1375 - 11th July 2024

MAGEN DAVID ADOM SAVES

Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel in April saw the Iron Dome and an alliance of international allies prevent serious injury or loss of life. However, shrapnel from a ballistic missile struck the home of the al-Hassouni family in Al-Fura, an Arab community near the city of Arad. 10-yearold Amina al-Hassouni was critically injured while she was sleeping in her bedroom.

Mohammed al-Hassouni, Amina’s father, recounts the terrifying incident, relaying that alarms were loudly reverberating through the area, missiles were fl ying overhead, and then one fell on their house causing debris to hit Amina in the head, severely wounding her.

Israel Katz (Manager of the MDA fi rst responders in Arad and a senior EMT) and Zohar Servintzky (MDA paramedic from Arad) were the fi rst on the scene. Israel recalls that upon fi rst examination it was clear that Amina had sustained a signifi cant head injury, was unresponsive and needed to be put on a

Red Shield

ventilator. The MDA medics delivered fi rst aid until the intensive care team arrived, who continued treatment before evacuating Amina to Soroka Medical Center as she was in critical condition.

A er being on the verge of death for nearly two months, young Amina awoke from her coma. Upon hearing this news, EMT Israel Katz described feeling very moved, as he knew that MDA had succeeded in its mission to save lives. He immediately contacted Amina’s father and arranged to visit her as soon as possible.

With huge thanks to Magen David Adom and the teams at Soroka Medical Center, against all odds, Amina is now recovering and breathing on her own.

Amina al-Hassouni

PHOTO CREDIT: Muhammad al-Hassouni

LEADERSHIP DINNER HAS AN EYE ON THE FUTURE WE’VE BEEN IN THE NEWS TOO MUCH

I’d like to see a lot less of Magen David Adom in the media. Of course, I’m fine with the good news stories that peacetime brings, but more recently we have been on your TV screens, social media feeds and in your papers far too much.

As Israel’s only national medical emergency and blood service, Magen David Adom has been a permanent fixture in the Israel news cycle since last October. Recently you will have seen that (miraculously) the only casualty from the Iranian missile and rocket barrage was saved by MDA. And of course, when the IDF rescued four hostages in early June, it was MDA that has the responsibility of transporting them directly.

MDA is at the heart of all life in Israel. In ‘normal’ times, when there is no war or conflict, Magen David Adom is there for all the people of Israel, irrespective of their religion, race, ethnicity or skin colour. This is however heightened when Israel is under attack and our teams are under even greater pressure to respond.

Like all of you, I pray for the immediate release of the remaining hostages and an end to this war. I look forward to a time when we are only in the news for the ‘right’ reasons. But until then, I know that Israel and all its people are being looked a er by Magen David Adom.

Am Yisrael Chai!

Daniel Burger Chief Executive

Magen David Adom UK

On June 18th, MDA UK hosted a Leadership Dinner at The Berkeley Hotel. Alon Fridman, CFO and Assistant Director General of Foreign A airs for MDA Israel, spoke about lessons learnt post 7/10; MDA UK’s CEO, Daniel Burger, highlighted the importance of our working partnerships; and Chair, Russell Jacobs advised as to how MDA is preparing for the future.

Newly-elected President of the Board of Deputies, Philip Rosenberg addressed the room before Michael Marlowe, father of 7/10 victim Jake Marlowe z”l shared the heartwrenching testimony of his son’s murder at the Supernova festival.

It has been the deadly immediate Magen response the highest operating

SHOW OF SOLIDARITY WITH MISSION TO ISRAEL

In March 2024, Magen David Adom UK Chief Executive, Daniel Burger, led a group of 35 people from di erent UK communities on a challenging and thought-provoking Solidarity Mission to Israel.

The group were privileged to meet with the First Lady of Israel, Michal Herzog; Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum; the Deputy British Ambassador to Israel; the CEO and Head of International Law for the British Red Cross and ‘Agent G’, the Director of Psychology for the Mossad who also leads hostage negotiations.

The group visited Sderot, Rahat, Ashdod and Jerusalem MDA stations, witnessing the lifesaving teams at work. They saw up close what MDA dealt with on 7/10, hearing the stories of MDA lifesavers who came under fi re.

The group heard from MDA dispatcher, Ronit Glaser, who told her emotionally charged personal story of 7/10. She shared that MDA medic, Amit Mann z”l was bravely treating wounded civilians inside a clinic at Kibbutz Be’eri while it was under attack from Hamas terrorists. Amit kept calling, asking when MDA reinforcements would arrive. Ronit said that she didn’t know, and Amit responded:

“I understand. Thank you.” Tragically, Amit was later murdered by the terrorists.

On paying tribute to the memory of the fallen MDA personnel who lost their lives whilst trying to save others, Daniel commented, “The acts of depravity, loss of life and destruction simply defy belief. It was so important that we came here together to see the work that MDA has done to save more lives.”

Over these respond the ‘everyday’ Tragically, personnel others. the MDA order to Immediately Emergency remarkable funds raised importantly, and supported generosity 84 emergency medical needed have also

President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Philip Rosenberg

MDA UK Chief Executive, Daniel Burger, with First Lady of Israel, Michal Herzog

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Newly elected Jewish Labour MPs handed ministerial roles

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

Sir Keir Starmer this week handed two newly elected Jewish female MPs ministerial roles after his party’s landslide general election victory left the community with 12 Labour representatives in the House of Commons.

In a rare move, the new prime minister confirmed this week that Sarah Sackman, elected to represent Finchley and Golders Green, had been appointed as the government’s solicitor-general.

Georgia Gould, who won the Queens Park and Maida Vale seat, was also appointed as a parliamentary secretary in the Cabinet O ce.

Lords, leaving Sackman to answer for the government in the Commons. The two barristers are colleagues at Matrix Chambers.

Baroness Merron, former Board of Deputies chief executive, has also been

Pinto-Duschinsky, who triumphed in Hendon, Ben Coleman, who won in Chelsea and Fulham, NHS surgeon Peter Prinsley, who won in Bury St Edmunds, and Josh Simons, who took the Makerfield seat in the north west.

Promotions into junior ministerial roles for new MPs are extremely rare, so the speedy promotion of Sackman, a member of New North London synagogue, and Gould, a regular at West London Synagogue, is a sign of how highly the prime minister rates them.

In further appointments, Starmer made Richard Hermer KC, a member of Alyth Synagogue, attorney general. Hermer will sit in the House of

The morning after: Keir and Victoria Starmer outside 10 Downing Street

o ered a new role by Starmer, after being made a parliamentary undersecretary of state for patient safety and life sciences.

After last Thursday’s election results were confirmed, further Jewish MPs to win for Labour included David

In the Wirral, Matthew Patrick became another Jewish Labour MP to take a seat in the Commons, while there were returns to the House for Alex Sobel, who won his seat of Leeds Central and Headingley, in Leeds North East for Fabian Hamilton and Damien Egan, who retook Bristol North East for Labour.

In Warrington North, Charlotte Nichols was also reelected, while on the Labour frontbench Ed Miliband, former leader and shadow secretary of state for energy security and net zero, completed the quota of Jewish Labour MPs.

In the election staunch allies of the community were also newly elected for Labour including Luke Akehurst in North Durham and Dan Tomlinson in Chipping Barnet.

In a sign of a very bad night for the Continued on page 2

New Jewish Labour MPs handed ministerial roles

Continued from page 1

Conservatives, the party’s only remaining Jewish MP is Sir Julian Lewis, who represents the New Forest East seat in Hampshire.

Writing on X after her ministerial role was confirmed, Sackman said: “After 14 years of Conservative government we need to restore people’s trust in the rule of law and in the integrity of politics.”

She added: “I am truly honoured to have been asked to serve as solicitor general – it brings great responsibility. My constituents deserve to see change both on the ground in Finchley and Golders Green, and in the integrity of Westminster politics. It is now my job to help deliver both.”

gresses. The daughter of publishing expert Gail Rebuck and the late Blair-era strategist Philip Gould, Gould, like Sackman, is also a member of the Jewish Labour Movement.

Gould said that Labour’s election victory left her with “so much hope for the future to be alongside so many passionate people who care about their communities and changing the country”.

Sackman, a barrister specialising in planning and local government law, is likely to now play a key role in Labour’s pledge to unlock regulations around house building and on-shore wind farms, in order to help spark growth in the UK economy.

Gould’s role in the cabinet office is to help ensure that the business of government’s pro-

Both Gould and Sackman are married to Jewish husbands and have young familes.

MPs arrived to take their seats in the Commons for the first time on Tuesday.

Speaking in the Commons for the first time as PM, Starmer called for politicians from all parties to commit to the ideal of service, rather than the politics of self-interest.

In a turnaround of fortune for Britain’s first black MP, Diane Abbott was confirmed as Mother of the House, the title given to the longest continuously serving female MP, alongside Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh.

COMMUNAL FIGURES BACK

SHABANA MAHMOOD

One of the community’s leading experts on antisemitism has defended the record of the new justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, after she was criticised for her involvement in a 2014 protest against the sale of West Bank settlement goods, writes Lee Harpin. Mahmood was appointed by prime minister Keir Starmer as lord chancellor and secretary of state for justice.

That announcement prompted the recycling of evidence that Mahmood, a barrister educated at Oxford University, had taken part in a protest a decade ago that forced the branch of Sainsbury’s in Birmingham to close for several hours. She was also photographed carrying a Free Palestine placard said at the time of her involvement.

As the MP for Birmingham Ladywood since 2010, her involvement in the protest

was condemned by the Jewish Leadership Council, and the then Finchley and Golders Green parliamentarian Mike Freer at the time.

Her appointment to Starmer’s cabinet prompted renewed criticism on grassroots community social media groups last weekend.

But Danny Stone, director of the Antisemitism Policy Trust, posted on X that Mahmood had been “kind, thoughtful, and

supportive in all of my dealings with her, including on serious issues of conspiratorial antisemitism. She has been relentlessly abused and deserves some kindness.”

He added that Mahmood had “taken direct action against antisemitism”.

Chair of the Jewish Labour Movement Mike Katz said Mahmood “understands antisemitism and has taken action against it”.

During Tuesday’s formal reopening of the Commons, the first item of business was to elect a Speaker, with Sir Lindsay Hoyle returned to the role following a unanimous vote.

Meanwhile, new foreign secretary David Lammy has promised to work with “tireless diplomacy” to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages still held captive by Hamas.

Outlining his position from the foreign office, Lammy said: “All of us recognise the agony of communities who have seen the scenes coming out of Israel and Gaza. But the job now is to get to work with tireless diplomacy to support an immediate ceasefire and move towards getting those hostages out.” Lammy added that he will “do all I can” to support United States president Joe Biden’s efforts to secure the ceasefire.

Emotional Downing St greeting with JLM chief

Starmer and wife Victoria warmly greeted the national chair of the Jewish Labour Movement as they made their way into Downing Street for the first time after the election victory, writes Lee Harpin.

In emotional scenes, video footage showed Starmer shaking hands with JLM’s Mike Katz after spotting him in the crowd outside the gates to Number 10.

Next, Katz can be seen sharing a hug with the prime minister’s wife, who was clearly moved by the warm public response to their arrival at Downing Street after she also spotted the Jewish Labour campaigner him in the crowd.

Jewish News understands Katz had only been standing in the position outside Downing St by chance, but had been spotted by the PM and his wife due to his frequent work with the party.

The Starmers arrived at Downing Street shortly after 12.30pm after going to Buckingham Palace to meet with King Charles.

In his maiden speech, delivered outside No.10, Starmer promised to use his historic election victory to rebuild Britain “brick by brick” and provide security for millions of workingclass families. He said now was the time to change course because for “too long now we

have turned a blind eye” to people’s problems.

It was inevitable they had lost trust in successive governments who had abandoned them, he added.“My government will fight, every day, until you believe again,” Starmer said in a speech outside No 10 that had echoes of Tony Blair’s vow to act as the servants of the people in 1997.

“From now on, you have a government unburdened by doctrine, guided only by a determination to serve your interests. To defy, quietly, those who have written our country off.”

Standing directly behind him was another JLM official Izzy Lenga, also a councillor in Camden, north London.

 Mike Katz, page 20

Keir

Mike Katz congratulates PM Starmer

Shabana Mahmood at the 2014 supermarket protest

Sir Keir and Georgia Gould visit Harlesden during the election campaign

Georgia Gould (left) with former Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl, Sadiq Khan and Adrian Cohen

Islamist MPs / Lib Dems revitalised

... but the Commons now has an ‘anti-Israel’ party

by Lee Harpin lee@jewishnews.co.uk

The brother of the founder of Islamist group Friends of Al Aqsa, and a former councillor Jewish News exposed for questioning Hamas crimes, were among five independent MPs elected to Westminster on Palestine platforms.

Shockat Adam was the surprise winner in Leicester South last Thursday, holding up a black and white Palestinian ke yeh head scarf as he gave his speech at the count, declaring his victory was “for the people of Gaza”.

Meanwhile, in Birmingham Perry Barr, Ayoub Khan beat the UK’s first Muslim MP Labour’s Khalid Mahmood in another shock result.

Khan was formerly a Lib Dem councillor, who was exposed by Jewish News after posting a TikTok video in which he questioned the credibility of some accounts of the 7 October massacre, and subsequently refusing to undertake antisemitism training.

In Blackburn Adnan Hussain beat the Labour candidate by 132 votes.

It emerged that at a Free Palestine

rally in 2014 he gave a speech that claimed Israel’s military operation in the summer of that year was a “holocaust” and called for a boycott of companies that supported the country.

The victory of the “for Gaza” independents immediately raised concerns about the growing influence of organisations such as The Muslim Vote (TMV) ahead of the election, which attempted to direct Muslim votes towards candidates that o ered

Revitalised

clear support for often hardline proPalestine policies.

There was no doubt TMV played a significant role in driving a vote mainly against Labour candidates in seats with large Muslim populations. But two MPs and a leading peer who spoke to Jewish News in the aftermath of last week’s election suggested Gaza had often been a “smoke screen “ for independent candidates to campaign on.

There were also claims of threats

Lib Dems to put compassion fi rst

BY GAVIN STOLLER HONORARY CHAIR, LIBERAL DEMOCRAT FRIENDS OF ISRAEL

David Cameron confounded the polls, pundits and country to win a clear majority for the Conservatives in the May 2015 general election. The legacy of the Clegg/Cameron coalition of 20102015 was that the Tory wolf had eaten the Lib Dem sheep. Deputy Prime Minister Clegg and his/my party were left with eight MPs. Wind forward to 2019 and things hadn’t improved much with the number of Lib Dem MPs sitting at a paltry 11, down one on the 2017 haul of 12. Bleak was the only word one could use to describe the mood and prospects for our party.

I took Layla Moran MP, our foreign a airs lead and the only MP of Palestinian descent, to Israel at the end of 2022.

I took Sir Ed to the Gaza border in February. The message, leadership and deeply sensitive way in which the party has handled the conflict has won praise and respect from religious, political and communal leaders.

We can expect more of the same with the new empowered Lib Dem block in parliament.

On UK diaspora and domestic issues, our friend and the party’s home a airs lead in the last parliament, Christine Jardine MP has been resolute and unflinching in her support for the CST, HET and issues of wider concern to our community.

On Israel/Palestine, Lord (Jeremy )Purvis, our lead in the Lords, Layla and Sir Ed have led from the front.

They are reasonable, balanced, compassionate and prepared to speak truth to power.

Look forward a further five years and under the careful and compassionate leadership of Sir Ed Davey we had won three massive swinging parliamentary by-elections and went into this campaign quietly confident.

The result has been astounding: 72 MPs from across the UK, and against a backdrop of the big geopolitical issue of the day being Israel/Gaza.

Our sister party in Israel, Yesh Atid, led by former Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid, have also helped, and given how much of a touch point things in the Middle East can be.

Our community and Israel can be confident we will see the same internationalist, compassionate liberalism looking ahead from the UK’s new emboldened third party.

being made to voters at events before the election, and of intimidation near polling stations of people wishing to exercise the right to vote.

Jewish News revealed this week that Adam is the brother of Ismail Patel, who has previously visited Hamas leaders in Gaza, and has said he “saluted” the group for resisting Israel.

Patel founded the Friends of Al Aqsa group in his Leicester home city in the mid 1990s, and has played

a leading role in the pro-Palestine demos that have flourished across the UK since the October 7 Hamas terror atricity in Israel.

Adam also made speeches at proPalestinian protests in Leicester in recent months.

Campaign material circulated on social media ahead of Adam’s surprise general election win included a photo of him speaking to a group of protestors waving Palestinian flags with the words “our community needs you.”

Activists backing his campaign hounded Jon Ashworth, former Labour shadow cabinet member, on the streets of the Leicester constituency he had represented, accusing him of betraying the Palestinian people.

In an online post on 5 July, Friends of Al Aqsa posted on X: “This election was a tectonic shift in British politics. Widespread dissatisfaction at the Conservative’s and Labour’s stance on Palestine and the ongoing genocide in Gaza saw an unprecedented shift towards pro-Palestinian candidates, both running as independents and within smaller parties.”

LABOUR TRANSFORMED TO WEATHER THE STORM

BY MICHAEL RUBIN DIRECTOR, LABOUR FRIENDS OF ISRAEL

Last week’s historic landslide was testament to the new prime minister’s transformation of his party. Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, and the fortitude of all who know Labour is at its best as a credible, mainstream party of government, have changed our party from the dark days of 2019.

Sir Keir spoke honestly of a “wound” brought about by a lack of trust in politics Nowhere was this more apparent than in Labour itself before his leadership. For the past five years, he has worked tirelessly to rid his party of Corbyn-era antisemitism that in 2019 deprived British Jews of a choice. Five years on, thousands of British Jews have once again put their trust in Labour. It is an extraordinary feat of leadership. Seeing so many constituencies with significant Jewish communities back Labour is the best measure of the progress toward Keir’s commitment to tear out Corbyn-era antisemitism. Seeing a new generation of Jewish parliamentarians enter parliament is heartening, joined by a huge new intake of allies who have stood with the Jewish community. Many have visited Israel on LFI delegations over the past 18 months and I’ve seen first-hand how impressive they are.

Keir’s acknowledgment that he enters Downing Street at a time of unprecedented global insecurity is nowhere more apparent

than in Israel and the Middle East. He has been clear in the need to end violence, release the hostages and massively increase aid to Gaza while also rightly recognising a lack of British leadership when it comes to supporting a path to a two-state solution and committing to working with our allies, including Arab states.

One of the biggest achievements of the last Labour government was the Good Friday Agreement. Underpinning peace in Northern Ireland proved to be an investment in peopleto-people peace-building through the International Fund for Ireland that laid the foundation for an end to hostilities there.

Inspired by the Irish fund, and pioneered by the Alliance for Middle East Peace (Allmep), there is a huge opportunity for the creation of an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.

As ALLMEP’s John Lyndon has said, if a renewed diplomatic process is to succeed where all its predecessors have failed, then it must be very di erent from what has come before.

Civil society must be put at the core of any strategy, rather than at the margins as has been the case in every single previous attempt at final status diplomacy.

The prime minister spoke about Britain’s ability to navigate the “storms of history”. Israel and the Jewish people have all too often found themselves downwind of these storms.

It is huge comfort to know that the UK now has a strong Labour prime minister who is committed to weathering these storms and taking us toward safer shores, hand in hand with the Jewish community.

Ed Davey in Israel

Shockat Adam lifts a keffiyah after his Leicester South victory is confirmed and (right) Ayoub Khan

Labour takes power Israel ties / Wakeford re-elected /

Chief leads community’s welcome to prime minister

It was the relationship Keir Starmer said he wanted to restore when he first became leader, writes Lee Harpin. And after Labour secured its historic victory, Chief Rabbi Ephrain Mirvis was quick to issue a statement of praise.

Extending his “heartfelt congratulations” to Starmer, Rabbi Mirvis added: “He takes on the mantle of national leadership at a critical time, when our fragile world is threatened by polarisation, extremism and conflict.

“May he successfully confront these challenges with wisdom and compassion, and may his Government bring the blessings of prosperity, social cohesion and security to all the citizens of our great country.”

Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies, also congratulated Starmer on a “historic” victory.

“Nobody in the Jewish community will forget the state the Labour Party was in when Keir took it over in 2020, riddled with antisemitism and – frankly – unfit to govern,” he said.

“The fact that the incoming prime minister has changed the party so profoundly, transforming Labour’s fortunes from seismic defeat to a landslide victory, is an enormous testament to his personal strength, determination and political courage.”

While there will be areas of debate between

the Board and the incoming Labour government, Rosenberg said, he will seek to resolve them through “constructive engagement”.

He continued: “Meanwhile, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Rishi Sunak and friends across the Conservative Party for the many welcome things they have done for our community in government over the last 14 years, whether adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism, funding security for our communal buildings, proscribing Hamas and Hezbollah, standing as a steadfast ally to Israel, or advancing plans for a new Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre beside Parliament. We will not forget these kindnesses and will be working to build on them.”

A CST spokesperson said: “We look forward to working with their new government in defence of our community and the shared values on which we depend.

“We wish to thank Rishi Sunak and his outgoing ministers for the support they showed to CST and the Jewish community during their time in office, and especially following the appalling October 7 attack and the subsequent rise in antisemitism in the UK.

“Right now it is more important than ever that a change of government does not affect our continuing fight against antisemitism and its causes.”In this respect, we welcome the

commitment that Sir Keir made to continuing the Protective Security Grant for the Jewish community that plays such a vital role in protecting our community.”

A Jewish Leadership Council spokesperson said they looked forward to working with Starmer’s government at this “critical” time. “We thank Rishi Sunak for his dedicated service as our Prime Minister and also want to share our gratitude for the support of his government, particularly during the chal-

Herzog looks forward to deepening UK-Israel ties

Israel’s president said he is looking forward to working with the new prime minister to deepen bilateral ties and bring home the hostages.

Becoming one of the first world leaders to offer his congratulations in a 5.15am post on Twitter/X, Isaac Herzog wrote: “I send my warmest congratulations to Keir Starmer.

“I look forward to working together with him and his new government to bring our hostages home, to build a better future for the region, and to deepen the close friendship between Israel and the United Kingdom.”

He added his “deepest appreciation and gratitude to outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for his leadership and for standing with

the Israeli people especially during this most difficult period”.

Former Labor leader Merav Michaeli also wrote to Starmer.

She wrote: “Warmest congratulations to my friends Keir Starmer

and David Lammy — Britain’s new prime minister and foreign secretary — and to the entire party for an important victory in the elections.

“As leader of the Israeli Labor Party, I worked extensively alongside Keir, David and UK Labour to strengthen the ties between the countries and promote our shared values of equality and freedom.

“This is no ordinary victory: it is a beacon of hope for social democratic parties around the world in an era that is becoming more and more radical and conservative. And now, if Britain can make the change, we in Israel can (and should!) also make the necessary change for the sake of our democracy.”

CFI loses long-time parliamentary chair

Conservative Friends of Israel has paid tribute to its long-time parliamentary chair after he lost his seat.

Stephen Crabb, a former cabinet minister who has led the group in the Commons since 2017, was among the many big names swept aside in Labour’s landslide.

“On a difficult night for our party, many of our friends have lost their seats, including our brilliant parliamentary chair Stephen Crabb, who will be greatly missed in parliament. Thank you, Stephen, for your tireless support,” said a CFI statement.

There was also praise for the outgoing prime minister who has remained so supportive of Israel during its darkest hours and who became the first PM to deploy the British military to defend Israel against Iranian attack. “CFI would like to thank Rishi Sunak for his unequivocal support for Israel and the UK’s Jewish community. Under his leadership, the UKIsrael relationship has gone from strength to strength and as prime minister he stood firmly with Israel.”

 James Gurd, page 20

lenging nine months for Jewish people since the October 7 attack,” they said.

Progressive Judaism said they looked forward to working with the new PM to ensure, “the role of faith in society continues to be valued” and that their voice is heard.

The London Jewish Forum extended its “congratulations to all newly elected and re-elected members of parliament for the London, Hertfordshire, and Essex regions. We are excited to work alongside them.”

WAKEFORD ‘CONFIRMATION’

Re-elected Labour MP for Bury South, Christian Wakeford told Jewish News his victory – with an increased majority – was “confirmation” that he had taken the correct decision in 2022 when he crossed the floor and left the Conservatives.

Wakeford, who beat his Conservative rival Rabbi Arnold Saunders by more than 9,000 votes, said his win meant “many things” to him, noting that he was “humbled and proud” to have been re-elected.

He received criticism at the time of his defection for not standing in a by-election.

He said that he was keen to “get to work” and made particular mention of representing the Charedi community in Bury South, whose voters have become part of the constituency for the first time, owing to boundary changes.

He added: “I’d very much like to continue the work I have been doing, particularly in the areas of mental health and addiction, which are very close to my heart, after losing my brother to that several years ago. But in fields like literacy or vocational education — there’s so much more we could and should be doing, and these are things I’ve been working on for the last few years.”

LEICESTER MAN IS CHARGED

A prominent Leicester com munity activist has been charged with terror offences and supporting a proscribed organisation, police have confirmed.

Majid Novsarka, also known as Majid Freeman, was arrested on Tuesday in the Highfields area of the city.

In a statement Leicester Police confirmed: “A man has been charged

following a warrant being executed at an address in Cecil Road, Leicester.

“Majid Novsarka, also known as Majid Freeman, has been charged with encouragement of terrorism and supporting a proscribed organisation.” The 36-year-old was bailed and is due to appear before Westminster magistrates on 24 July.

President Isaac Herzog with Starmer

Starmer with Christian Wakeford

Majid Novsarka

Chief Rabbi Mirvis and new prime minister Sir Keir Starmer

Inside Islington North after Corbyn held on

News that Labour’s former leader had been elected as an independent

MP temporarily silenced the party’s celebration,

Little could dampen the celebrations among Labour staff as the general election results, confirming Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister, continued to roll in during the early hours last Friday.

But as those gathered at the party’s election event at Tate Modern heard the result from Islington North, where Jeremy Corbyn was re-elected as MP, the room fell into a stunned silence.

Despite several opinion polls predicting the former Labour leader, now expelled from the party, was heading for defeat on 4 July, in the end Corbyn comfortably beat his Labour rival Praful Nargund, securing 24,120 votes.

Nargund, meanwhile, was left to reflect on the disappointing 16,873 votes he secured.

It would be wrong to suggest the Islington North result dented the celebrations after Labour’s landslide victory.

“So good were many of the results from other parts of the country for Labour candidates, the anger over Corbyn’s victory in Islington North was quickly put into context,” said one Labour source at the Tate Modern.

Party insiders later also pointed out that the fact that Corbyn was no longer synonymous with Labour secured far more votes for Starmer candidates elsewhere in the country.

For Jewish voters, it was also a sign that Starmer was sincere in his promise to root out antisemitism from the party. The expulsion of Corbyn helped to secure vital votes for candidates in seats like Finchley and Golders Green, Hendon, and Chipping Barnet. The banishment of Corbyn, with his controversial views on foreign policy and national security, undoubtedly helped Labour secure seats in areas such as Aldershot, an army stronghold.

But there can be no doubt Corbyn’s victory

writes Lee Harpin

in the north London seat he has represented since 1983 will also raise concerns within the Jewish community about why, despite conclusive evidence of his failure to tackle antisemitism, voters in Islington North continue to back him in such numbers.

Just two hours before the polls closed last Thursday, Jewish News joined a team of Labour activists on the ground in Islington North, who were desperately trying to get locals who hadn’t yet voted to back their candidate. At that point, it was clear that regional party chiefs sensed there was not enough support for Nargund. One o cial, who had previously held a senior role in the party, told Jewish News there was a distinct lack of data on the strength of local support for Nargund in the final days of the campaign.

Many voters, when spoken to on the doorstep, had been unclear about who they were planning to vote for. Others said they had made up their minds, but did not want to relay that information to canvassers.

ting the blame on Corbyn for this was wrong.” Meanwhile, Corbyn’s continued commitment to the Palestinian cause convinced others to back him. Within this group some, but not all, may have been motivated by factors other than human rights concerns for the people of Gaza. But the reality was that Islington North was always going to be a di cult seat for Labour to win, no matter how well Labour did elsewhere. One local o cial, who previously worked closely with Corbyn, but who now worked on Nargund’s campaign, told Jewish News: “Jeremy is in many ways more like a local councillor than an MP in the way he works. He’ll be invited to weddings, barbecues, the opening of an envelope by residents, and rather than saying he’s busy with work, he’ll make a point of trying to attend, even if it’s in someone’s back garden. He’s familiar to lots of people in the constituency, so it’s hard to persuade people not to vote for him now.”

And yes others, who freely admitted they were voting for Corbyn, many because they said he was a “good constituency MP”, others because of his support for the Palestinians, and some “because he’s always been our MP”.

It would be wrong and hugely problematic to portray all who voted for Corbyn as antisemitic. “For many people, antisemitism wasn’t an issue at the forefront of this election like it was in 2019,” a Jewish Labour source argued. “And the community should be grateful for that.”

The source added: “There are also people who thought Corbyn was harshly treated by Labour over his antisemitism, many of whom reside in Islington North, and who thought their MP was picked on. “Some of these people may have actually felt that Labour did indeed have an antisemitism problem in the past, but that put-

Until recent months the local Labour Party was also controlled by members completely loyal to Corbyn. It meant that vital data on where the majority of support for Corbyn and Labour was in the seat was, until recently known only to them. With such a tight grip on the CLP by the Corbynistas, campaigners for Nargund only came to gain access to some of this data at a very late stage. But when campaigners for Nargund arrived on doorsteps to confirm support for their candidate, it was often clear that canvassers for Corbyn had already arrived at the same addresses.

grip on the CLP by the Corbynionly came to gain access to some

But compared to his vote in the 2017 election, where more than 40,000 people in Islington North had backed Corbyn, just over 24,000 had done so again in 2024, a 40 percent drop.

As one Labour insider said: “We’ve got bigger things to worry about than Jeremy Corbyn from now on. He’s history. We’re more concerned with trying to run the country.”

Corbyn is quizzed by the media after his success

A pro-Corbyn poster in a constituency window

Dad of teenage hostage: ‘I’m sure she will return’

The father of Gaza hostage Daniella Gilboa has told Jewish News he is still confident his daughter will return home, although he acknowledges it will take time due to the differences between Hamas and the Israeli government’s positions in the negotiations, writes Jotam Confino.

“We don’t have a life. It’s been more than nine months,” Ran Gilboa, 54, told Jewish News on a visit to London on Tuesday.

Daniella, 19, was taken hostage by Hamas along with four other Israeli women on 7 October.

When asked how he thinks his daughter is managing the horrific situation she finds herself in, Gilboa is in no doubt: “She is strong and always supportive of others, and so I believe she is strengthening her friends who are also held hostage in Gaza. She can manage in every place.”

“When she returns I will tell her how much I love her. I will hug her and look after her,” he said.

It’s been 277 days since Gilboa last spoke with Daniella, but he still dreams about her from time to time: “So far, only good dreams. I am a religious person and I am sure that she will return.”

While Gilboa is confident that his daughter will be released, he is pessimistic about current negotiations between Israel and Hamas taking place in Cairo and Doha this week.

“It’s hard for me to believe that

the negotiations will do something. I think there is a big difference between what the government is ready to do and what Hamas wants. Therefore I think it will take time. We have a problem with the government. Hamas wants to end the war but it seems like our government won’t,” he said.

“I don’t see any point in continuing the war. There needs to be a plan for the day after. And I am confident that the hostages will return the minute the war is over in Gaza. I don’t think there will be an agreement that frees all the hostages at once. It will be in stages. But they should make the deal regardless,” Gilboa added.

He is, however, not among the many relatives of hostages who demand that Prime Minister Netanyahu resign and call new elections:

“I don’t think we need elections now. Israel is a democratic country governed by laws. We make our voices heard through the ballots.”

Gilboa and his family are in touch with the IDF every other day, to get updates on the hostage situation: “They are very helpful.

“But we are also in touch with the government. My wife had very difficult conversations with some of the ministers.”

When asked about the demonstrations against Israel across the world and the lack of sympathy for the hostages, Gilboa blames media, such as Al Jazeera, for showing people a distorted version of the situation on the ground.

“They have no idea what the situation here is like. I also see it here in London. They have no idea what they are demonstrating against.”

Aliyah: Building Dreams & Saving Tax

Before the war: Ran Gilboa and 19-year-old daughter Daniella

Daniella Gilboa in captivity

Pray for our brother, say captive’s family

The brother of a 20-year-old Israeli hostage in Gaza was in London this week raising awareness of the captives held by Hamas, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

Rom Braslavski, from Jerusalem, was working as a security guard when he was kidnapped from the Nova festival on 7 October.

He is one of three sons of Tamar and Ofir Braslavski, alongside 25-year-old Amit and 12-year-old Ziv. Rom turned 20 while in captivity.

Amit Braslavski travelled to the UK with his cousin Adam Hagag and they visited Chigwell and Hampstead Jewish communities, Hasmonean School and private homes to speak of Rom’s plight and the family crisis.

Rom was working as a security guard at the Nova festival when the terrorists struck on 7 October.

Witnesses said while he had several chances to save himself, he helped save others instead and hid bodies so Hamas could not take them.

A young woman who survived the attack and intense follow-up surgery,

thanks to Rom remembers vividly his “wide smile and words of comfort”.

At 10am when he was able to contact home, he lied to his mother so she wouldn’t worry, telling her he was with a policeman and was safe.

On 8 October, Amit Braslavski trawled the festival site searching for his brother. It was two months before the IDF could confirm that Rom was a hostage. None of the hostages since released say they have seen him.

Rom’s parents are a divorced, low- income family. He shares a room with Ziv in his mother’s home and the older brothers both worked from the age of 14 to supplement the household income.

Braslavski describes his brother as “fun, and determined”, someone who “loves music, plays the drums and has a close circle of friends, his best being Ziv”.

Speaking to London supporters with cousin Adam by his side, Braslavski played an old voice recording of Rom speaking in Hebrew, saying he would like to go to a hotel with all

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his family, go to the dining room and drink lots of Coke Zero ‘on the room’.”

Translating, Braslavski says: “He’s humble. This is the kid that wants Coke Zero on the room. This is his character. He’s not afraid to sleep

outside. He’s not afraid to just jump in the sea. He loved life.”

Braslavski asks supporters to “pray, have faith, speak the name Rom ben Tamar Noa, to share his story and be his voice on social media”.

Three senior employees at one of America’s most prestigious universities have been fired after sending a series of derisive text messages during a panel on campus Jewish life, writes Luke Tress.

Columbia University’s President Minouche Shafik wrote that the texts echoed antisemitism and promised to start a “vigorous programme of antisemitism and antidiscrimination training” in the fall, when classes reconvene.

“This incident revealed behaviour and sentiments that were not only unprofessional, but also, disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes,” Shafik said in an email to the campus community on Monday morning.

“These sentiments are unacceptable and deeply upsetting, conveying a lack of seriousness about the concerns and the experiences of members of our Jewish community.”

A fourth dean who was involved in one of the text exchanges apologised and likewise acknowledged that the conversations “call to mind antisemitic tropes”.

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Amit (right) in London with a cousin to raise awareness of his brother

Solicitor tribunal holds ‘Zionist firm’ hearing

A professional disciplinary hearing has opened in London into the behaviour of a solicitor accused of making false and inaccurate statements about Mishcon de Reya in a TV programme titled Mishcon de Reya – Zionist Law Firm, writes Beatrice Sayers.

Tasnime Akunjee is accused by the Solicitors Regulation Authority of implying that the firm had been guilty of criminal activity when it was fined for breaking money laundering rules.

The firm was fined a record sum in 2021 for the breaches but they were a regulatory matter and not a criminal one, the SRA explained at the hearing.

In the episode broadcast as part of the Iranian broadcaster PressTV’s series Palestine Declassified, Akunjee was interviewed by former Labour

MP Chris Williamson about Mishcon’s work in Israel and in UK politics. A clip shown in the programme calls the firm “deeply bonded to Israel at every level of the company”, concluding: “Watch out, [the firm] could have you on their hit list.”

The SRA alleged on the first day of the hearing on Tuesday that the broadcast was part of a wider attack on Mishcon and on individuals in the firm, and that Akunjee’s participation called into question his fitness to practise as a solicitor.

It says that, as an aggravating factor, the episode, broadcast in September 2022 and still available online, was antisemitic and could not be described as credible investigative journalism. The regulator said the programme perpetuates conspiracy theories, including the trope of Jews controlling the government.

Giving evidence at the hearing, Akunjee, a former lawyer for the socalled Isis Bride Shamima Begum, said he had not realised until after

having arrived at the PressTV studio exactly what the broadcast’s title was or what it was going to be about. He said mistakes he made when being interviewed were due to the fact that he had not adequately researched or prepared for the topic.

Cross-examined by Louise Culleton, Akunjee was asked about when he became aware of the title of the show, Mishcon de Reya – Zionist Law Firm. By asserting at the hearing that he had not been aware until the title “flashed up on the screen” as part of a pre-recorded clip he was changing his story from that given in previous written responses to the SRA, she said.

Under examination by David Gottlieb, of Thomas More Chambers, the respondent said he had found it “particularly galling” to be accused of antisemitism. He had chosen to undertake training, in respect of which he was halfway through watching a 50-minute video that explained what constitutes antisemitism. The hearing continues.

The new president of the Board of Deputies, the youngest in its 264-year history, has opened his first plenary session with a raft of innovations.

Phil Rosenberg’s plans include an informal kiddush to welcome old and new deputies representing synagogues and organisations across the Jewish community, and sponsors for similar welcoming kiddushim for future plenary events.

A touch of history saw a traditional opening prayer amended for the first time in 70 years to refer to the King rather than the late Queen, asking for peace and prosperity for the community and the release of captives.

Rosenberg and team brought music and humour to the proceedings, with the new president saying their watchword would echo that of Elvis Presley: “A little less conversation, a little more action” — and

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indeed, it was the Presley song that wound up the meeting.

Much of the business consisted of the new honorary o cers — senior vice-president Adrian Cohen, vicepresidents Jeremy Michelson and Andrew Gilbert, and treasurer Ben Crowne — introducing themselves, outlining their work and responsibilities, and inviting deputies to become involved with the Board’s divisions.

Rosenberg set out five key priorities for the next three years: “Fighting antisemitism, standing up for peace and security in Israel and the Middle East, defending our religious freedoms, making our community more united, inclusive and more outwardlooking, and celebrating our faith, heritage and culture as British Jews.”

Chief executive Michael Wegier introduced the Board’s sta , countering accusations the new line-up of honorary o cers were not just male but “pale and stale” with a pledge to address gender inequality in a Zoom meeting with all women deputies with a view to getting women more involved with the work of the Board.

For the first time, the plenary took place under the independent chairmanship of Karen Newman, a deputy for the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, a trial likely to be repeated in future.

An ambitious two-day crowd funding campaign by World Jewish Relief (WJR) reached its target of £500,000 in less than 36 hours, writes Jessica Black.

‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ was launched to provide lifesaving support to those a ected by crisis, conflict, and disaster around the globe. The initiative was supported by 1,267 donors. The organisation currently operates in four continents, 80 countries and 25 towns and cities across the UK.

WJR chief executive, Paul Anticoni, said: “We are profoundly grateful for the extraordinary response to our campaign. Reaching our target so swiftly underscores the compassion and solidarity of our community. This campaign was about more than fundraising; it was about empowering people to over-

Paul Anticoni: ‘Jewish values’

come adversity. Thank you to everyone who stood with us.”

The campaign will help more than a quarter of a million people a ected by the ongoing war in Ukraine and establish vital lifelines for people facing famine and ethnic violence in Ethiopia. It will also o er essential training and livelihood support to economically excluded women in Rwanda, empowering them to thrive.

Tasnime Akunjee on the PressTV programme that led to the complaint

Phil Rosenberg: innovations

14 charged in pro-Palestine demo

Police have charged 14 people after proPalestinian protesters calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza blockaded a defence and security company.

More than 100 people blocked entrances to the Thales factory in Glasgow, urging it to end links with Israel. Demonstrators also called on the UK government to ban arms exports to Israel.

Police said two men were arrested in connection with alleged disorder offences while a third man was arrested on warrant.

Police were called again to a subsequent disturbance where a further 11 people were arrested following a probe into an alleged assault on a police officer.

Protesters said officers used batons and pepper spray and described the response as “disproportionate”, with one person going to A&E following the demonstration and another to a minor injuries unit.

Police Scotland said about 80 people attended a “largely peaceful” protest,

and “officers managed the crowd proportionately”. The force said it launched an inquiry into the alleged assault on an officer about 30 minutes after the protest was dispersed.

Following both incidents, police said one officer was injured but did not require treatment and a member of the public was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Local area commander chief inspector Derrick Johnston said: “Police Scotland is a rights-based organisation and our role is to ensure public safety while balancing the rights of protesters.

“The initial gathering passed largely without incident but the disorder that followed was dangerous and unacceptable.

“There are obvious safety concerns when managing demonstrations and a proportionate policing response brought both incidents to a swift conclusion.”

He added that those charged are due to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court at a later

March design creatives in line for two top awards

The digital media agency behind the March Against Antisemitism branding and graphics has been shortlisted for two top awards.

The Creative Clinic in north London worked on last year’s event in collaboration with Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA). The historic march on 26 November represented the single biggest gathering against antisemitism in a century –the largest rally of its kind since the Battle of Cable Street in 1936.

The agency’s work is now being considered for two Creativepool award categories for the best work in the industry, decided on by votes from the public.

The campaign ad, produced in just five days, appeared in every major national newspaper, supported by a launch on social media.

More than 106,000 people par-

ticipated in the peaceful march and concluding rally outside parliament , supported by public figures and social media influencers.

They included former prime minister Boris Johnson; chief rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis; peers including Lord Austin; actors Eddie Marsan,

Dame Maureen Lipman, TracyAnn Oberman and Felicity Kendall; broadcasters Robert Rinder, Julia Hartley-Brewer, Vanessa Feltz and Trevor Phillips, and historian Simon Sebag Montefiore.

Resulting media coverage in national newspapers and on TV and radio meant millions of people became aware of the campaign.

Creative Clinic founder and creative director Adam Selwyn said the agency was “honoured” to work with CAA on branding and graphics for such an important and historic event.

A CAA spokesperson said the March was a day of national pride for British Jews and allies. “At a time of record-breaking levels of antisemitism, the shortlisting of these designs is itself noteworthy, and we encourage everyone to vote for these entries to win the two awards.”

date and reports for each will be sent to the procurator-fiscal.

A demonstration outside Thales in May led to four people being arrested and six police officers being injured.

Thales said it has a small-to-medium enterprise joint venture with the Israeli company Elbit, which supplies systems to the UK’s Ministry of Defence, but that it does not supply the Israeli military or to its defence ministry.

Katy, who works at a Scottish university, was one of those demonstrating at last week’s protest.

The 28-year-old, who did not wish to give her surname, said: “In Palestine, homes, hospitals, mosques, churches, schools and universities have been wilfully destroyed by Israel through relentless aerial bombardments.”

She said people in Glasgow “cannot stand by whilst people in Palestine suffer uncountable horrors and humiliation”.

STARS UNITE TO AID KIBBUTZ REBUILDING

Actress Debra Messing, Israeli model Bar Refaeli, Maureen Lipman and Michael Aloni came together on 30 June as part of a literary fundraiser in partnership with UJIA for the reconstruction of Kibbutz Be’eri, where more than 120 residents were murdered on 7 October

More than 800 guests gathered at a West End venue for Letters, Light & Love, as performers recounted epistles from writers including Julius Caesar, Maimonides, Golda Meir, Sir Moses Montefiore, Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill.

The three-act script consisted entirely of letters highlighting the historic link between the Jewish people and the land of Israel spanning thousands of years.

They included notes written by Roman politician and general Gaius Norbanus Flaccus in 38BC; Moses

Maimonides to Rabbi

the

phen

his first visit to Palestine

Esther Cailingold, mortally wounded defending the Jewish Quarter (26 May 1948), and excerpts from a letter written by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (2001).

A final letter was written by Alkana Wiesel, who fell in battle in the southern Gaza

in January.

Yaphet bar Eliyahu

Judge (5 May, 1165); Ste-

Norman, Herzl’s grandson, on

(1945-46);

strip

Howard Jacobson, Bar Refaeli and Louisa Clein are among performers

Protesters at the Thales factory in Glasgow

A March Against Antisemitism graphic

Photo by Blake Ezra

Teenager guilty of racial harassment

An 18-year-old has been found guilty of racially harassing Jewish train passengers on their way home from a march against antisemitism in London last November, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

As first reported by Jewish News, Ilham Ahmed, from Hendon, was filmed on a Thameslink train from West Hampstead to Mill Hill Broadway on 26 November.

He confronted a large group of Jewish people returning from the rally, threatening to “smack you across the head” and calling them “a bunch of killers, a bunch of child-molesters”.

The case followed appeals for evidence to the public from British

Transport Police, with Ahmed, who had pleaded not guilty, ordered to pay a fine of £250 plus a surcharge of £26 and ordered to cover the £625 costs for the Crown Prosecution Service.

Three witness, two men and one woman, attended the hearing.

One of the men, who spoke to Jewish News on condition of anonymity, said Ahmed was “s****** himself. It seemed an incredibly sobering experience for him. He didn’t seem like he was having the best of days. Our evidence was in line with what the video showed.

I took the recording because he started kicking o .”

He added that he “wanted to show and provide evidence for what people in the Jewish community were experiencing.

“I’m pleased no one rose to his level and reacted in an inappropriate way.”

FLAG PROTEST AT WESTFIELD CENTRE

A giant pro-Palestinian flag was unfurled at Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, east London.

It was hung over a balcony at the busy centre until security o cers eventually came and removed it.

A Westfield spokesperson said: “We do not facilitate protests within our centres. On occasion protesters will show up unexpectedly. However, they are advised immediately of our policy and

politely asked to conclude the event and remove any visual materials.

“Our priority is to manage the situation peacefully; the protest was dealt with and protesters left without incident.”

NOTTINGHAM ASKS COURT TO HELP END DEMO CAMPS

The University of Nottingham has become the latest academic body to ask the High Court to intervene in its e ort to end a Pro-Palestinian protest encampment on its land.

Last week the university’s lawyers asked a judge to issue a possession order against “persons unknown” over its Jubilee Campus where tents were erected in early May.

They argue protesters are trespassing and the camp has been linked with “disruption and unlawful activities” during open days last month as well as health and safety concerns.

Lawyers for the only named defendant in the legal action, River Butterworth. 24, from Warwickshire, say a court order helping to “evict” the “peaceful” encampment would be a “disproportionate interference” with free speech and protest rights.

The hearing in London came a day after the University of Birmingham sought a similar High Court order against an encampment on its Edgbaston campus.

It also follows the London School of Economics securing a county court order barring indefinitely encampments in one of its buildings after students slept in its atrium for more than a month in support of Palestine.

Queen Mary University of London has previously said it would take legal action to secure possession over its Mile End campus if protest encampments did not end.

Owen Greenhall, representing Butterworth, said in written arguments the camp was part of nationwide protests at British universities in solidarity with demonstrations in North America and in support of people in Gaza.

He said Butterworth had joined the protest to encourage the university “not to be complicit in the loss of life in Gaza, and the commission of war crimes through the development and supply of arms and military equipment, academic research and collaboration with Israel”.

The judge is set to issue a written ruling at a later date.

Ilham Ahmed was fined £250

The flag on show

River Butterworth outside court

IDF’S LERNER SAYS ISRAEL

‘DIRECTLY’ HELPED HAMAS

The Israeli army’s former foreign media spokesman, Lt-Col Peter Lerner, has accused his government of “helping Hamas directly” by undercutting the country’s public relations work.

In an interview last week British-born Lerner, who returned to the IDF to serve as one of its spokesmen after the Hamas attacks on 7 October, gave a bitterly worded interview to Haaretz in which he reviewed the collapse of Israel’s international standing as the Gaza war claimed thousands of civilian casualties.

He said: “Netanyahu promised a complete victory over Hamas. But in the international arena he and his government led us to defeat.”

Lerner is one of a number of senior IDF o cers to have been critical of the government’s actions, as the war continued into its ninth month.

Lerner, who gave hundreds of briefings to foreign press after the outbreak of the Gaza war, said he had concluded there was a “loss of interna-

tional trust in Israel and the government’s failure to maintain widespread support for the war against Hamas over time”.

He had particular anger for politicians who he believed had undercut any media strategy Israel might have had.

He told Haaretz: “Hamas damaged almost all the power lines that connect Gaza to Israel. We had the opportunity to come and say, ‘Hamas is harming the citizens of Gaza, and we, Israel, will try to fix it, but only if he stops the shooting.’ Instead, the minister of energy comes out with populist statements... that he will cut them o from electricity and will not deliver fuel to them either.”

Israel will fi ght Hezbollah regardless of ceasefi

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant this week vowed that Israel will continue to fight Hezbollah in the north regardless of a ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza, writes Jotam Confino in Israel.

Despite Hezbollah linking the daily attacks on Israel to the war in Gaza, he insisted the two arenas are “separate”.

“I gave a clear directive to the forces stationed in the south and in the north –these are two separate arenas,” Gallant said as he held an operational situation assessment in northern Israel.

“Even if we reach agreement for a hostage deal, and I very much hope that we will be able to achieve it – it does not bind us on what happens here, unless Hezbollah reaches a framework or agreement.

“Even if there is a ceasefire there [in the south], here [in the north] we will continue fighting and doing everything necessary to bring about the desired result [bringing Israeli communities home safely]. Your goal is to ensure your readiness and to erode the enemy’s [Hezbollah] capabilities.”

Gallant said Hezbollah and Palestinian terror organisations have lost 450 fighters in Lebanon since the start of the war.

Four people were wounded in another

Hezbollah attack on Sunday, with 20 rockets fired at the lower Galilee region, marking the deepest attack on Israel by the terror group since 8 October.

The barrage hit an Israeli military base near Tiberias some 18 miles from the Lebanon border.

Hezbollah has ramped up its rocket attacks on Israel in recent weeks after a string of Israeli assassinations of senior

Hezbollah commanders across Lebanon. On Monday, the IDF said it “struck and eliminated” Hezbollah operative Mustafa Hassan Salman in the area of Qlaileh in southern Lebanon.

“Hassan Salman was an operative in Hezbollah’s Rockets and Missiles Unit, who took part in the planning and execution of numerous terror attacks against the State of Israel,” the IDF said.

Thursday 7 November – Sunday 17 November 2024

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Lt-Col Peter Lerner (left)

Defence minister Yoav Gallant in northern Israel last week. Credit: Ariel Hermoni

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Special Report / French election

French Jews say they feel caught between extremes

Most Jews voted centrist in last week’s election but some backed Marine Le Pen’s party because of its criticism of Hamas, writes Jenni Frazer

French Jews fear they are caught between a rock and a hard place after the second round of voting in Sunday’s snap election led to the unexpected defeat of Marine le Pen’s hardright National Rally party.

The defeat came at a cost: success for the leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who has previously called antisemitism in France “residual”, and frequently criticised those demonstrating against antisemitism.

Robert Ejnes, chief executive of Crif, the representative body of French Jewry, told Jewish News that French law did not permit sampling of voting by religion, colour or race. But while he believed that most French Jews had voted centrist, “we have quite a number of French Jews who favoured the extreme right and did not agree with us”.

By “us”, Ejnes meant the leaders of Crif, the Consistoire, which represents the synagogues, the Fonds Social, the main welfare grouping, and the chief rabbi of France, Haïm Korsia.

On the Friday before the second round of voting, the four men published an open letter, urging French Jews not to vote for extremes.

The letter said: “We do not agree to associate with those who tend to exclude or stigmatise our neighbours, as well as with those who set our society ablaze by propagating hatred and antisemitism, or so called anti-Zionism.

“No, populism or nationalism have never in history been a bulwark

against antisemitism nor have they brought peace and serenity.

“No, antisemitism is neither ‘residual’ nor ‘contextual’, as some have dared to assert.

“To give the country the possibility of public action and rediscover the hope of saving perspectives, we are choosing the universal and humanist values which are at the heart of Judaism, as well as our republican pact.

“In conscience, we believe that this cannot be done today either with the RN [Le Pen’s party] or with LFI [Mélenchon’s party]”.

Ejnes said this middle ground stance had been praised by some, but he acknowledged that those Jews who had voted for Marine le Pen had done so because since 7 October “the RN was the only one which was very openly supportive of Israel and critical of Hamas”.

Moshe Sebbag, rabbi of Paris’s Great Synagogue, the Synagogue de la Victoire, told the Times of Israel that “it seems France has no future for Jews,” and said he advised young French Jews to leave for Israel. “But people my age, who are 50, 60, we’ve made our life here and we fear for

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the future of our children,” he said, noting that his assessment was not due solely to the left-wing bloc’s success, but to the mainstreaming of antisemitism in general in France.

Ejnes, however, said this was Rabbi Sebbag’s personal opinion, and that, moreover, he was Israeli. He said the main surge in aliyah from France to Israel had began after the Toulouse shootings in 2012, adding: “Yes, people are talking about aliyah and opening files with the Jewish Agency, but we are not the Titanic yet.” But one report said that in the 48 hours after Sunday’s vote 2,000

files were opened with the Jewish Agency in Paris.

According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a poll from the American Jewish Committee in Europe says 92 percent of French Jews believe that France Unbowed [Mélenchon’s party] has “contributed” to rising antisemitism. Official statistics say that in the first three months of 2024 there was a 300 percent rise in antisemitic incidents over the previous year’s figure.

The renowned intellectual Bernard Henri-Lévy posted on X: “The left is once again kidnapped by the infamous Mélenchon. Divisive language. Hate of the republic on the lips. Around him are some incarnations of the new antisemitism. A chilling moment. A stain: Continue to fight against these people.”

Robert Ejnes said that Sunday’s result showed that while the French wanted more security and had other domestic concerns, “they were not ready to give the keys to the extreme right”. Nevertheless, he believed that people did not trust the extreme left and described Mélenchon as “exactly like Corbyn”. He hoped that in the coming days and weeks the left could put together a coalition which excluded the extremists of Mélenchon’s party.

In a 2017 speech, Mélenchon called France Jews “an arrogant minority that lectures to the rest”. In an earlier speech he celebrated anti-Israel protesters days after some of them stormed a synagogue, condemning only French Jews who demonstrated to support Israel.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon (right) on Sunday after the second round of the French legislative elections

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Labour’s revival under Starmer

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has largely achieved his goal of ridding his party of antisemitism and once again making it a welcoming environment for British Jews.

We saw it over recent years with the decision of many on the hard left to exit stage right, realising this Labour Party was no longer for them and the return of those who suffered most during the Corbyn era.

This change was underlined by a pre-election survey of British Jews which suggested Labour was the preferred party of Jewish voters and, finally, last week, by the fact the Bagel Belt seats of Finchley and Golders Green, Hendon and Chipping Barnet all turned red for the first time. This transformation from 2019 is nothing short of seismic. Sir Keir deserves huge credit for his singleminded focus on this goal.

For a government that enjoys a massive majority, however, there are a striking number of challenges on the horizon. Including those that will impact British Jews and Israel.

Even before the election, David Lammy stood apart from his predecessor in the Foreign Office on the issue of potential arrest warrants targeting Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Labour’s position on Palestine recognition is vague enough for serious questions to continue.

Then there’s the fact Labour faces a major challenge in addressing the loss of trust among many British Muslims that saw the alarming accent of a bloc of MPs focused enitrely on Gaza.

The new prime minister will want to win back this support in 2029 but let’s not forget, as he navigates a daunting in-tray, that this is the same Starmer who stood steadfastly by Israel after 7 October despite plenty of internal opposition.

Many will want to reserve judgment until Labour is really tested in power, but what cannot be doubted is that Starmer has been been an ally to our community and Israel from the moment he took on the leadership. With the support of his sizeable parliamentary majority – including several Jewish ministers now in key roles – we wish him the best of luck in the challenging months and years ahead.

Martin sorely missed

I was delighted to read Martin Segal was posthumously awarded an MBE for services to guide dogs in Israel and his contribution to other organisations in the Jewish community with which he was involved ( Jewish News 27 June).

Permit me, however, to correct the record regarding Martin’s work for the Israel Guide Dog Centre British Friends (latterly known as Israel Guide Dog Centre UK).

The charity here in the UK was established

THANK YOU HUGELY FOR OUR GROVE CELEBRATION!

We have just returned from our stay at The Grove after winning a Jewish News competition with a mini-break as the prize.

We chose to use our prize to celebrate my husband’s birthday. It was all wonderful. Absolutely great, Hermolis was excellent, the service and the weather included!

As I wrote in his birthday card: ‘In ‘23 we went to Hove This year we’re off to The Grove.... Grateful thanks to Jewish News A better prize than any booze!’

This isn’t the first prize I’ve won with you. Our daughter was the posthumous winner of your Community Hero Award in 2015 after she was nominated by a colleague of mine at the Jewish Deaf Association.

Judith and Johnny Morgan

By email

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in 1990 in the home of the late Lady Jacobovits and with me as the first founder chairman. I held this position until 2013 when I was elected honorary life president.

I had the pleasure of working closely with Martin during the early days of his appointment as chief executive and the transformation he made to the work of the committee here in the UK. Martin is certainly sorely missed.

Anthony Krais, By email

‘ACTIVISM’

FROM AFAR

“Matan Rosenstrauch,” says the byline at the bottom of his opinion piece on the situation in Israel (27 June), “is an Israeli peace activist living in London.”

And this is precisely the problem. He’s a peace activist living in London, not here in Israel.

So what he thinks, says and writes is necessarily filtered through the space of a city that’s not now at war, that isn’t being showered by rockets, missiles and terrorist attacks and is 2,220 miles from booby-trapped buildings and mosques repurposed as launching pads. With Jews like Mr Rosenstrauch, who needs the Palestinian Authority?

Phil Fine

Arad, Israel

HELP FOR THE ENEMY TESTAMENT TO SIR KEIR

Oh the irony! Your columnist

Richard Miron’s diatribe in the issue of 27 June says Bibi’s refusal to resign is helping our enemies and causing disunity. His hate piece and others that publicise division in Israel to the world at large is what really helps our enemies.

Ann Cohen

Golders Green

Keir Starmer will be an excellent prime minister for the Jewish community. His unwavering commitment to fighting antisemitism and promoting inclusivity is testament to his leadership qualities. I never dreamed I would ever vote Labour after Corbynism – but I did!

Shelvin Harris

By email

VOICE

‘Friday night dinner hasn’t been quite the same since you became prime minister’

So long... and thanks for all the gefi lte fi sh

MIKE FREER FORMER CONSERVATIVE MP FOR FINCHLEY & GOLDERS GREEN

Now the dust has settled on last week’s election and I am no longer MP for Finchley & Golders Green, it’s natural to look back at what was achieved and contemplate what was still left to do. Had I stood for election again and been re-elected, I would have continued to work for investment in local infrastructure, for example sustainable housing (not overbearing tower blocks), more school places, more services at Finchley Memorial Hospital and a fairer deal on police numbers for the borough. However, my successor, Sarah Sackman, will have her own ideas.

Looking back, I am proud of my record as a constituency MP. As one of those ‘morning people’, I rose at 5am and was usually at my desk in Westminster by 6am. Clearing emails early allowed me to have a clear day but also built a reputation for rapid response (typos included – but at least people knew the response had come from me!). Of course, no MP pleases everyone and not everyone liked the response. I always said “You’ll get an

answer, even if you don’t like it!” I tried to be straightforward and honest when what they wanted simply wasn’t going to happen; either because as an MP I didn’t have the power or what the constituent wanted wasn’t realistic.

Of course, more times than not I was able to help. It was often the little victories that made the job worthwhile. Two cases come to mind. One an early campaign to improve local breast-screening services. Take-up was poor and the scanners needed to be digital. I campaigned to raise awareness and take-up improved. One woman wrote saying my campaign encouraged her to be checked and they found cancerous cells, but early enough.

Another memorable case concerned a constituent who was disabled and had racked up countless parking tickets. Appeals were unsuccessful and thousands of pounds had accrued in unpaid fines.

To make things worse, the constituent had applied for numerous loans, incurred application fees but had been turned down. I managed to get the parking fines cancelled, the application fees returned and, importantly, a blue badge and social-care support.

Not all cases are as transformational –most are routine enquiries about council issues, housing, immigration, the NHS or constituents sharing their views. I was

I CAMPAIGNED TO PROTECT SHECHITA, AND VISITED A KOSHER ABATTOIR MYSELF TO SEE HOW IT OPERATED

fortunate to have a super-e cient o ce team that ensured our workload was handled e ciently. Of course, other highlights are best described as big ticket items – securing the junction redesign of Henly’s Corner, ensuring the number 13 bus route remained, protecting funds for the rebuild of Finchley Memorial Hospital, nagging the NHS to provide a permanent breast-screening unit inside the new hospital, then having the screening centre become the foundation of the new community diagnostic centre.

I’ll always remember the Sunday spent planting 1,000 crocuses near the Naked Lady statue at Henly’s Corner alongside volunteers from the community – each crocus in memory of 1,000 children murdered in the Holocaust.

Alongside local issues, I helped change UK laws and government funding. The religious premises security fund was born out of me nagging David Cameron and then home secretary Theresa May to provide funds to protect Jewish premises, not just Jewish state schools.

I campaigned to protect shechita (I even visited a kosher abattoir to see how it operated), while the criminalisation of residential squatting was based on problems local families had – some coming home from holiday or just a night out to find someone squatting in the home.

Then there was the equal marriage legislation, which put same-sex relationships on an equal footing, an option my husband and I quickly took up.

Working to have Pep and PrEP available on the NHS to combat HIV and securing HPV vaccinations for boys and men to protect them from human papillomavirus and the cancers that can ensue. Big-ticket or hyperlocal issues, it was an amazing 14 years as MP for Finchley & Golders Green.

When I became involved in public life locally the Jewish community embraced me and I embraced the community.

I will continue to be a friend and advocate for the Jewish community I know and love.

Opinion

Keir’s moral crusade led him to Downing Street

MIKE KATZ CHAIR, JEWISH LABOUR MOVEMENT

As I waited in Downing Street last Friday lunchtime with dozens of sleep-deprived but jubilant Labour staffers and activists to greet our new prime minister, our emphatic victory had yet to sink in.

Hardly surprising, given that less than five years ago Labour sank to an 80-year low, weighed down in no small part by Jeremy Corbyn’s inability and unwillingness to act on the crisis of antisemitism that infected it.

Making Labour electable again looked like the work of at least a decade. So to see it actually happen, to shake the hand of our new Labour PM as sunlight broke through the rain clouds, felt slightly surreal.

But change was a proof point more than a slogan. The party had been changed, to give it the chance to change the country.

An indispensable part of that change was Keir Starmer’s determination as leader to stamp out antisemitism. People recognised it was a moral crusade that delivered a strong political message.

It hasn’t always been an easy process

making the cultural, political and institutional changes called for by the independent Equality and Human Rights Commission in its unprecedented report which was instigated by the Jewish Labour Movement complaint and which found Labour guilty of breaking equalities law against Jews.

Nonetheless, they were made and the commission took the party out of special measures last year.

Antisemitism is a light sleeper, and we know we can never stop being vigilant, as we’ve seen since the atrocities on 7 October, which led to a spike in antisemitism before a single IDF boot had set foot in Gaza.

But, unlike in the Corbyn years, this isn’t purely a product of bad actors in the Labour Party. It’s a problem for society and a problem we all need to fix.

There’s undoubtedly pressure from parts of the left and within British Muslim communities for Labour to take a more aggressive stance on this conflict. Indeed, its failure to do so cost Labour a handful of seats, with independent pro-Gaza candidates profiting from the party’s refusal to play student politics with foreign policy.

But Labour’s position will continue to be consistent with that of the previous

STARMER HAS PROVEN TIME AND TIME AGAIN HE HAS THE JEWISH COMMUNITY’S BACK

government and, more significantly, that of the US. Hostages must be released, we need both a ceasefire and humanitarian aid as a prelude to a long-term, two-state peace deal. Labour’s manifesto reiterated its commitment to recognising a Palestinian state only “as a contribution to a renewed peace process” – not unilaterally, or as a ‘first 100 days’ stunt.

Labour also faces pressure from Reform: in all but nine of the 98 seats where Nigel Farage’s party came second, it was to Labour. No doubt some Jews voted for them, but their siren voices mask the toxicity of their base.

This is a party which defended one of its candidates who said Britain should not have fought the Nazis, a candidate who should have been dropped like a stone.

Reform does not have the Jewish commu-

nity’s interests at heart; any allyship they might seem to show is forged purely of political expediency, not of any fidelity or respect for us.

Instead we need to support and have faith in this new government as it traces a path between extremes on both left and right.

Keir Starmer has proven time and time again he has our backs. Whether it’s rejecting antisemitic candidates even if it means sacrificing seats or rejecting Tory attacks when he insists on celebrating Friday nights with his Jewish wife and family.

He understands the di cult times we live in. He has called anti-Zionist antisemitism the “antithesis of the Labour tradition”.

At JLM’s flagship conference earlier this year, he said when the community sees people who hate Jews hiding behind people who support the just cause of a Palestinian state on marches and rallies, “We see what you see. So let me assure you we will never let antisemitism sneak back into the Labour Party under cover.”

In short, when he said in Downing Street he would govern as he campaigned, always putting country before party, we can trust our new prime minister will deal with our community the only way we’ve ever wanted.

Fairness, not favours.

Support for Israel won’t diminish in opposition

JAMES GURD CHIEF EXEC, CONSERVATIVE FRIENDS OF ISRAEL

It has been a difficult week to be a Conservative.

A bad election night saw some of CFI’s most steadfast friends lose their seats, including our brilliant parliamentary chairman (Commons) Stephen Crabb and vice chair Theresa Villiers. Veteran allies including the inimitable Andrew Percy, Robert Halfon and Sir Michael Ellis stood down. We are indebted to them for their indefatigable support.

The old adage that there is no gratitude in politics is undeniably true but it was heartening how often we heard of the appreciation for the Conservative Party’s support for Israel on the doorsteps of Jewish voters.

The unrelenting nature of politics makes it hard to take stock but there is certainly much that CFI and Conservatives can be proud of. The UK-Israel relationship

has fundamentally transformed over 14 years. Hamas and Hezbollah proscribed; UK support for Israel at the UN; the elevation of Israel to a strategic partner; record trade levels; opposition to the ICC and ICJ’s controversial cases against Israel. None of us will ever forget, or should take for granted, the UK’s military support in defence of Israel against Iran a few months ago.

In many ways, support for Israel has been a principal unifying force within the Conservative Party.

The party must now undergo a prolonged period of introspection before selecting a new leader. Labour’s number of seats are at odds with the size of its total vote share, providing the Conservatives a route back to Government.

Israel is sadly destined to be a political football in the new parliament with the arrival of an expanded cohort of outspoken anti-Israel MPs. The rhetoric and vitriol displayed towards Israel during the campaign are an alarming taste of what could follow.

The damaging policy shifts of the new

Labour Government are already emerging. Calls for an immediate ceasefire, a possible change in arms licensing to Israel, a weakened approach to the ICC’s lamentable arrest warrant move and review of UNRWA funding restoration despite the apparent complicity of its workers in that dark October day.

Legislation to stop public bodies pursuing discriminatory BDS activities against Israel

will be abandoned.

The parliamentary Conservative Party is still home to many outspoken allies of Israel, itching to speak out against Labour’s harmful policy changes.

Despite the many challenges ahead, support for Israel will remain a central tenet of being a Conservative and CFI stands ready and resolute to meet the challenges ahead.

The moment Liz Truss lost her South West Norfolk seat by just 630 votes

Why Israel supporters should back Palestine

RICHARD MIRON CEO, EARSHOT STRATEGIES

If you care about Israel’s future, now is the time to declare your support for Palestinian statehood.

That has to be the cry of all who want to see Israel as a secure, Jewish and democratic country. The failure to support that call only lends strength to the extremists on both sides who dream of one state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

And so the Labour Party’s manifesto pledge to recognise a Palestinian state is a welcome initial step.

It says recognition must be part of “a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state”, a call that follows the symbolic recognition by Norway, Ireland and Spain of such a state.

These moves are vital in putting the issue of the two-state solution back on the diplomatic agenda when it is at risk of disap-

pearing. And such a solution is the only way to avoid the abyss that awaits both peoples if they continue on their existing trajectory.

The current Israeli government is driving Israel at speed towards that cli edge. In a leaked speech, far-right finance minister Betzalel Smotrich spoke of changes he’s made to the administrative system for Jewish settlement in the West Bank, allowing him and his fellow ultra-nationalists a free hand to flood the occupied territory with more Israeli citizens. In his speech he describes “a revolution” that will “bring a million people to Judea and Samaria (the West Bank)”.

If such a move succeeds, it will not only scupper the chance to create a Palestinian state, it will also destroy Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Smotrich’s plan, supported by Bibi Netanyahu, is for one – Jewish – state between the river and the sea, mirroring the aspirations of those on the Palestinian side like Hamas who ultimately want the same land for a theocratic Islamic state. They are also not averse to Smotrich’s intentions, seeing them as a stepping stone to their own plans.

WE’RE WITNESSING AN UNFOLDING SLUGGING MATCH BETWEEN TWO SETS OF EXTREMISTS

We are witnessing an unfolding slugging match between two sets of extremists who see compromise and accommodation as the enemy. What they most fear is a two-state solution where the land is divided and both peoples get to live in security in control of their own affairs, without interference from the other side.

Ami Ayalon, a former decorated IDF commander-in-chief of the Israeli navy and head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, was in London last week. In interviews, he offered full-throated support for recognition of a Palestinian state on

the West Bank and in Gaza, saying: “This is the only way for us to achieve security and maintain our identity.”

Ayalon is not naive and he knows the path to a solution is set with numerous obstacles.

The Palestinian Authority is not fit for purpose and needs to be fully reformed from top to bottom so it can legitimately rule over both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and not pose a threat to Israel.

Any state under its leadership would have to be demilitarised and would need the active involvement of the international community, alongside Israel, to ensure it complies.

In addition, the presence of hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers in the West Bank who are given a free hand by the Israeli authorities to act as lords of the land and run riot is incompatible with a twostate solution.

And the fate of Gaza which has become a hell-hole for its two million residents and a no-go zone for tens of thousands of Israeli citizens who live on its periphery, can be addressed ultimately only through a political and not a military solution.

Kidanza spectacular!

More than 100 young dancers took part in a twice-sold-out production in north London showcasing English, French and Hebrew culture and traditions.

A World of Dance was presented by a troupe of four- to 18-year-olds from the performing-arts based Kidanza Dance School.

The show featured more than 2,000 costumes and props curated by organisers Michal Agmon and Hila Moussaioff, with video art and lighting designed by Alon Bercovich.

Moussaioff told Jewish News : “I am filled with an overwhelming sense of pride and gratitude.

“Despite the challenges faced over the last few months, this year has been nothing short of extraordinary.

“It’s all thanks to the dedication, passion, and boundless energy of every one of our dancers. A journey filled with growth, resilience, and above all, a deep love for the art of dance and performing.”

Moussaioff said she credits her two daughters and fellow dance teachers, Judi and Mia, with inspiring the girls “with their passion, creativity and experience”.

She added: “The talent and enthusiasm on stage was palpable.”

The audience included proud parents, relatives, industry professionals and other members of the Kidanza community.

fellow Kidanza

Photos by Deborah Jaffe and Shai

Dolev

More than 1,200 people from across the community attended Norwood’s family fun-day xarnival on Sunday, media partnered with Jewish News.

Held at Meryfield Primary School, Borehamwood, the event was specially designed to be inclusive of people with a range of needs and abilities, in an accessible surrounding, with a range of sensory activities and stalls with a sensory element. The event raised £18,000 to help fund the charity’s vital services.

Norwood’s adult residential and supported living services were well represented, with more than 45 residents accompanied by support workers and 65 volunteers.

Participants enjoyed fairground style activities in a Carnival Courtyard, including hook-a-duck, basketball shoot-out and Plinko, a carnival challenges corner with archery, bungee jump and bouncy castles, a sensory area and silent disco for children and young people with a range of sensory needs, and a carnival crafts area.

The carnival was preceded by a mini sponsored cycle challenge for some of Norwood’s youngest supporters, with 18 children participating.

The event also featuring a concert stage, with performances provided from across the community including musical acts Birnbaum music and Hertsmere Jewish Primary School and dance acts Shoshana Burns School of Dance, Dancing with Louise and Vanessa School of Dance.

Norwood chief executive Naomi Dickson was “blown away” by the “truly inclusive” nature of the event, which extended to the mass participation of volunteers and other communal groups.

Our guide to Edinburgh Fringe Money influencer

Centrepoint

Centrist politics is the focus of an anthology of essays collated by British-Israeli political adviser Yair Zivan. By Jenni Frazer

The Western world is caught in a political maelstrom. Britain has a new government, election fever rules America and France, while in Israel… well, there is always talk of elections in Israel, but now, more than ever.

Fortunately, for those confused about choices across the spectrum, there is a magnificent primer: a new anthology of insightful essays, edited and collated by British-Israel political adviser Yair Zivan. The Centre Must Hold o ers thoughtful ideas about centrist politics, with essays from former prime ministers such as Tony Blair, Australia’s Malcolm Turnbull and former Israeli premier Yair Lapid — to one-time New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and our own Baroness Anderson (Ruth Smeeth as was) who now heads the influential Index on Censorship.

Zivan, brought up in Leicester, served as spokesman for the late Israeli president Shimon Peres and is now Yair Lapid’s senior foreign policy adviser, one of his closest associates. Speaking to Jewish News at JW3 for the UK book launch, Zivan said that he had begun thinking about the book in the aftermath of the November 2022 Israeli election — which the Lapid-led coalition lost.

“It’s not the first time I’ve been on the losing side in an election,” Zivan says ruefully, “but it was the first time when I was in government.” And this time Lapid and his co-prime minister Naftali Bennett had lost to what Zivan terms “a very right-wing, religiously conservative coalition”. The sense of loss was all the greater.

But he began thinking about the essence of centrist politics, which he believes o ers a sensible and pragmatic alternative to extremist positions on both left and right. He and the publishers agreed to finalise his proposed collection of essays by the end of summer 2023.

In fact, Zivan spent the week between Succot and Simchat Torah making the final edits. “I sent the manuscript on Friday 6 October. And then I woke up on 7 October to a di erent world.”

Adding another layer to the necessity for the book, Zivan notes, was the fact that “on October 8, we looked around and the government had disappeared. Politicians who were happy to make headlines didn’t want that any more, and the politicians that we needed for the basic tasks of managing this crisis simply weren’t there.”

For several months, while Zivan himself was on reserve duty in the IDF spokesman’s o ce, there was almost no engagement with the book. Eventually, as the anthology was being readied for publication, he contacted the writers of the 36 essays to ask if they wanted to change the content in the light of 7 October. Almost nobody, except the American business leader Daniel Lubetzky, who rewrote part of his contribution (and Zivan himself, who amended his essay), changed their submissions.

The core argument in the book — from every writer — is that there is such a thing as centrist politics, which o ers the opportunity of good governance and a realistic alternative to the often hysterical positions of left

or right. Zivan says the image should be that of a horseshoe — “where the centre is holding, and against which other positions should be measured. The danger is of the centre right or centre left pandering to the fringes. You can’t moderate populists.”

says. “People liked the idea

He has previously acknowledged the great help in networking given to him by Tony Blair and Yair Lapid, suggesting people for him to approach who might like to be included in the book. “But really, I was pushing at an open door,” he says. “People liked the idea and actively wanted to contribute. Nobody even raised the possibility of pulling out after 7 October,” he says.

Though he tends not to comment on the politics of other countries, Zivan notes that in Britain, Labour, “which went to the fringes of the left, lost.

The Labour Party which took itself back to the political centre is on its way to winning a substantial majority [we were speaking before 4 July], because that’s where the majority of the public wants their policies to be. People want politics that are responsible, that are e ective and pragmatic. They don’t expect to agree with everything — but they want to know that the people they are voting for are serious, and care about them and their issues.”

At the heart of The Centre Must Hold is Zivan’s firm belief in trusting the electorate. He says that if centrist politicians fail to convince voters, the fault is theirs, not the voting public’s. And he insists that centrists need to listen to real grievances about race and immigration, and not brush them aside.

What can practically be o ered as a solution, however, di ers with every issue. But Zivan’s

many of the contribuis ‘compromise’. “Look,” he says: “If

watchword, and that of many of the contributors to the anthology, is ‘compromise’. “Look,” he says: “If I have a 51 percent majority and I can push a policy through with no changes, or I can make some changes and get broader support – I will choose the second option.”

There are two parts to the situation, Zivan says: “There’s winning, and then there’s governing. The challenge is that after you win, you have to deliver.” He maintains that the Lapid–Bennett coalition “did more in 18 months than its successor — just ask Israeli civil servants. The current government was a disaster before 7 October, and has been much worse since.”

Zivan has high hopes for the impact of the book and warns of the dangers of polarisation and extremism, “which we cannot a ord. They undermine our ability to manage the really complicated problems which face countries today.”

Perhaps one of the most piquant stories in the book is in Zivan’s own essay, A Centrist Approach to Foreign Policy. In it, he outlines the founding of the Negev Forum, an initiative of

Yair Lapid’s in 2022, consisting of representatives from Israel, Egypt, Morocco, Bahrain and the USA.

Zivan writes: “The inaugural Negev Summit was put together through a series of direct phone calls between the foreign ministers. The usual diplomatic channels would have taken months. The negotiations over protocol would have derailed the whole thing… we arranged for all the delegations to stay in the same hotel, in the desert, far away from distractions, and on the opening night planned a dinner for the six foreign ministers alone, no sta , no protocol, no interruptions. That set the tone.”

Every successful foreign policy, from the Good Friday agreement to the Camp David and Abraham Accords, has been implemented through such ‘backdoor’ encounters, where participants get to know each other and that vital word, compromise, can be reached. Yair Zivan’s book o ers an enticing solution to angry politics the world over — together with the promise of that elusive thing, hope.

 The Centre Must Hold is published by Elliott and Thompson Books at £20

Yair Zivan offers an enticing solution to angry politics

From left: Tony Blair, Mike Turnbull and Baroness Anderson (Ruth Smeeth)

Let Them Entertain

Our pick of the Jewish acts that will make you smile at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024.

It’s summer, it’s Edinburgh, and that can only mean one thing – the Fringe. There is a wide range of Jewish talent appearing across comedy, music and acting, appealing to Jewish, Jew-ish and indeed non-Jewish audiences.

Rachel Creeger, aka Ultimate Jewish Mother, was awarded the Keep It Fringe Bursary 2024. She says that her show brings diverse people together through Jewish humour, helping to combat antisemitism and working towards community cohesion.

“I hope to use the Fringe to bring people together and remind the audiences that more unites us, than divides us,” she says. “We have all been a child, we have all been through some kind of education, we’ve all had trials and tribulations and longed for answers. The device of using my ‘Jewish mother hat’ to give advice and reassurance allows everyone to connect and feel a sense of belonging to each other.”

Philip Simon, who together with Aaron Levene has run Jewish compilation show Jew-O-Rama for the past eight years at the Edinburgh Fringe, says: “The show has always been warmly received from both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences.

“Given the current situation in Israel and Gaza, we weren’t sure if the show should go ahead this year, but after much consideration we decided it was more important than ever to not just hide away.

“We want to place Jews and Jewish comedy front and centre throughout this incredible city.”

or

and hosted by Jewish Comedian of the Year Philip Simon, this is the return of the hit Fringe show where each day, different Jewish comedians give you the best in neurotic comedy.

David Ellis: The Worst Jew

David Ellis is a terrible Jew. Just the worst. He doesn’t keep kosher, he couldn’t tell you the last time he set foot inside a synagogue and he frequently forgets how to spell Chanukah.

He’s played all over the world and in longrunning comedy shows NewsRevue, Sh!tfaced Shakespeare, Potted Potter and The Reduced Shakespeare Company.

Rules Schmules: How To Be Jew-ISH

Suzie Depreli’s passive-aggressive mission to educate the world about what it means to have an Orthodox family that ate sausages, an Asian Catholic husband that uses more Yiddish words than her Nana, and to celebrate Passover without believing in God.

Ivor

weary of being expected to support north London’s ‘Jewish’ football team

instead

Nineteen Ninety-Four

A compilation from Ivor Dembina to mark 30 years since his Edinburgh debut.

Leslie Gold: A Chip Off The Gold Block (Also a recipient of the Keep It Fringe Bursary 2024). A transatlantic middle-aged Jewish atheist divorcee walks into a bar... Forced to choose between a show about identity and one about her dead dad, Leslie chose both.

Ian Stone Is Keeping It Together

Ian Stone has all his own hair and teeth and keeps a tight control over his between-meal snacking but what does it matter when the country is a mess, there’s war in the Middle East, and Donald Trump could be allowed back into the White House?

Michael Shafar: Lots To Say

Jewish Australian cancer survivor with one testicle weighs into the culture wars and touch on the topics that most comedians are smart enough to avoid.

Michael Shafar: Well Worth The Chemo Hilariously dark show explaining the benefits of losing a testicle, why cancer survivors have the most positive attitudes of anyone and how chemotherapy can really help people achieve their goal weight.

Al Lubel Talks About His Name for 57 Minutes and about Something Else for 3 Minutes

Comedy genius Al Lubel “attempts to be funny”. And he succeeds

001 - Laughing Matters

Ori Halevy left Israel to live in Berlin, because it is ironically safer. His mother would disagree as she is a Holocaust survivor and therefore kind of needy, so he moved to the one country she would never visit him in.

F*ck Tomorrow

A solo musical comedy hour about being a Jewish millennial woman from New York living in Barcelona.

Benjy Wilder and Alfie Dundas: Cold Brew Comedy

Comedy for the iced matcha latte generation from two of London’s sweetest sugars. Expect Gen Z optimistic nihilism, lots of iced coffee and a good bit of gossip.

Dave Piontkowski: 3 Kidneys, No Colon, Dave shares humorous musings navigating his health issues while dealing with overbearing parents, a fast-food diet and modern-day bathrooms.

Lolyamorous - A Speed Dating Comedy Show

Fringe 2023’s sell-out, interactive dating chat show returns. Choose to put your name in the bucket for the chance to have a oneminute date on stage with a random audience member. When time’s up, two comedians interview you both about your love lives!

Rachel Creeger: Ultimate Jewish Mother Whether it’s a relationship problem, wording a sensitive work email

the best recipe for brisket, this Jewish mother has all the answers! Multi-award-winning comedian Rachel Creeger (BBC1, BBC Radio) presents her joyously funny, interactive stand-up show.

Jew-O-Rama Created by Aaron Levene

Millwall Jew

Dembina,

Tottenham Hotspur, swears allegiance

to his local south London club – Millwall FC.

Jamie Lerner:

Rachel Creeger

Suzie Depreli

David Ellis

Philip Simon

Ivor Dembina

Michael Shafar

Al Lubel

Entertain You!

2024. By Louisa Walters

Daniel Cainer’s Jewish Chronicles

Cainer’s stories are about all our families and all our foibles, lovingly and intelligently depicted. Smart, funny, timely and deeply moving.

I Wish My Life Were Like A Musical Musical comedy revue by Jewish composer and lyricist Alexander S Bermange.

Confessions of a Butterfly: An Evening with Janusz Korczak

August 1942, Warsaw. Janusz Korczak, worldrenowned paediatrician, educator and youth worker is in his room at the top of the building housing 200 Jewish orphans. The liquidation of the ghetto has begun. How can he prepare the children for the inevitable? Is there an easier way out?

REVENGE: After The Levoyah

Nick Cassenbaum’s two-hander comedy heist, directed by Emma Jude Harris, romps through 2018 Jewish Essex and blows the roof o what it means to be Jewish in the UK. Twins Dan and Lauren meet ex-gangster

that asks the age-old question, “Do people worship one another because we miss God?”

Emily Markoe: My Little Phobia, Emily Markoe has emetophobia, the extreme and debilitating fear of throwing up. So she would never write a show about vomit… Watch Emily perform her show without any interruptions from anxiety-producing characters, obsessive-compulsive rituals or recovered memories getting in the way.

Malcolm Spivak at their grandfather’s funeral.

Malcolm, who’s ‘had enough’, enlists the siblings in a ragtag Yiddishe plot to kidnap then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

In Defiance Of Gravity

Ezra Montefiore, spirit medium, is master of the seance, levitation and telekinesis. When details of a clandestine a air with Prince Felix Yusupov reach the ears of Rasputin and Russia’s Imperial Court he must fight not only for his reputation but also his life. Based on real events.

Lost Girl

Birdy is 19 and unearths a family secret that has been buried since 1930s Cairo. An exploration of Jewish-Arab heritage, the expectations of womanhood and family.

They May Have Eaten Ham!

Naomi Paul’s (mostly) Jewish show from the Baltic to Birmingham, from shamash to shellfish, to Hendon and beyond. With original stories, humour and songs.

Via Dolorosa by David Hare

Gary Hay presents a must-see performance of David Hare’s compelling drama, which lays bare the history, complexities and tensions of Israel and Palestine.

Do This One Thing For Me

What does it mean to remember the Holocaust in 2024? Jane Elias’s father is a Greek Holocaust survivor. Realising she may not be able to grant his wish to one day dance together at her wedding, she instead honours him by taking part in March of the Living in Poland. A transcendental pas de deux between two generations and a daughter’s love letter to her dad.

Gracie Overbeke: Swear To Todd (Crushes and Other Zealotry) Judgment day approaches in the form of a high school reunion. This is a theatrical piece/

Danielle Solof: The Balls of Philadelphia Danielle thinks she might be spiritually connected to an idiot she met on a dating app. Follow her through a chronically absurd year

and a half of signs, symbols and synchronicities, and research on spirituality and the brain as she tries to figure out what on earth could possibly be going on.

Zoe Brownstone: A Bite Of Yours

Zoe Brownstone has been performing standup since before dating apps existed, and yet

how love works! That’s not the whole truth.

In fact she is quite certain that she’s unlocked several mysteries of the heart along the way, including how to survive step-parenthood, deportation and bilingual visa break-ups.

Accordion Ryan’s Pop Bangers

As seen on Britain’s Got Talent, accordion player Ryan covers artists from all across the pop music spectrum.

Steve Goodie: AL! The Weird Tribute (and How Daniel Radcliffe Got Mixed Up in This Nonsense)

‘Weird Al’ Yankovic and Daniel ‘Harry Potter’ Radcli e were destined to be together onstage, and now they are! (Sort of.) A tribute to two icons of entertainment.

Jamie Denbo: Beverley Live!

Jamie Denbo, writer/producer (Grey’s Anatomy), presents her alter ego Beverly (meddling mother to all) as she takes audiences on a comedic ride through her golden years in California, exploring everything from sound baths to how not to get cancelled.

Our Little Secret: The 23&Me Musical Noam Tomascho did an ancestry test and it turned a whole family’s life upside down. With 38 half-siblings and counting, the show is woven with themes of optimism and radical empathy as Noam has had to look at what family means and how his own family have come together – and grown!

■ The Edinburgh Festival Fringe takes place from 2 to 26 August edfringe.com

Jamie Lerner

David Cainer

Noam Tomaschoff

Jamie Denbo

Ezra Montefiore

By Candice Krieger candicekrieger@googlemail.com

INFLUENCER DOING HIS BIT FOR NATION’S FINANCES

After being invited to interview Keir Starmer on all things money, Gabriel Nussbaum wants to get even more people talking about it

f there’s one person a financial educator would want to interview at the moment it would surely be the man who is ultimately now in charge of the country’s purse strings. Which is why, when the opportunity to quiz Sir Keir Starmer on all things money came up, social media influencer Gabriel Nussbaum couldn’t refuse.

IIn the prime minister’s first interview with an online content creator, he told Gabriel, aka That Money Guy, how he plans to improve the nation’s finances and stablilise the economy.

Starmer said he will make sure that “we don’t have the ups and downs of prices that we have had and then it’s about having plans for wealth creation, for growth and for the jobs of the future and setting up Great British Energy, a publicly-owned renewable energy company that will be much cheaper and for good. All of these things will take a bit of time to set up, but they will make a huge di erence.”

While the reality of Starmer’s rhetoric remains to be seen, Nussbaum will continue to do his bit for the nation’s finances. The former Immanuel College head boy uses short-form online content to communicate financial advice, tips and teachings to his network of over 1.6 million followers across his social media platforms, the majority via TikTok.

He says: “I have spent over three years educating people about personal finance on the internet, with thousands of DMs [direct messages] telling me that mine was the first financial lesson they had ever received. I want to share those messages with senior leaders so that once and for all we can change the lack of financial education in this country.

“I don’t know about you, but I never received a single lesson on the topic of money during my 18 years of formal education. That’s why when I was invited to interview Keir Starmer about his plans to improve the finances of this country, it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.”

With a desire to break down the stigma often associated with talking about money, Nussbaum started making online content in 2021.

He tells Jewish News: “I always felt that there were a lot of useful things that school didn’t teach and so I would teach myself, and the common theme was money. People always have questions about money but it’s not often spoken about. It’s still such a taboo topic.”

Nussbaum, who was working at Barclays at the time on its graduate scheme, tried posting his educational videos on TikTok, famously known for its bitesize dance clips. “It was during Covid when everyone was on their phones longing for something on social media that had more depth to it,” recalls Nussbaum, 26.

After one month, he had garnered over 100,000 followers, mainly aged 18-30. A big break came when a video about a lifetime ISA – “you couldn’t describe something more boring if you tried,” admits Nussbaum – went viral, clocking up 4m views.

In early 2022, Nussbaum left Barclays to become a full-time content creator and financial educator. He has since collaborated with some of the world’s most influential brands such as Natwest, Meta, Sainsbury’s, Trading 212, and the FCA.

According to research by Deloitte, a quarter of 18- 24-year-old banking customers use social media for financial guidance, with one in five having invested money based on social media recommendations. Yet, 33 percent of this age group are not confident in their financial knowledge to take out investment products – something Nussbaum is trying to change with his informative shorts. These have ranged from the importance of credit scores and a beginner’s guide to investing, to how much do you need to live comfortably in the UK?

Asked for the most common money mistakes, Nussbaum says: “Tens of thousands of people turn down raises every year because they think that moving into a higher tax bracket will result in taking home less money.

“They think that moving from 20 to 40 percent tax, for example, means that the 40 percent bracket will be applied to their entire wage. There is a small asterisk for parents

who lose allowances when earning over a certain wage, but there are ways to solve that. However, for the majority of people, please don’t turn down that raise.”

Another message that Nussbaum is keen to get across is: “Live below your means.

“As you start to earn more, what tends to happen is something called lifestyle inflation. More money equals ‘want nicer things’, equals ‘spend more’. What this means is that instead of more money taking pressure o you financially, you actually get stuck in a cycle of never progressing, sometimes even going backwards.”

So who’s next on his interview wish list? “I would love to meet and talk to Martin Lewis,” he says.

“He’s pushing heavily to get financial education on to the school curriculum but I would love to get creative with him and see how we could maybe work together (with my creative base and his reputation) to bring financial education to the masses.”

 @gabrielinussbaum

Dream opportunity: Gabriel Nussbaum with Keir Starmer

MAKING SENSE OF THE SEDRA

In our thought-provoking series, rabbis and educators relate the week’s parsha to

the way we live today

BY RABBI BRENDAN STERN HENDON UNITED SYNAGOGUE

Looking down and up

There is a fascinating psychological phenomenon known as the ‘halo e ect’, where the positive impressions and perceptions we hold of others influence our feeling in another, sometimes altogether unrelated, area. Due to our preexisting positive disposition towards the other, our overall judgment is coloured.

So too, the theory holds, there is a negative-halo effect, also known as the ‘horns effect’, where our negative impressions of someone or something in one area influences our view in other areas.

We find a similar phenomenon in this week’s parsha, Chukat

In response to the plague of snakes

that attacked Bnei Yisrael, Moshe is told to make a snake and place it on a staff and anyone who is bitten should “gaze at that snake and live” (Bamidbar 21:9).

How do we understand this instruction in light of the ubiquitous Torah prohibition against idolatry? In Bereishit 15:5 Avraham is lifted above the Heavens and is told to gaze down at the stars, as his children will be as innumerable as the constellations. Rashi comments that “gazing” always denotes looking down from a higher perspective, and thus Avraham was raised above the stars to show that Jewish destiny transcends natural forces.

So too, the purpose of the snake image was to engender the response of “gazing” down at the snake – realising that Am Yisrael stood on a higher plane and that other forces have no power!

When we realise and internalise the axiom that Hashem is the source of all

existence, when we connect with the transcendental, we are no longer restricted by the limitations of the natural order.

However, we find another place in the Torah where the same root of “gazing” is used. When Miriam speaks negatively about her brother Moshe, Hashem tells her and Aharon that Moshe is unlike any other prophet: “With him I speak mouth to mouth … and he gazes at the image of Hashem” (Bamidbar 12:8).

If “gazing” denotes look down at something else, how could Hashem defend Moshe by telling his siblings that Moshe (God forbid!) looks down at the image of Hashem?

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that this pasuk is referring to a situation where Bnei Yisrael sin and fall to their lowest depths. Most people looking down at the sinners would see their errant behaviour and rebuke them accordingly.

Not so Moshe. Even though Moshe stood

on a much higher spiritual plane than the people, when he “gazed” at them from above he still saw “the image of Hashem” in them! When our natural disposition is to look at the other through positive lenses – with the “halo effect” – then we will see positive virtues even within the sinner.

True leaders, like Moshe, see the good, and the God, in others.

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True leaders see the good, and God, in others

LEAP OF FAITH

BY RABBI RICHARD JACOBI EAST LONDON AND ESSEX LIBERAL SYNAGOGUE

The latter half of Leviticus 19:14 reads: “Do not place a stumbling block before the blind. You shall fear your God, I am the Eternal One.”

For the rabbis of the Talmud, this Torah law had to mean more than stopping people doing something they saw as childish at best and obviously cruel at worst. They also pondered why this phrase about fearing God was included in the verse. That led them to look at where else it was used and they found only four examples, all in Leviticus.

In each case, the phrase accompanied the sort of law that could be broken without anyone else realising

at the time, or maybe ever. When you might be tempted to deceive someone else to your own advantage, the Torah clearly warned that God would know! So, they concluded that what the Torah was really prohibiting is that you should never use your knowledge about something to gain advantage over someone else.

If, as alleged, people who knew the election date placed a bet on it, they sought to profit from their knowledge and someone else’s ignorance. Such taking of an unfair advantage should o end our sense of fairness and we would always hope that the law would match our sense of natural justice.

In the world of business and finance, a term we use for such advantage taking is insider trading. I find it remarkable that the rabbis prohibited this about 1,600 years ago, while UK law only legislated against insider dealing in 1980.

Elsewhere in the same chapter, we read that the wages of a hired day labourer must not be held “overnight until morning” (verse 13), as you might prevent them a ording food and lodging for the night. In the wake of the awarding of contracts for personal protective equipment during the Covid pandemic, there seems to have been advantagetaking that the Talmudic prohibition would address. The sort of lengthy and abusive late payment of supplier invoices that, for example, were practised by Carillion before it collapsed should never have passed audit, and the aftershocks of that collapse are still playing out. Small businesses su ered badly and people’s lives were profoundly a ected. Later are rules that prohibit false measures of length, weight or capacity (verses 35-36). Integrity in business dealings was and is seen as consistent with the concept of holiness.

A stimulating series where progressive rabbis consider how to navigate Judaism in the face of 21st-century issues

In Leviticus, and later, there is something that goes beyond compliance with the law of the land. There is a higher standard of ethics applicable to all aspects of business, which is about sanctifying God’s name through going beyond the letter of the law and acting to be above suspicion.

Such ethics and principles are relevant to contemporary life and to the latest developments in artificial intelligence – just think about deep fakes.

It seems that today there are more stumbling blocks being placed than ever.

If people who knew the election date bet on it, that would feel unfair

Ask our

Our trusty team of advisers answer your questions about everything from law and finance to dating and dentistry. This week: Living independently with cerebral palsy, dealing with an ‘invalid’ will and trying to decide on private healthcare

LISA WIMBORNE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

JEWISH BLIND & DISABLED

Dear Lisa

My son is in his early 30s and has cerebral palsy. He has always lived with me but is keen to move out and have his own place. He is prone to accidents, and I am worried about him moving somewhere with no support. I am struggling to let him go. Could you help?

Andrea

Dear Andrea,

I really understand your concerns but if your son is ready to live independently then the best thing you can do is to support him to find somewhere that meets his needs. I suggest you spend time together writing a list of what he

CAROLYN ADDLEMAN

DIRECTOR OF LEGACIES

KKL EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE COMPANY

Dear Carolyn I recently found a will written by my uncle which is signed by him and witnessed by one person. I have now been told that it isn’t a valid will. Can you shed some light on why?

David

Dear David

I am grateful to you for raising this fundamental

point. You don’t say whether it was a professionally prepared will or was an ‘o the shelf will’ available in stationers or online. It is easy to forget that even the most precise legal work and thorough drafting can be rendered useless by a mistake when the will is signed.

wants and needs, and you use this as a guide to help you look at the options.

One option could be a flat in one of Jewish Blind & Disabled’s seven developments. We o er housing for people over 18 living with physical disabilities and/or vision impairments. Our apartments are designed to enable people to do the everyday tasks that are key to living independently, in safety, behind their own front door. We have 24/7 onsite support from our wonderful team of house managers o er. Should your son have a fall day or night, there will be help at hand. This not only provides a sense of security for him but could give you the peace of mind you are looking for.

If this is of interest to him, encourage him to apply sooner rather than later, as we have a waiting list and allocate flats on a rolling basis, based on need. To find out more, please visit www.jbd.org or call us on 020 8371 6611.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Two independent adult witnesses of sound mind are required when you sign your will and both should be present when you sign. A beneficiary of a will cannot be a witness otherwise any gift to them in the will becomes void. I would define ‘independent’ as not being a beneficiary or the spouse or partner of a beneficiary and as a ‘belt and braces’

measure, I would extend this to exclude any close relatives of such a beneficiary. A lot of people think that a person named as an executor of a Will cannot witness it but they can act as a witness as long as they are deriving no benefit from the will.

If you need to make any handwritten alterations to the will before signing them, make sure you and your two witnesses initial them in the adjacent margin.

MOVING TO ISRAEL FROM MANCHESTER?

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PRIVATE HEALTHCARE

SPECIALIST

PATIENT HEALTH

Hi Trevor

Do you think the change of government will help reduce queues in the NHS?

Although my husband has had tests, he has been waiting over a year for an orthopaedic operation. What else can we do?

Lila

Dear Lila

What a great question.

Let’s look at the reality of

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the current NHS situation.

Waiting lists at just under eight million, being in the middle of another doctor’s strike, shortages of nurses and doctors, and a huge promise for improvement.

What the new government has promised, is that in the next 5 years, waiting lists will reduce. So, the ways in which that could happen is to increase the number of medical students in training, producing a higher number of doctors and surgeons, to train more nurses, and to make more hospital beds available. The problem here is one of money. What is more of a priority you may ask, is it more prisons, more defence spending, more social care or more childcare?

Currently, the NHS is

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T: 020 8832 2222

E: info@shipsms.co.uk www.shipsms.co.uk

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31/01/2023 20:22

31/01/2023 20:22

spending a fortune on agency sta , due to severe shortages, hiring the private sector for operations and procedures, which amounts to additional expenditure. The government aspires to cut the queues, but just a few will benefit. What you can perhaps do, is to contact the hospital to see whether you can escalate your husband’s procedure date, or if that is not possible, and if is a ordable, self-pay. Some may argue why should one self-pay when everyone pays towards the NHS? I understand that sentiment, but that approach does not take away the pain and stress of waiting.

If you decide to self-pay, please do telephone di erent hospitals and clinics as the fees will vary.

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REMOVALS MANAGING DIRECTOR

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THE JEWISH NEWS CROSSWORD

11 Female rabbit (3)

12 Morally proper (7)

13 Blue Shoes, Presley song (5)

14 Culinary pulveriser (6)

16 Plus (2,4)

19 Farmland units (5)

21 Make more secure (7)

23 Try to win the affection of (3)

24 Sudden thrust (5)

25 Take away (7)

26 Tending flocks (11) DOWN

2 Dog’s restraining chain (5)

3 Appendix to a will (7)

4 Wax light with a wick (6)

SUDOKU

SUDOKU

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

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

cleaning (5)

Numbs, anaesthetises (7)

Cowardly weakling (4)

Piled untidily (6)

5 ___ basket, wickerwork carrycot (5)

6 Bishop’s area (7)

7 Signal to take action (4-2,4)

10 Of clothes, reaching the middle of the leg (4-6)

15 Squash (7)

17 With vision (7)

18 Heavy uninteresting food (6)

20 Lottery (5)

WORDSEARCH

with brass bands can all be found in the forwards or backwards, in a horizontal, direction, but always in a straight, unbroken line.

Coaching (8)

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Position of control (3,4,4)

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CODEWORD

SUGURU

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.

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.

The listed Blue Peter pets 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.

LL IE RY G KLA

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.

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.

Sudoku Suguru

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Codeword

JEWISH EDUCATION JOBS IN BRIGHTON & HOVE

Are you passionate about early childhood education? We are looking for two dedicated early years educators to join our team at Shoresh, a Jewish independent day nursery based at the BNJC community hub in Hove.

Catering to children 0-5 years across our preschool and The Nest, our baby and toddler provision, Shoresh seamlessly blends the Montessori approach with the EYFS curriculum and a Jewish programme of learning.

UK COMMUNITY SAVES MORE LIVES

It has been more than nine months since the deadly atrocities of October 7th. In the immediate a ermath of that black Saturday, Magen David Adom increased its emergency response capabilities and blood services to the highest level, which it is currently still operating at.

Over these past months, MDA has needed to respond to multiple terror attacks alongside the ‘everyday’ emergencies it always faces. Tragically, this has come at a cost, with 33 MDA personnel losing their lives whilst trying to save others. These sacrifices highlight the risks facing the MDA teams as they enter areas under fi re in order to save lives.

Immediately a er 7/10, MDA UK launched its Emergency Appeal campaign. Thanks to the remarkable support of the community, the funds raised exceeded all expectations. More importantly, the donations have greatly aided and supported MDA in Israel. This incredible generosity has enabled MDA UK to purchase 84 emergency vehicles, thousands of packs of medical supplies and equipment, and muchneeded bulletproof gear for the medics. Funds have also gone towards 43 state-of-the-art

blood testing kits allowing for faster and more accurate processing, resulting in 118,000 units of blood being screened and used to save the lives of thousands of victims in the fi rst 3 months of the war alone.

In addition, MDA UK has provided professional training sessions for 890 paramedics, strengthening the skills and professionalism of the brave team of lifesavers who stand at the core of the organisation. 90% of all MDA personnel are volunteers.

Furthermore, although the new Marcus National Blood Services Centre was originally scheduled to be fully operational by October 9th 2023, it was fast-tracked to meet the surge in demand for blood supplies following the initial terror attacks. With three underground floors, sta have been able to continue to work at all times - even during Red Alerts. Future-proofi ng must remain at the top of the MDA agenda. As the threat of attacks across Israel remains high, MDA needs to be prepared for an escalation at any moment. This includes not only saving the lives of all civilians in Israel but also ensuring our fi rst

OPERATION SWORDS OF IRON

responders are safe. Ever-improving technology and communications must also be harnessed in order to ensure MDA is operating at maximum e ectiveness during emergency situations.

MDA has raised money to cover 50,000 licences for the ‘Mission Critical Push To Talk’ (MCPTT) systems. These systems ensure that MDA communications are never down, providing non-stop connectivity which is compatible across di erent networks. In this way, MDA dispatchers can check on the well-being of paramedics and EMTs in the fi eld by having remote access to monitor their location.

MDA is immensely grateful for the community’s ongoing support. This generosity has helped to treat and save thousands.

NATIONWIDE ROADSHOW BRINGS MAGEN DAVID ADOM TO THE UK

Earlier this year, the Magen David Adom UK team completed a nationwide roadshow engaging with Jewish communities across London, Leeds, She eld, Jersey and Glasgow. The mission was led by a combination of MDA sta , board members and volunteers, and together they shared details of the work of Magen David Adom in Israel since October 7th with diverse audiences.

In Glasgow, MDA UK CEO Daniel Burger spoke about relations with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the British Red Cross, as well as his meeting in Israel with Béatrice Butsana-Sita, British Red Cross CEO, and Claire Clement, British Red Cross Director of International Law. Poignantly, he shared heartbreaking stories from the Hostage Family Forum members who visited London in March.

In April, Magen David Adom Israel medics, Ophir Tor and Shunit Dekel, who were on the frontlines on 7/10, held various community speaking engagements including a lunch at Radlett Synagogue and dinner at Mill Hill United Synagogue’s Israel Engagement Hub They shared their traumatic accounts of the day, including how they jumped into life-saving action, and stories from the days, weeks and months which followed.

Ophir also spoke at the joint Vigil for the Hostages in Central London, calling on everyone to “not remain silent” in the wake of

these tragedies, and expressed MDA’s and Israel’s appreciation for the support they have received from the UK.

In May, to celebrate and mark Yom Haatzmaut, the MDA UK team took our retired Magen David Adom ambulance on a visit to Yavneh Primary, Yavneh Secondary and Clore Shalom schools. The young students learnt about the work of MDA paramedics in Israel.

MDA UK also had the pleasure of hosting Jonathan Conricus, the recently retired IDF Lieutenant Colonel, who served in the IDF for 24 years. Lt. Col Conricus visited the Leeds, Manchester, Essex and London communities, where he shared his insights and honest assessment of the situation in Israel and Gaza.

MDA Leeds also launched their community project - to renovate the MDA station in Beit Shemesh, Israel.

Towards the end of last year, the London-based Dawn Committee, which was formed over 50 years ago, held a reunion. Dawn was a youth committee for over-16s whose aim was to

sponsor Magen David Adom (Dawn was a pre-cursor to Young MDA which is currently active). The past members reminisced about the various fundraising socials they put together to raise money for MDA in Israel.

Thank you to all the MDA UK sta , committees and volunteers who work tirelessly to put together all these initiatives, events and fundraisers – we couldn’t do this without you.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus speaking at The Pillar Hotel in London

PHOTO CREDIT: Leivi Saltman

THEN: Dawn Committee (circa 1970’s)

NOW: Dawn Committee reunites a er forming more than 50 years ago

MDA Israel medics, Shunit Dekel and Ophir Tor at Mill Hill United Synagogue’s Israel Engagement Hub

Year 5 students at Clore Shalom learn about the work of Magen David Adom with a visit from our ambulance