herzog said.

“We stand here on the brink of a revolu tionary new era of space exploitation,” he added, praising the “breathtaking” images of the universe from the James Webb Telescope.

Herzog ended his speech by thanking UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed and foreign minister Abdullah Bin Zayed, reciting a poem by one of the most celebrated Arab poets, Abū al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbī: “If you ven tured in pursuit of glory, don’t be sat isfied with less than stars.”

Herzog visited Bahrain before his visit to UAE, becoming the first Israeli president to do so. He received three gifts from the Jewish community: a Farhi prayerbook with an Arabic translation, a book on the history of the Bahraini Jewish community, and a copy of the permit to establish a synagogue in 1931.

German leader ‘targeted’ by Iran

The head of Germany’s main Jewish organisation may have been staked out by a spy for Iran’s secret service, German security investigators have revealed.

The news magazine Focus has reported that Josef Schuster,

recently elected to a third fouryear term as president of the Cen tral Council of Jews in Germany, may have been targeted by an informant to Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

According to reports, the Berlin-

based Central Council said Schuster felt well-protected by Germany’s security officials nevertheless.

Intelligence services in the UK warned last week of possible attacks on Jewish leaders, dissidents and journalists by Iranian cells.

LAPID AND NETANYAHU IN

EDUCATION BATTLE

The outgoing and incoming Israeli prime ministers, Yair Lapid and Benjamin Netanyahu, continued the debate on the latter’s decision to assign responsibili ties under the Education Ministry to the leader of an anti-LGBTQ party.

Lapid called on Net anyahu to reverse his decision to hand control of the external teaching and partnerships to Avi Maoz, who is known for his anti-LGBTQ policies and support for ultraorthodox values in the educational system,

which he said had been targeted by “radical, pro gressive brainwashing”.

“You made a mis take,” Lapid said, adding that he supports the many local authorities in Tel Aviv suburbs that have said they would fight Maoz if liberal pro grammes are cut by him.

“We’ll help them because they’re totally correct,” Lapid said.

Netanyahu accused Lapid of spreading lies and undermining democracy. He also defended his decision to give Maoz educational

responsibilities, saying his Noam party will con trol only “a thousandth of the education budget”.

Lapid has called Noam “an extreme, racist, homophobic and dangerous party”.

WEIRD SCIENCE

A rare signed photograph of Albert Einstein has disappointed auction eers in Canterbury, Kent, by failing to sell. Valued at £2,000-£3,000, the picture was taken by Rabbi Isidore David Passow, assistant chancellor of Israel’s Weizmann Institute

Herzog and Mohammed Bin Zayed

Netanyahu and Moaz

Chief helps bid farewell to Wembley shul after 60 years

The community has been in existence since the late 1920s and in its current location since the 1960s. At its height it had a membership of 1,800 families, but now has around 150.

It will transfer to a converted, detached house nearby in Wembley Park Drive.

The event on Sunday marked one of the synagogue’s final public occasions. It featured a performance by cantorial singers and per-

sonal accounts of the synagogue’s rise and fall; it once had the largest cheder in the United Synagogue (US). Outgoing US chief executive Steven Wilson, who was brought up in the community, and comedian Paul Kaye also attended.

Synagogue chairman Charles Vitez said: “I love this place, but it’s no longer practical. I’ve been here since 1961 when we had 1,800 families. Today it’s around 150.”

Synagogue member Brenda Hyman said: “Downsizing is the obvious choice. We’re sad to say goodbye to our old home, but it carries wonderful memories.”

SOUTH LONDON A MAGNET FOR JEWISH LIFE

reality when I started as the rabbi in Bromley Reform Synagogue at the start of the year, but I had no idea just how wonderful it would be. It seems I’m not alone.

It’s not just in the Torah that Jews cross to the Promised Land. In 2022, they are crossing a di erent river, the Thames, to a di erent land with great promise and a greater reality.

I was promised this greater

The 2021 Census, published last week, shows that many Jews are crossing the Thames southwards. It makes sense. Housing is cheaper than the north and it has brilliant transport links. And it’s young and thriving. It’s green, diverse and,

yes, you can get challah here too!

As the community in the boroughs representing south and south-east London tops 5,800, it is worth noting Bromley Reform Synagogue is leading the way for growth.

Bromley is one of the most active synagogues I’ve experienced in the past 20 years. It has a stunning level of muck-in and just-get-it-done-volunteering. It’s a magnet for Jewish life.

Bromley is a kind community and the catchment area runs from Greenwich to past Tunbridge Wells.

Our community reflects south London and Kent – diverse families of all backgrounds, races and, encouragingly, ages. Join me in this open-hearted welcome to south London that is a brilliant place for Jews and the outlook just got better.

Rabbi in refugee charity move

Rabbi David Mason has announced his departure from Muswell Hill Synagogue ahead of being confirmed executive director of an organisation committed to leading a Jewish response to issues around refugees and social justice.

Mason will lead the newly-merged collaboration between the human rights organisation HIAS (originally the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), and JCORE, (Jewish Council for Racial Equality).

He had written to members of the north London synagogue last week to announce he was stepping down after 14 years, adding that he was “thrilled to have been given a new challenge and new direction in my career”.

Mason said he had always worked closely with Dr Edie Friedman, JCORE’s founder and added: “I have a passion for a Jewish narrative that values and prioritises welcome and humane treatment of others, including those who seek refuge and asylum in the UK.

Mason had been a United Synagogue rabbi for 19 years, previously serving at Kingston Synagogue. Muswell Hill Synagogue chair Daniel Shaw praised his service to the community, saying his work went beyond that of “a typical United Synagogue rabbi”.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis attended a farewell to Wembley United Synagogue last weekend as it prepares to move out of its iconic building on Forty Avenue after almost 60 years.

Farewell: Wembley United Synagogue

RABBI LAURA JANNERKLAUSNER BROMLEY REFORM SHUL

Rabbi David Mason

‘It brings closure, when your

Not all Jewish cemeteries in Libya have been bulldozed. There is one on a hill near the former Giado concentration camp in the mountainous west, close to the desert, where almost 2,600 Libyan Jews were deported in 1942 and where 562 died. There is one in Khoms, a port city on the Mediterranean coast. The rest are just memories.

Jews who grew up in Libya talk of overlaying old city maps onto new ones to work out where the cemeteries once stood. You can’t tell from looking. Whatever remains of them for now lies under streets and high-rise blocks. For family members, there has been nowhere to go to remember their loved ones. Until now.

Last week, at the Jewish section of the giant Prima Porta Cemetery in Rome, Jews born in Libya unveiled 16 new marble blocks containing the engraved names of Jews who died in – and were buried in – the North African country.

Paid for by a London-based philanthropist, Judy Saphra, the blocks were unveiled in front of Holocaust survivors, Jewish leaders, diplomats and dignitaries. A Libyan deputy prime minister had been due to attend and apologise

for the events that caused thousands to leave the country, but ill health put him in hospital before the trip.

The 16 blocks are engraved with the names of 1,800 Libyan Jews whose graves were razed on the orders of Col Muammar al-Gaddafi, who overthrew King Idris in 1969 and who was himself overthrown and killed in 2011. For families, there is now a place to come and to remember.

“It brings closure,” said Penina Meghnagi Solomon, 73, who lives in Santa Monica. “When your loved ones have no grave, it helps enormously if there’s a place with their name, where you can come and find peace.”

Her father, a national swimming champion of Libya, died in 1963 of kidney failure and was buried in a Jewish cemetery in Tripoli. Four years later, aged 17, she was one of 5,000 Libyan Jews forced to flee to Italy on Alitalia night rescue flights in June 1967 after anti-Jewish rioting broke out in Libya over Israel and the Six-Day War. She stayed in Italy for four years, partly in a refugee camp, before moving to Israel, where she met her American husband. They later moved to Los Angeles. “I write poetry

Judy Saphra, who funded the 16 marble blocks, with Pat Hamill at

cemetery in Rome

your loved ones have no grave’

about it,” she says. “It helps me process it. I don’t remember anything about having to leave. Luckily, I wrote it down in a diary at the time, so I have a record.”

All but about 100 Jews had left Libya by the time Gaddafi took power. His government con fiscated Jewish property, cancelled Jewish debt and stopped Jews from emigrating. But most managed to get out. By 2003, the last Jew –Rina Debach, aunt of memorial organiser David Gerbi – had left.

How different it was in the first part of the 20th century. In 1903, there were 14,000 Jews in Tripoli and 2,000 in Benghazi. In 1911, Libya was colonised by Italy. By 1931, there were 21,000 Jews, around four percent of the total popula tion. In 1941, 25 percent of Tripoli’s residents were now Jewish, with around 40,000 Jews across the country and at least 44 synagogues.

But after Italy became fascist under Benito Mussolini, Jews soon had to pull their children from school, relinquish state employment, quit skilled professions and have their passports stamped with the words ‘Jewish race’. In 1942, after Libyan Jews welcomed Allied soldiers in Benghazi, German general Erwin Rommel ordered that many be deported to Giado, including Shimon Doron’s parents.

“The programme was to destroy the Jewish presence in Libya,” says Doron, an Israeli busi nessman who attended the Rome memorial

event. “Where to start? Benghazi and Cyrenaica. Because there weren’t too many [Jews] there and they didn’t cooperate with the government.

“My father Yosef and mother Bruria had been recently married. My father kept looking on the synagogue wall to see if their names were posted. After two weeks, their names appeared.

“They were herded into trucks and trans ported west. It took three days. The Italian Carabinieri policed it. There was no stopping. All their bodily needs had to happen in the truck. He kept a diary and called it ‘hell on earth’.

“My sister, Ada, was three months old. One day, my mother and Ada got typhus. Ada was taken to see a doctor, who gave her an injection. A few hours later, she died. My father took her body to the hill by Giado to bury her.” Gerbi went

back to Libya several years ago and thinks he saw Ada’s grave. “It was very small, for a baby.”

After the British liberated the camp in Jan uary 1943, many were too ill to return home for several months. When they did, pogroms fol lowed: in November 1945, when 133 Jews were killed; and in June 1948, when 13 were killed.

For most Libyan Jews, enough was enough. Between 1949 and 1951, more than 30,000 left for the new state of Israel. Several thousand

chose to stay; for a while, under King Idris, times were good. “These Jews were mainly members of the upper middle classes,” said Eyal David, deputy chief of the Israeli mission in Morocco, writing in a thesis several years ago. “They did not have their bags packed, as one might think.”

Riots broke out on 5 June 1967, after news of the Six Day War, with 17 Jews killed, including several members of the Luzon and Raccah fami lies. King Idris relocated the 4,000 remaining Jews to a military base for their protection and gave papers allowing them to emigrate.

The Jewish community in Rome swung into action. The first flights arrived at Fiumicino Air port on 20 June. Kosher meals were arranged and religious services organised, as flights con tinued through July and August.

Among those on the flights was philanthro pist Judy Saphra, also a major Magen David Adom donor. “This memorial to my father is to a man I never knew – I was born after his death at the hands of Libyan Arabs merely because he was Jewish,” she said.

“I never saw his tomb because my grieving mother wanted to spare me the pain of such great loss. Only years later, while attending the funeral of her own father, did she take me by the hand to see my father’s tomb. That’s why I wanted to commemorate and sponsor this memorial: in the name of my father, and for the Jewish community of Libya in Rome.”

Judy and Judith Roumani light a candle

Judy with Shai Abramson, IDF chief cantor

Israel decries UN’s ‘Nakba’ resolution

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution commemorating the ‘Nakba’, a term meaning ‘disaster’ that is used to describe the displacement of some 700,000 Palestinians during the 1948 war between newly-born Israel and Arab states.

Entitled “Division for Pales tinian Rights of the Secretariat”, the resolution passed with 90 votes in favour, 30 against and 47 absten tions and will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the ‘Nakba’ by organising a high-level event at the General Assembly Hall on 15 May 2023, Israel’s Independence Day.

Riyad Mansour, Palestinian envoy to UN, thanked the General Assembly for “finally” acknowl edging the “historical injustice that befell the Palestinian people”.

“The people of Palestine deserve recognition of their plight, justice for the victims, reparation for their loss and fulfilment of their rights. 2022 has been the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since the Second Intifada. There is nowhere safe in Palestine... There is

no one safe in Palestine,” he added.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, called the resolution “shameful, extreme, and baseless”, accusing the UN of “helping to per petuate the conflict”.

He added: “Try to imagine the international community com memorating your country’s Inde pendence Day by calling it a disaster.

What a disgrace. The Palestinians’ lies must no longer be accepted on the world stage, just as this body must stop allowing the Palestinians to continue pulling its strings. I urge you all to stop blindly supporting the Palestinians’ libels.”

The resolution was put forward by Egypt, Jordan, Senegal, Tunisia, Yemen and the Palestinians.

The outgoing Israeli Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, has written to world leaders urging them to oppose a UN vote on an advisory opinion from the Inter national Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Israeli-Pales tinian conflict.

Criticising the resolution as a “con certed effort to single out Israel” and to “delegitimise our very existence,” Lapid (inset) said the conflict should be resolved in direct negotiations. “A onesided change ... will have detrimental effects on the entire region. Bringing the matter before the ICJ expressly

contravenes the principle of direct negotiations accepted by Israel, the Palestinians and the international community and will only play into the hands of extremists, further polarise the parties and undermine the positive work that has been done over the past few years,” Lapid said. “I urge your country to exercise your influence on the [Palestinian Authority] so they refrain from pro moting this dangerous move.”

The letter was sent to leaders of the UK, France, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, The Netherlands and Brazil, among other countries.

Lapid urges leaders over vote ISRAELI ARTIST’S PAPAL GIFT

Pope Francis has described a painting called Jesus from the Soil of the Holy Land” made by an Israeli artist a “very special gift”.

Nilly Shachor from Moshav Sde Warburg was inspired while walking in the fields. After falling on some branches, she realised how they appeared in an unusual formation on the ground, reminding her of Jesus.

Shachor called her friend, professor Dina Porat of Chaim Rosenberg School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, who was a confer ence on antisemitism in Rome. “Nilly

sent me a photo of the unusual compo sition and asked, half-jokingly, if per haps I could meet the Pope and bring him a very special gift,” Porat said.

She called Father Norbert Hof mann, secretary of the Vatican’s Com mission for Religious Relations with the Jews, who arranged for Porat to sit in VIP section next to a stage where the Pope would hold the General Audience where he greets visitors.

“When [the Pope] approached me, I offered him the gift. He was moved and asked his attendants to safeguard the artwork,” she said.

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Pro-Palestinian demonstrators mark ‘Nakba Day’ in London

The of Israel

Originally from Manchester and now living in Tiberias, photographer Julian Alper gives Jewish News readers a seasonal sense of animal life in Israel.

THIS MONTH: Pelican migration

“During the next month, tens of thousands of pelicans will fly over Israel as they journey from Europe to Africa for a warmer winter. Its beak can hold three gallons of water, three times as much as the capacity of its stomach. This pelican was photographed at the Viker lookout near Netanya.”

Prejudice in all shapes and Sizer

It’s some rap sheet. Meeting a Hezbollah leader in your clerical garb. Attending a conference run by the Al-Quds Day organ isers. Speak alongside a Holocaust denier. Quoting other Holo caust deniers. Pleading ignorance of their views when chal lenged. Suggesting Israel was undermining Jeremy Corbyn. Sharing an article alleging Israel was behind 9/11. Sharing another article alleging that Israel was behind 9/11. Defending the sharing of these articles by stating ‘Israelis’ benefitted from 9/11 (pointing to a list of American Jews).

Yep, you guessed it: it could only be Reverend Stephen Sizer, the former Anglican vicar who seems to go out of his way (including by breaching agreements made with bishops) to offend us Jews. In terms of hobbies, will someone please buy this man a fishing rod?

Finally, 10 years after the Board of Deputies lodged its first complaint, a Church of England tribunal has finally found Sizer “committed misconduct”.

The allegations included one instance it deemed to be “anti semitic” and several it deemed to be “unbecoming” of a Church representative. Although Sizer is now retired, the tribunal said it will shortly “determine a penalty”.

Sizer’s offending has in fact stretched almost two decades and the Board is to be congratulated for its persistence and patience in navigating the Church’s labyrinthine disciplinary system. A decade is a very long time to pursue a complaint, but two Board presidents – Jonathan Arkush, and incumbent Marie van der Zyl – can rest easy now that the process is fin ished.

Alas, when it comes to Israel, Sizer never learned – and will never learn – that Jews have no issue with people defending Palestinians, or Christians, or anyone else in a spit of land deemed sacred by three religions, and have no issue with people speaking their mind, making points, criticising prac tices they see as unfair, helping where they feel help is needed.

What they have an issue with is antisemitism, in particular where it pretends to be something it isn’t.

So long, Rev. Sizer. May your sort never disgrace the cloth again.

Stop flying Labour’s flag

I have become more certain that your newspaper should change its name to Labour Jewish News. VIrtually every article in it seems to promote the party.

Although the government is currently not doing well in the polls, that this will most probably recov er significantly prior to the next election – whether or not enough to win – we will have to see.

However, within our community whatever hap pens, the majority at the next election will support the Conservatives. I was at a simcha last week and was talking to a former Labour councillor who left the party during the Corbyn years. He confirmed

my view that Labour has not yet even regained the support it had in 2015. This can be seen clearly in the local elections: although some of our communi ty abstained, for instance in Barnet, the main wards that had the largest population of our community stayed with the Conservatives.

The only one that switched by a small margin was Childs Hill; that has for the past 40 years been quite a close-run contest.

I am not the only one who can see how biased your newspaper has become. It’s a real shame as it is not reflective of the mood of our community.

Richard Martyn, By email

KEEPING THE STATE JEWISH IN SILWAN

I wish to respond to criticism in these pages of my letter on Israel’s Nation State law. Nowhere did I talk about not giving political rights to her nonJewish citizens. The phrase I used was “collective” political rights, which has a different meaning completely.

Israel’s non-Jewish citizens rightly enjoy the freedom to vote in elections and every other freedom that Jews enjoy. The reason Israel brought in the Nation State Law was because there were determined efforts by some to undermine the Jewish identity of Israel as the sole nation state of the Jewish people, meaning it would end up as a state of all its diverse ethnic groups, and not specifically a Jewish one.

Stephen Green, W6

B’TSELEM AND YACHAD? DAI!

Why has Jewish News plumbed new depths in publishing a full-page advert for the latest hate fest by two organisations – B’Tselem and Yachad – hell bent on undermin ing Israel? Inciting hatred against Israeli Jews, these two organisations should not be given the oxygen of publicity. An utter disgrace.

Dovid Rosenthhal, By email

AID FOR ENEMY

All who adopt the Palestinian narra tive and advocate for a 23rd Muslim state in the Middle East at the ex pense of a sole and tiny Jewish one embolden our enemies. Take note, Yachad and Na’amod. Eda Spinka, NW4

‘RACISM’ AT PALACE

What a pity the Queen Consort’s conference on violence against women was overshadowed by an 83-year-old lady-in-waiting’s remarks. I feel sure she had no idea her words could be construed as racist.

As a proud British Jew I have encountered racism

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My comments (Jewish News, 3 November) about the con frontations in the village of Silwan attracted a frenzied response from other Jewish News letter writers. I stand by everything I wrote.

Fraser Michaelson, Southgate

RED FLAGS

In response to Michael White in these pages (1 December), the charges wouldn’t have been dropped for “legal reasons” with cars draped with Israeli flags in Bradford because those cars wouldn’t have got out of the city with any windows or tyres left.

Russell Ballen, By email

in many forms, the usual one being an assumption that my loyalty lay with Israel not Britain. This belief is not limited to age or class and is still being aired. It is something one learns to live with.

Generally, we should be proud of the UK’s toler ance and should work to ensure it continues.

Sarah Adler, Mill Hill

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TIMES...

Sedra: Vayishlach

Dropping of case against

DAVID WOLCHOVER BARRISTER & AUTHOR

When video imagery of the ‘hate convoy’ travelling towards Golders Green went viral last year, it was widely assumed that the brazen Jew-baiting on show was graphic enough to assure swift justice.

But, last week, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) declared, in its wisdom, that the evidence was insu cient.

Speaking to this newspaper, Nick Price, head of the CPS special crime and counter-terrorism division, explained that the “captured footage” was inadequate to prove in court that one of the two charged men was in the car at the time or that the other had participated in the obnoxious conduct.

By way of “clarification”, the CPS lamely declared that it had “explored all options.” Yet those who practise regularly in the criminal courts will be puzzled as to why it took an unconscionable 18 months plus to drop what should have been a fairly straightforward case.

The Community Security Trust (CST) conceded that it “understand[s] the legal reasons” for not proceeding, but complained that the criminal justice system had failed in its

core task. Yet if the legal reasons are sound, how can the system have failed? The CST didn’t say, but there is actually a ready explanation – one that goes to the root of the fundamental test the CPS is required to apply in all cases.

Its “full code test”, as the rule is called, requires crown prosecutors to allow a case to proceed only if (a) they consider that a jury applying notionally objective criteria in assessing the evidence would be more likely than not to convict, and (b) only then if it is in the public interest to continue.

Interestingly, Mike Freer, my own MP, avowed that even if the evidence did not meet the basic threshold test “sometimes we should take a chance and let a jury decide”. His instinct was dead on. And it is for that reason that over a number of years I have been calling for a change in the rule to reflect Mike’s sentiment.

Only two months after the ‘hate convoy’ made its sickening way along Finchley Road, I explained in an article published in the New Law Journal how a simple tweaking of the threshold test would alter the whole landscape, particularly in the context of the shockingly low number of rape prosecutions.

Over the broad spectrum of criminal cases involving named suspects, the evidence will be of medium-range strength such that a trial

outcome can go either way. But the threshold test involves a wholly artificial exercise in guessing the likely tilt on a fine balance. Countless cases that could well succeed fall by the wayside when they might otherwise easily have ended in an entirely respectable conviction.

A far better test would prevent a trial from going forward if a conviction were considered significantly less likely than an acquittal. The “50 per cent rule” is arbitrary and worthless. We sent a copy of our article to Max Hill KC, the director of public prosecutions, calling on him to change the rule, a discretionary power he enjoys. There was no response, even to a chaser. They just do not want to know.

In fact, it is doubtful if the evidence was as insu cient as the CPS made out. In more than half a century of practice at the criminal bar, I have defended in countless trials where the evidence of identification was primarily based on video imagery of indi erent quality.

Nowadays, enhancement technology can work wonders. And, as for proven presence in a car, it will often be su cient in itself to establish complicity in an o ence committed by fellow occupants during the journey. The CPS decision is highly suspect.

‘I said four, four, two formation, not four by two’

The hate convoy in north London

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RICHARD FERRER EDITOR, JEWISH NEWS

There are five Ws in journalism – who, what, where, when, why. There are but three in the Middle East – what, went, wrong. More Wild East than Middle East, it’s a place dominated by despots violently oppressing their own people while violently opposing the existence of Jews in 0.1 percent of the land.

With neighbours from hell, it’s little wonder Israelis tend to elect hawks like Benjamin Netanyahu – who’s set to be sworn in as prime minister for an unprecedented sixth time. Yet even Bibi’s razor beak looks decidedly blunt compared to the predators he’s given top jobs to.

The new coalition government is a veritable police line-up of self-declared bigots and malcontents whose support gifted Netanyahu a path back to power. This lot shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the public, let alone public office. Dear reader, I give you Israel’s Crass Of 2023…

Meet Itamar Ben-Gvir, nicknamed the “pyromaniac” for stoking last year’s riots against Israeli Arabs that sparked conflict with Hamas. Ben-Gvir’s has been convicted on multiple racism and terror charges, waved a gun at Arab Israelis during the election campaign and, as a troubled young man, cheered the assassination of former Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin – the last prime minister to seek peace with the Palestinians. He’s just been made Israel’s new security minister.

Next comes cuddly Chanamel Dorfman, Ben-Gvir’s chief of sta , arrested for being a “danger to society”. He was on an extremist watchlist and calls the police – who now, of course, answer to his boss – a “rotten mafia”.

Then there’s Avi Moaz, the head of a sinister sounding new department called “Jewish identity” – whatever that means. He’s a big fan of “conversion therapy”, the wicked pseudoscientific practice of changing a person’s sexual orientation and wants to ban gay pride parades and the promotion of women in the military.

Charm school dropout Bezalel Smotrich, meanwhile, is a “proud homophobe” who would curb the powers of the Supreme Court

to hold the government to account, calls non-Orthodox Jews “fake” and wants to expel Arabs and annex the West Bank. He’s just been given power over Israeli settlements and Palestinian construction in the West Bank. So that should be fun.

Giving these people the keys to the country is, frankly, next level batshittery for a modern democracy. Imagine Nick Griffin as home secretary, Enoch Powell communities minister and David Icke minister for culture, media and sport. With a tad less humanity.

They are not liberally-minded democrats in the proud tradition of Israel’s founders. Theodor Herzl must be turning in his grave. They are, as journalist Jonathan Freedland calls them, the Jewish Taliban –theological thugs in search of a Jewish Iran.

Watching these lunatics take control is tortuous for most British Jews, who now find themselves asking questions they never wanted to ask and drawing conclusions they never wanted to reach, that undermine all they hold dear about the Jewish state.

As Professor Jonathan Rynhold, head of political studies at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, told me: “For most Jews, the supremacism of these politicians is abhorrent. Jews will continue to identify with Israel, but most will feel unable to support a government in which they play a significant role.”

Today, British Jews (well, at least the ones whose stomachs are turning rather than their heads), are screaming: not in our name! Our conscience – our love for the Jewish state, for all it was, is and could be – demands we speak out, even if obsessive Israel bashers gleefully lick their chops at the spectacle.

It’s not as if making the undeniable case for Israel as a progressive place in a regressive region isn’t tough enough. That job just got a whole lot tougher.

A significant minority of British Jews, however, don’t dare speak out, preferring to hold their noses in the hope the pong passes. Sandpit sales are through the roof in north-west London. For some the unedifying spectacle of Jews criticising Israel is simply too much to bear. They won’t concede the country is compromising its values in a misguided attempt to defend them. They ask:

“If diaspora Jews don’t stand up for Israel, who will?”, when they should be asking: “If I don’t think this is indefensible, what is?”

This divide has been brought into sharp focus by our community’s two main newspapers. Jewish News has run headlines “Where’s the outrage?” and “Our worst fears”, adamant that a line has been crossed and that line is where hatred begins.

The Jewish Chronicle’s less than helpful position, meanwhile, is to ignore the problem entirely. It thinks only racists who aren’t Israeli politicians deserve contempt, writing in recent editorials, “It is not for us to make pre-conditions on our support for Israel” and, “We should not reduce the diaspora’s relationship to political calculus”.

I sympathise with the knee-jerk Jewish impulse to support anything and everything in Israel’s name, even intolerance. Because if you don’t, you quickly come to two painful conclusions. One, that you’re occupying the intersection in a Venn diagram with the ‘From the river to the sea” loony left and

rabid right, whose purpose in life is to deny the Jewish state out of existence. Two, that perhaps insularity and extremism as a means of self-preservation are inevitable for any Middle East state. That Israel, inexorably, has become debased by the neighbourhood.

Of course, Israel is bigger than a few bigots – or indeed one election – and the Crass Of 2023 may not (despite their stated objectives) shape key policies. Yet, in the wake of such an alarming election, a niggling feeling persists.

That Herzl’s notion of a pluralistic state was a pipe dream for a country cursed from day one to share soil with the madmen of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. That perhaps, after 75 years, it’s tainted by the air it breathes.

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich’s worldview, after all, is grounded in the history and the politics of the region. The ying to the Arab yang. No Jews in Arab lands, no Arabs in Israel.

Fight fire with fire. Burn everything, including Israel’s precious relationship with much of the Jewish world.

Reproduced courtesy of The Times

Why

IDF thinks it cannot be challenged

JENNI FRAZER

Something very odd seems to be happening in Israel’s army, which, in case we should forget, is largely comprised of 18-to 21-year-old recruits thrust into making lightning-fast decisions, which are too often, sadly, literally life-changing.

Too often reports reach the public eye and ear either too late, or subject to damaging reinterpretations, which cling to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) like a bad stench in a back alley.

To repeat: the bulk of the army is drawn from a frighteningly young cohort. Imagine the fate of the whole of Britain in the hands of people who have just left school, with a sprinkling of older people to try to tell them what’s what. Not an appetising picture.

There appear to be two troubling spikes in recent IDF behaviour; some emanating from the sheer youth involved, and another part from what looks like bewildering incompetence.

As Jewish News goes to press, a young soldier will be released from a 10-day stint

in military prison, after a confrontation that should trouble everyone who has Israel’s good name at heart across the political spectrum.

The unnamed soldier was involved in an ugly incident in Hebron, when he tried to intimidate a left-wing activist who was touring the town.

The soldier shouted: “Ben-Gvir [the far-right politician due to become Israel’s next security minister] is going to sort things out in this place. That’s it, you guys have lost… the fun is over.”

Asked by the filming activist: “Why? Am I doing something illegal?” the soldier replied: “Everything you do is illegal. I am the law,” and ordered the activist to step back. Reports said that the soldier sported – contrary to military

regulations – a patch on his combat kit that read “One shot. One kill. No remorse. I decide.”

Besides the verbal face-o , there were physical exchanges between other soldiers and left-wing activists. One soldier was suspended but not given any further punishment.

Arguably, before matters degenerated like this, someone in the young men’s unit should have been aware of its political climate and not deployed soldiers with such opinions to serve in the hotbed of Hebron. A post-incident statement from a high-up Brigadier-General Nadav Lotan, telling o cers that “troops who do not behave morally as expected of them will not carry out operational activity until the end of the investigation of the incident” seems too little, too late.

Meanwhile –and my thanks to the Jerusalem Post’s Yaakov Katz for his pithy summation of another problem – there was a public relations meltdown after an attack last Friday afternoon in which three Palestinians, one armed with a knife, attempted to steal the rifle of an Israeli border policeman. The o cer fought with the men, including the stabber, and then shot him.

On social media, Mohammed El-Kurd, a wellknown Palestinian propagandist, tweeted an edited version of a video showing the shooting of the attacker – but not the fight preceding it.

Nearly five hours later, the former IDF spokesman Lt-Col Peter Lerner tweeted the full incident, at which point there been nothing from the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the prime minister’s National Information Directorate or, indeed the IDF spokesman’s o ce.

But as Lerner later ruefully commented, a lie can be halfway round the world before the truth has got its boots on. Because Tor Wennesland, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, denounced Israel on the strength of the misleading Palestinian video. It took government sources a staggering 31 hours to issue “talking points” in response.

All this speaks of a malaise in the higher echelons of a government in transition, trickling down to a military that thinks it is unchallengeable. The message is clear: major housecleaning is in order and it is too dangerous to leave a social media vacuum.

and diaspora

Iam writing this in Tel Aviv, at the end of a visit to Israel with UJIA trustees. A new Israeli government is yet to be fully formed but we already have a fair idea which politicians will hold senior ministerial positions. For many in our community, and indeed in Israel, the rise of figures regarded as far right has been a source of sadness and alarm. Others feel that these concerns shouldn’t be voiced, and that the recent elections are a matter for Israelis alone. Division and disagreement abound.

But for those of us who lead or are engaged in organisations that work in Israel there is one thing on which I am absolutely clear: our work will carry on regardless of the ups and downs of Israeli politics. Israel is far too important to the heart and soul of our community and the wellbeing of Jews around world for it not to. That is why UJIA will always work to deliver vital projects to support the most vulnerable in Israel and to inspire British Jews to develop

their own connection to our homeland and people, whoever is in government.

During our visit, we have tried to understand better what happened in the elections and hear from Israelis – Jewish and Muslim, LGBTQ+ and straight, religious and secular; bus drivers, business leaders, waiters, thought leaders, political negotiators, social entrepreneurs, Ukrainian olim supported by UJIA, Arab and Palestinian citizens who take part in UJIA’s employment programmes… the list goes on and on. Opinion, unsurprisingly, is not uniform but there are concerns that we hear repeatedly.

Some are worried about the security situation and rising crime and believe that those elected will solve these problems. Others worry that possible changes to the Law of Return will mean that Israel will no longer be a haven for those fleeing Russia and Ukraine and other vulnerable places. Some are worried about the erosion of checks and balances on the Israeli government. Fewer seem concerned about the future of diaspora-Israel relations, a question that keeps me awake at night.

Many statements have been made since the election and no single one represents everyone.

But at the root of most of them lies a deep desire to maintain our strong relationship with Israel: its institutions and especially its people. I myself grapple with how to protect the relationship between the State of Israel, home to the largest and most diverse Jewish population in the world, and the Jewish diaspora, particularly for our young people and those with a passion for social justice and human rights.

We must not lose sight of the fact that our fates are inextricably entwined. Even with rising antisemitism, we are fortunate as British Jews to lead comfortable lives in this country. We have a thriving community that expresses our Jewish identity with confidence. It would be unwise for us to disregard the relationship between our confidence in a safe future in the UK and the existence of a thriving Jewish state. Choosing to disconnect from Israel is a

luxury that vulnerable Jews seeking refuge from wars and instability do not have. For Jews from places like Ukraine, Russia, Venezuela and Ethiopia, Israel remains a haven and an aspiration. Their relationship with Israel transcends whether they see their values reflected or not in the current government and so should ours.

Israel remains the hard-earned homeland of the Jewish people. I urge our community not to abandon it, especially during challenging times.

Instead, let us continue to talk, listen and better understand Israelis and their many concerns, even as we voice concerns of our own. And let us continue to channel our e orts into work in Israel that ensures that all its citizens have the opportunity to lead lives of peace, prosperity and security within a Jewish and democratic state.

A turning point in our relationship with Israel?

RABBI CHARLEY BAGINSKY

CEO, LIBERAL JUDAISM

There are many reasons why Jews in the UK choose not to talk about Israel. They will not be revelatory to most of you reading this.

For me, as chief executive of a religious movement, I struggle to make statements about Israel for another reason. Liberal Judaism, despite what others may project onto us, contains a diverse spectrum of views so saying anything about Israel that is not going to alienate someone is a near-impossible task.

But there are times when one has to speak out regardless – and the rise of the far-right in Israel is certainly one of these moments.

The racist, misogynist and homophobic views expressed by the Religious Zionism Party have no place in an Israel founded on the prophetic ideals of liberty and justice. I am pleased everyone from the Board of Deputies to the World Union for Progressive

Judaism to the editor and columnists of this newspaper have spoken out against them.

We know from history that the far-right don’t stop at one target. And so it is that – as we defend the rights and liberty of Palestinians, Arabs, LGBTQI+ people and other minorities in Israel – Progressive Judaism itself is under attack. The appointment of Avi Maoz as the so-called ‘Minister of Jewish identity’, is a turning point in diaspora-Israel relations.

His threats to the Law of Return, and the ending of the ‘grandchild clause’, as well as the delegitimising of non-Orthodox conversions to Judaism for the purpose of Israeli citizenship, should be enough for us to think that, if enacted, there would be an unparalleled chasm between Israel and the rest of the Jewish world.

This next Benjamin Netanyahu government represents a clear and present danger to Liberal, Reform and Progressive Judaism – as well as to the values, such as equality and tolerance, that all liberally minded-people hold dear.

Our global Progressive communities are full of committed Jews who have both Judaism and Israel close to their hearts. I think of those

who have converted, those with Jewish fathers but not mothers, those fleeing persecution in Russia and war in Ukraine and many others. Israel appears to be telling them they are not welcome and, worse, not Jewish enough.

If Maoz gets his way, then the dream of Israel as the home for all Jews will be over.

I spend a lot time thinking about how to ensure the next generation feels connected to Israel in a deep and influential way. My own connection led me to make aliyah and when returning to the UK influenced a deep and profound part of my rabbinate.

Of course, each cohort has to reframe and make relevant their own relationship with Israel and the paradigm of Israel-diaspora relationships. However, the recent Israeli elections and even more so the current governmental appointments are ensuring a severing of the relationship that I fear will be irreparable.

This is not just a Progressive Jewish issue. Israel has made a clear statement that the diaspora does not count, that it does not matter. History tells us that once Progressive conversions cease to be recognised, when every

minority is demarcated as not Jewish enough, it will be you and your communities next.

In August, at the 125th Anniversary of the World Zionist congress, the current diaspora minister, Nachman Shai, called for a closer and more mutual relationship between Israel and the rest of the Jewish world. Within months of his words, this is being replaced with a wall.

There are moments in our UK Jewish history when we have come together across our denominational divides. I saw it during Covid, and now we must strengthen the diaspora.

If Israel insists we do not matter, let us show we do. If not now, when?

We are losing war against the religious extremists

SHOSHANNA KEATS JASKOLL CO-FOUNDER, CHOCHMAT NASHIM

I’ve lived in the epicentre of Jewish religious extremism for 15 years and have written about what I witness since 2013. While we have won some battles against extremists, we are losing the war.

When I started writing, I was told it was “just a few crazies”, that it wouldn’t expand beyond the small neighbourhood in which they live (next to mine), and that if we left them alone, they’d leave us alone. Ten years later, each of these statements was proven wrong.

In the past weeks alone, violence against soldiers, women and children has escalated to a point that if we do not act, it is likely that someone will be gravely injured or worse.

Soldiers are taunted, called “Nazis” and even chased by mobs, forced to find shelter with strangers. Girls and women are harassed to sit at the back of the bus. Girls – religious girls – are targeted by grown men for not being tznius or modest. Boys are threatened by men for having smart phones. And reports keep coming in.

Some claim this is a religious war. But we’ve seen that this is a turf war. And we who

care about true religious freedom and justice are rapidly losing ground to the extremists by not stopping them in their tracks.

Enforcing gender segregation has been the number one tactic of the extremists. By portraying their actions as “religious freedom”, they call for “cultural sensitivity” and ask that their way of life be respected. An ironic request, as they expect the respect to go only one way.

The current demand by the religious parties to change Israeli law to allow forced gender segregation in the public sphere at publicly-funded events is also not a benign request for respect. Crowds can already sit separately if they want to.

Segregation is allowed, it just can’t be forced. Why does it matter? Because in every case when women have been forcibly segregated, they are given the inferior position.

On buses where segregation is enforced (illegally), women are restricted to the rear seats. At segregated concerts, women are often given the back or in the bleachers – and charged the same.

In separate university courses and tracks, female professors lose out on jobs because the men can teach both male and female students, while women are only allowed to teach women.

At the Western Wall, women have one-fifth of the space. Men have a far larger plaza, as well

as spacious interior rooms. When segregation is allowed in non-religious places, such as medical conferences, ceremonies and hospitals, female professionals have been put behind a curtain and not allowed to speak.

Lack of female representation leads directly to harm. A real-life example with dire consequences can be seen in Israel, where both Charedi political parties forbid women on their lists. With an average of 16 seats that means that well over 10 percent of the Knesset is automatically strictly-Orthodox male. And while men, of course, can represent the needs of women, here, they simply don’t.

They do not attend the committees on domestic violence or women’s health, leaving their women woefully underrepresented, underfunded and in danger. As these topics are also not discussed in Charedi media or most

Women are seeking rights for themselves

schools, the women are at a serious disadvantage when it comes to knowing about risks to their health. Screenings for breast cancer in 2018 were 30 percent lower for Charedi women, leading to women dying of diseases they didn’t know they had. Only internal campaigns run by female activists (myself included) began to change this reality.

Enforcing segregation is dangerous. It is almost never done fairly and it never stops at seating. Taking the norms of the Orthodox synagogue, understood as meant to keep houses of worship free of distraction during prayer, and enforcing them elsewhere is destructive.

I am a religious woman and live in Israel. My city has deteriorated in the hands of extremists. How terrifying to see the first extremist steps of forced segregation taking place nationally.

THIS IS NOT JUST A PROGRESSIVE ISSUE. ISRAEL HAS MADE IT CLEAR THE DIASPORA DOESN’T MATTER

❝

1 GIFT OF GIVING

Tehilla Hirsch wanted to give something back to the community to celebrate her batmitzvah and chose to collect toiletries for families supported by GIFT. Tehilla, who is a pupil at Hasmonean High school and attends Toras Chaim shul, worked with the charity to arrange for her collection to go out to the families along with their weekly food parcels.

2 BRIGHTON EARLY

Grab your hard hats for a last chance to get a peek into the new Brighton & Hove Jewish hub before it opens. The last guided site tour of the year takes place on 11 December and, to make things easier for anyone visiting outside Brighton and Hove, the community is offering reimbursement for travel via coach or train too. It’s a great opportunity to ask the team any questions you may have. Go to https://bnjc.co.uk/ whats-on/event/hard-hat-tours for more information.

3 GREEK GEEKS

Shenley United synagogue organised an enlightening pre-Chanukah tour of the British Museum in central London. The group of visitors were led by Jewish educator Shoshana Tugendhaft. Rabbi Alan Garber described the visit as “engaging and spiritual” and an opportunity to see ancient Greek artefacts in order to better understand the Chanukah story.

4 POLAND AT LAST

Aish Young Professionals went to Poland for their first trip since 2018, taking a group of 30 participants aged between 20 and 30. The young professionals were honoured to be joined by the Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter Josef Lewkowicz who is 96. The group were guided by Zac Jeffay from JRoots, an expert in Shoah education and Jewish journeys to Poland.

5 YAVNEH HEROINE

Sixth-former Sophia Alter is part of the Yavneh school committee ‘Am Echad’. Supported by friends and family, she organised a bake sale as well as selling more than 100 tickets for a bingo night, collectively raising £1,352 for Heart-to-Heart Gratitude and the Jewish Bereavement Counselling Service.

6 BRIDGE BUILDERS

Jewish Care’s Bridge Extravaganza Committee has now raised more than £2m since the event first began 25 years ago. More than 160 guests enjoyed a day of bridge at The Landmark Hotel in Marylebone for the committee’s first in-person event since 2019. The event raised more than £90,000 for Jewish Care.

LIFE Inside

of

TheWhen Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prizewinning graphic novel Maus was removed from the curriculum at a Tennessee high school, the ensuing furore had Hollywood throwing offers at the writerillustrator to adapt it for the screen. There had been other offers, but Spiegelman has always refused, believing that the story of his father’s experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor is better served by a book.

As irresistible as the Tom-andJerry depiction of Jews as mice and Nazis as cats might be for Pixar, Spiegelman clearly has his doubts and the paucity of Shoah cartoons suggests that he may be right. But with an ever-diminishing number of survivors to educate the young about the Holocaust, finding new ways to relate the history without resorting to computer games is essential. Released this year, Ari Folman’s engaging Where is Anne Frank was well-received by critics and audiences, who saw it as an invaluable and imaginative bridge from the diary to present day from a director who already had track in the genre with Waltz with Bashir.

Oscar winner Michel Hazana vicius, the French-Jewish director of The Artist (2011), has taken up the challenge and is currently in produc tion on the animated Holocaust feature The Most Precious of Cargoes, which is about a French Jewish fami ly’s deportation to Auschwitz. While that film is not scheduled for release until 2024, the appeal and accept ance of this format will be tested again from Friday with the opening of Charlotte. Starring Keira Knightley, who lends her voice to the real-life protagonist Charlotte Saloman, the

actress, like so many of us, had never heard of the German-Jewish artist who was 26 and pregnant when she was murdered on the day she arrived at Auschwitz in 1943.

“I didn’t know anything about her work or her life, so the script was the first thing I read,” says Keira. “I thought it was an extraordinary story and wanted to know more. So then I looked at her work and thought, this is such an amazing achievement, so it’s extraordinary I’ve never heard of her.”

Regrettably, the artist is known to few outside the cultural elite, who will also have read David Foenkinos’ best-selling novel, Charlotte. Yet her work, Life? or Theatre?, is the largest single collection of art created by a Jew during the Holocaust and the fact that it was donated to Amster dam’s Jewish Historical Museum is

A look

Bugsy Malone Chanukah gifts Winning writers

evidence of an even more complex backstory, most of which is recreated by the soft-edged animated characters in Eric Warin and Tahir Rana’s film.

Keira says: “I think what I was fascinated by was that you could have something that is in its essence an utterly tragic tale, yet because of this person, because of her talent, it feels like it is, in many ways, the story of a spirit that survived.” She is joined in her vocal-only role by Jim Broadbent, Sophie Okonedo, Brenda Blethyn and Mark Strong.

She continues: “Charlotte is living in this unbelievably difficult moment in history, such extreme oppression, and she is also dealing with certain members of her family who are really difficult. And yet she has this kind of clarity of vision about who she wants to be, and what she wants to do... an almost punk attitude at times.”

Salomon described her work as “something crazy special” and ironically some of her early gouaches (there are 1,700 in total) are presented like a comic book story board. Only a few, however, show the Third Reich, as Charlotte ultimately

created an autobiography of a life that was filled with sorrow and ended too soon.

“It’s a very human story,” adds Keira. “And what’s lovely about it is that nobody’s perfect. Everybody has cracks, and everybody is struggling to be better.” The actress says she appreciates the value of animating the story for adults, but also for her children when they grow up.

“I’ve got two young kids, so I’m spending my life at the moment watching kids’ films, and reading books with illustrations and loving them. So it was really nice that this film came through my door at a point when I’d been really interested in those two things.”

Relocated to Nice, in the days leading up to her arrest and transpor tation Charlotte wrapped her paint ings and delivered them to the home of a doctor friend, telling him: “Keep these safe. They are my whole life.”

For Keira Knightley, who at 37 is 11 years older than Charlotte was when she was killed in a concentra tion camp, the attempt to destroy the Jewish people is a fact to be retold in whichever format attracts the biggest audience.

“To destroy Jewish culture, their presence, their thoughts, their way of life…” muses Keira. “And although Charlotte lost her life, what she did was to preserve, and to represent in the most beautiful way, a piece of Jewish culture, to make sure that genocide was impossible. Because her work lived on.”

Charlotte opens in cinemas on Friday 9 December

•

As a new film tells the story of Charlotte Saloman, murdered by the Nazis but whose artistic legacy lives on, Brigit Grant sees animation as a way to enrich Holocaust education

Scenes from the biopic of Charlotte Salomon, murdered aged 26

Keira Knightley voices Charlotte in the film

It’s curtain time and away we go

Another op’nin’, another show from producer Kenny Wax, who tells Brigit Grant what to sing about in the West End

If you love theatre, the man you want to meet is Kenny Wax. There is a propen sity to burst into song in his presence (at least for a musical lover like me) and so there may be a burst of:

“I’m puttin’ on my top hat Tyin’ up my white tie Brushin’ off my tails” as Kenny produced the world premiere of Olivier Award-winning Top Hat. There might also be a round of :

“Welcome to the show

To the historemix

Switching up the flow As we add the prefix Everybody knows that We used to be six wives” which is the opening number in Six, the show Kenny first saw at a small Cambridge venue with his daughter, and instinct made him snap up the option to turn Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ musical about Henry VIII’s wives into the international hit it is today. He can reel off the numbers of how many productions and tickets sold, but brings music to a Six fan’s ear when he says:

“We’re working on workshopping Toby and

Lucy’s new show for next year and there will probably be a production the following year.” I’m super-keen to know more, but you don’t get to be one of London’s most prolific producers by saying too much about an upcoming hit.

“They’re both brilliantly clever and right on the cutting edge of contemporary art at the moment,” says Kenny of Jewish composer Marlow and Moss his co-writer. “You couldn’t write Six without being geniuses, quite honestly, and it’s been fascinating, and really interesting to work with them.”

So no hints then about the show’s content? “Oh, I think it’s probably a little bit early for that,” smiles Kenny. “But watch this space, though it’s probably a good 15 or 16 months away, but Six audiences are going to absolutely love it. And it’s contemporary, not historical.”

In truth, it was gracious of Kenny to reveal anything as we met to talk about his current new productions.

“He’s a sinner

Candy-coated

For all his friends

He always seems to be alone

But they love him….”

“Bugsy Malone. It’s at Alexandra Palace, which is so exciting,” says Kenny. “The production, directed by Sean Holmes, asso ciate director of Shake speare’s Globe, was at the Lyric Hammersmith five years ago, but never had a commercial run. This is Bugsy Malone’s first UK tour as it’s never been done with a professional production.”

And a creative mix of children and adults makes this a very different production to previous incarnations of the show. “In this, three teams of children aged nine to 15 rotate every week in the main roles – Bugsy, Fat Sam, Tallulah etcwhile young adults, many of them recent drama school graduates, play all the ensemble parts and do all the dancing,” explains Kenny. “So you get brilliant choreography to a very high level and the cuteness of the kids.”

“My name is Tallulah

My first rule of thumb

I don’t say where I’m going Or where I’m coming from.”

Now Kenny is singing the song made famous by Jodie Foster in the film and his exuberance about Bugsy being staged in circa 1875 Ally Pally along with all the trappings such as the Fat Sam café and music in the foyer makes you want to book tickets on the spot.

“It’s interesting, because – putting my cards on the table – the tour started in the summer and all of our shows seemed to struggle then, except for Six, of course,” admits Kenny. “But as autumn and winter have worn on, we’ve seen really great numbers coming in for Bugsy.” Though he isn’t talking show tunes, there’s no denying the greatness of Paul Williams’ score, just as there’s no denying the appeal of Kenny’s other seasonal show, Hey Duggee, which tours until September 2023. Parents would be pleased about any show that keeps pre-schoolers entertained while sitting down

and if they watch the BBC show they will be in the know about loveable big dog Duggee and his squirrel mates, who are now at the Royal Festival Hall.

“It’s a kind of 3D puppet show, but also a live experience, which for many will be a first theatre experience,” says Kenny, who barely draws breath before moving on to the upcoming Mind Mangler, which is a spinoff from the Mischief Theatre’s Magic Goes Wrong show.

“Henry Lewis is the pompous mind reader who does tricks that appear to be going wrong, but don’t or could and Jonathan Sayer is his sidekick planted in the audience. It is the banter the audience loved most at the Edin burgh Festival and the show is touring with performances on Sundays in London through January, February and March.”

Kenny is so on top of each of production’s logistics, emails and schedules, it would not be a surprise to see the former Carmel College student tearing ticket stubs at the door before raising the curtain. He did all those jobs from tea boy to usher on the advice of Cameron Mackintosh, who clearly saw him as producer material and he was right. If there’s a song in that, we saved it for next time.

� For tickets to Kenny’s shows www.bugsymalonethemusical.com www.heyduggee.com www.mischiefcomedy.com

‘So exciting’: Bugsy Malone will be playing at Alexandra Palace

Mind Wrangler is a spin-off from Mischief Theatre’s Magic Goes Wrong

Hey Duggee is created Kenny Wax (inset)

Let’s get cooking for

Easier to make than you realise, these yeasty, airy fried doughnuts are a special treat, filled from the top with strawberry jam, chocolate, vanilla cream or dulce de leche

Makes: 25 sufganiyot

Ingredients

30g (2 tablespoons) warm water

30g (¼ cup) fresh yeast or 12 grams (2¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast

500g (4 cups) plain flour (sifted, plus extra as needed and for kneading and rolling

65g (¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon) granulated sugar

2 large egg yolks

1 large egg

120g (½ cup) warm whole milk

Pinch of grated orange zest

30g (2 tablespoons) fresh orange juice

15g (1 tablespoon) brandy (optional)

½ teaspoon fine salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

90g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter (at room temperature)

About 1.8 liters (8 cups) vegetable oil or as needed, for frying, plus extra for greasing the pan 490 grams (1½ cups) strawberry jam

Confectioners’ sugar for finishing

Method

1. Make the dough. Pour the water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Crumble the yeast into the water and use your fingers to rub and dissolve it; if using active dry yeast, whisk the yeast into the water. Stir in 10 grams (1 tablespoon) of the flour and 5 grams (1 tablespoon) of the sugar and set aside until the mixture is bubbling, about 15 minutes.

2. Add the egg yolks, whole egg, warm milk, orange zest and juice, brandy (if using), salt, vanilla, the remaining flour, and the remaining sugar to the yeast mixture. Attach the dough hook and mix on low speed until the dough comes together, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. With the mixer running on medium speed, gradually add the butter, a pinch at a time. Continue to mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (add a few spoons of flour if needed), is smooth and shiny, and is beginning to climb up the dough hook, about 4 minutes.

4. Stretch and fold the dough, then let it rise. Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured work surface and lightly dust the top of the dough with flour. Stretch the top piece of the dough until it tears, then fold it on top of the centre. Give the dough a quarter turn and repeat, adding more flour as needed, until the dough isn’t sticky, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured bowl, sprinkle the top with flour, and cover the

sufganiyot

bowl with plastic wrap. Set it aside in a warm and draft-free spot until the dough has doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

5. Roll and stamp the dough: Set the dough on a lightly floured work surface and use a rolling pin to roll it into a ½-inch-thick sheet. Use a 2½-inch round cookie cutter to stamp out rounds of dough as close together as possible to minimize scraps. After pressing the cutter into the dough, twist it before pulling it out from the sheet of dough (to help strengthen the seal so the doughnut puffs nicely during frying). Gather the scraps; press them together; rest for 5 minutes, covered; and then gently reroll them to stamp out a few more sufganiyot. Discard the remaining bits of scraps.

6. Let the dough prove. Place the dough rounds on a lightly greased parchment paper–lined sheet pan and cover with a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a draft-free spot at room temperature until nearly doubled in volume, 40 to 50 minutes. (At this point, after rising, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 hours before frying.)

7 Fry the dough. Fill a large saucepan with enough oil to reach a depth of 4 inches. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reads 350°F on an instant-read thermometer. Start with one sufganiyah and fry, turning it with a slotted spoon or frying spider, until both sides are golden, about 2 minutes. Use

the spider or slotted spoon to transfer the doughnut to a paper towel–lined plate or sheet pan. Continue frying the remaining doughnuts in batches, taking care not to crowd the pan; otherwise, the oil will cool and the doughnuts will absorb more oil and become greasy. Let the doughnuts cool completely before filling them.

8. Fill the sufganiyot. Place the jam in a food processor and process until smooth. Scrape the jam into a piping bag fitted with a ¼-inch round tip and insert the tip into the top of a doughnut. Squeeze jam into the doughnut until the jam begins to ooze out of the hole at the top. Repeat with the remaining sufganiyot. Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

Adapted from TheArtisanalKitchen:JewishHoliday Bakingby Uri Scheft (Artisan Books)

Sweeten your festive feast with Herzog Late Harvest Zinfandel from Kedem. This full-bodied wine has intense flavours with a rich texture and a sweet berry finish. £22.99

Stepping

OUT

WIZO has a special programme to help abused women create a new life

WIZO’s 2022/3 campaign Women

Leading the Way seeks to highlight the value of women and their current and potential contribution across every spectrum of society. As we realise a frightening increase across the globe in the levels of violence against women, WIZO continues to operate two shelters for women and children escaping from abusive relationships. However, WIZO’s support for these at-risk women and their families does not end there.

A er months of nurture and support in the shelter, integrating back into the commu-nity is daunting. The WIZO Safety Net programme supports women as they leave the security of the shelter so that they can become successful, resilient, independent members of society, and avoid re-entering the cycle of domestic violence.

The programme helps women with training to facilitate finding and maintaining a job,

which is key to achieving financial independence and occupational rehabilitation.

WIZO also provides essential items such as small electrical appliances, clothing, school supplies, and household items to help these vulnerable women and their chil-dren as they take their first steps into a violence-free independent future.

WIZO’s ‘adoption’ programme for women emerging from shelters as they begin a new life ensures that emotional support is ongoing and they do not feel that they are taking these steps alone. Women and children from all communities, religious a iliations and cultural backgrounds rely on the Safety Net programme to improve their lives and leave the abuse behind.

DINA’S STORY

Dina had been abused for years by her husband. When he started to beat her two chil-dren, she knew she couldn’t let it happen any more and had to leave. She packed up some minimal belongings whilst her husband was still asleep and fled in the middle of the night with her children to a WIZO shelter, which took her in with open arms. WIZO helped her with the emotional and psychological trauma that she had been suf-fering, as well as the anguish that her children had been through, witnessing the vio-lence for so long.

When, a er many months, she was strong enough to leave the shelter, WIZO’s Safety Net programme provided Dina with provisions and supplies that she desperately needed to rebuild her life and furnish her

new apartment. She also received counselling, encouragement and training to find a job to support herself and her children.

WIZO continues to be there for Dina and her children as they create a happy and successful life together.

“Without WIZO I would still be that defenceless woman, cowering on the floor. Now I can stand up tall and take care of my family,” she says.

This Chanukah, please help WIZO light the way for these at-risk women and their families and to expand our Safety Net programmes across Israel by donating at www.wizouk.org/donate or scan the QR code.

FURTHER INFORMATION on the Safety Net programme as well as more of WIZO’s vital work can be found through an innovative and interactive exhibition, The Journey, Monday 13 - Thursday 16 March 2023 at a central London venue. For more information and to book please visit wizouk.org/ events or call 020 7319 9169.

ARE YOU SITTING

ALEX GALBINSKI FLICKS THROUGH BOOKS

BY JEWISH AUTHORS

OR WITH THEMES OF JEWISH INTEREST

THE TWIST OF A KNIFE by Anthony Horowitz

‘Our deal is over.’ That’s what reluctant author Anthony Horowitz tells ex-detective Daniel Hawthorne in an awkward meeting. But Anthony’s thinking of his new play, Mindgame, which is about to open in London’s Vaudeville theatre. Hawthorne declines a ticket. On opening night, Sunday Times critic Harriet Throsby savagely reviews the play, especially the writing. The next morning, she is found dead, stabbed in the heart with a dagger belonging to Anthony that has his finger prints all over it. Arrested, he realises only one man can help him – but will Hawthorne take his call? No 4 in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series. Published by Century, £20 (hardback)

LIFE IS TOUGH BUT SO ARE YOU

by Debbi Marco

We all face ups and downs from time to time, and if you sometimes struggle to cope with life’s challenges, big or small, then this guide aims to help. Life is Tough But So Are You by journalist Debbi Marco will provide you with the tools you need to overcome adversity and bounce back stronger. It includes information on what it means to be mentally strong, suggestions to help you stay calm and positive when life throws you a curveball, simple ideas for taking care of your physical health and a guide to the professional help available and how to find the right treatment for you. Published by Summersdale Publishers, £8.99 (hardback)

THE COMEDIANS IN CARS GETTING COFFEE

by Jerry Seinfeld

In his streaming show, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Jerry Seinfeld has engaged with some of the funniest people in history in classic cars, coffee shops and diners, including Larry David, Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy and then-US President Barack Obama in the Oval Office. His guests talked about the intricacies of stand-up, the evolution of their careers and personal lives and much else. Timed to the 10th anniversary of the show’s debut and with an introduction from Seinfeld, this book is a tribute of behind-the-scenes photos and anecdotes. Published by Simon & Schuster, £35 (hardback)

Comfortably?

BOLDLY GO

by William Shatner

The beloved star of Star Trek, recent space traveller and living legend William Shatner on key events from his 90-years of life, using them as a springboard to reflect on the interconnectivity of all things, our fragile bond with nature and the joy that comes from exploration in this collection of essays. By revealing both delightful and tragic stories of his life, Shatner considers what he has learned along the way to his ninth decade and how important it is to apply the joy of exploration to our own lives.

Published by Atria Books, £20 (hardback)

WHY READ: SELECTED WRITINGS 2001 – 2021 by Will Self

Dubbed “the most daring and delightful novelist of his generation” by The Guardian, Will Self’s Why Read takes us with him: from the foibles of his typewriter repairman to the irradiated exclusion zone of Chernobyl, from the Australian outback to literary forms past and future. Self aims his inimitable eye at titans of literature such as Woolf, Kafka, Orwell and Conrad and writes movingly on W.G. Sebald’s childhood in Germany and provocatively describes the elevation of William S. Burroughs’ Junky from shocking pulp novel to beloved cult classic. He also expands on his regular column in Literary Hub to ask how, what and why, we should read in an ever-changing world.

Published by Grove Press UK, £16.99 (hardback)

SEASON OF LOVE

by Helena Greer

Miriam Blum, who has a thriving art career, has to face the past she thought she’d left behind when news of her beloved great-aunt Cass’ death forces her to a very unwanted family reunion. Miriam becomes part-owner of her (ironically) Jewish-run Christmas tree farm, which is at risk of going under. She’ll need to work with the farm’s grumpy manager – as long as the attraction between them doesn’t set all their trees on fire first. Helena Greer’s romcom has been described as comprising “all the warm, queer, Jewish holiday vibes you could possibly want”. Published by Forever, £13.99 (paperback)

SEVEN EMPTY HOUSES by

Samanta Schweblin

From the Man Bookershortlisted author of Fever Dream comes a new collection of eerie short stories. Playful and unsettling, teeming with the energy of barely-contained violence, Seven Empty Houses dismantles the neat appearance of domesticity to expose the darkness and discomfort that lies beneath. A neighbour looks on as a couple grieve the loss of their son. A young girl makes an unwelcome acquaintance in a hospital waiting room. A woman prepares for death with ruthless precision. Ominous and exhilarating, the publisher believes these chilling tales cement Samanta Schweblin’s place among the finest short-story writers at work today. Published by Oneworld Publications, £12.99 (paperback)

COMEDIANS

by Steve Best

Comedian and photographer Steve Best, using a small camera, lets us into the backstage world of stand-up comics before they go on stage at venues nationwide. This, his third photography tome, is a very limited first-edition coffee table book that includes the “highs and lows, the camaraderie and the competition, the loneliness and the isolation and the outright joy of being a stand-up comedian”. Comedians photographed include David Baddiel, Stewart Lee, Jo Brand, Jon Bishop, Barry Cryer, Jack Whitehall, Jimmy Carr and Harry Hill, who allowed him access because he is one of them. All copies are signed by Best. Published by Steve Best, £49.50 (+£5 P&P), www.stevebest.com

PROFILES IN IGNORANCE by

Andy Borowitz

Andy Borowitz, described by The New York Times as “of the country’s finest satirists”, examines the intellectual deterioration of American politics, from Ronald Reagan to Dan Quayle, from George W. Bush to Sarah Palin, to its apotheosis in Donald J. Trump. In Profiles of Ignorance: How America’s Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber, he offers a witty diagnosis of the political troubles of the US by showing how ignorant leaders are degrading, embarrassing and endangering the nation. Published by Avid Reader Press/ Simon & Schuster, £20 (hardback)

The touch thoughtful

Alex Galbinski goes in search of gifts that will warm the heart and look after the mind

Perfect Pyjamas

No more feeling jealous at the Christmas jumpers out there with these Chanukah-themed personalised matching family pyjamas. Available in white-and-red check or navy-and-green check cotton. Allow seven days for delivery – order before 9 December for delivery by 18 December. From £28 www.next.co.uk

Jewish Italy

Festive Treat

If your budget doesn’t stretch to designer clothes, more than make do with one of these limited-edition Fiasconaro x Dolce & Gabbana panettone in a vibrant tin. This one is citrus and saffron flavour (vegetarian). From £17.50 www.souschef.co.uk

Flipping Fun

Find out who is top dog (or chicken) after com pleting challenges and collecting cards in this Chicken vs Hotdog game. Fabulous flipperama time for ages 8+. £24.99 bigpotato.co.uk

Turbo Boost

Two of the most iconic film cars compete in this new Scalextric set. The nostalgia is real – will you be Michael Knight from Knight Rider in K.I.T.T, or Doc or Marty in the Back to the Future Time Machine? £159.99 uk.scalextric.com

Gratitude Goals

Karen Cinnamon, the brains behind Your Jewish Life and Smashing the Glass commu nities, has launched the first gratitude journal for Jewish women. Part goal planner, part gratitude journal, part non-judgmental Jewish BFF, the Jewish Joy Journal fills Jewish women’s lives with daily joy, purpose, and nour ishing Jewish values. £32 jewishjoyjournal.com

Silvia Nacamulli’s Jewish Flavours of Italy is a wonder ful collection of more than 100 kosher dishes that celebrate the traditions of Italian-Jewish cuisine alongside personal family anecdotes. £25 greenbeanbooks.com

Perfect Pets

Interact with the Kindi Kids Party Pets using their included accessory and watch their magical action. Each pet has a matching theme to a different Kindi Kid and their baby sister. For ages 3+. £9.99 www.smythstoys.com

Bottoms Up

This sticky chai trio gift box is perfect for when it’s cold and all you want to do is curl up with a film or book. Contains traditional sticky chai and the two limited edition flavours of gingerbread chai and banana bread chai. £30 www.birdand blendtea.com

Building Blocks

This set containing 70 solid wood pieces in 18 colours offers more than 20 fun learning and developmental activities for children. From 18+ months. £80 lovevery.co.uk

Sleep Tight

As any insomniac knows, sleep is crucial for health and wellbeing. This Morphée sleep and meditation aid offers 210 combinations of guided sessions the company says will help you to relax, unwind, fall asleep quickly and improve the quality of your sleep. £89.95 www.morphee.co.uk

Scandi Tableware

Sthål’s stunning crockery is per fect for your festive Ottolenghi culinary creations! Pictured is the round 34cm serving/pizza plate in ‘antique’ colouring. £85 www.curatedliving.co.uk

Cool Cards

The much-loved Top Trumps brand has brought out a new range of cards, including this summary of the hottest TikTok trends from the past few years. £8 www.amazon.co.uk

Shine Bright

This statement Venus round labra dorite and star motif pendant neck lace will shake off some doom and gloom this winter. Made of brass, it is extendable and has a link chain interspersed with bar spacers. £69.50 www.oliverbonas.com

Bubbilicious Badinage

This extreme (rechargeable) bubble gun has 60 holes and blows out hundreds of bubbles per minute. One way to get the kids (and adults) outside in the cold! £34.95 www.prezzybox.com

ON THE COUCH

If only TV shows such as The Patient were made in the UK. Our population numbers are too inconsequential to warrant dramas laced with Yiddishkeit, hence RidleyRoad with all its inaccuracies being the only light on the small screen in the past few years. But don’t despair, especially if you subscribe to the Disney+ platform, because that’s where you can see writers/ producers Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields’ darkest of dark Jewish thrillers. In ThePatient,Steve Carell plays renowned Jewish psychotherapist Alexander Strauss, who is being held captive by his patient – serial killer Sam Fortner (Domhnall Gleeson) – so Strauss can help him stop his homicidal urges. With a neo-Orthodox convert for a son and a happy-clappy Reform cantor for a wife, the series also features grace a er meals and scenes from Auschwitz, all in the name of entertainment with a powerful underlying message. It is partly inspired by creators Fields’ and Weisberg’s relationships with their own Jewish parents – particularly Fields, whose father was a Reform rabbi. Children of UK rabbis with a desire to write take note and good luck. ThePatientis on Disney+

Back of the net

There may not be many of us on the pitch, but the man who yells “Gooooool!” a er a score in football is Jewish. Andrés is the Argentine-American sportscaster and pundit who is famous for the signature bellowing that forces volume reduction when watching the World Cup. Born in Buenos Aires with a mother of Romanian Jewish descent, Cantor’s first English-language assignment was the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he called both men’s and women’s football for NBC, complete with his signature call of “Goooool!” Let’s hope we hear him on Sunday when the Lions score.

Toys R Camp Simcha

Kids everywhere will be opening gi s when Chanukah arrives and those in hospital will be getting an extra one thanks to Camp Simcha’s annual Toy Drive. More than 10,000 new toys, arts, cra s, board games and much more have been donated. More than 80 schools, nurseries, cheders and synagogues in London and Manchester held collections over the past month, with individuals and businesses also donating. Camp Simcha provides direct support to UK Jewish families with seriously ill children, but also reaches some 12,000 children of all denominations and none through its hospital outreach. This year’s Toy Drive has seen more requests than ever from hospitals. “As always the community has stepped up,” says Joanne Woolich, Camp Simcha’s hospital liaison o icer. “These provide a big boost to the children on the wards when they get a gi at their bedside, but also to the play teams as it enables them to continue their paediatric play provision.” www.campsimcha.org.uk

Funky Fusion

Israeli-Spanish is the latest fusion food and it’s being dished up at Penelope’s, the stunning new restaurant at the (also new) Amano hotel in Covent Garden. On the menu are some incredibly exciting combinations such as Israeli-style paella with freekeh and gin-tomatosauce, Israeli so ritto with pulled chicken and la a bread, and baklava cheesecake. It’s a great night out with a funky soundtrack, a vibrant drinks list, live DJs playing music on Friday and Saturday nights, and a monthly Isramani party – an eating, drinking and dancing-on-the-table immersive experience. Amano’s co-founder Ariel Schi says: “Growing up between Tel Aviv and southern Spain exposed me to some amazing food from a young age, an experience that inspired me to bring those flavours together at Penelope’s. At Amano we pride ourselves on o ering out-of-the-ordinary dining experiences. We want our guests to eat, drink and dance together, an ethos we live by as a brand and as individuals wherever we are.” Sign us up. www.penelopeslondon.com

EXHIBITION

Seeing is believing

We’ve mentioned this before, but now that we’ve been we feel the need to mention it again, especially as it’s only on until the end of January. Seeing Auschwitz is unlike any other Holocaust-related exhibition. It is a collection of 100 photographs taken at the camp with an audioguide that explains what you see before you in great detail, encouraging you to look closely and think carefully. It is a powerful and moving experience as the images, mostly taken by SS guards but also by victims and liberators, provide unsettling perspective and stark evidence of mass murder, but also show the humanity of the people who perished. Seeing Auschwitz is at 81 Old Brompton Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 3LD. www.seeingauschwitz.com

Fragrant Fire

The Ormonde Jayne candle didn’t make it on to this week’s gi pages, but it is a truly special example of illumination in a jar. Nothing smells quite as fabulous as the perfumes and candles made at the artisan perfumier in London’s Royal Arcade and owner Linda Pilkington has become Jewish by default because the female sector of our community are fans of her fragrance, particularly the gender-free scents in the Signature Collection. The bottles are refillable and Great Ormond Street Hospital’s charity receives 10 percent for every bottle sold. Buy eight of the Maison Royal candles to light for Chanukah and your house becomes a garden of jasmine and rose. www.ormondejayne.com

SPORT

CHARITY

FOOD

Cantor

Steve Carell is a therapist taken captive by a serial killer in The Patient

FRAGRANCE

Lifelong friends Deborah and Tali took over Wrap a Wish (established in 2004) in Regents Park Road, Finchley, in Sep tember 2020. Their husbands were already business partners and they wanted to get in on the action too.

When the UK was in lockdown the two women created a website pretty quickly as they needed to get online to keep afloat. Web sales are still strong, accounting for about 40 percent of the total, and they offer an inexpensive local delivery service as well as shipping gifts throughout the UK.

Wrap a Wish is one of the only

independent gift shops around. “You can buy gifts from many online retailers but what sets us apart is our gift wrapping,” says Deborah. “It’s hard to find some where that delivers a beautifully wrapped gift straight to your recipient. And, at Wrap a Wish, gift wrapping is always free.”

Deborah and Tali are always sourcing new and innovative table ware from suppliers worldwide. “Serving dishes and serving spoons are a consistently great gift as they are practical and you can never have enough!” says Deborah.

“Gold accessories are very popular right now and we have some gorgeous gold vases, gold and white porcelain serving dishes, co-ordinating salad servers and on-trend trays too for your coffee/ side table.”

Meanwhile, Tali has some great ideas for those who are entertaining over Chanukah. “If you’re looking to update your table, coloured glass

ware is having a revival. If you’ve always veered toward classic white dinnerware and are looking to spice it up, coloured glasses and colouredglass bud vases will brighten up and elevate your table without you having to invest too much. A neutral colour tablecloth with matching napkins is the most popular choice as a classic base for any table setting and our tablecloths are all high quality and easycare.”

Most gifts are available all year round but some special items are brought in seasonally. Soft scarves and bags with different straps come

in for the winter, and pretty vases and jewellery in the summer.

QUICK-FIRE ROUND

Is ‘self-gifting’ a thing?

Absolutely – don’t we all deserve something nice for ourselves?

What do you have for men?

A lovely challah board/challah cover, a havdalah tray or luxury matches for lighting the chanukiah. Top tips for choosing gifts?

Choose what you’d like to receive, or give a Wrap a Wish gift card, which takes the hassle out of choosing.

 www.wrapawish.co.uk

Coloured-glass bud vases will brighten and elevate your table at a reasonable price

JN Junior

The big question

Hands On!

HANDS ON!

HANDS ON!

Make a Shiny Menorah Poster

Genius Jenna says: You probably don’t need me to tell you that this month brings Chanukah, or that typically people get presents at Chanukah. But did you know that, traditionally, gifts were not a part of Chanukah? Instead, ‘gelt’ – a small amount of money or chocolate coins – was given to children. Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights, lasts for eight days and nights to remember the miracle of how the oil in the Temple stayed lit for eight days even though there was barely enough for one day. While it feels great to receive a gift, it can feel even better to give one and make someone feel cared for. Gifts don’t have to be bought from a shop or cost money; you could bake someone a cake, volunteer for their chosen charity, grow them a plant, upcycle something from your home or write them a poem. When I think back to last Chanukah, it’s not the presents I received that I remember but the lighting of the chanukiah, eating doughnuts and the delicious aroma of freshly fried latkes.

This Chanukah, if I was giving a free gift to someone I would choose my sister. This is because she helped me learn to swim this summer and I am really happy about that. I would give her eight chocolate cupcakes, for the eight days of Chanukah, so she can have one each day. Each cupcake would have a letter from the words ‘thank you’ on it. I would make it a surprise to make it more special and give her a cuddle when I gave them to her!

Good news for...

… Jess Inaba

Londoner Jess Inaba has become Britain’s first blind and black female barrister. A barrister is a special type of lawyer, usually hired by solicitors to represent a case in court –challenging if you are unable to see. But Jess hasn’t let that stop her, qualifying after five years of legal study using braille to read texts. She said: “I’m not the most common gender or colour, and I have a disability, but by pushing through I’m easing the burden on the next person like me.” We think that’s pretty inspirational.

Supplies

Make a Shiny Menorah Poster Supplies

HANDS ON!

Make a Shiny Menorah Poster Supplies

Aluminium foil

Aluminium foil

Marker

Scissors

Glue

Poster board

Marker Scissors Glue Poster board Glitter pens/paint/glue

Glitter pens/paint/glue

Help your child place both hands side by side on a piece of foil. Position the hands so that the thumbs overlap. Trace around the hands with the marker and cut them out as one continuous piece.

Glue the tinfoil hands onto a piece of poster board.

Help your child place both hands side by side on a piece of foil. Position the hands so that the thumbs overlap. Trace around the hands with the marker and cut them out as one continuous piece. Glue the tinfoil hands onto a piece of poster board. Each finger serves as a 'candle' on your menorah (the two thumbs make one candle the shamash). Use some glittery art supplies, like glitter pens, paint, or glue, to create a flame on top of each 'candle', then place your poster in your window to help decorate your home for Chanukah

Each finger serves as a 'candle' on your menorah (the two thumbs make one candle the shamash). Use some glittery art supplies, like glitter pens, aint, or glue, to create a flame on top of each then place your poster in your window to Chanukah.

Help your child place both hands side by side on a piece of foil. Position the hands so that thumbs overlap. Trace around the hands with marker and cut them out as one continuous Glue the tinfoil hands onto a piece of poster Each finger serves as a 'candle' on your menorah (the two thumbs make one candle the shamash). Use some glittery art supplies, like glitter pens, paint, or glue, to create a flame on top of each 'candle', then place your poster in your window help decorate your home for Chanukah across

This month PJ Library is sending Chanukah books to more than 8,000 children across the UK. Sign up your child for their monthly book at www.PJLibrary.org.uk

Five things to enjoy this month:

Babylon Park

The Israeli-based theme park that launched in London at the end of last year is already proving a hit with children. Located in Camden Market, north London, it offers a drop tower, bumper cars, carousels, arcade machines, soft play areas and even a rollercoaster. www.babylonpark.com

The Snowman

1 2 3 4

You can still get tickets for this season’s familyfavourite The Snowman, which returns to the Peacock Theatre for its 25th year. Featuring colourful sets and extravagant costumes, exuberant dancing and a heartwarming story. www.sadlerswells.com

Kenwood Light Trail

Kenwood’s festive light trail is back, with something to captivate all ages. There are tasty treats and impressive illuminations to transport you to a magical world of light and colour. Until 1 January. www.christmasatkenwood.com

Frameless

5

For a perfect indoor treat, head to this new immersive art experience in London for all ages. You won’t just be looking at pictures, you’ll be in them, as you visit the four galleries, experiencing a different technology in each one. www.frameless.com

The Smeds and The Smoos

Soar into space with this adaptation of the award-winning book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler at Arts Depot about how a family deals with forbidden love – between a Smed and a Smoo –on a far-off planet. Until 2 January. www.artsdepot.co.uk

What ‘free’ gift would you like to give this Chanukah – and to whom would you give it?

Leo Rajbenbach, age seven, Totteridge:

Congratulations to the winners of the

News WIZO UK young writers’ competition!

A new-found love for art and a grandpa who never gives up were the themes of this year’s winning entries in JN Junior’s Young Writers’ competition.

For the fourth year running, Jewish News teamed up with WIZO UK (Women’s International Zionist Organisation) and Jewish children’s book charity PJ Library, and invited budding writers to put their thoughts on who inspires them down on paper (or screen). Entries came in from all over London and beyond and ranged from Queen Esther to Queen Elizabeth, from Pele to Steve Jobs, from LinManuel Miranda to family members. But it was a fictional piece about being inspired to see the world differently through art and a real-life tribute to a disabled grandpa that both wowed and moved the judges. The judging panel included WIZO UK’s Sara Miller and Emma Yantin, the team at JN Junior and director of PJ Library in the UK Lauren Hamburger, with head judge - well-known author Ivor Baddiel - having the final say. Both our primary and secondary winners will get iPads!

1st

First place for the primary school category went to eightyear-old SOPHIA BITTON from Edgware for her handwritten tribute My Grandpa. The Year 3 Sinai pupil said: “My grandpa is deaf and blind but he does the most amazing things and I feel immensely proud of him. I want the message of my piece to be that even if you have disabilities, you should never give up and enjoy life.”

Jewish

in art until a chance meeting with a Jewish art exhibitor while on holiday. The girl is inspired to view art differently.

Baddiel called Alexandra’s “a really interesting and original interpretation of the theme. It’s well written and with a very authentic feel to it, I believe every word”.

1st

Alexandra, who is homeschooled, regularly attends her local Chabad, where she learns Jewish studies. She loves writing and her mother came across the competition on the PJ Library website. Alexandra said: “My brother has a thick encyclopaedia of animals. I like looking at the photos, as well as on the internet, and I was inspired by the astonishing colour and variety. I got the idea of the art festival from museums, and from the various similar outdoor occasions around the UK.” She added: “I was so excited and delighted to find out I’d won and so happy to know that my piece was noticed, more than anything else. I’m very grateful to Jewish News, WIZO and PJ library.”

Ivor Baddiel said: “Sophia’s is a really lovely mix of factual information and great descriptions. It’s pacy and captivating, and saves the reveal till the end - really, really good.”

Sophia was painting when she looked over and saw the details for competition in the paper.

the a the

“My mum filmed me reading the tribute out and sent it to my grandma, who read it to my grandpa – they live in Bournemouth. They both had tears in their eyes and were very touched by it.”

Home-educated ALEXANDRA

ROHVARGER, 11, from Horsham in West Sussex won the secondary category with her piece of fictional creative writing, Timeless Colours. It tells the story a Jewish girl who has no interest

Runner-up

Seven-year-old MARNIE CAMLETT from Forest School in Snaresbrook, was named runner-up in the primary category for her amusing poem

“I love win

My Mummy. Marnie said: “I love reading and am on the 7th Harry Potter book. I’m excited to win and receive some books from PJ Library.”

Ivor said: Marnie’s poem was really funny. It bounces along chirpily, with good use of language and I love the chutzpah of the ending.”

Jewish News - Wizo UK young writers’ competition

Sophia Bitton

Alexandra Rohvarger

Marnie Camlett

Daniel said: “I am very interested in Jewish history, and in the lost world of the shtetl, which was home to many of my ancestors. I was very much inspired by my Year 8 English teacher, Mr Rosenthal, who developed my passion for writing and helped me get closer to understanding what it means to be Jewish. These experiences have inspired me to put my thoughts about the shtetl into words, so I decided to enter the competition.”

Maureen Fisher, CEO, WIZO UK, said: “Lacking vital literacy skills impacts every stage of life. The ability to read, write and communicate effectively not only enriches an individual’s life, but it creates opportunities for people to develop skills that will help them provide for themselves and their family. WIZO was delighted to sponsor the Young Writers’ competition. Education is at the heart of so many of WIZO’s 800 projects, always empowering the vulnerable and disadvantaged Israeli citizens in its care, regardless of race or religion.”

PJ Library’s Lauren Hamburger reflected: “Reading through the entries for this year’s competition, it was fascinating to see who is inspiring the next generation of writers. Whether it’s a sports star, a courageous grandparent, or the day-to-day support from a parent, it’s hard to predict what children actually think of adults, and where the next powerful piece of writing is going to come from. Mazal tov to all the winners and runners-up!”

Jewish News -Wizo UK young writers’ competition

the secondary group for his powerful piece about victims of the Holocaust. Ivor said: “Daniel’s is very evocative and well written. Interestingly structured and a very powerful ending.”

ThismonthPJLibrary issendingChanukah kidsbooksto8,000 acrosstheUK. Signupyourchildfortheir monthlybookat PJLibrary.org.uk

CHANUKAH BOOK IN FOR

Candice Krieger rounds up her favourite reads for kids

Hanukkah at Monica’s by Varda Livney Ages 3-4

Hanukkah-loving Monica is getting ready for her big festive party. Her friends are all bringing the perfect gifts and together they make the latkes but run out of oil! Luckily, there’s a knock at the door and a robot is ready to save the day. This book not only celebrates the festival of Hanukkah but also the beauty to be found when friends gather together and bring their different gifts and personalities.

Published by PJ Publishing (price not available), available from PJ Library

Hanukkah Fairy Tale Feasts by Jane Yolan Ages 7-10

Budding chefs will be very excited about this new literary cookbook. Readers will learn about Jewish folktales, culture and cooking, while enthralled by the humour and wisdom of these enduring stories. With rich, vibrant colours and whimsical details, Sima Elizabeth Shefrin’s illustrations capture each story’s magic, while recreating Jewish customs and culinary traditions.

Published by Interlink (price not available), available from PJ Library

Frozen Planet II by Leisa Stewart-Sharpe Ages 8-11

Filled with fun facts, adults will be fighting with their children to pick this one off the shelf. You can learn to swim with seal pups, meet a Greenland shark that is 250 years old, or settle in for a snooze with a windy walrus. This wintry treat is jam-packed with true stories from our incredible planet that parents will enjoy reading to their children (and themselves!). It accompanies the landmark series narrated by David Attenborough.

Published by BBC Children's Books, £11.48

IVOR BADDIEL’S PICK

The Smartest Kid… on Ice by Ivor Baddiel Ages 8-13

The Ministry

of Unladylike Activity

by Robin Stevens Ages 8-13

Dubbed the Agatha Christie for kids, Robin Stevens has become known for her popular children’s mystery books. The Ministry of Unladylike Activity is the start of a thrilling new Second World War mystery series. It’s 1940, Britain is at war, and a secret arm of the British government is training up spies. Enter May Wong, desperate to be a spy and help end the war so that she can go home to Hong Kong. But when she and her friend Eric are turned away by the Ministry, they take matters into their own hands. But more secrets than they could have ever imagine unfold… And then someone is murdered… Published by Puffin, £7.00 Ivor Baddiel says: “I know how difficult it is to write a mystery and this one keeps you guessing right till the end.”

EDITOR’S PICK

The Day the Screens Went Blank by Danny Wallace Ages 7-13

Can you imagine a world with no screens, no gadgets and no technology? This hugely entertaining book tells the story of Stella, who’s always on her phone, and her younger brother Teddy, who’s always on his tablet, until one evening when all the screens mysteriously go blank! That’s no computers, no cash machines, no sat nav, no phones and internet! Stella and Teddy, together with their mum and dad, set off on a rescue mission road trip to check on Grandma, but she lives miles away and without the right technology it makes for rather a challenging and comical journey involving family fallouts and misfortunes. But some positives come out of the chaos. Published by Simon & Schuster Children's UK £4.50

Candice Krieger says: “This is an uplifting and thought-provoking book that reminded both my chil dren and me that there are more important things in life than screens.”

Fast-paced and quick-witted story about a boy called Marsham who can answer almost all the questions on the TV quiz shows he watches with his family. When his gran comes up with an idea for him to enter his favourite show, Britain's Smartest Kid, in disguise, Marsham goes for it! But the show has surprises in store - including the fact that some of the challenges will be held on ice! Can Marsham outsmart the others to claim the prize without revealing his true identity - or falling flat on his face? A charming mix of relatable characters, exciting twists and laugh-out-loud moments that also touches on important themes for young readers such as identity, bullying, friendship and following your passions. Published by Scholastic, £5.99

Virtually Christmas by David Baddiel

Ages 8-13

You don’t have to celebrate Christmas to love the latest hilarious novel by David Baddiel. All the things that made Christmas special are gone - even the cracker jokes. Instead, Christmas is run by robots, while 3D holograms of Santa Claus called Santavatars check if you’ve been naughty or nice – and on Christmas Eve, all of the presents are delivered by ZoneDrones instead of Santa’s reindeer!

When Etta and her friend Monty stumble upon a curious clue, they find themselves thrown into a fight to bring back Christmas in a race against time. Published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, £7

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Ages 11-13

So good it was made into a major feature film, The Hunger Games will have you gripped. It is written from the perspective of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in the future, post-apocalyptic nation of Panem in North America where one boy and one girl aged 12–18 from each of the twelve districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in The Hunger Games - a live televised battle royale. There is only one rule: kill or be killed. Part of a trilogy, it is widely praised for its plot and character development. Published by Scholastic, £8.25

MAKING SENSE OF THE SEDRA

REBBETZEN MA’AYAN SHOSHANA LANDAU BARNET UNITED SYNAGOGUE

I have a guilty habit. Every so often I watch home organisation videos, often showcasing new and beautiful ways to store foods in the kitchen. It’s not a particularly healthy habit for many reasons, partly because kitchen envy – like all envy –achieves nothing, while eroding our sense of worth, but also because I’m usually tempted to buy new canisters and storage containers to make my pantry and fridge picture-perfect. And that leaves my old supermarket Tupperware in the graveyard cupboard under the kitchen sink.

The Torah portion of Vayishlach provides a millennia-old outlook on my situation. As Yaakov journeys to meet his brother, Eisav, the Torah relates a curious episode of his return across the river to fetch some old jars that had been left behind.

During this recovery mission, Yaakov encounters the angel, with whom he wrestles until morning, sustaining an injury that leaves him limping for the rest of his life. There is much to investigate around this episode, but glaring for me is Yaakov’s personal quest to reclaim a handful of small household items while in the throes of moving his entire extended family and estate, and faced with Eisav’s threat of attack. Recalling my own home move, I am ashamed that I disposed of so much serviceable kitchenware in my desperate cull.

The very next episode in the Torah portion sheds some light on Yaakov’s strange behaviour and paints it as characteristic of his very person.

As the two brothers meet and successfully avoid conflict, Eisav enquires as to the generous gifts that Yaakov wishes to bestow on him. Eisav boasts: “I have plenty, let what you have remain yours” (33:9). Yaakov’s

response to this is: “Take my gift… I have everything” (33:11). Bear in mind that this from a man who just hours before retraced his steps in order to fetch a bundle of old jars. It puts me in mind of the wealthy individual who sees no need to buy a new version of something when they already have a serviceable one at home; who wears clothes until they are worn out rather than continually buying to keep up with seasonal changes in fashion. There is beautiful dignity in such character.

The gulf between the two brothers’ outlook is a timeless social commentary. That of ‘I have plenty’ (but there is always more to have), and ‘I have everything’ (a sense of completion; anything more is a bonus).

We are approaching a season that is often seen as one of excess. This sedra is a timely reminder to reframe giving, receiving and having. Not just out of belt-tightening necessity but as a life lesson, to refine our characters to become sensitive to ‘enough’.

New canisters; but are old ones serviceable?

Personally, I am learning to embrace my dated but serviceable Tupperware.

BY RABBI DEBORAH BLAUSTEN FINCHLEY REFORM SYNAGOGUE

the rabbi: “Don’t be silly, soap is only good if it is used.”

“So too is Judaism,” the rabbi replied.

A story is told of a rabbi and a soap maker who were walking down the road. The soap maker asked the rabbi what purpose religion had, given that after so many years of teaching and learning there was still so much misery and sadness in the world. The rabbi didn’t reply, but as she continued walking with the soap maker she pointed to a child on the street. “See this child?” she said. “All the soap in the world for so many years, and yet this child is so dirty.”

The soap maker responded to

I love this story because it helps to articulate something essential about being Jewish, spelt out in the Torah when God says “kedoshim tihyu” (you shall be holy), a phrase that situates us permanently in a future-oriented state. Judaism is not a state of being; rather it’s a way of being.

When I think of Jewish leadership, I think not of a leader as a vessel, Jewish or not, but of their actions. JCoSS, our community’s first cross-communal school, has been led by a headteacher who is not a Jew, but whose leadership has been wholly Jewish, committed to learning, values, and the diversity of tradition.

Being a communal leader is a

huge privilege and a huge responsibility. Sometimes a leader without personal Jewish baggage is able better to meet the diverse needs of a Jewish community because their status creates an imperative to listen, instead of assuming to understand. Equally, a Jewish leader’s lived experience and personal insight gives them huge advantages too, and they can be a role model for how to live out Jewish teachings and values in their lives.

Exactly how someone manages the unique challenges of serving a community is arguably a reflection of their personal leadership style, rather than their faith.

As a new headteacher at JCoSS prepares to take on the role, our question should not be whether it is important that those in leadership are Jewish, but whether they lead Jewishly.

A stimulating series where our progressive rabbis consider how Biblical figures might act when faced with 21st-century issues

Outgoing JCoSS head Patrick Moriarty, who is not Jewish, has led it Jewishly

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: Kids’ dance classes, planning your estate and health insurance premiums...

LOUISE LEACH PRINCIPAL, PERFORMING ARTS SCHOOL DANCING WITH LOUISE

Hi Louise,

My daughter has really enjoyed her ballet classes and has just reached Grade 3. However, she wants to take a break, saying she’d rather try something new and fun like hip hop. I think she is finding it a bit challenging. Should I encourage her to stick with ballet especially as after the summer show she was so inspired by the Grade 4 girls on pointe. Or should I let her take a break?

How wonderful that your daughter has accomplished this level. Progression in ballet is important for so many reasons; flexibility, concentration, posture, balance, teamwork,

musicality… the list is endless. Not to mention the sense of achievement plus the fact that ballet is the base of all dance.

I know it’s hard to motivate children when they’re tired or when they hit a stage they start to struggle with. I’ve got five children of my own and totally understand the challenges with keeping up with their extra-curricular activities! But as a parent, I believe it’s vital that we teach them not to quit. Especially when they’re doing so well. You mentioned that your daughter has enjoyed ballet so far. Imagine how incredible she will feel if she sticks at it and then reaches Grade 4 and then goes on pointe. She will look back on this “wobble” and see how far she’s come.

All forms of dance especially ballet classes require a lot of patience, but the results are extremely rewarding. There’s no quick fix to learning a pirouette. Unlike most things in today’s world, you can’t have it immediately!

band. There’s an additional allowance of up to £175,000 if you pass your family home to children or grandchildren.

ADAM SHELLEY ACCOUNTANT

SOBELL RHODES

Dear Adam, I’m keen to understand further about planning your estate and gifts. Are you able to provide any guidance?

Anna Dear Anna Inheritance tax is usually charged at 40% on the value of your estate (your property, money, and possessions) over the £325,000 nil-rate

If you’re married, you can e ectively combine your thresholds and transfer assets between each other tax-free. When one dies, the surviving spouse can inherit without any inheritance tax liability, and you can utilise their unused thresholds on your death.

Writing a will is the most basic, but also one of the most neglected forms of estate planning. For some, there’s a misconception that there’s no point in making a will if you’re married as your surviving spouse will get everything anyway. That’s not necessarily the case, particularly if you have children and

hold joint assets with other individuals.

Without a legally valid will, your estate could be distributed according to intestacy rules and a larger portion might be taxable.

Outside of having a legally valid will, one of the simplest ways to protect your estate can be to put assets into trusts. This can mean they fall outside of your estate when you die but there can be tax charges for gifts into trust. Placing insurance policies into trust is a tax-e cient estate planning strategy.

Gifting assets over time is an option such as using your annual exemption to give away £3,000 worth of gifts in 2022/23 without them being added to the value of your estate.

TREVOR GEE PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SPECIALIST PATIENT HEALTH

Dear Trevor

Our premiums have just increased, (although at a fraction of the claims we both made), so could you advise us of alternative cover options? We are determined to retain private health cover especially with the very long NHS waiting lists, although I don’t want a much higher excess to make it more affordable.

Naomi

Hi Naomi

All health insurers compete so they would want to retain you as a client. Demand that your intermediary ask for a discount. Since the pandemic the insurers are a a very mixed bunch in their approach.

You may not know insurers are not permitted to advise you, as they are never impartial. An individual health insurer can only provide you di erent options at renewal, which may not necessarily be beneficial.

On occasion, it could be unsuitable to change insurer. However, it may be much more sensible to move a member of the family to a new cheaper insurer and retain the remaining member(s) on the plan so as

to benefit from continuous cover. We recently saved a family nearly £2000 by moving the family on to a company plan, which was considerably cheaper, and which provided much higher cover. We left the eldest son on the existing plan.

So, there are many ways to reduce your premium.

Consider whether the hospital list includes some which you would never use, or whether the medical options that appeared a ordable at inception, are still required.

We will always answer your questions, and advise, at no cost, so if you would like us to review your plan at any time of the policy year which could help you, we will. www.Patienthealth.co.uk

Got a question for a member of our team?

Email: editorial@jewishnews.co.uk

Got a question for a member of

JEWELLER

JONATHAN WILLIAMS

Qualifications:

• Jewellery manufacturer since 1980s.

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

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

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

DIRECTOR OF LEGACIES

CAROLYN ADDLEMAN

Qualifications:

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

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

• Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

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

REMOVALS MANAGING DIRECTOR

STEPHEN MORRIS

Qualifications:

• Managing Director of Stephen Morris Shipping Ltd.

• 45 years’ experience in shipping household and personal effects.

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

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

STEPHEN MORRIS SHIPPING LTD 020 8832 2222 www.shipsms.co.uk stephen@shipsms.co.uk

VACANT PROPERTY SECURITY

STUART WOOLGAR

Qualifications:

• CEO of London’s largest guardian company with more than 20 years’ experience

• Well-known and highly regarded British security industry expert.

• Specialists in securing and protecting empty commercial and residential properties.

• Clients include small private landlords to major national property companies and managing agents, as well as those in the public sector.

GLOBAL GUARDIANS MANAGEMENT 020 3818 9100 www.global-guardians.co.uk info@global-guardians.co.uk

COMMERCIAL LAWYER

ADAM LOVATT

Qualifications:

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

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

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

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

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

SUE CIPIN

Qualifications:

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

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

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

• Technology room with expert advice on and facilities to try out the latest equipment. Hearing aid advice, support and maintenance.

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

PRINCIPAL, PERFORMING ARTS SCHOOL

LOUISE LEACH

Qualifications:

• Professional choreographer qualified in dance, drama and Zumba (ZIN, ISTD

& LAMDA), gaining an honours degree at Birmingham University.

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

• Set up Dancing with Louise 19 years ago.

DANCING WITH LOUISE 075 0621 7833 www.dancingwithlouise.co.uk Info@dancingwithlouise.com

FINANCIAL SERVICES (FCA) COMPLIANCE

JACOB BERNSTEIN

Qualifications:

• A member of the APCC, specialising in financial services compliance for:

• Mortgage, protection and general insurance intermediaries;

• Lenders, credit brokers, debt counsellors and debt managers;

• Alternative Investment Fund managers;

• E-Money, payment services, PISP, AISP and grant-making charities.

RICHDALE CONSULTANTS LTD 020 7781 8019 www.richdale.co.uk jacob@richdale.co.uk

INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS SPECIALIST

LEE SHMUEL GOLDFARB

Qualifications:

• Hands-on service, with full and personalised support for international transfers.

• Get the most out of your currency exchange with regards to pension income, when purchasing your first house in Israel or benefitting from an inheritance from aboard.

• UK leader in financial exchange and partner to brands such as St James Place and Hargreaves Lansdown with industry-beating Trustpilot score.

CURRENCIES DIRECT 0786 0595 890 / 0207 847 9400 www.currenciesdirect.com/jn lee.goldfarb@currenciesdirect.com

HUMAN RESOURCES / EMPLOYMENT LAW

DONNA OBSTFELD

Qualifications:

• FCIPD Chartered HR Professional

• 25 years in HR and Business Management.

• Mediator, Business Coach, Trainer, Author and Speaker

• Supporting businesses and charities with the hiring, managing, inspiring and firing of their staff

DOHR LTD 020 8088 8958 www.dohr.co.uk donna@dohr.co.uk

DOV NEWMARK

Qualifications:

• Director of UK Aliyah for Nefesh B’Nefesh, an organisation that helps facilitate aliyah from the UK.

• Conducts monthly seminars and personal aliyah meetings in London.

• An expert in working together with clients to help plan a successful aliyah.

NEFESH B’NEFESH 0800 075 7200 www.nbn.org.il dov@nbn.org.il

DIVORCE & FAMILY SOLICITOR

VANESSA LLOYD PLATT

Qualifications:

• Qualification: 40 years experience as a matrimonial and divorce solicitor and mediator, specialising in all aspects of family matrimonial law, including:

• Divorce, pre/post-nuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements, domestic violence, children’s cases, grandparents’ rights to see grandchildren, pet disputes, family disputes.

• Frequent broadcaster on national and International radio and television.

LLOYD PLATT & COMPANY SOLICITORS 020 8343 2998 www.divorcesolicitors.com lloydplatt@divorcesolicitors.com

ADAM SHELLEY

Qualifications:

Professional advice from our panel / Ask Our Experts

ACCOUNTANT

• FCCA chartered certified accountant.

• Accounting, taxation and business advisory services.

• Entrepreneurial business specialist including start-up businesses.

• Specialises in charities; Personal tax returns.

• Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation Volunteer of the Year JVN award.

SOBELL RHODES LLP 020 8429 8800 www.sobellrhodes.co.uk a.shelley@sobellrhodes.co.uk

IT SPECIALIST

LISA WIMBORNE

Qualifications:

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

Able to draw on the charity’s 50 years of experience in enabling people with physical disabilities or impaired vision to live independently, including:

• The provision of specialist accommodation with 24/7 on site support.

• Knowledge of the innovations that empower people and the benefits available.

• Understanding of the impact of a disability diagnosis.

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

IAN GREEN

Qualifications:

• Launched Man on a Bike IT consultancy 15 years ago to provide computer support for the home and small businesses.

• Clients range from legal firms in the City to families, small business owners and synagogues.

• More than 18 years’ experience.

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

INSURANCE CONSULTANCY

ASHLEY PRAGER

Qualifications:

• Professional insurance and reinsurance broker. Offering PI/D&O cover, marine and aviation, property owners, ATE insurance, home and contents, fine art, HNW.

• Specialist in insurance and reinsurance disputes, utilising Insurance backed products. (Including non insurance business disputes).

• Ensuring clients do not pay more than required.

RISK RESOLUTIONS 020 3411 4050 www.risk-resolutions.com ashley.prager@risk-resolutions.com

CAREER ADVISER

•

LESLEY TRENNER Qualifications: •

TELECOMS SPECIALIST

BENJAMIN ALBERT

Qualifications:

• Co-Founder and Technical Director of ADWConnect – a specialist in business telecommunications, serving customers worldwide.

• Independent consultant and supplier of Telephone & Internet services.

• Client satisfaction is at the heart of everything my team and I do, always striving to find the most cost-effective solutions.

ADWCONNECT 0208 089 1111 www.adwconnect.com hello@adwconnect.com

Email: sales@jewishnews.co.uk

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SUGURU

WESTLON HOUSING ASSOCIATION

FAUDA MAN PUTS IN A SHIFT FOR MDA

Fauda hard-man and Israel TV superstar Lior Raz joined Magen David Adom UK this week for a series of events in London.

Over 300 people joined the charity across a reception, dinner and then breakfast to hear about the adventures of Israel’s most famous army commander and to find if the real life of Lior Raz bears any resemblance to the onscreen persona.

The guests were not disappointed as Raz, together with journalist and series co-writer Avi Issacharoff spoke about their own experiences in comparison with that of their star character, Doron Kabilio.

Speaking at the event, Lior Raz said, “Every time

MAGEN DAVID ADOM TECH STEALS THE SHOW AT NEC

In September, in a first for Magen David Adom, the organisation exhibited at the Emergency Services Show at the NEC in Birmingham.

MDA’s paramedics presented the latest in life-saving technology from Israel to buyers and industry professionals from the UK and around the world. The software, named MDANET, was well received as MDA’s stall was inundated with interest and enquiries.

MDANET is an end-to-end software that tracks the full process from the bystander or witness contacting Magen David Adom to the patient transfer at the hospital. It was designed by first responders themselves through a user-focused process. The software takes on board the

bureaucracy and on-the-ground issues that act as a barrier to provide emergency care. From discussions at the show it was found that other companies struggle integrating this form of software, making MDANET a viable option for many service providers.

Where other companies provide a solution to each individual aspect in a time-consuming manner, MDA incorporates it all at once. Cutting time and saving more lives.

Daniel Burger said, “Lior Raz is one of the celebrity stars of Israel and to hear him support our medics, paramedics and volunteers - genuine stars of Israel - shows just how important they are to Israeli society. Everyone depends on them to save lives - even the stars of Fauda!.

Yoni Yagadovsky, Director of International Relations at MDA Israel, provided an update from Israel at the events before going on to speak to audiences in Sheffield and Maidenhead.

The events raised £350,000 with the funds raised by the 180 guests at the Impromptu Committee Breakfast going specifically towards a new Kia Picanto First Response Vehicle in memory of MDA UK committee member Denise Israel who sadly passed away in 2019.

PR agency Ready10 recently won the Not-For-Profit & Charity award at the PRCA UK Awards and the Issues and Reputation Management at the PR Week Awards for the work they did on ‘Project Light’, our rescue of 57 orphans from Ukraine.

you need someone, Magen David Adom is there for you and I think the spirit of the people who volunteer for Magen David Adom is very much the spirit of Israel.”

Magen David Adom UK Chief Executive

Guests Jennyfer Abergel and Eric Murciano with Lior Raz

Rahat Station supported by MDA UK Trekkers The Iriving Carter MDA Station in Tel Aviv

Andrew Waterman and family – Medicycle

ENTENTE CORDIALE RAISES £450K

In a fundraising first, Magen David Adom UK and Magen David Adom France co-hosted a gala dinner in November. The event was held at The Carlton Tower Jumeirah in Knightsbridge and saw over 250 members of London’s French-Jewish community in attendance.

The event was hosted by Eric Murciano and Jennyfer Abergel and sponsored by Goldman Sachs. Director General of Magen David Adom in Israel, Eli Bin addressed the audience before

musical entertainment from Enrico Macias & Amir and comedian Samuel Bambi. After an appeal by Ilan Klein, Director of the International Department at MDA Israel, in excess of £450,000 was donated to help save lives in Israel.

Speaking after the event, Victor Wintz, Director General of MDA France said, “It was incredible to collaborate with our British colleagues to reach a new audience and bring the lifesaving work of Magen David Adom to the French Jewish community in London. I am sure this entente cordiale

BLOOMBERG HOSTS MDA CELEBRATION

On Thursday 29th September Bloomberg hosted a celebration of the work of Magen David Adom at its European headquarters in London.

The event was the latest in the long-standing relationship and collaboration between the global media company and Israel’s only national medical emergency and blood service. Most prominently, the Bloomberg name can be seen on the exterior of the Jerusalem MDA station, named after Michael Bloomberg’s late father, William.

The reception also saw the launch of photographer Jonathan Straight’s latest work, ‘DOORPOSTS’. The book showcases the work of the Bezalel Art College students who were shortlisted to have their mezuzah displayed on the recently opened MDA Marcus National Blood Services Centre in Ramla, Israel.

The competition gave up-and-coming artists, from diverse backgrounds, a platform to showcase their

work and for 3 of them, their designs used as mezuzot on MDA’s landmark building.

One of the winning mezuzot was designed by an Israel-Arab, Muhammad Saadi, who was able to attend the launch and speak to those present about what it meant to him to have his work displayed.

Straight’s book, DOORPOSTS, shows photographs of the artists and their mezuzot as well as providing an insight into their personal backgrounds.

Speaking after the event, Magen David Adom UK Chief Executive Daniel Burger, said, “The connection between Bloomberg and MDA is so important to our organisation. When Michael Bloomberg opened the Jerusalem station in his father’s memory he praised MDA’s ‘spirit of volunteerism and its unwavering commitment to treat all people equally regardless of race or religion’ – now, a decade later, that is being evidenced through the work of Muhammad Saadi. MDA is an organisation run by all Israelis,

will result in many more partnerships in the future.”

Daniel Burger, Chief Executive of Magen David Adom UK said, “We were delighted to work with Jennyfer & Eric and thank MDA France for all their assistance. It was fantastic to reach a crowd of mainly new donors for Magen David Adom here in London. The response from the local French Jewish community has been outstanding and I hope we can repeat it again soon.”

TREKKING

Our trekkers returned to Israel for the first time since 2019 and it was great to be back. En route the group spent a few days in Jordan, walking through the picturesque terrain and seeing the sights. Whilst there they also took the opportunity to see the medicines donated to the Jordanian Red Crescent in continuation with our collaboration with IHP and Anera.

serving all Israelis and, most importantly, saving more lives.”

Photographer Jonathan Straight and award-winning artist Muhammad Saadi

by Osnat Reichman from Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design, Jerusalem

Marcus National

Centre in Ramla, Israel.