1326 - 3rd August 2023

Kiss goodbye

Community gathers for Jewish Museum’s farewell Page 9

Beyond Bataclan

More veddings than weddings

‘Marrying out’ rate for UK Jews among the lowest outside Israel

British Jews are half as likely to marry outside their faith as American Jews, according to a report released this week that lifts the lid on Jewish relationships across the globe, writes Joy Falk.

Twenty-two percent of community members in the UK marry non-Jews – the third lowest intermarriage rate outside Israel – while that figure soars to 45 percent across the

MAYOR

COOKS

State-run Jewish primary schools in London providing kosher lunches to pupils aged between seven and 11 will receive funding amounting to £3.50 per meal at the start of the new academic year, Mayor Sadiq Khan has confirmed, writes Lee Harpin.

The cash boost, which Jewish News understands amounts to around £4million in total, means the

Atlantic. The study on global trends was published by the London-based Institute of Jewish Policy Research (JPR) after research by the director of the body’s European Jewish demography unit, Dr Daniel Staetsky.

It shows a vastly di erent picture across the world, with almost no intermarriage among Israeli Jews (five percent), compared with almost 50 percent in Europe marrying non-Jews.

“There is a metaphorical abyss between Israel and the diaspora when it comes to intermarriage,” Staetsky says. While 40 percent of married Jews in the diaspora are married to non-Jews, only five percent of married Jews in Israel are intermarried. Likewise in Hungary, Russia, Poland, Sweden and Denmark, “most Jews today are married to non-Jews”, JPR says.

Elsewhere on the continent, Belgian Jews were found to be least likely to marry a non-Jew, with only 14 percent opting to do so, while in Poland, where the Jewish population numbers around 15,000, more than three quarters have married a non-Jew.

Levels are low in Israel in part due to a bigger Jewish population making it easier to find a Jewish partner, and although it is much higher elsewhere, intermarriage across the world is not the “existential threat” it is sometimes seen as, Staetsky writes.

Continued on page 8

SHOAH FOOTAGE FOUND

UP KOSHER LUNCH FUNDS FOR JEWISH SCHOOLS

capital’s 25 Jewish primary schools will receive 85p extra in funding for kosher meals, compared to the £2.65p o ered to all boroughs for non-kosher lunches for Key Stage Two pupils.

The mayor confirmed last month that he had made an extra £5million available for “extraordinary costs” following a pledge earlier this year to provide £130m emergency funding

to provide free school meals for state primary school children in the capital in response to the cost of living crisis.

Khan has now called on the government to match his funding commitments for pupils in the younger Key Stage One bracket.

In further good news, Barnet Council, home to many Jewish primary schools, has confirmed it will be subsidising a kosher kitchen which

will be made available to caterers involved in the preparation and distribution of Jewish school meals throughout the borough.

In May, Jewish News revealed how pupils around 15 Jewish primary schools were going without hot lunches, after a succession of catering firms announced they could no longer continue supplying kosher meals.

The di erence in the cost of producing kosher lunches and the amount of funding received from the government was at the heart of the problem.

This week’s announcement by the mayor follows three months of discussions with communal leaders including Rabbi Joel Sager, of Pardes House Primary School, the London

on

UK Jews despair as ties to Israel ‘starting to fray’

A “wave of pessimism” about the Israeli government has swept Anglo-Jewry in recent weeks, according to a new report from a Jewish thinktank, with UK Jews’ relationship with Israel “starting to fray”, writes Joy Faulk.

Disapproval ratings for Benjamin Netanyahu are now at an “astonishing” 79 percent, with similar or higher figures for his far-right coalition allies – finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The figures from the British Jewish community, released this week by the Institute of Jewish Policy Research (JPR), are based on amalgamated polling beginning at the end of 2022, just before the ruling Israeli coalition came to power, up to and including surveys in recent days.

JPR said it was “striking” disapproval ratings for both the prime minister and Smotrich had climbed “substantially” over the past six months by about five percentage points in the case of Smotrich and ten percent for Netanyahu.

“That period has been marked particularly by the Israeli government’s judicial reform plans,” JPR said, in reference to the cause of

some of the biggest protests in Israel’s history.

The reforms are seen as ongoing attempts by ministers to wrench power and independence from Israel’s judiciary, a battle demonstrators say risks the very essence of the country’s democracy. The first such law was voted through by the coalition last week.

Optimism is proving to be in short supply both within and outside Israel, with JPR saying 72 percent of British Jews were pessimistic about the state of democratic governance in Israel in the foreseeable future.

Likewise, the report noted only 18 percent of Israelis were optimistic, with around 55 percent identifying as pessimistic.

“Their levels of concern have not been this high for about 15 years and they have risen sharply since 2020,” noted JPR authors Jonathan Boyd and Carli Lessof in the factsheet published last week, adding the situation is now affecting Israel-diaspora ties.

Around 90 percent of British Jews have visited Israel and around 70 percent say they feel a sense of attachment to it and see it as a big part of their identity, but Boyd and Lessof

warned “there are some indications that the relationship may be shifting”.

For instance, the proportion of British Jews self-identifying as ‘Zionist’ had fallen by about 10 percentage points over the past decade, they noted, which could “suggest a growth in uncertainty, discomfort or ambivalence” among some.

They added: “The new data showing such high disapproval ratings for key members of the current Israeli government provide another sign that the bonds that have long tied Jews in the UK to Israel may be starting to fray.”

The findings draw mainly on data from two recent JPR panel studies – the 2022 National Jewish Identity Survey in November/ December that year, and the 2023 Antisemitism in the UK report in April/May this year.

Worryingly, the societal rupture Netanya-

hu’s judicial assault has triggered in Israel could yet spread to British shores, they warned.

“Israeli society is currently struggling vigorously over the future direction of the country and whether it will give primacy to democratic principles or move in a more autocractic and ethnocentric direction,” Boyd said.

“As this issue is playing itself out on the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, it seems that Jews in the UK are being compelled to ask themselves a new question: not whether they support Israel, but rather which Israel they support.

“It is distinctly possible that the tensions in Israel will spill over to diaspora Jewish communities. Indeed, in the UK at least, the data suggest the community may already be showing some signs of the strain.”

 Simcha Rothman interview and latest London protest, see page 5

Iran multi-front risk

Increasing provocations by Hezbollah on the Israeli-Lebanese border do not mean the two enemies are on the verge of war but the bigger picture tells a story of Iran and its proxies hoping to destroy Israel in the coming years, one of Israel’s top security experts has told Jewish News in an interview.

The situation is “serious but it doesn’t necessarily mean we are on the verge of an immediate military confrontation”, said retired Maj Gen Giora Eiland, former head of Israel’s National Security Council and head of the IDF Strategic Planning Branch.

But the bigger picture of Iran, and thereby Hezbollah, told a different story: “The Iranian conclusion is that maybe the time has come to destroy Israel in the next few years.”

Eiland listed three developments in the

Middle East in recent years that have accelerated Iran’s ultimate goal, including Iran being more “comfortable” in the international system due to restored ties with Saudi Arabia and greater cooperation with Russia.

Secondly, Eiland said, Iran has more “precise weaponry” at its disposal: “The past 40 years, Israel enjoyed this advantage. But today, Iran has accurate cruise missiles, suicide drones and ballistic missiles with GPS censors that are much more accurate.”

The third development is the internal crisis in Israel. “They see Israel as getting weaker and weaker. Now this interpretation might not be true but that’s how they see it,” he said.

Eiland said he believed Iran and Hezbollah were looking to accelerate the process of what they see as Israel’s inevitable demise.

Protesters in Handmaid’s Tale costumes at Sunday’s rally in Parliament Square

Musk-owned Twitter hosts two thirds of web Jew hate

The charity charged with protecting Britain’s Jews from antisemitism has reported an increase of Jew-hate on Twitter and an upward trend of school-sector incidents, writes Joy Falk.

In the latest half-yearly figures from the Community Security Trust (CST), published on Thursday, there was a slight overall reduction in the number of times people targeted Jews from January to June of this year, but with specific pockets of concern.

Incidents of antisemitism on Twitter – the social media platform bought by Elon Musk and rebranded as ‘X’ – now make up almost two thirds of CST’s online incidents, the charity said, compared with just less than half a year ago.

Following its $44bn purchase by Musk – a free speech champion – the platform’s policy is now to remove fewer pieces of harmful content and instead to restrict their visibility and reach.

“The data in our report suggest that their new approach to limiting the visibility of antisemitic tweets is not working,” said a charity spokesman. “The incidents reported to CST also indicate that antisemitic content on Twitter is more likely to include extremist discourse and ideology, or conspiracy theories and stereotypes about Jews, than the antisemitism found on other platforms.”

CST chief executive Mark Gardner said Musk’s values and approach directly a ected Jews. “It shows the importance of the tone and policies that are set by leaders and influencers,” he said. “We experienced it in every year of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party, and now, from a totally di erent direc-

tion, we see the exact same thing happening because of recent changes at Twitter.”

Elsewhere, the CST said it was worried that “the proportion of antisemitic incidents involving minors, either as perpetrators, victims, or both, has risen for the third year in a row”, with anti-Jewish incidents a ecting the school sector rising by almost a third in the first half of this year.

Where the charity was able to register a description of the o ender about a quarter recorded someone younger than 18, representing the highest proportion of child o enders for almost a decade.

Likewise, children were among the victims in 26 percent of incidents. “This phenomenon has also been on the rise since the first half of 2020, when the victims were children in just nine percent of incidents,” said the CST.

In total there were 803 incidents of antisemitism across the first half of 2023, the lowest January-June figures since 2017, but Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, warned that “anyone who thinks the issue has gone away needs to read this report”.

POLICY ISN’T WORKING

BY MARK GARDNER CST CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Our latest Antisemitic Incidents Report, published today, shows the damage that changes in the online world can cause when it comes to antisemitism here in Britain.

We have seen in the past how conflicts in the Middle East can trigger massive spikes in antiJewish hate in the UK. When Israel is at war, some people attack and abuse British Jews.

What we are now seeing is something different, where the change in policy of a social media company in California directly a ects the experiences of Jewish people here in Britain.

Overall, the number of anti-Jewish hate incidents reported to CST in the first six months of this year dropped by two percent compared to the first half of 2022, but the amount of antisemitism reported online shot up by 37 percent; and the number of reports of antisemitism on Twitter specifically rose by 79 percent.

Twitter’s ownership has changed hands in the intervening period, and with it the company’s approach to antisemitic or otherwise hateful tweets. CST has worked with all the mainstream platforms with varying degrees of success, but the problem remains acute. It is simply too common, still, to find outrageous

examples of antisemitic hate on all social media, and the companies that run these influential platforms still do not do enough to tackle it.

Twitter’s latest approach is best described as “freedom of speech, not freedom of reach”. The idea is that people are given much more latitude to tweet what they like, but Twitter’s algorithms will push harmful or o ensive tweets into obscurity, so that few, if any, users actually see it.

That’s fine in theory. But the increase in reports to CST of antisemitism on Twitter in the first six months of this year suggests that it isn’t working. CST does not trawl social media platforms looking for anti-Jewish content to log; we only record incidents that are reported to CST. Every antisemitic tweet included in our report was seen by someone who was o ended or alarmed enough by it to report it to CST. A lot of these tweets are replies directly to Jewish organisations and people in the community.

Twitter’s current approach, don’t forget, is to make these anti-Jewish tweets e ectively invisible. But our figures show that if anything, antisemitism is more visible than it was a year ago.

This is just the latest example of what we already know: that decisions made by tech billionaires and their executives thousands of miles away directly impact the day-to-day experiences of British Jews, with no regulation and little e ective legal protection. This situation cannot be allowed to continue.

Kisharon

and Langdon are merging. The newly formed charity, Kisharon Langdon, will offer a wider breadth of services of enhanced quality, enabling us to better support people with learning disabilities and autism and their families. The organisation remains dedicated to meeting unique religious and cultural needs, fostering an inclusive environment. From nursery and school to further education, through to employment opportunities and supported living, Kisharon Langdon will enable people with learning disabilities and autism to thrive and realise their ambitions and aspirations. Come on the journey with us and find out more at www.kisharonlangdon.org.uk

Some of the antisemitic

posts

that have become commonplace on the social media platform

Israeli start-up points lab meat at European menus

An Israeli start-up responsible for creating the world’s first kosher cultivated meat looks set to be the first to sell cultivated beef steaks in Europe, writes Candice Krieger.

Aleph Farms, which makes proteins from cell cultures rather than harvesting from animals, has applied to the Swiss Food Safety and Veterinary O ce to sell Aleph Cuts in Switzerland.

The company, based in Rehovot, hopes to launch Aleph Cuts in Singapore and Israel later this year, pending regulatory approvals.

The European submission is part of a collaboration with Migros, Switzerland’s largest food enterprise, which has assessed the country’s regulatory approval process.

Didier Toubia, co-founder and CEO of Aleph Farms, said: “Food systems a ect everyone, and it will take a co-ordinated e ort between regulators, innovators and incumbents to ensure food secu-

rity in a way that helps humanity live within its planetary boundaries.

“At Aleph Farms, we carefully consider partnerships that reflect our core values and sustainability commitments.

“Together with Migros, we are establishing the cow cell as the third category of food products from cattle, alongside beef and milk. We look forward to working

GRATITUDE FOR MEALS FUNDING

closely with Switzerland’s Federal Food Safety and Veterinary O ce to enable access to both high-quality nutrition and world-changing innovation.”

Aleph Farms, which counts actor Leonardo DiCaprio among its investors, this year received a kosher nod from the Chief Rabbi of Israel,

Continued from page 1, representatives from the United Synagogue and Partnerships for Jewish Schools.

Rabbi Sager told Jewish News: “After a huge amount of work from di erent people and groups over the last three months regarding this challenging issue for our schools, I’m delighted by the support we have received from the mayor, further to his equalities review. We are deeply appreciative.

“The KS2 universal free school meals uplift for schools with a protected characteristic, including religion, means our schools are in a much stronger position to o er our pupils hot kosher meals in due course. This is not the end of the story as even the uplift will not cover all our lunch costs. Conversations are ongoing with regard to further communal support.”

London Assembly representative and Barnet Labour council o cial Anne Clarke added: “There remain outstanding issues around

ensuring that kosher meals can be delivered in a sustainable way, and we will continue to work on those.

“This result shows what can happen working collaboratively with the GLA, Barnet Council and Barnet’s Jewish community.

“I want to thank the leadership of Barnet’s Jewish schools, the London Jewish Forum and the cross-party group of councillors who have been working on this issue. I look forward to further discussions on how we can continue to support all of our schools.”

Mayor Khan told Jewish News: “I have called on government to help already-stretched households but ministers have simply failed to act. That’s why I stepped in with £130m emergency funding to provide free school meals for state primary school children for the next academic year, and have set aside an additional £5m for any extraordinary costs associated with their delivery, such as ensuring kosher meals are available.”

David Baruch Lau, for its cultivated beef steak, a decision that opens the door for a full kosher certificate ahead of its market launch later this year in Israel.

An image from Aleph Farms of its lab-grown meat. Inset: Its scientists analyse collagen-producing cells

Judicial reform architect to UK: Don’t interfere with our politics

Religious Zionism’s Simcha Rothman speaks to Jotam Confino about the law passed last week that has divided Israel

Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, considered one of the architects of the Israeli government’s judicial reforms, has told Jewish News in an exclusive interview that the country’s allies shouldn’t “interfere” in its domestic politics.

A number of the country’s closest allies, such as the US and UK, expressed disappointment with the new law, passed last week, which bars the Supreme Court from striking down government decisions and appointments of ministers deemed “unreasonable”.

Rishi Sunak said following the Knesset vote that the UK’s “strong relationship with Israel has always been underpinned by our shared democratic values”. The United States said it was “unfortunate” that the vote by MKs “took place with the slimmest possible majority”.

Rothman, who chairs the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, blames “some people” in Israel for asking “foreign government’s to interfere in our internal debate”. He told Jewish News: “Everyone should remind themselves that allies and friends don’t interfere with internal politics in other countries. I am telling them we have to respect each other.”

He has been among the most active MKs in the Benjamin Netanyahu government pushing through the reforms, and overseen the process of the “reasonableness law” in the committee.

Experts and commentators in Israel, including former premier Ehud Olmert, are now speculating that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara will be sacked. Several ministers have called for her resignation in recent months, accusing her of incompetence and being in bed with anti-reform demonstrators.

Asked if Netanyahu will fire Baharav-Miara now that appointment cannot be struck down by judges, Rothman dodged the question. “Every government should have the right to appoint its own legal advisers,” he said. “When there is no trust between the legal adviser and the prime minister and his ministers, the legal adviser shouldn’t be staying in office. With or without the reasonableness standard.”

The last time the court used the now abolished standard in respect of a government decision was in January, when it ruled that the appointment of Shas party leader Arieh Dery as health and interior minister was “unreasonable in the extreme”. Supreme Court president Esther Hayout said following the ruling: “This is a person who has been convicted three times of offences throughout his life and violated his duty to serve the public loyally and lawfully while serving in senior public positions.”

Rothman also refused to say whether Dery will now be reappointed as health and interior minister. “I don’t think that the court should interfere with who is being appointed minister, whatsoever. Unless it’s strictly illegal, the court shouldn’t have a say in the makeup of the government,” he said.

Lastly, Rothman said he hopes the government and the opposition will be able to reach a “wide agreement” on the remaining judicial reforms in the coming months, but that the government will not accept “extortion”. “I don’t think the opposition should get a veto on legislation,” he said, adding, in what appeared to be a provocative word-play: “I hope they will come to their senses and be reasonable.”

...AS UK DEMOS CONTINUE

About 200 people gathered in Parliament Square on Sunday to protest against the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul, days after the passage of the “reasonableness law”.

While in previous protests, the majority of the protesters were Israelis, the crowd was an equal mixture of both Israelis and members of the British Jewish community, with several rabbis attending.

Rabbi Charley Baginsky, CEO of Liberal Judaism, sent a strong message of support: “Progressive Jewish leaders – including Rabbi Colin Eimer and myself – are at today’s demonstration for Israeli democracy.”

Speakers included Sheldon Stone, a regular attendee at the UK protests, who said: “It was hard for me to come here today as I have never criticised Israel publicly before for fear of encouraging our enemies. However, I judged that they are more encouraged by the internal divisions in Israel itself that this rushed judicial reform has caused.”

“So I come with sadness but with chesed chinam (endless love) towards Israel, hoping for a legislative pause and meaningful discussions

that will root any outcome in the principles of Israeli’s Declaration of Independence to which so many of its citizens wish to hold fast to,” Stone added.

The hour-long protest finished with the national anthem Hatikva in heavy rain. Sharon Shochat, from organisers Defend Israeli Democracy UK, said: “It was a real joy singing in the rain and taking in the wonderful atmosphere. I believe that the silver lining to this catastrophe is the huge awakening we see in Israel, as well as here in the UK, of communities coming together to protect equality and freedom in Israel.”

What Kisharon and Langdon have achieved is extraordinary.

Through the leadership of Langdon Chairman Nigel Henry, former CEO Neil Taylor, Kisharon Chairman Philip Goldberg and CEO Richard Franklin, they have shown professionalism, researched and identified duplication and led by example in putting service users first. The coming together of both JLC member organisations will benefit their service users, the sector and the entire community and we wish the new, stronger and combined Kisharon Langdon every success going forward.

Keith Black, Chair of the Jewish Leadership Council

We have a daughter who has been a Member of Langdon for quite some time and is living a full life, taking part in some employment opportunities and many organised social activities and holidays and is living as independent a life as possible. We feel very positive about the merger and are very optimistic about the future opportunities that this will create for the Members of both organisations.

Carole and Jonathan Joseph, Member’s parents

The Wohl

We acknowledge the leadership of trustees from both organisations, who each put the needs of their clients, residents, families and wider Jewish community ahead of own their individual organisations in order to ensure common good and future sustainability. We wish Kisharon Langdon every success.

Kate Goldberg, Chief Executive, Wohl Legacy

To find out more about the Kisharon Langdon merger, visit www.kisharonlangdon.org.uk

Legacy has been delighted to support the merger of Kisharon Langdon.

Simcha Rothman (left) shakes hands with Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of last week’s vote

The Westminster protest on Sunday

News / Conservative ‘antisemitism’ / Simcha switch

Tories under fire for failure to act on antisemitism probe

The Conservative Party has revealed it received 14 complaints of antisemitism last year but gave no information on their outcome.

The data emerged in a review of a report published by Professor Swaran Singh and his team following a 2020 investigation into high-profile allegations of discrimination – including Islamophobia and anti-Jewish hate – in the party.

The review was to assess the extent to which the Conservatives had enacted Singh’s recommendations, all of which were agreed.

One recommendation said the party should publish data on case volumes, completion times and outcomes, especially where cases related to ‘Protected Characteristics’, such as religion and belief.

Its first transparency report covering 2022 shows 18.5 percent of complaints cited at least one Protected Characteristic, and while only 21 percent of all complaints progressed to investigation, over half citing a Protected Characteristic were investigated.

Of the complaints citing religion and belief, 55 percent mentioned Islam and 43 percent Judaism. Over a shorter period, 14 complaints citing Judaism were logged, compared to six for Islam.

The party recently issued a new code of conduct and new systems to tackle discrimination against Protected Characteristics, but the review highlighted a lack of

training and implementation, with only 15 percent of local association chairs enacting the processes.

Hertsmere Jewish Labour activist Dan Ozarow, who stood as a candidate in the Borehamwood Kenilworth ward by-election in 2020, says he suffered antisemitic abuse from Tory councillors, including a mocked-up poster suggesting he supported Hezbollah.

He claims the abuse has continued, noting that “from day one”, many in the Jewish community had expressed disappointment that those found guilty of inciting antisemitism and conducting a personal, negative campaign against him were “merely reprimanded” by the party.

“Without any enforcement, expulsions or suspensions, the intimidation and harassment has continued... and has been a living nightmare for me and my family,’ Ozarow added.

In the end, he said, he felt forced to stand down as a borough councillor “which was very upsetting for me and the residents I represent”.

“I am pleased the Singh investigation has highlighted serious weaknesses in how the party deals with complaints of racism and has been critical of its failure to implement several of the recommendations of the 2021 report.

“I hope lessons will be learned so sufficient deterrents are in place to prevent others suffering.”

Camp Simcha has announced a new chair of trustees with former Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) chief execute Simon Johnson taking over from Julian Taylor, who is retiring.

Johnson is already a trustee of Camp Simcha, which supports UK families who have seriously ill children.

He said: “I am honoured to assume the chair of this great charity, working with excellent staff and trustee board and following in the illustrious footsteps of Julian and those who led the charity before him.”

Taylor said: “It has been a privilege to be chair of trustees at Camp Simcha for nearly 13 years. I continue to be passionate about the amazing, bespoke, life-changing work the charity does and the difference it makes for families trying to cope with the most difficult of circumstances.

“I look forward to seeing Camp Simcha going from strength to strength with Simon as the new chair.”

The party has been accused of ‘lack of training’ over discrimination

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New probe into Alderney deaths

The government has announced a review of evidence into the number of prisoners who died on the Channel island of Alderney during the Nazi occupation, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

Lord Eric Pickles, the UK’s post-Holocaust issues envoy and head of the UK delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, has appointed a team of 11 independent and internationally recognised experts to the job.

They will build on preexisting knowledge to examine files from archives across Europe to identify what they consider the most accurate number of people who died.

During the Nazi occupation of the Channel islands, four concentration camps were built on Alderney, including SS Lager Sylt which housed Jewish slave labourers.

There has been speculation in recent years over numbers of individuals murdered by the conditions in the camps.

Lord Pickles’ office said the Alderney camps were “significant in the history of the Holocaust” because they were on British soil and provide evidence of ‘extermination through labour’ (vernichtung durch arbeit) in the construc-

tion of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. “The review will give historians, journalists, residents and anyone with a theory an opportunity to explore their thoughts with 11 of the world’s leading experts, in an atmosphere that combines openness with academic rigour. All are welcome,” the statement said.

“I hope this review will put to rest conspiracy theories on numbers and provide lasting dignity to the dead and some peace to the residents of Alderney who continue to remember them at the Hammond War Memorial every year in May.”

The panel will receive expert assistance from the archives at the Yad Vashem Holocaust centre to locate

relevant documentation. The group will announce its findings next March

The project is headed by Dr Paul Sanders of the NEOMA business school in Reims, and includes several UK delegates.

Among them are Dr Gilly Carr of Cambridge University and three Staffordshire University representatives – Dr Daria Cherkaska, Kevin Colls MSc and Professor Caroline Sturdy Colls. Representing Alderney is Jurat Colin Partridge OBE. Another member is Professor Marc Buggeln of Freie Universität, Berlin. Members of the panel are inviting the public to take part in the review and say all submissions received will be examined.

INTERMARRIAGE ISN’T THREAT TO NUMBERS

Continued from page 1 “imprecise or incorrect to see intermarriage as the threat to Jewish demographic sustainability”, he says.

“It may have been different in the past, but today the main threat is low fertility.”

JPR said the rising prevalence of intermarriage over time in the United States has been “offset somewhat by the growing Charedi and Orthodox populations”, but that this posed questions as to “who is a Jew?”.

Children of Jewish mothers and nonJewish fathers are considered Jewish by most,

but this risks the idea of first and second-class Jews, Staetsky says, because of the idea that “transmission of Jewishness is partial in the case of intermarried mothers”.

He said this was “based on empirical reality” and, when viewed dispassionately, the data showed children of intermarried couples “are less likely to identify as Jews than the offspring of in-married couples”.

JPR director Dr Jonathan Boyd said intermarriage “has long been an issue for community leaders” but added that “fertility rates can both exacerbate or help to quell its impact”.

While the figures of intermarriage were higher for secular Jews, Staetsky said about 25 percent of Jewish partners of Reform Jews are “Jews by conversion”. When analysis of intermarriage is limited to partners who are Jews by birth, secular and progressive/Reform Jews in Europe “have identical levels of intermarriage”.

This translates as about 45 percent being married to Jews by birth, with 55 percent being married to non-Jews by birth.

 Editorial comment, page 16

Germans inspecting Fort Albert harbour on Alderney

A prayer for Jewish Museum as it becomes part of Camden history

Hundreds of people, young and old, crowded into the Jewish Museum in Camden Town on Sunday to bid an emotional farewell to the charity’s building, which has closed after more than a decade on the site, writes Jenni Frazer.

Moderated by interim director Sue Shave and her predecessor Frances Jeens, who is a trustee of the Jewish Museum, the closing ceremony featured a prayer for the museum and its staff by Rabbi Geoffrey Shisler, who has been a long-time volunteer at the museum.

In tribute to the long-standing Holocaust education programmes run at the Jewish Museum – in which thousands of school students have heard first-hand accounts of their experiences by Holocaust survivors and Kindertransporte refugees – several of those involved in the programmes lit memorial candles.

Elsa Shamash, who has been involved with the programmes for 16 years, said she had “preached tolerance and equality to thousands of schoolchildren”. And she drew a sad parallel with refugee children of today, facing deportation to Rwanda. Bea Green, who lit another of the candles, is now 98 and arrived on the Kindertransport when she was 14. Survivors Mala Tribich and Eve Kugler also lit candles and praised the importance of the programmes.

The last candle was lit by Hephzibah

Rudofsky, daughter of survivor Lady Zahava Kohn, who died a year ago. Ms Rudofsky said she wanted to continue her mother’s work.

In his prayer for the museum, Rabbi Shisler said that diverse communities learned to live

peacefully alongside each other “when they understand each other”. The Jewish Museum had greatly added to this work by opening up to people of other faiths who were interested in learning about Judaism, he said, a point well

made to an audience which included a large church group from the Immanuel churches in Edgware and Westminster. The event concluded with a display of objects from the museum’s collection — there are 40,000 in total — including a huge chanukiah, made of two pieces of solid silver and brought into Britain by a survivor. He bequeathed the piece to the museum on condition it was used for Chanukah every year.

Now the building is closed to the public the business of packing up and selling begins –expected to take until the end of the year.

As Frances Jeens reminded the audience, this is not the first move the museum will have made since its foundation in 1932. She and Shave said they had “mixed emotions” on this final day but were looking forward to the next version of the museum, which they hoped would be “somewhere prominent” in central London, in a place with a greater footfall than in Camden Town and perhaps adjacent to other museums.

Some of the collection will be diverted into a loans programme which will go to other parts of the UK, and there will be an increase in online events. Already, said Shave, the staff had collected more than 200 images relating to “diverse Judaism” projects, and the “hidden stories” that accompanied them.

 Rabbi Alex Goldberg, page 19

One of the Jewish Museum’s final visting groups before its closure last Sunday

News / Crash death / US trustees / Football twins

London mother of 10 dies in French crash US ELECTS FOUR TRUSTEES

A woman from Stamford Hill died in a car crash in northern France on Sunday evening.

Miriam Posen, who had 10 children and is believed to be 49 years old, was one of at least three people who were killed in the road collision on the A26 motorway, south of Lens.

It is understood that she was in a nineseater van carrying another seven members of her family when the tragedy occurred at about 6pm.

Initial reports said two of Miriam’s daughters were injured in the accident and are being treated in hospital alongside their father, Rabbi Shalom Pinchos Posen.

A spokesman for local emergency services who attended the crash site said:

“Three people are dead and dozens injured, including many children. A van with a British family of seven people on board was one of the three vehicles involved in the crash.

“A British woman died instantly, along with two others travelling in another vehicle.

‘The other passengers – aged between six and 48 – were taken to hospital in Cambrai and Arras.”

Two people who were travelling in another vehicle, a 75-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man, were killed.

Two passengers from the same vehicle, a 14-year-old boy, and a 79-year-old man, were in critical condition and airlifted to Lille University Hospital for treatment.

The United Synagogue Council elected four trustees at a council meeting at St John’s Wood Synagogue.

Current trustees Dr Nicola Rosenfelder (South Hampstead United Synagogue) and Jacqui Zinkin (Golders Green Untied) were reelected for a second term of four years.

Tristan Nagler (Hendon United Synagogue) and Simon Mitchell (Borehamwood and Elstree United Synagogue) were elected for the first time.

Rosenfelder is a consultant in neurooncology at the Royal Marsden Hospital. She is married to Michael Coren and they have four children. Before retiring, Zinkin was director

of postgraduate business studies at the University of Westminster. She is married to Peter and they have two children and three grandchildren.

Nagler is a former honorary o cer of Hendon United Synagogue and leads the UK o ce of international private equity investment firm Aurelius. He is married to Elizabeth and they have three children.

Mitchell is the past chair of Borehamwood and Elstree United Synagogue and is currently the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) head of sale strategy and perations at Amazon Web Services. He is married to Deborah and they have a teenage daughter.

SHOHAM SURE DO SHOW ’EM

A promising young football team from Shoham in central Israel visited Elstree & Borehamwood as part of a town twinning agreement.

The visit culminated in a hard-fought friendly between Maccabi Shoham FC and a Boreham Wood FC XI at the Mangata Pay UK Stadium, Meadow Park, last month. It ended in a 1-0 victory for the visitors. A 500-strong crowd of children and families enjoyed an exciting game.

During the week, the Shoham team trained with the Boreham Wood FC local Academy and were joined by ‘Wood Army’ manager Luke Garrard. They also visited Kenilworth Primary School, answering questions from pupils and treating them to training sessions.

The team were guests of honour at a community breakfast in which faith leaders and councillors. The twinning agreement, signed in March, was the first such twinning with Israel in decades.

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The scene of the crash on Sunday in which Miriam Posen, from Stamford Hill, was killed

Dr Nicola Rosenfelder

The Israelis visited Elstree & Borehamwood

Merger to empower those with learning disabilities and autism

Kisharon and Langdon, two leading organisations dedicated to supporting individuals with learning disabilities and autism, have announced their merger after a rigorous twoyear process, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

The newly-formed entity, Kisharon Langdon, aims to o er the best possible opportunities for the Jewish learning disability and autism community to thrive.

The new organisation will, it states, be better placed to facilitate seamless transitions for individuals at key educational stages, starting from nursery age and progressing through further education and into employment opportunities.

Kisharon Langdon will continue to o er a person-centred approach throughout its enhanced service-o ering, including supported living accommodation for adults as part of a comprehensive support programme.

Cost e ciencies as a result of the merger will allow monies to be reallocated from overheads to front line services.

Central to Kisharon Langdon’s mission is a commitment to the interests of people with learning disabilities and autism, as well as their families. The organisation says it remains dedicated to meeting their religious and cultural needs, fostering an inclusive environment. The importance of empowering those we support to

realise their ambitions and aspirations remains a core value.

“We are pleased to announce the merger of Kisharon and Langdon, marking the beginning of an exciting journey to make a positive impact on our community,” said CEO Richard Franklin. “Through ambitious and personalised support, Kisharon Langdon will empower people with learning disabilities and autism to shape their futures and realise their potential. The support and partnership of the community has been instrumental in the success of both Kisharon and Langdon to date, and the merged Kisharon Langdon can only but thrive through this essential collaboration with our community.”

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said: “This merger is clearly an important development for the many hundreds of service users who will benefit from the consolidation of these wonderful organisations – each one of which has been a jewel in the crown of the Anglo Jewish community for so many years. It also sends a very powerful message about what can be achieved when charities with similar objectives can combine their resources, expertise and networks for the greater good.

“This is a proud moment for our community – may Kisharon Langdon go mechayil el chayil –from strength to added strength – as it embarks

This is our community’s biggest merger in 30 years

BY RICHARD FRANKLIN CEO, KISHARON LANGDON

Four-and-a-half years ago Langdon’s excellent outgoing CEO, Neil Taylor, and I met to discuss what seemed to be the distant prospect of merger. Neither of us had any concept of the literally tens of thousands of hours it would take to bring what seemed a simple idea to fruition – the Kisharon Langdon merger.

The case was made by the thorough 2020 Cordis Bright report funded by communal organisations and generous philanthropists. It concluded that our learning disability and autism organisations would find themselves in an almost impossible position over the next 15 years with 12 percent average annual growth in increasingly complex demands – set against little to no increase in real terms in an already perilously underfunded social care environment. Our charities needed to work ever-closer to make each pound stretch further.

Following an honest, open and collegiate period of dialogue with Norwood, Gesher and PaJeS, the best way forward was for Kisharon and Langdon to further explore options. This was due to the comparative sizes, areas of specialism, geographical distribution, and diverse supporter networks and clear prospective benefits to the communities the organisations respectively served. It took a further year and 10 dedicated work streams supported by the professionalism of Micah Gold, Natalie Grazin

and their assembled Mobilize consulting team to consider each part of the respective organisations and how they might best work together. The inescapable and unanimous conclusion for respective trustees was full merger.

This was further sense-checked by people we support, their families and donors in independently held specialist focus groups who reached similar conclusions - while recognising the enormity of the challenges that lay ahead.

There are undoubted benefits of being the largest specialist dedicated Jewish learning disability and autism provider. There is the increased breadth and range of o ering to a broader cohort, attractive to skilled practitioners, which is also more attractive to local authority commissioners. The inevitable economies of scale mean 13.5 percent more of donor monies may be applied to front line services, which also appeals to an increasingly impactconscious donor community.

However, the largest communal merger in almost 30 years is not without risk. It relies on each of us recognising and acting on the absolute urgency of support for people with learning disabilities and autism. For too long, they and their families have su ered the iniquity of being forced to fight their corner in a scandalously underfunded social care environment, where the political attention is all too often focused on elder care and the impact on the NHS.

People with learning disabilities and autism have rights – as equal citizens – to learn, work and live with dignity as valued contributors.

The Kisharon Langdon merger will ensure those we support can thrive.

on this exciting new chapter of its work.”

Keith Black, chair of the JLC, said: “What Kisharon and Langdon have achieved is extraordinary. The coming together of both JLC

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member organisations will benefit their service users, the sector and the entire community. We wish the new, stronger and combined Kisharon Langdon every success going forward.”

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Service users Chani and Deena cooking in their supported living home

World News / Israel–Saudi relations / Racist returns / Long-lived memories

move toward the Palestinians”, and that Saudi Arabia wouldn’t be satisfied with a promise from Prime Minister Netanyahu for Israel not annex the West Bank.

purchasing Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) antiballistic missile defence system.

A normalisation deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel would require “significant progress” on the Palestinian issue, according to a New York Times report, writes Jotam Confino.

The report comes as US national security adviser Jake Sullivan vis-

ited Riyadh in yet another attempt to make progress on a deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

The report cited Israeli o cials saying that King Salman “intervened in the negotiations to insist any deal include a clear Israeli

Kanye West’s Twitter account has been reinstated after a suspension of almost eight months for violating the platform’s policy against inciting violence.

The antisemitic rapper posted a series of tweets at the end of last year, one of which showed a symbol combining a swastika and a Magen David. Later, in an interview with US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, he praised Hitler.

Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, confirmed on

It is highly doubtful that Netanyahu’s coalition partners on the farright, for whom West Bank annexation is a top priority, would accept the reported Saudi demand.

In addition to Israeli concessions, Saudi Arabia is reportedly also looking to get a Nato-like deal with the US that would guarantee American defence support in case of an attack on the Kingdom, as well as

2 December that West’s account had been suspended. At the time Musk replied to a Twitter user who asked him to “fix Kanye”, to which he said: “I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended.”

The rapper has not posted anything new to Twitter since the suspension has been lifted, with the account showing his last posts from early December.

Lastly, Saudi Arabia is also asking for permission to develop a civilian nuclear programme, something Israel as well as other countries in the Middle East would have an issue with.

Netanyahu has made it a priority for his government to include Saudi Arabia in the Abraham Accords, which is only realistic with US mediation and support.

Ties between the US and Israel have, however, su ered several blows in the past six months, mainly over

For a Saudi deal Israel needs ‘significant’ shift KANYE BACK ON

the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul, as well as rising settler terror attacks and racist remarks by ministers in Netanyahu’s security cabinet.

President Biden’s relationship with Saudi Arabia has also been tense since he took o ce in 2021, after he labelled the kingdom a “pariah” state owing to its involvement in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and its war crimes in Yemen.

But the Biden administration has attempted to restore ties with Saudi Arabia in the past year, mainly to convince Riyadh to help lower prices on the energy market by pump more oil.

The oldest living resident of New York State and a participant in a genetic study of long-living Ashkenazi Jews, has died, aged 112.

Louise Levy was one of hundreds of Jews in their mid-nineties and older who were recruited in 1998 for a study by the Institute for Ageing Research at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in the Bronx. The cohort was chosen because its members, including some Holocaust survivors, are a homogeneous group.

“Throughout her long life she remained a lady in every sense of the word,” her family wrote in an obituary. “She will be unfailingly remembered for her grace, positivity and kindness.”

Conditions: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Terror attacks / Noise gong / School shooting / World

Six wounded in West Bank

A 20-year-old Palestinian shot and wounded six Israelis near a shopping centre in the settlement of Ma’ale Adumin in the West Bank on Tuesday, including a 14-year-old boy, writes Jotam Confino.

Police said the terrorist suspect “opened fire in all directions” at diners near the mall, whereafter he was shot and killed by a border police o cer who heard the shooting.

The man was identified as Mahand al-Mazaraa from the West Bank village of Al-Eizariya, according to Israeli media.

“A border police o cer who was o -duty on his way to a haircut heard gunshots and cries of civilians that there is a terrorist. The o cer began scanning the area to locate the terrorist,” the police said in a statement.

“After calls of the o cer, identi-

fying as a police o cer and that the terrorist stop, the terrorist turned around and opened fire on the o cer. The border police o cer managed to return fire and neutralise the terrorist,” the statement added.

The victims were taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Centre and

Hadassah Medical Centre, two of them in serious condition and the rest in moderate condition, according to authorities.

A group of Israelis gathered at the scene, chanting “death to terrorists”.

Police commissioner Kobi Shabtai and national security

Tel Aviv among noisiest cities

minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also arrived at the scene. Shabtai said the o cer who shot and killed the assailant “prevented a broader terror attack”.

Haaretz quoted a senior Hamas o cial in the Gaza Strip, saying that the attack was “a punch to the face of Ben-Gvir and his invasion of the Al-Aqsa mosque”, referring to Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount last week.

• One person was lightly injured yesterday in a terrorist shooting attack near the Hamra intersection in the West Bank, military and medical o cials said.

Magen David Adom service said a 31-year-old woman had light facial injuries caused by glass or shrapnel.

The military said it was carrying out searches in the area for suspects.

JEWISH MAN FIRED SHOTS AT MEMPHIS SCHOOL

Police this week shot a man in his 40s who they said attempted to attack a Jewish school.

The incident occurred at around noon at Margolin Hebrew Academy Feinstone Yeshiva of the South in Memphis, Tennessee.

The man fired shots outside the school but failed to gain entry and left the scene. He was

shot after police approached him nearby, police and Jewish security o cials said.

Local congressman Steve Cohen, who represents the Memphis area, said: “We have recently learned that the shooter at the Margolin Hebrew Academy was himself Jewish and a former student at the school.

“I am pleased the academy had e ective security and that the police acted quickly to protect students.”

A spokesperson for the Secure Community Network, which has worked with the school, told CNN the suspect’s motivation had apparently been “personal in nature”.

Tel Aviv is among the 10 worst cities in the world to get a good night’s sleep, according to a study, writes Jotam Confino in Tel Aviv.

The survey, conducted by CIA Landlords Insurance, is ranking the best and worst cities in the world for a good night’s sleep, based on a range of factors such as air, noise and light pollution, crime rates and the quality of green spaces.

The survey ranks Tel Aviv fourth on the list, behind Bogotá in Colombia, Santiago in Chile and Athens in Greece.

Tel Aviv is doing particularly bad on the categories of ‘safety walking alone at night’ and ‘level of crime’.

While the survey does not mention this, residents of Tel Aviv have su ered from increasing construction noise in recent years, causing great distress for many people.

Bern in Switzerland has been named the best city in the world for a good night’s sleep, followed by Reykjavik in Iceland, Helsinki in Finland, and Vienna in Austria.

Israeli police at the scene of the terrorist attack in Ma’ale Adumim

Muslims accuse Ben-Gvir of ‘storming’ Temple Mount

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir again sparked outrage among Muslim leaders after visiting the Temple Mount on Thursday morning, saying Israel needs to “display governance” on the holy site.

Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount, the holiest place for Jews, to mark Tisha B’Av where Jews mourn the destruction of the Second Temple 2000 years ago by the Romans.

The Temple Mount is “the most important place for the people of Israel. We need to return and display our governance (here),” he said.

Death sentence for shul shooter

A jury has given the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter a death sentence, handing down the maximum punishment for the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history.

The sentence marks an end to the monthslong trial of Robert Bowers, who was convicted in June of murdering 11 Jews during Shabbat prayers in October 2018. The shooting, at a synagogue in the historically Jewish neighbourhood of Squirrel Hill, changed the way Jews across the United States viewed themselves and their place in American society. It was a stark example of a rising tide of antisemitism and led Jewish institutions across the country to bolster their physical security.

Anger over call to free Rabin’s killer

A right-wing TV channel in Israel has banned a guest from its programs after he called for the release of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassin, drawing applause from the audience. Ari Shamai, a lawyer, made the remark in discussion of an Israeli Supreme Court decision that barred a right-wing candidate from running this year for mayor of Tiberias.

Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visiting Temple Mount last week

“On this day, at this place, we must remember – we are all brothers. We are all the same people. When a terrorist looks out the window, he can’t tell us apart,” he added.

Some 1,000 Jews also visited the Temple Mount, where the Al-Aqsa mosque is located.

Israeli Police arrested 16 people for failing to comply with police orders.

The gunman’s lawyers had not contested his guilt but argued that the act was a result of his mental illness and did not merit a death sentence. On Wednesday, the jury rejected that argument, deciding unanimously that he should be put to death. Many of the victims’ families, though not all, had pushed for the gunman to receive a death sentence.

EXPAT BOOTS ISRAELI AMBASSADOR FROM HIS CAFE

An expat Israeli in Berlin ejected Israel’s ambassador to Germany from his cafe last weekend as a political statement in the midst of Israel’s ongoing political crisis.

Avi Berg, owner of Café Dodo in Berlin, announced on Facebook that

...and we collect for free!

he had told Ambassador Ron Prosor he was “not welcome in my café” because he “represents Israel, and since he implements an invalid and manipulative policy, which claims that any criticism of Israel is antisemitic.”

That policy, wrote Berg, “claims that

I and my peers are antisemitic.”

After being asked to leave, Prosor and his bodyguards left the cafe immediately, Berg reported.

“I would like to emphasise that I did what I did specifically because the ambassador isn’t an individual but an

o cial representative of the state of Israel,” Berg said. “He and the embassy are deeply involved in putting pressure on the Bundestag to block any criticism of Israel and to label any such criticism as antisemitism.”

•

Jenni

Frazer, page 18

Arnie to receive to Shoah museum gong Arnold Schwarzenegger will recive the Award of Courage from the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles for speaking out against antisemitism, writes Daniel Pesin. The Austrian-born actor, whose father was in the Nazi Party, told CNN he used his family history to warn against being “sucked into a hate system through lies and deceit”. The museum said: “Arnold helps to educate and elevate humanity to fight hate in all forms. He is a reflection of the museum’s essence.

Faith in our future

This week’s report by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) on global intermarriage rates will spark vital debates in Jewish communities in Britain and beyond.

The issue of so-called “marrying out” has long been a subject of concern for Jewish leaders and policymakers. This comprehensive study sheds fresh light on the complexities surrounding the phenomenon and its impact on Jewish life in the UK. The report indicates a significant disparity in intermarriage rates between Israel and the Diaspora, with Israel showing a remarkably low rate of one-in-20 while the global figure stands at one-in-four. Notably, the figures reveal levels of intermarriage among the UK Jewish community is approximately half that of the diaspora as a whole. At 22 percent it is the third lowest rate outside Israel.

Interestingly, the study points out a substantial intermarriage prevalence among Jews who identify as secular or ‘Just Jewish,’ particularly in Europe and the USA. Figures of 70 percent and almost 50 percent, respectively, emphasise the evolving nature of Jewish identity in the modern world.

By focusing on promoting a welcoming community that celebrates its rich heritage, we can strengthen our collective identity while preserving our roots – building a future where Jewish identity enriches the world with its values and contributions.

JEWISH

Rosenberg would be ideal choice to boost the Board

I was intrigued by your report, headlined Rosenberg sets the early pace in battle for the Board (21 July). I am deaf and gay with a passion for social justice and inclusion and have been delighted by the progress made by the Board in recent years under Marie van der Zyl’s presidency. This week, during a quiet moment, I began to think who the Board’s next president might be and concluded Phil Rosenberg would be the

perfect fit. He has the experience needed, he is strong on interfaith, inclusion and social justice and unafraid of challenging work. He will attract young people to become deputies, bring more smaller communities, groups and individuals to sign up to the Board and produce solutions to ensure the future financial viability of the Board.

Owen M Power MPhil (University of Manchester) Deputy, York Liberal Jewish Community

Sales Manager Marc Jacobs 020 8148 9701 marc@jewishnews.co.uk

Sales Yael Schlagman 020 8148 9705 yael@jewishnews.co.uk

Passing the president’s baton to Phil Rosenberg would be a welcome godsend and a valid choice as a candidate, given his politically savvy experience within the Board and now as a deputy, always with contagious enthusiasm. He has proven success representing the Board and

jewishnews.co.uk Accounts Benny Shahar 020 8148 9694 benny@jewishnews.co.uk

WEEKEND'S SHABBAT TIMES...

Operations Manager Alon Pelta 020 8148 9693 alon@jewishnews.co.uk

Shabbat comes in Friday night 8.29pm Shabbat goes out Saturday night 9.37pm Sedra: Eikev

Clarification:

Dr Sheldon Stone’s affiliation was incorrectly given in the 20 July edition as Royal Free and University College London. Dr Stone retired from that role three years ago. His correct affiliation appeared in the online version of his column as adviser to Stop Uyghur Genocide and Bochrim b’Democratia supporter. We are happy to set the record straight.

strong connections across the parliamentary spectrum, which will stand our community in good stead to take on the diverse challenges we are increasingly confronting.

Simone Klass Deputy, St John’s Wood United Synagogue

I was delighted to read about the idea of Phil Rosenberg standing for Board of Deputies president.

He is fresh and energetic, and has a huge amount of relevant experience both inside the Board and as a result of his outstanding work outside. If he decides to stand, he can certainly count on my support.

Renee Wasserman Deputy, Hendon United Synagogue

GET CITIZENSHIP OR STAY SHTUM

My advice to Dr Sheldon Stone and his friends (20 July) is as follows. If they wish to oppose the democratically-elected government of the state of Israel, rather than giving our enemies aid and succour by standing with megaphones in the street outside the ambassador’s residence or outside shuls where she is speaking, they should make aliyah, pay their taxes in Israel and vote in Israeli elections.

Brian Gedalla, Finchley

HERO PAUL BEDER

Several news outlets reported after the death of Jules Konopinski that Sam Needleman is now the sole surviving member of the Jewish anti-fascist 43 Group. Happily, this is untrue. Paul Beder is alive and well in north London. He was born in 1927 in Stepney. After

CHEW ON THIS

RAF service, he joined the 43 Group and was involved in several violent confrontations with Mosley’s fascists.

If any bona fide researchers wish to meet him, they should contact me at AJEX HQ first and I will seek his permission

Martin Sugarman, AJEX

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BLINDBRITAIN’SSPOT

In response to Mr Joni Grodzinski’s letter regarding your acceptance of advertisers who are not strictly kosher, does he realise your newspaper is not targeted specifically at the strictly Orthodox communities? You rely on advertising to cover costs.

I respectfully suggest that he should not pick up a copy of the paper if he feels so strongly that it offends his Jewishness.

Malcolm Solts, Stanmore

THE JACOB FOUNDATION

Jewish News is owned by The Jacob Foundation, a registered UK charity promoting cohesion and common ground across the UK Jewish community and between British Jews and wider society. Jewish News promotes these aims by delivering dependable and balanced news reporting and analysis and celebrating the achievements of its vibrant and varied readership. Through the Jacob Foundation, Jewish News acts as a reliable and independent advocate for British Jews and a crucial communication vehicle for other communal charities.

PHILOSOPHY OF A DIVERSE DEMOCRACY

We are philosophers in the United Kingdom who are also Jewish. We all support the right of Israel to exist. Most of us have visited Israel on many occasions for professional or other purposes. None of us has a history of criticising Israel in public. However, the Israeli government’s current plan to undermine the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches of government poses a threat to the state of Israel that we cannot ignore. Those like us who care passionately about the health of Israel as a democratic Jewish state cannot remain silent.

A real democracy is not just a simple ‘rule by the majority’. Both individuals and minorities must have protected rights, and the judicial branch of government is there to ensure that this is so. In the absence of some system of checks or restraints on the executive and legislature, no government can aspire to be a democracy.

We fervently hope that the government of Israel will turn away from this course of action and retain its place among the world’s democracies.

Dr Nicholas Bunnin, Professor Kenneth Ehrenberg, Professor John Hyman, Professor Guy Kahane, Professor Matthew Kramer, Dr David Levy, Professor Ofra Magidor, Professor Simon May, Dr Eliot Michaelson, Professor DavidHillel Ruben, Professor Victor Jeleniewski Seidler, Professor Hillel Steiner, Professor Jonathan Wolff, Professor Alfred Landecker

The last Israeli election was an example of democracy at its best. The people, tired of

the old government, voted for something different. With their inverted logic the ultraleftists and their reform supporters have created the big lie that this is an attack on democracy. Normally the losing party would re-group and try to win the next election, but this lot are very bad losers.

With financial backing from sinister places, they are determined to destroy the country if they can’t get their own way. Most of the media-indoctrinated masses do not know that the unelected, unaccountable Israeli Supreme Court has had a stranglehold over the country for 30 years.

The newly-elected politicians are moving to break this and restore real democracy.

People calling themselves ‘rabbis’ display remarkable ignorance in their misquoting the Hebrew prophets to fit current ultraliberal ideology; ‘full social and political equality for all its citizens without distinction of race, creed or sex’.

Where exactly is this written? Who is really making a mockery of democracy?

Suzy Bennett, Edgware

Sir Mick Davis (27 July) asks whether we will be there for Israelis who “need us”. He is referring to his demand for vocal support from British Jewish groups for the campaign in Israel against judicial reform.

My organisation, the National Jewish Assembly, takes no public stance, recognising that these are matters for Israelis to resolve and are not the business of the diaspora, who in any event – like Israelis – have a multitude of different views on the subject.

However, Sir Mick’s question can also be viewed through a much broader, longer-term lens. Will we be here for Israel and Israelis in the future, especially if most, if not all, of the judicial reforms end up getting passed?

The honest answer is that some of us will and some of us won’t. Part of the Jewish community in the UK will support Israel whatever its government’s policies are, because Israel is a Jewish state, recreated on the lands where our ancestors dwelt and it is in our blood to love it, come what may.

Others in our community also love Israel, but their love is conditional on the type of state Israel is. The latter’s love might diminish, if not disappear entirely, if Israel ceases to be, in their view, a liberal democracy. This will be very unfortunate, but sadly might well happen. Gary Mond, chairman, National Jewish Assembly

I write first to wish Benjamin Netanyahu well after receiving a pacemaker. I received a pacemaker 10 years ago and was home the same day, without fuss or world headlines. But now some friendly advice to Bibi. All the trouble that arose in Israel, came with Bibi’s election, with the help of the strictly-Orthodox parties and a fat lot of good that has done for the country.

My sincere advice to you and for the good of the name Israel is for you to call an election and let the Israeli population decide. And please don’t stand again to be re-elected. You have done enough for Israel over the years. Your name will be glorified, but give someone else the opportunity to lead.

Remember your brother Yoni gave his life for Israel and is still remembered with respect and love.

S I Solomon, Hendon

What appears to have been overlooked is that a constitutional system which allows the courts to strike out laws as unreasonable (the definition of which is highly subjective in every individual case) is bound to generate weak government and legal uncertainty.

Any British Jew backing the protests should ponder that here in the UK, parliament reigns supreme while the judiciary may only interpret (separation of powers), a situation that Netanyahu wants with considerable justification in Israel.

Even in US, the Supreme Court’s power to invalidate legislation is far more limited. Unfortunately the left wing and others opposed to government policy have been enjoying too long a situation which allows them to get through the courts what they cannot get through the ballot box.

Geoffrey Niman, Stamford Hill

It’s instructive, occasionally, to look online and see what else is being said about a story where you might think you had all the facts to hand.

Such a case is that of the owner of Café Dodo, an ice cream shop and café in the heart of Berlin. The owner is one Avi Berg, who achieved global notoriety in the last few days by making it clear to the Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, that he was not welcome. His excellency — who might be more familiar to Jewish News readers as Israel’s former ambassador to the UK, where he served with some distinction from 2007 to 2011 – is not just one of the Jewish state’s most senior diplomats but also one of its best-known faces.

If I know anything about Ron Prosor – and I encountered him on innumerable occasions when he was based in London – it is that he loses no opportunity to make Israel’s case. Whatever are his private views, and it is right and proper that I have no idea what they are while he continues to serve as a foreign ministry employee (and, importantly, not a

political appointee), the ambassador will make the case for Israel — even if he finds that a dicult task just now.

I can’t say I envy Israel’s diplomats at the moment. Who would wish to pretend all is sweetness and light in Israel’s garden when the country is quite clearly tearing itself apart over the proposed judicial reforms? Some diplomats have resigned. Others, such as ambassador Prosor, have elected to stay in post.

But back to Avi Berg, one of an estimated 10,000 ex-pat Israelis living in Berlin. He has made no secret of his political views, which are against those of the Israeli government. He obviously recognised the ambassador when he and his bodyguards walked in. What an opportunity, he might have thought, to do the next best thing to sticking it to Netanyahu – he would stick it to the Israeli ambassador instead.

In fact, as Berg later made clear, his objection was not to Prosor’s presence as an individual but to what he represented. Because, Berg claimed, the foreign ministry has been ordering its diplomats to pursue a campaign denouncing critics of the judicial reform proposals as antisemitic.

He wrote on social media: “Since he [the ambassador] implements an invalid and manipulative policy, which claims that any criticism of Israel is antisemitic — a policy that claims that I and my peers are antisemitic — he is not welcome in my café. I asked him and his entourage of German bodyguards to leave.”

Berg complained that the ambassador and the embassy “are deeply involved in putting pressure on the Bundestag and on German media and institutions to block any criticism of Israel and to label any such criticism as antisemitism. This diplomacy is implemented all over the world, but is especially e ective in Germany... This policy is also very damaging against the fight against genuine antisemitism!”

Plainly the antisemitism card is a delicate one to play in Germany and I have no idea whether Berg’s allegation against Prosor holds water – although it may well be that the ambassador’s robust defence of Israel in these troubled times gives those on the left the shivers.

Meanwhile, however, I wonder at the embassy sta , who cannot have been ignorant of Berg’s views. What possessed them not to do due diligence on a place where the ambassador

might sit down for a relaxing co ee? You don’t send your man into the lion’s cage unless you ensure the lion is ready to sit and play nicely, rather than emit a self-righteous roar.

And now to the little extra that the internet has to o er. Tripadvisor reviews online of Café Dodo, several from Israel-based Israelis, are dreadful. Hannah L, from Jerusalem, advises travellers: “Don’t go…horrible. Awful ambience and service and very bad food. I wouldn’t recommend at all, no redeeming qualities”.

Avi Berg is just as blunt in his response. He tells Tripadvisor: “This review is part of a political smear attack against me and my café, which is a typical violent attempt to hurt me because of my political beliefs… None of these reviewers ever visited my café and they won’t deter me from expressing my political opinions”.

On the whole, I think this was a missed opportunity on both sides. I don’t subscribe to the “Jew thrown out of cafe in Germany, where have we heard that before?” commentary. What I do think is that Prosor could have tried to talk Berg out of his tree, and Berg equally could have tried to tell the ambassador how passionately he felt about Israel’s political trajectory.

Diplomatic cold war in a Berlin ice cream shop Museum’s story far from over – it’s just adapting

stereotypes and promote acceptance and appreciation of Jewish traditions.

It’s with a heavy heart that we confront the reality of the Jewish Museum in London closing its doors. This institution has been not just a museum but a lighthouse of Jewish culture, heritage and learning in the heart of one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities. The news is all the more personal for my family and me, having had the honour of explaining Passover on a video feature for over 15 years. On Monday they switched us o .

We reminisced, laughed, explained and felt a bond with every single person who watched our video. This relationship wasn’t just about us imparting knowledge. It was a shared journey of understanding and embracing diverse cultures.

Through this platform, we not only educated but also learned a great deal about the world outside our little corner. In a small way, we hope our video served to dismantle

The museum was often a dynamic, experimental space. I fondly recall a spirited debate with the late professor David Cesarani during a period of renovation. We deliberated over what made British Jewry so unique today. Much to our amusement, the sta opted to incorporate both our viewpoints in an interactive display embodying the pluralism and diversity of voices championed by the institution itself.

When the museum’s curator flicked the o switch last weekend, it abruptly marked the end of an era we were not prepared to consign to history. The closure stifles not only a cultural institution but also the countless voices that found comfort within its walls. Among them is my daughter’s, who as a child retells the Exodus from her perspective. It may now be consigned to the digital ether forever.

Although I am not acquainted with the financial intricacies of the museum, nor participated in its projects for about a decade, word in my professional Jewish community is that many of our communal institutions are grappling with resource shortages in the current climate. Cultural

funding is often the first casualty of economic downturns, with priority given to core services like welfare and education.

Nevertheless, we must rethink the funding of British Jewish cultural institutions. Major Jewish museums across Europe flourish thanks to state and community collaborations.

While each has its unique narrative, those in Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Prague and newly renovated Manchester are open and vibrant.

The shuttering of the Jewish Museum in London– a city home to Europe’s second largest Jewish community – signifies not only the impact of Covid-19 on our institutions but also our outdated state funding policies.

In the past, I suggested to Andy Burnham, culture secretary in the last Labour government, that the Jewish Museum in London be included on the national museum list for regular grants. The coveted list is a guaranteed funding source and seldom changes. Burnham could not alter the list, but kindly awarded the museum a one-o grant. In these austere times, such changes are almost unfeasible. However, with antisemitism on the rise and old stereotypes resurfacing,

highlighting the history and contributions of London’s Jewish community is more urgent than ever. In addition, the community should explore ways to support Jewish culture more e ectively as a community, using coordinated strategies similar to those once employed by welfare institutions and schools.

Despite the sorrow, it is crucial to remember ideas are not as finite as buildings. The Jewish Museum has ignited discussions and understanding that continue to reverberate globally.

As we ponder the museum’s closure, we take solace in knowing this is not the end. In the digital age, knowledge knows no borders, and cultural exchange happens in real time. The spirit of the Jewish Museum in London will find new avenues for expression.

As they flip the switch, it may seem like a final curtain call. But in truth, it’s just an intermission. The story of the museum is far from over; it’s merely adapting, ready to evolve into a new form.

The Jewish Museum in London has sown seeds that will continue to flourish, enhancing the vibrant tapestry of global Jewish heritage.

For this, we will be forever indebted.

JENNI FRAZER

RABBI ALEX GOLDBERG

DEAN OF RELIGIOUS LIFE & BELIEF, SURREY UNIVERSITY

Assimilation and Israel: go beyond the numbers

DR JONATHAN BOYD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH POLICY RESEARCH

I’m in Israel this week – trying unsuccessfully to have a bit of a break – beaten not only by the deadline for this column but the social and political turmoil dominating the Israeli news cycle. In honour of Tu b’Av – the Jewish festival of love – I’m meant to be writing about the JPR report on intermarriage, but frankly, it’s Tisha b’Av, and the theme of senseless hatred that is foremost in my mind.

Israeli society appears to be in serious trouble. Regardless of the right or wrongs of judicial reform, what is happening here should not be lightly dismissed by anyone who cares about the future of this country. It’s not an innocent piece of legislation. It is the thin end of the wedge that threatens to undermine the democratic nature of the state itself.

The demonstrators’ fears are well-placed. Israel has been moving politically and reli-

giously rightwards for decades – not a problem in and of itself, but a development that becomes problematic when secular and liberal Israelis start to feel marginalised, disenfranchised and even oppressed, as they so clearly do right now. A measured Israeli government, seeing how deeply unpopular its plans are, would not have steam-rollered the legislation through but would have actively chosen compromise for the sake of holding Israeli society together. But it has failed miserably – the possibility of strike action and military service refusal, not to mention the disturbingly negative economic projections, threaten to damage, even destroy, Israeli society from within.

Demographic projections clearly demonstrate that Israel will continue moving rightwards politically and religiously.

And if Israel’s democratic principles are further undermined, a growing number of secular liberal Israelis will leave, further exacerbating the change. According to a recent Israeli Channel 13 poll, 28 percent of Israelis are already considering getting out.

And on reflection, there is a link between this and our new report on intermarriage. Glob-

ally, one in four married Jews today is married to someone who is not Jewish. But that proportion varies dramatically by country. In Poland, it’s about three in four. In America, it’s close to two in four. Here in the UK, it is more or less in line with the global average. But where is it lowest? In Israel, of course. Just five percent of married Israeli Jews are married to non-Jews.

And here’s the thing. While the vast majority of in-married couples bring up their children as Jewish, fewer than a third of intermarried couples do so. And out-married Jews tend to have weaker Jewish identities than in-married ones on every variable tested. For example, they are far less likely to celebrate Jewish festivals with their family, support Israel, or go

FEWER THAN ONE THIRD OF INTERMARRIED COUPLES RAISE JEWISH KIDS

to shul on the high holidays. And this inevitably rubs o on the next generation – children of intermarried couples are at least twice as likely as children of in-married couples to intermarry as well. There are exceptions, of course – and we should never idly dismiss them – but the generic data are very clear.

Yet Israel is essentially the only place in the Jewish world una ected by all of this. Not only is the prevalence of intermarriage extremely low there, many of the children of intermarried couples will end up marrying Jews anyway, simply because Israeli society is, uniquely, majority Jewish. Israel is deeply precious for all sorts of reasons, but one of those is that its very social make-up acts as a counterweight to intermarriage to maintain and preserve the Jewish people.

We play with that at our own risk. Maybe that’s why Tu b’Av and its theme of love and Tisha b’Av, and its theme of senseless hatred, are just a week apart. We’re called on to choose between love and hate across our di erences. Choose the former and we may achieve something together. Choose the latter and we know where that leads.

Israel apathy is rising among future leaders

EDWARD ISAACS UJS PRESIDENT

After the Knesset passed the ‘Reasonableness Law’ last week, which ended the Supreme Court’s capacity to strike down cabinet decisions deemed to be unreasonable, I reflected on what this means for me and our community’s future.

As president of UJS, I have the honour of holding a front row seat to witness the development of our community’s future leaders. Yet with the extraordinary political situation in Israel, I fear a worrying trend of apathy towards Israel is becoming increasingly entrenched amongst the future leaders of our community.

Jewish students currently see an Israel facing existential external threats. Iran’s nuclear stockpile is ever growing, Hezbollah are threatening from Israel’s northern border, and the Palestinian Authority’s decreasing legitimacy is generating a power vacuum, resulting in increasing instability and violence in the West Bank and Gaza. Yet unlike previously, Israel’s capacity to withstand these existential external threats

is becoming limited from within. Notwithstanding these external threats, Jewish students are overwhelmingly seeing an Israel marred by protest and toxic politics, with these resulting divisions increasingly seeming irreconcilable.

And with the passage of the ‘Reasonableness Law’ and no compromise in sight, this nightmare is set to enjoy a sequel. So how can Jewish students – future leaders of our community – be expected to relate to, engage with and ultimately maintain the future Israel-diaspora relationship? As it stands, that seems a very distant reality.

Throughout Israel’s existence, the diaspora and Israel have had a complicated yet necessary relationship. We all know the importance of a healthy Israel-diaspora relationship for the future of the Jewish people, yet the increasingly irreconcilable political division within Israel ultimately threatens any form of diaspora relationship with Israeland this is a reality I don’t want to see.

Prominent moderate global voices once quiet on this issue are now crying out for unity and compromise in unprecedented statements. Yet I believe to safeguard our community’s future relationship with Israel, we need to go one step further.

If Jewish students are left unable to envision an Israel beyond the current reality, the resulting apathy will endanger the existence

of our community’s relationship with Israel. We must enable our community’s future leaders to look beyond the Israel we currently see. Jewish students must be able to reclaim Zionism from extremists who attempt to define Zionism on our behalf. And, ultimately, Jewish students must be provided with the spaces to engage in dialogue regarding the Israel they want to see in the world.

Over the coming year, UJS will answer this call alongside so much more. Our Israel engagement for 2023/24 will be themed around Hatikvah – hope. Because it is the hope that Jewish students continually place in the Jewish people to ensure our own future, that in turn fills me with hope that the Israel we want to see in the world may become a reality.

Apathy for a future diaspora relationship with Israel will only be allowed to grow in strength if we fail to demonstrate our hope of an alternative reality. This may be a long journey. For many this will seem like a distant reality that it is potentially unachievable. But if we don’t try, if we don’t have tikvah, if we don’t instil that sense of hope in our student leaders, then what do we have left?

Rabbi Hillel asked: “If not now, when?” It is vital that we embark on this mission as, ultimately, it is the hope that drives us.

THE DIASPORA HAS HAD A COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL SINCE 1948

Jewish protesters in central London

Tourific Israel!

‘With over 120 British and Israeli madrichim and over 1,250 participants across 12 youth movements and youth organisations, we want to thank our partner organisations for helping to run such a successful summer. With hundreds of our community’s young people seeing Israel for the first time, Israel Tour is the vital programme that ensures the next generation’s sense of belonging to the Jewish people. But the summer is not over yet. We still have dozens of Birthright and Onward participants on the ground across Israel, and as September approaches, more than 500 young British Jews are preparing for their long term Israel programmes. UJIA is committed to ensuring that every young British Jew gets an inspirational Israel experience, and to that end we have already started planning for Summer 2024, to ensure that we will have the funds needed for all programmes and bursaries, so no one misses out due to family financial circumstances.’

Mandie Winston, CEO, UJIA

“It’s been very inspirational learning about the places we’ve been throughout the years. The knowledge we’ve gained would not have been possible without our fantastic guides” Michal Bloch

“Israel Tour has been the most eye-opening experience, learning about and walking in the footsteps of our ancestors” Miriam Kahn

“Thank you all for the trip my daughter had this summer. For a child who had never left home before we were unsure how she would find the trip. She returned wishing it was longer and with nothing but praise for all she experienced and everyone she met”

“Tour has made me connect to Israel on a deeper level. It’s a oncein-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget” Tali Notowicz

Bnei Akiva Havdallah

Tribe in Kfar Kedem

Bnei Akiva in Jaffa

RSY overlooking the Dead Sea

Ezra girls in Jerusalem

An RSY group in the north

FZY Tour 13 at Rabin Square

LJY visiting David’s Tomb

JLGB at Mount Herzl

FZY Tour 1 at the Peres Centre for Peace and Innovation

IT ENDED WITH A JOB AT THE BBC

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IT STARTED WITH A CALL TO RESOURCE

Ivor Baddiel goes

Film-maker finds trauma ‘diamond’ Baby snapper

It’s not often the title for a book comes before the idea. Especially a ‘bonkers’ one. But it happened with Ivor Baddiel’s latest children’s o ering, Ben’s Bonkers Bar Mitzvah.

Baddiel, who has clocked up 23 books, was in a meeting with publisher Scholastic when director of Global Publishing Strategies Miriam Farbey, who incidentally commissioned his first work, mentioned the lack of fun Jewish-themed kids’ titles.

Says Baddiel: “I don’t know what happened but I just blurted out, ‘How about a book called Ben’s Bonkers Bar Mitzvah?’”

Those in the meeting liked the sound of it. Baddiel now had to come up with a story: “Sure, I could write all these crazy things that happen around a barmitzvah, but if there’s no reason for them or no story it’s a bit soulless.”

Cue Ben Jacobs, who imagines everything that could go wrong at his barmitzvah, but doesn’t foresee the shul might disappear just days before it. Ben discovers aliens are heading to Earth to take over the congregation and the world. No one believes him – except grandpa.

So Ben and grandpa hatch a plan to save civilisation – and the barmitzvah. Ben, however,

doesn’t really want to be a grown-up. Says Baddiel: “He looks around at the grown-up world and sees his dad weighed down by work, his brother struggling with exams and his uncle having marital di culties, and doesn’t fancy it much at all.” Baddiel had his story – a fun and zany tale that also works on a deeper level about gaining confidence and growing up.

We won’t spoil it but in doing his best to save the Earth (and also learn his barmitzvah portion) Ben proves himself more than ready to enter the grown-up world.

Is Ben based on Ivor? Says the author: “Not completely but I have never wanted to be a grown-up, or indeed ever felt like one. I think inside us all, the child is still there, wanting to be silly and not have responsibilities. I’m a responsible person. I have two children so I kind of have to be, but I have a deep yearning inside to return to a simpler, freer time.”

So much so that a little later in life Baddiel went to see rabbi Dr Louis Jacobs, who led his barmitzvah service. “I said, ‘You performed a ceremony to convert me from a child to an adult, could you now perform one to convert me back to a child?’ It’s a long story, but su ce to say he said no.”

Grandpa is based on Baddiel’s late father, Colin. The book’s illustrator, awardwinning cartoonist Zoom Rockman, created his drawings using a picture of him.

Baddiel, the older brother of fellow writer David and New York-based Dan, remembers being very nervous in the run-up to his own barmitzvah, which took place at New London Synagogue.

“It was probably the first time in my life I had stood up in front of people and performed. I was very self-conscious at that age, particularly about my voice. I remember at school (North London Jewish Day School) they made a record, Time to Sing, and I was more or less the only child who had such a bad voice I wasn’t part of it. Thankfully I didn’t clear the shul.”

There was nothing “fancy or shprauncy” about it, he says. “My grandparents came back to us for lunch and in the evening, we had a party at our house. My parents invited a load of their friends round. Calculators were the main present! The following day I had a dozen friends over and we watched a film about the 1966 World Cup final.”

The other notable thing about Baddiel barmitzvahs, he reflects, was that their father, a research scientist, would borrow a load of pure alcohol from the laboratory he worked in and use it to make the punch. “His justification was that the reason you have hangovers is to do with the impurities rather than the actual alcohol. I can tell you he’s wrong!”

Baddiel remembers his was “an odd family in terms of (their) Judaism” – something he has spoken about quite a lot. “I went to a religious primary school but would occasionally have bacon for breakfast.

“When it came to shul we didn’t really know when to stand and sit. We just followed my mother’s father, the most religious in our family, but he also got it wrong sometimes!”

Back to Ben’s Bonkers Bar Mitzvah, which is also available in the United States through PJ Library. In fact, and it’s a fun one, the original title for the book was Ben’s Barmy Bar Mitzvah (we see what he did there) but they don’t have the word ‘barmy’ in America.

Baddiel discloses there is talk of a sequel, based on Ben’s younger sister Carla: “Watch this space. The aliens may well return.” He also has another Jewish book coming out – a picture one for younger kids about Chanukah.

Meanwhile, Baddiel hopes Ben’s Bonkers Bar Mitzvah will help children aged 8-12 – and those approaching barmitzvah – feel good about it, particularly if they might be nervous.

“I’m really very proud of it,” he says. “And if Spielberg is interested, I’d say let’s talk.”

� Ben’s Bonkers Bar Mitzvah, illustrated by Zoom Rockman, is published by Green Bean Books at £9.99

The much-loved children’s author has written a story centred on a rather bizarre barmitzvah, writes Candice Krieger

Ivor Baddiel: I never wanted to be a grown-up

Illustrations by Zoom Rockman for Ivor Baddiel’s new book and, right, the cover

On the night of 13 November 2015, French filmmaker Alice Winocour sat helplessly holding a friend’s hand for comfort as her brother Jeremie hid from Isis terrorists during the attack at the concert he was watching at the Bataclan theatre in Paris. He had asked her to stop phoning, fearing that he would be discovered. Now all she could do was wait, and hope for good news.

Ninety people were murdered at the Bataclan, in one of a number of coordinated attacks that left 130 dead in total, but Jeremie survived. Eight years later, born from this personal trauma and dedicated to her brother, Winocour’s latest film, Paris Memories, explores the healing process following such an experience.

In the movie a journalist called Mia (Virginie Efira) finds herself in an attack while sheltering from the rain in a busy Paris bistro. Winocour’s brother told her that terrorist violence was beyond representation because even the worst horror-movie violence could not compare to the reality, so she tried creating something that felt abstract and psychologically impactful.

“I didn’t want to make a film about the specific attack or what it means in history. I didn’t want to make a historical reconstruction,” she says over Zoom. “It was more about the human aspects of the trauma.”

Shot from Mia’s point of view, the scene is short and harrowing. She lies face down in broken glass; there are screams, gunfire, an explosion. Bodies drop, already dead or dying. She sees a gunman’s feet, never his face. A mobile buzzes, provoking a mortal shot. Suddenly, the screen goes black.

Diamond in the trauma

Film-maker Alice Winocour tells Stephen Applebaum why she wanted to make a movie about the human aspect of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks

example and someone very, very important in my life. I think about him almost every day.”

Her grandmother, who died last year, aged 100, was also a big presence. Winocour says she was practically brought up by her, and that she was one of the first people her brother opened up to after the Bataclan attack.

Weeks later, Mia returns to the scene of the attack, unable to remember anything. With the help of other survivors, she begins to make sense of the fragments of memory that flash up in her consciousness, and to move towards finding something positive in the darkness – “the diamond in the trauma” as one character calls it.

Winocour knows this trajectory well from not only her brother’s experience, but from the entanglement of tragedy and beauty in her own family history.

“It is really part of my DNA,” she says. Her father lost three grandparents in the Holocaust, and she was very close to her paternal grandfather, who had been a refugee in France after his parents escaped pogroms in their Ukrainian village of Berdichev, and survived Auschwitz. To her, he symbolised resilience.

“He was the most happy person I’ve ever met,” she says, smiling. “He was really an

She was sent to America for her safety, and lived in San Francisco throughout the war. Her father decided not to leave. “But it was the wrong choice,” says Winocour. “He didn’t survive. My grandmother felt really guilty not having stayed with her father, so she often told me the story of how, when she returned to France to look for living relatives – there were none – she crossed paths with my grandfather. They were not coming at all from the same worlds, but when they met they fell in love in one week, and it was really a very, very strong and beautiful love story.

“So, love and beauty can rise from a tragedy, and also from the trauma, because if the war hadn’t happened, and all this tragedy, they wouldn’t have met and I wouldn’t be here to tell you their story.”

This familial “diamond in the trauma” is echoed in Paris Memories by the romance that develops between Mia and another survivor of the bistro attack, played by the French actor Benoît Magimel. While one of the film’s more predictable elements, their story carries Winocour’s desire for it to be about “the passion for life, more than about death”. Her grandparents came from very di erent backgrounds, and she says that the love they found together showed her how “traumatic experience crashes the barriers, including social barriers, between people”. Thus, when Mia discovers that the man who held her hand and kept her calm as they hid from

the gunmen was an undocumented migrant worker, it takes her, the film and us into a world of people who are usually invisible.

Ghosts of the terrorists’ victims often appear to Mia, but these are “the real ghosts of the city”, says Winocour – a point emphasised by her use of documentary footage of people sleeping rough as drivers and pedestrians pass by them, apparently indi erent to their situation.

“To me it’s so violent in Paris, in every big city, to see those two worlds coexisting without meeting each other,” says Winocour. “I think now today we’re really, really stuck in our independent, modern and contemporary individualism, and especially also in France and in Europe with the rise of extremism, and communities that are against each other.”

Paris Memories foregrounds human connection and the community spirit that Winocour discovered among survivors. Instead of breaking people apart, she found during her research that terrorism brought victims from di erent classes and walks of life closer together, just as the Holocaust had done with her grandparents.

“There were many, many stories of people that were so moving to me to see. Like I heard that a few days after the [Bataclan] attack, everyone was looking for each other, asking about a person that they had just met for one second, who had helped them to reach a place, or they had seen this person covered in blood and they were asking if they had survived and they wanted to meet.”

The question that seems to hang in the air is, why can’t we be like this all of the time? Why must it take an extreme, life-threatening event for us to see and care about each other, as individuals and as a society? Paris Memories doesn’t have any answers, but it is a moving and thoughtful work in which humanity triumphs over barbarity.

 Paris Memories is released in cinemas on 4 August

Alice Winocour

Mia with Thomas (Benoît Magimel)

Virginie Efira plays journalist Mia, who is caught up in an attack in a busy bistro

Ascroll through Romy Becker’s Instagram account would make anyone feel broody. The documentary-style photographer from Borehamwood captures intimate moments of motherhood, birth and family set-up. But this wasn’t always her chosen subject matter.

“I grew up in Johannesburg where I loved going to the bush and taking photos with the camera my dad got me,” Romy says. “I always loved photography and studied it in high school, then some musical theatre, followed by photo-

journalism. When I took a gap year in London for my studies, I stayed. Although photography was my passion, I ended up working in shoot production and project management with great brands like Net-A-Porter and Charlotte Tilbury.”

While still working and pregnant with her first child, Romy began offering family shoots for free at the weekend to her anti-natal cohorts and she was back in her happy place: taking photos. With two young kids to focus on now – Issy is three and a half and Leo is 16 months – Romy notices an interest in photography by her daughter, who wanders around with a toy camera. I ask Romy for advice for budding photographers. “Keep shooting and reach out. I’ve met some incredible people and I get a lot of jobs through social media.”

Carrie Johnson (wife of Boris and new mum, for the third time) discovered Romy through word-of-mouth connections on Instagram. “It was such a beautiful shoot at their home. She was lovely to work with and it led to so many business enquiries which I’m so grateful for because I am super-busy. My husband Adam is my biggest cheerleader and he constantly sends me lists of pregnant celebrities to contact.”

Romy has also had her work in Vogue Italy. “Each Monday they do an open-call portfolio and accept 500 images from photographers worldwide. If selected, your shot is acknowledged and you can send that picture out with Vogue’s endorsement. It’s brilliant exposure.”

While many photographers have a team,

Romy goes solo. “The work is so emotional and private – you’re going into someone’s home, taking photos of bare skin and breastfeeding and it’s such an intimate and personal space, so the fewer people the better.”

Before the shoot Romy sends a questionnaire about the style they’re after: relaxed or more artistic. “Everyone is different. I’ve shot super-body-confident to much more reserved, where the mum has requested to not show much skin. When I first walk into a space, I ask to keep the lights off, looking for areas of natural light, maybe a window with light streaming in. I do a mix of indoor and outdoor shoots – outdoor works really well for maternity – that ‘Mother Earth’ feel. It’s just so empowering to be grounded and in nature.”

Everything seems as pretty as a picture so far, but surely there have been some disasters. “I’ve been lucky. If mum is relaxed, so is baby. I’m a patient person and I love my job because it’s relatable, having young kids myself. There’s always something to talk about and I’m constantly learning new things.”

I ask Romy how it makes her feel when she’s shooting those stand-out moments. “I feel excited, especially when I get ‘the’ shot, where everything works perfectly. The bath shots with baby are amazing – so private and special and the mums never say it, but they always want that shot because it makes them feel beautiful!”

Of all the shapes and sizes Romy’s snapped, is there a ‘perfect’ subject? “One of the first women I approached was at a festival – she was so body-confident in her pregnancy, really hippie and earthy. I set up a group calling for pregnant women and she said yes. That was the start of everything for me. From those shoots I get to expose rawness and empowerment, which allows me to fully show my capabilities.”

In Romy’s line of work she’s always the one friends give their camera phone to at parties. “I’m like, ‘My work is different’! But I guess I

call up my friend who’s a paediatrician if I’ve got a concern about myself and she tells me, ‘I can help with the kids, but...’”

Focusing on her future, Romy is looking at organising a shoot to bring together women of all different shapes, sizes and ethnicities.

“Perhaps some Jewish News readers! I’ve been having conversations with a friend about doing something positive around motherhood and breastfeeding and whilst the concept is only in working stages, I really want it cover how natural something like this is, but also how difficult emotionally and physically it is too.”

Most people keep a favourite photo as a screensaver so I ask to see Romy’s, which turns out to be her holding her daughter on her hip. “My friend took it on my camera. So, it looks natural but I may have directed it a ‘little bit’. I can’t help it. That’s my job. And I love it.” romybecker.com

When Romy Becker was taking photos in the South African bush she never imagined she’d one day be photographing the baby of a former UK prime minister. By Debbie Collins

One of the Carrie Johnson shots

Romy likes a mix of indoor and outdoor shoots

MAKING SENSE OF THE SEDRA

BY

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z’l used to tell a story of a dinner party he once hosted. At the end, everyone said thank you to him and Lady Elaine and left. One guest insisted on thanking the entire sta – something Rabbi Sacks had never experienced in his time in o ce. That person was John Major, then prime minister.

Is it not astounding that perhaps the most senior person in the room, with the most authority, would be the only one to thank cooks and waiters after a meal? He was surely used to being waited on and respected by all – one could imagine how easy it would be to take this all for granted.

In this week’s parsha, Eikev, Moshe describes God as “the great, mighty and awe-inspiring God, who shows no favouritism and accepts no bribe. He does justice by the orphan and widow, and loves the stranger…”

(Devarim 10:17-18). Sadly, we often see examples today where those in positions of power, the so-called ‘great and mighty’, engage in nepotism and corruption.

Moshe’s message in this parsha becomes even more crucial. We know what it is like to su er as a people.

In the parsha, Moshe cites the slavery in Egypt as an example: “You too must love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt”

(Devarim 10:19). We know of many more modern examples as well.

We are in a position of comfort and safety as Jews in the United

Kingdom, where we are not only allowed to practise freely, but are encouraged and enabled by our government itself to live according to our religious laws and values.

We have been given the respect and status of equality our ancestors could only dream of. It would be easy for us now to retreat into ourselves and enjoy (relative) peace and quiet.

Thirty years ago, on 10 August, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was made a justice of the US Supreme Court. When she was 13, she wrote the following in an essay: “No one can feel free from danger and destruction until the many torn threads of civilisation are bound together again. We cannot feel safer until we meet together in good faith, the people worthy of mutual association.”

When Moshe tells us in this

week’s parsha to “walk in God’s ways”

(Devarim 10:12), this is what he means.

We need to do as God does, which

means we need to use the power and influence He has given us, not for our own benefit, but for the sake of those who lack their own.

prime minister, John Major took care to thank everyone after a dinner

Progressive Judaism

LEAP OF FAITH

BY RABBI MIRIAM BERGER FINCHLEY REFORM

Leaving and learning

Railway stations are usually notable for where they take their passengers, but as we stood by the Nova Gorica station this week we understood that its notoriety comes not from its present but its past. Over its 117 years, the station has stood in Austria, Italy, Yugoslavia and Slovenia. It is an important symbol of identity to all those who travel through it.

When our ancestors Abraham and Sarah were commanded to lech l’cha (leave), they were told to take their identity and their beliefs to accompany them on their travels to spread the concept of monotheism.

Today, as so many of us travel around the world, we should be asking

what we can learn about ourselves from what we see in the new and unfamiliar.

As a family, we enjoyed these lessons from our time in Slovenia. Exploring the extensive majesty of the vast Postojna Cave network caused us to reflect on how di erent time is in the hectic bustle of working life. As each drip closes the gap between stalactite and stalagmite, we know it has taken millennia to form, and that thousands of years are still needed for what feels like a tiny job.

What if we were able to stand back and look at where we have come from and where we are going with the cool calm of the caves rather than the immediate gratification needed each day in the world above ground?

The beauty of the Slap Savica waterfall reminds us that the upsets and challenges in life, the boulders and the hurdles we experience, may

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never leave us but we learn to forge a new path by accepting that we live with them forever. As we keep living each day, the edges are smoothed and we are enabled to keep going as a new path is forged.

As someone who seeks new meaning to the ritual of mikveh (immersion), the glacial waters of Lake Bled and Bohinj in contrast to the baking hot air temperature was a wake-up call to our souls.

Our bodies and minds experienced submerging into the cooling waters surrounded by the extreme beauty of nature and it was impossible not to feel renewed by it.

Meanwhile, the House of Illusions in Ljubljana constantly reminds us that things are not always what they first seem.

Wherever you find yourself this summer, be it far-flung or closer to home, what messages are you

opening your eyes to? Don’t make travel about who you already know you are, but about what it can teach you about who you want to be.

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

SYNAGOGUE

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

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

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

Professional advice from our panel / Ask our experts

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

ACCOUNTANT

JEWELLER

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

ADAM SHELLEY

Qualifications:

• FCCA chartered certified accountant

• Accounting, taxation and business advisory services

• Entrepreneurial business specialist including start-up businesses

• Specialises in charities; personal tax returns

• Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation Volunteer of the Year JVN award

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

CHARITY EXECUTIVE

JONATHAN WILLIAMS

Qualifications:

• Jewellery manufacturer since 1980s

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

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

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

DIRECTOR OF LEGACIES

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

DEVELOPMENT COMPANY FOR ISRAEL 020 3936 2712

www.israelbondsintl.com

joe.ozer@israelbondsintl.com

GOAL ATTAINMENT SPECIALIST

DR BEN LEVY

Qualifications:

• 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

MAKE IT HAPPEN 07779 619 597 www.makeit-happen.co.uk ben@makeit-happen.co.uk

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

CAREER ADVISER

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

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

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

SUE CIPIN OBE

Qualifications:

• 24 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

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

etc. No job too big or too small! Rubbish cleared as part of a full clearance. We have a waste licence. We buy items including furniture bric a brac.

For a free quote please phone Dave on 07913405315 any time.

LAW MENTOR

Costume jewellery and watches etc 01277 352560

Former “Magic Circle” solicitor offers help with:

• CVs and personal statements

• interviews and assessment days

• coping with stress and workload

• promotion and new opportunities

For more information contact Tom lawmentor@btinternet.com / 07590 057097

LEGACY- LEAVE A GIFT IN YOUR MEMORY

HOME & MAINTENANCE

Former “Magic Circle” solicitor offers help with:

• CVs and personal statements

• interviews and assessment days

• coping with stress and workload

• promotion and new opportunities

For more information contact Tom lawmentor@btinternet.com / 07590 057097

WEB DESIGN

THE JEWISH NEWS CROSSWORD

10 Shows tiredness (5)

11 Insatiable longing (5)

12 Surpassed (7)

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.

27 Pompous, stuffy (6) DOWN

1 Occupy (the attention) (6)

2 Ring of a bell (5)

3 Staunchly (7)

5 Country bordering Libya (5)

6 Relevant information (3-4)

7 Hurry along (6)

8 Employees’ association (5)

14 Controls with a line (7)

16 Surfer’s outfit (7)

17 Large tropical lizard (6)

18 Look over (3,2)

19 Bird also called a fish hawk (6)

21 Specific jobs (5)

WORDSEARCH CODEWORD

The listed words to do with glasses 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.

AUEN E

SO LR AH TY EL M

RG YM CS EG NI H

23 Rubbed a cloth over (5) HINGES

In this finished crossword, every letter of the alphabet appears as a code number. All you have to do is crack the code and fill in the grid. Replacing the decoded numbers with their letters in the grid will help you to guess the identity of other letters.

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.

See next issue for puzzle solutions.

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

Last issue’s solutions

Crossword ACROSS:

is clearly

for the many hundreds of service users who will benefit from the consolidation of these wonderful organisations – each one of which has been a jewel in the crown of the Anglo Jewish community for so many years. It also sends a very powerful message about what can be achieved when charities with similar objectives can combine their resources, expertise and networks for the greater good of our community. This is a proud moment for our community – may Kisharon Langdon go mechayil el Chayil – from strength to added strength as it embarks on this exciting new chapter of its work.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis KBE

I’m very pleased to hear of the coming merger of two fantastic Jewish social care charities in Barnet: Kisharon & Langdon. Both organisations have served our community with great distinction in the past, providing supported living, personalised education & support, employment assistance, and social activities to allow hundreds of adults and young people with learning disabilities and autism to live independent lives.

I am confident that this merger will have undoubted positive benefits for social care provision in my constituency, and I look forward to hearing more on their work moving forward.

Mike Freer MP, Member of Parliament for Finchley & Golders Green

To find out more about the Kisharon Langdon merger, visit www.kisharonlangdon.org.uk

The merger of Kisharon and Langdon

an important development...