1386 LIFE magazine - 26th Sept 2024

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Editor’s letter

It was a bold decision to put the cast of the new film Midas Man on the cover of this jam-packed issue of Life, but I wrote the script for the film about Brian Epstein, The Beatles’ manager. He was an extraordinary man still held in high esteem by the gay community, our community and Liverpool. The city now has a statue of Brian, who would have been 90 this month, and I believe the film is a respectful reminder of all

that he achieved. Actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd has written about his preparation for playing Brian and his performance is deeply moving. Making Midas Man was a lengthy process due to Covid, finance and the unexpected – a possible plot for my next film. I’d like to be holding a naked gold statue while thanking cast and crew – but I’m not, so I’ll just say cheers to director Joe Stephenson, Bebe, Kevin, Liam, Laura, Trevor, Jeremy, Perry, Dave Poole, husband Neil and daughter Madison before the ‘wrap it up’ music plays. Tonight BBC 2’s Storyville screens the documentary Surviving October 7th: We Will Dance Again just days away from the

FASHION NOTES

one-year anniversary. The images of Israel’s horror prevail and it was a painting of Jerusalem in the bedroom of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin that inspired us to feature the work by artists who immortalised the darkest day. For Israel’s bereaved families, Rosh Hashanah will reaffirm the absence of their loved ones and Yom Kippur is just another day to grieve. We hope that on Simchat Torah we remember that, for Israel’s victims, it was always the festival of joy. We must dance again for them. Chag sameach. Chag sameach.

IT’S ALL NEW COMING TO YOU

NOW

THE DAYS ARE STARTING TO DRAW IN, HERE ARE SOME IDEAS OF HOW TO FILL THEM

“Just a girl who makes music for movies” is how Emily Bear describes herself on her Instagram profile. That is one way of putting it. Despite having just turned 23, Emily has composed the soundtrack to Moana 2, which opens in November and is set to be a hit for Disney. Emily is obviously very young to be enjoying such professional success, but she has been on the road to stardom since she was an infant, performing on stages as famous as Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Centre, Montreux Jazz Festival and the White House.

Born in Rockford, Illinois, Emily was nine when she released an album produced by Quincy Jones, who serves as a mentor to this day.

As a six-year-old prodigy in a cute white cardigan, Emily made her debut on Ellen DeGeneres’s daytime talk show (pictured, above), on which she was asked by the host how she had written the song she had just performed. “It just came out,” was her unassuming reply.

Years later, Emily and her song-writing partner Abigail Barlow attracted huge attention in 2021 by writing songs inspired by the Netflix Regency romance series Bridgerton The songs went viral on TikTok and the duo even ended up writing a musical based on the work; it won Best Musical Album at the 2022 Grammys.

However, a er some initial friendliness on social media, Netflix handed the musicians a lawsuit a er they performed a for-profit-concert using the show’s trademarks. A performance of The Uno icial Bridgerton Musical set to take place at the Royal Albert Hall was cancelled, but the case was eventually settled out of court. Meanwhile, the songs have

had hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and TikTok, and the pair have gone from strength to strength.

Which brings us back to Moana 2, for which Bear and Barlow replaced none other than Hamilton’s Lin Manuel Miranda to score the latest animated adventure.

Taking the baton from arguably the greatest musical composer of his generation, Emily posted on social media: “I’m literally shaking writing this but for the last TWO years, Abigail and I have secretly been living a songwriters dream, WRITING ALL THE NEW SONGS FOR MOANA 2……… this has been the hardest thing to keep secret but I am SO SO beyond excited.”

Emily has maintained a strong connection to the Jewish community and Israel and, in 2018, performed with the World Doctors Orchestra in support of Save a Child’s Heart, for which she serves as a “goodwill ambassador”.

Of late, Emily has been touring with Beyoncé, but still performs with the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony conducted by Noreen Green, who introduced her to Israeli Inon Zur, the esteemed games music composer who, in turn, invited Emily to write the “piano voice” of a character in the video game Syberia: The World Before. That the character, Dana Rose, is a 17-year-old piano prodigy and Holocaust survivor meant a lot to the gi ed composer.

“Emily has a Jewish soul,” said Inon.

By Charlotte Henry

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Rabbit Run

We have searched for signs of ‘our’ participation in Paddington in Peru, which opens on 8 November, but there is only Portugal’s Vicente Wallenstein, who plays a hunter, and it’s not good news for the little bear searching for his missing Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton).

So let’s take heart in the fact that author Michael Bond’s inspiration for Paddington was the Jewish refugee children arriving in Britain during the Second World War and he gave to his bear the luggage and labels they wore.

HELP YOURSELF

A bu et is not the easiest option for Sunday lunch when you’ve put your back into spasm, but the chairs are so comfortable and the sta so accommodating at The Glasshouse at The Grove (near Watford) that I soon forgot all about the pain and the array of food stations piled high with mouthwatering choices soon had me racing towards them like an Olympic athlete. The place was a hive of families, couples and groups of friends and what I loved most was that, despite a huge range of di erent types of food, it wasn’t overwhelming or too big. Best of all, the food was being regularly replenished so I really felt that everything I ate was super-fresh. I had to steel myself to walk past the dessert station, with its chocolate fondue and mini gateaux, in order to start with various types of smoked fish, sushi and salads. Then my choices were the live pasta station, the robata grill, steaming curries and classic Sunday roast. Between my husband and me, we tried a bit of everything and it was all as good as you would expect from a luxury bu et, which this absolutely is. Epic roast potatoes and crispy and flu y Yorkshire puddings may just render this the best Sunday lunch I’ve had this year. For times and prices of lunches and dinners, visit thegrove.co.uk

White Rabbit, Red Rabbit is not a tongue twister, but an experimental drama by Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour, who was forbidden to leave his country, and has penned a story that is “as much about contemporary Iran as it is about power dynamics in the rest of the world”. Unusually there will be no rehearsal ahead of its opening at Nica Burns’ Soho Place on 1 October, but there is no director either. Instead, a different actor will arrive each night to open a script in a sealed envelope and then head on the stage. Many actors have agreed to give it a go, and those of the faith include Jason Isaacs (6 October) Matt Lucas (29 October) and Tracy-Ann Oberman (28 October), who is also heading back to EastEnders as Dirty Den’s murderer Chrissie Watts before bringing her production of Merchant of Venice 1934 to the London Trafalgar Theatre in December. Interestingly Miriam Margolyes is in White Rabbit, Red Rabbit on 31 October, aka Halloween. sohoplace.org

GHOST STORY

Shelly Jay Shore’s warm and witty debut follows an anxious trans man and reluctant clairvoyant who must embrace the gi he long ignored in order to save his messy Jewish family’s failing funeral home and his own chance at love. Protagonist Ezra Friedman can see ghosts – which made growing up in a funeral home complicated, especially with his grandfather’s ghost – giving disapproving looks at every choice he makes. No wonder he moved out and away from the family business. But when his dream job disappears and his mum announces she’s running away with the rabbi’s wife, Ezra finds himself back in the thick of it at the funeral home. A delicious book about death and a dysfunctional family . Rules for Ghosting is published by Orion Publishing, £9.99

If you’re lucky enough to be entertained this Rosh Hashanah, Wrap a Wish has a great range of gi s that are – as the name implies – all beautifully wrapped. And if you’re the one doing all the cooking, why not treat yourself?

Visit the shop at Henlys Corner, Finchley, north London, or purchase online at wrapawish.co.uk

Golan Heights

In the four months since Eden Golan faced a baying crowd in Malmö at the Eurovision Song Contest, the singer has given numerous performances in Israel of her fi h-placed song Hurricane, but with the original words October Rain, which were banned by the European Broadcasting Union. The courage required for the stage in Sweden is not needed in her homeland as she gets a hero’s reception, but recently scrolling through her camera roll Eden saw a photo and shared it, writing: “I thought it was funny but didn’t realise how scary and dangerous it really was. Many

people know we were surrounded by the best security but didn’t know about those moments when I had to dress up for the little time we did spend outside the hotel. It’s sad we have returned to a time where a Jewish Israeli woman has to hide her identity to avoid being harmed. I will never forget this for the rest of my life, but know there are better days ahead of us.” And there have been better days, as Eden just sang at the finale of Dancing With the Stars in Los Angeles and is now the face of Israeli hair company Natural Formula. This month, the 20-year-old reported for military service and we wish her well.

FOOT IN THE DOOR

Contrary to what many may think, demand for housing in Israel has continued to grow since October 7. Driven by global antisemitism and a desire for security, there is increasing interest in real estate from foreign buyers who see Israel as a safe haven and are keen to invest in its market.

“Over the past 11 months, foreign buyers have made much quicker decisions to buy property in Israel,” says Julian Nathan, Managing Director at Hold Real Estate in Israel. “In the past, people were contemplating and planning, but since 7 October they have been decisively purchasing properties here in Israel.”

An unprecedented two percent population growth in Israel has spurred a steep rise in housing demand, so Israeli real estate remains a resilient and attractive investment, driven by emotional ties and economic wisdom. The number of completed housing units can’t keep pace with the population growth, while persistent demand for housing keeps pushing prices upward, so Israel is proving to be a resilient market where the fundamental demand-supply imbalance overrides the temporary setbacks caused by political and economic fluctuations.

Foreign buyers can benefit from flexible loan arrangements, with Israeli banks o ering up to 50 percent loan-to-value for property purchases. Now could be the perfect time to consider investing in Israel’s property market. hold.co.il

Sitting on the floor in a room in Richmond is the last place you would expect to see Shtisel’s Akiva. Israeli heartthrob Michael Aloni ditched the payot some time ago and is now in London playing Arthur Miller in the world première of David Edgar’s play Here in America. Set in 1952 Hollywood when the anti-communist crusade of McCarthyism blacklisted hundreds of their colleagues in the entertainment industry in an imagined meeting between Broadway’s leading director, Elia Kazan and playwright Miller his closest collaborator. For both of them giants of the stage and screen, who are passionately involved with an actress who becomes the most famous movie star in the world, the most pressing question is should they betray their friends or risk never working again? If you can’t get a ticket, a wander past the Orange Tree Theatre a er curtain may get you a glimpse of the artist every Orthodox girl in Jerusalem wanted to marry.

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Ari

Daniella Paz

Aloni at last

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Big school

Rosh Hashanah READING FOR LITTLE ONES

Are you looking for inspirational Jewish education but can’t join a class live? Worry not. The London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS), offers many ways to learn at a convenient time for you via podcasts, such as Joanne Greenaway’s Women’s Gallery to amplify women’s voices and Jewish journeys, or Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum addressing Big Questions of Jewish Belief. LSJS shop has recordings and reads on preparing for the High Holy Days, lessons from great teachers including Dr Erica Brown, Dr Tanya White and, of course, Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum. How about the LSJS adult education programme, which has special events for Elul and a packed term of courses, classes, tours and Ulpan to keep you busy until Chanukah? Classes are recorded so if you can’t join live you can catch up later. Whether you want to brush up on your Hebrew, explore the teachings of Rabbi Sacks, deep dive into the book of Jonah or take a fresh look at the weekly parasha, LSJS has a class for you. lsjs.ac.uk

Bel Ring

recorded so if you can’t join live you can catch up later. Whether you want to brush up on your Hebrew, explore

In the TV adaptation of Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know about Love Bel Powley played Birdy, the wellbehaved one in a group of four girls flat-sharing in Camden in the 2010s. Birdy was also the Jewish one already in possession of a fish plate for when she gets married to a nice Jewish boy. Bel was perfect for the part as she is Jewish, which she talked about when playing Miep Gies, the non-Jewish heroine in A Small Light, a film about the courageous woman who helped to hide Anne Frank’s family. “I’m Jewish, so it’s an important story to me,” said Bel, 32, who is one of the rare recurrent women in Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ Masters Of The Air on Apple TV+ and also on stage at the Old Vic in Tom Stoppard’s 1982 play The Real Thing. In the playwithin-a-play about love and deceit, Bel plays Annie, an actor struggling in her relationship with playwright Henry (James McArdle). Jewish playwright Stoppard has been a bit of a bracha for Bel as she made her Broadway debut in his play, Arcadia, when she was only 18. The Real Thing runs until 26 October

PJ Library, the Jewish children’s book specialists, has these four recommendations to get the festive month off to a fun start for kids

The award-winning book Two New Years by Richard Ho explores the narrator’s proud Jewish and Chinese family customs, a er converting to Judaism. For some families, this book will be a window o ering a view into practices that are new and unfamiliar. For others, it may be more of a mirror in which they recognise their own family’s multiple sets of traditions. The beautiful illustrations give a nod to the tradition of papercutting which is a popular folk art enjoyed by both cultures.

Once Upon An Apple Cake by Elana Rubinstein is a chapter book and clever story about two rival families and a Rosh Hashanah cake recipe. Early readers will enjoy the entertaining story that normalises being Jewish and prepping for the Jewish new year.

Finally, we know that this year October is a busy month with Yom Kipur and Sukkot following soon a er. Sadie’s Sukkah Breakfast by Jamie Korngold is part of a popular series about Sadie and her brother Ori, best suited for 3-4-year-olds. This story will delight children and their family with its so illustrations and sibling support, as the pair take matters into their own hands and set up an early morning celebration of Sukkot with some surprising friends.

To sign up your child for their free monthly Jewish book visit pjlibrary.org.uk

You’ve been FRAMED

Husband-and-wife team Dean and Pip Phipps took over the well-established Frame Factory in Belsize Park in 2020, just five days before lockdown. The challenge of a pandemic did not stand in their way, as they work with a highly experienced team of fine framers who have honed their cra over many years. Looking a er people’s art is their speciality and, with more than 500 frames to choose from, plus various mounting and glass options, they will guide you through the process. “We have framed many ketubahs over the years – the sooner you frame it, the better, says Dean. “Once it’s behind glass and professionally framed, the longevity of your ketubah is ensured and it is protected from smudging, dust and damage.”

Frame Factory also sells a variety of framed art works, unframed maps and pictures of the local area. framefactoryten.com

Jonah

Joanne Greenaway

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

We’ll drink to that

What better way to foster good relations than over a whisky? The UK’s Cotswolds Distillery and Israel’s M&H Distillery have launched an exclusive blended malt whisky. This limited-edition blend of select casks from both distilleries honours Dr Jim Swan, a pioneer in the whisky world, whose work revolutionised the approach to whisky maturation, especially through his development of the STR cask technique (shaved, toasted and re-charred casks).

Gal Kalkshtein, founder and CEO of M&H Distillery says: “Working with Cotswolds Distillery on this project has been a wonderful experience. This limited-edition blend is a testament to Dr Swan’s enduring impact on the whisky industry, and we are proud to offer a whisky that honours his legacy. Dr Swan played a significant role in the founding of M&H, and his influence is deeply embedded in our distillery’s ethos.” cotswoldsdistillery.com

KISS are set to follow in ABBA’s footsteps by becoming the latest act to be immortalised in their heyday as holograms.

The legendary rock band have been inundated with offers from Las Vegas casinos to put on their own version of the show, and there are plans for a film in a deal the it has signed with Swedish entertainment group Pophouse, which was co-founded by Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus. Successful during the late 1970s and early 1980s, the group’s two founding members, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, are both Jewish and sons of Holocaust survivors.

Born Chaim Witz in Haifa, Simmons, aka The Demon, learnt in later life that his mother, Florence Klein, who trained as a beautician in her native Hungary, survived Mauthausen concentration camp by doing the hair of the Commandant’s wife. Kiss did their farewell tour, The Final Curtain, in 2023 with a last appearance in Australia at Sydney’s Accor stadium on October 7. Simmons, who always describes Israel as the promised land, has always defended it and openly criticised artists who have refused to perform there. “The countries they should be boycotting are the same countries [where] the populations are rebelling,” he said. “People long to be free ... And they sure as hell don’t want somebody who’s a ruler who hasn’t been elected by them.” Immediately speaking out against Hamas , he also signed an open letter from the Creative Community For Peace in support of Israel being included in the Eurovision Song Contest. The Kiss hologram concert is currently scheduled to launch in 2027.

Israel and Jewish communities around the world will mark the one-year anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust on October 7. These ceremonies will commemorate the murder of some 1,200 people, the injury of thousands more and the kidnapping of more than 250 against the backdrop of an ongoing war in Gaza, fighting along the Lebanese border and a major rise in global antisemitism. A watershed moment of woe in Jewish history.

Division within Israel has led to rejection by some of the government’s plans for a memorial ceremony, notably families of hostages who have requested that images of their loved ones are not used, while large numbers of Israeli artists have announced their refusal to participate, choosing instead to attend an alternative ceremony in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park organised by Kumu, a group of residents from southern and northern Israel.

Outside of Israel, the focus is more on providing a space for shared grief. In New York, a ceremony honouring the victims will take place in the heart of Times Square, followed by a dinner for VIP participants and there will be similar services in other US cities, including Boston, Washington and Los Angeles, where Beverly Hills City Council has funded a memorial flag display in Beverly Gardens Park from 30 September to 14 October, so that the community can gather, mourn and reflect during the High Holy Days.

America has experienced a surge in antisemitism and support for Hamas on university campuses and

on the street, but this has also been the case in cities and towns in Europe. The Jewish Museum in Paris acknowledges this by marking the anniversary of the October 7 pogrom with events about Israel, antisemitism and a screening of Juliette Livartowski’s documentary Être juif en France après le 7 octobre. The Jewish museums in Frankfurt and Berlin are also staging commemorative events but, in Rome, the Young Palestinians in Italy association will stage a demonstration to celebrate the October 7 massacre.

That we have witnessed similar displays in the UK will be in the minds of those who come together to mourn for Israel’s victims at a communal commemoration of the atrocities organised by the Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership Council, UJIA and the 7/10 Human Chain Project, which was begun by Israeli nationals living in the UK. Synagogues across the religious spectrum will also commemorate in their congregations here and across the world.

May He Who makes peace in His high places grant (in His mercy) peace for us and for all his people Israel.

And let us say, Amen.

IN OUR PACK JOKER

TODD PHILLIPS SUBVERTS THE COMIC BOOK GENRE AGAIN WITH HIS SEQUEL TO THE FILM

THAT GAVE

JOAQUIN PHOENIX AN OSCAR FOR PLAYING A CHARACTER WITH VERY JEWISH ROOTS. BY ETAN SMALLMAN

Aserial murderer and criminal mastermind with a sadistic sense of humour may not be the kind of nice Yiddishe boy we would claim as one of our own.

Indeed, many would struggle to see any Jewish qualities in the Joker, who first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book Batman in April 1940.

“He finds humour in the meaninglessness of existence,” says US comics expert Roy Schwartz. “He’s an agent of entropy. If anything, from a religious perspective, the character is antiJewish.”

However, the story is indivisible from a heimishe mid-century milieu and all three co-creators – Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson – were of

Deux

the faith. A new blockbuster, Joker: Folie à Deux, is released in October. Its director Todd Phillips, co-writer Scott Silver and star Joaquin Phoenix are Jews too.

And the character was born in the most Jewish of settings, Grossinger’s, a hotel in the Catskill Mountains in Upstate New York.

Dubbed the Borscht Belt – after the beetroot soup so popular among Ashkenazi immigrants – the area catered to holidaymakers who were banned from many other resorts (some ads even declared: “No Hebrews or Consumptives”).

Crucially, it was where comic book writer and artist Bob Kane met a journalism student, Jerry Robinson. He was struck by the 17-year-old’s white linen jacket adorned with his own cartoons and offered him a job in his studio as a kind of ‘ghost artist’.

It is not unreasonable to suggest the dark comedy of the Joker may also have originated from the Catskills. Entertainment was provided by young

Todd Phillips (right) with Joaquin Phoenix

The Joker debuted in 1940 in the Batman comic

comedians looking for their break. Mel Brooks, Jackie Mason and Joan Rivers would all start out plying their trade in the “Yiddish Alps”.

supervillain was a concept drawing by Robinson, inspired by the Joker playing card.

“That came from the fact that a lot of the people in Jerry’s family were championship bridge players,” says Arie Kaplan, a graphic novelist and author

Books

From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books, who knew Robinson for about a decade before his death in 2011. Bridge has long been a popular Jewish pastime, so much so that in 1940, German radio warned the population of the Reich not to spend the Easter holiday playing what it called “an Anglo-Jewish game”.

“I don’t think it was as sinister certainly as this forthcoming movie is portraying the character,” says Simcha Weinstein, a Manchester-born US rabbi and the author of Up, Up, and Oy Vey!: How Jewish History, Culture and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero. “The Joker initially was a little more Borscht Belt. Writers write about what they see around them.”

The comic was “a Jewish-American invention”, says Schwartz, because it was seen as “the very bottom rung of publishing,” an industry that largely kept Jews out.

“Back then, comic books grew out of the schmatte business,” adds the author of Is Superman Circumcised? The Complete Jewish History of the World’s Greatest Hero. “They followed the same sweatshop structure where it was a factory line in a room – one person writing, the other one illustrating with pencil, the other one adding inks.”

A key part of the genesis of the

The trio were also influenced by the 1928 film The Man Who Laughs, starring Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine, whose mouth is disfigured into a permanent smile.

Berlin-born Veidt fled Germany with his Jewish wife before becoming one of the many émigré actors and the highest paid star in 1942 movie classic Casablanca.

The setting and themes of Batman also have an unquestionably Jewish flavour, says Schwartz, “beginning with the origin story of Bruce Wayne being orphaned because of random horrific violence that stole both his parents from him”.

Batman was first published less than a year and a half after Kristallnacht, the 1938 Nazi pogrom, and Schwartz says it is assumed a key influence was “that sense of insecurity Jews felt of being gunned down in the streets – of violence being able to erupt any moment – against this backdrop of gothic European architecture”.

Wayne also suffers from survivor’s guilt, says Kaplan. “It is possible that

that ties in to Jews of that generation and the feeling that by random chance they happened to be in America whereas their relatives who were in Europe had been slaughtered by the Nazis.”

But while these comic books are pickled in Jewishness, ironically, Batman was Kane’s escape route from it.

Weinstein describes the playboy philanthropist as a form of “wish fulfilment because he gets by on his seichel, his smarts, not his superpowers.”

“Bruce Wayne was effectively his means into waspyness,” says Schwartz. “He was either disinterested in his Jewishness

or tried to leave it behind.” Kane, born Robert Kahn in New York, “legally changed his name as soon as he really had some money. And when he finally released an autobiography, he doesn’t mention anything Jewish at all.”

Robinson, on the other hand, spoke proudly of his identity. “He told me he wished I was his rabbi growing up,” Weinstein recalls. “That was one of the greatest compliments.” They also spoke about “the notion of double identities, masks, name-changing and this being allegorical of the Jewish immigrant experience.”

Roy Schwartz’s book covers Superman’s Jewish history

Graphic novelist Arie Kaplan

Jerry Robinson co-created the Joker after being recruited in the Catskills by Bob Kane

Above: Todd Phillips and Joaquin as the Joker with (below) Gaga as Harley Quinn

Members of the new generation reinterpreting the characters have also commented on the impact of their lineage.

Phillips – born Todd Bunzl in New York – was co-writer and the original director of the film Borat, before creative differences with star Sacha Baron Cohen led to his departure. He said: “Working with Sacha has always reminded me of the strength and versatility of our heritage. It’s something I try to bring into my work, including The Joker.”

Both Phoenix’s maternal grandparents were New York Jews. And some have observed that his rendering of Batman’s archnemesis – named Arthur Fleck in the 2019 film and its upcoming sequel – is detectably Jewish.

The US magazine Tablet noted that “given his family name, he and his mother might be the last remnants of a once-Jewish neighbourhood [in the Bronx].” In the British website JewThink, Sean Alexander pointed out that “fleck” means “stain” in Yiddish, while one of the stand-ups Arthur watches in preparation for his own debut makes a joke about not using his “real Jewish name”. Could the alias of the Joker itself be an invented identity to mask his true background? Alexander concludes that, with his “underdog status”, Arthur is “coded as Jewish – the classic ‘neurotic nebbish’”.

One thing that can be said for him, insists Schwartz, is that “he is not an antisemite, since his Girl Friday,

Yet few will be surprised if that aspect of the Yiddish-quipping Harley’s identity is omitted from the new film, in which she is played by Lady Gaga. In July, it was reported Jewish-Israeli Marvel superheroine Sabra would be rebranded as a Russian-linked agent in the upcoming film Captain America: Brave New World.

Schwartz says he wants to see more Jewish life portrayed “positively and authentically” on the pages of comic books. “And unfortunately, what we’re seeing is less. Jewish characters have been whitewashed – particularly in the Marvel movies – cast with non-Jews, which in and of itself would not be a problem except that it’s beginning to form a pattern. The tidal wave of antisemitism has gone completely ignored and that to me stands out as a glaring omission.

“I don’t think any company or creator is motivated by a desire to erase Jews. They’re motivated by a desire to avoid any controversy. Unfortunately, being Jewish right now is a controversial premise. It’s cowardice, whether people are aware of it or not.”

Weinstein points out that these stories were born at a time of heightened antisemitism.

“There are parallels with today. What we really need is a new generation of creatives and artists that can have some uncomfortable conversations. Superheroes have always provided comfort in tough times. We need them now more than ever.”

Joker: Folie à Deux opens on 4 October

SUPER EXHIBITION

HEROES: The British Invasion of American Comics tells the story of how early American comics such as Buster Brown, Miss Fury and Superman, influenced British artists and culture, and how the British took that influence and sold it back to America through legendary comics such as Watchmen and V For Vendetta. Runs at the Cartoon Museum until 19 October, cartoonmuseum.org

Harley Quinn, is Jewish”.

Lady Gaga and Joaquin’s Joker shooting part of Joker: Folie à Deux on stairs reminiscent of the ones made famous by the first film Jerry Robinson with his creation

The comic book creators: Joe Shuster, Neal Adams, Jerry Siegel and Jerry Robinson

Tel Aviv University’s resilient reservist students persevere in their studies despite wartime hardships. This Rosh Hashana, please support scholarships and help them complete their studies.

Shana Tova from Tel Aviv University Trust

www.tautrust.org |

As Israel’s only national medical emergency and blood service, Magen David Adom is constantly investing in the future, whatever it may hold.

The necessary level of preparedness changed a er October 7th. Now, MDA needs to train even more people and purchase more of the equipment required to save more lives. The cost to make this happen is shared between Magen David Adom UK and its global partners.

This Rosh Hashanah we are asking you to make the most important investment, saving even more lives in Israel.

“We

had to wait for grandpa and the soldiers”

RESCUED BY HIS FATHER WEARING A FALLEN SOLDIER’S HELMET, IN HIS EXTRAORDINARY NEW BOOK JOURNALIST AMIR TIBON RELIVES HIS OCTOBER 7

NIGHTMARE AND CONSIDERS ISRAEL’S FUTURE. HE SPOKE TO JENNI FRAZER

Of the many heartbreaking stories to emerge from the events of October 7, Amir Tibon’s is one of the strangest.

The story of how Amir’s 62-year-old father, retired army general Noam Tibon, drove helter skelter from Tel Aviv, together with his wife, to rescue his son and his family in their kibbutz, Nahal Oz, is surely extraordinary. If it weren’t all too real life, you would think it was a TV thriller.

Now, Amir Tibon, diplomatic correspondent of Haaretz, has

published the story of this rescue in a book, The Gates of Gaza. It flawlessly weaves history and adventure together so the reader – although we know there was a successful outcome – is still gripped with fear for the Tibon family, trapped for 10 hours in the safe room of their kibbutz home. Just Amir, his wife Miri, and their two tiny daughters, Galia and Carmel, aged three and a half and one and a half. It is the stuff of nightmares.

Above all, this is a journalist’s book, in that everyone who can be identified by name, is: those

who are killed on Tibon’s kibbutz, his friends and neighbours, the soldiers who die in the terrible firefights in which Noam Tibon was involved on his way to rescue his son. We learn all their names and mourn with him.

On October 8 last year, the Tibons, along with other survivors from Nahal Oz, were evacuated to the northern kibbutz of Mishmar HaEmek. Amir Tibon is speaking to Life from the caravan to which he and his family were relocated just two months ago

“When I was approached with the idea of writing my family story

from October 7. I realised three things,” he says “First, that I could not tell the story of October 7 at all without telling the history of what led to it. And then, that I could not tell my own family story without also telling what happened on my kibbutz on that day – because people would have a lot of questions, like what was happening to everyone else, how come we remained alive. All the questions had to be answered.”

The third thing, Tibon says, was that once he had made the decision to alternate history and his father’s epic journey to the south, he needed a way to keep the reader engaged during the historical explanations. And he does this “by telling personal stories”, to illustrate the founding of the kibbutz by the young men and women who were the first kibbutzniks and on to the kibbutz relations with their Gaza neighbours.

But he also describes, with great clarity, the political situation and the developing gulf between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest hardline coalition and the largely secular inhabitants of the south of Israel. His “wise American editor” advised him to present this contextual and necessary material in a way that “the reader

will not feel like they have to eat their vegetables”. Sound advice: canny readers will treat this as a three-course meal with all the trimmings and want to do the washing-up afterwards.

Most fascinating of all is the detail of Netanyahu’s astonishing decision to allow huge amounts of cash into Gaza to be given directly to Hamas. Tibon writes: “Thus, as the Qatari envoy had continued to ferry suitcases of cash over the Israel-Gaza border in late 2018 and early 2019, [Yahya] Sinwar saw an opportunity to extend what had proven to be a mutually beneficial relationship: Netanyahu needed quiet, and Hamas needed money.” If journalism is said to be the first draft of history, then Tibon’s book is eerily prescient, given that Sinwar is now, since the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in July 2024, Hamas’ most powerful leader.

It is nevertheless shocking to read that, “in early 2020, there was a brief escalation between Israel and Gaza, but Netanyahu sent the chief of Mossad to Qatar with an urgent request to increase the monthly payments to Hamas in order to maintain calm on the border. Qatar announced it was planning to send $360 million to Gaza in the coming years.” All

Amir’s daughters on the kibbutz near Gaza

Nahal Oz and Noam Tibon (inset)

INTERVIEW

too tragically, Israelis and the world learned what most of this money had bought for Hamas –tunnels in which to keep hostages and weapons to kill civilians.

The prime minister, in fact, gets a much fairer ride in this book than others might have given him. But Tibon is frank in his assessment: “I am not trying to put the entire blame on one person; this is a bigger story than one person. But obviously, in Israel, of all the people whom I blame for the failure – not for the attack, for that I blame Hamas – I put the blame on many people and Netanyahu is first and foremost. He has led this country for 15 years, and anything that happened is the result of decisions he made. He promised to protect us Israelis and our children, and he failed, in the most profound way.”

Beginning in November 2023, Tibon conducted scores of interviews, patiently piecing together the stories of those who survived October 7. “Only a handful did not want to speak to me,” he says, “and I respected that. But I think the

vast majority realised it was important to tell their story, and on the emotional level most of them walked away from the interview feeling a little better. It was cathartic.”

He admits it was sometimes painful, reliving October 7 through other testimonies. “But sometimes it was helpful, and I feel overall it was my way to cope with the reality. Even more than the writing, the research was very empowering for me.”

While he was working on the book, Tibon talked to his wife Miri on a daily basis about the process. “We are that kind of family. And we also talked to our daughters.” His daughters, young as they are, have deeply impressed Tibon. “I think they understood instinctively there was real danger and that they had to be quiet, that we were not just saying it – we meant it.

“And I think that, over time, hearing our conversations, and from their friends who heard things at home, or on the news... I think they collected bits and pieces and understood much more than we appreciated. This

is something that is going to stay with them for many years.

“Our approach as parents has always been to inform the kids as much as possible and not lie to them, but just to make it understandable in their terms. We never told them we were playing hide and seek for 10 hours in the dark. No. We told them there were dangerous noises and dangerous people, we had to be quiet and wait for Grandpa and the soldiers.”

No spoilers, of course… but waiting for Grandpa was the best decision taken by Amir and Miri inside their dark safe room, as gunfire ricocheted outside and who knew what was happening on Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

Noam Tibon, a man of almost unmatched military experience, was, says his son, “particularly worried about friendly fire – for his own sake as well as for ours. Among a group of soldiers in uniform, he was a civilian wearing plain clothes”. He had left Tel Aviv wearing a black T-shirt and jeans without taking time to put on IDF insignia that would identify him to other Israelis.

So, as he drew closer to Nahal Oz, he asked the group of soldiers to whom he had become attached if anyone had a spare uniform. No one did. But one soldier, “who came from a religious family, found a solution: under his shirt he was wearing green tzitzit. My father, a secular man for whom religion was limited to the celebration of traditional holidays, had never worn tzitzit, but was now happy to take it. The piece of clothing looked like a dress on him.”

Noam also wore a helmet belonging to a fallen commando, Hen Bukhris, and was armed with Hen’s M16 rifle. And in such unfamiliar garb, but so welcome, is how Grandpa appeared at Amir and Miri’s kibbutz home, calling for them to open the front door. Even in the grimmest

circumstances, the Tibons were able to make each other laugh, Amir records. “The only remaining sources of light [in the safe room] were Carmel’s glow-in-the-dark baby’s dummy. Two years earlier, as we prepared for her arrival, Miri had the bright idea of buying pacifiers that shone in the dark so we’d be able to find them more easily whenever the new baby lost one at night. Now, I thanked my wife for her foresight, and she replied drily that she’d never imagined these cheap things from Amazon would come in so handy.”

Amir’s parents “were among the last people I interviewed for the book, because I wanted to tell their story through the interactions of people they met along the way.” So, for example, we meet Bar and Lior Metzner, a couple who escaped from the massacre at the Nova music festival and were, improbably, rescued by Noam and Gali Tibon before they got to their son’s kibbutz.

of that shines through in [my parents’] story.”

There are now plans in place with the creators of Fauda to make a film based on Noam’s rescue mission and on other stories from Nahal Oz.

But “the big story” right now, says Amir, “is that Israel is becoming more religious and that secular, liberal Israelis are questioning their future. It’s a story that began before October 7 with the rise of the far-right ultra-religious coalition, and their attempt to dismantle the democratic system of the country. Obviously October 7, in the beginning, froze this process.”

Now, he says, instead of mutual respect between communities, Orthodox and liberal, the government “has become more extreme and more hateful towards the liberal population of the country, and this is what is causing a lot of people to doubt their future”.

He continues: “I don’t know how it can be solved without a major political change. I don’t know a single secular family who is not considering leaving. It’s the talk of the town among liberal Israelis. Any sane government would be concerned. We can fight Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran – but we don’t want to fight other Jews.

have a lot of respect bright future.”

He also interviewed “Maglan troops and paratroopers” who had fought alongside his father on his way to Nahal Oz, and “a soldier my mother rescued and took to hospital in her car”. Only after doing that did he feel able to talk to his parents “and fill in the blanks” he says, adding: “I think their story is a very Israeli story. And if you know Israelis on more than a superficial level, you understand why. Israelis can be daring, very original in their thinking, [they] don’t have a lot of respect for rules, and are willing sometimes to take more risks than other people. There is also a commitment from large parts of our society to be ready to risk your life for others, obviously for your family, but also for strangers. All

“I want this country to succeed for everybody. And many religious people also understand that if we don’t find a way to live together, and respect each other, Israel does not have a bright future.”

Tibon (Scribe now, £20

The Gates of Gaza, a story of betrayal, survival and hope in Israel’s borderlands, by Amir Tibon (Scribe Publishers, a division of Little Brown} is out now, £20

Bullets in the Tibons’ window

Amir and Miri with their daughters in Nahal Oz

View from the Tibon home in Nahal Oz

Sunset over Gaza

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TOTALLY ART BREAKI NG

The heinous terrorism on Black Saturday inspired artists across the globe to paint, sculpt and install to share Israel’s story.

By Arthur Weiss and Brigit Grant

Artwork commemorating October 7 has taken many forms. Empty buggies in Parliament Square. Marcel Knobil’s lovelock bridge at JW3, and the long Shabbat table with a place set for each hostage in Tel Aviv.

These installations, together with all the paintings and sculptures in cities around

the world, amount to a huge body of work that has been crafted in support of Israel. And the need to depict the horror of the Hamas invasion was immediate.

Kyiv-born Israeli artist Zoya CherkasskyNnadi began drawing scenes for what became the series 7 October 2023 just days after the massacre. She had temporarily fled

to a friend’s apartment in Berlin with her young daughter, bringing along art supplies she knew she would need to process the tragedy. Her gut-wrenching works have since been exhibited at Jewish museums in New York and Vienna.

In Berlin in January, to coincide with Holocaust Remembrance Day 2024, the

Unsilenced Brushes exhibition was held for one night. Featuring work by 40 artists from Israel and Europe, it marked the first birthday of Kfir Bibas, the now iconic red-headed baby boy who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz with his parents Shirel (Shiri) and Yarden, and four-year-old brother Ariel .

Simchat Torah, 2023, by Israeli artist Zoya Cherkassky-Nnadi

Coloribus eumenestrum que que voluptas magnate

ART THERAPY

Depicted in oils, watercolours and clay, the work is as harsh as it is beautiful and a reminder of the loving family stolen by terrorists, who have since claimed the children are no longer alive. Although the Israel Defence Forces says there is no evidence to support this, there is also no evidence of their whereabouts. For now, there is only art.

Outside Tel Aviv’s Museum of Art, the open plaza now known as Hostage Square is the meeting place for those who want to bring home their loved ones. It is there that David Swissa’s Shabbat table stands as a permanent beacon of hope fractured by the ever-decreasing number of chairs required. His idea inspired artists and supporters globally and was replicated in London, the USA, Australia and across Europe.

Away from the lamentable table, art abounds on Israel’s streets, where gra iti has always been a fixture, notably by the country’s answer to Banksy, Benzi Brofman, whose exhibition of wall art Look Them In The Eyes demands that you do. The faces are of surveillance soldiers Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy, who are still being held in Gaza.

Benzi showcased his work in London in November 2023, when his “Bring Them Home” messages were writ large in Camden Town, Shoreditch and Waterloo. Fortunately they remained unscathed.

The vandalising of posters and art is one of the few things Israelis don’t have to worry about and, in south Tel Aviv’s Florentine neighbourhood,much of it is created by Artists4Israel, a group fighting anti-Israel bigotry with creativity.

Soldiers Rotem Zamir and Yuval Peler painted a girl hugging a soldier. Both men belong to a group whose IDF service is to paint motivational gra iti on military bases. One of the most significant works was done by Roman and Andrei, Ashkelon

artists who created Don’t Panic and equating the IDF with the krypton strength of Superman is appreciated by locals.

A er 9/11, artists and writers struggled to make sense of what happened and art was almost taboo. But they did, in time, as the bloodshed and chaos of terrorism creates images to which artists respond instinctively. “In such moments, you don’t believe art can change anything,” says Zoya, who fled Ukraine for Israel in 1991, before the Soviet Union fell. For the past two years, her art has been about war and now October 7. “I saw it moving people, so I kept going because I want it to be everywhere.”

This is also true for Israeli artist Nadav Brill, who reimagined Girl with a Pearl Earring, replacing Vermeer’s pensive woman with a scared bloodied girl, and populism drove Netherlands-based Anat Zehavi to put Lisa Simpson at the Nova Festival .

‘Black Saturday’ inspired the darkest work, but some artists dare to hope for a better future. In Rome’s Jewish quarter, Lediesis, two anonymous feminist street artists, envisioned peace between Israel and Palestine with “In unity we believe” –two hugging girls wrapped in flags.

American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin believed in unity and liked art. Taking pride of place in his bedroom is a painting of the Holy City. His parents, Rachel and Jonathan, shared the photo of his room on their Instagram page, Bring.hersh. home. But Hersh never came home.

He was found by the IDF in a tunnel in Rafah on 31 August with five other hostages; Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino had all been brutally murdered by Hamas. But Hersh le a message for the world through the art he chose for his room.

Emblazoned across the painting are the words ‘Jerusalem is everyone’s’. Hersh Goldberg-Polin knew the power of art.

Ana B’koach by artist Yael Dryzin Reboh depicts Shiri Bibas and her son Kfir

Shiri Bibas and her sons as portrayed by Israeli artist Maya Sinigaglia (left) and Alice Korenyouk

Dana Krinsky’s watercolour depiction of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Kfir and Ariel

David Swiss’s Shabbat table stands in Tel Aviv as a symbol of the plight of the hostages service is to paint motivational gra iti on

Rotem Zamir and Yuval Peler’s soldier and girl

Israeli artist Benzi Brofman painted Bring Them Home Now messages in Camden Town, Shoreditch and Waterloo in London in November 2023

Benzi Brofman’s portrayal of surveillance officers Liri, Karina, Agam, Daniella and Naama

Above and right: Andi Arnovitz’s depiction of everyday objects that tell a story

Above: Street art by Lediesis. Right: Nadav Brill’s reimagining of Girl With a Pearl Earring

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THE EARLY

Choosing a nursery or primary school for a young child is a big step. Francine Wolfisz considers the options and the important questions you should be asking

Raising a child can be an expensive business – indeed, the average cost of bringing up little ones from birth to age 18 has reached an all-time high at an eye-watering £223,256. But, from September, the Government will provide 15 hours a week of funded childcare to all children from the age of nine months, regardless of how much parents earn or how many hours they work.

The move will potentially save parents thousands in the long run, which is good news – but where exactly do you begin when selecting the right nursery or school for your child and what should you look out for?

We asked a few providers around north London to give us their top tips for parents.

“Every child is an individual” At Smile & Shine Nursery in Mill Hill, founder and manager Mani Spratt says the list of questions can be substantial – “But rightly so; this is a big step for both parents and children.”

She adds: “Do the children get the individual care and stimulation they deserve? Are the staff qualified and motivated? Has the outdoor play area and internal nursery area been planned to provide safety and stimulation? Are the meals nutritious? Is there a dedicated chef and what is the food hygiene rating? Do the children get sufficient outdoor time?”

Mani strongly advises speaking to current parents, either through their own networks or asking if the nursery or school can

introduce you to them, so you can receive feedback first-hand.

Parents also need to consider the type of environment you prefer for your child. Smile & Shine Nursery describes itself as “hands on” and blends together three schools of thought: Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the statutory government-provided framework; Montessori, which leans on a child-centred learning environment; and Forest School, which emphasises using the outdoors as a classroom.

Mani says: “The nursery environment should be engaging, comfortable and fun for the children, and we also benefit from a dedicated, safe and large enclosed play area and woods nearby for outdoor activities. We believe that every child is an individual and deserves individual care, nurturing and attention.”

The nursery also operates “vertical grouping” – a mixed-age classroom where younger children learn from the older ones, while the older children learn to become more caring towards their younger peers. This familiarises children with the idea of

being around children of different ages, which will be the case when they transition to primary school.

The youngsters also enjoy a wide curriculum, learning about different faiths, festivals and cultures. “At Smile & Shine Nursery, the children and staff are representative of the multicultural society that London is. We believe that diversity is strength and it should be celebrated,” explains Mani.

“Learning is fun and engaging”

At Little Bicks Nursery, which operates in Borehamwood, Mill Hill and, as of this month, in Kinloss Synagogue, Finchley, youngsters have the opportunity to learn about all cultures, but also there’s a strong leaning

on Jewish life.

Rivka Bick, who established her first nursery in 2009 in Borehamwood after recognising a need for kosher childcare, says: “We focus on installing a love of being Jewish. We teach about the festivals, Shabbat and daily tefilla with enthusiasm and true passion. We make every learning experience fun and engaging so children want to find out more and are excited to share what they have learnt at home.

“We share our learning with the parents so they can come on that journey with us and their child. While we are creating a strong Jewish identity for our children, we use this foundation to learn about the people around us. We embrace the uniqueness of each child at nursery and this ethos extends into learning about how other people do things differently and how to respect those differences.”

Rivka describes her nurseries as fostering a “warm homely environment for all children to grow and develop in” and emphasises that her staff “all love what we do”.

“We think about what each child needs and how to best support them and their families. We listen to our parents and are always reflective about what we can do to be better and better, so that our children truly get the best start in their early education.”

Equally important, says Rivka, is ensuring that children are emotionally prepared for the next stage when they transition to primary school.

“On a daily basis we support children to manage their own emotional wellbeing and teach them strategies they can use to regulate how they feel and how to behave. They have a ‘can do’ attitude, which allows them to face new learning with positivity and self-belief.”

For parents choosing a setting, Rivka advises taking a visit and looking to see if the children are “happy and engaged”.

“Look at how the staff interact with the children and, more importantly, how the children interact with them.

“We understand the importance of this decision and you must feel you can trust the people who are looking after your little one.”

Little Bicks Nursery

Little Bicks Nursery

Smile & Shine Nursery

EDUCATION

“Creating tomorrow’s leaders today” For parents of children aged two upwards, Nancy Reuben Primary School in Hendon prides itself not just on its academic success, but also “being a community, not just a school”.

Headteacher Rabbi Joshua Conway places emphasis on caring for the needs of children, but also for their parents – and actively encourages them to become involved too.

He says: “A child will flourish when the whole family is looked a er. How can we better support parents in 2024? We o er wraparound care from 7.30am to 5.30pm each day. We o er shiurim [lectures] and social events for our parents and we encourage parents to take on di erent roles in the school so their voices can be heard and we can continue to excel.”

Judaism is at the heart of the school’s learning and is integrated into all areas.

“We do not see Kodesh [Jewish studies] as being its own subject, but rather a way of life, and see all other subjects, topics and curriculum as something that supports and elevates that learning. The teaching of other faiths, festivals and cultures is integral to creating well-rounded leaders.”

The school, which strives to “create tomorrow’s leaders today”, is a proud participant of The Diana Award, established in memory of the late Princess of Wales, which recognises young people who are creating positive social change.

As a school accepting children from the age of two to 11, Nancy Reuben Primary School o ers an extended educational journey that covers what it describes as its “Three Cs” – character, curriculum and care.

“Children benefit from a cohesive educational experience, building long-

term friendships and receiving continuous support as they grow.” Pupils from Years 5 and 6 are encouraged to be “big brothers and sisters” to the younger ones by playing and reading with them each week as a way of helping them transition from nursery to primary school.

“Our nursery lays a strong foundation by fostering independence, critical thinking, and a love for learning. The close-knit environment ensures that children feel secure and confident, easing their transition into the more structured setting of primary school.”

Rabbi Conway advises parents to think about what they want for their child and to consider how parents and teachers interact.

“The first and last person the children and the parents will see each day is myself as headteacher. It is imperative that parents have a relationship with the school where they can ask questions and suggest ideas, knowing their opinions are wanted.”

“An environment where childhood is cherished”

For parents looking at independent schools, Ivy House School, in Hampstead, located at the former home of prima ballerina Anna Pavlova and the London Jewish Cultural Centre, o ers “an environment where childhood is cherished, milestones are achieved at a natural pace and children feel secure in themselves”.

The co-educational school, for children aged two to 11, provides a rounded curriculum of academic, sport and creative arts education within small classes.

Specialist sta are on hand to teach French, drama, music, sports, dance, gymnastics, swimming and yoga.

Headteacher Donal Brennan says: “Lessons are robust and lively, whether it’s a morning, midday or a ernoon lesson, while a balanced timetable with e ective movement, brain breaks and lots of outdoor play, especially in Golders Hill Park, stimulates and promote healthy learning.”

Youngsters are geared from early on towards their 11+ goals, with alumni heading for prestigious schools, including South Hampstead School for Girls, Highgate, Mill Hill, North London Collegiate, Haberdasher’s and City, among others.

Being so close to Golders Hill Park and

the Hampstead extension means children can enjoy weekly ‘learning in nature’ sessions, with opportunities for wild play, den-building, tree climbing and mini treks. “The natural world is on our doorstep; let’s embrace it”, says Donal.

Sport is encouraged, with football, touch rugby, netball, cricket, athletics and cross country running at the school’s multipurpose playing zone, or at Brondesbury Sports ground, on the timetable.

All year-round swimming is enjoyed at Copthall Pool, while gymnastics, dance and ballet are taught at the school’s dance and sports studio.

Youngsters are also given weekly drama and music lessons and the chance to perform at professional venues, including the Phoenix Theatre, artsdepot, the O2 and Jacksons Lane.

Donal says: “Never under-estimate the power of performance as an opportunity for self-assurance and confidence in young children – that is why all at Ivy House have speaking parts in school shows.”

For parents seeking out a provider, Donal advises them to look for “kindness in the teachers”, adding that Ivy House is “a very special place”.

Smile & Shine Nursery, Mill Hill, info@smileandshine.co.uk

Little Bicks Nursery (Borehamwood, Mill Hill, Finchley), littlebicks.co.uk

Nancy Reuben Primary School, Hendon, nrps.co.uk

Ivy House School, Hampstead, ivyhouseschool.co.uk

Ivy House School

Ivy House School

Nancy Reuben Primary School

Nancy Reuben Primary School

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EDUCATION

HEAD TO

Should Jewish children go to Jewish primary school or have a broader experience? Louisa Walters posed the question to the headteachers of Sinai School (voluntary aided) and St Martin’s School (fee paying)

Juliette Lipshaw has been headteacher at Sinai – Europe’s largest Jewish primary school –for eight years, and deputy head for two years before that. She is a “big believer” in Jewish primary school education, and in this one in particular, as a former pupil whose father was one of the founding governors. All her siblings and her children went to Jewish primary schools, but followed that with a plethora of different types of education, spanning JFS, a private all-boys’ school and an allgirls’ grammar school.

Talking to me from behind her desk, with a backdrop of thank you cards from pupils, many of them handmade, she tells me that the early years is when we can “lay the foundations for Jewish children to have a love of their culture, their traditions and their heritage, right from the getgo”, adding: “Because this is when they’re most receptive to learning and developing. I know that when I sit at my seder nights, I sing the songs with my family that I learned in my Jewish primary school.”

children from a local state primary to Sinai.

“I think there was that feeling of security of all being together inside our blue gates. Security at Sinai is very tight.”

A Jewish school isn’t necessarily filled with religious children and Sinai is in its own way a melting pot as pupils run the full gamut of secular, observant and Orthodox Judaism. Juliette believes what the children learn in school can, in many cases, spill over to the parents. “We are also bringing the parents in to create that love of Judaism and love of tradition; what they keep and practice at home is kind of irrelevant as when they are in the building they celebrate our school ethos and they love it.”

After October 7, there were a few phone calls from parents wanting to move their

Most children go on to Jewish secondary schools, but not all.

“When they go to secondary school, and they’re more independent, they make their own way. When they are young, they’re impressionable and we’ve got lots of first-time parents so it’s about us creating the culture and the enthusiasm for Judaism. This is all the more important in the current culture of antisemitism.

“We teach our children to be proud to be Jewish, proud to be British and proud to be

Juliette is conscious that a Jewish school should not create a “bubble”, where the children don’t understand what’s going on in the world around them. Twenty percent of the curriculum is focused on Jewish education, but pupils also learn from a multicultural staff about other religions and cultures and about what’s going on in the news. Last year, the pupils did some activities with a group of children from a school in Kingsbury, and they regularly travel on the train into London to visit art galleries and museums. “I want the children to embrace their religion, but also to understand and embrace the world around them,” Juliette explains.

Sinai is a voluntary-aided school, meaning it doesn’t get the same government funding as if it were a local primary school. “We do depend on voluntary donations from parents,” says Juliette. “When we do tours, people always say our school is comparable to a private school. Our grounds are vast, we have a specialist art room, specialist PE teachers and a wonderful environment. We

strive to deliver an excellent and ambitious education because there has to be a reason why people will travel to us.” Indeed, the school serves seven London boroughs, with 250 children coming by bus and the other 400 being driven by parents.

Juliette believes firmly in co-education.

“Our top set maths is as full with girls as it is with boys. We want to encourage our boys to be great writers and our girls to be great mathematicians. I believe that a mixed education helps them learn to navigate the world around them.”

On the addition of VAT on to private school fees, she says the key to choosing a school is finding one that is the right setting for the child and that it’s only fair that people have a choice.

“Parents don’t necessarily send their children to a private school just because they are privileged. And therefore you are preventing those children being able to go if you make it harder for their parents. You’re not enabling people to have the choice, as they would have to find even more money to send them.”

Zionists – we are creating the Jewish leaders of the future.”

Juliette Lipshaw

Sinai School

Sinai School

St Martin’s School

“At St Martin’s, we place real value on our diverse community and multicultural curriculum,” says Gideon Zucker, headteacher of St Martin’s School in Mill Hill. “Being part of a diverse community and building relationships with children who are from different backgrounds gives our children the opportunity to celebrate their own faith, but also to learn about the faiths of others. Seeing how different faiths are similar to your own encourages respect for others and also appreciation for the multicultural society we are all a part of.”

St Martin’s is a one-form entry school with 18 children per class. Gideon joined this month as headteacher, having worked at Mathilda Marks-Kennedy School, Habs, Highgate School and, most recently, as deputy headteacher of North London Collegiate Junior School.

A Jewish contingent at St Martin’s means it marks key Jewish festivals, alongside enjoying Christmas and Diwali celebrations. St Martin’s has strong relationships with local synagogues and the children enjoy visits to all places of worship.

Following the devastating events of October 7, St Martin’s was able to offer some full scholarship places to displaced Israeli children who came to the UK. The school also reached out to a local Jewish school whose pupils had been victims of antisemitism in their football league. “Working together with this Jewish school, we were able to set up some joint art and sports sessions with our children and theirs. We also joined together during anti-bullying week to complete a joint workshop. We wanted to show the children at the Jewish school that they’re not alone.

“We are really proud we are a multicultural school and we reflect the area in which we live,” says proprietor Joanna Wilson. “Jewish children come to St Martin’s, but also children from all other faiths. Our children love to discuss their backgrounds and they show pride in their culture and religion and we are incredibly proud of this.”

The majority of children at St Martin’s go on to private secondary education or grammar schools and some to Jewish schools. Individualised learning is a key element, and preparation for the 11-plus is moulded to each child. The accelerated learning scheme ensures that children have completed the Year 6 curriculum by the end of Year 5 in order to prepare themselves for the secondary school entrance exams.

“Now is the time for all faiths to come together, be respectful and supportive of each other. Watching children of all faiths and cultures playing together, talking together and completing artwork together during these worrying times was wonderful and we are incredibly grateful for these opportunities.”

As Jewish parents with children at private school are faced with VAT being added to their fees, some may consider sending their children to Jewish schools instead. However, the voluntary contributions at these schools are high. St Martin’s School prides itself on being a more affordable independent school in north London.

“For parents who want to keep their children in the private sector with small class sizes, exceptional academic results and a warm and nurturing environment, we are an exciting alternative,” says Jo.

Top tips for PARENTS

By Dr Naomi Coleman

Choosing a nursery or school for your child is a big decision and it can feel overwhelming and daunting for parents. We entrust our children to the school for their education, safety and emotional wellbeing, and building relationships with their teachers will be crucial (for children and parents) to help ease any separation difficulties.

Joanna went to a Jewish primary school and has fond memories of her time there but believes that with 30-plus children in a class, individualised learning is more difficult. “We do everything we can to prepare our children for the next steps on their educational journey.”

“We are incredibly proud of our recent ISI [Independent Schools Inspectorate] inspection and know that Mr Zucker will continue to ensure St Martin’s School goes from strength to strength, servicing the whole of our beautiful multicultural community.”

While you might want to check Ofsted ratings, these don’t tend to give you an idea about how the school enriches children holistically and nurtures emotional wellbeing. Explore how the school values emotional health and wellbeing and what it has in place to support them. Children can flourish most (including academically) when they’re at ease and happy.

Can you visit the school to get a feel for it?

Take opportunities to speak to students and parents already at the school. Find out what things they like best and if there is anything they don’t like and see how it fits with your own family’s needs and values. Be mindful that one family’s experiences may be different to your own and try to hear a number of voices.

How do they manage behaviour and discipline? Is there a seeking to understand where difficult-to-manage behaviour comes from? How do they notice and support children with additional needs? Children in a classroom are greatly impacted if this is not managed, even if you think your child won’t get into trouble. How do they notice children who are quiet but may need support?

What is the parent-teacher communication like? Are the teaching staff approachable, friendly and warm? Is there someone you can talk to if you need to? Are the teachers happy or is there a high turnover of staff?

1 2 3 4 5

Take care of yourself – separating from your child in these early years as well as having a new routine and new people to get used to can bring lots of emotions for you and your child, which can take a while to settle. Be patient, as starting a new school may also trigger some challenges, with big feelings and some children unable to do things they may have been able to do before.

Dr Naomi Coleman is a registered and chartered clinical psychologist at the Gesher Assessment Centre.

Gideon Zucker

St Martin’s School

St Martin’s School

Jo Wilson

ST MARTIN’S SCHOOL

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Talia is struggling with her ‘new’ life: the lack of space and privacy, the noises of the city, the uncertainty of the future. She is suffering from severe anxiety, which is triggered by loud noises that remind her of the missiles from Lebanon and she has frequent nightmares. Talia and so many like her, need intense therapy to help reduce the damage and trauma that they’re dealing with.

IN HIS L I F E

The extraordinary achievements of Brian Epstein are revealed in the new film Midas Man. Brigit Grant wrote the script

BRIAN SAMUEL EPSTEIN WAS born on 19 September 1934 in Liverpool on Yom Kippur. That he arrived on the Day of Atonement was not lost on the man who managed The Beatles as he felt he was born guilty.

What Brian Epstein believed and did has been my obsession since 2019, when I was asked to write the screenplay for a film about his life, up until his tragic death at the age of 32 on 27 August 1967.

Had he lived, Brian would have been 90 this month, which makes me sad as he missed so much and would have been enormously proud to see the band he discovered and nurtured become bigger than Elvis – as he had himself predicted.

What happened when he first saw John, Paul, George and original drummer Pete Best at The Cavern is well-documented but, like all Brian ‘facts’, some are more accurate than others and deciding what to include would be determined by the film’s running time of 96 minutes. Given free reign, as I initially was, Brian’s screen story could have gone on for hours. For although he was a manager for just seven years, what he achieved in that time for The Beatles, Cilla Black and his other NEMS artists warrants a series.

That Brian was also Jewish was partly why I got the gig and my insider knowledge was an asset when I was ‘introduced’ to

Brian’s parents, Malka “Queenie” (née Hyman) and Harry, the son of Lithuanian refugee Isaac Epstein.

A Yiddish-only speaker, Isaac arrived in Britain in 1871 and built the furniture business that Brian eventually turned into the north west of England’s most successful record store. His family allowing such change without a fight echoes the behaviour of every Jewish parent who gives in to their child.

Queenie was the doting one and Harry was always working, specifically on Saturdays so declined a place on the council at Greenbank Drive Synagogue.

Brian had his barmitzvah at Greenbank, but his Jewish school, Beaconsfield in Sussex, had taught him the wrong Torah portion. Such was his Hebrew talent that he

learnt the correct portion in time to give a “very competent’ performance according to his Uncle Meir. Greenbank no longer exists in Liverpool, so the cathedral-like Princes Road Synagogue is used in the film. That the opulent 150-year-old building struggles to get a minyan is not unusual, but to see actor Eddie Marsan as Harry Epstein sitting by the bimah draped in my late father’s tallit definitely was – and there were tears.

The hum of antisemitism was constant in Brian’s life, from Hitler’s bombs dropping on Liverpool, which forced the family to Southport, to the perpetual tagging as ‘Jew Boy’ at various schools. He cites this in his diaries, but not his discomfiture about his sexuality and what it could do to his respected Jewish family. Forever worried and

conflicted about who he was, Brian flitted between embarrassment about his faith and embracing it – specifically his name.

Insisting at school the correct pronunciation was ‘Epsteen’ and not the wrongly favoured Epstine, Ray Coleman’s definitive book about Brian (which he read to sight-impaired Queenie) details how Harry suggested he change his surname when he moved to London to open North End Music Stores (NEMS). “To make life easier” said Harry, but Brian refused, saying he had too much pride in his name and it would be a help in show business. Brian did eventually stop correcting people, including John Lennon, who ribbed him mercilessly and was lambasted for doing a Nazi salute (as a joke) at the premiere of A Hard Day’s Night at Liverpool Town Hall.

Tolerant of being mocked – “Jews are good with money” – Brian still sought out Yom Kippur services while on tour with The Beatles. Journalist Ivor Davis got him a ticket for a synagogue in New Orleans, but my interest in this was personal, as was the contents of his will. Dated February 1956 (when Brian was only 22), it stated ‘that my clothing be sent direct and immediately to the state of Israel; ‘that no Kaddish be said in my memory’ and ‘I desire that my mother, father and brother know of my eternal love for them’. Harry Epstein died on 17 July 1967, only weeks before Brian. It

Director Joe Stephenson, Beatles: Campbell Wallace, Blake Richardson, Leo Harvey-Elledge Jacob Fortune-Lloyd and Jonah Lees with me

Harry, Queenie and Brian Epstein

Eddie Marsan (Harry)in the tallit

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd at the store

Princes Road Synagogue in Liverpool

impossible to imagine the depths of Queenie’s sorrow.

Fortunately, my research for the film went beyond books to meeting people who actually knew Brian, such as Freda Kelly who ran The Beatles fan club and had sack loads of adoring letters delivered to her home – until her father stopped it. Freda was also secretary to Eppy, as she called him then (and still does now); it was the nickname all his artists used, but never his family.

It was his first cousin, photographer Basil Hyman, who painted the most vivid picture of Brian for me, supported by portraits of his favourite relative in his book, A Personal Memoir of 1960s Britain. Basil told me about their time together at the same school, where Brian often performed Al Jolson songs and My Yiddishe Mama during break. He spoke of an “incredible” visit to the Diaghilev exhibition and how Brian taught him “the way to make an impression entering a room” and said: “He played me Love Me Do first on our record player.”

Basil’s father was Queenie’s brother and Brian often visited their London home, most memorably on a certain Friday night when he was upset about The Beatles being rejected by every label. “He was ready to give up, but my father said, ‘Try one more time,’” said Basil. “The following week he went to EMI”.

Covid delays meant filming had not started when Basil Hyman died in 2021, but he had

read my script and later his son James, owner of the world’s largest magazine collection, helped with archive material. Also a huge help was Neil, my Beatles fan husband, who kept a white board of timelines and names on Post-it notes. Joining in was the only way of surviving my Brian fixation.

Our gifted director, Joe Stephenson, showcased Midas Man with a Q&A at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival, where they queued around several blocks for tickets.

“It was the perfect opening night film,” wrote the festival director Stuart Hands, which was encouraging, but surpassed by Freda Kelly’s reaction to actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd’s performance as Brian.

“He is exactly like him,” she said, clearly overwhelmed – as I had been when I had seen Jacob dressed in a perfect Burberry copy of the manager’s bespoke suit, and then he said my lines.

LEADING MAN

‘I feel then, and will always feel, that this is a courageous man’

In the role of Brian Epstein, actor Jacob FortuneLloyd gives a masterclass performance, but to do so, as he explains, required studying the fi h Beatle

“It’s to play Brian Epstein, I’m sure you know who that is,” my agent Alex says down the phone. “Uh, yeah, I think so,” I say, stalling. Not easily duped, but ever gracious, she says: “You know, The Beatles’ manager. It’s a biopic. Production have sent over the full script, two interviews and a documentary.”

I later realise that unless I’m talking to a big Beatles fan, or music head, most people I speak to also don’t know who Brian is. If they do know a little they say something like, “He managed The Beatles right? From Liverpool? Jewish? And gay? He had a tough life.” It reminds me of what Posner says in The History Boys, “I’m a Jew. I’m small. I’m homosexual. And I live in Sheffield. I’m f***ed”.

Reading the script I’m struck by a powerful contradiction in his story. Brian is pivotal in the creation of the most loved band in history. He helps to organise the first live global television broadcast, watching as his boys sing to the world that love is all we need. And yet, in his own life, he struggles to believe that he himself is worthy of love.

I watch the interviews and am instantly fascinated by him and by his evident discomfort. I start homing in on his physicality, his sound, which also reveal intriguing contradictions.

boarding schools he attended and to the social and cultural aspirations of the time.

Dressed immaculately in tailored suits, he appears awkward and shy. He begins one interview with his head pulled way back and down, his eyes trained warily on the journalist. It makes me think of a bull facing a matador, or a matador facing a bull. Brian loved Spain and bullfighting, and [author] Vivek Tiwary threads the image of Brian as matador in his brilliant and inspiring graphic novel The Fi h Beatle, portraying him as powerful and captivating, but also lonely, under constant threat and living on the edge.

His voice is soft but steely, fragile but incisive. I can’t detect any of his native Liverpool in it, lost to the various southern

Recreating the period in which Brian thrived was the work of a committed crew, perfectly-cast Beatles, a bewitching Cilla Black (Darci Shaw) and every performer. And do watch until the end of the credits as the producer’s forever gift to me was dedicating the film to my late mother, Carole.

Five years ago, producer Perry Trevers and I discussed what we wanted the audience to take away from the film and “to fall in love with Brian” is what we agreed. I did reading Brian’s book A Cellarful of Noise, which ended with “I think the sun will shine tomorrow.”

And because of his music legacy, it did.

30 October

There are other interesting physical habits that speak of a man uncomfortable in his own skin and with this level of public scrutiny. He nervously licks his lips before speaking, his mouth rests in a tight defensive little smile, his shoulders curl in and down and, for a tall man, his walk feels small, cautious. But he’s no pushover and he’s prepared to be disagreeable. His humility is genuine and he talks thoughtfully of the importance of honesty, and of not being “parasitic” with his artists.

His eyes seem to say the most. There’s a vigilance that speaks of past humiliation and suffering but, underneath, a gentleness. Full of fire and determination, there is also something of the bewildered boy in them, and a unmistakable plea for tenderness. I feel then, and will always feel, that this is a courageous man.

The Arena documentary, The Brian Epstein Story, is a compilation of Brian’s journal entries and memories of Brian from those who knew and loved him. They add to my sense of a man pulled in opposite directions,

Midas Man is on Amazon Prime from

Basil Hyman (far le ) with Brian

Brian and his boys in Paris

Jonah (John) Leo (George) and Blake (Paul)

Leading man: Jacob Fortune-LLoyd

both from without and within. From a young age, Brian exudes mature self-assuredness and confidence in his artistic taste and talent – he even sells some of his paintings to teachers. Yet in all but one of the nine schools he attends he feels persecuted and excluded.

He develops a life-long relationship with loneliness and a feeling of being “unfit for society to tolerate”. He experiences antisemitism and, from the age of 10, has sexual feelings for his classmates, both of which deepen his sense of otherness.

His sexuality is illegal in the UK up until a few months before his death, and the effect of homophobia on Brian’s life is immense. He is appallingly mistreated by police, beaten and blackmailed by men with whom he seeks pleasure and companionship. The film Victim (1961), starring and produced by Dirk Bogarde, is a huge inspiration, a courageous and humane exposure of the effect of homophobic legislation on men’s lives.

Cast early on in life as an outsider, distance affords Brian perspective, contributing to his unique powers of cultural insight, and intense drive towards shaping and revolutionising culture, and The Beatles will be at the vanguard. He will always be the adult in the room, meticulously organised and impeccably mannered, a taskmaster with almost impossibly high standards at work, where he is called ‘Mr Brian’. But he also has a silly side that endears him to

his artists, and he is happiest and most himself in their company.

I cherish the image of Brian at dinner with the boys, smiling broadly, with a chamber pot on his head. There’s a story about his early days of management that I love: that to ingratiate himself with the young rock ‘n’ roll crowd, Brian abandons his suit and tie for leather jacket and polo neck sweater. He is roundly mocked and, at one gig in Bootle, the doorman refuses to believe he is a manager and won’t let him in to see the boys. He can come in, but the suit must come with him.

Growing up in the family furniture store founded by his grandfather, he inherits the Epstein work ethic and business smarts. But this conflicts with his artistic heritage and desire to get away and, as a teenager, he dreams of being a dress designer and an actor.

helps the boys appeal to a popular audience – Paul McCartney calls him their “director”. Before we begin filming, I meet Freda Kelly who, at just 17, was Brian’s secretary in Liverpool, ran the fan magazine and who briefly (but glamorously) appears in our film. It’s a privilege to meet her, and I feel closer to Brian listening to her stories and witnessing her enduring love and respect for him.

And there are many memorable moments from the shoot itself, but two come to mind as I write.

mind as I write.

In his early twenties, Brian becomes friends with the actor Helen Lindsay while she is performing at the Liverpool Playhouse. She realises he is desperate to join their “magic world” and agrees to help him with his audition for RADA. He has chosen Henry V’s ‘Once more unto the breach dear friends’, but she counsels against it: he is not “a man of action”, his natural qualities are “soulfulness” and “colossal dignity”, and he moves “like a mechanical soldier or a tailor’s dummy”. She recommends a speech by the Duke of Burgundy, who does not need to move around much. Much

to her surprise, he gets in, but he leaves after the first year, deciding that he will never be good enough and feeling, as ever, that he doesn’t really fit in.

For me this account perfectly encapsulates Brian. He is a man who sees himself as one thing, but is seen as another. Who feels he should be something, instead of just being who he is.

Who feels too much of a businessman to be an artist, but too much of an artist to be a businessman. And a man who can achieve the unexpected when he wants and believes in something, but is full of self-doubt, and wracked with tension.

I realise that understanding these inner conflicts is key to playing Brian and also key to what makes him the ideal manager. Although only a few years older than his artists, he is responsible for them, enabling their creativity and freedom at the cost of his own. Understanding and respecting of his artists, he lives out his artistic dreams through them and the energy he is unable to devote to his own romantic life is channelled furiously into his work, without which he may not achieve so much so quickly. He may not have been a dress designer or an actor, but his artistic eye and theatrical flair is what

near the end of the film between Brian Weiss (James Corrigan), and before we asking for Brian’s help. It’s almost like a answers me and gives me the permission emotionally exposing moment of his life.

The Florrie community arts centre – a

We are filming a challenging scene near the end of the film between Brian and his American business partner Nat Weiss (James Corrigan), and before we begin, I’m surprised to find myself quietly asking for Brian’s help. It’s almost like a prayer, and in a subtle way I feel that he answers me and gives me the permission and support to portray him in this emotionally exposing moment of his life. Our last two days in Liverpool are at The Florrie community arts centre – a stone’s throw from Ringo’s family home in Toxteth – filming the moment the boys sing All You Need is Love live to the world.

Production designer Damien Creagh and the art and costume departments have performed miracles; we are all transported back to that moment and Blake, Jonah, Leo and Cam look perfect. With his customary grace and heart, our director Joe Stephenson – supported magnificently by director of photography Bebe Dierken, gaffer Kevin Gibb and their teams – captures gorgeous footage that reduces most of the room to tears. There is an overwhelming feeling of pride that I have rarely witnessed on set and I suspect is quite rare. It is a feeling that carries over into our ‘wrap’ party that evening in the centre of Liverpool, where our very own Beatles play a set, kicking off with Some Other Guy and leading us in song and dancing into the early hours.

I’d like to thank our writer Brigit Grant for offering to publish these thoughts, and for her inexhaustible passion and commitment to the film.

And I’d like to thank Brian. I imagine the afterlife has softened you a little, but I suspect your standards are still pretty high. I really hope we’ve done you proud. I really hope we’ve done you proud.

Above: The Beatles perform All You Need is Love at EMI Studios in Abbey Road for Our World, the first live global television link, on 25 June 1967; and, right, as portrayed in the film

Brian, George Martin and the Boys Director of photography Bebe Dierken

Freda Kelly with Ringo and George

Cilla Black with Brian

Darci Shaw as Cilla with Jacob as Brian

HOW HE DID WHAT HE DID

Songwriter Mitch Murray turned down The Beatles rendition of his song. Brian Epstein had other plans

How do you do what you do to me? I wish I knew If I knew how you do it to me, I’d do it to you

Though The Beatles were the first band Brian Epstein ever managed, it was Gerry and The Pacemakers who delivered his first UK number one. Best of all the Mersey Beat hit, How Do You Do It? was written in Golders Green.

That was where Mitch Murray lived in 1963 with his parents, owners of a factory and handbag business who could see their son was more interested in his ukulele and writing songs. “It was a guitar first, then a ukulele,” corrects the composer born Lionel Michael Stitcher in 1940. Changing his name in 1968 was another thing his father Eric had to accept, just as he knew selling handbags was not a thing for his music lover son.

“So the day came when he said ‘you’re no good to me at the moment. Take some time off. And I’m not doing this because I’m generous. I’m doing this because I’m your father’. He didn’t believe in me particularly, but when I had my first number one, he got business cards with the name Mitch Murray Snr.”

The road to that number one was Denmark Street in WC2 which is where Mitch hung out with other aspiring songwriters such as Lionel Bart. If he wasn’t there he was outside The Savoy as an autographs hunter chatting to Humphrey Bogart and Danny Kaye.

A collaboration with Les Reed who wrote It’s Not Unusual for Tom Jones led to writing and record releases with singer Cleo Laine and then Mitch began working with singer/ songwriter Barry Mason of Delilah fame.

It was Barry who generously offered to share his appointment with Ron Richards, assistant to producer George Martin - a generous act that Mitch hasn’t forgotten. “It was a fabulous thing to do and he did it because he thought I’d written a terrific song.”

The song was How Do You Do It? which Mitch had already recorded with the then unknown Dave Clark Five in a small Denmark

Street studio. The ‘meeting’ got the song to publisher Dick James and then to George Martin who wanted The Beatles to record it.

“It was the first one they did at Abbey Road, but they didn’t want to record it,” snipes Mitch, ridiculously youthful at 84.

“They said, ‘we can write better stuff than this’ to which George Martin said, and this is true because it’s in his book. ‘when you can write a song as good as this I’ll record it, but until then, this is what you will do.’”

But when Dick James played Mitch the recording; “I hated it. I told Dick it was terrible and they had screwed it up deliberately. I was told they were going back to the studio in September as George Martin wanted to try it again. But I told Dick, that they would never do it right because they’ were songwriters themselves and didn’t want to make mine hip. That’s when we agreed to find somebody who could do it really well.”

This was when Mitch met Brian Epstein. “I could tell was a good guy right away because I overheard him on the phone saying: ‘No, we can’t do that, it won’t be good for the fans’. For a manager to show concern for fans was rare and he also said sorry about The Beatles ‘thing’ but that he had the second biggest act in Liverpool, Gerry and the Pacemakers and asked me to have a listen.”

When Mitch arrived in Liverpool lunch was waiting in Brian’s office and so were The Beatles.“They were very polite blokes and all stood up hen I came into the office, they all stood up. Very nice,”says Mitch who was roughly the same age. “Brian also me The Beatles latest record Please Please Me which they released instead of mine.” But the demos by Gerry and The Pacemakers were enough to convince Mitch to give them a shot.

And in a shot How Do You Do It? produced by George Martin went to number one. “When I first heard it, I said it’s fantastic and Gerry Marsden’s voice was perfect. It sounded like an American record which most didn’t in those days. Gerry had his own presence and did it better than anybody could have done. “

It was the perfect writer band combo for manager Brian who got his first number one

and for Mitch who then wrote the follow up single. In Golders Green.“My father by that time who had seen my song go to number one, and kindly started feeding me ideas on bits of paper with titles for songs and one was ‘Do it again. I like it’ ’.”

Gerry and The Pacemakers got their second number one with Mitch’s ‘I Like It’ on 16th June 63. The band were now a hot property and song writers clamoured to write for them – including Mitch.

“With two hits I thought I had a clear run at Gerry with my songs. Until the day I went to Dick James office and his secretary told me to wait in another office as he was in a meeting with Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Brian Epstein. I went in to find John sitting by himself. We shook hands and then he said, ‘if you get your song to Gerry I’ll thump you.’ It was said tongue in cheek, but I realised I was competing with John Lennon”.

Brian Epstein however was always supportive. “He was very helpful and all sorts of fingers in different pies and worked his magic to get Freddie and The Dreamers to America and on TV with my song I’m Telling You Now.It knocked The Supremes off the number one spot.”

The last time Mitch saw Brian Epstein was in a restaurant in New York. “We met by chance and I thanked him for what he did for Freddie and The Dreamers and what it meant for me. He really was a good guy, but beyond that I didn’t know much about him. We all knew he was gay, but that he’d

also been engaged to a Jewish girl.I don’t remember where I was when I heard that he’d died, but it was tragic.”

Mitch wrote other UK hits, many with Peter Callander:Georgie Fame’s The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde, Cliff Richard’s Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha and Tony Christie’s Avenues and Alleyways which remain Baby boomer favourites. Among the 60s stars, Mitch remembers fondly is Dusty Spingfield who his stage star daughter Maz Murray will play in November in a musical about the singer’s life. “Dusty always had to come close to recognise me because she was very short sighted.”

Being recognised is rare for most songwriters, but Mitch thinks there are less obvious rewards. “I remember being on the tube into town when a bloke began whistling. How do you do it? He didn’t know me from Adam, but he knew my song”.

And The Beatles remembered How Do You Do It? as they put the version they recorded in 1962 on their Anthology album 30 years later.To which Mitch responded: “Thank you Paul for buying me a house.”

Paul McCartney bought Mitch a house

Mitch (right) with Freddie & The Dreamers

Gerry Marsden, Mitch and Tony Christie

Brian with Gerry and The Pacemakers

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THE BEATLES AND US

Apple scruffs on Abbey Road, Beatlemaniacs hid in hotels – anything to get to the Fab Four. This fan went to the cinema

David Stark was 10 when he first heard The Beatles and he’s still listening. Committed as a fan can be, his book, It’s All Too Much, is full of serendipitous moments such as the time David, then 15, gatecrashed the Yellow Submarine premiere in July 1968 and sat in the seats of no-shows Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithful right behind John, Paul, George and Ringo.

“Another occasion that sticks out was introducing George Harrison to my mum at the Royal Albert Hall during a Ravi Shankar concert in ’74,”says David. “They got on great together.”

Now a Companion of LIPA (Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts), David presents the song-writing prizes on Graduation Day alongside Sir Paul. Spotted at every fan event, often with Beatles tour guide Richard Porter, in 2014 David organised a Blue Plaque for Brian Epstein at his old NEMS offices in Argyll Street next to the London Palladium.“I never met Brian but wish I had because, without his vision, total dedication and perseverance it would never have happened for The Beatles in quite the same way.”

Growing up, David’s family were members of Edgware Reform Synagogue, so he can rattle off a list the Jewish people who either worked – or were closely associated – with the Fab Four back in the day. “They had many personal and professional Jewish connections together as solo artists and romantically, so it’s a long list, but here are a few…”

Linda Eastman: Brian would have smiled when Paul McCartney married Linda in March 1969 as her mother Louisa came from a German-Jewish family and her father, Lee Eastman (Leopold Vail Epstein) was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants.

Nancy Shevell: She married Paul on 9 October 2011, and there was also a blessing at St John’s Wood Liberal Synagogue, where the couple have attended Yom Kippur services.

Nancy Shevell

Barbara Bach: Howard Goldbach was the Jewish father of the actress who married Ringo Starr in 1981, although she was raised in her mother’s Catholic faith. Ringo’s step-father Harry Graves, whom his mother Elsie married in 1953, was Jewish and a big band fan.

Alma Cogan: Born in Whitechapel to a Romanian mother and Russian father, the popular late 50s/early 60s British singer was nick-named “the girl with the giggle in her voice” and allegedly had a secret affair with John Lennon. Introduced to Alma by Lionel Bart, Brian often visited her Kensington flat, as did Danny Kaye, Noel Coward and Laurence Olivier.

Dick James: Reginald Leon Isaac Vapnick (his real name) sang the 1955 Robin Hood

TV theme and established the Beatles’ publishing company Northern Songs Ltd with Brian in 1963. Mostly amicable, the relationship between James and The Beatles disintegrated by ’69 when the group felt he took advantage of them by selling Northern Songs to Lew Grade of ATV without giving them the option to buy.

James later signed Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin.

Dick Lester: In 1964, Philadelphia-born Richard Lester Liebman was hired to make the band’s first feature film A Hard Day’s Night, followed by Help! in 1965. In 1967, he directed the surreal How I Won the War in which John Lennon co-starred. In 2012, the BFI awarded him a Fellowship, the film industry’s highest honour.

Allen Klein: In 1964, the American businessman who had managed The Rolling Stones offered Brian $2million for the Beatles to sign with RCA Records, but he refused out of loyalty to EMI. Five years after Brian died, Allen was given a three-year contract as business manager of the Beatles and Apple Corps.

Bob Dylan: Robert Allen Zimmerman first met the Fab Four in August 1964 at New York’s Delmonico Hotel, where he (allegedly) introduced them and Brian to

marijuana. Closest to George Harrison, they later co-wrote I’d Have You Anytime for Harrison’s triple album, but it was as bandmates in the Traveling Wilburys that their friendship and musical partnership went to new heights and two albums.

Leslie Cavendish: The Beatles’ hairdresser was born in East London and grew up in Burnt Oak, north London. An apprentice to Vidal Sassoon in 1962, he became Paul McCartney’s private hairdresser in 1966 and was even invited along as a friend on the Magical Mystery Tour coach trip in 1967.

David Jacobs CBE: The TV and radio broadcaster presented BBC’s Juke Box Jury

Brian, Gene Pitney and Alma Cogan

Linda Eastman and Paul

David Jacobs on Juke Box Jury

Dick James and Brian Epstein in 1964

Bod Dylan with the Beatles

INTERVIEW

episode at the Liverpool Empire on 7 December 1963 with The Beatles.

Sid Bernstein: Sid was an American music promoter who famously put the Beatles on at New York’s Shea Stadium in 1965 with an audience of more than 55,000, the largest for any pop concert at that time.

Nat Weiss: American lawyer Nat represented Brian and The Beatles’ merchandising rights in the USA and, like Brian, was Jewish and gay. Brian trusted Nat so much they formed the firm Nemperor together in 1966 to manage artists other than the Beatles, which was cut short by Brian’s tragic death. Brian’s last letter to him was signed: “Love, flowers, bells, be happy and look forward to the future.”

An

Ivor Davis: Ivor was the only British newspaper correspondent to cover the Beatles’ first US tour in 1964 and ghost a regular newspaper column for George Harrison. He tells the stories in his book The Beatles and Me on Tour. Now living in California, he recently visited the UK to give a Beatles talk at St Albans Synagogue.

Helen Shapiro: Born in Bethnal Green in 1946, the granddaughter of RussianJewish immigrants, Helen was 10 when she sang in the school band with Marc Bolan (born Mark Feld) on guitar. Still a teen, she became one of Britain’s most successful female singers in the early 60s, with chart toppersYou Don’t Know and Walkin’ Back to Happiness. The Beatles were one of Helen’s support acts on their first British tour, during which Lennon and McCartney wrote the song Misery for her, but producer Norrie Paramor at EMI turned it down.

Mike and Bernie Winters: Islington-born, Mike and Bernie were one of the UK’s most successful comedy double acts in the 1960s and The Beatles did guest spots on their shows Big Night Out (1964) and Blackpool Night Out (1965).

The Beatles did not attend Brian’s funeral in Liverpool at the request of his mother Queenie, who did not want crowds of fans but, on 17 October 1967, they attended the memorial service for their manager at New London Synagogue on Abbey Road with Rabbi Dr. Louis Jacobs o iciating. He praised Brian for “encouraging young people to sing of love and peace rather than war and hatred.”

It’s All Too Much by David Stark is available on Amazon and Abbey Road Studio’s shop

overnight stay with breakfast at Hard Days Night Hotel

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Rabbi Dr Louis Jacobs:

Brian and his New York pal Nat Weiss

Mike and Bernie Winters and Chita Rivera with The Beatles

Israel Crisis Response

Jerusalem is on high alert, expanding its capabilities to prepare for potential mass casualties. The hospital is urgently creating a sheltered surgical pavilion with six advanced operating rooms equipped for complex surgeries using state-of-the-art technologies like robotics and computer-assisted surgery.

Your support today is crucial in helping Hadassah provide the essential surgical care our patients need during these challenging times. Please consider making a gift to support this life-saving mission.

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Start-up to REMEMBER

While prominent Israeli entrepreneur Izhar Shay was sitting shiva for his son Yaron, who was killed protecting civilians at the Israel/Gaza border on October 7, he made a pledge. The former minister of science and technology vowed to create a start-up in honour of every person whose life was brutally cut short in the war with Hamas. The target was 1,200, rising to 1,400, now 1,600. Each one bearing the name of someone who was killed. Each one ‘to make the world a better place’

Nearly one year on and his project, Next October, which stands for hope, resilience and optimism, has already recruited 600 companies. One thousand to go, although there are likely to be many more. Shay will continue to count. He hopes he soon won’t have to.

The business community and beyond have united in support of Next October, to help make its vision a reality.

The initiative, which has been endorsed by President Isaac Herzog and backed by dozens of major organisations, including Google, Amazon, Sisco, Meta, LeumiTech and Deloitte, has now matched 250 of the 600 tech-for-good start-ups with families in

honour of their loved one. Between 50 and 80 new and meaningful connections are being made every month.

Izhar said: “It has been incredible to see the response. We have been both surprised and touched by the level of commitment from those who have approached us, insisting on being part of it. We now have close to 50 volunteers who want to help spread the word and vision – many are doing so alongside their full-time day jobs.

“People are identifying with our message: not only the need to commemorate those who have lost their lives but that Hamas came to try to destroy us and we are responding by creating innovation and

building a better world.

“Next October must be better, and the one after that even better, and so on. So, we are introducing a bit of optimism, a hint of Israeli resilience and entrepreneurship.”

PERY –commemorating Yaron Oree Shay

Yaron Oree Shay, 21, was killed on October 7 while shielding Israeli civilians from Hamas terrorists. The son of Hilla and Izhar Shay, and brother to Ophir, Shir and Lior, Yaron loved comedy, music and sport and had dreams of being a coach. He supported both Hapoel Tel Aviv and the UK’s Cardiff City. During his gap year, he volunteered as a mentor for socially and economically challenged children in south Tel Aviv.

Pery is revolutionising primary care by integrating mental health support through its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven platform. By enabling primary care providers (PCPs) to offer mental health screenings, treatment and referrals, Pery enhances patient outcomes while streamlining care coordination. The platform not only improves access to mental health care

but also helps clinics optimise revenue through the effective use of Behavioural Health Integration (BHI) reimbursements. With customisable patient check-ins, realtime AI insights and seamless Electronic Health Records (EHR) integration, Pery supports both care providers and patients in delivering comprehensive, accessible

Yaron with his father Izhar

mental health care.

Ziv Elul, Pery co-founder and CEO, said: “We chose to dedicate our start-up to the memory of Yaron Oree Shay, a fallen hero, because of the profound values he embodied and his remarkable character. His heroism during one of the country’s most challenging days resonates deeply with us. Our long-standing friendship with the Shay family has given us unique insight into Yaron’s bravery and the significance of his actions, which inspire our team and mission at every step.”

Izhar said: “Yaron loved people and spent his gap year volunteering, leading sports activities for kids and this year Pery’s team also volunteered extensively and dedicated part of the office to Yaron’s memory. This exemplifies how Pery is aligning its commemoration with Yaron’s values and the way we want to remember him.”

Izhar added: “One of the most touching aspects [of Next October] is how many entrepreneurs are reaching out to families, learning about the victims’ legacies, and tailoring their start-ups to honour those victims. This collective effort has become deeply meaningful, not just to the families, but also to the companies involved.” linkedin.com/company/peryhealth

–commemorating Major Ido Shani

Major Ido Shani died on October 7, aged 29. Ido loved the Israeli army and saw his service as a calling. He demonstrated leadership and mentoring qualities and was an exemplary role model to his

soldiers. On the morning of October 7, in the midst of a massive rocket barrage and reports about terrorist infiltration, Ido quickly realised the severity of the situation, mobilised the forces under his control, and approved opening fire. His actions saved many lives.

Minovia Therapeutics is a small start-up located in the north of Israel, focused on the development and application of mitochondrial cell therapies for patients

with mitochondrial dysfunction. Before the war, the company was completing the product development area and intending to assess clinical feasibility.

Today it has two clinical programmes: the Pearson syndrome (PS) trial and the myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) trial. Minovia has named its new clinical trial in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome Shani, after Ido.

Minovia joined Next October at the start of its clinical trials. Its chief scientific officer, Dr Noa Sher, is a relative of Ido’s wife, Ma’ayan Kfir Shani,

Last week, all over the world and in Israel, landmarks were illuminated in green to raise awareness of mitochondrial disease, during Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week. The company said: “We illuminated in green a viewpoint in the village of Harutzim in Israel, built as a memorial place for Major Ido Shani’s.

“We thank Ido’s family for the enormous sacrifice they had to pay, and for the cooperation with us to bring awareness to this important issue. They came to destroy, we are here to build and save lives.”

Limor Lior, VP People and Culture at Minovia, said: “From the first conversation with Ido’s parents, we felt a connection. We were excited to hear about Ido’s life and work – his strong connection to the army, his love for his soldiers and the heroic story of his actions on 7 October.

“We have named our latest trial ‘Shani’,

MINOVIA

Izhar with the memorial at the Pery offices

Yaron was killed at Kerem Shalom

Izhar with sons Yaron and Ophir and wife Hilla

Deborah and Tomi with wife Maayan and Natalie Yivgi Ohana

which also means ‘red’ in Hebrew, the colour of the red blood cells that these patients lack. May the connection of his name to the trial bring hope of red, of Shani, to MDS patients.”

Minovia’s chief executive, Natalie Yivgi Ohana, said: “We strongly believe that being part of this initiative is important as part of our being in this country. Entrepreneurship and creativity are part of the Zionist idea, which is unfortunately still intertwined with the complex realities of living in this region.

“The act of commemoration ensures the world will not forget our essence: we live in a country in which it is not obvious to live in, in which existence is a struggle, and yet we are driven to create and to do good.

“Therefore, the initiative of establishing a company to commemorate every person who falls in defending our right to existence and our dream of improving the world is natural. This connection, and the connection between entrepreneurs and their initiatives and the families, strengthens the entrepreneurial spirit: it reminds us that nothing should be taken for granted and gives a daily reminder of why it is important to do what we do.”

Ido’s parents, Deborah and Tomi, said: “We are deeply moved and thankful to participate in the Next October initiative of combining Israeli start-ups with the commemoration of Israelis, who were murdered or killed in combat on 7 October.

“The match between Minovia and major Ido Shani is both remarkable and symbolic as it highlights the noble value of saving lives. Ido would have been proud to be a part of such a unique project.” minoviatx.com

MICROCONcommemorating Captain Eden Nimri

Captain Eden Nimri, 22, was the commander of a team of all-female fighters in the ‘Sky Rider unit’ (Rochash), which operates Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to accompany special forces in the field.

Eden was killed in battle on October 7, fighting the terrorist who had entered the base, which enabled some of the other female soldiers to survive. One of the survivors said: “What she did was simply the greatest self-sacrifice possible. Even if she didn’t know exactly what was going on, she walked alone in the direction of the shots and the shouting in Arabic.”

The daughter of Sharon and Michael, and sister to Hadar and Noga, Eden was a professional international-level swimmer.

MicroCon specialises in electro-optics observation systems. Its technology can capture detailed images and videos for use in drones in the defence industry and help users to see clearly in challenging situations where normal cameras would

not work well. Chen Almog, MicroCon’s co-founder and CEO, is a retired colonel and previously a brigade commander of the “Sky Rider” unit, where Eden served.

Chen said: “Participating in Next October holds deep significance for both the company and me personally. My initial connection was personal as I lost my younger brother, Liran Almosnino, on October 7. Liran was a reservist soldier in the special force of terror fighters of the “Lutar Unit” – “Peled team”. That morning, he and his team were called, from their daily lives as civilians, into active duty and battle in the southern Gaza Envelope, where they fought courageously, killed Hamas terrorists and, more importantly, saved hundreds of civilian lives. Liran was killed during the battle to liberate Kibbutz Holit. He was 42 and a farmer who dedicated his life to raising sheep in the desert and left behind his wife, Efrat, and their five young children, his parents and two brothers.”

Chen felt it would be better not to bring personal commemoration into the company so asked for another start-up to honour his brother.

“When I heard about Eden’s heroic actions, I knew I wanted to commemorate her legacy, as she exemplified the core values we strive to embed in our company – resilience, leadership and the will to safeguard lives.

“By dedicating part of our work to her memory, we aim to channel her spirit of leadership and courage into the advanced solutions we are developing.

“We are naming one of our key innovations after her – the Micro-EDEN ISR, a specialised system designed to enhance situational awareness and response time in critical combat zones. This is our way of ensuring her legacy not only lives on but actively contributes to saving lives and protecting soldiers in the field, just as she did.” linkedIn/company/microcon-vision

Next week, Jewish News will continue showcasing the NEXT OCTOBER tech-forgood start-ups that are matched with families in memory of their loved ones.

Major Ido Shani died aged 29

Eden Nimri was a professional swimmer

Captain Eden Nimri’s actions saved others

Eden Nimri’s parents, Sharon and Michael, visit the Microsoft offices

THIS IS WHAT WE WANT

A rabbi romance you’ll be hooked on and the star you’ll want as a friend. Brigit Grant thanks Netflix for both

Warn your family as, from today, you will take control of the TV. A series about a rabbi on the rebound is about to take over your life. Why?

Because if Rabbi Noah Rokolov was in north-west London, he would be the hot topic at every Kiddush – and not because he is hot, but because he’s fallen head over tallit for a podcaster who is a natural blonde and an agnostic. And no, she didn’t renounce her faith – whe was never Jewish. In fact, she’s so clueless about Judaism, she asks if synagogue membership includes a gym and supportively signs the cross by the bimah.

“That’s not us,” says hot rabbi sweetly.

Enough with the spoilers as you’re now challishing to watch No One Wants This from the stable of Modern Family producer Steven Levitan and written by Erin Foster, who drew from personal experience. As she explains: “This show is based on the only good decision I ever made: falling for a nice Jewish boy.”

explains: “This show is based on the up Jewish, but converted as to tell a Jewish story, but

Like Joanne, played by Kristen Bell, Erin didn’t grow up Jewish, but converted as an adult and says: “I wanted to tell a Jewish story, but from the perspective of an outsider who chose Judaism.”

Tempting as the Torah may be, Joanne’s head is turned by a rabbi who looks like Adam Brody (Seth Cohen on The OC). A Jewish actor playing a rabbi? Could this series get any better? Well, It does. Cool Rabbi Noah plays basketball on a Jewish team called the Matzah

Ballers and his brother Sasha (Timothy Simons) is married to Esther, who Jackie Tohn describes as “mouthy, opinionated and Jewish – so kind of like me”.

We are on Zoom with Jackie in LA, but I’m soon wishing we were in the same room. Cracking jokes, kvelling about her rescue dogGlen, and gossiping about last night’s Emmy parties, she feels like a mate. She has been friends with Kristen – who is also the series’ executive co-producer – for 20 years and she realised Jackie was the right age to be Esther and would easily channel a classic example of “the sort of woman a Jewish man marries so he’ll never have to make another decision” quips Jackie. “But I still had to audition.”

Jackie has been auditioning since she was nine. “I faced a remarkable amount of rejection for a child, which I didn’t really process as I was always such a wise ass, but it must have bummed me out at a certain point because in my mid 20s, I started doing music, touring and putting out albums.”

he’s the vibe of the temple, but for selfish reasons as she and her husband Sasha did everything together with Noah and Rebecca.”

point because in my mid 20s, I started out albums.”

Another turn around in her early 30s took her to

film Gesture

crazy world of women’s wrestling the 80s. Jackie was Melanie of that the Esther she

Another turn around in her early 30s took her to musical comedy, which led her to playing comedian Gilda Radner in the film A Futile and Stupid Gesture and, after that, a lead on Glow, the Netflix hit about the crazy world of women’s professional wrestling in the 80s. Jackie was Melanie “Melrose” Rosen, the saucy fame seeker, who wore the kind of lingerie Lycra that ‘Esther’ wouldn’t even wear to do the cleaning. Aagh, who is so angry about her rabbi brother-in-law going rogue she can’t get through Havdalah. “Not only because

I’ve not mentioned Rebecca, Esther’s bestie, so as to not spoil the broiges that awaits you. Jackie’s phone pings off camera .It’s a WhatsApp message. The No One Wants This cast has a group chat. “It’s called Shiksas & Sheigetzers,” laughs Jackie “We all got into the Jewish theme and Tim (Sasha) who isn’t Jewish started saying ‘Shabbat shalom’ to everyone when we started filming. I had to tell him, Dude, it doesn’t mean what’s up? It’s only for Fridays.”

The starring role as aggravated Esther got Jackie’s parents, Al and Bella posting proudly on Insta. Bella is the daughter of Polish Holocaust survivors, although Jackie says her grandmother never talked about it.

“But we are all here because of her strength, tenacity and perseverance and so, if she didn’t want to talk, I certainly wasn’t going to pull out a camcorder.”

Holocaust denial horrifies Jackie. “I wasn’t there for all the other wars and tragedies that took place , but I can’t imagine telling people who experienced them it didn’t happen”. No One Wants This is a welcome antidote to all the terror and heartbreak we have watched on the small screen over the past year and

although it will appeal to many, its warmth and humour will feel especially good to a Jewish audience and it’s also not political. “We stay out of the weeds of all that and jump head first into the friendly, cultural stereotypes, stay away from a bunch and make some valuable points too.”

Jackie is hoping for a second series; that her romantic musical comedy is sold and her film The Floaters gets a release date. As our cheery chat is over, I tell her my problem with No One Wants This. I don’t want it either. We need to hold on to hot rabbis! “Interesting,” says Jackie. “ I think people will have all sorts of reactions. Or maybe think who cares?” From today you really will. No One Wants This is on Netflix

Jackie Tohn and her parents Al and Bella; Rabbi Noah Rokolov (Adam Brady) with Kristen Bell

Brady in the Matzah Ballers basketball team

Jackie Tohn in Glow

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suffered childhood abuse and later found herself in an abusive marriage. Her time in a WIZO women’s shelter in 2022 saved her life putting her on a positive path, helping her to train as an architect and to ensure custody of her children.

Years later, at the Nova Festival on October 7 she witnessed her two friends being murdered and was injured herself. Her WIZO social worker immediately put in place a programme of trauma therapy. She sees WIZO as “angels from G-d”.

Scan the QR code to read the full story of Miriam’s tale of resilience and triumph, thanks to WIZO.

Please help WIZO this Rosh Hashanah to provide specialist practical and emotional trauma support to the thousands who depend on us more than ever as the impact of October 7 and subsequent events escalates. Thank you. Please donate now at wizouk.org or call 020 7319 9169

Scan for Miriam’s Story

A GAME OF Hide & Holocaust

While Englander openly speaks about his obsession, Marber – who grew up in a Reform Jewish family in south London – sits very much at the opposite end of the scale, in a place where he can shun thoughts of such “horror”.

When I ask Marber whether he had ever contemplated who might hide him in the event of another Holocaust, he says: “I never thought about it until I read this play and I still don’t think about it. I don’t want to think about it, because it’s too horrible.”

Reform-Jewish upbringing as “pretty casual, but my Jewish identity was powerful”.

He says: “We did Friday night dinner, we said prayers, my father tried to get me to go to shul on a Saturday for many years and so my Jewishness was very present for who I was as a person.”

Both acknowledge their Jewishness has informed their work. Englander laughs and says it would be “absurd for me to pretend I’m unaware my work has lots of Jews in it”.

Drink, Shoah discussion and a new reality for Jews fuel a ‘serious comedy’ about Anne Frank that opens in October. Writer Nathan Englander and director Patrick Marber tell Francine Wolfisz what to expect

When meeting people for the first time, American writer Nathan Englander confesses he and his sister would play an unusual game.

Rather than judging their acquaintances by what they wore or said, they would weigh up how that person would act if the Holocaust were to happen again.

“My sister would say, ‘I really like that guy – he’d hide us – but his wife? She would turn us in.’ Trust of those we had only just met was always based on who would hide us.”

The darkly wry “Anne Frank Game”, as it was known in the Englander household, would later feature at the core of one of the prolific writer’s most critically-acclaimed short stories.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank was selected as a Pulitzer Prize finalist and has been adapted for the West End stage under the masterful helm of British playwright, screenwriter and director Patrick Marber. Both are in high spirits when we meet during a break in rehearsals for the “serious comedy”, which is set to open at the Marylebone Theatre next month.

Englander’s story, which was first published in The New Yorker Magazine in 2011 before this latest reworking, centres around two couples: Phil (played by The Big Bang Theory’s Joshua Malina) and Debbie (Doc Martin actress Caroline Catz) from Florida; and their friends Yerucham (Simon Yadoo) and Shoshana

(Dorothea Myer-Bennett), who are visiting from Jerusalem, some years after emigrating to Israel and becoming strictly-Orthodox.

Taking inspiration from Raymond Carver’s well-known story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, the foursome in Englander’s vision drink and descend on a path of revelation as they debate faith, religion and the Holocaust.

Although many of the themes are serious, the chatter is also light-hearted and heavily sprinkled with Englander’s Jewish witticisms.

Interestingly, the droll 54-year-old writer – who grew up strictly-Orthodox before becoming “as secular as I was able” – reveals he had an “obsession” with the Holocaust for years, even while none of his immediate family members were impacted. It is a condition, he insists, not unique to him and shared by many within the Jewish community.

Englander jokingly describes himself as “a Mayflower Jew” with ancestry stretching back an impressive four generations in the US and yet says he has always felt a deep connection to those persecuted at the hands of the Nazis.

“I must have been almost 40 when I realised that thinking about this, playing this game with my family, was so deeply pathological not just for us, but also many generations of American Jews, that we order our world according to the Holocaust.

“I really wanted to explore that and how the Holocaust has been used, manipulated and controlled in a bid to own that history.”

Unlike Englander, Marber, who turned 60 this month, lost several direct relatives in the Holocaust. He candidly describes the moment he first learnt as a young boy about such atrocities as “the loss of my emotional virginity”.

He tells me: “Learning about the Holocaust at school was traumatic and shocking. When I began studying for my barmitzvah, around the age of 11, it was an immediate feeling of, ‘Oh, it could have been me if I had been born not in 1964, but 25 years earlier.’ It was that recognition that it could have been me, my mum and dad, brother, aunts and uncles.

“The Holocaust is not something I thought a great deal about until I became an adult and a father, but it’s become much more part of my consciousness in the past 15 years.

“For me, the Holocaust is a horror. Once you know it, you can’t unknow it, and it’s there with you in your soul for the rest of your days.”

If the Holocaust is something they both carry with them, so too is personal experience of antisemitism. For Englander, growing up in a strictlyOrthodox community on Long Island, New York, life was distilled into “the Jews and the antisemites”.

He recalls: “I grew up being chased home from school, getting into fights, things being screamed at me, swastikas appearing on the building. I wore a yarmulke and was very identifiable as a Jew.”

Marber, however, admits his Jewish identity was more under the surface until recent years when he had “an awakening”.

“It was while directing Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt and being in a rehearsal room full of Jews, talking about Jewish things, that I started to feel more Jewish, and also because of the way the world is moving,” he explains. “I’ve sort of come out a bit more, out of necessity and out of choice.”

While Englander wrote his story 12 years ago, he had been working with Marber just before October 7 to adapt the story for the West End stage. That version is now something Marber would call “a museum piece”, according to Englander.“We agreed on a draft around October 1,” he muses. “While people have been busy tweeting and Instagramming and trying to simplify one of the more complex and horrible historical moments for Jews and Muslims or Israelis and Palestinians – however you want to split everyone up – I’ve been working round the clock with Patrick. It’s not a Gaza play and it’s not a Bibi play, but we do acknowledge October 7.”

He adds: “Working with Patrick has been a joy and an education, but also very intense. We have lived and breathed this story to rebuild the ideas around this new reality.”

Marber, who grew up in Wimbledon, also felt the sting of prejudice, but says: “You just carry it with you; it becomes a part of who you are.”

The Tony-winning director describes his

What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank runs at the Marylebone Theatre from 4 October to 23 November, marylebonetheatre.com

Photo:

Writer Nathan Englander

Patrick Marber

JEWISH TIME Movie

Michael Aloni in a fight for survival, a family reunion in Poland for Jesse Eisenberg, and a musical set in the wake of the Six-Day War. Only the UK Jewish Film Festival delivers such an eclectic and intriguing roster of must-see movies. Chosen with heart and expertise, its chief executive Michael Etherton has given Life his personal list, so you can make your own

“It disrupted family life, there’s no way to say that it didn’t, and unfortunately quite a few of the girls got divorced. They suddenly found they had a voice and they were real people.”

Barbara Oberman Katz

Barbara Oberman Katz is one of the plucky and determined British and Irish Jewish women who, in the 1970s and ’80s, took on the USSR to stand up for Soviet Jewry. The ‘35s’, as they were known, fought for the rights of the Refuseniks and their story is told in the wonderful new documentary Iron Ladies

In this dark year since October 7, many of us have found that our voices as British

Jews have been silenced or erased. That’s why it feels so important to me that this year’s UK Jewish Film Festival embraces those voices - hard-fought for by the 35s

and many others – and provides a home through film for the rich diversity of Jewish stories that deserve to be heard.

The Opening night film for this 28th festival is A Real Pain, a title not to be taken literally because the film is a real pleasure and I’m a huge fan. Directed by Jesse Eisenberg who also stars, this outrageously funny and achingly wistful road-trip drama, sees NewYorker David (Eisenberg), and his charming but meshuga cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin), hoping to repair their once-close relationship by visiting the Polish birthplace of their beloved grandmother. Both actors give sensational performances in this witty but quietly elegant film, which begins with a kind of crazy energy, then blossoms unexpectedly into a poignant exploration of Jewish families, love and loss.

Families is also the theme of Benny Fredman’s powerful Israeli drama, Home, which explores a strictly-Orthodox family from Jerusalem that decides to open a

computer business in their neighbourhood. The new venture is a runaway success, but the local rabbinate feels threatened and tries to scupper the venture. Based on a true story, Fredman’s film provides a compelling look at the darker side of communal politics in religious neighbourhoods.

Meanwhile, lively real-life documentary Rabbi Capoeira follows Miki Chayat, who has opened a popular martial arts studios in B’nei Brak. With his strictly-Orthodox female business partner, they question whether they can change local people’s minds, hearts and, not least, their bodies.

In New York, the comedy Yaniv follows the highly enjoyable story of young secondary school teacher, Barry Bernstein, who needs to raise $10,000 to fund his class’s musical production of Little Shop of Horrors. When the school’s arts budget is cut, Barry looks for money in an Orthodox underground gambling ring. Based around the card game ‘Yaniv’, it’s crazy entertaining escapism.

Michael Aloni is one of the few Israeli actors with real star power and he excels as Dr Nahum Werbin in the powerful true-story drama Stronghold. Werbin is a reserve combat medic fresh out of medical school, who arrives at a desolate outpost in Sinai on the eve of Yom Kippur, 1973. When war breaks out, many of his fellow soldiers get killed or wounded and medical supplies are short. When the Israeli army fails to reach the outpost – now under Egyptian siege – against the wishes of the outpost’s commander, Werbin tries to convince his fellow soldiers to surrender – the dishonourable but only way to save their lives.

Victory, meanwhile, is a colourful musical homage to La La Land as well as a tribute to

Israeli film through the decades. Set in the wake of the Six-Day War, Neta Agmon (Yael Sztulman) abandons her life on a kibbutz to pursue her dream of fame in Tel Aviv. The film contrasts the flamboyant lives of actors and director in the big city to the shared lives of the kibbutzim, traumatised soldiers and bereaved families. While Victory is, in some ways, a light-hearted romp, there is much to compare with current times and the psychological and human damage of war is a recurring theme. By way of a warm-up to this year’s festival, we will be hosting special pre-festival previews, including An Officer and a Spy. Based on Robert Harris’s best-selling novel of the same name, Roman Polanski’s masterpiece is a powerful study of – and a rallying cry against – blind prejudice and racism. An Officer and a Spy is an account of one of the most significant political events in the history of France and European Jewry. It follows the humiliating military degradation and imprisonment of Captain Alfred Dreyfus – who was wrongly accused of spying for Germany in 1894 – and the relentless efforts of newlypromoted counter-intelligence commander, Georges Picquart, to prove his innocence. It will be followed by a Q&A with the author.

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Roman Polanski directs J’Accuse

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A Real Pain

Former Spurs

manager David Pleat tells Neil Silver why he has finally tackled his football history on paper

David Pleat loved football too much as a teenager to follow his Jewish friends who were pursuing careers in accountancy, law, or medicine.

It may not have been ‘the norm’ for a young Jewish man to shy away from those traditional vocations in the 1950s and 60s and become a professional footballer, but Pleat was vindicated as he played in front of 95,000 fans at Wembley while his friends had their heads in textbooks.

He has always done things differently. Like breaking records with little Luton Town in the early 1980s when, as manager, he guided them into football’s top flight.

Then, as Tottenham Hotspur manager, introducing a five-man midfield system during which they enjoyed one of their most exciting seasons – finishing third in the League, runners-up in the FA Cup and reaching the League Cup semi-finals in 1987.

football has kept me obsessively busy all my life, so I decided it was time to write a record of my life.” That record, Just One More Goal, has just been published.

Born in Nottingham in January 1945 of Jewish descent, Pleat was seduced by football at the age of nine when his father took him to watch his first game, Nottingham Forest versus Leeds.

“My father was interested in the theatre, especially Shakespeare, but was also involved in football and boxing at the Oxford and St George’s Club,” he said. “It was common for young Jewish men to study law or medicine, but I fell in love with football and, luckily, I became quite good at it.

“I was selected for England schoolboys and we beat Scotland 5-3 at Wembley in front of 95,000 fans. I progressed to England youth level but suffered a badly broken leg and a back injury, and my career suffered.”

to coaching and

Pleat made 185 Football League appearances as a winger for five clubs, scoring 26 goals, before he turned to coaching and management in 1971, having already qualified as a Full Badge FA Coach in 1968 when he was just 23.

came at Luton, where

His first taste of success came at Luton, where he gained a reputation for playing attractive football.

His passion for the game is immortalised in a piece of TV footage from 1983 when Luton avoided relegation on the final day of the season. He is captured romping on to the pitch, arms aloft, skipping as he races to celebrate with his players.

Off the field, however, he was dogged by unsubstantiated newspaper claims about his private life.

“We played some wonderful football that season. I still have a letter written to me by John Lyall, the manager of West Ham United, congratulating me and saying ‘mazeltov’ after we beat them 5-0. The fiveman midfield left a legacy.

“Then suddenly I found myself being blamed in the media for things from inside the club that I knew nothing about. In the end, I couldn’t deal with the pressure from the harsh newspaper headlines and I left.”

That was not the end of Pleat’s love affair with Tottenham, as his talents were recognised more than a decade later by thenowner Alan Sugar, who appointed him as the club’s first director of football.

Daniel Levy also wanted him after buying the club from Sugar, and he would still be there today if what he calls the ‘human element’ had not been drained from the game. “I eventually stepped away this summer because the game has become data led,” explained Pleat. “Data has overtaken the eyes and the ears, and that is sad because you still need people who go to games and make decisions based on things the data doesn’t show you.

“Some people who go into football get disillusioned and disheartened if their career doesn’t pan out the way they had hoped. I have always loved the game and I joke about how I once took a job for less money than I was offered to make sure I got it.

“It gets into your blood and you meet some very interesting people at all levels, and I loved the camaraderie between managers. There is nothing like football at its best.

“The standard has never been higher but the game has lost a bit of its charm because a lot is to do with the ‘brand’ and the profit line. Footballers get massive salaries thanks to the television money and it is a different game completely to when I began in the early 1960s. The sad thing is the massive disparity between the top and the lower leagues and I would like

to think there could be a more level playing field, but it will never happen again.

“People ask me about the great players of yesteryear, whether it is Dave Mackay, Danny Blanchflower, Gazza, or Tony Currie, and I say they would still be talented players today. They would be fitter because nutrition has improved, they would find the conditions better, as well as the ball and boots.”

Pleat, who covered seven consecutive World Cups starting with Mexico ’86 as a co-commentator on radio or television, knows how he would like to be remembered in football. He said: “I base my football philosophy on what Danny Blanchflower said about the game being about glory, about doing things in style, with a flourish, so the people who have spent their hard-earned money to watch you are not bored.

“I have worked hard and I have been lucky, and have so much to reflect on. I hope I am remembered as someone whose football gave pleasure to a lot of people.”

Pleat has a wealth of stories from more than 65 years in football, but he never had any intention of sharing his memories with the rest of us – until the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Many people said over time that I should write a book, but I wasn’t too interested,” explained Pleat. “I made a joke that I was waiting for a few people to pass away before I could write about the not-so-nice ones I have met in football.

“Then Covid came along and I needed to do something to keep me busy, because

Pleat’s big break came in May 1986, when he was appointed manager of Tottenham Hotspur, but he was to have only one full season in charge.

On the field, thanks to his tactical nous, he played with five in midfield, including creative players such as Ossie Ardiles, Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle, and just one striker – Clive Allen, who scored 49 goals in all competitions.

Pleat welcomes Jermain Defoe to Spurs in 2004

David Pleat on his wedding day

David Pleat with the Tottenham Hotspur team

David Pleat - Worthington Cup

Hampstead Court is renowned for its vibrant and welcoming community. Their dedicated well-being teams produce an exciting and varied programme of activities and events every day. Residents are supported with personal interests not already covered in the calendar and memory, physical and sensory-based activities are designed with therapeutic outcomes in mind.

Jewish Child’s Day grant has funded a specialised treadmill for children with disabilities. Jewish Child’s Day gave a £5,000 grant to emergency funding for children from Ashkelon to buy games, toys, puzzles, baby supplies, essentials and food vouchers for families. A grant to the Netanya Foundation, providing emergency funding for food vouchers, clothes and other things needed for families travelling from the South to Netanya. Jewish Child’s Day gave a grant to install a portable safe space, which is about 9m squared and can hold up to 20 people. It would be located on the ranch premises so that the staff could get the children there within the minute and a half warning that the siren gives them in the Jerusalem area. Jewish Child’s Day have given £5,000 towards a kids corner, with funding for shoes, school supplies and programme supplies. Another grant has provided two portable paediatric beds so babies can be transported easily and quickly to protected spaces. This will help staff who were previously carrying the children. Jewish Child’s Day provided a grant towards help for families fleeing from Kibbutzim in the south who urgently need hygiene products and food items. Families with babies and young children are asking for urgent assistance with nappies, baby formula, wipes and other baby products. A grant from Jewish Child’s Day helped fund for seven family homes to have additional counselling, games and materials during the war when children and young people are confined to the group homes for extended time. Jewish Child’s Day have provided grants for wheelchairs and crutches for children through Or Laolam charity. A grant from Jewish Child’s Day has gone towards immediate evacuation of families with children who have special needs or who find it difficult to travel with all their medical equipment from the South. The grant has provided emotional support for those coping with the first stage of emergency evacuation for children who have been wounded and are hospitalised. Grants have gone towards respite care for children with disabilities. The respite centre in Sderot, with a grant from Jewish Child’s Day, is hosting up to 120 children per week, providing professional care, a safe, comfortable place to sleep, meals and fun activities. The cost is £660 for one child for three days. At present, the most urgent need is that Neve Hanna has a fence which can easily be climbed. They have a security guard For the security of children and staff, they need to add armed 24/7 patrolling security personal. This most urgent need mounts up to a monthly expense of £2,480 per month. There is no government funding for security, schools close to the border must cover the costs of their security. A Jewish Child’s Day grant has funded 50 computers urgently needed for children in prolonged remote learning. These will be used by under-privileged children who lack family support. The cost is £34,500 for 50 computers (£695 each). A grant of £5,000 from Jewish Child’s Day could be used as payments for 5 therapists to spend 16 days supporting 40-50 children. Emergency and on-going aid to reduce trauma in children aged 3-6 with disabilities at their Be’er Sheva rehabilitation centre. Therapy dogs interact with children and help them release emotions such as fear, loss, loneliness and anger. The sessions with a therapy dog cost £55. There will be 10 individual sessions at the children’s homes each week, totalling £550 per week. A grant of £5,500 from Jewish Child’s Day could pay for 10 weekly sessions for 10 children. There will also be two group sessions with five children each at the centre, £110 per week. A grant of £5,000 could pay for 45 hours of group therapy for 10 children. Jewish Child’s Day gave a grant toward summer fun day out for teenagers. A Jewish Child’s Day grant has funded specialised treadmill for children with disabilities. Jewish Child’s Day gave a £5,000 grant to emergency funding for children from Ashkelon to buy games, toys, puzzles, baby supplies, essentials and food vouchers for families. A grant to the Netanya Foundation, providing emergency funding for food vouchers, clothes and other things needed for families travelling from the South to Netanya. Jewish

This Rosh Hashanah, your generosity can help us continue rebuilding lives and ensuring a brighter future for these children. Please donate today – for us, every day is Jewish Child’s Day.

Since October 7th, Jewish Child’s Day has awarded over £240,000 in grants to more than 50 organisations supporting children in Israel.

Emunah, 74 Grove Park London, NW9 0DD 020 8203 6066 info@emunah.org.uk emunah.org.uk

Yoni and his friends are under attack

At Emunah, we believe in a better future for children like Yoni. Do you?

Registered Charity No. 215398

Yoni and his friends at Emunah’s Neve Landy Residential Home have suffered so much pain already in their young lives.

Since last October, Emunah’s thirteen counselling centres have enhanced and increased their efforts to offer counselling and therapy, to children like Yoni, and for the tens of thousands of Israelis who have been traumatised by the horrors they have witnessed, and the upheaval they have experienced. Your support is vital in enabling Emunah to help as many children and families as possible to restore their emotional and psychological resilience.

To donate online please scan the QR code or visit emunah.org.uk/donate or call 020 8203 6066

Emunah’s Counselling Centres are playing a crucial role during the ongoing war in Israel.”

Julia Kay, British Emunah

The new year bring new opportunities to support worthy institutions in the UK and Israel. By Louisa Walters

Camp Simcha supports all the family

It may be a new year, but for families with a seriously ill child, the struggle remains the same. Camp Simcha is here for families in this situation, constantly evolving its services, ensuring bespoke support and a holistic approach so each and every member of the family gets the practical and emotional help they need. In addition to the charity’s day-to-day practical and therapeutic services and its programme of residential retreats, critical respite care, parties and outings, Camp Simcha is expanding its peer support programme.

The charity’s new Communities of Support initiative has seen the establishment of support groups for parents around different conditions – initially inflammatory bowel disease and type 1 diabetes, with a new epilepsy group just launched. There are also plans for a cardiac group.

Chief executive Daniel Gillis explains: “These support groups and a new programme of information evenings are designed to help mitigate some of the isolation that comes with having a seriously ill child –helping parents access expert advice and the knowledge of peers coping with the same condition. It also means that after families no longer need our crisis services, they still remain connected - and feel supported and less alone.”

Camp Simcha is continuing to grow initiatives for different members of the family. As well as direct therapeutic support and volunteers for the 800+ siblings it helps annually, the charity runs art groups, teenage

groups and an annual sibling retreat. Mothers have an opportunity to meet regularly at coffee mornings and at events such as Camp Simcha’s annual Mums’ Spa Day, while a new fathers’ network launched in February has activities such as go-karting and laser tag.

“We know some of the fathers do not find it easy to share their emotions around their child’s illness, so we felt a network dedicated to them was really important,” says Daniel.

• campsimcha.org.uk

Jewish Care’s vision is becoming a reality

Building is underway for The Sugar & Ronson Campus, Jewish Care’s fourth development hub and the new first-class care and community campus in Redbridge, thanks to the generous support of cornerstone donors the Sugar and Ronson families. Set for completion in 2026, the new campus will meet the needs of the local community in northeast London and Essex now and into the future, creating social connections for people across the community, combatting loneliness and isolation.

Family Care Home (a 66-bed home replacing Jewish Care’s Vi & John Rubens House home), The Ronson Community Centre – a modern and fully accessible community centre space – and The Dennis Centre for people living with dementia, thanks to the ongoing support of the Dennis family.

Also on the new site will be the base for Jewish Care’s local Social Work and Community Support Team and the Meals on Wheels hub. As Jami is now part of Jewish Care, it will provide mental health support to the community, housing Jami’s Redbridge hub and Mitkadem service.

Bernie, 96, is one of the thousands of people who benefit from Jewish Care’s

his weekly visits to Redbridge Jewish Community Centre, the Supportive Communities teas he attends and to greeting dedicated volunteers who deliver Meals on Wheels to him at home.

Bernie says, “I love meeting people. I don’t think anyone should have to be alone. I look forward to my Tuesdays –- it’s the highlight of my week.”

Jewish Care CEO Daniel Carmel-Brown: says, “We are excited about the building of the new Sugar & Ronson Campus, and we look forward to continuing to create warm, welcoming Jewish environments across our services. There are many exciting plans at Jewish Care and Jami over the next year, and we will be sharing more in the coming months about the many ways our vital services continue to benefit the community.”

• jewishcare.org

New year brings new mental health support

To bring some comfort to people in the year ahead, Jami, the Jewish community’s mental health service, now part of Jewish Care, has developed a range of resources to help people in the community to recognise and manage distress.

downloadable booklet produced to enable the community to make sense of its feelings following the October 7 attacks, the consequential rise in

antisemitism and the ongoing war in the Israel, are proving beneficial to many people.

The resources provide practical tips and advice to help deal with stress and suggest ways to stay connected with others. And while this applies to events happening now, it is equally relevant to issues that may arise in the future.

For example, dealing with those who may have different views to us can make us feel lonely. If we want more support from others around us, we might need to tell them that, using ‘I’ statements about how we are feeling. For example: “I’m feeling quite isolated at the

Thousands of people benefit from Jewish Care’s services and programmes

Jami has produced resources on making sense of October 7

Lee Fernandez with Camp Simcha’s Benji Garfield at a go-karting event for fathers

CHARITY

moment. I’d like to talk more. How does that sound?”

If young people’s feelings are overwhelming and you feel you cannot cope with supporting them, loop in the school counsellor or other services. Also be prepared to discuss social media and the impact it is having. Other tips include maintaining routines, because daily patterns keep us contained and grounded when we feel anxious, and keeping our usual connections with others can help to reduce isolation, which can lead to further anxiety. But perhaps most important of all is to show ourselves kindness.

• https://jamiuk.org/

Once a SACH child, always a SACH child

Save a Child’s Heart (SACH) is a humanitarian, apolitical non-governmental organisation that is based in Israel and is a previous winner of the UN Population Award. Worldwide, one in 100 children will be born with a congenital heart defect that, if left untreated, means they will die very young.

Since 1996, SACH has completed more than 7,000 life-saving surgeries, treated children from more than 70 countries, trained more than

140 doctors and clinicians and initiated numerous medical missions to developing countries to examine and refer children for surgery. All children are treated, regardless of race, religion, colour or nationality and irrespective of financial status. Ongoing reviews mean that “once a SACH child –always a SACH child”.

SACH’s goal is to create centres of excellence in these developing countries so they become independent of outside charity and children can be treated in their own communities.

With SACH’s long-standing support to the African countries, the first ever South – South collaboration surgical mission (where one developing country assists another, unlike North – South which would mean a developed country helps directly) took place between Tanzania and Zambia in 2024.

SACH’s work in Tanzania began in 2013 when it trained the first paediatric cardiac surgeon. As a result, in January 2024, a team from the Tanzanian Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute embarked on a crucial mission to Zambia’s National Heart Hospital to perform vital cardiac surgeries. This collaborative effort, led by SACH, aimed to improve paediatric cardiac care in the Sub-Saharan region and establish a centre of excellence in Lusaka, Zambia.

SACH is literally teaching people to help themselves!

• saveachildsheart.org

Hadassah UK crisis response

On October 7, helicopters began to arrive at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem with scores of wounded Israel Defence Forces soldiers and civilians. Since then, the hospital has saved the lives of more than 600 patients who were severely injured in the Hamas attacks and ensuing war in Gaza.

Shai, an engineer soldier in the reserves, was injured in a massive explosion in Gaza and airlifted to Ein Kerem in an extremely critical condition. His life-saving treatment started in the helicopter and continued in Hadassah’s operating rooms. When his condition stabilised,

Shai was transferred to the Gandel Rehabilitation Centre at Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus, where he is continuing recovery and rehabilitation.

As the country continues to fight a war on multiple fronts, Hadassah is urgently scaling its capabilities to meet the need for specialised and complex surgeries. Since the war began, Hadassah surgeons have performed more than 140 surgeries. Its technologies and equipment infrastructure need to be upgraded to cope with an increased demand and the hospital now needs additional resources to handle the consequences of a massive attack, which could potentially mean unprecedented numbers of injured soldiers and civilians need immediate medical treatment.

Hadassah UK is supporting the hospital so it can keep providing the care needed for a nation in the process of healing.

• hadassahuk.org

Masa offers a journey of discovery and fulfilment

Masa Israel Journey is more than just a physical journey to Israel. It’s an opportunity to explore oneself in new surroundings while gaining a transformative experience.

Since its founding in 2004, Masa has served more than 200,000 young professionals from more than 60 countries, and its network continues to grow. It offers life-changing long-term opportunities in Israel for people aged 16 to 50 on programmes that last from four weeks to nine months.

Masa fosters an environment

in which fellows are encouraged to strive towards their personal and professional destinations both during and after their programme in Israel. Fellows can choose from a variety of Masa products, including Masa Career, Masa Gap, Masa Israel Teaching Fellows, MasaTech, Masa Academic Fellows, Masa Jewish Studies and Masa Volunteering.

• masaisrael.org

WIZO promotes healing and safety

Since October 7, WIZO has acted as a first responder to the ongoing crisis in Israel, implementing an emergency programme of specialised grief and emotional therapy across its 800 projects.

This programme provides critical support to the vulnerable populations in their care, many of whom were already struggling with trauma before the war. The conflict has exacerbated their distress, making WIZO’s holistic, trauma-informed care more vital than ever. From babies and toddlers in the day care centres

to youth in schools and women in shelters, as well as Holocaust survivors, every individual receives tailored support. Beyond providing emotional support, WIZO is committed now and going forward to creating environments that promote healing and safety. The renovation of bomb shelters into sensory motor rooms and youth lounges demonstrates the charity’s dedication to transforming stressful spaces into places of comfort and growth. These shelters, reimagined as therapeutic spaces, not only offer safety in times of crisis but also serve as a resource for long-term development.

• wizouk.org

Hadassah doctors have saved more than 600 patients who were badly injured in the October 7 attacks or aftermath

A Save a Child’s Heart volunteer and patient in the Holon hospital

Masa connects people aged 16 to 50 on various programmes in Israel Wizo has brought in a programme of specialised therapy

How does Chai care?

“This is my tree of Chai, my tree of light. Through the art group, we fi nd creativity, renewal, community and exceptional care.

We discover we are so much more than a cancer diagnosis.

That’s the miracle of Chai.”

The Chai Art Workshop Group (Artist, Elaine Arenson)

For more information on our extensive range of specialised services and care across the UK, please call our Freephone helpline on 0808 808 4567 or visit www.chaicancercare.org

Chai Lifeline Cancer Care Registered Charity No. 1078956

The Jewish Holiday Table is a collection of recipes, gathered by the Jewish Food Society, that celebrate how we eat during the chagim

Rosh Hashanah is all about making life sweet, and we bring this into our cooking too. On the menu is a gently spiced beef short rib with latkes – a er all, it wouldn’t be a Jewish holiday without latkes – a tangy pomegranate soup with meatballs and a honey cake with walnuts, which is perfect for dessert or with a cup of tea.

Latkes with Braised Short Ribs

If you make the short ribs the day before serving, it will simplify the workflow of this recipe, and the time in the fridge will allow the fat to float to the top and solidify, making it easy to skim o .

MAKES: 6-8 SERVINGS; ABOUT 24 LATKES

INGREDIENTS

For the stew:

900g bone-in short ribs, cut across the bone into 6 cm pieces

1½ tablespoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable or grapeseed oil

1 large yellow onion (about 280g),

finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 whole allspice berries

Water for braising

METHOD

1. MAKE THE SHORT RIBS: Season the short ribs with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot, such as a cast iron casserole dish, over mediumhigh heat. Once the oil is hot, carefully add the short ribs and cook, turning occasionally, until nicely browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the meat to a plate and reduce the heat to medium.

2. Add the onion and garlic to the pot and sauté until soft and light gold but not browned, about 15 minutes.

For the latkes:

1 medium onion (about 170g)

4 large russet potatoes (about 1.3kg), peeled

1 tablespoon plain flour

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1½ tablespoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

A few dill or parsley sprigs for garnish

3. Return the short ribs to the pot and add the allspice and enough water to come about three-quarters of the way up the sides of the pot. Bring to a boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low, adjusting it if necessary so the liquid simmers gently. Cook the short ribs for about 1½ hours and then, using a pair of tongs, carefully turn them.

4. Continue cooking the short ribs, partially covered, for another 1 to 1½ hours, until the meat is very tender and the liquid has reduced and thickened slightly. Remove from the heat.

5. Let the short ribs partially cool in their liquid and then spoon off the fat that rises to the surface. Once they are cool enough to handle, take them out, shred the meat, and discard the bones; set aside. If the cooking liquid seems watery, return it to the stove and simmer for a few minutes to thicken and concentrate the flavours. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. (You can cook and shred the short ribs ahead of time, then refrigerate the meat and the cooking liquid separately. Just before serving, remove any remaining fat that’s hardened on the cooking liquid and gently reheat the meat in a bit of the liquid.)

6. MAKE THE LATKES: Grate the onion and then the potatoes on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the shredding blade. Put the grated onion and potatoes in the centre of a clean dish towel, wrap them in the towel, and twist it over a large bowl to squeeze out as much liquid as possible, capturing the liquid in the bowl; set the bowl aside. Put the squeezed onion and potatoes into another large bowl.

6. After about 5 minutes, the potato starch in the liquid will have settled at the bottom of the bowl. Gently drain off the water, leaving the starch behind, then scrape the potato starch into the bowl with the onion and potatoes. Add the flour, whole egg, egg yolk, salt, and pepper and mix until well combined.

7. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a tray with paper towels. Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add about 1 inch (2.5cm) of oil and heat until hot. To check whether the oil is hot enough, drop a few shreds of potato into the oil. If they sizzle briskly, the oil is ready; if not, keep heating it. (If you try to fry the latkes in oil that’s not hot enough, they will be heavy and greasy.)

8. Once the oil is hot enough, scoop out about 1½ tablespoons of the latke mix, put it in your palm and shape it into a flat disk about 3 inches (7.5 cm) wide. Gently slide the latke into the oil. Repeat the process, adding 4 or 5 more latkes to the pan, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Fry the latkes, turning once, until golden-brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to the paper towel–lined tray and continue frying the latkes in batches.

9. BAKE THE LATKES AND SHORT RIBS: Arrange the latkes in one layer in a couple of shallow baking dishes, such as 23cm by 33cm) Pyrex dishes. Place a small mound of the shredded short ribs on each latke and spoon the short rib cooking liquid over them.

10. Bake until the latkes have absorbed some of the cooking liquid and everything is nicely heated through, about 15 minutes. Garnish the dish with dill sprigs and serve hot.

FOOD

Honey Walnut Cake

Ash e Anar – Pomegranate Soup with Meatballs

Generous amounts of fresh herbs and spring onions lighten up this hearty soup with a tangy undercurrent of pomegranate - a classic Persian flavour combination. The meatballs can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator for a day or in the freezer for up to a month.

MAKES: 8 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS

For the stew:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

450g finely chopped yellow onions

8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

100g basmati rice, rinsed and drained

90g yellow lentils

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

2 tablespoons kosher salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

3 litres of water

30g finely chopped coriander

30g finely chopped fresh parsley

30g finely chopped fresh mint, plus more for garnish

2 to 3 bunches spring onions (about 20 in total), white and light green parts, finely chopped

240ml pomegranate concentrate

50g to 100g sugar (optional)

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

2. MEANWHILE MAKE THE MEATBALLS: Put the beef, onion, garlic, coriander, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well (your hands are the best tool for this) until combined. Scoop up a heaping teaspoon of the mixture and roll it between your palms into a ball the size of a cherry tomato, then transfer it to a baking sheet or tray. Continue shaping the remaining meatball mixture, then set the meatballs aside.

3. When the onions are ready, add the garlic and cook until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the rice, lentils, turmeric, salt, and pepper and stir to mix well. Stir in the water, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil.

This easy-to-make sheet cake is excellent for entertaining - it uses just one saucepan (and the food processor), and the flavour and texture improve overnight as it soaks up the lemon- honey syrup. If you’re short on time, the cake is also delicious on its own, without the syrup.

MAKES: 24 SQUARES

INGREDIENTS

For the cake

225g unsalted butter or non-dairy butter, plus more for the pan

400g walnut halves

200g sugar

480ml water

340g light honey, such as acacia or wildflower

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon kosher salt

325g unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Pick out 24 of the best-looking walnut halves and set them aside for garnish. Put the remaining walnut halves in the bowl of a food processor, add the sugar, and pulse until the nuts are ground to a coarse meal. Be careful not to overprocess the nuts to a paste.

2. In a large heavy saucepan (large enough to hold all the batter ingredients), combine the water, butter, honey, cinnamon, salt, and ground walnut mixture and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the butter melts and the mixture is uniformly combined. Remove from the heat.

3. Put the flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl and whisk until blended, then stir into the honey-walnut mixture until just blended.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and arrange the reserved walnut halves in even rows on top of the cake. It’s fine if they sink somewhat into the batter, but

For the syrup:

225g light honey, such as acacia or wildflower

80ml water

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

80ml fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)

they should still be fully visible.

5. Bake the cake until the top is golden brown and firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack and let the cake cool to lukewarm.

6. Meanwhile, combine the honey, water and lemon zest in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer over mediumhigh heat, and cook until the mixture becomes syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.

7. While the cake is warm, spoon the syrup evenly over the top, letting each addition sink in before you pour on the next spoonful. Let the cake sit for at least 4 hours, or, better yet, overnight, to absorb the syrup.

8 . Cut the cake into squares (with a walnut half in the centre of each). Leftovers can be stored tightly wrapped or in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Pomegranate seeds for garnish

For the meatballs:

625g ground beef

115g finely chopped yellow onion

1 garlic clove, finely minced or crushed

30g finely chopped fresh coriander

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Add the meatballs, cover the pot, adjust the heat to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Uncover the pot and stir in the coriander, parsley, mint, and spring onions. Increase the heat to high to bring the mixture back to a boil, then cover the pot again, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook the soup for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Stir in the pomegranate concentrate and cook, covered, for another 10 minutes.

6. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper if needed; add sugar to taste if the soup seems too tart.

7. Ladle the soup into individual bowls, garnish with pomegranate seeds and serve hot.

archive and events. In 2021,

launched Asif: Culinary Institute of Israel, a centre in Tel Aviv dedicated to exploring the diverse food culture of Israel. TheJewishHolidayTable is available from Amazon in hardback £23.67 or £10 on Kindle

The Jewish Food Society was founded in 2017 by New Yorker Naama Shefi. This non-profit organisation preserves Jewish culinary heritage through a digital recipe

Naama

HE SAYS TOMATO

SISRAELI CHEF EYAL SHANI IS CONSIDERED A GENIUS IN THE RESTAURANT WORLD. HE TELLS DEBBIE COLLINS ABOUT HIS METHODS AND PLANS

uper-cool in both demeanour and dress sense, fizzing with positive energy and constantly puffing on a heated tobacco device, Eyal Shani belies his 65 years. The Jerusalemborn maverick chef made street food famous and injects his enthusiasm into the restaurants he continues to open around the world, spending half the year in Israel and the rest of it travelling.

Eyal lives in Tel Aviv, opening his first Miznon there in 2011 and, as the horrific events of October 7 unfolded, he shut down his restaurants. But he was back in action two days later, converting many of his estblishments into food factories and driving food to army bases in the south.

“As a man who is making food, I have a purpose in life, but it is the lowest goal of mine. If you are sad, I can give you food. You swallow it and it’s melting in your blood with my energy and you feel better.

“When the war came, suddenly I got the most important job to do in my life – to feed soldiers. For nearly four months we did this and continue to be involved cooking for displaced families from the north and the south. I’m working all over the world but

in Israel I work just in Tel Aviv as I know how to work in front of the Tel Avivians – I understand them. They close themselves like turtles in a crisis [Eyal has a beloved pet turtle] and when danger is passing they immediately want to live again.”

He is saddened and sickened by the current state of affairs in Israel. “It’s the most awful situation – a second Holocaust. If you are bad man dreaming about a disaster government you still

cannot imagine it. Nothing but mistakes every day. They don’t care about the people.”

I ask about further expansion plans for Miznon and how sites are decided, (gently suggesting a Marbella opening for summer 2025). “I’m not the one taking the decision – you have to then be responsible! My team decide and I go there to feel the energy: who are the locals and what they are wishing for? I meet the new chef making them

absorb all my mind and soul into them, hypnotising them with my ideas. To understand a place takes a long time, with a deep gap between that first impression of a place and truly understanding its inner workings.”

So, how does Eyal keep cracking that code? “The golden question! It’s about the energy we are carrying – we just keep going, not thinking about it too much. We have something like 55 restaurants but if we count exactly we might get a ‘cold leg’ and worry how to control the operation and the quality.” I press him more about his cold legs and he explains: “Regla’im karot. Suddenly you discover something and you don’t want to know about it.” Ah – cold feet.

Eyal tries to listen to his customers, especially the demand for kosher sites, with another successful glatt kosher opening last year in New York for Miznon. “I know there is a big community in London also wanting a kosher option, but it didn’t pass our thoughts for now.

“But I can tell you that our Notting Hill Miznon will be changing soon to something very exciting. I am always waiting for the reaction of my customers – they are part of my ingredients. Not everything they like or understand, but they’re delivering me a lot of knowledge

The inspired Eyal Shani

so I continue to develop otherwise everything goes to sleep, including my staff.”

Social media posts have a big influence on his success, his 176,000 followers hungry for updates and news. His Instagram @eyaltomato delivers on all levels, but why the tomato? “My first restaurant, Oceanus in Jerusalem, was really small –just 24 covers, with no storage space, so the window of the kitchen became my storage and when people were passing by, they saw lines of tomatoes along the window, and me behind them, cooking.

somewhere else. Which is what I’m doing.”

Miznon is well-known for its pitabased dishes and at his city-based restaurant Lilienblum, too, bread features prominently on the menu.

When I set up my Instagram, my name was already taken so @eyaltomato worked.

“I know one thing – you can learn nothing about success. If something succeeded there’s no information coming out of it. If you succeed here [he points to one place – using a tomato], you have to run away and be brave enough to leave it and to try again

I ponder whether he suffers at the hands of the gluten gods? “I reached something like 105kg and I felt bad inside: slow with low energy. I had a big belly and became a fat man, so for the past three years, I don’t eat bread, pasta or sweets and I’ve lost 35kg in a year and a half. I drink wine nightly because it makes me happy, but from time to time I have this feeling of ‘I must eat it!’, so I might have challah on a Friday. I appreciate food when it’s clean, authentic, from the best ingredients – I always love River Café for this. I don’t like garbage anymore. [He leans in, whispering] But you want my guilty pleasure? Dr Oetker vanilla pudding – it’s so artificial, but the taste? It seduces you.”

ISRAELI INSPIRATION

A footnote on the menu at Eyal Shani’s restaurants explains that the food is ‘inspired’ by him. I’d go a step further and say it is inspired full stop. We’re talking pita with steak and egg or spicy wild mushrooms or fish and chips, a bag of green beans with lemony garlic dressing, and a very famous baby cauliflower – the original and the best (Miznon – Soho and Notting Hill); a fig carpaccio with lashings of parmesan, foccacia with tomato, onion and spicy pepper served with matbucha, a sardine and bu alo mozzarella bruschetta, lamb chops with chickpeas and black spinach and a grouper kebab with green marbled yoghurt (Lilienblum – City Road). And that’s all finished o with incredible desserts – banana and chocolate pita at Miznon, and various tarts, cheesecake and even sticky to ee pudding (chef’s grandma’s recipe) at Lilienblum.

To eat at Miznon is to join a party – the music is loud, the shots are flowing (for free), the cocktails are fun and the food is snacky. It’s a

no-frills set up and eating with your hands is encouraged. It’s not a place to linger, which makes it perfect for pre-theatre, mid-shopping, a er work or just because you want your Tel Aviv-style fix.

Lilienblum is a di erent kind of party – much bigger, more elegant, sophisticated and refined – but still a party to the beat of the background music, and an open kitchen with super-friendly sta keen to explain the dishes, advise on combinations and essentially ensure that you are having a good time, which you will. Naturally, Eyal’s beloved tomato stands in for table décor at both.

Louisa Walters

Magic mushrooms

There are new plans for the Notting Hill Miznon

Banana and chocolate pita

Miznon restaurant

Lilienblum restaurant

The food at Lilienblum

Famous baby cauliflower

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:

MARCHING STANDINGTALL

THE AJEX REMEMBRANCE PARADE & CEREMONY 2024

SUNDAY 17TH NOVEMBER | PARADE BEGINS 2PM THE CENOTAPH, LONDON SW1

Register now and save the date to join AJEX at The Cenotaph this November where we will honour the thousands of Jewish servicemen and women who served for our freedom.

We will be ‘Standing Tall’ in solidarity, honouring their legacy and to stand against antisemitism.

To secure your spot to march book your ticket by Friday 8th November at www.ajex.org.uk

To support the Parade as a spectator from the East Whitehall Pavement no booking required.

Please allow enough time to arrive at the event as there will be a high level of security provided by CST and the Police.

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

OTTOLENGHI pours oil on troubled waters

JENNI FRAZER TALKS TO JEWISH AND ARAB WOMEN WHO ARE CREATING, WITH SUPPORT FROM THE FAMOUS ISRAELI CHEF

Resourceful women have long been the backbone during war and in the face of tragedy.

That is the case now in Israel and the Palestinian territories, where, among the few positive stories is the story of Sindyanna, a joint venture fronted by Jewish and Arab women, who are developing and selling authentic food products.

Sindyanna’s produce, with its “hero” fair trade olive oil, is of such high quality that it is now stocked online in the UK by the man who can truly be said to have transformed British cooking – Yotam Ottolenghi.

Hadas’ Tel Aviv-raised mother.

arrived in Israel and eventually met

survivor who lost his entire family in Novi Sad in Yugoslavia. Aged 11, he arrived in Israel and eventually met

After she left her kibbutz, Hadas became a passionate political activist, working against what she saw as the Israeli occupation of Arab lands. And, in that role as a peace campaigner, she met, and became close friends with, many Arab Israeli women.

The women who began Sindyanna did not themselves originally have a food background. Hadas Lahav, who lives today in Haifa, was born and brought up on a kibbutz in the Jordan Valley. She says: “I was raised on the idea that Jews and Arabs could live together – and not only live together, but benefit from each other.”

originally have a food background.

Her father was a Holocaust

“In 1996 I was one of the founders of Sindyanna. The idea was that we had to build something sustainable between Jewish and Arab people. I don’t have a formal degree, but I do have a very strong background in agriculture from my time on kibbutz. My father was a farmer all his life, responsible for the olive groves, and I used to go with him, to irrigate the growth of the olive trees. So I knew about olives, it was not something strange for me.”

The have his life, responsible for used to go with him, to

start-up with the aim of enabling Arab women to find a job. The early founders of Sindyanna decided that since the main source of income for the Arab villages was the olive groves, they would buy olives and olive oil from the local farmers and bring it to the Israeli market.

At first, says Hadas, the Arab farmers were not aware of the commercial possibilities of their olive oil. It was a local product with limited sales. But Sindyanna created a demand among Israelis for the highly prized extra virgin olive oil, with a guaranteed high quality in the brand – with the added bonus of getting Arab women into the job market.

In 2015, with an expanded variety of products – different kinds of olive oil, nut pastes, honey and the rightly fêted za’atar spice – Sindyanna opened a visitors’ centre in Kafr Kana in the Galilee, where its warehouse is now based.

From the beginning the intention was to launch a

From the beginning the

Hanan Zoabi is an Arab Palestinian woman born in Nazareth, who runs all the marketing for Sindyanna. She met Hadas 20 years ago and had studied

Sindyanna team

Olive picking

Hadas and Hanan

at Haifa University. “When I was a student I saw the injustice between the Jewish and Arab societies, and I always wanted to change society, particularly for Arab women. I saw in Sindyanna the opportunity to do something that would enable me to work with Jews and Arabs – but particularly to empower Arab women and give them an income outside their villages.”

Today, Sindyanna consists of 14 salaried staff, of whom 11 are women. Product development is always on their minds, and Hadas explains that the unique carob syrup that they make is the result of a complex process that has, to date, only been known by one Palestinian farmer. Hadas’ dream would be ultimately to open a factory where modern production methods can be applied to traditional foods.

All through the wars and terrorism hat have plagued Israelis and Palestinians since Sindyanna’s founding, the women – who have numerous social welfare and educational projects as

well as the food products – have stayed strong. They admit that October 7 was a serious setback until they realised that “we find our strength in trust and friendship”, adding: “We are much stronger than the fascists and terrorists.”

In February 2024, clutching fistfuls of foodie gold medals from international judges, Hadas Lahav and Hanan Zoabi flew to London to meet Yotam Ottolenghi to try to persuade him to sell Sindyanna products. They were an instant hit.

He told Life: “I am so proud of being able to sell Sindyanna’s produce in the UK. The women who run this wonderful venture approached me a few months ago and asked to meet up. I completely fell in love with their spirit of collaboration and what they stand for. Later on, I also fell in love with their produce: the nut pastes, the olive oil, the za’atar and that unforgettable carob syrup.”

On his fine foods website, Ottolenghi waxes lyrical about the Sindyanna products, telling prospective buyers

the history of the company, and noting that “the real triumph, though, isn’t the taste or the accolades – each bottle sold funds education for women, supports organic farming and fosters cultural understanding”.

He asks: “Can olive oil create hope? Sindyanna of Galilee proves so. They’re about extending an olive branch to

communities, fostering peace, respect and a shared future. Their olive oil builds bridges; Arab and Jewish women working side by side, creating products that carry a message of unity and hope. We’re proud to partner with them.”

As Nietzsche said: “Love is the oil that eases friction.” This is genuinely the case for the Sindyanna women.

Yotam Ottolenghi with Hadas and Hanan

Volunteers view the olive trees

Volunteers harvest the olives

NEW PEER SUPPORT GROUPS

Jewish Blind & Disabled are excited to announce our new monthly Peer Support Groups for people with visual impairments.

Finchley

The second Thursday of each month

11.30am – 1.00pm

Borehamwood

The second Tuesday of each month 11.30am – 1.00pm

Sessions are designed for meeting new people and sharing experiences of living with sight loss in a safe environment. Family members, friends or carers are welcome to join.

To join a session or find out more information, please contact Toni Lewis on toni@jbd.org or 020 8371 6611 ext 620

As we mark the first anniversary of the 7th October atrocities, the people of Israel still need our support.

This Kol Nidre, UJIA is focusing on Be’eri and Mefalsim, two of the southern kibbutzim that were devastated by the attacks. We are also providing ongoing trauma relief for the victims of terror and support to those who are displaced from Israel’s northern border.

To help the people of Israel as they recover and rebuild, we need you to respond

Please donate now at ujia.org/kn24 or call 020 7424 6400

Charity No. 259480

Why choose us?

Spacious Ceremony Space: Exchange your vows under the stunning wooden beams and enchanting chandeliers that create a magical ambiance for your chuppah.

Elegant Reception Area: Host your family and friends in a spacious reception hall, beautifully decorated with twinkling lights, perfect for your wedding celebration.

Accommodates Up to 200 Guests: Our venue is designed to comfortably host up to 200 guests, ensuring that all your loved ones can be part of your special day.

Personalised Experience: Our dedicated team is here to bring your vision to life, ensuring every detail aligns with your traditions and desires.

Experience the charm and beauty of our venue in person. Schedule a tour today and start planning the Jewish wedding of your dreams.

OPEN DAYS: Sunday 29th September and Sunday 6th October. 11am – 3pm. No appointment necessary

COLVILLE HALL Wedding Venue

Tradition. Elegance. Community.

Welcome to COLVILLE HALL, where tradition and elegance come together to create unforgettable Jewish wedding celebrations.

Our beautifully restored barn venue provides the perfect setting for your special day, accommodating up to 200 guests.

Planning your next function? Then we have news for you! By Louisa Walters

Planning a simcha is almost as much fun as the event itself – but it helps to know where to begin. So to get you started we’ve pulled together a list and be sure to diarise The Jewish News Simcha Show on 3 November at the Hilton Doubletree London Elstree, where you’ll find more than you need for your next function under one roof.

ALL THINGS WHITE

Tradition, elegance and beauty come together to create unforgettable wedding celebrations for up to 200 people at Colville Hall in White Roding, Essex. The manor house and its listed barns date back to the 14th century and have been meticulously restored, preserving their historical integrity while offering modern comforts. The beautiful gardens and stunning courtyard provide a perfect backdrop for photographs and, inside, the wooden beams and enchanting chandeliers create a magical ambiance for your chuppah. There is accommodation on-site, a bridal prep room and a dedicated team to bring your vision to life, ensuring every detail aligns with your traditions and desires.

colvillehallwedding.co.uk

LOCAL HERO

Brondesbury Park

Synagogue in Willesden Green has a newly-built modern-style Function Room that is airy and light with a bank of floor-to-

ceiling windows and wooden flooring. The room comfortably sits up to 120 people with a dance floor, 170 without, and 300 standing. For a more intimate celebration, the Mezzanine Suite accommodates 40 sitting and 75 people standing. There are kitchens on-site for KLBD or Kedassia caterers and the whole building is fully air-conditioned and has a lift, disabled toilets and a ramp, making it accessible to everyone. A plum choice with its versatile spaces, prime location and flexible catering options. Email events@bpark.org

LEVEL UP YOUR PARTY

How cool would it be to give all the guests at your child’s bar or batmitzvah bespoke T-shirts, hoodies and caps all crafted to reflect your child’s individuality? ESK is a premier provider of customisable gaming clothing, designed to elevate your celebration. Each order is tailored specifically to your event, offering unlimited design combinations, because your family is unique and your celebration deserves to be remembered! esk.gg

MUSIC AND MORE

PHOTO CALL

Louise Morris’ journey into photography began with a love for the arts, photographing dancers, musicians and actors on stage. “I’ve always been drawn to the energy and vibrancy of performers,” she says. “As I moved into events, I drew on this same dynamism to influence my photography because ultimately I love photographing people.” A dedicated photographer with a keen eye for detail, Louse has an innate ability to capture the perfect moment. “Whether it’s the joy and excitement of a bar or batmitzvah, the love and commitment of a wedding or the professionalism and engagement of a business event, I strive to encapsulate the essence, creating lasting memories for my clients. I am committed to capturing the genuine emotions and connections that make each person unique. My ability to make my subjects feel at ease allows me to get candid and authentic shots that resonate with the viewer,” she says.

loumorrisphotography.com

TO BE FAIR

restaurant, lots of relaxation areas, an enormous gym, and Reformer Pilates and cycling studios.

Our Many Hats is a one-stop shop for DJ and stage entertainment concepts plus bespoke furniture, lighting and sound. There is a great range of entertainment specifically for bar and batmitzvahs, including silent disco, photo booths, festival glitter, friendship bracelet station and sweet stalls Husband-and-wife team Amanda and Danny have more than 50 years of event experience between them and now their 16-year-old daughter Izzi has joined them, establishing herself as an experienced and confident DJ. Her age makes her especially relevant and relatable for guests at bar and batmitzvahs, either to perform a one-hour set or as the DJ for the entire event. Our Many Hats is a sponsor at the forthcoming Simcha Show on 3 November. Come and see DJ Izzi in action. manyhats.events

My daughter-in-law took on the huge task of arranging her wedding to my son, which was hugely exciting but an exhausting task. My suggestion of a spa day was greeted with a smile almost as wide as the one she gave when he proposed and so we set a date. The calm serenity of Fairmont Windsor Park is a de-stress tonic in itself, but the spa is a total switch-off from the outside world. The hotel has only been open two years, so the spa is right up there in terms of modernity in décor and facilities. It’s also huge (2,500 sq m) with 18 treatment rooms, a 20-metre indoor pool, an outdoor hydrotherapy pool, a Cryotherapy suite (not for the faint-hearted as this is blasts of ice cold air!), a FaceBible aesthetics clinic, a Himalayan Salt Room that promotes respiratory wellness, a spacious

We changed into robes for a pre-booked treatment. Mine was an Iconic Collagen Shock Facial, which promises lifting, firming and moisturising – just the thing my mature face needed to look my best on the wedding day. This deeply relaxing experience lasted an hour spent under a heated weighted blanket in a dimly-lit cocoon of a treatment room. A peel ridded my skin of toxins, massaging techniques revitalised it and layer after layer of collagen-rich creams and oils gave it some plumpness. Overall it felt firmer, smoother and was that a hint of a youthful glow I could detect? My daughter-in-law wafted out of her Sandstone Massage looking relaxed from a hot stones treatment that targets aches and pains and eases muscles in tense shoulders!

At the Greens Café we had a lunch of grilled chicken and an edamame, avocado, beetroot and quinoa salad. No smoothies or desserts as we had dresses to squeeze into, but they are available. I spent the afternoon poolside on giant circular squishy daybeds, while the bride made use of the Thermal Suite with its sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi and ice fountain. None of this comes cheap – facials start at £170 – but, for a special treat and time spent with my son’s fiancée, it was priceless. fairmont.com/windsor-park

An event at Brondesbury Park Synagogue

Lou Morris aims to create lasting memories

Colville Hall is a manor house and listed barn

A design by ESK

Fairmont Windsor Park is modern and luxurious

CATERING AT

HILTON LONDON WATFORD

Wishing all our customers a Sweet New Year! www.wrapawish.co.uk

Opening hours : Monday-Thursday 10am-4pm Friday 10am-2pm Sunday 11am-2pm @wrap_a_wish @wrapawish Call/WhatsApp: 020 8346 7800 Email: contact@wrapawish.com

ROOM HIRE FROM £5,500 including:

• New Hertford Suite

• Use of function Suite from 9am - 12am

Host your perfect event with ease at our hotel, located off the M1, four miles from central Watford and 10 minutes from Watford Junction rail station and links to London’s Euston station. events.watford@hilton.com 01932 652907

HILTON LONDON WATFORD Hilton.com/watford Elton Way, Watford WD25 8HA 01932 235881 events.watford@hilton.com

• Hotel set up with tables and chairs (no linen)

• Dance floor/stage if required

• Corkage

• Use of private bar (to distribute drinks only, no sales permitted)

• Use of private kitchen are (selected equipment available)

• Free parking

• Complimentary Hilton Guest Room or Day Room

106 Regents Park Road Finchley, London N3

EDITOR’S FASHION NOTES

HOLY WEAR

From ‘Bring them Home’ dog tags to flags for displaying at music festivals, the community has been committed to buying from Israel for the past year. Spurred on by the haters on megaphones in supermarkets calling for boycotts, we know the postal service isn’t great, but still place those Holy Land orders. Purchasing from the beleaguered country supports businesses that have suffered from the absence of shoppers, tourists and store buyers who appreciate Israeli design. So if you are scouting for fashion online be sure to cast an eye over the websites for such Israeli labels as…

Stella and Lori (stellaandlori.com) was started by former marketing executive Zohar Blank Kama and architect Vered Blank Grizim who are also sisters and used the names of their grandmothers for their brand. Based in Tel Aviv, their hand made leather products and unique clothing, reflect their “deep passion for quality, style and aesthetics”.

BOYCHIK MEETS GIRL

It’s not easy to find a F**CK Anti-Semitism Unisex T-Shirt on a UK high street, but you can buy it for £31 on BOY MEETS GIRL (boymeetsgirlusa.com) the American brand known for its iconic double-silhouette logo. Founded by Stacy Igel, who, as creative director, forges collaborations to make the edgy, contemporary athleisure. She also has a lifestyle blog Behind the Seams, co-hosts the podcast #MOMSGOTTHIS and is very charity focused. Until the end of the year, she is donating 50 percent of the company’s net proceeds to Artists Against Antisemitism, which is raising money and awareness for Project Shema, an initiative that is subsidising essential training on select college campuses to help students understand anti-Jewish harm and allyship. Granted, the F**CK Anti-Semitism tee is only for the daring, but the less in your face Stop Bullying, End Hate denim jacket (£61) is a good message to be seen in.

Antisemitism,

Raising Bread with Challah chic

Naftul (na ul.com) is the brand and nickname of Nataly Elian, the daughter of successful Israeli designers who “filled up my childhood with sewing, cutting and lots of clothes. I learned to love everything about designing and knew my future would head in that direction.” And it did, with the Na ul label hanging on clothes their designer would wear herself. Her starting point is the fabric – “something comfortable and airy” which inspired her to make something as gorgeous as a floral print kimono (£255), which is also sold on etsy.com

Dressing one’s challah to make a statement has never been a thing. But that changed when artist Deborah Abram created a luxury 100% cotton challah cover worthy of centre stage. But there is more to the bread wear than just looking hot, as the graphic design –‘Light in the Darkness’ – was also a project and the art was created at an event with @houmousproductions and @henmazzig where people painted upli ing words of hope in di erent languages on a canvas that was auctioned at Sothebys to raise funds for art therapy projects for those a ected by October 7 and to help rebuild the kibbutzim. Debra rather smartly realised there was more the art could do and came up with the cover for bread to raise more money. Sold out in less than 24 hours, there are more available for Rosh Hashanah. Visit @deborahabramart

up Her make

Elisha Abargel (elisha-abargel.com) is an award-winning Israeli designer inspired by Tel Aviv’s “kinetic energy, vibrant colours, the sunlit blue skies, and the Mediterranean Sea”. He is known for his unique work process – he first creates all design motifs by hand – and his clothes are made of leather, silk, linen and his own digitally-created mesh and bring customers from all over the world to his studio and shop on fashionable Rothschild Boulevard in the White City. Long may it continue.

chilled just the leather, digitally-created customers from all over the world to his studio and shop

The Board (the-bod.com) was founded by Israeli sisters Sarina & Rachel, who make a lot of very chilled jumpsuits and underwear based on their ethos –‘feel good, do good and suit yourself’. Their inspiration is their mother Holly, who died in 2011. “She’s at the heart of everything we do, not just for her unique style, but for the way she modelled what it looks like to honour one’s own uniqueness.”

REACH FOR THE SKY

We have been following the growth of Cara & The Sky and such is the popularity of the knitwear it is now stocked nationwide. Cara’s world has grown, too, as she is now a mum to daughter Maisie (mazeltov) with another on the other way. There’s no doubt the impact of motherhood has a ected Cara’s designs as there is now a range of adult-sized jumpers with a ‘mini me’ to match. And although she doesn’t have a dog, there is a matching set for someone who does – and we rather like the names of the knitwear!

Black Sesame short £61

Bella & Bella Paws matching jumper set £90

Marissa adult and mini me matching jumpers £106.20

Poppy mini me and adult set £106

Celebr y Squaring BEAUTY

Years ago I had a CACI microcurrent facial treatment and saw the results, as did Rachel Stevens, Jonah HauerKing, Nicola Peltz Beckham and Gaby Roslin. They still do, but now CACI does an at-home skincare line that includes a range of masks, such as the collagen-infused Hydro Mask (£8.50)

to repair skin with hyaluronic acid to plump and rose to nourish and soothe. The Amino-Li Peptide Complex (£45) is the super serum they call ‘natural facelift in a bottle’. Clinically proven with stats, the peptides, amino acids, plant proteins and vitamin C help to improve skin firmness and reduce those damn expression lines. New Year, new celebrity youthful you. cacibeauty.com

EDITOR’S BEAUTY BOX Knight Device

Just as we’re adjusting to uncertainty, the least likely metrosexual person starts posting about bamboo face cloths. Although he wears well-cut suits to yell “You’re fired!” we’d hazard that for @ Lord_Sugar even beard oil would be a stretch. But there he was on Instagram enthusing about the positive review of an eco-friendly face cloth on ITV’s This Morning – and with good reason. It’s made by Stylpro, the beauty brand created by Tom Pellereau, winner of The Apprentice in 2011.

Now, after 13 years of beauty sleep, Tom and his TV knight partner are set to “disrupt the beauty tool market” with affordable skin care devices,

Honey, Honey

We’ve never needed sweetness more, so wear it this Rosh Hashanah

such as the first full LED face mask, an anti-fog mirror and a bamboo volcanic oil- absorbing roller.

As Dr Leah Totton, founder of Dr Leah Cosmetic Skin Clinics won The Apprentice series nine, it seems Lord Sugar is sweet on beauty if it makes business sense as a recent post implies. “#TheApprentice winner @inventor_tom’s LED Face Mask is a PRICE BREAKTHROUGH! It reminds me of the Amstrad days when computers were £1000+ and we brought out ours for £399!” he enthusiastically tweeted.

stylpro.co.uk

Nature Republic Honey Melting Lip, £13.90

You’ll never leave home without this lipstick because it plumps, glistens a bit and glides on like melting honey, but the final effect is demure. Available in nine shades buy you can pick the muted red that’s pomegranate. naturerepublicuk.com

Hydropeptide Upli Eye gel, £63 For bags, puffiness and crepiness, a potent blend of firming peptides with hydrating triple hyaluronic acid to restore moisture and lock in hydration with honey. hydropeptide.co.uk

Ne of Time

Wouldn’t it be nice if the East London idiom – “wind your neck in” – was really possible. So when lines and loose skin appear, you could wind in/up your neck before going full turkey. Necks even baffle plastic surgeons and Nicole Kidman will be first to show she has cracked it. But before the permanent polo neck: Skin Sense doesn’t mess about; a category on its website reads ‘SLACKENING’. That’s the signpost to follow if your elasticity has lost its ping, as you need AP Perfecting Neck and Decollete Cream: a velvety, lightweight area specific treatment for sun damage, irregular skin tone and discolouration. The names are baffling, but it contains niacinamide, NAG and hexylresorcinol; to hydrate and protect skin from troublesome free radicals that cause hyperpigmentation and the super-charged 1% concentration of hexylresorcinol used daily makes a visible difference to the age you are and the age you look. Skin Sense is neck-focused, and its Firming Neck and Decollete Cream strengthens neck skin, so you don’t see those deep lines when you look in the mirror. skinsense.co.uk

An original gift beautifully presented The SKIN Formulation box (£45) developed by physician Dr Barbara Kubicka contains 100 percent natural ingredients that reads like a menu. Beetroot powder to brighten, Dead Sea salt to exfoliate and soothe, scented rose oil, an anti-inflammatory and coconut milk powder to restore moisture. Throw in the fix-all green tea bags and you’ve got five pampering baths. There’s also Skin in a Box with bespoke healing ingredients for the fitness fanatic, for little ones, for teenagers, pregnancy or just a simple sleep formulation for wellbeing. thebathproject.com

Studio Space

From smudging lipstick across her face, the teen has now progressed to stealing Studio10. Given that Grace Fodor created it for mature women it should be out of bounds, but the Perfect Bronze Glow-plexion (£26)and Plumping Blush (£26) provides the most natural daytime look, so who can blame her? She’s yet to discover the Prime & Perfect Refining Powder Silk (£28) that evens out skin texture, fine lines and pores, reduces shine and sets makeup, because I’ve hidden it. studio10beauty.com

WHAT WE TALKTALKWHENABOUTWEABOUT ANNEFRANK

AT SHADMI CATERING, EXCELLENCE DEFINES US. CHEF YAKOV SHADMI BRINGS A PERSONAL TOUCH TO DELECTABLE DISHES, WHILE EVENTS MANAGER YASMIN SHLOMO EXPERTLY NAVIGATES ANY CHALLENGE, ENSURING YOUR EVENT RUNS SMOOTHLY. TOGETHER, WE GUARANTEE AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE.

DR ERIC B. LITWACK

PSYCHOTHERAPIST

I am a qualified and experienced professional, helping many clients with attachment and psychoanalytic psychotherapy for a wide range of concerns.

In light of recent events, I can help with Jewish identity and trauma, linked to the experience of antisemitism.

I also work online with, among other presentations:

• anxiety and depression

• trauma

• relationship and work concerns

• addiction

• loss and search for purpose

In addition to my UKCP qualification in individual psychotherapy, my PhD in philosophy helps me to help you to examine your values and projects for the future. I work in both English and French.

Evening and Sunday sessions provided.

UKCP Member | Curatorium Member of the IAPC (UK)

You would be welcome to have an initial and free chat about working with me.

Telephone: 075305 44497

Email: DrDeco10@gmail.com

Website: https://drdeco10.wixsite.com/ericblitwack

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Please

Four months ago, we announced the arrival of Teddy, the yellow Labrador named in memory of Martin Segal, the UK executive director of Israel Guide Dog Centre (IGDC) who died in January.

Martin’s support and fundraising for the charity that changes the lives of blind and visually-impaired people was so inspirational that we launched a community campaign to support the pup, who will eventually fulfil his role as a companion and guide.

We also promised to keep you updated on Teddy’s progress and, although the Centre in Beit Oved has been struggling to meet the demands of those who need help while dealing with constant sirens and impending war, sta there have sent us good news.

Teddy is now living with his puppy raiser, a law graduate who completed her studies in 2023.

Prior to getting the Labrador, she had to ensure her home was a safe environment for a boisterous and inquisitive puppy to minimise potential risks and provide a safe

space for a young guide dog to grow and learn: electrical cords and cables had to be secured, unsafe areas had to be blocked o , plants toxic to dogs were removed and bins secured as they are too tempting for a puppy. Teddy learns with positive reinforcement using plenty of food and praise to ensure a positive experience. It is also important that he feels relaxed at home and has his own safe space – namely his crate. Guide dog puppies should spend their free time at home settled quietly or playing

Give that pet a chag

Did you know there are three New Year festivals? There’s Tu B’Shvat, the one for the trees, Rosh Hashanah, the one for us, and Rosh Hashanah LaBehemot, which is the new year for animals. It falls on Elul 1 (2 to 4 September) and has passed for this year, but it is in the calendar as a reminder of human relationships with animals. How they provide us with food, clothing and things vegetarians would rather not contemplate, but the chag is also for the creatures in the companionship category to honour our relationships with behemot, the animals in our lives. So a belated celebration is what you could provide –apple and honey treats, fancy dress and note that pomegranates are non-toxic for cats, but can only be given to them in tiny amounts and not very o en.

Read Every (Fe)

EDUCATING LABRADOR TEDDY

From PJ Library, the Jewish children’s book specialists, comes Jewish Cats All Year Round by Varda Livney, a board book for babies and toddlers that begins with a cat blowing the shofar before featuring the feline sweetly apologising to a mouse on Yom Kippur. Who knew cats also loved to dance with the Torah, light Chanukah candles or crunch through some matzah? For your cat and your child to enjoy. To sign up your child for a free monthly Jewish book, visit pjlibrary.org.uk

with their own toys without getting at furniture, racing through the house or chewing on inappropriate items.

Currently, Teddy is learning the commands of sit, lie down and stay. He is also learning to go to the toilet outside the flat in a dedicated space. Little by little, he is taking longer walks and being exposed to the busy and potentially overwhelming outdoor environment. Everything is new to him; therefore, before going on a walk, Teddy is learning to relieve himself in a specific location with the command “busy”. It’s not always successful, but it’s a start. The emphasis is to praise good behaviour and reward with a treat. And, of course, there is a lot of playtime!

The puppy manager comes once a month for individual training and supervision of Teddy’s progress. In between, the puppy raiser is in daily contact with the manager.

So Teddy is discovering the big wide world and accompanying the puppy raiser everywhere she goes. He is progressing wonderfully and is always

Project Spaniel is an autumn/ winter workshop to develop fundamental and more advanced skills for anyone living with a spaniel. While each workshop is ‘stand-alone’, they are also intended to complement each other. So if you fancy sorting out your spaniel with the help of animal behaviourist Dr Jacqueline Boyd, the workshops are at Green Paws in picturesque Melton Mowbray on 17 November. Luckily, pet-friendly Stapleford Park is nearby, so it can be a luxurious learning weekend for both dog and owner.

greenpaw.org.uk

photographer

willing to pose for o icial portraits by dog trainer and photographer Eli Ben Boher.

This is such a positive report for the pup who needs support to of the food, medicines, vaccinations and needs until he

This is such a positive report for the pup who needs the community’s support to cover the cost of the food, medicines, vaccinations and equipment he needs until he starts full training.

Martin’s widow

Martin’s widow Rebecca has been to Israel, cuddled the pup and follows his weekly progress knowing Martin would be as proud of Teddy as the IGDC was of him.

his weekly progress Martin would be as proud To support Teddy the community dog, visit: israelguidedog. org.uk/teddy

Wag Weekend

NEW YEAR RESOLUTION

Take Bailey, Luna or Judge to the movies. Check out the listings at picturehouses.com for dog-friendly screenings. And remember, alldogsmatter.co.uk

Rebecca Segal with Teddy

TRAVEL

Louisa Walters visited the UAE soon after the Hamas attacks and received a warm welcome

Everyone knows that Dubai is a hotspot – literally – so you may wonder why my hotel overlooks a ski slope. Ski Dubai is an indoor ski resort with ski slopes of varying difficulty, real snow and even real penguins! It maintains a welcome 0°C temperature all year round – highly appealing in the summer, when the mercury regularly hits the 50°C mark.

This winter wonderland is in the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest shopping centres in the world, which also houses the Kempinski Hotel, where I have checked in for a few days.

It is December 2023, just a few weeks after the Hamas attacks and, in truth, I’ve been vacillating about coming on the trip. Family and friends thought we were mad, while the social media community were roughly split between ‘why would anyone travel to the UAE right now?’ and ‘It’ll be fine.’

In my heart, I knew it would be fine. Ever since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2019, this has been a place that warmly welcomes Jews. Israel has become the fastest-growing tourism market for Dubai and is now its eighth-largest tourism market overall. More than 85,000 Israelis visited Dubai in the first two months of 2023, a 212 percent year-on-year increase.

When I chatted to the manager of the hotel, he told me that they were devastated at the potential reduction in Jewish visitors as a result of the war and the undoing of so many years of work in fostering good relations. “We want the Jews to come here and to feel safe,” he said.

Of the 350-plus luxury rooms in the hotel, 20 are Aspen chalets that are full-on

cosy winter retreats with furry throws on the beds. The ‘regular’ rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows that flood them with sunshine by day and statement lighting creates a sophisticated evening environment. Marble-topped dark wood furniture makes for an extremely smart and sophisticated design, and the huge marble bathrooms with separate bath and shower are well stocked with amenities.

The high-ceilinged hotel lobby is lined with marble so shiny it is almost mirrored, and I counted no fewer than five reception desks. Well-dressed business and leisure travellers wander in and out, many sitting in the Lobby Lounge, which styles itself on a European grand café in the heart of the city, even serving afternoon tea.

While the ski resort is visible from some rooms, the outdoor pool deck is visible from others. It is accessible from the terrace at Olea restaurant, and it was here that we enjoyed Middle Eastern-style buffet breakfasts and an exceptionally good Levantine evening meal.

Ease of access to the mall from the lobby is one of the Kempinski’s biggest attractions for a leisure traveller, and anything else is just a short Uber ride away. We visited the Miracle Garden, a Disney-esque attraction that lays claim to being the world’s largest natural flower garden, with more than 150 million flowers in a riot of colours. As if one shopping centre wasn’t enough, we also went to the Dubai Mall, where the famous fountain and light show takes place every evening. A dinner table at Abd El Wahab afforded us a front-row seat to watch this spectacular event. So far, so Sand Vegas.

But then we visited Abu Dhabi, roughly 90 minutes by car along the cleanest six-lane highways you ever did see. And here, in the richest of the seven Emirates, we saw less bling and more culture. Once away from the hubris that is central Dubai, we sped along with no traffic for a full-day tour by Younan, a charming Egyptian man who lives in Abu Dhabi with his wife and young child. From him we learned that 80 percent of UAE inhabitants are expats from Europe, India and Pakistan. They pay no tax and they endure no crime – but if they are not working they are not allowed to stay.

Abu Dhabi is a collection of islands, the most well-known of which are Saadiyat Island, where most of the resort hotels and cultural offerings are located, and Yas Island, which houses the theme parks, including Ferrari World, Warner Bros World, Sea World and Yas Waterworld.

We visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque – the largest in the world after Mecca – which houses the world’s largest and heaviest chandelier, largest carpet and largest mosaic. The figures pertaining to this mammoth and incredibly beautiful white marble structure are staggering. In 2023, it received 5.5 million visitors, including 1.4 million worshippers; more than 45,000 people come to pray every Friday. My

husband was one of the 59,000 people who used the mosque’s jogging track last year. We visited the Louvre, France’s largest cultural project abroad, which has been designed in traditional Arab style in the shape of a dome; the nearby Natural History Museum and the Guggenheim are under construction. We went to the date market,

where I ate my bodyweight in samples and came away laden with pouches of almondstuffed, chocolate-coated Medjool dates.

The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Abrahamic Family House. Opened in February 2023, this unique project brings together the three religions that descend from Abraham – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – in a show of unity, equality and tolerance. A mosque, a church and a synagogue of equal size, stature and proportions stand on the site and are open for all to enter. The mosque faces Mecca, the church looks towards the East and the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue towards Jerusalem. Avi Berkowitz, the former assistant to President Donald Trump, got married there. At the project’s opening ceremony Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis called it a “remarkable monument to lovingkindness” and said we should use “this extraordinary sacred site to promote harmony and peace”.

As I stood inside a real-life synagogue in the Arab world, as we wandered around this serene, peaceful place, and as we said prayers for those who had lost their lives on October 7, I allowed myself to hope for a better, brighter future.

• kempinski.com

• abrahamicfamilyhouse.ae

Ski Dubai has indoor slopes of varying levels

The Abrahamic Family House

The Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue

Aspen suite overlooking Dubai Ski

Lord Daniel Finkelstein OBE is a prominent political commentator and a member of the House of Lords.

Escape to Antigua

Once a refuge from the Nazis, the Caribbean island has long been a winter retreat for Beatrix Clark

Antigua does not seem an obvious choice for a Jewish family escaping the Nazis, so I was surprised to learn that the restored 17th century plantation house Weatherills was once owned by a Jewish refugee couple fleeing from Nazi Germany.

The couple, who had fled to England and been interred in Montserrat alongside other Jewish immigrants before settling in Antigua, ran the estate as a successful sugar and cotton plantation until the 1970s. The tastefully renovated wooden house and stone outbuildings are now a boutique hotel and restaurant, complete with the only working sugar mill in Antigua. Twice I have enjoyed lunch on the colonial-style terrace overlooking the lush, tropical gardens and can attest to the food, ambience and service.

Clearly the family grew to love Antigua –and I share that passion, so much so that I have headed there each December with my own family for the past nine years and hope to continue doing so. The allure of this lush Caribbean island, part of the dual nation of Antigua and Barbuda, is not hard to fathom. Temperatures when we visit are between 24°C and 29°C all day every day, the beaches are stunning – apparently there are 365 of them, though I’m not sure anyone’s counted – the turquoise water is perfect for swimming and water sports, and there are plentiful bars, restaurants and resorts to relax, party or do

both. Crime is low and you can be there in just under nine hours.

Taking the BA morning flight and picking up a Toyota at the airport from our trusty car rental contact Bob gets us to our rented villa in Jolly Harbour while it’s still light. A cool drink on the deck on our first evening in the balmy air to a chorus of tree frogs instantly puts us in the holiday mood.

sundowners while admiring the glorious, fiery sunsets that are the trademark of Antigua’s west coast. However, this is the Caribbean, where nothing happens in a hurry, so we’re not holding our breath.

While most tourists stay in hotels, we prefer self-catering, stashing in our bags packs of smoked salmon, halloumi, Lavazza co ee, Lindt chocolate and other goodies that are either unavailable in Antigua or so prohibitively expensive it’s worth paying the excess baggage fee. The customs o icials are pretty chilled and we know people who bring far worse – one friend literally brought a kitchen sink.

A gated community on Antigua’s West Coast, Jolly Harbour first came to our attention in the 1990s, when my pop video producer husband used the then extremely cheap accommodation to house a film crew. With more than 800 dwellings – mainly twobedroom condominiums but also some larger villas and luxury beach houses – an extensive marina, waterfront restaurants, three beaches and one of the best-stocked supermarkets on the island, Jolly Harbour is a vibrant mix of renters and homeowners, many of whom spend at least six months of the year there. It’s a little shabby in places and word is that wealthy developers have bought it with the intention of carrying out a major upgrade and building a Nikki Beach resort on the expansive and scenic South Beach. We’re not thrilled as this is the beach – a mere three minutes’ walk from our villa – where we swim daily, walk and sip

There is, however, an abundance of hotels, many of them all-inclusive and some adults-only. Standouts on the west coast include Cocobay, Galley Bay, Carlisle Bay, Tamarind Hills (o ering luxury villas as well as smaller suites) and the exclusive family-run Curtain Blu . The latter has an excellent spa open to nonresidents; on a recent visit my two friends and I were presented with a post-treatment bottle of bubbly and spent an idyllic a ernoon qua ing it in the jacuzzi. The three-star Jolly Beach Hotel is a less-costly option.

On the south of Antigua, English Harbour – so named because the Royal Navy based itself there in the 18th century – is a magnet for superyachts, with a younger crowd and some of the island’s best bars and restaurants. Galleon beach, one of two beaches in the area, has a fun vibe and turtles swimming freely. Places to stay include The Inn at English Harbour and The Gunpowder Suites – whose restaurant, Boom, is one of our top lunch spots, with outstanding views and outstanding seared tuna. Blue Waters and Hodges Bay are good accommodation options in the north and, on the Island’s wilder east coast, Escape at Nonsuch Bay, where all units have their own plunge pool, is comfortable if somewhat remote.

No matter where one is based, Antigua has its must-dos. A tapas lunch or a sundowner at Sheer Rocks, the drop-dead gorgeous bar and restaurant perched upon a rocky cli with sparkling sea views and mouthwatering watermelon martinis is one of them. Attached to the Cocobay resort but independently owned by the Rocks Group, Sheer Rocks is close enough to Jolly Harbour to be one of our regular haunts. Other culinary favourites are

the delightful and delicious Casa Roots, where French owner/chef Sylvan smokes his own locally-caught fish, Cecilia’s High Point Café and Catherine’s Café on Pigeon Beach, the latter best frequented for Saturday lunch when the band plays and the rosé flows.

A major highlight is the steel band sunset party at Shirley Heights Lookout, an ex-military compound on Antigua’s southernmost tip, where, every Sunday, tourists and islanders alike gather to admire the sweeping views and spectacular sunsets over English Harbour, drink rum punch and dance the night away to live music from top local performers.

Each time we visit there are changes and new experiences, but the essence of Antigua remains the same. It’s our winter-escape happy place that keeps luring us back.

Shirley Heights

English Harbour

Weatherills

Sheer Rocks

The spa at Curtain Blu

Cocobay

TRAVEL

Inspired by the beauty he saw on a stay in Winchester in September 1819, Keats penned his ode To Autumn. There are many lovely places to enjoy the golden glow of this most beautiful of seasons. By

Louisa Walters

LONDON

Autumn is the best time to stay overnight in London as new season shows and art exhibitions open and the restaurants launch their new menus. Corinthia London is a radiant reflection of the city’s dynamic spirit. Behind its grand façade and historic surroundings there is much to enjoy, including a spellbinding spa, an array of dining venues and 20 fresh, transformed suites plus four new Garden Suites. We particularly love Kerridge’s Bar & Grill, the 1920s-inspired champagne and cocktail bar Velvet and The Garden, one of London’s best-kept secrets, an enchanting place to eat with its cosy fireplace and cashmere blankets.

a self-contained cottage for families. Dine in Stanley’s restaurant, or enjoy all-day dishes served anywhere you please. There’s also a pool and a small spa.

HENLEY

NORFOLK

Popular as a day-visit summer destination, Henley is a charming town for an autumn break with a stay at The Relais Henley that is part of the town’s social fabric. Built in the 1530s, guests at this riverside retreat sleep in rooms named after the notable guests who once stayed, including King Charles I and Grace Kelly (who visited when watching her brother compete in the Henley Royal Regatta). The hotel houses the Dominic Chapman Restaurant, the eponymous award-winning restaurant of the chef who worked with Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck and The Hind’s Head. Henley Deli next door hosts workshops such as coffee-decorating art or go to the Chilterns for hiking and walks, try a wine tasting at a local vineyard or even take to the Thames for a boat experience.

HERTFORDSHIRE

The Harper is a one-of-a-kind boutique hotel located in Langham, a pretty village just a mile inland from the coast at Blakeney, Norfolk. A contemporary take on the English country escape, with a not a chintz curtain in sight, it has a relaxed and ever-so-slightly irreverent vibe. Brick and flint-built barns house the 32-bedroom hotel and there is also

Sopwell House has unveiled six stunning new Corner Suites meaning that you can enjoy a truly luxurious escape in beautifully-designed rooms, almost every element bespoke to the venue, from

plush furnishings and statement marble bathrooms with freestanding baths and antique brass fittings. The 41sqm suites have integrated living areas with a freestanding drinks cabinet and a heated and covered balcony overlooking the breathtaking grounds, perfect for morning coffee or evening drinks. Corner Suite guests have complimentary access to The Club at Cottonmill, with its spectacular spa gardens featuring cabanas, hot tubs and a fire pit, along with an indoor/ outdoor massaging hydrotherapy pool, deep relaxation room, organic sauna and salt steam room. Drink at the new Octagon Bar and dine at the hotel’s Asian restaurant Omboo or The Brasserie, which fuses British and Mediterranean cuisines.

WILTSHIRE

As the days get colder and the nights grow darker, autumn is the perfect time to slip away to The Bradley Hare, in the beautiful village of Maiden Bradley in south-west Wiltshire. This cosy country inn on the Duke of Somerset’s Estate has 12 homely and unique bedrooms decorated by James Thurstan Waterworth, the former European design director of Soho House. After a visit to iconic prehistoric monuments, picturesque villages, market towns, world-famous gardens and a walk

through rolling landscapes, head back to the inn for delicious dishes using local and seasonal produce, including autumnal root vegetables. This is a great location for visiting Bruton, Frome and Bath.

WINCHESTER

An unspoilt cathedral city, Winchester is England’s ancient capital and former seat of King Alfred the Great. It is also the first known destination of Jews in the UK. Home of good food and the country’s largest farmers’ market, birthplace of the modern game of cricket, resting place of author Jane Austen and inspiration to the many craft-makers and artists who live here, you’ll find an abundance of restaurants, cafés, bars and food markets. Stay at the Old Vine, an independentlyowned 18th century inn with six bedrooms, steeped in character and charm, perfectly located in the historic city centre.

WIN an overnight stay with dinner and spa access at Down Hall Hotel

Blending historic country house splendour with luxurious and contemporary décor, the awardwinning luxury Down Hall Hotel, Spa & Estate is the idyllic place for an autumn getaway in the Essex countryside. With 110 acres of grounds and surrounded by woodlands, the 98 beautiful bedrooms, elegant event spaces, a luxury Eden Spa, themed a ernoon tea experiences and an annual Bonfire Night display make this an ideal retreat for any occasion. Dine decadently in the Garden Room restaurant and Fox Bar or in the new casual Potting Shed, all of which take advantage of the abundance of fresh produce grown within the one-acre Kitchen Garden. One lucky reader will enjoy an overnight stay with a guest in one of the hotel’s newly-refurbished Estate Patio Rooms, inclusive of a pre-dinner cocktail in the Fox Bar, a three-course meal in the Garden Room, wet spa access and breakfast the following morning. To enter, visit jewishnews.co.uk/down-hall / Competition closes 15 October 2024

Sopwell House

The Bradley Hare

Corinthia

The Harper

In need of a dose of sun following a wet start to the summer, my wife and I picked a weekend with a promising forecast and headed towards the south coast and Brighton.

As Brighthelmstone, the town came to prominence with the visits of the Prince Regent towards the end of the 18th century. He commissioned the architect John Nash to refashion the Royal Pavilion, which, with its onion-domed façade, exotic Oriental interior and beautiful gardens, is well worth a visit (tip: lovely tearoom, but you have to buy a ticket for the whole geshe in order to gain access). The arrival of the London to Brighton Railway in 1841 encouraged day-trippers and opulent hotels, such as the Grand and Metropole, sprung up to accommodate them.

The construction of the Palace Pier in 1899 provided entertainment and the Volk’s Electric Railway, the world’s oldest operating electric railway, linked Black Rock (close to Brighton Marina) to the Pier.

In the 21st century we have Brighton i360, opened in 2016. At 531ft, it is Britain’s highest observation tower outside London, with the enclosed observation pod rising to 453ft and offering extensive views of the South Downs and the English Channel. Shopping is legendary, be it designer brands at Churchill Square or boutiques in The Lanes, while nearby is the Amex stadium, home of Premier League high flyers Brighton and Hove Albion.

Marina Malmaison

The seaside town has much to offer the Jewish holidaymaker. Barry Borman went for the weekend

Brighton has an unbroken eight-mile expanse of shingle beach within the city limits. On a hot Sunday or Bank Holiday, the throngs bring to mind those images we’ve all seen of Coney Island (which, strangely enough, has a section called Brighton Beach), while the revamped boardwalk winding its way between beach-side eateries is reminiscent of Santa Monica.

We chose as our bolthole the quirky Marina Malmaison, which has onsite free parking and is a short bus ride from the main drag. Our room had a suntrap balcony overlooking the glistening Marina. When the sun shines, you could be in Herzliya. We were within easy striking distance of a number of beautiful coastal walks, including Beachy Head, the highest chalk cliff in Britain. The walk to the top is a must, but you can just as easily locate your fold-up chairs in a quiet spot opposite the car park and luxuriate in a remarkable vista of sun, sea and sky that extends from the tip of Kent in the east to the Isle of Wight in the west.

But for all that, the jewel in the crown for us was the discovery of the BNJC (Brighton and Hove Jewish Community), a multi-faceted hub of Jewish life, offering an amazing array of facilities for community and visitors alike. Redeveloped on the site of the Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation and intended to revitalise 250 years of Jewish life in Brighton, it has received unstinting support from Tony Bloom, entrepreneur, philanthropist and chairman of Brighton and Hove Albion football club. The centre was opened in 2023 and launched with Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis’ assurance that it “will be a beacon of Jewish identity and make a lasting impact on the entire city”.

The pivot of a Jewish community is, of

course, its synagogue. The present location has been serving the community for more than six decades, but the opportunity to replace the old buildings and start from scratch has yielded stunning results. The blue glazed terracotta screen and ‘Toblerone’ tiles around the ark, coupled with natural light from above, has created a tranquil and spiritual haven, all overseen by Rabbi Hershel Rader. A new mikveh has also just been completed. As well as the usual services, there is on-site capability for Kiddushim, Shabbat lunches and atmospheric courtyard chuppahs. There is also an independent day nursery accommodating 38 children, above which is ‘The Nest’ for babies and toddlers.

The diverse activities offered by the hub are for all tastes, including art, culture and learning. There are pottery classes, Ulpan for learning Hebrew, concerts and monthly Jewish Book Club meetings. A members-only gym is equipped with high-end apparatus and personal training is available. You can also join walks around Brighton and Hove, visiting historic and religious sites ‘with a Jewish twist’.

In accordance with its ethos, the centre engages with various organisations in the wider community and has also developed a relationship with St Christopher’s School, with which it shares classrooms.

As we are kosher food mavens, the opening of Novellino Brighton within the BNJC was a major consideration in choosing Brighton for our odyssey. Modern Sephardic cuisine, blending Tel Aviv with French Bistro, was promised. And we weren’t disappointed. Baba ganoush, falafel, soups and salads, grilled chicken thighs and a shawarma platter that was the Mediterranean on a plate. The menu is extensive, embracing asado, entrecote, lamb,

salmon, sea bass. If you have a sweet tooth, there’s affogato and a highly recommended chocolate brownie sundae. The lunch menu has burgers, salt beef sandwiches or a Greek salad, and breakfast is either Israeli or kosher full English.

BNJC also provides 45 flats and town houses for sale or let. Five are reserved for Jewish housing association use and around 10 have been set aside for kosher holiday rentals and Shabbatons. If the idea appeals of a base 100 yards from the beach with access to fresh challah, a kosher food shop and all Shabbat meals on tap, this is where you need to be.

Pauly the Painter has been teaching art in schools for many years, but on this summer evening he was outside, putting the finishing touches to a wonderful portrait of the complex. The vivid flowers illuminating his canvas had been painted by children living in BNJC’s accommodation and he showed us they had inscribed their names and ages on the back of the painting

BNJC’s CEO Marc Sugarman has said of the BNJC project: “I do not think there is anything like it in Europe.” Its wraparound facilities, coupled with the attractions of Brighton itself, are a shidduch made in heaven.

https://bnjc.co.uk

Tel: 01277-888610

Mob: 07526 989875

Phone: 01277 888610 Mobile: 07526 989875

E.Mail : tikvahchadasha@gmail.com www.tikvahchadasha.com

Email: tikvahchadasha@gmail.com Web: www.tikvahchadasha.com

We would like to wish our fellow Jews L’Shana Tova and well over the fast.

We are a small, welcoming community,which promotes full inclusion under the auspices of Reform Judaism:

Regular Services for Shabbat & Festivals

Mixed Faith Blessings

Conversion Classes

Free onsite Parking

Many victims of the Holocaust were young children who did not live to celebrate their Bar or Bat Mitzvah.

You can make sure their names are never forgotten whilst making your special day even more meaningful.

The Twinning Pack consists of:

» A Page of Testimony with details of your chosen twin

» A Study Guide

» A certificate

» A letter from a Holocaust survivor

» A Yad Vashem lapel pin

» Memorial and Shabbat candles

» An invitation to become a Guardian of the Memory

» Genealogy Service @yadvashemukfoundation @yadvashemUK

Phone: 020 8187 9881

Email: office@yadvashem.org.uk www.yadvashem.org.uk www.guardianofthememory.org 46 Albert Road, London, NW4 2SG

New Beginnings, Timeless Traditions

Connect with the spirit of Israel, your home away from home. Israel – now more than ever.

As we welcome Rosh Hashanah and the holiday season, where every moment is filled with the promise of renewal and the sweetness of tradition, we would like to wish you Shanah Tovah!

Together, let's make this year joyous, full of new beginnings and optimism! Shana Tova U'metuka - A Happy and Sweet New Year