1315 - 18th May 2023

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Figuring out faith Love

Israel’s position on Ukraine war ‘shifts over Iran’

Kyiv’s Chief Rabbi reveals rethink after Tehran gives Putin drones

by Jotam Confino jotam@jewishnews.co.uk @mrconfino

Israel has altered its perception of the war in Ukraine following Iran’s decision to supply Russia with drones, the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine has told Jewish News in an exclusive interview.

Rabbi Moshe Azman revealed he met with Benjamin Netanyahu several times before he was re-elected as prime minister last year, urging him that Israel needed to do more.

Rabbi Azman also met o cials from the previous government led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, telling them he appreciated Israel was in “a special situation” when it comes to the war.

He said: “I told them we need more from Israel. I also met with Nir Barkat, who was in the opposition then, and he told me that Israel needs to stand with the West on Ukraine and as Jewish people they couldn’t do nothing when civilians are killed.”

Earlier this year, the US revealed images of drones used in Ukraine that were “indistinguishable” from Iran’s Shahed-131 and -136 attack drones and Mohajer 6 UAVs.

“It’s so simple. Look who Russia’s friends are. They partnered with Iran, which seeks to destroy Israel. Their other friends are Syria, Belarus and North Korea,” Rabbi Azman said.

He described Iran’s involvement as a gamechanger for Israel. “Ukraine’s foreign minister told me after he met with his Israeli counterpart that Israel has changed its view.”

Rabbi Azman is currently in London where he is meeting with Tory and Labour MPs, as well as former prime minister Boris Johnson. He said: “The UK is our best friend. I have come to thank the British people. That’s very important.

“The humanitarian and spiritual help and the weapons they supply is vital.” Last Friday, Rabbi

Continued on page 2

Phenomenal Noa lives up to her lyric!

STEM CELL DONOR FOUND FOR MURRAY

A potential life-saving donor has been found for a fatherof-two with blood cancer, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

Jewish News led an emergency appeal for 41-year-old Murray Foltyn, formerly of Hampstead, now living in Sydney, Australia, for an unrelated stem cell donor to help to save his life.

While the donor currently remains anonymous, Foltyn is expected to receive his stem cell transplant on a still-to-be-confirmed date in early June.

His wife Claudia Milunsky wrote on social media: “We are so relieved to be able to share that a match has been confirmed for Murray, and the process of getting the donor’s stem

cells to Australia is well under way. The long road ahead continues. But at least now, the key elements are all in place to be able to do a stem cell transplant for Murray.”

She added: “We couldn’t be more grateful for the entire worldwide community who helped us get to this point. Thank you!”

Milunsky said the match had been identified, additional testing was complete and the stem cells have been harvested.

In April, more than 2,000 people in Stamford Hill came forward to be swabbed, in an inspiring event described as the biggest UK Jewish stem cell donor recruitment in years.

 See sueharristrust.org

Murray, Claudia and their children

Israeli singer Noa Kirel claimed an impressive top three finish at the Eurovision Song Contest final in Liverpool on Saturday night. Her song Unicorn, featuring the catchy lyrics ‘It’s gonna be phenomen-phenomen-phenomenal’, ended the night behind second-place Finland and winner Sweden. See page 18

Rachel Riley on her Jewish identity

Netanyahu and Zelensky in Israel in 2020

Israel has ‘altered’ its position on Ukraine

Continued from page 1

Azman gave a speech in Hackney to 500 students at the Beis Yaakov Girls School, a Charedi Jewish primary school.

“The girls gave me a check for £700 to send to Ukraine. They made the money by selling ice-cream on the street. It made me cry,” Azman said.

Rabbi Azman is also meeting with UK Chief Rabbi Mirvis on Monday and has met with other Jewish community leaders during his stay in London.

“I’m trying to organise a tour to Kiev for both British politicians and religious leaders so they can see with their own eyes what happened,” he said.

Shattered communities

More than 15,000 Ukrainian Jews have immigrated to Israel since the beginning of the war. Rabbi Azman’s wife and small children are among those.

“When the missiles started hitting Kiev I didn’t want my small children and wife to be there so I sent them to Israel and I haven’t allowed them to come back since. My grown up children are still here with me,” he said.

All of Ukraine, he said, has been hit by the Russian army, shattering communities everywhere. “There are missiles all over Ukraine. But the south and west have been bit hardest, the areas near the frontline,” he said.

Rabbi Azman also explained why Putin’s “de-Nazification” campaign in Ukraine is “absurd”.

“In the beginning of the war they shot people in their cars without knowing

who was in them. A Nazi? A Russian? A Ukrainian? Putin has to de-Nazify his own country. I was born in Leningrad, where Putin was born. So I know the KGB mentality. I was invesitaged many times by the KGB,” he said.

The Chief Rabbi from Kiev has no doubt that Ukraine will win the war. And his message to the British people is clear: “When the war is over, we will met for a l’chaim toast.”

ICE-CREAM VAN AT AUSCHWITZ

An ice-cream van parked outside the entrance to Auschwitz has drawn harsh criticism from the Auschwitz Museum and the Holocaust Educational Trust.

The van, which had an ‘Ice Love’ logo on it, was parked just not far from the “Death Gate”, which served as the main entrance into the most notorious Nazi death camp during the Second World War.

“Auschwitz stands as a warning to us all of where antisemitism and hatred can lead. It is where 1.1 million men, women and children –mostly Jewish – were murdered. It is a place of remembrance, of learning, and of grief,” Karen Pollock CBE, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, told Jewish News.

“To have an ice-cream van in view of the ‘Death Gate’ is not just distasteful but inappropriate on the grandest of scales,” Pollock added.

Auschwitz Museum in charge of the site also reacted

with fury: “This is an example of not only aesthetic tastelessness, but also a lack of respect for a special historical place located nearby,” Daily Mirror quoted their spokesperson as saying.

“However, this trailer is located outside the protection zone of the Monument to the Holocaust, so unfortunately we have no influence on it. We trust that the competent local government authorities will solve this embarrassing problem,” the spokesperson added.

The site has previously been at the centre of controversies sparked by incidents considered insensitive or downright hateful.

Leo Dee meets Arab Israeli who received wife Lucy’s kidney

Rabbi Leo Dee, the husband of Lucy and father of Maia and Rina who were killed in a terror attack in the West Bank, met for the first time with an Arab Israeli man who received an organ transplant from Lucy that saved his life, writes Jotam Confino.

38-year-old Abu Radia from central Israel received a kidney from Lucy on April 7 after she was critically injured in a terror attack. Lucy died not long after, but the organs transplant saved Raida’s life. He had been given a month to live prior to the life-saving transplant.

Rabbi Dee met Radia on Wednesday, receiving a plaque from him which said: “If you save one life it’s as if you’ve saved the world.”

Rabbi Dee gave Raida a framed blessing for “good health and a good life” in Hebrew and Arabic, according to Daily Mirror which spoke to Raida.

“I’d have died without this kidney. I cannot thank Rabbi Dee enough. He’s saved my life,” Raida told Daily Mirror.

Rabbi Dee said: “This is what Lucy would have wanted. Her kidney is a sign of peace and reconciliation. The fact that you are alive is a miracle for us. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Part of my late wife is inside you and it gives our family great comfort to know she continues to do good.”

“And you being an Arab and a Muslim is especially wonderful, as she did so much for reconciliation. It’s a blessing to see you looking so well in your own house. I’ve sadly lost two daughters and my wife but the fact you’re alive because of them – you continuing to live – is a real miracle,” Rabbi Dee told Raida.

Rabbi Dee had also apparently been “warned” not to to come to see Abu Radia by some people. “They said it was impossible to visit him while there was fighting between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza. I was delighted and relieved that he invited me,” he said, referring to the recent five-day-long conflict between Israel and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

The Dees meet another donor recipient

Crowds at a pro-Ukraine demonstration In Tel Aviv

The van at the infamous site

Board holds ‘positive meeting’ with Guardian over antisemitic cartoon

The Board of Deputies had a “positive and constructive” meeting with the Guardian about the newspaper’s publication of antisemitic cartoons, writes Lee Harpin.

President Marie van der Zyl was among the communal representatives to meet with senior Guardian sta , including editor Katharine Viner, at which the recent Martin Rowson cartoon and earlier antisemitic drawings by Steve Bell in the newspaper were discussed.

Viner had issued an apology after a Rowson cartoon, which was drawn after the departure of BBC chair Richard Sharp and contained classic antisemitic tropes, provoked widespread fury in the community.

Confirming Monday’s meeting, the Board said: “Following their apology for the Martin Rowson cartoon, we had a positive and constructive meeting with the Guardian where they reiterated the apology. We will be meeting them again in a month for a follow-up on yesterday’s discussion.”

This month the Board said it had written to the Guardian requesting an

Guardian cartoonist Martin Rowson. Inset: his cartoon, published on 29 April, that sparked outrage

News / UN attack / Councillor suspended / Brexit blamed

Top UN official in ‘colonisation’ row Tories suspend new Stockton councillor

A United Nations human rights official has accused Israel of treating the Palestinian territories as “colonies”, writes Lee

Harpin.

Special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied territories

Francesca Albanese also claimed Israel is “maintaining the occupation in order to get as much land as possible for Jewish-only people”.

In London for the first time since she landed the post, Albanese also spoke of the Holocaust and the Nabka as “two tragedies” but denied comparing one with the other.

The Italian lawyer has faced strong criticism from Israel and proZionist groups across the globe for her strong opinions.

Israeli government minister Amichai Chikli said she was “spewing hatred and antisemitism”. But in comments reported by The Guardian, Albanese refused to tone down her rhetoric.

She said: “For me, apartheid is a symptom and a consequence of the territorial ambitions Israel has for the land of what remains of an encir-

cled Palestine… The cause is the colonies. Israel is a colonial power maintaining the occupation in order to get as much land as possible for Jewish-only people. And this is what leads to the numerous violations of international law.”

Of criticism that she has equated the Palestinian Nakba with the Holocaust, she said: “In as much as the Holocaust has been a defining moment in the collective life of the Jewish people, so is the Nakba, for the Palestinian people. So I’ve not

said that they are the same, simply because they are not. Why would we compare two tragedies?”

Albanese has accepted Israel’s right to “defend itself, its citizens, territory, no matter the fact that it has not defined its borders”, but added: “It cannot justify the occupation in the name of self-defence.”

Meanwhile, the UK minister for the Middle East defended Israel’s “legitimate right to self-defence” in responding to questions in the House of Lords amid the escalating conflict with Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

Lord (Tariq) Ahmad said he welcomed signals Hamas did not appear “involved in this current conflict” and pledged to use the UK government’s “usual channels to ensure the current conflict is not escalated”.

Conservative peer Lord Leigh noted 100 rockets had been fired toward Israel from Gaza before Israel launched its “assassination” of the three Islamic Jihad commanders, with one of those killed helping to build a rocket-launching facility in Jenin.

A newly-elected councillor has been suspended by the Conservatives pending a probe into antise mitic social media posts, writes Lee Harpin.

Shakeel Hussain won a seat on Stocktonon-Tees Borough Council but has had the Tory whip removed while an internal party inquiry examines old Facebook posts referring to Israel and “Zionist murderers”.

Jewish News previously revealed Hussain had been blocked from standing as a Labour candidate in last week’s local elections but was approved by the Tories.

After Hussain was elected, Stockton Conservative leader Tony Riordan appeared to welcome him as a councillor.

Stockton North Labour MP Alex Cunningham said in the House of Commons: “On Friday morning, Stockton Conservatives celebrated the election of Shakeel Hussain, despite his published statement that Israelis were ‘Zionist murderers’.” Cunningham said Hussain was rejected by Labour for his antisemitic views but “appears to have conned” the Tories.

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt said it was a matter for the Conservative party chairman. “We have a proper process to look at these matters,” she added.

Before the local elections, a Conservative spokesperson said: “We do not support the views shared in these social media posts. It was too late to remove the candidate from the ballot paper under electoral law, he went on, but Hussain would not be allowed to join the Conservative group on the council, if elected, until any investigations had been completed.

Hussain told the BBC he would offer his full assistance to the inquiry.

“Once the investigation is complete I will then consider making a public statement,” he added.

BLAME BREXIT: RABBI GROUP QUITS BRITAIN

One of Europe’s main associations of Orthodox rabbis is moving its headquarters from London to Munich in a ripple effect from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

“Germany is one of the only countries in Europe where the Jewish community is growing and the political climate is conducive to build Jewish life there,” Conference of European Rabbis president Pinchas Goldschmidt said, confirming Brexit was a key factor in the move.

The rabbinical group had been based in London since it was founded in 1956 and has around 1,000 member rabbis from across Europe, from Dublin to Vladivostok.

The announcement came as the CER presented its Lord Jakobovits Prize to Bavaria’s prime minister Markus Söder for his “outstanding commitment to the protection and promotion of Jewish life in Europe.” The ceremony took place in Munich’s Ohel-Jakob synagogue, completed in 2006 in the city centre.

The synagogue and its community centre will also be home to the CER’s planned

Centre for Jewish Life, which will offer educational opportunities for traditional rabbis and their spouses. In addition, the CER plans to host international conferences in the city.

The centre is to be financed mainly by the Bavarian state government, with additional funds coming from private donors, Goldschmidt told JTA.

At last week’s award ceremony, Söder reiterated his commitment to fighting antisemitism. He emphasised the new centre was about cel-

ebrating Jewish life, which “should be able to develop free and safe in Bavaria.”

The move has been a few years in the making but after Brexit the CER leadership “felt that the headquarters should be in the centre of Europe,” Goldschmidt said.

The Bavarian government invited the CER to hold its 32nd congress in Munich, and Söder and Munich Jewish community president Charlotte Knobloch invited the group to move in.

Shakeel Hussain, right, with another candidate at the election count in Stockton-on-Tees

Bavaria’s minister-president Markus Söder receives an award from the Conference of European Rabbis

Francesca Albanese

Lawyers lobby EU over funds for antisemitic PA textbooks Abbas: Israel like Goebbels

The International Legal Forum (ILF), a proIsrael NGO, has urged the EU to “unequivocally demand” that the Palestinian Authority removes all antisemitic material from its textbooks, writes Jotam Confino.

ILF, the Israel-based group dedicated to standing up for the country and combating terrorim, BDS and antisemitism in the international legal arena, sent a letter to Joseph Borrell after he refused to block EU aid to the PA despite its textbooks containing antisemitic material.

“The Palestinian Authority is in a difficult situation and it risks bankruptcy if financing from the EU is blocked. As high representative, I will not allow it,” Borrell told AFP.

“This matter has already been dealt with by the European External Action Service with the Palestinian Authority. We don’t need a new study, or anything that would delay the pay-

ment of the financial aid that the Palestinian Authority needs. The payment of European aid faced delays two years ago, and it meant that people missed out on necessary help,” he added.

ILF expressed its “utter disappointment and dismay” at Borrell’s comments, saying: “This is not about ‘looking for excuses’ but rather ensuring accountability and that EU aid money goes towards projects that promote peace, tolerance and EU values, not fan the flames of hatred.

“We know you seek to make a positive contribution to peace in the region, and therefore call on you to unequivocally demand that the Palestinian Authority remove all antisemitic material from their textbooks and undertake not to use EU funds for ‘Pay to Slay’ salaries, as a precondition to further EU aid,” ILF added.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of “lying like Goebbels” in a speech at the United Nations.

“The Israelis and Zionists continue their false claims that Israel made the desert bloom. Palestine was a desert, and they made it blossom, a paradise... They lie and lie just like [Nazi chief propagandist] Goebbels. They lie, lie and lie until people believe,” he said.

Abbas was speaking at a UN committee marking the 75th anniversary of the ‘Nakba’ (catastrophe), a term used by the Palestinians to refer the establishment of the State of Israel and displacement of 700,000 Palestinians.

“But the biggest lie is the claim that Israel is the only democratic state in the Middle East… How can you have an occupation and still call yourself a democracy. It’s an oxymoron,” Abbas said.

ANGER OVER ‘GERMANY MUCKED UP’ SPEECH

A UK conference for right-wing conservatives is at the centre of controversy after political commentator Douglas Murray suggested nationalists should not be ashamed to hold patriotic views “because the Germans mucked up twice in a century”.

In a speech at a National Conservatism conference dinner in

London, the author defended the rise of nationalism in countries such as Israel and the UK, adding: “I see no reason why every other country in the world should be prevented from feeling pride in itself because the German’s mucked up twice in a century.”

A version of the speech was tweeted by the NatCon conference,

a three-day event featuring speeches by home secretary Suella Braverman and others and organised by US think tank the Edmund Burke Foundation. Monday’s tweet suggested Murray had told the audience there was “nothing wrong with nationalism in Britain” but “there was something wrong with nationalism in Germany”.

Jewish Labour councillor Rebecca Filer reacted to the tweet, saying: “Germany mucked up?’ – Holocaust minimisation from Douglas Murray.”

Jewish Labour Movement’s parliamentary chair Dame Margaret Hodge tweeted: “Diminishing the Holocaust is completely unacceptable. Murray’s comments must be withdrawn.”

Jewish News has contacted Murray for further comment.

A schoolbook’s conspiracy theory cartoon

Douglas Murray at the conference

IF IT WAS ALL ABOUT CHEESECAKE WE’D HOLD IT AT A PATISSERIE

News / Indoor bonfire / School demo

Shock as rabbis light bonfire in shul

This was the shocking scene last week at a Charedi synagogue on Golders Green Road as a Lag B’Omer bonfire celebration was held indoors because of rain, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

Powerful flames can be seen soaring towards the ceiling at Beis Medrash Beis Shmuel as dozen of children gather around the fire singing. Eyewitnesses have told Jewish News that Rabbi Halpern lit the indoor fire at the event on Monday or Tuesday last week.

A source said: “The organisers decided to have a bonfire indoors

as it had begun to rain. Rabbi Dovid Halpern lit the fire. So many children crowded around the flames.

“I cannot believe how dangerous this was. It doesn’t bear thinking about what might have happened if the building had caught fire.”

Lighting a fire is a well-known custom to mark the festival of Lag B’Omer.

The London Fire Brigade told Jewish News: “People should not light indoor fires. They are dangerous.”

• See the video at jewishnews.co.uk

PROTEST AT PLAN TO TRACK PUPIL TRUANCY

A group of strictly-Orthodox males staged a protest outside the Department of Education on Tuesday as a Tory MP led renewed calls for data to be compiled of children not registered on school rolls, writes Lee Harpin.

Flick Drummond, a Conservative, told the Commons that because of a lack of data “many” children who were not registered had “disappeared from the school roll” either “altogether” or “under the guise of home education.”

Presenting a 10-minute rule bill, Drummond said she believed in parental choice as to the education their children received but many were being given “home education not up to standard, and in some cases one which is non-existent”.

But as she spoke, Rabbi Asher Gratt led the protest. Leaflets given to passers-by said it was staged by “parents and leaders of the strictly orthodox Jewish community” to object to the MP’s move, which they claimed would “lead

to blanket surveillance of responsible parents with the government watching all the time, taking away their freedom to choose how their children get educated”. Placards said the bill was “antisemitic” and was “attacking Torah education”.

It was claimed Drummond’s bill was an attempt to replace parts of the abandoned Schools Bill.

Quoting Rabbi Gratt, the leaflet added: “We are standing up for parents and their children who don’t want an education

system that is forced upon them or changes with every new trend. We are determined to protect religious freedom. With our history of enduring persecutions we possess a heightened awareness of where this register will lead.”

Drummond said her bill would introduce a Children Not In School register and allow “local authorities to find and support children left on the fringes”. It received cross-party support and will have its second reading on 24 November.

Rabbi Dovid Halpern lights the bonfire last week

Flames reach 3ft at the Golders Green shul

Protesters this week.

Photo: Ian Vogler

Sculpture of beloved survivor Lily unveiled

A bronze bust of iconic 99-yearold Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert has been unveiled at the home of its creator, world-renowned sculptor Frances Segelman. Most famous for her sculptures of royalty, including the late Queen Elizabeth II, Segelman has sculpted personalities from the world of entertainment, politics and more recently – in partnership with Yad Vashem UK Foundation – Shoah survivors including Manfred Goldberg, Zigi Shipper,

Marianne Philipps, Sir Ben Helfgott and Mala Tribich.

Lily said: “It was so special to be present at the unveiling of my sculpture, with Yad Vashem UK this week. I am proud for my work in Holocaust education to have been recognised in this way and cannot thank Frances enough for her fine sculpting and for including my precious pendant. I never thought I would survive Auschwitz, let alone be able to share my story with the world and now I have a sculpture that will

remain long after I am no longer able to share my testimony”.

Segalman said: “It has been such an honour to sculpt the amazing Lily Ebert – a truly inspirational person.”

Chairman of Yad Vashem UK Foundation, Simon Bentley said: “We are proud to be working with Frances. It has been such an honour to spend time with Lily, and hear her clear message in educating a whole new generation about the horrors of the Holocaust.”

JLC vice-president enters mayoral race

Daniel Korski, a vice-president of the Jewish Leadership Council, has confirmed he has entered the race to become the Tory London mayoral candidate, writes Lee Harpin.

Korski, a tech entrepreneur who worked as David Cameron’s deputy head of policy, released a video to promote his campaign on social media saying he wanted to be given the chance to take on current mayor Sadiq Khan with a manifesto that “goes beyond political divides” and “brings communities together” to allow “every Londoner to live the dream.”

The son of Polish Jewish refugees, who were expelled from the east European country in the

late 1960s, Korski told Jewish News: “London

Dream. To get a house, a job and to build success in our community.

“But that’s not possible for increasing numbers of people. Housing is a challenge, roads clogged and crime is up. The Jewish community knows better than many others that too often our own streets can be unsafe to just walk on and be who you are.

“I want to fix that. I want to bring my entrepreneurial experience and community ethic to City Hall. I am proud of our community and have worked through the JLC and Jewish Museum to strengthen it. Now I want to support all Londoners.”

Eighty female Norwood supporters attended the charity’s inaugural Women in Philanthropy reception at the Alon Zakaim Fine Art Gallery. The evening featured a panel of female philanthropists made up of Dame Gail Ronson, Nicole Ronson Allalouf, leading fundraising consultant Nicky Jones and moderated by journalist Suzanne Baum.

Norwood’s honorary life president Carol Sopher said it was “truly encouraging” to hold “such a timely event in the development of the female-led philanthropic movement”.

Dame Gail Ronson, who started her volunteering work with Norwood, spoke of her philanthropic work over the past 40 years, culminating in current roles that include trustee and ambassador of the Royal Opera House. She also talked about The Gerald and Gail Ronson Family Foundation, which has contributed donations of more than £25m to good causes.

Frances Segelman’s bronze bust

Daniel Korski launching mayoral bid

(L-R) Norwood chief executive Naomi Dickson, journalist Suzanne Baum, Dame Gail Ronson, Nicole Ronson Allalouf, consultant Nicky Jones and Norwood honorary life president Carol Sopher

Special Report / Up-and-coming DJs

Meet the new Mark and Bert of the Jewish party scene

by Michelle Rosenberg michelle@jewishnews.co.uk

Those of a certain age will remember, perhaps rather fuzzily, parties run by Mark and Bert, the OGs (originals) of the music and clubbing scene. (Ask our editor. He assures readers he was there).

Fast forward 30 or so years and a new trio of event promoters is catering to the under-18s.

Jake Woolf, 17, Jake Rock, 16, and Sammi Harris, 17 are the brains behind Illuminateeventz, a party promotion brand.

Their first party was held at Pryzm, in Watford, last June and attracted 350 guests. Fast forward to Valentine’s Day 2023 and that number soared to 800 teens from schools, both Jewish and non-Jewish, across London, Leeds, Manchester and Glasgow.

Rock and Harris are both studying for a BTEC in business at Yavneh College in Hertfordshire. Woolf decided to leave school to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions and hasn’t looked back. His business relationship with the Pryzm group proved to be the catalyst the trio needed to get the ball rolling.

The ‘two Jakes’ are the DJs of the group. Before Yavneh, Harris was studying digital

marketing and media at Wentworth College.

He’s also secured a part-time job at the Apple Store in Watford, as well as heading up the group’s social media and marketing e orts.

Campaigns and Digital Manager

Rock, appropriately named, comes from music legend. His late grandfather, Monty Babson, was a wellknown music producer and entrepreneur. The genes clearly run strong in the family, as Rock was playing piano from the age of four, and has since added drums and trumpet to his repertoire.

In contrast, Woolf can’t play an instrument “to save my life” and says best friend Rock taught him to DJ. “Jake brought me with him during lockdown to places I could practice. If it wasn’t for me watching him, I wouldn’t have the interest. We really work well together.”

Illuminateeventz was set up in response to the Covid lockdowns that limited their outlets for socialising, a ecting their mental health.

“It was the first lockdown. Covid was a dark time for everyone our age. A lot of our group was a ected badly,” Woolf tells Jewish News. “Staying indoors, not being able to get

out. Really struggling.” When they eventually came out of lockdown, they weren’t old enough to venture out to clubs.

“After the dark times, we chose ‘Illuminate’ as our name to bring light and fun stu to do for our age as a group,” Woolf says.

Harris takes up the story: “Our biggest challenge was finding the people. We didn’t know how many would turn up. To our surprise, we had about 400 people at our first event at Pryzm’s small vinyl room on 27 June.”

The word spreads fast with this generation’s mastery of social media; their first TikTok video had more than 20,000 views. Business savvy, they don’t want to talk finances. “It’s not really about the money for us,” says Rock. “We just want to throw great parties.”

Wanting parents to “feel comfortable” with their kids at a nightclub, they take security extremely seriously. “Remember, we are 16 and 17 years old ourselves. It’s our number one priority,” says Woolf. They’ve recently hired more door sta and set up ID security systems to ensure that those with tickets get in, and those without don’t. And there’s no alcohol sold on the night. “We don’t want people coming in drunk,” Woolf says. “That’s not the impression we want to give o at all. Anyone who is too drunk to come in isn’t allowed. We want them to enjoy the atmosphere and the music we play.”

With ambitions to expand “across the country”, their next event features Love Island TV alumnus and influencer Wes Nelson. It will, Jewish News is assured, be “epic”. As the news team’s own teenagers have banned their parents from stepping within a five-mile radius of the party venue (unless it’s to chau eur them to it), we are happy to take their word for it.

Job Title: Campaigns and Digital Manager at Labour Friends of Israel London Salary: £28,000-33,000

Full-time 12 month, fixed-term contract.

Candidates should have experience of running campaigns, digital communications, an interest in Israel and the Middle East, and a good knowledge of UK politics and the Labour party. They should also possess excellent written and oral communication skills, have excellent IT skills (including Excel, Word and Office) and the ability to multitask as part of a team. The successful candidates will also be comfortable dealing with both parliamentarians and members of the public.

The post is initially for one year with the possibility of renewal, we will consider suitable candidates who wish to work part-time and are happy to discuss flexible working arrangements at interview.

Closing date: Monday 12th June Interview s: w/c Monday 19th June To apply, please send a CV and covering letter outlining your suitability for this post, showing how you meet the criteria outlined above, to mail@lfi.org.uk

The first event, in Watford, last year and (inset) the two Jakes

Flyers for the second and third parties run by Illuminateeventz, created during lockdown

Farvos bistu Romeo?*

by Michelle Rosenberg michelle@jewishnews.co.uk

While parting with it will indeed be sweet sorrow for the seller, a first edition copy of the first translation of Romeo and Juliet into Yiddish is available for £2,250 at Firsts, London’s Rare Book Fair.

The book, published in Ukraine in 1935 as Romeo un Zshulyete: tragedya in finf aktn, will be brought to the London event, themed ‘Shakespeare: 400 Years of Influence’, by exhibitor PY Rare Books.

It is inscribed by its translator, the Russian Jewish folklorist Y Goldberg, to the important Yiddish author

Aron Gurshteyn. Goldberg’s work has been studied for the interesting perspective it provides on the Jewish relationship with Shakespeare.

Playing host to more than 100 international antiquarian dealers at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, the Book Fair celebrates four centuries since the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio, and its impact on subsequent literary greats.

Highlights on display, ranging in price from £190 to £75,000, include a copy of the First Folio, an original maquette for the BAFTA trophy and a page from a handwritten Dickens manuscript.

* Wherefore art thou Romeo?

One of the leading Jewish educational charities in the UK has raised an incredible £2.5m from more than 5,000 donations in a 36-hour fundraising campaign.

Aish UK has been providing Jewish connection to thousands of young Jews every year for the last 30

years. With a presence in 15 schools, 20 university campuses and 25 communities throughout the UK, the organisation o ers impactful educational programmes, events and trips.

Its team of 35 dedicated educators has seen the number of trip attendees double over the past year,

and a rise of 75 percent in participation for events, demonstrating the growing demand for meaningful Jewish experiences.

Rabbi Naftali Schi , CEO at Aish UK and Jewish Futures, said: “We are immensely grateful for the support we have received.”

Six Holocaust survivors — the eldest 98, the youngest 80 — surrounded by children and grandchildren — made a poignant start to this year’s reunion of the 45 Aid Society, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

Zdenka Husserl, Rachel Levy, Jackie Young, Victor Greenberg, Mala Tribich and Harry Olmer each lit one of six memorial candles, in tribute to the six million who died and passing a metaphorical, and literal, light on to the second and third generation.

Angela Cohen, 45 Aid chairman, said the theme of this year’s event was families, and it remained as true this year as ever that ‘The Boys’ — the young boys and girls who had arrived in Britain after the war – had made each other their family.

Michelle Richman, one of the late Zigi Shipper’s daughters, recalled her father with a ection, saying the friendships he had made at the Primrose Club in Belsize Park “had filled the gap for him” of all the family he had lost in the Holocaust. Zigi Shipper died in January, on his 93rd birthday.

This year’s event received new support from TRIC, the Television and Radio Industries Club, because its president is now Rob Rinder, the barrister and broadcaster known for his Judge Rinder court whow. He has chosen the 45 Aid Society as one of his main charities during his presidency.

SURVIVORS GROUP HOLDS ITS 78TH REUNION DINNER Aish UK raises £2.5m to mark 30th

The keynote event was a turning of the tables in which a politician interviewed a journalist — Lord Pickles talking to the Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland about his book, The Escape Artist, the story of the escape from Auschwitz of the teenage Rudolf Vrba. Short biographical films made by the grandchildren of ‘The Boys’ interspersed the often raucous reunion, during which whole “clans” took to the dance floor with vigour.

Jackie Young, Zdenka Husserl, Rachel Levy, Victor Greenberg, Mala Tribich and Harry Olmer

Cartoonist Paul Solomons’ take on the sale

Djerba pilgrimage an annual test for Tunisia’s authorities

Jewish News correspondent Beatrice Sayers, who visited Ghriba synagogue the day before last week’s shooting, says the country is still safe for tourists

In the centre of Tunisia’s capital stands an impressive 1930s building whose name, the Grand Synagogue, is wholly appropriate. But it a tiny house of prayer 300 miles away on Djerba, the island off Tunisia’s south-eastern coast, that attracts Jews from around the world to its annual pilgrimage festival. I visited the synagogue, known as La Ghriba, last week and took part in the celebrations. The story goes that the Ghriba was founded with a stone brought from the First Temple in Jerusalem. During the five-day festival at Lag B’Omer, a door is opened on to the area below floor level where the stone can be seen. Along with the other pilgrims I placed an egg inscribed with my hopes and wishes next to it; a bit like placing a prayer in the Kotel in Jerusalem.

What happened the following day was a shock, not least for Tunisia’s 1,300 or so Jews, most of whom live on Djerba, and the 5,000 visitors to La Ghriba. What all are grateful for is

that last week’s shooting claimed far fewer lives that the attack in 2002, which also took place during the pilgrimage.

The hundreds of people in the synagogue on the afternoon of 9 May were put into lockdown.

“We were there for three hours during the shooting. It was very trying,” one of them, Sonia, told Jewish News. “We prayed and it helped… but it was traumatising all the same. I tell myself it was a miracle there was no carnage.”

Sonia was visiting with her mother, Lydie, and daughter, Tania. Every year Lydie and her husband, who was born on Djerba, would make the pilgrimage together from Paris, where they lived. Having been recently widowed, this year Lydie was bringing her female relatives. Praising the Tunisian authorities, Sonia says they have “perfectly mastered the situation to defend the pilgrims who were their target”.

When I met the three Frenchwomen at the synagogue the previous day, I could see from the extremely tight security how the pilgrimage

has become an annual test for the authorities, mindful of two incidents in the past, particularly the one in 2002, when an al-Qaeda suicide bomber killed 19 people. Reports from last week say the gunman, a naval guard in the eastern port town of Aghir, 12 miles away, killed a colleague before making his way to the synagogue, where he shot dead two visitors and three more guards before being killed. The civilian victims were cousins: Aviel Haddad, 30, who held dual Tunisian and Israeli citizenship, and Benjamin Haddad, 42, who was French.

“These attacks are particularly tragic,” Oscar Scafidi, who lived in Tunisia for three years while writing a travel guide to the country, tells Jewish News. “Djerba hosts one of the most tolerant, multicultural societies in Tunisia, where Jewish Tunisians have lived alongside their Muslim and Christian compatriots for thousands of years.”

Scafidi, who takes a keen interest in Tunisia’s Jewish heritage, still sees the country as safe for tourists. The vast majority of terrorist incidents target the security forces and occur in areas well off the tourist track, he says. However, he also points out that the Republic of Tunisia is “strongly anti-Israeli,” and that there are no official diplomatic relations between the states, adding: “A small minority of Tunisians conflate this anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist position with a broader anti-Jewish sentiment.”

Despite the shooting, it is likely to be business as usual for Jews on Djerba. Jewish shops

in the island’s main town, Houmt Souk, had posted signs with the Hebrew welcome bruchim haba’im, aware that Jewish visitors were coming to the island – accessible via a causeway – not only from north Africa but from Europe, Israel and north America. The signs stayed in place following the attack, says Avishai, who works at one of the Jewish jewellers at Houmt Souk and can trace his family back seven generations from the records of his synagogue. “We Jews have more care and love between each other than any other people,” he adds.

Jerusalem Post recently reported an Israeli government official as saying Israel was trying “to bring these Jews [from Djerba]” following threats. The major migrations of Djerbian Jews took place in the 1950s and in 1967, to France and to Israel, following Israeli independence and the Six Day War. In 2011, there

Benjamin and Aviel Haddad were killed

The sanctuary of La Ghriba the day before the attack and (top) the Grand Synagogue in Tunis

was also pressure from Israel on them to emigrate when the long-standing dictator Ben Ali was ousted as part of the Arab Spring but it is not clear that many left.

While the Jewish community of Tunisia has dwindled in the past 70 years – from an estimated 105,000 in 1948 – for now it is here to stay and the government is doing all it can to protect it. “I love this country,” Sonia says. “It has many positive points such as the climate and the kindness of the people.”

Smiles and welcomes were what I found everywhere in Tunisia on my visit and, like the pilgrims who come every year, I certainly intend to return.

 Tunisia by Oscar Scafidi is published by Bradt Guides on 12 June, RRP £18.99

YOUR LEGACY

Protecting and securing the Jewish community in the UK against antisemitism is what we do. From the streets of London in the 1950s through to the hate-filled internet chatrooms of today, CST will leave no stone unturned in the fight against those who wish to do us harm. This is not something that we can do without your ongoing and long-term support.

A legacy to CST will ensure that our community is not only protected against the continuous threat of antisemitism but is also given the security necessary to flourish in the future. Contact us on 020 8457 3700 or email legacy@cst.org.uk.

Clockwise from above: festivities the day before the attack, a restaurant in Djerbahood, our reporter, and lighting candles at La Ghriba

Photos by Beatrice

Sayers

Ryan has driving ambition to be next Lewis Hamilton

by Alex Galbinski @AlexG_journo

The next Lewis Hamilton might just be a nice Jewish boy from Whetstone but to turn his dream into reality he needs turbocharged support.

At age 12, Ryan Margolis was a regular boy. He played drums, made Airfix models and watched QPR. And he loved cars, something his parents, Shweta and Alan, didn’t really understand or indulge.

However, one summer in Javea, Spain, Ryan begged them to let him go karting. To everyone’s surprise, he broke the junior kart track record. “Looking back, it must just have come naturally as I had so little experience of any karting,” Ryan says.

A few months later, Shweta and Alan took the former JCoSS student, now 19, to Lakeside Karting and his result slip showed him ranked at an incredible 98 percent +.

His new hobby of corporate race karting was born, something the family knew nothing about. “I was not a petrolhead – all I knew about racing

I could fit on a postage stamp,” laughs Alan, whose family are members of Finchley Reform Synagogue.

He was soon introduced to more serious private racing karts. “We were told these were like forbidden fruit – once you tasted their speed, you wouldn’t want to go back,” he says.

However, the motorsport world is expensive, and the family gulped at the £130,000 or so per year it generally costs to do race karting properly.

Ryan by now had been accepted on to Motorsport UK’s elite driver course at Loughborough College and in August 2020, at PalmerSport, he was introduced to Formula 1 coach Rob Wilson. Ryan had never driven a manual car but with Wilson drove a Vauxhall Astra at 100 mph.

The coach told Ryan he should move up to Formula 4, the first junior level of single-seat racing. “I can see the ultimate speed Ryan possesses,” Wilson says. “His willingness to listen and learn is a positive trait and his engaging personality will encourage race team members to be onside.”

On Wilson’s recommendation,

they contacted an F4 team and tested at Pembrey Circuit in Wales. Ryan was immediately o ered a seat for the next season. Team owner Richard Dutton told Ryan he could make him a professional racing driver and that Ryan could make a living out of motorsport – which is not common.

Ryan then tested with Red Bull F1 feeder team Arden Motorsport at the famous Anglesey track and was told

by director Jamie Horner his was one of the best rookie sessions ever. The snag? The £250,000 per year that is required to race a season in F4.

“By this point, we were talking to people involved in Formula 1 –including Steve Hutchinson, an F1 simulator coach – and we’re a couple of joes from north London who have fallen into motorsport,” says proud father Alan. “But Steve said Ryan should start racing for British Formula 3, the highest form of single-seat racing in the country.”

Last August, Ryan – who is mentored by Alyth Belsize Jewish foot-

ball team coach Ivan Colomer-Martinez – tested a British F3 car at an eye-watering cost of £6,000 and was almost as fast as much more experienced drivers.

Now, to continue in the world of motorsport, Ryan is looking for a corporate sponsor. Says Alan: “He comes from a di erent background from the usual racing drivers and we need a genuine partnership,

“In return, Ryan can o er businesses a unique model sportsman brand ambassador alongside a lot of exciting corporate hospitality and brand promotion.”

Ryan with his driving licence

Ryan testing a GB3 F3 car belonging to Arden Motorsport

History in focus at Bevis Marks event

The sense of history was palpable as the community held a special service at Bevis Marks Synagogue last week to mark the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

In a service co-sponsored by the Spanish and Portuguese Community, the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council, the full glory of Britain’s oldest synagogue was enjoyed by a crowded congregation, including representatives of community charities and the minister of the nearby church, St Botolph without Aldgate, the Laura Jørgensen.

As the S&P senior rabbi, Joseph Dweck, reminded participants “for 367 years we have watched 16 kings and queens crowned”.

But the new king, Rabbi Dweck declared, did not have the same “mystique” as some of his forebears. Charles, he said, “is a humble king… we know this man... his trials, his triumphs. We know that in so many ways, he is like us”.

Rabbi Dweck, who was present in Westminster Abbey for the coronation with Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, praised the king for his unending commitment to get to know his future subjects: “He not only held deep concern for all the peoples of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, but also visited them, sat with them, danced with them, studied with them, learned from them — and perhaps most important of all, listened to them.”

The new king reigned over a kingdom more diverse than any of his predecessors and sought to mirror that diversity in some of the rituals of the coronation, bringing in peers of di erent faiths including the Jewish community’s Baroness Merron to take part in some of the centuries-old rites.

The S&P Community and its choir provided the backbone of the Bevis Marks service, with its top-hatted rabbis Shalom Morris from Bevis Marks itself, Je Berger from Wembley Sephardi synagogue, Dayan Daniel Kada from Lauderdale Road synagogue and his emeritus predecessor Israel Elia leading the liturgy.

S&P parnas presidente Daniel Sacerdoti and two community members, Caroline Jackson Levy and Sian Levy, a member of the S&P Board of Elders, also took part in the service with participation from Sir Ephraim and Orky Goldschmidt on behalf of the Israeli embassy.

The event was topped and tailed by Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl and JLC chair, Keith Black, each speaking of their immense pride in the connections between the king and the Jewish community.

Black recalled his excitement as a child witnessing the investiture of the then-Prince of Wales in 1969. “I remember the tremendous sense of pride, which this weekend I felt again — and this time my pride was magnified by seeing so clearly how this country has evolved.”

MITZVAH DAY SPECIAL TEA

More than 150 people gathered at Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Church, north London, for a Mitzvah Day Coronation tea in support of The Big Help Out.

The party and food collection also heard from Barnet SACRE Interfaith Choir, whose theme song We Can All Get Along summed up the ethos of the day.

Camden mayor Nasim Ali and Board of Deputies vicepresident Amanda Bowman were among those present to learn about volunteer opportunities in Camden and sign pledges of commitment.

Participants also brought

food for the Queen’s Crescent Community Association (QCCA), serving Camden’s most deprived area.

Mitzvah Day CEO Stuart Diamond praised the gathering as “a special day for people to help out”.

‘A special day’ – guests at the Mitzvah Day gathering

Photos by Blake Ezra

News / Homeshare partners / Presenter criticised / Jewish Gooners

Homesharing scheme partners with Age UK

A social care initiative co-founded by Jewish social worker Natasha Langleben has been chosen as a partner for Age UK in providing homeshare services in three north London boroughs — Hillingdon, Harrow, and Brent, writes Jenni Frazer.

Age UK’s homeshare project was launched in 2019. Now it’s working with Two Generations, which, in the past five years has helped bring old and young people together to combat loneliness.

Langleben said: “We’re really excited to be delivering homeshares for Age UK. Our mission is to tackle loneliness for as many people as possible across the country.

“Age UK are the perfect partners to help us reach a large number of older people, early on, so that we can support them to remain independent in their own home. Our homeshares often last many years, creating lasting intergenerational friendships.”

Two Generations was inspired by co-founder Sam Brandman’s late grandmother, “an amazing woman”, says Langleben, “who was playing in table tennis championships into her 90s. [After her death] he had the idea that she could have really benefited from

sharing her experience with someone living with her. He contacted me as a social worker with experience in safeguarding, and because I had run social enterprises in the past.”

The initiative’s first homeshare was with Norman, in his 90s, and George, a Syrian refugee — which lasted three years, until Norman’s death. “It was a really successful share,” says Langleben.

During Covid, Two Generations took its work remotely, pairing up individuals through its matching service. “The pandemic showed that loneliness was a big issue,” Langleben said. “It obviously wasn’t new, but people talked about it more. We’ve now grown the team to a mixture of 15 volunteers and part-time workers — and we are working with councils and also, in the wake of the Homes for Ukraine programme, with World Jewish Relief.” Two Generations has now enabled almost 70 sharing placements and hopes to expand in partnership with Age UK.

Langleben herself is on maternity leave after the birth of her second child, but says homesharing is “a passion project” for her.

Rick and Gretta are a fantastic example of how homeshare

can transform lives. Gretta is 93, a very independent person who recently had a fall, and knew she needed some overnight companionship if she wanted to remain at home. Two Generations placed Rick, 68, with her, 18 months ago and the pair now spend time together playing cards and gardening. Gretta said: “Rick is incredibly generous with his time, we are now dear friends, I can highly recommend Two Generations”.

Calls to sack presenter over Gates Nazi social media post Jewish Gooners kick off at Emirates Stadium

GB News presenter Neil Oliver is facing calls for the channel’s bosses to sack him after he approvingly shared an image on social media depicting Microsoft founder Bill Gates as a Nazi experimenter alongside the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, writes Lee Harpin.

The image shows Gates, a frequent target of Covid conspiracy theorists, sporting Nazi symbols including a swastika and the IG Farben logo that has come to be associated with slave labour practices in the death camps.

Elsewhere in the image, tweeted by Oliver last Friday, is an image of former US chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci and the World Economic Forum chair Klaus Schwab along with satanic imagery and the numerals 666.

Former BBC tech correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones responded to the tweet, writing: “Utterly disgraceful – this should be the end of Neil Oliver’s career at GB News and elsewhere.”

This year the Board of Deputies and the all-

party parliamentary group against antisemitism had reacted angrily to a broadcast by Oliver and warned that some segments of GB News risked spreading ideas linked to antisemitism.

The channel was this month found to have broken broadcasting rules after airing an interview with guest Dr Naomi Wolf who compared Covid vaccinations to Nazi Germany.

The latest image shared by Oliver was posted under the name of Liz Churchill, who wrote: “Future Generations will know the villains we had to face to protect them.” Showing support for the sentiment, Oliver wrote: “Bill Gates: the textbook example of the danger posed by rich and powerful people utterly devoid of empathy or care for individual human life.”

In response to Oliver’s tweet, Dr Kevin Brown, a criminal law reader from Queen’s University Belfast; wrote: “What now is the point of @ Ofcom when they permit antisemitic conspiracy theories to be promoted on a ‘news’ channel?”

A group of Jewish Arsenal football supporters have set up a group to celebrate their identity as a community, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

Ahead of Sunday’s match against Brighton & Hove Albion, the Jewish Gooners celebrated with a party at the Emirates Stadium.

Committee member Barry Frankfurt said: “A group of us have been going to games together for years. Arsenal has always been a community for us and we’ve always felt welcome here. We’ve met people from different backgrounds that we’d never meet otherwise in life thanks to going to Arsenal, home and away.”

He added that the group wanted to merge their Jewish identity and love for the club, and were working with Arsenal to “celebrate our identity”, adding: “It was a proud moment when we saw our

banner inside the Emirates for the first time.”

About 70 people attended the launch event, including club legend Perry Groves and Lord John Mann, the government’s antisemitism adviser.

Jonquil and Sarah benefit from Two Generations’ work

The launch event of the group of Jewish Arsenal supporters

‘F****** Jews’ – hunt for abuser who poked passenger with pole

Police are investigating a racist hate crime on a bus in Haringey, in which a man was filmed saying “‘F****** murderers, f****** Jews… you’re the f****** devil”, before attacking a Jewish passenger with a pole, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

Video taken by the victim 9am on Friday morning by a commuter on the 253 bus route, between Finsbury Park and Stamford Hill, shows a male suspect using racial slurs and antisemitic and anti-Israel language.

The man then uses a long yellow pole he is carrying to violently poke and prod at the man.

The report was made to Jewish neighbourhood watch group Shromrim in Stamford Hill.

Dave Rich, director of policy for the Commu-

nity Security Trust, told Jewish News: “We have contacted police in Hackney about this appalling abuse shown in the video posted by Shomrim.

“So far we have not seen a spike in the overall number of antisemitic incidents linked to the ongoing escalation in violence in Israel, but the language used in this incident is a reminder of how events in the Middle East can easily trigger anti-Jewish hate crimes in this country.

“We urge anyone experiencing or witnessing any antisemitism, or suspicious activity near to Jewish community locations, to report them immediately to police and to CST.”

The Metropolitan Police investigation is continuing.

Adidas to sell off Yeezy shoes

The host of a “highly antisemitic and white supremacist” podcast called Radio Aryan has been jailed for more than two years, writes Joy Faulk.

James Allchurch, a self-avowed racist and Hitler supporter, was found guilty in March of stirring up racial hatred.

The 51-year-old from Pembrokeshire, Wales, is said to have recorded the “vile” show to “spread his propaganda about racial conflict”.

Guests of the platform included extremists such as jailed National Action co-founder Alex Davies.

On Monday, Allchurch was sentenced by Judge Huw Rees at Swansea Crown Court to two and a half years in prison.

The judge also ordered forfeiture and deprivation orders in relation to recordings and materials including Allchurch’s laptop.

Judge Rees said: “During the playing of these podcasts, it was immediately apparent that the recordings were plainly insulting or abusive, and that your sole intention was to stir up racial hatred, or at least racial hatred was likely to be stirred up as a result. The content of these podcasts were vile. Listening to them, as the jury had to, was a disturbing experience.

“It beggars belief, or at least it should

be, that someone would want to speak these words at all, let alone feel the need to publish them for the consumption of others. That would be the case for rightthinking people at any time, leave alone currently in an enlightened age of diversity and inclusivity.

“Your offending amounts, in my view, to a stain on our humanity for our fellow human beings. Your ideology based on race, being pro-white and anti non-white, has been expressed by you as having some form of basis for protection of our society – it is no such thing.

“It is a concerning ideology, by reason of its consequences for communities and for parts of those communities.”

Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley said the podcasts had threatened “the safety of the public and the stability of our communities”.

Sportswear giant Adidas is to sell off its stock of trainers from Kanye West’s Yeezy brand and donate the proceeds to charity.

The decision comes seven months after it cut ties with West following mounting pressure due to his stream of antisemitic comments. Adidas’ sales of the rapper’s trainers had accounted for 10 percent of the company’s annual revenue last year, or $2bn (about £1.6bn). That decision left Adidas with $1.3bn of unsold Yeezy stock.

During the company’s annual meeting last week in Germany, where Adidas is based, CEO Bjørn Gulden pledged that the money would go “to the organisations that are helping us and that were also hurt by Kanye’s statements”.

Gulden did not elaborate on which organisations the proceeds would be directed to, or if any of them would go to Jewish or anti-hate groups. Jews were the target of West’s comments last autumn. West, who now goes by Ye, promised to “go death con 3 on Jewish people”, professed admiration for Hitler and bragged that he could say antisemitic comments and Adidas would not drop him. In November, the rapper dined with former President Donald Trump and Nick Fuentes, a prominent antisemite, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Police are seeking this man, who was filmed on the 253 bus route in Haringey

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Forgotten Exodus – a new look at Poland’s 1960s antisemitism Arrests over Hitler stunt

A new initiative dedicated to capturing and disseminating untold stories of Jews who fled Poland in the late 1960s following a wave of antisemitic purges has been launched, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

The Forgotten Exodus project gathers testimonies from victims, many of them Holocaust survivors, to document their experiences and ensure their history is not erased.

Its mission is to shed light on the then-Polish communist government’s antisemitic campaign in 1968, a significant yet largely unknown chapter in modern European history.

Commemorating the campaign’s 55th anniversary this year, the project marks the dark time when up to 20,000 of the remaining postShoah Jewish population of around 30,000

were stripped of their citizenship, forced out of their jobs and driven from Poland. The events followed student protests against censorship

by the regime which had led to a political crisis, exacerbated by the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbours in 1967. By the following year, Poland’s government declared Jews enemies of the state.

With the Nazis having murdered 90 percent of Poland’s pre-war Jewish population of 3.5 million, it is estimated more than half of the country’s already decimated community was forced into exile. The Forgotten Exodus has been set up to leverage historical narratives as an instrument to combat hatred, totalitarianism and antisemitism in modern society.

Entrepreneur Daniel Korski, vice-president of the Jewish Leadership Council, and Dr Daniel Schatz co-founded the project to shed light on a chapter of history often overlooked.

Two people have been charged in Austria for allegedly playing speeches by Adolf Hitler ver a train’s intercom.

The two suspects, who were not identified, also allegedly shouted “Heil Hitler” over the system several times on Sunday.

The train had been running from the westernmost city of Bregenz to the capital Vienna, Austrian news agency APA reported. The authorities tracked the duo down by analysing video from the train cameras.

Spreading Nazi propaganda is a criminal offence in Austria.

FLORIDA REJECTS HOLOCAUST BOOKS

Florida’s state education department has rejected two new Holocaustfocused textbooks for classroom use, while forcing at least one other textbook to alter a passage about the Hebrew Bible to meet state approval.

The actions were part of a broader review of new social studies material. Documents provided by the state

show the education department did not approve any new texts on the Holocaust this year though a spokesperson at the department was unable to confirm whether there are older Holocaust textbooks already in use that can still be taught.

Under Republican governor Ron DeSantis, Florida has made an effort

to clamp down on what he calls “woke indoctrination”, mostly regarding race and gender. The textbooks’ rejection is the latest example of how that affects Jewish topics as well.

One of this year’s rejected Holocaust textbooks was Modern Genocides, and the other was an online learning course, History of the Holo-

caust. Both were intended for high school students.

Modern Genocides was rejected in part for its discussion of “special topics” banned by the state which include “social justice” and “critical race theory,” a phrase that traditionally concerns a method of legal analysis but which Republicans have used pejoratively to refer to discussion of systemic racism in the US.

A photograoh from Forgotten Exodus

Florida governor Ron DeSantis

Austrian railway near Vienna

Collective kvelling, all courtesy of Noa

Israel’s achievements are sadly not often celebrated on the international stage. However, that’s exactly what we saw at the annual extravaganza that is the Eurovision Song Contest last weekend. There was even no sign of the oneeyed boycott brigade that tend to fixate on major cultural moments.

Not a word was uttered about politics from the BBC commentary box. Eurovision stalwart Graham Norton made no secret of the fact he thought Israeli singer Noa Kirel was – to borrow a catchy line from her song Unicon – ‘phenomenal’.

It would be churlish to suggest politics don’t play a role in the voting or that Eurovision is a measure of global opinion but, equally, the fact Noa came top in the ‘rest of the world’ vote should give food for thought to those who a labour under the constant feeling that the world harbours a burning hatred for Israel.

Like Netta, Dana International, Milk and Honey and Izhar Cohen before her, the singer showed once again that if you turn up with a catchy tune and a bit of pop culture momentum Israeli acts will be warmly embraced.

For one night, at least, she showed millions aroiund the globe that Israel is far more than just about conflict. Noa united Israeli an Jews around the world in a collective moment of ‘ kvelling ’ that has been in short supply.

Board’s outlook remains broadly centre-right

I take issue with your correspondent Warren Grossman, who appears to contend the Board of Deputies’ leadership is somehow left-wing, which adds to the “chorus of anti-Israel criticism”.

If anything, and from experience, I suggest the opposite. The Board leadership, despite great strides made in the past few years, is still, at heart, of the centre-right. For example, has he heard the leadership ever come out against Tory politicians such as the newly-elected Bury councillor who have made “anti-Israel” or other dubious statements? Nor have I.

Where I do agree with Mr Grossman is his view the leadership holds disproportionate power. It is very

rare that policy is debated and voted on by deputies, so the leadership can make policy statements unencumbered by a democratically reached decision.

A case in point is the position of the Board on the Holocaust Memorial and Education Centre which my erstwhile colleague Jenni Frazer wrote about in your newspaper. The Board has expressed huge support for it, despite repeated requests from both left- and right-wing deputies to debate the issue and come to a jointly agreed policy.

The leadership hasn’t agreed to a debate and has indicated it won’t in future. That’s not democratic.

Joe Millis, By email

THIS WEEKEND'S SHABBAT TIMES...

Contrary to your report about Liverpool’s Greenbank synagogue (27 April), photographs taken in 2014 by urban explorers reveal that six years after closing, valuable items were still left lying around inside, open to theft and vandalism. I spent two hours collecting items requiring burial, including around 30 mezuzot which had been left in-situ awaiting desecration by the planned development. But by the time I arrived, the three abandoned Sifrei Torah deteriorating in the Beis Hamedrash and the beautifully crafted silver menorah left out in the choir room above the Ark had disappeared. I am curious to know their fate.

David Chesler, Edgware

My goodness. So Charley Baginsky (27 April) thinks God wasn’t able to create a perfect world, so she and

Regarding the cancellation of El Al flights on a Saturday night from Heathrow to Tel Aviv, will security questions when checking in for future El Al flights include: Have you laid tefillin this morning? Have you consumed dairy products within three hours of eating a meat meal? Can you produce a receipt that you recently sold your Pesach chometz?

Llewellyn Gaba, Cardiff

CRIMINAL CROMWELL

WHERE ARE THESE ITEMS? EL AL SECURITY DOING GOD’S WORK

her friends are stepping in to complete the job. Delusional.

Ann Cohen, Golders Green

Your columnist Colin Shindler highlights Oliver Cromwell’s campaign for the return of the Jews to this country. He reminds us of Cromwell’s statue outside Parliament that “continues to look down sternly on us”. In his life Cromwell certainly acted a lot more than sternly in his dealings with Ireland and the Irish people. His soldiers cut a bloody swathe through Ireland, ruthlessly slaughtering soldiers and civilians alike. He is still regarded by many Irish people as a war criminal.

Kevin Oldham, By email

CHAI GAVE US OUR MUMMY BACK

“When I was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, I just didn’t know what to do. I had my surgery in Israel as both mine and my husband’s families live there. Then I had a big decision to make - where would I have my treatment? How could I uproot my husband and girls? But equally, how would I get through my chemotherapy here without our families’ support?

Then my oncologist told me about Chai. They have been amazing – I truly believe there is nothing like it in the world.

Being able to rely on Chai’s all-encompassing support gave me the confi dence to come home to my husband and girls.

Thanks to Chai, we’re together as a family again”

I want my kids to share my passion for Judaism

There was nothing more amusing for those around me in shul last Purim as the congregation quietened for the Megillah than my young daughter announcing loudly she was hungry and wanted “some ham”. The recitation began, preventing me explaining to my neighbours that we are vegan! She wanted vegan ham!

Positive Jewish experiences are crucial even if, as a parent, they can be a little embarrassing. Being Jewish where I grew up in Southend meant Ashkenazi feasts at family get-togethers, listening to tales of my Bubbe and Zada’s grandparents who came from then-Russia, now Poland and Ukraine, and proudly taking a menorah into school to teach my class about Chanukah and how to recite the blessings over the candles.

My interaction with being Jewish started to have negative and painful associations in more recent years when I began to receive

antisemitic abuse online and through social media. I am fortunate to have a platform to speak out about such matters while I know others are not so lucky and must endure antisemitism on campus or in public. Since I became a mother, I am keen for my daughters to have positive encounters with their Jewishness and for their heritage and identity to be a positive and proud one.

After the pandemic we took the girls to our local shul growing up, to be blessed and o cially welcomed by the community, which felt very special. A friend suggested I sign them up to PJ Library, a charity which sends

a monthly book about Jewish values and traditions to young families. The books let us know when a festival is approaching and ensure we get a dose of fun Jewish reading each month in the post.

After reading Happy Birthday, Tree! in January, we went to the garden centre and bought vegetables and seeds. This started a conversation about looking after the planet that felt both ancient and topical at the same time. That’s what I appreciate about Judaism though: the opportunities to make the festivals and values feel relevant to our lives.

The challenge with children is their attention span is limited, so activities need to be enjoyable. I recently attended an event where I met the fab Jewish chef @Bensvegankitchen who tipped me o to his recipe for vegan chopped liver, which we tried at home and was delicious with matzah for Pesach.

Whether it is Chanukah doughnuts or apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah, food has been a great way to explore Jewish festivals with my daughters and get them involved. I want to give them some knowledge, so they feel comfortable, proud and part

of something bigger than themselves. The notion of Jewish continuity is very powerful. Some time ago, I found a letter about an ancestor who detailed our family’s journey to escape the pogroms, revealing amazing stories of what happened to each relative. One great-great-Zada was slashed with a sabre by a Cossack, had a scar his whole life and at some stage became a gaucho in Argentina. Another told his pregnant wife he would send for her once he had enough saved up in his new life in London – 18 months later, she got fed up waiting and made her own way.

After a dramatic journey, they were reunited, made a home and raised their own children with Jewish values which have been passed on to each generation.

My own children may choose to stay in London or move abroad but wherever they go I hope they feel a sense of pride in their Jewishness and a belonging to the wider Jewish community.

 Rachel is supporting PJ Library’s fundraising campaign this weekend. Visit www.charityextra.com/pjlibrary

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Cultural appropriation and Jew-on-Jew racism

teenage prank. But the fact is that no matter who promotes it, racism, in this case toward Mizrahim and all people of colour, namely the black community, is never innocent or a prank.

It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes after a video by religious high school girls from Jerusalem’s Ulpana Horev (an Ashkenazi religious girls’ high school) went viral online last month that my phone began buzzing o the hook.

I was also flooded by social media messages from strangers who had read my recent book, The Wrong Kind of Jew: A Mizrahi Manifesto The vast majority of the messages expressed everything from sympathy to horror. But remarkably, some attacked me for stirring up unwarranted contempt for Ashkenazim.

It all started with a YouTube video that sat for weeks online before being widely noticed. It was entitled “If the Ulpana [Jewish school] was Mizrahi.” In it, the students present themselves in blackface while acting out degrading stereotypes of Mizrahi Jews.

Some on Twitter dismissed the video as a joke with no harm intended or an innocent

These students should have known that use of blackface is a racist act in which white performers darken their skin to portray caricatures of black people. In the past, blackface was painfully commonplace in minstrel shows and Hollywood films. Its advocates believed it had justifiable entertainment value, but blackface has been used to reinforce harmful stereotypes about black people, perpetuate racism and maintain white superiority.

Despite its harm, some have continued to use it to score publicity points. Namely, the use of blackface by British-Jewish comedian (of Ashkenazi descent) David Baddiel, about whom I and others have been openly critical.

Blackface reinforces the idea that black people are less intelligent, capable and human than white people. It is a form of cultural appropriation that erases the history and experiences of black people and reinforces the notion that their culture and identity can be commodified and exploited for entertainment.

That is what the Jewish girls from the Ashkenazi Ulpana did in what they later called “a humourist video”. The video’s goal was to generate laughter by highlighting the contrast between stereotypically polite Ashkenazi education and manners: the girls diligently reading books, sitting quietly at the table, playing classical piano, and vulgar Mizrahi girls jumping on the table, dancing to Mizrahi music and throwing items in the air.

But let’s not jump to blame these children (after all they are still weeks away from their 18th birthdays) for their horrific racist behaviour. Those needing the most attention are the teacher who appears in the video, the community, the religious Zionist politicians who nurtured and shaped these girls’ values, and the parents who failed to speak up to their children or the sect that is represented at this school.

A number of the people who reached out to me as this video was going viral were people who are well aware of the dominant narrative, both in communities like this one, and in Israel itself where, even today, the culture and traditions of Mizrahi Jews who count Maimonides among their numbers, are dismissed as less civilised.

I have dedicated my life and platform to speaking about antisemitism towards all Jews, for Holocaust education, even as I have stood up against this kind of blatant Jew-on-Jew racism. That didn’t stop the critics on social media, such as one angry troll who went as far as writing that my stand on this bigotry is “vilifying Ashkenazim and making us out as kapos.”

We are overdue for a cheshbon nefesh, a soulsearching. Jews who love being Jewish and who love Israel, whether it is because of our food, our culture, or our music, need to remember that in this country Mizrahim are as much a part of who we are as the air we breathe.

This mocking video went viral last month

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1 GIFT-ING BACK

GIFT’s third sold-out GIVEFEST was filled with a royal twist, fun activities interspersed with ‘giving stalls’, inflatables, delicious treats, storytelling, education, and music. Some 1,100 people came together for a day of family fun and to give back to the community.

2 WHISKY GALORE!

130 whisky enthusiasts filled the Grand Gallery at the Belgravia for a tasting evening. The event, hosted by Danny Davilla, Elli Morris, Naomi Nevies and Adam Savitz, raised £30,000 for Chai’s services. Chai’s chairman, Louise Hager, said: “We are supporting 3,970 clients from three years old to 97, from 11 centres all over the UK, from Glasgow to South London and via Zoom and our Home Support Service. Sadly, we know that the need is only going to increase.”

3CHEERFUL SPIRIT

15-year-old cheerleader Jemima Clayden from Yavneh College competed in two international competitions. The first was for Team England in the Cheerleading Union in Florida, where her group won bronze. The following week was the Cheer World Championships, with 11,000 participants from 18 countries. Jemima’s squad, Unity Allstars, again won a bronze medal, a big achievement for a British team in an American-dominated sport. “She was the only Jewish girl from the UK in the Team England squad,” says mum Deborah Clayden from their home in Hertfordshire.

4

RABBINIC BAKE-OFF

Rabbi Daniel Sturgess of St Albans United Synagogue beat two rivals in The Great Rabbinic Bake-Off, an event staged by Oswald Road shul to celebrate Israel’s 75th. Up against Rabbi Sturgess were Rabbi Mordechai Chalk, of Watford & District United Synagogue, and Rabbi Alan Garber, of Shenley United. Rabbi Sturgess’s winning dwish was shakshuka with red wine and honey. The rabbis are pictured cookery writer Denise Phillips.

5 ROYAL GATHERING

Rabbi Lew of Stanmore & Canons Park United Synagogue met with residents, staff and volunteers at a rose bush planting and tea party at Jewish Care Sandringham; Pinner synagogue cafe had a well-attended royal coronation lunch and singalong. Over 45 people gathered to sing songs and eat quiche and strawberries and cream to toast King Charles III.

6 HIGH ACHIEVERS

Led by Rebbetzin Shuli Liss, her daughter Chaya and her fellow madrichot Rivka and Miri, 10 mothers and their daughters, aged 12-14, from Highgate United Synagogue, walked six and a half hours to climb Snowdon to raise £5,000 for the US Chesed department. The funds will help provide Pesach food parcels, visits and calls to older and isolated people, hospital visits and support at shiva houses.

7 LUNCH AND LEARN

The Yavneh site of Borehamwood and Elstree Synagogue held a lunch, attended by 260 adults and children. Mizrachi’s Rabbanit Atara Eis gave a stimulating and inspiring talk while younger children had entertainers and older children and youth had a discussion led by Yavneh’s Samuel, Ilan and Keren Moont.

Cupid’s assistant Magician who’ll blow your mind

HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE YOUR WRITING

Adam Leigh’s latest novel draws on his friend’s chicken business, writes Jenni Frazer

With a straight face, Adam Leigh tells me that his latest novel “is about more than kosher chickens”. In the next breath, however, he admits that “I wanted kosher chickens for comedy value”, because he believes chickens — before they have emitted a cluck — to be funny.

Chicken Wars, Leigh’s second novel, is a rollercoaster ride about the life and loves of his hapless hero, Jack Fogel.

Jack is blessed — or should that be cursed? — with a grumbling East End grandfather, a set of utterly mismatched parents, and a brace of sisters whose entire childhood and adolescence seems focused on teasing him beyond reason.

This whole shaky edifice stands on the chicken empire known as Fogel’s Kosher Chickens, to which Jack becomes the unlikely and unwilling heir when he’s just starting out on his real passion, working in television.

sad party balloon”. It doesn’t seem to matter that, weirdly, Jack has become a rather successful businessman, doing really well as the CEO of Fogel’s Kosher Chickens.

Ali is clearly the sort of ‘yummy mummy’ better suited to boasting about “my husband in TV” than about her husband striding about in white coats and wellies through his supervised abattoir — though, in fact, Jack isn’t actually doing the chicken-killing himself.

Relief, for a business-based comedy. He has again plundered friendship for his latest novel, this time with the Grossman family, particularly brothers Antony and Stephen. They are the grandsons of the founder of Lewco-Pak chickens, Issy Grossman, on whom Leigh has based his fictional grandpa Solly Fogel.

the sheer volume of chickens processed on a daily basis.

Leigh admits to having expected the chickens to be noisier; in fact, he found they have “an odd sort of passivity” as they troop to their fate.

Leigh may not believe that this is a Jewish book, but he has given his hero Jack a best friend who is a rabbi, not a million miles away in personality from the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.

Great

cannot

So far, so miserable. And then comes the Great Lie, which Adam Leigh’s hero cannot avoid uttering. He meets, on a blind date, a lovely woman, who owns and runs a vegan cafe. And for the life of him, Jack cannot “fess up” to Sonia what

he really does for a living. Instead, he lets her believe he works in television.

Disaster beckons.

Sitting in his home in Finchley, Leigh insists that Chicken Wars is not really a Jewish book.

“It has a Jewish setting, but I think it has a universality about it which should appeal to non-Jewish readers, too. It’s about

relationships, about duty, facing up to responsibilities, identity…”

And he’s doing all right in TV, working on good programmes, writing and producing, while his irascible grandfather Solly hands over the reins of Fogel’s to Jack’s father, Phil. Jack, by this time, has a wife, Ali, whom he adores, and has two little daughters, on whom he dotes.

Phil. Jack, by this time, has a wife, Ali, whom

But everything falls apart after Phil su ers a fatal heart attack “after arguing aggressively with a particularly obstructive representative of the London Council of Kosher Supervision”.

But everything falls apart after Phil At 26, Jack’s life is e ectively over. He

At 26, Jack’s life is e ectively over. He is forced to take over the chicken business; his wife, writes Adam, “gradually fell out of love with him… his marriage deflated like a

In his first novel, The Curious Rise of Alex Lazarus Leigh, a former advertising man who now runs a successful executive search agency with his wife, Hannah, drew on his real-life friendship with Maurice Helfgott, currently the chair of World Jewish

In his first novel, of Alex Lazarus, advertising man who now runs with drew on friendship with Maurice currently the chair Jewish

ness. All three are passionate supporters of

The brothers’ career paths diverged — Antony became a corporate lawyer who chairs Jewish Book Week, while Stephen took charge of the kosher chicken business. All three are passionate supporters of Spurs, and the Grossmans, en route to matches with Leigh, would frequently reduce him to tears with

with Leigh, would frequently anecdotes about the chicken business.

For this book, Stephen Grossman took Leigh round his wholesale factory and explained how things work, not least

Jack school, has — like his real-life model — a foot both the wider community, and is well-placed to give Jack advice on how — or indeed whether this part in the Talmud about white lies, and

Rabbi Isaac, with whom Jack went to school, has — like his real-life model — a foot in both camps, the internal Jewish world and the wider community, and is well-placed to give Jack advice on how — or indeed whether — to tell Sonia the truth. Leigh says: “I loved this part in the Talmud about white lies, and do you tell a bride that she’s not attractive?” Inevitably, Shammai and Hillel di er on this, “one saying that you must always tell the truth, the other [trying to preserve peace] saying that you should not upset someone on

“one saying that you must always tell the saying that you should not upset someone on their big day”.

In the novel, Leigh has given Jack two di cult teenagers, one of whom is more recalcitrant than the other. In real life, Leigh and his wife Hannah have three children, aged 25, 23 and 18, and he assures me that the fictional Fogels are not drawn from his

di cult teenagers, one of whom is more aged 25, 23 and 18, and he assures me that own o spring.

Far worse than the teenagers, he says, is abuses her son’s good nature at every turn.

Far worse than the teenagers, he says, is Jack’s “horrible” mother, Stephanie, who abuses her son’s good nature at every turn. Again, a fictional portrait. Leigh, a former co-chair of Highgate Synagogue and trustee of World Jewish Relief, has been married to Hannah for 32 years.

of Highgate Synagogue and trustee of World Jewish to Hannah for 32 years.

Ironically for this novel, Hannah went on the Shnat programme with Habonim, aged 18, and turned vegetarian.

Though Leigh says “she is the most amazing meat cook”, their three kids are, in turn, a vegan, a vegetarian, and Oh, and they do have chicken on Friday nights.

Shnat programme with Habonim, turned vegetarian. says most meat cook”, their three kids are, in turn, a vegan, a vegetarian, and a meat-eater. do chicken on Friday nights.

 Chicken Wars, A Tale Adam Leigh is published by Whitefox on 18

Chicken Wars, A Tale of Love and Poultry by Adam Leigh is published by Whitefox on 18 May 2023. RRP £4.99

Lie, which Adam Leigh’s hero

Netflix’s new star, Orthodox matchmaker Aleeza Ben Shalom, is a shadchan (matchmaker) who helps her diverse Jewish clients meet their bashert (soulmate). And if they don’t find love with one of her matches, it seems that Aleeza’s tips help them find it anyway.

Take Shaya Rosenberg, who was originally set up with Fay Brezel on the show. This did not work out, but he has just got engaged o air to Hoovie Ostreicher, who also comes from a strictly Orthodox background. Although the couple weren’t matched by Aleeza, Shaya still highly rates her advice as a dating coach and, over dinner in Tel Aviv during the Sukkot holiday, told her all about Hoovie and how he thought she might be ‘the one’. Shaya enthuses that “she guided me and advised the best course for dating successfully. And it worked! So, guys, if you follow Aleeza’s advice and stick to it you’ll end up with the perfect one!”

Cindy Seni, a Canadian hopeful who appears on episode four, also wasn’t lucky in love with her match on screen. But on her popular Instagram account Israel with Cindy, she has been posting photos of herself with Noah, most recently at the Jerusalem premiere of the series, leading us to wonder whether there was another ‘o -air’ romance on the cards. On a video call with Cindy, the woman who “loves to scare men on the first date” revealed that her relationship with Noah is just a friendship. But she was happy to talk about herself and other elements in the series that has got us all hooked.

What motivated you to agree to be in the show?

Growing up, there were no Jews who looked like me on television. I wanted to show the world there are di erent types of Jews out there and Hashem gave me the opportunity!

Is the show ‘real’ or is it staged?

Everything is real – we are not actors, although I’m a pretty fabulous actress! Just kidding. But honestly, they put a camera in front of you and say: “OK, go on a date”. Of course it’s edited, dramatised and made to fit a certain storyline.

How was it to put yourself out there as a

singleton looking for love?

It’s very nerve-wracking, especially when I’m re-watching it and realise hundreds of thousands of people have seen my story –that’s tough. And, of course, as it has been edited I will notice some exaggerations, or something that came out wrong, which is slightly anxiety-inducing, given people now have a certain impression about me. But at the same time, I’m an open book and whatever I say and put out into the world is genuine.

Did having a camera on you make it more difficult to be ‘natural’ on dates?

Absolutely. It’s quite awkward to date

in front of a camera – you’re trying to be authentic while putting yourself in a vulnerable position with 10 people watching. You do get used to it after about 15 minutes though, and it kind of fades into the background.

I’m also used to being in front of cam-

Cindy Seni, who appears on the show, says she got used to dating in front of a camera

Cindy and Noah at the Jerusalem premiere

Currently trending on Netflix in the UK, JewishMatchmaking is putting love in the air and on-air, says Naomi Frankel

Aleeza Ben Shalom

eras in terms of my experience working in diplomacy and as an IDF spokesperson.

That isn’t mentioned in the series?

No, and that really upset me actually – they didn’t mention my diverse personal or professional background, or that I work for injured veterans with an organisation called Brothers for Life. I also run my own business, plus I manage my social media Israel with Cindy . I do wish Netflix had included all that rather than just focusing on the storyline with my ex!

That’s quite a resume! What is your personal background?

I actually have several different back-

grounds. I’m Sephardic Italian, Tunisian and Turkish. I was actually born in France and grew up in Toronto. I then moved to Israel four years ago and started my Instagram account (which now has over 12,000 followers) documenting my aliyah journey, as part of an initiative of the Israel Foreign Ministry. That’s how Netflix approached me actually, via my Instagram.

The hair and clothing on the show are fabulous! Did Netflix sort them?

I got my makeup done once but apart from that – all me! It was a lot of fun. The black bootie heels I wear on one of the episodes were actually designed by my father’s brand, Pascal Olivier Paris.

Is a season two planned?

So many people are asking me this question! I tell them – if you loved the show and want season two, make sure it gets tons of positive ratings and everyone’s watching it. Send to your friends, family, post on every social media channel and make sure to hashtag JewishMatchmaking.

Do you have any words of dating wisdom for readers to live by?

Apart from ‘No Abs, No Cindy’? Well, that’s the best one by far! Jokes aside, I would say the best thing we can possibly be is authentic to ourselves and to our journey. Be proud of your accomplishments and remember: dust o your heels. It’s time to save the world – as long as those heels are from Pascal Olivier Paris!

HOOKING UP WITH THE MATCHMAKER

Aleeza Ben Shalom has been matchmaking for more than a decade and has been responsible for more than 200 successful matches.

I had a chat with her on Zoom and I quickly understood why she’s so good at her job – in just 30 minutes I felt she understood me on a deep level, and understood the type of person I might need. I had to discipline myself not to turn the interview into my own personal matchmaking session!

“One of the most challenging aspects of matchmaking is timing,” Aleeza tells me. “Many clients come to me with a specific idea of what they want, but I find that they need to work on several other things before it’s time for matchmaking.”

What really excited me about the service she o ers is the coaching aspect –both for singles and couples. She described having a dating coach to walk you through the dating process, which I’m sure many people would love. Friends and family can have an innate bias, so to be able to have an expert hold your hand through dating sounds like a dream.

In the show, I related strongly to one

woman’s struggle to find the ‘right’ guy but one that you’re also attracted to physically. So I was curious to hear how she helps coach someone through that (fingers crossed). Her response was to be expected: “Looks fade with age so focus on personality. I know that’s much easier said than done and I also know that sometimes it just won’t work unless you give the person what they want.”

Aleeza rarely gives up on people though, even 20 matches later.

We had a good laugh about my own dating experiences, the advice I was given and how Aleeza’s system is a little more accommodating – allowing you 10 qualities you want but also five you don’t want.

When asked about the couples on the show, Aleeza was tight-lipped about whether any of them are still together. We now just need to make sure that the show does well enough for a season 2 so that we can find out!

By Romy Pikoos

 Visit https://marriagemindedmentor.com where Aleeza offers coaching and online courses to help get you lucky in love

Shaya Rosenberg, who was unlucky on-air, proposes off-air to Hoovie Ostreicher

It all started out pretty mainstream for Ben Levy. North West London Jewish Day School, City of London Boys’, gap year in Israel with Bnei Akiva, history at Birmingham University. But no clear direction as to a career path. “And then at I woke up in the middle of the night aged 21 and I said, ‘I know exactly what I need to do with the rest of my life,’” he told me over Zoom.

As part of his history degree Ben had done a dissertation on 19th-century magic performers and why people were so interested in magic back then. It suddenly came to him that he was deeply interested in how people behave, so he got himself on to a postgraduate course in psychology. A year later, with a psychology diploma to his name, he trained as a teacher and embarked on yet more studying to become a doctor of educational psychology.

But there was another passion that had been with him since the age of 12. “I was invited to a friend’s barmitzvah and there was a magician. I was that really annoying kid who followed him around the room trying to work out how everything was done. I’d never seen magic before and I was absolutely in love with it immediately,” he says.

He started dabbling in magic, doing shows for friends, and then became a demonstrator for Marvin’s Magic in Hamleys. One day he was ill and couldn’t go in – and that was the day they closed the whole shop for Michael Jackson to visit. “He was a big fan of magic and went to the Marvin’s stand. If only I’d been there I would have performed for him. It was an absolute killer!”

By his early thirties Ben had decided to combine his psychology training and his love of magic and start doing creative mind magic and straightforward magic at barmitzvahs, private parties and corporate events. Close-up magic is his first passion. “I adore performing something right in front of someone that makes their jaw drop, because they can’t say that they weren’t paying attention, or that they were at a far distance. They saw it right in front of them, and what they saw was not possible. That is the moment that gets me excited.”

Father-of-two Ben (he has a four-yearold and a one-year-old), who lives in north London, comes from a religious background and does a lot of Shabbat-friendly magic.

“Getting people to make decisions, trying to influence them or predict things that they’re going to do or say – none of that has to involve breaking Shabbat. Shabbat is such a powerful day, where you’re forced to switch o and pay attention to your presence in the world and your family and the things that really matter. It means a lot to me.”

Not everyone loves magic, and in the very Orthodox community people sometimes associate it with witchcraft. “A magical experience can be weird, right? I am confronting you with something that you know is impossible, but it’s happening right in front of your eyes. Some people find that very uncomfortable – it a ects their sense of stability. As a psychologist, it is helpful for me to gauge my audience and their likely response before I launch in.”

I wonder about the kind of people who become magicians. “They probably weren’t the most popular as kids,” Ben says. “Magic was their special power. It made them feel good about themselves and made people interested in them. To some degree, I was probably similar – a bit bookish. If you want to become a great magician, you have to realise it’s not about you. It’s about your audience and what they experience. They are hoping for the best illusions and the best pieces of magic. The secret is so pathetically simple, because it’s not about the secret.”

A trick that Ben does regularly is to get a couple, and ask one of them to name a playing card and the other to name a number between one and 52. “Let’s say he says king of diamonds. And she says 26. I give them the pack of cards and ask them to take out the 26th card. It’s the king of diamonds. It’s impossible, and yet it’s happening. It’s the magic of magic and it’s psychological. It’s what happens in our minds.”

Ben explains that the audience shapes the

show. “Old-style magic – such as rabbits out of a hat – was quite scripted. But my shows are really immersive. I get people to make decisions. Every piece of magic is a little play and at the end of the play we’re going to end up in this magical place where something impossible is going to happen. And then I’ll take you back to the real world. That’s all that’s happening but the big di erence is the psychology that’s used behind the scenes. When I perform, I have to understand how you think so that – in the nicest possible way – I can deceive you. I’ve got to get you to tell yourself a story, but what’s really happening is not the same as the story that’s in your mind.

I wonder why cards are used so much in magic. “Because they’re so versatile. I can do a sleight of hand and make cards appear and disappear. Or I can do something with mindreading. There are 52 cards, so every time I get you to pick one, there should be a sense of ‘I’m choosing something completely randomly.’ At the end of it, even though you made a completely free choice, something amazing has happened, something impossible.”

He explains that when a magician asks you to name a card, the first one is the hardest to predict. The second is a little easier and the third card is incredibly predictable.

Balancing a blue velvet board on his lap, over Zoom he takes out a pack of cards and asks me to choose one. I go with the nine of hearts. He

takes it out of the pack and lays it face up on the board. Then I go for 10 of hearts and he does the same. He asks me what I think he thinks my third card is. He’s holding the pack in his hand with king of diamonds showing. He reminds me that the third card is the most predictable.

I tell him I think he thinks I’m choosing ace of diamonds. “If you think that then you might want to change your mind.” I think about it and then he says: “Most people don’t change their card. But maybe ace of diamonds is too predictable. Or maybe ace of diamonds is so random I could never have guessed it. It’s your last chance. What do you want to do, Louisa? Do you want to stick with ace of diamonds? Or do you want any of the other cards in the deck?

I stick with it.

He takes out the ace of diamonds and lays it down, face up. He turns over the first two cards, reminding me that rarely does anyone guess the first two cards, and indeed they are unmarked on the back. “ I’m fascinated that you went for the ace of diamonds because card number three was – and he turns it over to show me that he’s marked it on the back –always the ace of diamonds.”

I’m astonished. “Remember – my job is to do two things. It’s to try and influence you, but also give you the impression that I’m trying to influence you. Not everything I say and I do is necessarily quite what it seems.”

★ https://benlevymagic.co.uk

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Louisa Walters has her mind read, messed with and blown by magician Ben Levy your family and the things that really matter. psychological. It’s what happens in our minds.” audience Zoom he takes out a pack of cards and asks me

necessarily quite what it seems.”

Ben Levy says close-up magic is his first passion, ‘something right in front of someone that makes their jaw drop, because what they saw was not possible’

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Stage performances Bungee Jump

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In

our thought-provoking series, rabbis

relate

We tend to care more about values

than

The British Council’s (worldwide) Cultural Protection Fund, in partnership with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, recently announced that it would support seven new heritage protection projects. Costing £700,000, they are scheduled to begin in July and the hope is that they will be completed by January 2025.

For various reasons, we Jews are not famous for protecting buildings. We do and indeed we should try our best, but our collective communal and/or national circumstances force us to prioritise di erent projects ensuring our continuity.

Nevertheless, the remarkable relationship between buildings of the past and Jewish continuity for the future is beautifully drawn in this week’s parsha, Bamidbar

Living a proactively Jewish life is more than a lifestyle choice. It is also an exclusive entrance to immortality. Through our own Jewish lives, even our distant ancestors continue to live. Similarly, by ensuring Jewish continuity we will remain alive within the Jewish journey of future generations.

This is how our existence in this world exceeds the confines of a limited time in history, or, in the words of our yamim noraim liturgy, “like a breath

of wind, like whirling dust, and like a dream that slips away”. Rather, we are indeed transcendent and immortal.

This idea was beautifully expressed by Moses in one of his last messages to the nation. When speaking of the covenant, he highlighted that God was making a covenant and an oath not only with the people who were present on that day, “but also with those who are not here with us on this day” (Deuteronomy 29: 14). Our covenantal community is cross-generational. The dead, the living and the yet to be born are all equal and active members of the covenantal community at any point in time.

This week’s parsha explores in detail how the tabernacle was carried and transported during the journey through the wilderness to the prom-

our values than in our buildings. Each new Jewish generation loyally carries the tradition of the past through the never-ending Jewish journey through new, unknown pastures towards promised times.

I am a independent broker acting solely on your behalf • I sell through many different auction houses, high-end dealers, collectors and private clients • Having been in business for over 10 years looking after many, many clients you will always receive my personal discreet one-to-one service (references available) • There is no cost or obligation meeting with me at your home or storage facility • Probate valuations carried out • Based in St Johns Wood, clients in the UK and Europe Selling items of value has never been simpler. Whether you’re clearing a home, moving, remodelling, I will get the best prices for any items of value you’re looking to sell. Perry Field | 07802 157500 | E: perryfield@hotmail.com (Independent renowned antiques expert BBC’s

Dealing

Progressive Judaism

LEAP OF FAITH

BY RABBI MIRIAM BERGER FINCHLEY REFORM SYNAGOGUE

“It is not good for a person to be alone; I will make a fitting match for them” (Genesis 2:18).

I was o ciating at a wedding when a guest who worked for the TV show Married at First Sight approached me to ask if I would be one of the expert matchmakers for the next series. As someone not exactly shy about potential moments of fame, I came home to my husband very excited. He was less thrilled by the prospect.

“Is that really what you want – the world to see you represent Jewish views on marriage? Two strangers shoved together in the name of entertainment?” He was right and it wasn’t to be my moment of TV stardom.

I thought about this when Netflix

wooed me towards the best dating show ever, Jewish Matchmaking, which brought Aleeza Ben Shalom to our screens. Here is a more authentic way of bringing expertise to potential marriage at first sight.

The anomaly is the name. It’s matchmaking by a Jew or for Jews but this isn’t Jewish matchmaking. Jewish matchmaking is much more superficial and based on one key factor: who your parents are.

Why does Jacob go to Laban to find his wife? He is family even if the oldest needs to be married o before the younger. That was matchmaking in Biblical times and, generations later in the shtetls of eastern Europe, it had not changed much.

What makes the matches suitable in Anatevka village for the daughters of Tevye the milkman? Their fathers’ professions. Ultimately, the parents question their own marriage: “Do you

love me?” they sing. What’s a solid relationship built on? Shared values, a shared vision of the future, the ability to stay on the same team.

It’s why I’m drawn to Aleeza’s skills. Listening to people’s superficial list of must-haves in a partner, she translates what they need better than they know themselves. It’s a skill the algorithms in dating apps can’t do. An app can match a man who says his family are most important to him with a woman who says she’s got strong family values, but it takes a matchmaker to realise that when a boy’s life is so intertwined with his mother, the girl needs to be looking for a surrogate family and be equally enamoured by her potential motherin-law. If she is as close to her own family, where on earth will they spend Rosh Hashanah lunch and seder night? It’s otherwise a marital broigus waiting to happen!

Matchmaking is an art that was far easier when the joint venture was pre-proscribed. Making people understand that what they need is not

what they think they want is where the skill really lies, and is why Yente or Aleeza has a better chance of success than your ability to swipe.

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

A skilled matchmaker like Aleeza (left) can foresee a marital broigus

Ask our

Our trusty team of advisers answers your questions about everything from law and finance to dating and dentistry. This week: A career change in your 30s, disciplining an employee and relocating to Israel

LISA WIMBORNE CHARITY EXECUTIVE JEWISH BLIND & DISABLED

Dear Lisa

My daughter is in her 30s and wants a career change. She loves working with people and is keen to have a role she finds rewarding and varied. She has seen roles advertised at Jewish Blind & Disabled but doesn’t have direct experience of housing. Is it worth her applying for a job with you?

Sarah

Dear Sarah

In a word, yes! It sounds to me as if your daughter could consider a role as a house manager. We have seven developments of specially adapted mobility apartments, where we provide 24/7 onsite support for around

DONNA OBSTFELD

350 tenants. Our house managers play a crucial part in this. Without kind-hearted, level-headed managers we couldn’t o er this service. We employ people who share our values; integrity, respect, fairness and kindness. We can train people to undertake the role but we know that strong values are within and often can’t be taught.

And our house managers come from all walks of life; Geo ran a gardening business, while Polly was a recruitment consultant. The common factors all our house managers share is a love for working with people, kindness and common-sense. If your daughter has these qualities then she should definitely considering applying to work for Jewish Blind & Disabled. We have a range of vacancies and all of our roles are advertised on our website.

It sounds as if your daughter could be an asset to any of our excellent community-based charities.

RESOURCES / EMPLOYMENT LAW

HUMAN

DOHR

Dear Donna I need to discipline an employee but need access to their company phone. How can I get it without them wiping it clean?

Tessa

Dear Tessa

It sounds like the content of the phone will form part of your evidence ahead of a disciplinary process.

I suggest you speak to

the employee face to face, inform them that you are commencing an investigation which may lead to a disciplinary process and ask them to give you the phone (and any passcodes) as part of the investigation.

This is a reasonable request and as long as the phone is company property, you are within your rights to remove it.

You need to carry out the investigation quickly, giving the employee the opportunity to give their evidence.

You might consider a small period of suspension if the employee can’t do their job without the phone, but both the suspension and the removal of the phone must be kept to as short a time as possible so that it is not seen to

be disciplinary action prior to a proper disciplinary process.

This will be more complicated if the phone is not company property and you will need to check your contract and disciplinary process.

You will probably need to commence the investigation on the spot asking the employee to show you specific things on the phone, but if it is their personal phone, they can refuse unless you have a suitable policy in place.

STEPHEN MORRIS REMOVALS MANAGING

DIRECTOR STEPHEN MORRIS SHIPPING LTD.

Dear Stephen I hear from friends about your UK to Israel moving and relocation services. How long should we allow for the actual move and how much time prior to the move should we allow when booking?

Debra and Daniel

Dear Debra and Daniel

Moving to Israel is busiest during the school holidays and starts getting really busy at the end of May.

Give me a call (020 8832 2232) when you know roughly when you will complete the aliyah process (if that’s the route you intend to go) and we can agree a date and time for my survey.

My surveys are generally on Sundays and at least one Sunday a month is reserved for the Manchester area.

Once the survey has been completed, you will receive a quotation from us based on the volume of the items seen at the time of the survey. If you accept the quotation, allow a clear 3 days for a 20’ container and 5 days for a 40’ container

for us to export pack and load the container or to remove it back to one of our warehouses for storage.

Usually, we can load the container live and the completion of packing or the next day at one of our depots.

Ships sail for Ashdod every Sunday and take just 14 days to arrive. From arrival, allow a further 4 to 5 working days on average for clearance and delivery.

So, from start to finish could be just 25 to 28 days!

Want to get something done, but feel stuck?

I’ll help you get there.

And faster than you imagined. Let’s Make it Happen.

Got

Got a question for a member of our team?

Email: editorial@jewishnews.co.uk

PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SPECIALIST

TREVOR GEE

Qualifications:

• Managing director, consultant specialists in affordable family health insurance

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

• Excellent knowledge of health insurers, cover levels and hospital lists

• LLB solicitors finals

• Member of Chartered Insurance Institute

CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIST

DR MONICA QUADIR

Qualifications:

• Consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist with more than 12 years of experience in treating young people and their families, both in the NHS and privately

• Expertise in assessing neurodevelopmental conditions, such as ADHD and autism, and supporting families to manage these conditions

• Medical director at Psymplicity Healthcare, a private mental health clinic based in London, with a national online presence

PSYMPLICITY HEALTHCARE 020 3733 5277

www.psymplicity.com

enquiries@psymplicity.com

FINANCIAL SERVICES

JOE OZER

Qualifications:

• Executive director for the United Kingdom at DCI (Intl) Ltd

• Worked in finance for more than 20 years

• Specialists in distribution and promotion of Israel Bonds

ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH FOR YOUR PRIVATE HEALTH COVER?

ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH FOR YOUR HEAALTH PLAN?

Get it checked, free of charge, by an FCA registered, leading health insurance consultant

Patient Health is this newspapers ‘Ask The Expert’

GEET IT CHECCKED, FREE OF CHARGE, BY AN FCA REGGISTERED, LEADING HEALTH INSURANCE CONSULTANT PATIENT HEALTH IS THIS NEWWSPAPER’S ‘ASK THE EXPERT’

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

JEWELLER

JONATHAN WILLIAMS

Qualifications:

DEVELOPMENT COMPANY FOR ISRAEL 020 3936 2712

www.israelbondsintl.com

joe.ozer@israelbondsintl.com

GOAL ATTAINMENT SPECIALIST

DR BEN LEVY

Qualifications:

See how you could significantly reduce your premiums and possibly obtain a higher level of cover, and we will always explain whether pre-existing conditions would be covered. We’re also happy for you to call or pop-in.

• Jewellery manufacturer since 1980s

SEE E HOW YOU COULD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE PREMIUMS AND PERHAPS EVEN OBTAIN HIGHER COVER AND WE WILL ALWAYS EXPLAIN WHETHER PRE EXISTING CONDITIONS WOULD BE COVERED WE RE ALSO HAPPY FOR YOU TO CALL OR POP-IN

020 3146 3444 trevor gee@patienthealth co uk

• 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

• Doctor of psychology with 15 years’ experience in education and corporate sectors

• Uses robust, evidence-based methods to help you achieve your goals, whatever they may be

• Works with clients individually to maximise success

020 3146 3444 trevor.gee@patienthealth.co.uk

Where service is all about helping the client, only the client and nothing but the client

WHERE FAMILY HEALTH COMES FIRST

Tel: 0203 146 3444/3446: info@patienthealth.co.uk:

FCA Regulated 773729: Member of Chartered Insurance Institute

Where service is all about helping the clieent, only the client and nothing but the client Computer

problems solved

PC, Mac, WiFi, Laptops & Desktops

Remote Support and On-Site

Man on a Bike IT Consultancy

Call now 020 8731 6171

www.manonabike.co.uk

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

MAKE IT HAPPEN 07779 619 597

www.makeit-happen.co.uk ben@makeit-happen.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

MENOPAUSE CHAMPION LABALANCE

ANGELA DAY-MOORE

Qualifications:

• Founder & CEO Sassy La Femme Women’s Wellness

• Passionate about women’s wellbeing

• Home to LaBalance

• Recommended by fellow women for period, perimenopause & menopause

MENOPAUSE CHAMPION LABALANCE 0333 188 6580 www.sassylafemme.com hello@sassylafemme.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

ALIYAH ADVISER

DOV NEWMARK

Qualifications:

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

• Conducts monthly seminars and personal aliyah meetings in London

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

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

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:

• Provides free professional one-to-one advice at Resource to help unemployed into work

• Offers mock interviews and workshops to maximise job prospects

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

RESOURCE 020 8346 4000 www.resource-centre.org office@resource-centre.org

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 and 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

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

LISA WIMBORNE

Qualifications:

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

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

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

• Understanding of the impact of a disability diagnosis

JEWISH BLIND & DISABLED 020 8371 6611

www.jbd.org

Lisa@jbd.org If

Email: sales@jewishnews.co.uk

Business Services Directory

ANTIQUES

Top prices paid

Antique – Reproduction – Retro Furniture (any condition)

Epstein, Archie Shine, Hille, G Plan, etc. Dining Suites, Lounges Suites, Bookcases, Desks, Cabinets, Mirrors, Lights, etc.

House clearances

Single items to complete homes

MARYLEBONE ANTIQUES - 8 CHURCH STREET NW8 8ED 07866 614 744 (ANYTIME) 0207 723 7415 (SHOP)

closed Sunday & Monday

STUART SHUSTER - e-mail - info@maryleboneantiques.co.uk

MAKE SURE YOU CONTACT US BEFORE SELLING

WESTLON HOUSING ASSOCIATION

Sheltered Accommodation

We have an open waiting list in our friendly and comfortable warden assisted sheltered housing schemes in Ealing, East Finchley and Hendon. We provide 24-hour warden support, seven days a week; a residents’ lounge and kitchen, laundry, a sunny patio and garden. For further details and application forms, please contact Westlon Housing Association on 020 8201 8484 or email: johnsilverman@btconnect.com

Are

THE JEWISH NEWS CROSSWORD

10 Girl’s garment (5)

11 Fermented apple drink (5)

12 Frightened, scared (6)

14 Onto the beach (6)

15 Animal akin to the llama (6)

18 Claim as true (6)

20 Opposite of ‘thin’ (5)

22 Beat violently (of the heart) (5)

23 Wild West law enforcer (7)

25 ___ Islands, Caribbean archipelago (8)

26 Ancient harp-like instrument (4)

DOWN

1 Stuff chewed by a cow (3)

2 Offspring’s offspring (13)

4 Small river, brook (6)

5 Mammary gland of a cow (5)

6 Preordained nature (13)

7 Draw breath sharply (4)

8 Noisy sleeper (6)

11 Stuff full (4)

13 Football defender (4)

16 Shaving foam (6)

17 Tough puzzle (6)

19 Funny-bone joint (5)

21 Simmer (4)

24 Price charged (3)

WORDSEARCH

The listed words to do with antiques can all be found in the grid. Words may run either forwards or backwards, in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal direction, but always in a straight, unbroken line.

HILARIOUS HEBREW Word of the Week

Learning Hebrew can be fun and sometimes hilarious! Join one of the WZO's Ulpan classes near you and find out for yourself! The subsidised Ulpanim are based in North West and East London, Manchester, Brighton, Borehamwood and Bushy. Contact- ulpanuk@wzo.org.il or call 020 83715336

EIB A

NNR EAA POS TL NE

ID RI BT TI C TTT E

T IEI GC CE HI EZY

N TLZ II LE Q CNRD

II AVA LN UL OH AY

AOE UO LE AR LT SO

P NDCD GG BLE OM A

RE ST OR AT IO NC K

MEMORABILIA

Last issue’s solutions

Fun, games and prizes

SUDOKU

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

SUGURU

Each cell in an outlined block must contain a digit: a two-cell block contains the digits 1 and 2, a three-cell block contains the digits 1, 2 and 3; and so on. The same digit must not appear in neighbouring cells, not even diagonally.

From

See next issue for puzzle solutions.

All puzzles © Puzzler Media Ltd - www.puzzler.com

the book Hilarious Hebrew- the Fun and Fast Way to Learn the Language, available on Amazon and in book and gift shops throughout London. www.hilarioushebrew.com

“Thanks for the lovely books. It really helps keep my girls connected to their culture and we have recently taken up baking challah and lighting Shabbat candles.”

Bringing Jewish Stories Home

Since launching in the UK, PJ Library has reached more than 16,000 children through almost half a million books, as well as bringing families together at over 1,300 local events.

PJ Library provides a pathway to Jewish learning, identity formation and greater communal involvement.

Help us connect with more Jewish families across the UK.

PJ Library operates under the auspices of Prism the Gift Fund.

– PJ Library parent Nicola