1378 - 1st August 2024

Death of a monster

(or ‘moderate’ according to the )

The assassination of Hamas leader

Ismail Haniyeh could be major step towards a “large-scale escalation” of Israel’s war against the terrorist group and its key ally Iran, Middle East experts warned last night, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

Its political chief and one of Israel’s most wanted criminals was killed in a suspected IDF strike on his house in Tehran. The rocket attack took place at about 2am local time yesterday. Haniyeh was visiting Iran to take part in the inauguration of its new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

Haniyeh, 62, was responsible for the planning of the 7 October murder,

torture and rape of at least 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of 251, more than 100 of whom are still captive in Gaza. On widely shared video footage he has been seen smiling with other Hamas leaders, watching events unfold from a hotel suite in Qatar, where he had been living in exile since 2019.

The most senior Hamas o cial to be killed during the war, he had been Hamas’ political head since 2017.

Prof Meir Litvak, director of the Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University, told Jewish News the assassination could be “a step toward large-scale escalation as Iran sees

the attack as a major and humiliating breach of its sovereignty. I don’t think Iran wants a full-scale war, so they will most likely opt for a retaliation that will be significant enough to punish Israel, but short of a full-scale war.

“They could send another barrage of rockets, its size, the type of rockets and their precise targets may determine whether or not we will go to a much larger conflict.

“We may see a large-scale coordinated attack of Iran’s proxies. Of course, both parties could slide to escalation without wishing it in advance.”

Continued on pages 2-3

Hamas’ political leader

Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran’s capital Tehran on Wednesday morning

Iran vows to avenge Haniyeh’s murder

Continued from page 1

Sky News correspondent Alex Crawford yesterday referred to Haniyeh as someone who was considered a “very moderate” Hamas leader. A BBC obituary makes no mention of his role in the 7 October atrocities and claims that he “played a key role in negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip”, was “widely regarded as a pragmatist” and had “good relations with other rival Palestinian groups”. A BBC reporter interviewing former Israeli security adviser Yaakov Amidror also pointed

out that the assassination could be criticised as a “violation” of Iranian sovereignty. The BBC’s Middle East correspondent, Yolande Knell, meanwhile, described the mastermind of 7 October as someone who was “overseeing peace talks” between Israel and his terrorist group.

The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent, Paul Adams, questioned what Israel hoped to achieve by the killing. “If this was, as everyone assumes, an Israeli operation, why was it carried out? Beyond the desire to exact revenge on anyone associated with Hamas, what was Israel hoping to achieve?” he asked.

Haniyeh had an estimated net worth of between $3bn (£2.34bn) and $5bn, believed to have been embezzled from foreign aid contributions to Gaza. On Tuesday, he had taken part in the inauguration of Pezeshkian, an event that included loud chants of

Timeline of a terrorist:

Born on 29 January in Al-Shati refugee camp near Gaza City to Palestinian Arab parents

Enrolls in the Islamic University of Gaza and studies Arabic literature. Leads an Islamist student association affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood

Founding member of Hamas; arrested later that year by Israeli authorities for taking part in the First Intifada, or uprising, against Israel

Deported to Lebanon

Returns to Gaza following signing of the Oslo Accords.

Appointed Dean of Islamic University

Survives attempted assassination attempt. Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Hamas’s spiritual leader, was killed months later

Appointed prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA) government

Leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip

Leaves Gaza Strip to live in both Turkey and Qatar

Meets Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

Mastermind behind the 7 October Hamas terror atrocities across southern Israel

and four of his

ISRAELI COALITION MKS CHEER HANIYEH’S DEMISE

Israeli cabinet ministers celebrated the death of Ismail Haniyeh on social media on Wednesday, despite Hebrew media reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered his ministers to remain silent on the overnight assassination in the Iranian capital.

“This is the right way to purge the world of this filth,” tweeted Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, a member of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s farright Otzma Yehudit party, intimating that Israel was behind the killing.

“No more imaginary ‘peace’/surrender agreements, no more mercy for these dead men walking,” he wrote in a post linked to an article announcing Haniyeh’s death.

“The iron fist that will strike them is the one that will bring quiet and a modicum of comfort, and strengthen our ability to live in peace with those who seek peace.

“Haniyeh’s death makes the world a slightly better place.”

Eliyahu was joined by ministers for the Diaspora and communications, Amichai Chikli and Shlomo Karhi, respectively.

In a tweet, Chikli wrote: “Careful What You Wish For” in English above a video of Haniyeh sitting in a conference hall while people chant “Death to Israel.” Karhi, in a since-deleted tweet, quoted the biblical verse “So may all your enemies perish, O Lord.”

Both ministers are members of Netanyahu’s Likud party.

Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has vowed to make Israel regret its alleged assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran, while its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, promised a “harsh punishment” for the killing.

The threats came as condemnation for the killing poured in from countries aligned with Iran and the Palestinians, who blamed Israel for the attack

Haniyeh was killed hours earlier in a missile strike that hit the building in the Iranian capital where he was staying, according to Iranian media.

Haniyeh was in Tehran to participate in Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony for Pezeshkian, who recently won elections.

“Iran is mourning the martyrdom of the brave leader of the Palestinian Resistance Ismail Haniyeh,” Pezeshkian wrote on his o cial account on X. “Yesterday I raised his victorious hand and today I have to carry his co n on my shoulders.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will defend its territorial integrity and honour and would make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly action,” Pezeshkian continued, referring to Israel.

Hours from death: Haniyeh pictured with the new

Ismail Haniyeh embracing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Hamas leader assassinated / News

BY AFSHIN PAYRAVI

ASSOCIATION OF IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS AND ALLIES

Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination, along with previous eliminations of key figures in the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, underscores a significant and exciting reality: Israel possesses a highly effective network of cells within Iran. These operatives not only carry out military operations but also have access to some of the most guarded secrets of the Iranian security apparatus.

History of precision strikes

The killing of Haniyeh is not an isolated incident. Over the past decade, Iran has witnessed a series of high-profile assassinations and sabotages targeting its nuclear scientists and military commanders. Figures such as Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, often referred to as the mastermind behind Iran’s nuclear ambitions, were eliminated in meticulously-planned operations. These actions suggest a level of infiltration and intelligence-gathering capability that should deeply concern Iran’s leadership.

Implications of the assassination

The assassination of Haniyeh, a key ally of the Islamic Republic in its regional geopolitical strategy, is a bold statement. It indicates that even the most secure locations in Iran are vulnerable. More importantly, it sends a clear message: those who threaten Israel’s security can be reached, regardless of where they hide.

Network embedded in the heart of Iran Israel’s ability to conduct such operations points to a sophisticated network embedded within Iran. This network is likely to comprise highly-trained agents who have succeeded in gaining the trust of Iranian o cials, accessing

“Death to Israel” and “Death to America”.

In a statement, Hamas said: “Hamas announces with sorrow to the Palestinian people and the Arab nation that leader Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political

bureau, was killed in an Israeli attack in Tehran, after attending the ceremony of the new Iranian president.” Iran statebacked media has confirmed the news.

Israelis have taken to the streets to distribute sweets in celebration. Iraq, Turkey, Russia and Qatar have condemned the attack. Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has declared three days of national mourning and promised “harsh punishment” against Israel.

Israel has not yet claimed responsibility for the action. American Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said of the killing: “This is something we were not aware of or involved in.”

WAKE-UP CALL FOR IRAN Strike targets Shukr in Beirut

sensitive information, and executing their missions with precision. The breach in Iran’s security is not merely a failure of counterintelligence; it is a testament to the depth and e ciency of Israeli intelligence operations and hollowness of the Islamic Republic’s security forces.

Wake-up call for Islamic Republic

The Iranian leadership must view these incidents as a wake-up call. The repeated penetration of its security should lead to a critical reassessment of its internal vulnerabilities. For years, Iran’s aggressive posturing and support for militant groups like Hamas have drawn the ire of Israel. The current wave of high-profile assassinations might serve as a stark reminder that crossing certain lines could have severe repercussions.

Shift in strategy?

In light of these developments, it might be prudent for the Islamic Republic to reconsider its stance. The costs of maintaining an adversarial position against Israel and supporting terrorism are becoming increasingly apparent. The ability of Israeli operatives to conduct operations within Iran with apparent ease should encourage Iranian leaders to adopt a more cautious and measured approach in their regional policies. They need to put aside their ambition of regional hegemony and start to look after the Iranian people, who are su ering under its rule.

Tactical success

The killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran is more than a tactical success for Israel; it is a strategic demonstration of its reach and capabilities. For Iran, it is a clear signal that its security is compromised and that its adversaries can strike at the heart of its power structure. This might be the moment for the Islamic Republic to re-evaluate its position and recognise the necessity of not crossing certain lines in its dealings on the international stage and understand that it can not get anywhere with its terror network.

Israel has confirmed it carried out a targeted strike in Beirut against the Hezbollah commander it said was responsible for Saturday’s fatal strike on the Druze village of Majdal Shams.

Reports said the strike had targeted the head of the armed group Hezbollah’s operations room, naming him as Muhsin Shukr, also known as Fuad Shukr.

It was unclear whether he was killed in the strike on the suburb of the city known to be a stronghold for the Lebanese terror group at around 7.40pm local time. Pro-Hezbollah channels later claimed he had survived, although two people were said to have died.

“The IDF carried out a targeted strike in Beirut on the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and... numerous additional Israeli civilians,” Israel’s military said in a statement.

Lebanon’s state-run national news agency also said an Israeli strike had targeted the area around Hezbollah’s Shura Council in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of the capital. The escalation between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was described as

“extremely concerning” by Downing Street. The Prime Minister’s o cial spokesman said: “We are deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation and destabilisation.

“We urge both the Israeli and Lebanese governments to engage with the US-led discussions to reach a political settlement and resolve these tensions diplomatically.”

The US said it would continue pursuing diplomacy to avert an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the State Department said on Tuesday. Twelve people, aged 10 and 20, were murdered and 38 wounded when a rocket struck near a football pitch in the Druze town of Majdal Shams. Israel and the US blamed Hezbollah for the attack, but the group denied responsibility.

• Druze community mourns, p4

Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, in Tehran on Tuesday afternoon

Haniyeh pictured excitedly pointing to the TV screen as his fighters invade Israel on 7 October

Israel’s targeted Beirut strike

Druze mourn their children

by Jenni Frazer jenni@jewishnews.co.uk

Druze leaders in the north of Israel have spoken of their “devastation” after the Hezbollah rocket attack on Saturday that killed 12 children on a football field in Majdal Shams.

Twelve of the children – Ameer Rabeea Abu Saleh, 16, Iseel Nasha’at Ayoub, 12, Hazem Akram Abu Saleh, 15, Milad Muadad Alsha’ar, 10; Alma Ayman Fakher Eldin, 11, Naji Taher Alhalabi, 11, Johnny Wadeea Ibrahim, 13, Yazan Nayeif Abu Saleh, 12 , Fajer Laith Abu Saleh, 16, Vinees Adham Alsafadi, 11 Nathem Fakher Saeb, 16, and Gevara Ebraheem, 11 — were murdered in the attack. A further 17 were seriously injured and are still in hospital in Israel.

But Dr Anan Wahabi, a former colonel in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), a research scholar at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, said that while the Israeli Druze were still reeling from the attack, they were not calling for “retaliation”.

Nevertheless, Dr Wahabi, who lectures at the School of Political Sciences at Haifa University, said that Tuesday’s targeted attack on the Hezbollah commander said to have been responsible for the Majdal Shams deaths, Fuad Shukur, would have “made people feel a bit better”.

According to IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Shukur, also known as Hajj Mohsin, served as the right-hand man to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Asked by Jewish News at the Jerusalem Press Club if he thought the Majdal Shams attack was deliberate or a tragic miscalculation by Hezbollah, Dr Wahabi said he would not be surprised if the attack had been targeted, citing Hezbollah’s “lack of morality” and its belief that attacking Magdal Shams would hit IDF personnel in the area.

Nadim Amar, the former mayor of the Druze town of Julis, said he had known most of the families of the children who were killed. One parent, he said, had been active with him in his organisation, the Druze Zionist Movement.

“I know all the mayors of the Druze towns and villages. In that sense, what happened in

Majdal Shams affects every Druze in Israel. People here are very angry, very upset, and frustrated. Our hearts are with the Majdal Shams community”.

He said: “These were 12 beautiful girls and boys, slaughtered by a terrorist organisation. There are really no words to describe the situation. Our role now is to strengthen the families who have been devastated by this evil.”

Amar said he had received “tens of hundreds of calls from the Jewish community”, not just in Israel but internationally, expressing sorrow and sympathy. Noting the continuing plight of the Gaza hostages, the former mayor said that “the whole country of Lebanon has been taken hostage by Hezbollah and Nasrallah”.

But although he was offering a message of peace and was hopeful that matters would not escalate in the wake of the tragedy, Amar was

scathing at the presence of far-right politicians Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich at the children’s funerals. He said: “How dare they come to the funerals?” Neither man, he said, had helped the Druze communities, which desperately needed funding for basic amenities.

He believed that “in the same way no one can forget 7 October, what happened in Majdal Shams will not be forgotten”.

He added: “Of course it’s not the same scale, but it will take a long time for Israeli society to forget this incident.”

Adel Mahmud, who lives in Magdal Shams, is a tennis and ski coach, who told Jewish News: “I used to teach all the children when they were in primary school. I knew all of them – we all know each other here. The kids played all the time on the football field, our local pitch.”

When the explosion took place, Mahmud was at home and, he said: “I ran to the area. It was indescribable. People are torn apart by what happened. In the whole of the Golan Heights, there has not been a child or an old man or woman who has not cried their hearts out. Every child had a story, and it is like we are saying goodbye to them. They were all talented, they loved football and they played every day.” They were, he said, the best of the best.

In general, Druze communities were peaceful and not aggressive, Mahmud said. Their hope was an end to the deaths of children anywhere.

Dr Wahabi suggested that UEFA, the European football body, might do something to commemorate the 12 Druze children who had died.

None of those to whom Jewish News spoke accepted Hezbollah’s denial of responsibility. Metal retrieved from the football field and the children’s bodies clearly showed that the rocket had been an Iranian make, directly supplied to Hezbollah.

UK delays Israel arms decision

Senior Jewish Labour stakeholders took part in “frank and engaging” discussions with government ministers ahead of the decision to delay a judgement on suspending arms sales to Israel, Jewish News understands, writes Lee Harpin.

During one such discussion, a leading communal figure and key supporter of Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed concern about the expected confirmation by Foreign Secretary David Lammy that the government would halt the sale of all weapons deemed to be used in an offensive fashion in Gaza.

The Labour supporter is under-

stood to have complained: “The politics of this are awful. Some of us have family members in Israel, putting their lives at risk on the front line.”

But the Labour leadership has been preparing for a scenario in which independent legal advice to the government spelt out the likelihood of weapons used in Gaza by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), supplied by this country, had been used in an indiscriminate way.

Such a scenario, if presented to government lawyers, including Attorney General Richard Hermer KC, would leave the government with little option but to announce a suspension of export licences for specific weapons they can link to suspected war crimes. Investigations into this are expected to be concluded when Parliament returns from summer recess.

Reports from Israel and on the far-left Novara Media website had suggested Lammy was ready to announce an arms sale ban this

week, but Jewish News revealed on Monday this was not so.

Jewish News has learned Hermer visited Area C in the West Bank last week, speaking with human rights organisations on issues around settlements. Hermer, a member of North Western Reform Synagogue who has had family serving in the IDF, has previously made clear his opposition to the “unlawful” occupation of the West Bank, describing

it as “deeply damaging” to the interests of Israel and “wholly contrary to the values of tikkun olam I grew up with and continue to guide me”.

Human rights barrister Philippe Sands KC, who represents Palestine at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has said a recent ruling ordering the end to West Bank settlements required the British government to stop arming Israel. The previous Tory government failed to

disclose legal advice it received over how weapons licensed from the UK were used in Gaza.

One communal figure, not opposed to an arms sale suspension if UK-supplied weapons are confirmed to have been used in Gaza, told Jewish News: “All other diplomatic efforts to bring a ceasefire, to bring the release of the hostages, seemed to be making not the slightest bit of difference. If Netanyahu won’t listen, is it really a surprise a key ally like the UK is forced to take drastic action?”

The government’s choice to announce three decisions impacting on Israel – following the move to restore UNRWA funding and to withdraw opposition to the ICC warrant arrest case – was not entirely unexpected. But the need to announce them so soon did take many in the community by surprise.

Some Labour figures are said to believe there would be more community support to stand up to moves against Netanyahu.

Israeli army soldiers on patrol in the Golan Heights

Women mourn during the funeral of their relatives at the Druze town of Majdal Shams

The football field in last weekend’s attack

David Lammy addresses MPs

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Chief asks for Starmer meeting over Labour’s approach to Israel

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis has written to Sir Keir Starmer expressing deep concern over the government’s apparent new tougher stance in relation to Israel, writes Lee Harpin.

In a surprise intervention, Rabbi Mirvis is understood to have requested a meeting with the prime minister following the announcement the government had dropped its challenge to pursuit of an international arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

This followed last week’s confirmation by foreign secretary David Lammy of the government ending the suspension of funding for the main Palestinian relief agency, UNWRA.

There is speculation the Labour government could also announce a partial ban on arms sales to Israel as early as next week.

The Chief Rabbi’s letter to Starmer, in which he is understood to make clear the extent of his concern about change of direction over Israel, follows a joint statement from the Board of Deputies and Jewish Leadership Council.

This said: “This regretful and regressive step not only appears to be a reversal of long-term UK foreign policy, but also puts us at odds with

international allies such as the USA and Germany, who have challenged the court’s treatment of Israel. We are concerned that the cumulative effect of these announcements, in quick

succession, signal a significant shift in policy, away from Israel being a key UK ally. This would not only be a strategic error but a moral one.”

The statement added: “Many in the Jewish

community are still assessing how this government will in practice stand by its words in opposition to support Israel’s right to defend itself.”

The Labour Friends of Israel group also branded the decision about the ICC “deeply disappointing.”

Rabbi Mirvis continues to have good relations with the Labour leadership, having met deputy leader Angela Rayner last week in a “constructive meeting”.

He said they had discussed “Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas, the urgent need to bring the hostages home and the importance of continued uncompromising action against antisemitism”.

Rayner later posted on X: “Looking forward to working with him and the wider Jewish community to build strong community relations, promote British values, and on our shared commitment to tackling antisemitism.”

On a possible UK arms sale ban, Lammy told the Commons last week: “It would not be right to have a blanket ban between our countries and Israel. What is right is for me to consider in the normal way the issues in relation to offensive weapons in Gaza, following the quasi-judicial process that I have outlined.”

Board’s ‘grave concern’ over foreign policy

The Board of Deputies president has suggested any move by Labour to ban UK arms sales to Israel would be an “astonishing decision to take against a key ally and security partner” and one that would harm its “ability to defend against terrorist foes like Hamas or shared UK adversaries like Iran”, writes Lee Harpin.

In an article for The Sunday Times, Phil Rosenberg claimed many in the community have “grave concerns about the new government’s foreign policy stance” as a result of Labour’s shift on Israel.

He added: “We all want the new UK government to help end a conflict that has taken far too many

lives and caused far too much suffering.”

Rosenberg said the government must “remain credible on national security” and Labour “should not take our community’s hard-won goodwill for granted”.

Rosenberg’s critical op-ed followed the decision of Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis to request a meeting with Keir Starmer to discuss concerns over Israel.

Rosenberg also referred to the government’s decision not to pursue objections to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) jurisdiction over the Israel-Gaza war, saying: “The move has implications for democratically elected leaders around the world.”

MP UNDER FIRE OVER ELECTION

A newly-elected Muslim independent MP has been recorded telling people days before the general election to “follow the teachings of the Prophet” and vote for him, writes Lee Harpin.

Iqbal Mohamed, who won in Dewsbury & Batley, who faced claims his supporters waged a campaign of intimidation against a Labour candidate, also claimed he would be a representative of Allah if he was backed at the polls.

There are strict rules

in the UK on improper religious influence at elections and the new MP could now be investigated over the reported comments.

The Sunday Times said Mohamed, 52, made the remarks standing on a prayer mat and wearing religious dress at a male-only open-air prayer event to mark Eid in Batley, West Yorkshire, on 16 June.

He later shared a short

excerpt, including the section about the Prophet Muhammad, on social media, writing: “Vote with your conscience for a just and honest MP.”

The footage suggests Mohamed warned voters if they failed to vote, Allah would ask: “I gave you this [blessing], what did you do with it?”

He said Muslims had a “duty” to vote for “just representatives” and ges-

tured to an imam next to him before saying “with the ulema [a collective term for Islamic clerics] as my witness I promise to try and be that just representative”.

Mohamed denied any wrongdoing over the comments, telling the newspaper: “This was a general appeal to register to vote and Labour and Conservative candidates frequently speak in religious settings, including mosques, during election campaigns.”

Mohamed secured a majority of 6,934.

The Board had also previously questioned the government’s decision to restore funding to UNRWA, “despite allegations that UNRWA’s employees and institutions have actively enabled Hamas’s atrocities”.

In the Commons, Starmer said the decision had been taken after “the utmost consideration” and checks on the aid agency’s ability to monitor its employees.

Rosenberg also addressed the expected decision by foreign secretary David Lammy to announce the UK will provide defensive weapons to Israel, but will steer clear of funding any used in Gaza.

The Board president said: “This, at just the moment that

there is a material risk of a fullscale conflict with Iranian proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon, and increased conflict with the Houthis, who are bombing British ships.”

Sources have told Jewish News the government is still determined to prove it is supportive of Israel, and its right to defend itself against multiple enemies.

They stress the party has been vocal in calling for the release of hostages alongside calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

But they note the party’s “longterm” strategy is one that is committed to steps that lead to the renewal of a peace process and a two-state solution.

FRANKLY BEYOND BELIEF

A mural in Norway depicting Anne Frank wearing a keffiyeh has been condemned by the European Jewish Congress as a hateful form of anti-Israel protest. The mural’s creator, the anonymous Norwegian street artist Töddel, defended the work, saying Frank was chosen as the subject out of respect for the history

Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis with Sir Keir Starmer

Iqbal Mohamed

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JLM urged to help guard Labour gains

A capacity turn-out for the Jewish Labour Movement’s general election victory event was unsurprising given the scale of Keir Starmer’s election win, writes Lee Harpin.

Despite the celebratory tone, speeches by newly-elected Finchley and Golders Green MP Sarah Sackman, former JLM national secretary Peter Mason and his successor Mike Katz also urged members to help protect the gains made under Starmer’s leadership.

To rapturous applause, Sackman told activists: “In 2019, our party badly needed change. We stayed and fought antisemitism. We helped Keir change the party so we could earn the right to change the country.”

Sackman also spoke of her pride becoming a Jewish MP and a minister as solicitor general.

Katz told activists that after the devastating 2019 election defeat under Jeremy Corbyn, it would not have been unreasonable to suggest

Labour needed to spend “40 years in the political desert” to recover from the antisemitism crisis.

Praising Labour’s new leadership’s commitment to tackle the crisis, Katz told the gathering “few would have believed what has been achieved in four years”.

Mason, now the Labour leader of Ealing Council and standing for the party’s governing national executive committee in forthcoming internal elections, told activists: “We cannot

allow the gains that we have made to our party, fit for purpose, and a government, fit for the future, to be lost.”

He noted: “Unfortunately, still too many people in our party view

the business of government through the prism of scoring factional points to undermine a government that wants to be able to deliver for this country.”

LORD MANN REAPPOINTED CHARITY IN HAMAS PROBE

Labour has reappointed Lord Mann as the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, Jewish News understands.

The role entails providing independent advice to housing, communities and local government secretary of state Angela Rayner on “e ective methods to tackle antisemitism”.

Keir Starmer and deputy leader Rayner are said to be convinced Mann is the right person to continue in the role under Labour.

The party is also likely to appoint an independent adviser on Islamophobia to show it is

taking anti-Muslim racism as seriously as that directed at the Jewish community.

Rayner later posted on X: “Pleased Lord John Mann will continue as the government’s adviser on antisemitism. Antisemitism, Islamophobia & all forms of religious & racial hatred are unacceptable. We will be exploring a more integrated and cohesive approach to tackling it.”

The housing, communities and local government ministry added “Antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of religious and racial hatred have absolutely no place in our society.”

An aid charity is under investigation by the Charity Commission over concerns it may have links to a news agency that promotes the Hamas terrorist group.

World Aid Convoy, which aims to provide relief and assistance to victims of war and natural disaster, caused concerns it was soliciting funds through Gaza Now in social media posts and private messaging service Telegram

The charity, which has been registered since 2014, was also referred to in posts shared on Telegram’s “Gaza Now” and “Gaza Now in English”

channels. The independent regulator has now confirmed it opened a statutory inquiry into the charity in May.

It began engaging with World Aid Convoy in March and initial contact with its trustees gave rise to more concerns about the charity’s management and governance.

The inquiry will try to determine what, if any, links there are between the charity and Gaza Now, if any funds have been provided either directly or via partners and if these funds can be fully accounted for.

Peter Mason, Sarah Sackman MP and Mike Katz (Pic: Ian Vogler)

Minister halts uni

free speech move

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has confirmed she has blocked much-criticised laws passed by the previous Tory government aimed at promoting freedom of speech on campus, writes Lee Harpin.

The Union of Jewish Students and the Antisemitism Policy Trust, with Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on anti-Jewish racism, all raised concerns about the impact of the the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023.

Lord Mann described the new laws as “not fit for purpose” and warned they could remove “crucial and hard won safeguards for Jewish students” and “potentially allow antisemitism to grow” if put into practice across UK universities.

found commitment to the welfare of minority groups.”

UJS praised the Department for Education for “listening to the concerns of Jewish students.”

Danny Stone, chief executive of the Antisemitism Policy Trust posted on X: “This is the right decision by Bridget Phillipson and very welcome indeed.

“The act didn’t do what it set out to do. I provided evidence to the Bill committee about this legislation and met with the O ce for Students to raise concerns.

INTERFAITH DIALOGUE IN UK ‘NEAR COLLAPSE’

Interfaith dialogue in the UK has “almost collapsed” since the Gaza conflict broke out last year, the Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.

Justin Welby told the House of Lords conflicts overseas had a “profound impact” on community cohesion on home soil.

During a debate on the King’s Speech, the archbishop said: “Issues elsewhere in the world do not confine themselves to a ecting us in our international policy alone.

“[Britain is] recognised by the United Nations as the most diverse nation on Earth.

“That means every single overseas conflict or disaster has a diaspora community here.

“To build a cohesive society here, domestic and foreign policy must work hand-in-glove.”

TOP AWARDS FOR PUPILS

In response to the education secretary’s announcement, UJS said it “welcomes the decision of the Secretary of State for Education to revoke the commencement of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act.

“This is a demonstration of pro-

Regulatory advice on the Higher Education Act from the O ce for Students was due to be enacted next month, but in a decision welcomed by communal organisations, Phillipson confirmed: “I have written to colleagues separately about my decision to stop further commencement of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, in order to consider options, including its repeal. I am aware of concerns that the Act would be burdensome on providers and on the OfS, and I will confirm my long term plans as soon as possible.”

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He told Jewish News: “Though little attention was paid to it, the guidance produced by the O ce for Students which accompanied the freedom of speech Act didn’t take account of the requisite floors and ceilings that accompany free speech.

“It risked potential attacks on the precise measures universities use to address antisemitism.

“Bridget Phillipson has made the right decision about this legislation and we look forward to working with her.”

Four pupils from a north London school for students with special educational needs have been honoured with the Jack Petchey Awards to celebrate their remarkable accomplishments.

Award winners

Barnet mayor Tony Vourou presented the Kisharon Noé School pupils with their honours: Charlie (award for resilience, openness, and adaptability); Joe (for

kindness and hard work); Sophia (for positivity and strength) and Ibri (for focus and friendliness).

The Jack Petchey Foundation, established by the late Sir Jack Petchey CBE, aims to inspire and motivate young people across London and Essex by recognising the outstanding achievements of young individuals through the awards programme.

Phillipson visiting JFS school

Welby with Chief Rabbi Mirvis

Leket Israel – the National Food Bank, has been rescuing excess fresh, nutritious food for over 20 years. Each day, it collects surplus fruit, vegetables, and cooked meals from farmers, hotels, corporate cafeterias, and IDF bases, distributing them through nonprofits to feed Israelis in need.

With a 22% increase in demand since the war and a decrease in surplus food available, Leket is purchasing food to redistribute to high-risk populations. Leket’s focus is on intensifying food rescue efforts and supporting Israeli farmers in maintaining operations and recovery. In 2024 so far: For more information or to volunteer, visit www.leket.org/en or contact robby@leket.org

‘I was two months pregnant when my husband was taken hostage’

Anguished relatives of hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas have shared their piercingly emotional stories with a London audience, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

Almost 300 days after 7 October, the families of 22-year-old Guy Gilboa Dalal, kidnapped from the Nova festival; 19-year-old soldier Tamir Nimrodi, abducted from his base near the Erez Crossing; 41-year-old Tal Haimi, kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak as he defended it from Hamas terrorists, and Yarden Bibas, kidnapped with his wife Shiri and their four-year old Ariel and one-year-old son Kfir, addressed an audience at JW3.

Ella Haimi, the widow of Tal, entered the auditorium holding her newborn son Lotan.

On 7 October, when the family realised Tal’s phone’s GPS was tagging him in Gaza, she was forced to tell his parents she was newly pregnant with their fourth child.

With Tal missing in Gaza, she spent the last seven months of her pregnancy without him, not knowing if he was alive or dead, caring for their nine-year-old twin boys and another six-year-old boy.

Displaced from their home on 8 October, the Haimi family have not returned but are living with other families at Kibbutz Eilot in Eilat.

Haimi told the assembled guests she couldn’t go back to their kibbutz or consider re-building their lives without Tal’s body being returned and buried properly.

Two months after 7 October, the IDF informed her military intelligence indicated he had likely been

murdered by Hamas on 7 October and his body was being held in Gaza. For the sake of their children, Ella symbolically buried an empty coffin.

“My son will never know his father. And his father will never know his son.”

Each of the family members on stage said their lives had been on hold since 7 October.

sion we have had. Everyone is crying. Am Y’Israel Chai. We are all together.”

Herut Nimrodi, the mother of Tamir, revealed that for the first two weeks after her son’s abduction, she didn’t want to live.

The sound of muffled crying from the audience could be heard throughout the 90-minute session in the auditorium. The delegation was given a final standing ovation at the end of the evening.

While in London, the group also met with government ministers, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Israel ambassador Tzipi Hotovely. They were also joined by supporters outside Parliament Square while Israeli artist Benzi Brofman painted a live artwork in support of bringing the hostages home.

Merav Gilboa-Dalal, the mother of Guy, said she was managing to survive day to day only with the help of psychiatric drugs.

Yair Keshet, Yarden Bibas’ uncle,

struggled to speak until, overwhelmed with emotion, he broke down in tears. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s the first time I’ve cried. This session is the most emotional ses-

Hotovely told Jewish News: “Almost 10 months on since Hamas committed its barbaric atrocities, murdering more than 1,200 innocent Israeli people, 120 hostages continue to face unimaginable torture and sexual violence.

“That is why this delegation of families whose loved ones remain in the violent grip of Hamas is so important and timely. We will never cease demanding the release of the hostages until each and every one is reunited with their loved ones.

“My team and I at the embassy continue to do everything we can to ensure their voices are not ignored, and their calls for the release of their loved ones are heard.”

Murdered hostage Maya pictured feeding Kfir

It’s a deeply haunting image that underscores the incalculable human cost of 7 October, writes Richard Ferrer.

Baby Kfir Bibas gazes lovingly up at his nursery teacher Maya Goren as she tenderly feeds him at the kindergarten at Kibbutz Nir Oz, just weeks before they were both taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October.

Maya, 56, was preparing to open the kibbutz’s kindergarten on that fateful Saturday morning when Hamas attacked. She was taken into Gaza while her husband, Avner, also 56, who was born and raised in the kibbutz, was killed inside the family home. The couple are survived by their four children.

The Goren family shared this poignant picture after news broke last week that Maya’s body was retrieved from Gaza by the Israel Defence Forces, along with four other murdered Israelis.

In this touching photograph, Maya, with her long grey hair tied in a braid, lovingly feeds baby Kfir, who gazes up at her with wide, innocent eyes. Maya’s gentle smile and Kfir’s attentive expression capture the loving environment she created in her classroom.

Kfir was just nine months old when he was also taken

hostage along with his four-year-old brother Ariel and parents Shiri and Yarden.

On 29 November, following the release of 105 civilians during the temporary ceasefire agreement, Hamas claimed Kfir, Ariel and Shiri had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The next day, a chilling Hamas propaganda video was released showing Yarden receiving news of his family’s death. However, without confirmation, no one in Israel, especially the Bibas family, is prepared to believe the claims of terrorists. Hope remains they might yet return.

Kfir turned one in captivity on 18 January, a day that was known in Israel as “the saddest birthday in the world”.

Shiri Bibas’ parents, Margaret and Yosi Silverman, who lived on the same kibbutz, were murdered and their bodies found near the Gaza border. The Bibas family’s beloved dog, Tony, was also shot dead. Kfir and Ariel are the last two child hostages still being held.

The bodies of IDF staff sergeant Oren Goldin, IDF staff sergeant Tomer Ahimas, IDF sergeant Kiril Brodsky, and Ravid Arie Katz were discovered alongside Maya, bringing the number of hostages declared dead to 41.

Ella Haimi with her youngest son

Hostage families raising awareness in Whitehall last week

Yair Keshet, uncle of Yarden Bibas, next to artwork by Israeli artist Benzi Brofman

News / GP returns / Guilty

Islamist GP has work suspension lifted

The NHS has overturned the suspension of a Harrow GP who headed the UK branch of recently banned Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, leaving him free to resume his practice, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

Dr Wahid Shaida, who also uses the name Abdul Wahid, was GB chair of the group, which the government outlawed in January.

On 15 January, then-home secretary James Cleverly moved to proscribe the group, which he called “antisemitic” and warned it “promotes and encourages terrorism”, by putting an order before parliament which made joining the organisation illegal in the UK under terror laws.

As reported by Jewish News, in December 2023, Shaida, who has trained trainee GPs, described Hamas as a ‘resistance’ group and called the 7 October terror attacks “a very welcome punch on the nose” on Piers Morgan’s Talk TV show.

Shaida was subsequently suspended by NHS England on 19

January 2024.

Announcing the reversal of the NHS decision, his legal representatives Rahman Lowe Solicitors called the news a “significant triumph”.

In a statement, the firm added that Shaida “is extremely experienced and highly regarded within his Practice for the contribution which he has made to it. He has enjoyed an unblemished work record throughout his professional career.”

They claim that prior to proscription, “HT (Hizb ut-Tahrir) was a lawful organisation in the UK, undertaking lawful activities.

Dr Shaida has sincerely held strong beliefs regarding the occupation of Palestine and the displacement of its population as a historic wrong and he strongly believes that it has led to an unjust system akin to apartheid, a view that is supported by organisations such as Amnesty, Human Rights Watch and also now by the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ).”

They add that “contrary to suggestions in the press, the Panel accepted that Dr Shaida does not condone violence and his posts were made in the heat of the news feeds he was receiving.”

A spokesperson for NHS London told Jewish News: “We take any issues relating to professional conduct seriously and have procedures in place to make sure that individuals are fit to work in the NHS. Following a thorough investigation, the evidence was considered by an NHS England panel. No evidence was found that he has had involvement with Hizb ut-Tahrir since the organisation was proscribed.”

MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ANTISEMITIC POSTS ON X

A man has pleaded guilty to making antisemitic posts on X, formerly Twitter, that included calls for a “Jewfree world”.

Peter Kandalaft, 57, sent multiple tweets following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza.

Prosecutor James Cable told Westminster Magistrates’ Court that the posts included “let’s smash the Jews”, “let them Jews die and pile them high” and that “we all need a Jew-free world and world peace”. One was sent in response to an image of a dead person in an Israel Defence Forces uniform, Mr Cable said. The post said they would “look even better when I stamp on their Jew heads as well”.

The court heard Kandalaft posted 21 tweets between 2 November and 25 December 2023 that were reported to the police by a charity that aims to protect British Jews from antisemitism.

But his X account – Kandalaft_Peter – had been suspended by the time police investigated the report.

As a result, the force were unable to access any posts beyond those captured by the charity.

Officers arrested Kandalaft at his home address in Bourneside Road, Addlestone, Surrey on 11 January and

seized an iPhone and iPad.

During police interview, he said he was Palestinian, his account had been hacked, and that he had “no particular views on Hamas or Jewish people”, Mr Cable said.

The iPad and iPhone were found to contain a series of emails with X about the account, including ones to say it had been suspended and that Kandalaft had tried to appeal the suspension.

His defence barrister Norman Cho asked District Judge Nina Tempia to consider issuing the defendant a fine, and said: “Mr Kandalaft regrets saying this, the tweets have ruined his reputation. He is an intelligent man, he was overcome by the events at the time – it doesn’t excuse the way he phrased it.” He was released on conditional bail until 19 August.

Aliyah: Building Dreams & Saving Tax

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Back to work: Dr Shaida

Peter Kandalaft outside court

Mala builds bridges

The Council of Christians and Jews has presented 93-year-old educator and Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich with an award for her work in building bridges between faith communities, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

She received the Bridge Award at a House of the Lords ceremony attended by Jewish and Christian leaders, representatives from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, peers and friends and family.

Introduced in 2017 for CCJ’s 75th anniversary, the award is an annual honour for an exceptional and leading contribution to building bridges between peoples in a Christian-Jewish or wider setting.

Past winners include King Charles, former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, Lord Rothschild, scholar Prof Amy-Jill Levine, Rabbi Lord (Jonathan) Sacks and the Smith family for their work on Holocaust education.

Tribich was born in Piotrkow, Poland. The Nazis invaded when she was eight and over the next five and a half years she lost her parents, sister and most of her extended family.

At 12, she became a slave labourer when the Piotrkow ghetto was finally liquidated and after 18 months was deported with her cousin Ann to Ravensbrück and then in cattle cars to Bergen-Belsen where she caught typhus.

On 15 April 1945, Bergen-Belsen was liberated by the British and Tribich was sent to Sweden to recuperate.

While there, she found her brother Ben Helfgott was the only other member of her family to have survived, and he was in England.

Tribich and Helfgott reunited in 1947 in England, where she rebuilt her life.

She married her husband Maurice in 1950 and they had two children. While the children were growing up, she gained a degree in sociology from the University of London.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said of Tribich’s honour: “I am delighted to send my warmest congratulations to Mala Tribich MBE on receiving CCJ’s Bridge Award.

“Mala has made it her life’s mission to educate others, especially young people, about the horrors of the Shoah so that the world

Faith leaders unite

Faith leaders from across Brighton and Hove – including an imam, four rabbis, a bishop, a monk and three other Christian ministers –united for an interfaith dinner and Mitzvah Day event to support local people in need, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

The group met at the Brighton & Hove Jewish Community (BNJC) centre, before creating care packs for the Safehaven weekly drop-ins run by St Peter’s Brighton.

The packs – which contain toiletries, facecloths, hygiene products and treats – will be given to people supported by Safehaven who are experiencing homelessness, poverty, loneliness, abuse and/or addiction.

BNJC chief executive Marc Sugarman said: “We are proud to partner with Mitzvah Day for this remarkable interfaith dinner and packing.

It demonstrates the incredible impact dedicated individuals can have when they come together in social action.”

Charity chief executive Stuart Diamond said the event “perfectly embodies the spirit of ‘Stronger Together’, with faith leaders joining forces despite di erent beliefs to serve those in need – “This interfaith collaboration demonstrates the power of collective action and sends a powerful message of unity and compassion to our community.”

The event was a partnership between Mitzvah Day, Brighton & Hove Jewish Community, Brighton & Hove Faith in Action and Sussex Jewish Representative Council.

This year’s Mitzvah Day, the UK’s largest faith-based day of social action, is on and around Sunday 24 November.

W’RE TAKING FLIGHT WITH EDEN!

Star-struck Jewish teens on Bnei Akiva Group 4’s Israel tour bumped into Eurovision singer Eden Golan en route to Tel Aviv. There are more than 400 Jewish teenagers on youth group tours across Israel this summer.

never forgets the depths to which humanity can sink when the politics of hatred are allowed to flourish unchecked.

“I count myself among the many people who have been inspired by Mala and she is a most worthy winner of this award.”

CCJ chair Bishop Sarah Bullock added: “The CCJ board is deeply honoured to recognize a leader and educator like Mala with the Bridge Award.

“It is testimony to the resilience of the human spirit that someone who endured so much at such a young age has been able to educate so many through her teaching as well as through her work with her local CCJ branch.

“Her teaching and example are needed more than ever with high rates of antisemitism and friction between faiths in the UK.’

On receiving the award, Tribich said she was “deeply honoured”, adding that it was “particularly meaningful to me as I meet young people and adults from every faith group, ethnic and other community groups across the country.

She added that her aim in talking about her experiences during the Holocaust, was “to help create more understanding, tolerance and humanity” among her audiences.

Tribich has shared her story with tens of thousands of people across the country with her work in educating others also being recognised when she received an MBE in 2012 from Queen Elizabeth.

APP LISTING FOR CEMETERY

A London community burial ground has become the first Jewish cemetery to be featured on an app giving online access to cultural sites around the world, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

The free Bloomberg Connects app o ers digital access to exhibitions, collections and artists at more than 500 museums, galleries, sculpture parks and gardens and has now added Willesden Jewish Cemetery.

App users can explore information about the historic area, founded in 1873 by the United Synagogue, and access images, audio recordings, a walking tour and a digital exhibition of archives. The content is available in 40 languages, including Hebrew.

The cemetery charts the development of London’s Jewish community over 150 years. Nearly 30,000 men, women and children from a wide diversity of backgrounds have been laid to rest there since 1873 and people are still buried in the cemetery today.

United Synagogue head of heritage Miriam Marson said: “We are thrilled to be joining Bloomberg Connects and delighted that through the app many more people will have the opportunity to explore the historic Willesden Jewish Cemetery – both online and in person – and learn about the stories of the fascinating people buried here.”

Other sites planned to be added to the app soon include the Centre for Contemporary Art in Tel Aviv and the Museum of Jewish Art and History in Paris.

A pomegranate has 613 little seeds. Each seed has it’s own special place Where it’s nurtured and protected, in a warm, safe environment.

In a pomegranate each little seed receives all the care that it needs to flourish, to thrive, to succeed.

Pomegranate Nursery Where your child belongs

Award winner: Mala Tribich Pomegranate Nursery Golders Green

Paris anti-Israel posters removed

A viciously anti-Israel poster that appeared on sites in Paris this week has been removed by the local branch of outdoor marketing company JC Decaux, which described it as “illegal flyposting”, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

The poster was timed deliberately to coincide with the opening of the 2024 Olympics.

It features an empty medal winners’ podium with Israeli flags in the gold position and Israel’s name on each of the three spaces. Two missiles flank the podium.

Meanwhile, French police are investigating death threats received by three Israeli Olympic athletes in Paris.

The threats come amid mounting security concerns for Israel’s delegation of nearly 90 athletes, one of the country’s largestever Olympic cohorts.

Organisers have arranged for 24/7 security in the Olympic Village and in transit to event venues, after numerous anti-Israel and proPalestinian protests erupted.

A beloved Holocaust survivor who made a postwar life for herself in the UK has died at the grand old age of 100, writes Michelle Rosenberg.

Evelyn Lipmann, born Evelyn Guttmann in Vienna, was an only child who survived 18 months in four Nazi camps, including Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen.

making munitions. She never saw her father again or learned of his fate but after recovering from typhoid made her way home to Vienna using only a page from a children’s atlas as a guide.

In April 1945, she and her mother were liberated by the US army from Salzwedel camp, 140km south-east of Hamburg, where they had been forced to work as slave labourers

A group of Israeli citizens living in the UK staged protests this week expressing concerns over what they claim are attempts to suppress press freedom in Israel by Channel 13 owner Sir Leonard Blavatnik.

In 1947, she moved to Walton-on-Thames to join family already there and met her future husband, Eric. They had two children, Anthony and Katie. Lipmann was a passionate advocate and supporter of the work of both the Holocaust Educational Trust and the Association of Jewish Refugees.

WeDemocracy demonstrations took place outside the Tate Modern’s Blavatnik Building and the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford.

Britain’s second richest man is facing claims his media company is undermining the freedom of the press in Israel.

Ukraine-born billionaire Sir Leonard, knighted in the UK for services to philanthropy, owns most of Warner Music Group and has interests in several other businesses, including a majority stake in Channel 13 News in Israel.

The channel, often critical of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, last week cancelled a popular programme, War Zone, following a senior sta ng shake-up last month that saw an ally of the prime minister, Yulia Shamalov-Berkovich, installed as head of news.

Vicious: The anti-Israel poster that appeared in Paris

Evelyn Lipmann

WeDemocracy protesters in action

We can win Olympic glory, says Israel’s cycling patron

A good year for our team could be about to get better, writes Francine Wolfisz

Sylvan Adams is a man always on the move, such are the many projects he is involved with to help promote Israel. But over the past three weeks, the self-made billionaire, philanthropist and keen cyclist has been literally on the move, clocking up more than 1,000 miles riding alongside the Israeli team he proudly owns as they participated in this year’s Tour de France.

The Israel-Premier Tech team has had an incredible year at the prestigious peloton, garnering 13 top-10 finishes overall, while cyclist Derek Gee came in ninth as he crossed the finish line on Sunday evening.

It’s the first time the team, founded in 2014 by Adams, himself a multiple title holder, has made it into the Tour De France top 10, securing Israel as not only a team to watch but a serious contender at this year’s Olympic Games.

We speak the day after the Tour ends in Nice, but remarkably there’s no time for Adams, 65, who still possesses an inordinate amount of energy, to rest on his laurels.

He’s mid-commute for a short stint in Spain, before heading back to the French capital with high hopes of an Olympic medals haul for Israel.

“I’m very proud of the way the guys raced,” gushes Adams, who has won nine Canadian titles, four world masters championship titles and eight gold medals at the Maccabiah Games.

“Throughout the Tour we were present on the front foot, not on the back foot. The boys really raced together, they raced for one another. In the last difficult days of the tour, Derek was very grateful for the support he received, and he himself rode like a trooper.”

On his business card, Adams describes himself as a “self-appointed ambassador for Israel”

Even he laughs at the chutzpah-laden title, but it’s more than justified by his considerable efforts over the past decade in using sport and culture to present Israel in a more positive light.

On that mission, he was the man responsible for bringing Madonna to Tel Aviv when the country hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, as well as football legends Lionel Messi and Luis

Suaraz for an international friendly between Barcelona and Uruguay in 2019. His powers of persuasion also worked their magic on cycling bosses to hold the 2018 Giro d’Italia in Israel, the first time one of the sport’s Grand Tour races (which also include the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana) had been held outside Europe.

The latter was a remarkable success, with more than a billion viewers watching the race while seeing for themselves the natural beauty of Israel as the cyclists criss-crossed their way from Jerusalem to Haifa, Tel Aviv, Be’er Sheva and Eilat over three days.

“A year later, Israel led the world in tourism growth, with a growth rate of 38 percent,” smiles Adams, who believes the cycling competition did much to promote Israel.

For all the obvious reasons amid the Hamas-Israel war, Adams and his team were concerned about protesters ahead of the Tour de France, not least because BDS supporters viciously named them “the genocide team”.

But their fears proved groundless: “For the last three weeks, we carried the name ‘Israel’ on our jerseys and we felt nothing but love as we heard people cheering for us along the route,” Adams recalls. “That really warmed my heart, especially in this most difficult year, and it tells me that the vast majority of people – the ones I call the ‘silent majority’ – are with us.”

That said, Adams admits that in the wake of 7 October he has found himself “simply shocked by the venom of the haters and their obsession with us”, and promoting Israel has become a more challenging, if not poignant task.

For the Tour de France this year, Adams wanted to inspire his team not only to ride for Israel but also in honour of those impacted by recent events.

In the most special moment of the Tour de France, he arranged for Kibbutz Beeri survivor Avida Bachar, whose wife and 15-yearold son were murdered by Hamas terrorists, to fly over to France and meet the team. A

keen cyclist himself, Bachar lost a leg during the attack, but remarkably has taken up the sport again thanks to a prosthetic.

Tears of happiness flowed as Bachar was given the chance to ride alongside the Israeli professionals on their training day.

“I told him he was my hero,” Adams tells me. “He was so philosophical about everything, saying he appreciated the time he spent with his wife and son, but that he also believes in life.

“His courage and his spirit moved me. There were very few dry eyes among our riders as he spoke to us. Afterwards I told the team to be inspired by his resiliency, to do something special and honour what he had been through, and I think the guys really took that on board.”

The team were equally moved by meeting Ran Timor, whose son Guy – a promising young cyclist due to join the under-23 team next year – was killed by a drunk driver shortly before the Tour de France began.

Adams is especially drawn to those who show resilience, because he himself is the son of two Holocaust survivors from Romania.

“They call them the ‘greatest generation’, people who lived through that era, and I have to say my parents never dwelt on their personal suffering. Having gone through all they did, my father fought in the Israeli War of Independence and it made me realise the resilience of our people is something to behold.

“They never complained, they didn’t have a sense of victimhood, they just wanted to make a better life for themselves and I’m proud to be part of that culture rather than a culture that blames everybody else for their problems.

“Survivors of the Holocaust are there to be admired and emulated and I think we are now seeing the same grit and sense of community among Israelis evoked by the horrors of 7 October.”

As a man who likes to look ahead, Adams’ focus is now firmly on the Olympic Games.

For the first time in 64 years, Israel has qualified for the men’s road race on Sunday in the person of Israeli champion Itamar Einhorn, while Rotem Gafinovitz has been entered for the women’s race on Monday. They are joined by mountain biker Tomer Zaltsman and track cyclist Mikhail Iakovlev, who at a mighty 6ft 6ins has had a custom-built bike made for him.

Adams smiles at the prospect of seeing his riders on the podium: “Let’s see if Israel can’t win a medal. I have high hopes we will be coming home with some bling.”

Left, Sylvan Adams with Ram Timor, whose son Guy was killed by a drunk driver; right, Adams (white helmet) with team members

Sylvan Adams – cycling with his team on the Tour de France

Team members with the Israeli flag

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS

Mike’s impact merits peerage

There haven’t been this many Jewish MPs in the House of Commons for decades.

But the chamber is now also missing many of our community’s greatest allies from the past two decades – those who lost their seats like Theresa Villiers and those who announced their departures before polling day, such as Mike Freer.

The former MP for Finchley and Green chose not to contest the seat he’d held since 2010 after an arson attack targeted his office, the latest in a list of abuse and threats he received for his efforts to loyally serve the people of Barnet.

Mike was undoubtedly a popular constituency MP but he was so much more too: from his role in fighting for equal marriage to the important part he played in the expansion of security funding for Jewish schools that is now a staple of our armoury against intolerance and violence.

The country is poorer without Mike’s voice in frontline politics. There’s plenty of deserving individuals but, as our political leaders finalise their lists of new peers this summer, few could be as deserving of elevation.

Such a move would not only be welcomed across the political divide but would send a clear and crucial message to those who would threaten our precious political institutions and traditions.

No peace while hate lasts

I refer to your editorial (11 July) stating that the Labour Party’s position on Palestine is vague enough for serious questions to continue.

Now we learn that the new government is committed to a two-state solution.

Well, that is hardly a surprise. After all, the UK since 1923 has hardly been a friend of Israel and I doubt the present government will change this.

For those who feel committed to this dream (for some a nightmare), consider the following. Before 7 October, a three-state solution had already evolved: Jordan (formerly Transjordan), Israel and Gaza.

Judea and Samaria were intended to be part of the future homeland for Jewish people.

Unfortunately, the Foreign Office and the establishment had other ideas by barring or limiting entry to Jews while encouraging Arabs to enter just to keep the promised homeland forbidden.

The word for this is betrayal.

I suggest anyone believing the Arabs west of the River Jordan want to live securely with a Jewish state is ignoring reality.

Looking at life within the Arab Middle East, I doubt many Israeli Arabs would want to live under Muslim patronage.

Try reading the Hamas Charter and the PLO aka PA, Charter, both of which confirm Israel will no longer exist. Will countries want another eight million Jews or survivors in their land?

Try also some easy viewing – Whose Land? by Hugh Kitson on YouTube – to see there is no valid legal reason to cut off the heartland of Israel. There will never be peace until these people stop their hate towards us, land or no land.

As the late Abba Eban said, the pre-1967 demarcation lines after the Arabs attacked Israel were suicide lines.

Martin Cohen, By email

MAN OF STRAW BOARD OUT OF TUNE

It’s surprising to see someone as learned as Rabbi Anthony Magrill offer a straw man argument in his article about the New North London Synagogue furore (18 July).

The issue is not whether robust criticism of Israel is permissible but whether anti-Zionism has a place in Masorti Judaism. Rabbi Haft-Yom Tov has a long association with anti-Zionist groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace. Their (chosen pronoun) assertion Israeli politicians are deliberately starving Gazans and celebrating it comes close to blood libel discourse. How can a rabbi have such a view? Lucy Solomon (formerly of NNLS)

Interesting that new Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg quoted Elvis Presley, saying “A little less conversation, a little more action” would be his policy. I am sure Mr Rosenberg and his top table know the song was written and sung at a time – in 1968 – when the “King” was well on his way to becoming a bloated caricature, closing in on his fatal meeting with a cheeseburger. (Allegedly).

There’s a metaphor somewhere. Perhaps Heartbreak Hotel or All Shook Up would have been better choices.

Joe Millis, former Deputy for Bromley Reform

LAMMY A DISGRACE A BLOCK TO KNOWLEDGE NOT AMUSING

Were it not so serious, it would almost be amusing to note the discomfiture of our Labour-supporting oh-so progressive communal “leadership” at the Board of Deputies who, having spent years cosying up to Sir Keir Starmer and his colleagues are now confronted within a matter of days by a Labour government announcing policy after policy inimical to Israel.

Brian Gedalla, N3

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New foreign secretary David Lammy is a disgrace. After visiting Israel, he failed to see the duplicitous nature of the corrupt and biased UNWRA and announced the UK would restart its funding. Shame on him and his party for promoting these instigators of perpetual Palestinian refugee status.

Stephen Vishnick, Tel Aviv

Rabbi Richard Jacobi claims the rabbis of the Talmud interpreted not placing a stumbling block as not using your knowledge to gain an advantage. They didn’t. They interpreted it as meaning that one shouldn’t mislead someone into making a bad decision, hence a stumbling block.

Ann Cohen, Golders Green

“You think your Strictly experience was bad? During the dancing at my wedding, I was forcibly placed on a chair by a load of sweaty men, lifted high off the ground and bounced around the dancefloor, with just a napkin to hold on to!”

Open Days

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Moving into a care home doesn’t have to mean giving up the ner things in life. At Signature at Hendon Hall, you’ll nd a safe, warm and caring environment. Expansive communal areas and gardens as well as intimate cosy corners and places to read, dine, chat, play or just unwind, allow residents to retain their independence in style.

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AT HENDON HALL

Who can stay silent in the face of Sde Teiman?

DAVID DAVIDIBROWN CHIEF EXECUTIVE, NEW ISRAEL FUND UK

It can be hard to know where to turn when confronted by the worst behaviour within any society. Even more so when it comes from a place we cherish like Israel.

Soldiers at Sde Teiman detention centre in the Negev desert were arrested by Israeli military police during an investigation into suspected serious abuse. One detainee “was brought from the base to a hospital with signs of serious abuse, including to his anus”. Riotous crowds, encouraged by leaders from Otzma Yehudit, Religious Zionism and Likud, descended on the centre and a military base.

In a sign of ongoing deterioration of governance, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has insisted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu investigate whether Itamar Ben Gvir – the national security minister – interfered

to prevent police from stopping “a mob of right-wing protesters from overrunning two IDF [Israel Defence Forces] bases.”

While the focus is shifting to internal rifts, it is important to confront the distressing abuse at the centre of this disgrace. Much is being confirmed from earlier reports by CNN and The New York Times about maltreatment of Palestinian prisoners.

Israel Explained host Shaiel Ben-Ephraim shared on X: “Israeli sources are now confirming…. electric shocks, amputations due to bad conditions, severe beatings, surgery without anaesthesia, playing loud music until inmates’ ears bleed… systematic torture and sexual abuse.”

So where do we look when we cannot look away from this abhorrent behaviour?

We can turn to the brave Israelis who show a better – and, we hope, more representative – face of Israeli society in their struggle for justice, equality and a safer future for all who share this land.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel alongside many other New Israel Fund partners, including Physicians for Human Rights,

HaMoked, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and Gisha, petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice in May and June to end cruel detention at Sde Teiman.

Their pressure contributed to hundreds of detainees being transferred to Ofer prison, where they have better conditions and professional prison guards.

Throughout the awful war that followed the vile Hamas attacks on 7 October, Israelis have shown tremendous fortitude, providing for the bereaved, the families of the hostages and the tens of thousands displaced from southern and northern border communities.

There has also been cruelty beyond the walls of Sde Teiman. Aid trucks were regularly ransacked and, in some cases, the drivers were beaten.

After Hezbollah’s murder of Druze children, there was a callous decision from Benjamin Netanyahu to postpone 150 injured and sick Palestinian children being transferred from Gaza to the United Arab Emirates for medical treatment.

As we did in the months before 7 October, when hundreds of thousands of Israelis

demonstrated to defend democracy and the rule of law, those of us who care deeply about Israel must make a choice.

Do we stand with the courageous Israelis still trying to uphold the founding values of their Declaration of Independence?

Or are we silent in the face of abuse and as Israeli o cials undermine the police, foster chaos and violence and demand investigators “take your hands o our heroic warriors”?

As Israel endures its longest war and contends with Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the Islamic Republic of Iran, I have never felt it is more important to support the homeland of the Jewish people.

Equally, as Israelis contend with a farright government, I have never felt it more important this support means courageous opposition to a government that poses an existential threat to a safe and democratic future. Sign up to the New Israel Fund UK newsletter to hear details of our upcoming event on Sunday 15 September with Noa Sattath, executive director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.

• newisraelfund.org.uk/newsletter-form

Our dedication to trust , extensive experience , unwavering reliability , and vast professional contacts enable us to offer you a fulfilling and seamless Aliyah experience. We are passionate about helping you make Israel your home, and our mission is to support you every step of the way. I'm Dov Newmark , and I'm here to help! Be in touch today to learn how I can help make your Aliyah easy !

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No simple answers, but a hopeful glimmer

DARREN RICHMAN WRITER & JOURNALIST

Ihave always thought of myself as a third generation “survivor” in the same way I am “eligible” to play for England, that is to say in name only.

Despite reading up on inherited trauma, it has always struck me as somewhat crass to suggest I am a survivor of anything when the only Jewish camps I experienced during my formative years involved songbooks and failed attempts to get o with girls.

Sobering stu , undoubtedly, but a long way short of traumatising. The schnitzel was borderline inedible, but it would be hard to argue my childhood was not a privileged one.

My thoughts on transgenerational trauma were upended by the extraordinary new documentary, The Commandant’s Shadow Daniela Volker’s film focuses on Hans Jurgen Hoss, the octogenarian son of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss, the latter a man responsible for the deaths of more than a million people.

This is a dual narrative and equal focus is given to Auschwitz survivor Anita LaskerWallfisch and the relationship she has with her daughter Maya. This is the ideal companion piece to The Zone of Interest, getting inside the walls of Auschwitz and telling us the e ect on the children of the man responsible for overseeing the operation as well as the consequences for those who endured it and their o spring.

I saw a Holocaust Educational Trust preview screening of the film with my mother. Like Maya, she is a second generation survivor, who found her calling as a psychoanalyst. If The Zone of Interest was oblique by design, The Commandant’s Shadow looks at the myriad ways the sins of the father are passed down from generation to generation and the coping mechanisms adopted.

It is ultimately the story of four very di erent people and the ways in which their lives have been shaped by the monstrous acts of a man who has been dead for almost 80 years.

At the film’s outset, Hans Jurgen is in a state of denial and remembers his childhood

fondly. His son, Kai, is attempting to atone for his grandfather’s actions with his work as a pastor. Anita, an accomplished cellist who was a member of the Women’s Orchestra of Aucshwitz, simply gets on with things and dwells little on the experiences of her youth. Maya, a specialist in transgenerational trauma, struggles to comprehend her mother’s nonchalance and seems more a ected by the Holocaust than the woman who actually survived Auschwitz.

My own grandfather, an Auschwitz survivor like Anita, had the most optimistic attitude of any human being I’ve encountered.

His daughter and grandson, sat together in that screening room – not so much.

Zigi would constantly talk about how lucky he was, something I could never quite comprehend given he was born in 1930s Poland to an Orthodox Jewish family. With luck like that, who needs misfortune? Inevitably, these were the thoughts swirling round my head in the aftermath of watching a film, years in the making, that attempts to grapple with why we are who we are in

the shadow of the Holocaust. The two strands of Volker’s film come together in startling fashion at the close of The Commandant’s Shadow. Hans Jurgen, unlike his sister, is willing to confront the past and goes beyond the walls of the family garden and into Auschwitz itself. He reads his father’s memoir and begins to understand the extend of the depravity. And finally, in a world in which so few of us are able to step outside our echo chambers, he sits down with Anita, Maya and his son in the former’s front room and they talk. These four people, who have been irrevocably moulded by one of history’s most infamous monsters, discuss forgiveness and the weight of the past.

“Never waste good pain” goes an old Yiddish proverb and, improbably, it is an adage that rings true for the son and grandson of a Nazi who made a more concerted attempt to enact the Final Solution than almost any other. In a way, all four of these people are survivors and Volker’s film suggests there may not be easy answers but there is, at the very least, hope. In these turbulent times, that is something worth clinging onto.

What a Labour prime minister means for Israel

JOAN RYAN

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ELNET UK

In his four years as Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer has abandoned the noxious anti-Zionist worldview of his predecessor, rejecting the “Manichean view” of the Palestinian conflict which animates the hard-left.

While recognising its multitude of complexities, the new prime minister has said Labour’s approach will be guided by a simple principle: “we are pro-Israel, proPalestine, and pro-peace”.

Particularly since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on 7 October, the Labour leadership has consistently adhered to this principle. On this issue, and at this time, nuance is rarely popular, but Sir Keir has rightly avoided simplistic and one-dimensional rhetoric and policies.

Nuance doesn’t mean a lack of ambition. The party’s manifesto pledged that the pursuit of “long term peace and security in the Middle East would be an immediate focus” for the next Labour government.

Daunting though this may be, the principles which have guided Sir Keir’s stance in opposition will serve it well in government.

So, what might this mean in concrete terms? First, Gaza. The Labour government should strongly champion Israel’s ceasefire proposals, which have been endorsed by the UN Security Council.

That requires the application of diplomatic, economic and political pressure on Turkey and Qatar – which physically and financially host the terror group – to push Hamas to accept the deal. The government should also recognise that, as Sir Keir has repeatedly stated, Hamas “cannot form part of the government of a Palestinian state”.

With a ceasefire in place, the government should work with the EU, the US and moderate Arab states to assemble an antiweapons smuggling taskforce in the Sinai Peninsula, choking Hamas o from its supply of Iranian weapons via the Red Sea.

This could provide breathing room for a new Palestinian Authority-led force to establish security in Gaza and prevent a debilitated Hamas from filling the power vacuum.

Security and stability in Gaza are vital for Palestinians and Israelis alike and will

provide the first step on the road to reconstruction and long-term peace.

Ministers should also reiterate to the present Israeli government the urgent need for a day-after plan that goes beyond destroying Hamas and identifying who and what follows.

Second, broader Israeli-Palestinian relations. For any future progress to occur, Labour should work with international partners to encourage a root and branch reform of the PA: ending its policy of ‘pay to slay’; helping it put in place much-needed anti-corruption measures; bolstering its counter-terrorism police; strengthening Palestinian civic institutions committed to judicial independence and the rule of law; and committing to future elections.

This would form the basis of a programme to build-out Palestinian state institutions and build-up Israeli faith in the former’s ability to govern – a vital prerequisite if Labour’s vision of a negotiated twostate solution is to be realised. At the same time, Labour should work with its sister parties in Israel to ready the ground for the necessary compromises on Israel’s side –on settlement expansion, for example.

The government should honour its commitment in opposition to support the Alliance for Middle East Peace’s proposed International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, which would support peace projects that bring Israelis and Palestinians together.

Finally, at a regional and geopolitical level, the new government should embrace the opportunity provided by the Abraham Accords to bring about a more integrated and peaceful region; one that is able to collectively check an expansionist Iran.

The government should support US-brokered e orts to bring Saudi Arabia into this family of nations; utilise the Accord’s framework to counter extremism in Gaza and foster economic opportunity; and re-energise the Indian-Middle EastEuropean Corridor. Launched at the G20 in 2023, but stalled by events since 7 October, this would tie the trading patterns of Israelis, Palestinians, Indians, Saudis, Emiratis and others together.

It will involve brave, tough and resolute leadership – internationally, at home and within the Labour party itself. All the qualities Sir Keir has shown as he has led his party from opposition back into government.

Israel’s forever changed – we are in a new reality

KAREN GOODKIND

HONORARY VICE PRESIDENT, UJIA

Finishing my term as a UJIA trustee was quite an emotional moment. After eight years on the board and 14 years prior in lay leadership, I was ready to see what came next.

Not that I was going anywhere in my support of UJIA. If anything, my respect for the organisation and all that they do to strengthen connection between British Jewry and Israel has deepened my commitment. But at this time of uncertainty for Israel and the Jewish people it felt like the wrong time to have to be stepping down.

Community lay leadership is an important part of my life, and I asked myself, what will be the next chapter? So, it was with this question in mind that I signed up for the Shalom Hartman Institute Community Leadership program, (CLP) an eightday intensive learning experience with world-class thought leaders.

Hartman took me on a journey to understand what constitutes liberal democratic

Zionist views. Liberal, not from a Jewish practice position but from the deep belief that the need for a democratic homeland, committed to equal rights and religious freedoms should govern our actions. What are the core Jewish values, morals and ethics? And if we are a people, do we have to recognise all the people within that peoplehood? Do we have to listen to those we disagree with?

The Israel of today is a changed country, the Israel before 7/10 no longer exists as we now live in a new reality. One of the most di cult things to live with is uncertainty. What will the day after look like? Will peace become an outcome? How do you live with an enemy that wants to destroy you? And who will we be when we come though this time?

The Hartman CLP sessions concentrated on Israel and our Jewish world post 7/10, the big questions we are asking of ourselves and Israel, the difficult voices of discourse and the moral dilemmas.

I sat in the first session with 230 North Americans, a sprinkling of South Americans and a diverse group of 10 from the UK, nervous that as a non-academic I wouldn’t be able to fully grasp or understand what

was to come. Nothing could have prepared me for the powerful Hartman scholars that educated and challenged my thinking. They enabled me to make sense of the Israel of today without knowing the answers to the Israel of tomorrow. This is what they told us.

Everything that we thought about Israel has been shattered. Our beliefs have crashed. No longer can we believe that Israel is a safe haven for Jews. No longer can we believe that independence meant pogroms could no longer happen and that Zionism is the answer to end the cycle of destructive Jewish history.

We examined sermons given on Rosh Hashanah during di erent times of crisis in our history. We felt our speaker Elana’s pain as she took a moment to cry as she relived 7/10, her belief that God would be there for us when human abilities fail was shattered.

And she posed the moral dilemma of being a peoplehood of peace whilst we engage in a war. And at the same time asked the question, can we hold compassion for the other, the innocent in Gaza whilst remaining loyal to Israel? The answer, our Jewish values demand it. Another thought occurred that had been nagging. Even if we

don’t believe the other side wants peace, should that prevent us from trying?

Our response to the Holocaust was to get power, but if we have to be brutal to survive, what does that do to the moral health of our society? Can power and morality co-exist?

Dr Tal Becker, who among his many achievements wrote the Abraham Accords, was reassuring that the IDF was fighting the Gaza war in a just way despite the enemy not operating with the same principles.

I’ve been to Israel twice since 7/10. I’ve been to Kfar Azar and held it together. I’ve met hostage families and survivors and held it together. I’ve witnessed the atrocities at Kibbutz Be’eri and held it together. But the poetry written post 7/10 expertly examined and explained by Rachel Korazim ripped me apart. I sobbed uncontrollably throughout the proceeding processing session feeling the emotional pain I’d kept in check for so long. I returned enriched with a sense of purpose to continue connecting people to Israel. We must have the courage to dream about tomorrow. I pray that tomorrow will come soon and tomorrow will be the time for peace.

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Save a Child’s Heart

“I have learned more about myself and the world I live in than I ever thought I would in the brief weeks working at SACH.”

volunteer.

Since its inception in 1996 SACH has saved the lives of over 7000 children in over 70 countries and trained 140 medical professionals so that they can continue to save more children’s lives in their home countries.

SACH is a non-governmental humanitarian organisation based in Israel. As long as children with rheumatic and congenital heart disease around the world continue to suffer without access to proper care, SACH will provide lifesaving heart surgeries, train medical professionals and raise the level of paediatric heart care worldwide.

SHIRT BARGAINS£15 EACH OR 2 FOR £25

On average SACH saves a life every 24 hours. This would not be possible without the help of volunteers, who play a crucial role in providing care and emotional support to the kids and their families pre and post-surgery. Being exposed to so many different cultures, languages and customs makes volunteering with SACH a uniquely special experience. We continue to need volunteers for programmes varying from three weeks to two months. You would need to find your own accommodation in Tel Aviv or the surrounding area and travel to Holon by public transport.

Email diane@saveachildsheart.com for further information about this life-changing experience. We would love to hear from you! saveachildsheart.org @saveachildsheart

Leia Serlin,

1

LSJS CLASS OF 2024

At the London School of Jewish Studies graduation ceremony, teacher training and degree students received their certificates from Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis. The ceremony was dedicated to LSJS deputy principal Rabbi Dr Abraham Levy z”l and featured an inspiring speech from David Dangoor. Graduates and their families came from as far as the west coast of America and the Netherlands for the event at Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue.

2

KING DAVID THANKS

During a Shabbat morning service at Birmingham’s Singers Hill Synagogue on 13 July, retirement presentations were made to King David School staff members Sarah Davis and Jackie Halter. Both have served the school for 28 years. Also retiring were the head, Steve Langford, after 20 years leading the school, head of Jewish education Rebbetzen Esther Cohen and chair of governors Simone Bryant.

3 JBD GOLF DAY’S £37,000

The 11th annual friends of Jewish Blind & Disabled Golf Day raised a record-breaking £37,000. Organised by Lloyd Botchin together with Spencer Botchin, Jeremy Doltis, Steve Crawford and Edward Mott-Cowan, it took place at Hartsbourne Country Club in Bushey with more than 90 golfers. Lloyd established the sporting day 11 years ago in thanks for the housing and support JBD gave his parents, Shirley and Max, who were tenants at Cecil Rosen Court.

4 THAT’S CRICKET!

Belmont and Edgware Cricket Club’s two 11s saw terrific performances at the weekend, including a maiden century and a debut five-wicket haul. The first 11 played Guttal CC 2nds in Wembley, batting first in their league game. The innings was held together by a century from all-rounder Ilan Selby. At Knebworth, the second 11 bowled first against Yarl CC. Alfie Davis and Benjy Landau debuted in a side brimming with talent.

5 TO THE ENDS OF THE UK

Bristol uni engineering student Reuben Healey has cycled the length of the country to raise £5,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK. The 20-year-old from Dollis Hill was inspired by his grandmother Judy Kinderlerer, who had dementia. “Cycling unaided from John O’Groats has been tough but an amazing experience,” he said. “The people I met on the way have been so supportive, cooking me breakfast, putting me up, and even cycling with me for stretches of the journey.” gofundme.com/f/journeyforjudy

6CAMP SIMCHA WONDER

A ‘big top’ style circus tent and a helicopter waiting to whisk them into the sky greeted families at Camp Simcha’s biggest ever three-day summer retreat. Nearly 115 family members from London, Manchester and Dorset descended on Oxford for activities and support. The children, together with volunteers, carers and a doctor, enjoyed a trip to Legoland and a ‘Wonderland’ final day with chocolate-themed arts and crafts.

NORTHERN VIETNAM: HANOI,

LONG BAY, RIVERS AND RICE

We’re really excited to be adding this amazing itinerary to our 2024 programme. An absorbing experience that combines the challenge of cycling off the beaten track with dramatic backdrops and the calming tranquillity of a stunning country and culture.

If you have adventure in your soul, a huge sense of camaraderie and a passion to help some of the most vulnerable in our community, then join us!

Places are limited so we recommend booking early.

REGISTER NOW via the QR code or our website, or for details talk to Julie on 07718 969138 or at julie.braithwaite@norwood.org.uk

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Inside A look

Volunteering in Israel Travel insurance

Angels of Law

Joshua Perry spent 10 years working as the public defender for children in New Orleans. His debut novel, Seraphim, is their story

Ilived in New Orleans during the years after Hurricane Katrina, as head of the city’s public defender for children. My novel, Seraphim, is my best e ort at telling the truth about the boys I worked with – a truth I could never tell without the shroud of fiction. After all, if I couldn’t protect ‘my boys’ at least I could respect their privacy. The book is also about the experience of being a witness to injustice. In other words: it’s a Jewish book, informed as much by yeshiva as by law school.

The team I led worked for just about every youth in the city – as young as 10, as old as 21 – accused of committing a crime. Some of them had done terrible things. Almost all had terrible things done to them. One summer I went to four funerals of boys, the oldest just 17. One shot down with his father, holding each other; another killed on his own doorstep; in the back of a car on an interstate; at a parade, surrounded by music and celebration.

At each funeral, the surviving boys would be clustered in the back of the church, each wearing their Sunday best, lining up to be next.

When the boys were killed – and dozens were – I’d go by their homes with some food and money for the funeral. Then that night I’d park my car outside the coroner’s o ce, sweating and drinking bad beer in the swamp heat. I was a shomer,

a guardian. We don’t leave our dead alone until their bodies are accepted back into the earth.

When the storm hit, in August of 2005, the boys I worked with were all uprooted and scattered around the country. Some lived in motels or trailers for months or years.

down from the high windows

They knew upheaval, exile, poverty, vicious racism. They came home to a shrunken, disjointed city, violent and beautiful. In the early years after the storm, looking down from the high windows of the public defender’s o ce at night, I could always see fires from drug labs and hear the hollow pop of gunshots.

I went to an Orthodox high school and then spent a year at a West Bank seminary, but it wasn’t my Jewishness that made me a public defender.

prophecy – the imagination to develop a moral vision, and the voice to describe it – grows out of not triumphalism but out of trepidation, fear, uncertainty, and hope; power is not a moral reward but an accident of history; law is an argument, not a conclusion; strangeness and di erence are the fertile soil that helps us cultivate empathy.

And the warm, tightknit Jewish community in New Orleans sheltered and sustained me through

preconceptions and flaws to everything we do.

My colleagues – many far

standing with children who

My colleagues – many far better lawyers and people than I – subscribed to all faiths and no faith. Instead, being a public defender, standing with children who too often had nobody else, made me a better Jew. I came to better understand our history and our texts, which reminded me that strength is something di erent – subtler, more flexible, more enduring –than mere toughness; real justice often has nothing to do with judging;

and prayed alongside us.

converted my wife, driving five hours with us to the girls were born into a sacred

have prayed for going back to chapter, a just city.

wife, also a public defender,

For a long time, I wasn’t able write ence. I still didn’t feel I really understood. I saw the death

lives, but it wasn’t my own. Trial

as they are. We bring our biases,

a decade of tragedy that nothing in my privileged life had prepared me for. When my office held a rally on the steps of City Hall to get young children out of the festering, brutal adult jail, my rabbi came in his talit and prayed alongside us. Another rabbi welcomed and converted my wife, driving five hours with us to the nearest mikvah. Our three girls were born into a sacred community that wanted what we wanted, and what Jews have prayed for going back to the words of Isaiah’s opening chapter, a just city. We left New Orleans for a safer, blander city when my wife, also a public defender, transitioned to a law teaching job. We were both exhausted. For a long time, I wasn’t able to write about my experience. I still didn’t feel I really understood. I saw the death and triumph in my clients’ lives, but it wasn’t my own. Trial lawyers know that witnesses don’t always see and hear things as they are. We bring our biases,

One cold New England winter Shabbat, though, I listened to the Haftorah – Isaiah’s story of feeling nothing but shame and inadequacy in the divine presence. “I am undone,” he laments. “I am a man of unclean lips – but my eyes saw the Lord of Hosts.”

He knew he was unworthy of testifying to something fundamentally unknowable. But he also couldn’t be silent. This condition – the simultaneous imperative and impossibility of bearing witness while standing apart, seeing as best you can both through difference and because of difference – is the most profoundly Jewish thing about Seraphim

My boys are the seraphim, or fiery angels, of the book’s title. I’ve tried to see them and talk about them as they were – brave, funny, resigned, joyful, frightened, sad, furious. I hope there’s truth in that, and the humility and empathy that our tradition demands of us.

• Seraphim is published by Melville House, £13.59

Perry’s book is based on the boys he defended

Joshua Perry

‘I

needed to make

Last weekend we learned of the killing of 12 Druze children in a rocket attack on Israel and heard of the tragic death of more Israeli hostages. The situation remains dire and the need for help has never been greater. Angie Jacobs and Naomi Frankel went to volunteer

If, on 7 October 2023, someone would have told me that five months later we would be in Israel picking lemons near Gaza, tying tzitzit for soldiers in Jerusalem and scrubbing pans in a vegan restaurant in Tel Aviv, I would have thought they were a few falafel balls short of a pita. In all honesty, aside from the sadness, anger and disbelief I was feeling on that day, I was also, selfishly, wondering when and if I would ever be able to visit Israel again.

As the months passed, I felt increasingly helpless and despondent about the situation. We did a few collections for the soldiers and tried to emotionally support our dear friends and family out there, but it all felt very tokenistic.

Eventually we read about people going to volunteer in Israel, but how could we middle-aged folk who didn’t want to share a dorm contribute?

And then I was alerted to a Facebook page called Sword of Iron – Israel Volunteer Opportunities. This page, run by volunteers, advertised ‘jobs’ from agriculture and packing to hospital visiting and also gave advice on accommodation, transport and socialising. There were no limits on age or ability, the mantra being “whatever you can do to help will make a difference”.

My husband didn’t need any persuasion and soon I was Googling Airbnbs in Tel Aviv. Within a few weeks we were out there picking, packing and missing buses. I would constantly monitor the Sword of Iron page and then contact the charity/kibbutz/restaurant mentioned to arrange the details.

The Israeli food rescue charity Leket became our go-to gig. The coach would be at the same place at 6am every day to take volunteers to various kibbutzim and moshavim in the south that needed help, since their foreign workers had had to go back to their own countries. It had been 40 or so years since I had worked in the fields, my improved attitude since my gap year balancing out my physical (in)capabilities. We were with other volun-

teers from all over the world and there was no pressure to finish a row, tree or container.

It wasn’t just the agricultural arena in which we worked. We packed comfort baskets for women whose husbands were in the army to take to the mikveh, I baked cupcakes to be distributed around hospitals and helped out in the kitchen of a vegan restaurant that provided food for the soldiers. It wasn’t all easy. We didn’t manage to do everything we

wanted due to logistical challenges, slots filling up and blood donation units only being open certain hours. But oh we gained so much. Every day we met up with like-minded people – not just Jews – and heard their reasons and inclinations to come to Israel. We had a beautiful Shabbat dinner with other volunteers at the home of Yael, one of the Sword of Iron superstars, whose English husband plied me with his boucha – figgy vodka.

There was also time for lots of socialising and eating. I decided that it was a mitzvah to support the fast food industry – the pasta and tomato sauce I bought for a cheap meal in the flat left unopened in favour of falafel, shawarma and sabich

For three weeks we were 21 again, contributing to Israeli society in every way we could. We spent far less time on social media than we had done in the previous six months and it was quite refreshing.

Israel is getting on with it and people are living their lives. There are hostage posters everywhere and everyone has a sad story… but they are ploughing ahead.

I’m not sure how much I really helped

(the

certainly

look that great after I had weeded them). However, our trip was a real adventure – and in the same way that many of my teenage trips to Israel featured a ‘holiday romance’, this time the love was for the country and its people. Would I do it all over again? In a heartbeat.

savoy cabbages

didn’t

Angie Jacobs

Angie Jacobs weeded cabbages (above) and tied tzitzit (below right) while volunteering in Israel with her husband for six weeks

Angie and Tony Jacobs enjoyed their time volunteering in Israel with various charities

a di erence’

Istumbled across an article in Jewish News that was urging British Jews to sign up to volunteer on the Taglit Birthright Israel Onward programme. I jumped at the chance to do something proactive during what felt like a helpless situation. It was so rewarding that I ended up staying on to do another two programmes back-to-back, including a six-week Masa Tlalim programme.

The first two programmes mostly featured picking oranges at the Bnei Dror Moshav in Netanya. The Masa programme began with a two-week stint in the Ayanot Youth Village, where, immediately upon our arrival, we were greeted with a rocket siren and had to run for shelter. Here, we spent our days cooking for combat soldiers in Gaza and helped at

the Tekes ceremonies for returning units and their families. We worked on logistics at the Tzrifin army base to keep things running smoothly; we got to wear the army uniform and interact with soldiers. The last two weeks were spent in Eilat preparing packed lunches in the Beit Rafael soup kitchen for children who had been displaced from the south and meals for the local elderly community and families. We spent our free time relaxing on the popular Mosh beach, where groups of young Israelis sat around smoking, drinking and often playing instruments. I spent another month in Tel Aviv doing ad hoc volunteering with Eran’s Angels, sorting distributions for displaced families and at Save a Child’s Heart children’s home in Holon, organising games and activities.

a brave Brit and o -duty unarmed soldier, who threw out multiple grenades before one blew up on him.

When I was out in a bar or outdoor place with other young people in Tel Aviv, I looked for the nearest bomb shelter or escape route. I ran for cover during my first siren, at the entrance to Ayanot Youth Village, where I was due to meet the rest of the Masa group for the first time. There was no time to get to the bomb shelter so the security guard led me to some iron stairs where I stood, shaking, watching the Iron Dome soaring high in the sky. The rest of the group had to get o the coach and lay on the ground, their hands protecting their heads.

It was an unforgettable four months filled with impactful moments, mostly from talking to Israelis in everyday settings - on the bus, on the beach, while getting my nails done. My nail tech in Tel Aviv was an o -duty Israel Defence Forces reserve soldier with long black hair and even longer lashes. While carefully painting on my top coat, she revealed that her best friend survived Nova by hiding under bodies. She heard women screaming as they were raped and butchered. Her friend is still under close psychiatric care.

Israelis were grateful for our presence but also confused, often asking: “Why have you come during a war?” They were visibly touched when I answered: “Because it’s our fight too.” We wore our volunteering T-shirts wherever we went and people would smile at us, some coming up to say thank you.

When I visited the south before Pesach, the proximity of my brothers and sisters in captivity, abused and terrified, wounded me to my core. Have we really left Egypt, I wondered. It’s hard to describe the immense sorrow standing in the field where the Nova festival took place, treading the ground where young people just looking to dance and have fun were tortured in the most horrific ways.

We walked among the mangled, burnt-out cars with everyday possessions still inside – a Victoria’s Secret spray, a packet of Bamba, a dummy. We lit memorial candles at the bomb shelter consumed by deadly fire, where heroism shone – like that of Aner Shapira, 22,

Back in London on the Tube home from the airport, I had quite the rude awakening, nauseated to see the various ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘End Israel Apartheid’ stickers in the carriage and dotted along the side of escalators. Determinedly ripping them down, I reminded myself how, at the airport, the El Al security, usually tough as nails, smiled and thanked me for coming to volunteer. One woman at border control told me to make aliyah and to “make lots of babies” to win against Hamas. I laughed and replied: “That’s the plan.” And I’ll be able to tell my grandchildren I contributed to the war e ort. I needed to make a di erence. I picked fruit, cooked for soldiers, waitressed at their ceremonies, worked alongside them on base, charged and sorted batteries for their night goggles and radios. I helped them fight Hamas. I want to be there again, doing those things and more. I’ll be back in Israel, where I belong, before long.

Naomi Frankel

The UJIA website ujia.org/volunteer-in -israel has a host of useful information. Many charities are running volunteer programmes. A few are listed below: Leket leket.org

Masa masaisrael.org

Meir Panim meirpanim.org

Save A Child’s Heart saveachildsheart.org

Tachlit tachlit.org.il

Taglit birthrightisraelonward.com

Naomi Frankel and her fellow volunteers prepared meals at Beit Rafael soup kitchen in Eilat for displaced children and elderly people

Naomi organised activities at a Save a Child’s Heart children’s home; at an army base

Naomi at a potato field in Israel’s south with Ilana, a friend she made on Masa

By Candice Krieger candicekrieger@googlemail.com

REDEFINING THE TRAVEL INSURANCE LANDSCAPE

Named Israel’s Most Promising Start-up, Faye is setting out to make sense of a notoriously complicated industry, writes Candice Krieger

irst the good news: summer holidays are here. Now for the not-so-good news: travellers have already been facing delays, disruption and disturbances in the wake of the global IT outages. Back to some good news: an Israeli start-up is offering real-time insurance to keep your vacation plans worry-free.

FRecently named Israel’s Most Promising Start-up in 2024 by CTech, Faye is redefining the travel insurance landscape with its customer-centre approach and cutting-edge technology. In addition to o ering standard comprehensive coverage and claims resolutions, Faye provides 24/7 travel assistance and support for common travel issues plus tips, telemedicine access and emergency help, as well as financial services, including reimbursements and payment solutions via the Faye Wallet. There are also tech-led insights on flight delays and information.

Faye CEO and co-founder – and selfproclaimed travel lover – Elad Scha er tells JN Business: “There are many pain points in this [travel insurance] ecosystem – it’s a space that has undergone little innovation.

“Faye is solving them and over-delivering in a space synonymous with doing the opposite. Travel insurance tends to be chock-full of lengthy jargon-filled policies that leave travellers confused rather than well-informed.

“The claims process is slow and bureaucratic, requiring excessive paperwork and lengthy wait times. And there’s really no brand working to build strong connections with consumers, making travel insurance feel like a distant service that’s hard to reach. We created Faye as a solution to these headaches.”

Faye has raised $18 million (£14m) to date and picked up several awards en route. The company was named a top travel insurance provider by The Wall Street Journal, a top start-up by LinkedIn, won the SKIFT Idea award for Product Design, Travel Weekly’s Award for Best Overall Travel Insurance and was picked out by CNBC as a top travel insurance provider for families.

All that in addition to achieving CTech’s most promising start-up for 2024. Revenues grew ten-fold in the past year.

With o ces in Israel and several in the US, Faye is currently focused on the US market but could soon be expanding to the UK. It also has ambitious plans this year, including hiring around 30 new ‘Faye-ers’, introducing new products, supporting scale through automation and seamless integrations, and forging new partnerships with top brands and distribution partners.

Not bad for a company that was launched in 2022 in the midst of the pandemic when travel was restricted.

But Scha er and his co-founder, ’travel nerd’ Daniel Green, the company’s chief technology o cer, were determined to power confident travel. Scha er had previously founded a start-up that relied upon real-time data feeds and a distributed network

of experts to help governments and Fortune 500 companies understand and plan for complex geopolitical challenges while Green, an experienced chief technology o cer, has more than 20 years of experience as a developer, specialising in real-time applications.

“We don’t see ourselves as a travel insurance company,” says father-of-three Scha er. “Faye is a platform for looking after travellers, and insurance is an important component of that. It’s where travel, insurance and fintech meet to cater for the needs of today’s travellers.”

According to Allied Market Research, the global travel insurance market was valued at $16.8bn in 2022, and is projected to reach $106.8bn by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 20.1 percent.

The uptake of travel insurance has been increasing due to factors such as the rising number of international travellers and the increased incidence of travel-related risks and uncertainties, especially highlighted by incidents such as Covid, and Faye has become a fast-growing player in the space.

What can the modern holidaymaker expect from their summer holiday this year? “With summer being a busy travel season, travellers will face flight delays, airport congestion, long lines, lost luggage, cancellations and more.

“This means that, more than ever before, they need to protect their trip investments and rely on proactive 24/7 support from their provider, which can help them navigate bumps in the road in real time and relieve stress. And with the cost of emergency medical care continuing to rise, travellers must protect themselves from unforeseen costs.” withfaye.com

The co-founders describe Faye as a platform “where travel, insurance and fintech meet to cater for the needs of today’s travellers”

Elad Schaffer, CEO and co-founder (left), and Daniel Green, CTO and co-founder (right)

MAKING SENSE OF THE SEDRA

BY LAURIE MAURER PROJECTS EXECUTIVE, UNITED SYNAGOGUE

On 7 October, sta sergeant Roey Weiser, a soldier in the Golani 13th Brigade, was stationed at the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza. He was near the safe room when terrorists entered the area. He could have gone to the safe room and stayed there, saving his own life. However, he took on the task of ensuring as many soldiers as possible could also reach it, and thus found himself protecting many other lives but giving his own.

Hannah Szenesh spent the summer of 1944 in a prison cell. She was interrogated, tortured and brutally beaten. She was a special

operations executive member for the British army who had parachuted into Yugoslavia to assist the resistance in Hungary, but was caught.

She could have prolonged her life by giving up names of her collaborators and details of their plans. However, she stayed silent for months, defending the lives of many others.

In this week’s parsha, Matot Masei, God tells Moshe: “Take revenge for the Children of Israel against the Midianites; afterwards you will be gathered to your people” (Bamidbar 31:2).

Moshe immediately gets on with the task, organising the army and successfully completing God’s mission.

He could have dragged his feet in doing this to prolong his life. Instead, he took the immediate action that waas needed, knowing that this would bring about its swift end.

I have given some extreme examples above, but there is a lesson to be learnt here from Hannah, Roey, Moshe and many other Jewish leaders. Sometimes we are called upon to do things that might be to our detriment but will have enormous benefit to others. This can be something as small as helping a colleague at work.

You give your time, energy and even your work to help someone else meet a deadline, reduce their stress and help them keep their job, even though you may be jeopardising your own. Why would you do this? Because for the sake of the team, of its mission and its beneficiaries, you sacrifice your own needs for the sake of the collective.

Our Jewish leaders have always been those who have not a singular, individual vision for the future, but a communal, united one.

Staff sergeant Roey Weiser. one of the heroes of 7 October

Progressive Judaism

LEAP OF FAITH

BY RABBI MARK GOLDSMITH EDGWARE & HENDON REFORM SYNAGOGUE

Elderly leaders are not uncommon, but they do not normally run democracies and, therefore, bear the scrutiny of voters. The oldest leader currently is Paul Biya, president of Cameroon, at 91 years of age – after 40 years in power.

Mahmood Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority, is 88, having been elected to a four-year term in 2005 and still in power today.

King Salman of Saudi Arabia is the country’s absolute monarch at age 88, with his son Prince Mohammed bin Salman the de facto ruler, neither of them democratically elected. Joe Biden, at 81, does not even make the top ten of elderly world leaders.

Jewish tradition admires the person

who is able to let go of power and pass it on to a worthy successor.

Moses appointed his successor Joshua in front of the whole community. Moses makes it clear that he is passing on his leadership without rancour, without recrimination and with his very best wishes for his successor (Numbers 27:23).

Rabbi Yosei Bar Choni said: “A person may become jealous of anyone but never of their child nor their student” (B Talmud Sanhedrin 105b). It eats away at your soul to be jealous of those who succeed you. But it feeds your soul to take pride in their achievements and to prepare them to be able to succeed you.

Elijah the prophet found and trained a successor, Elisha, upon whom he “bestowed a double portion of his spirit” (2 Kings 2:9).

King David is praised by our rabbis for doing the same in passing on his monarchy to Solomon (1 Kings 1:47).

His servants came to bless King David, saying: “May God make the name of

Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne.”

It’s impressive that that is what has happened in America, that Joe Biden, at the age of 81, understood that it was time to step away from his candidacy as the American president.

Leadership is a precious gift and a heavy burden. A good leader not only knows when the time has come to step back but has also prepared talented people to give more than they could give, to bring new ideas, fresh energy and renewed vision, perhaps built on the values of their mentor.

Good succession planning is the mark of good leadership. Holding on until what you are leading is adversely a ected by your dogged continuation is not.

Judaism does not admire the person who hangs on to power until they are removed from it by the course of nature, but rather those who think forward and, in the opening words of Pirkei Avot (1:1), “trains up many disciples”.

Brighton’s Jewish Community Centre is Hiring

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

Biden

Ask our

Our trusty team of advisers answers your questions about everything from law and finance to dating and dentistry. This week: The benefits of a lasting power of attorney, reasons to network when looking for a job and waiting list times

Dear Carolyn

CAROLYN ADDLEMAN DIRECTOR OF LEGACIES

KKL

EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE COMPANY

My children suggest I should make a lasting power of attorney. What do you think?

Camilla

Dear Camilla

Arguably there is no time like the present to put a lasting power of attorney (LPA) in place, whether in respect of decisions relating to your property and finances (that some might see as being of greater priority) or in relation to health and welfare matters. Indeed, you can only do so while you still have mental capacity.

By doing so, you will ensure that your attorney is someone you have chosen and,

ERIC SALAMON CAREER ADVISER RESOURCE

Dear Eric

I am looking for a job after a six-year career break. Everyone is telling me I need to network. Is this the case and, if so how, do I go about it?

Robert

Dear Robert

Networking is essential for your job search, because as many as 70 percent of jobs come through the “hidden” job market. That means they

are not widely advertised or available through recruitment agencies which, of course, you should also be contacting.

Networking is not about asking directly for a job. It is important that as many people as possible are aware of your situation. They can then support you with information about current trends and opportunities in the job market of which you may not be aware. They can extend your existing network by making introductions so more people know about you and what you have to o er and can help you find roles you would not have come across.

Prepare a brief introduction of around 30 seconds –often called an elevator pitch. This should cover the kind of role you are seeking, your

importantly, you will have the opportunity to make them aware of any particular wishes. I do not know your age, but it is also worth mentioning that this is not just something that is relevant for ‘older’ people – for example, people who travel a lot can benefit from knowing that someone they trust can manage their a airs while they are away. It is always good to know that there is someone there for you if the unexpected happens.

If you do not have an LPA in place and sadly lose capacity, your family would need to apply to the Court of Protection to be able to help look after your assets and/or ensure your welfare – this can be a timeconsuming and costly exercise and would add to what will already be a stressful time. So, yes, I would say grasp the nettle now and think about making an LPA sooner rather than later – it will be one less ‘what if?’

relevant transferable skills and your achievements. Ask for help and advice regarding your chosen area of interest or enquire to whom they can introduce you who could help. Most people are very happy to help and give advice.

Eventually you will meet people who do have a vacancy or, being impressed by your abilities and proactivity, will create a role.

Work through your existing network. Family, extended family, friends, members of your gym, synagogue, social clubs, chatting outside school, acquaintances you meet while out shopping. Don’t forget your LinkedIn and social media presence; they are powerful tools in today’s job search. You don’t know who people know!

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PATIENT HEALTH

Dear 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 for more than a year for an orthopaedic operation. What else can we do?

Lila

Dear Lila

Let’s look at the reality of

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

What the new government has promised is that in the next five years waiting lists will reduce. That could happen if the government was to increase the number of medical students in training, producing a higher number of doctors and surgeons, train more nurses and 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 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 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 this sentiment, but that approach does not take away the pain and stress of waiting.

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

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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

16 Radio code word between sierra and uniform (5) 17 ___ Drood, Dickens character (5) 18 Brer Rabbit’s uncle (5)

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.

19 Musical about an orphan (5)

20 For all to see (5)

Misbehave or cause a fuss (3,2)

Traditional Japanese wrestling (4)

Prevented from working (9)

Ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (4)

Properly conducted court hearing (4,5)

Sullen facial expression (4) 3 Decomposes (4) 4 Chutney fruit (5)

5 ___ basket, wickerwork carrycot (5)

6 Bishop’s area (7)

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

5 ___ Prizes, awards for chemistry, peace, literature etc (5) 6 Eve of All Saints’ Day (9) 7 Begin to grow (9) 11 Old ocean liner (9)

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.

State of being nameless (9)

Divided country (5)

Acknowledge (5)

Writer of fables (5)

SUGURU

Chocolate-flavoured drink (5)

Top (5)

22 Practise for a feat of endurance (5)

Orchard fruit (4) 26 Huge, whopping (4)

CODEWORD

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 green items 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.

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

See next issue for puzzle solutions. All puzzles © Puzzler Media Ltd - www.puzzler.com

for puzzle solutions.

Asking Price: NIS 26 million • Flexible Move-In Date Make your home

shopping center, and much more. Cosmopolitan Tel Aviv is also only minutes away, making this a rare chance to capture privacy and tranquility alongside easy access to all of Israel.

Asking Price: NIS 15.5 million • Flexible Move-In Date

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Idyllic Villa with Huge Gardens • 500 sqm built-up area • 3,000 sqm property • 7 beds / 5 baths.

Elegant style exudes from every aspect of this opulent villa, surrounded by sprawling lawns, with Savyon’s very finest kindergartens, school, synagogue, shopping center, and more right on your doorstep. This breathtaking villa would be in high demand simply for its wonderful placement, but of course it is much more than a location, with gorgeous gardens, remarkably spacious rooms, and a unique design concept that brings nature into every part of the home.

Asking Price: NIS 25 million • Flexible Move-In Date

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Palatial Hilltop Villa • 800 sqm built-up area • 2,500 sqm property • 11 beds / 7 baths.

“Prime location” is redefined with this exceptionally large villa, which occupies a privileged hilltop position within Savyon. The spacious villa has a refined, classic design with elegant pillars, manicured lawns, and traditional flagstone walkways that hearken back to stately European mansions. Its unique topography ensures that residents enjoy breathtaking uninterrupted views of the beautiful countryside without compromising on privacy or a serene atmosphere.

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Iconic Hollywood-Style Villa • 600

Discover classic Hollywood glamour in central Israel. Iconic, eye-catching architectural design foregrounds natural light in this luxurious glass-fronted, heart-shaped villa, and wraps everything in the most prestigious Italian marble. Of course, this portal to Hollywood style is located in a coveted location within upscale Savyon, offering privacy as well as proximity to the local school, synagogue, cultural center, and more.

Asking Price: NIS 18.5 million • Flexible Move-In Date

https://www.savyonluxuryhomes.co.il/en/home/ For more information, please contact us via phone/email

Majestic Villa

Only a select few residences exude timeless sophistication that truly takes your breath away. Embraced by beautiful landscaped grounds, including the magnificent swimming pool, this palatial three-level villa is ideally located on a quiet side street, ensuring absolute privacy while still being within easy walking distance of everything a family needs: superb school, synagogue, cultural center, and a whole host of stores, restaurants, and much more.

Asking Price: NIS 36 million • Flexible Move-In Date

https://www.savyonluxuryhomes.co.il/en/home/

https://www.savyonluxuryhomes.co.il/en/home/

with Timeless Style