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Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire takes hold Page 2 Quiet on the
by Jenni Frazer jenni@jennifrazer.com
The National Union of Journalists has confirmed to Jewish News that BBC journalists have resigned from the union after it distributed directives from the TUC urging workers to dress in Palestinian colours, or wear a keffiyeh, as part of a Day of Action for Palestine.
The TUC has called for a permanent ceasefire, the cessation of violence in Gaza and release of all hostages. But in recommending Palestinian dress as part of the event, due to take place today (28 November), some NUJ members at the BBC say their union has crossed a line.
One BBC sta er said the move was a clear breach of the BBC’s commitment to impartial reporting, telling The Times: “BBC journalists, who pride themselves on impartiality and who fought to keep their NUJ free of politics, are being encouraged to break the BBC’s editorial guidelines by supporting a political cause”.
They added that they were reconsidering NUJ membership after the “hypocritical and antisemitic” action.
Jewish sta ers at the BBC say Nigel Lewis, the broadcaster’s director of HR, has been alerted to the situation and raised it with HR leads across the corporation. BBC security has also been made aware of potential flashpoint situations. created by the wearing of Palestinian flag colours or headscarves.
In a message to NUJ members the journalists’ union says that “clearly, members working across the BBC and in public service broadcasting have important duties in relation to impartiality and work within social media guidelines the NUJ would not wish members to breach”.
Just as clearly, the union has been alarmed by the response and the resignations. Jewish chat groups speculate that there might be at least a dozen more people handing in their NUJ membership cards in the coming days.
Charlotte Henry, a freelance journalist who has also resigned, wrote on her newsletter, The Addition, that the union had become “a hostile environment for Jews, and I can no longer be part of that”.
“a
The TUC was unable to say whether it had ever previously asked workers to wear the national colours of one side or another in a conflict. It did confirm, however, that it has never asked members to wear the colours of Ukraine’s flag during the country’s conflict with Russia.
As far as the Palestinian cause goes, however, the TUC is not simply asking participants to “wear something red, green, black or a Palestinian ke yeh” to their workplace, but “visibly show solidarity”
Jewish charities, alongside good causes from fellow faith communities, this week urged the government to reconsider its National Insurance rise. They warn the increase in costs is forcing them to cut budgets, jeopardising services for the most vulnerable in their communities. Special report: pages 12 & 13. Voice of the Jewish News, page 18
A 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah terrorists has commenced, with both sides withdrawing from southern Lebanon.
The deal, announced on Tuesday night, comes after nearly 14 months of fighting.
Brokered by the United States and France, the agreement is designed to provide a permanent end to the conflict, President Joe Biden said following the announcement.
But Israeli ministers insisted that the country would resume strikes on Lebanon if Hezbollah breached the terms of the ceasefire, while the deal does not a ect Israel’s continuing war with Hamas in Gaza.
In a statement, Keir Starmer described the deal as “long overdue”, adding that it would “provide some measure of relief to the civilian populations of Lebanon and northern Israel, who have su ered unimaginable consequences during the last few months of devastating conflict and bloodshed”.
The prime minister said: “Now, this deal must be turned into a lasting political solution in Lebanon, based on Security Council Resolution 1701, that will allow civilians to return permanently to their homes and for communities on both sides of the border to rebuild.
“The UK and its allies will continue to be at the forefront of e orts to break the ongoing cycle of violence in pursuit of a long-term, sustainable peace in the Middle East. We must see immediate progress towards a ceasefire deal in Gaza, the release of all hostages and the removal of restrictions on desperately needed humanitarian aid.”
The announcement of the deal follows a day of intense Israeli air strikes in Beirut, with local authorities saying at least 24 people were killed in the bombardment while Hezbollah continued to fire rockets into northern Israel.
Recommending the ceasefire to his cabinet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal would isolate Hamas in Gaza and allow Israel to focus more on Iran, which supports both Hamas and Hezbollah and has staged attacks on Israel in recent months.
UAE authorities have identified three Uzbek nationals as suspects in the murder of the Israeli-Moldovan rabbi Zvi Kogan.
The body of Rabbi Kogan, who worked in the capital of Abu Dhabi as an emissary of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, was found on Monday. Mossad and other security agencies were involved in searching for him, the o ce of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, adding: “The murder of Chabad emissary
Zvi Kogan in the Emirates is a cowardly and despicable antisemitic act of terror.”
Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz said on social media after Kogan’s body was discovered: “Israel will not rest nor be silent until those responsible for this criminal act pay for their actions.”
Kogan was one of thousands of rabbis dispatched by the Chabad movement to posts around the world to attend local Jews and Jewish travelers. Chabad expanded its limited presence in the UAE starting in 2020, when the Middle Eastern country normalised relations with Israel in a historic agreement; Kogan is listed as one of five rabbis working in the country.
His widow is a niece of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, the Chabad rabbi murdered in the 2008 attacks in Mumbai. • Editorial comment, p18
Foreign secretary David Lammy said the announcement o ered “hope” and must become “a turning point that builds momentum towards a lasting peace across the Middle East”.
He said: “The UK was the first G7 country to call for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah in September and we have worked relentlessly since with our allies and partners to apply pressure to end this conflict since. We strongly urge all parties to use this agreement to open a pathway to a lasting peace.”
UN is a ‘house of lies’
A former Israel ambassador to the United Nations has launched a swingeing attack on the institution, condemning it as a “stain on humanity” and “the house of lies”, writes Sandy Rashty.
Gilad Erdan, the global president of Magen David Adom, was keynote speaker at MDA UK’s fundraising dinner on Monday night in central London, to mark its 75th anniversary.
dissolution of the institution and criticising it for its bias against Israel.
Addressing more than 400 guests at the event, Erdan pointed out that nondemocracies were counted among UN members.
He went on to call for the
After being introduced by Israel’s ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, Erdan said: “The UN is not just biased, it is a weapon in the hands of terrorism.” He added: “Through distortions and accusations, branding us — not Hamas — as human rights violations, all to try to prevent our victory. I believe that the time has come for us to understand that the UN is lost; it is rotten to its core. The UN must be defunded completely. As long as the UN exists, we have to fight back.”
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said the ceasefire “will enable tens of thousands of civilians in both Lebanon and Israel to return safely to their homes on both sides of the border, and to put an end to the violence and destruction of this conflict”.
He added: “Our support for Israel’s security remains ironclad, and so does our support for Israel’s right to defend itself from Iranianbacked terrorist organisations like Lebanese Hezbollah and Hamas.
“[The US] will consult closely with our international and interagency partners to support the implementation of the ceasefire.”
While aid organisations have welcomed the ceasefire, they have also called for it to be made permanent and extended to the conflict in Gaza.
Amelia Whitworth, head of policy at the children’s charity Plan International UK, welcomed the deal, saying: “It is essential that all parties respect this ceasefire so that vital humanitarian aid can be delivered to the children and families that desperately need it.”
Whitworth added: “Today’s agreement must act as a vital step towards a sustained, permanent ceasefire – both in Lebanon and across Gaza and the wider Middle East region. The horror must stop immediately, all children deserve to enjoy their childhood free from the threat of violence.”
According to the United Nations, more than 3,700 people, including 240 children, have been killed in Lebanon since the latest round of fighting began in October 2023, while about 900,000 have been displaced.
PM URGED AGAIN TO OUTLAW IRGC
Keir Starmer has been told to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) amid claims that “ine ective” sanctions levelled against the organisation are “riddled with loopholes”.
A cross-party group of more than 40 MPs, peers and other public figures has written to the prime minister to call for the Iranian state linked IRGC to now be branded a terrorist entity.
The letter was organised by the Henry Jackson Society, which cited the fact that “since January 2022, there have been 20 credible threats against British citizens and UK-based individuals, all linked to Iran and the IRGC”.
The group also noted the IRGC’s support for Iran’s proxy groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, which are already proscribed in the UK.
The signatories say:
“Beyond its activities in the Middle East, the IRGC has been implicated in cyberattacks, assassination plots, and covert operations targeting dissidents and civilians in Europe and North America.
“Since January 2022, there have been 20 credible threats against British citizens and UK-based individuals, all linked to Iran and the IRGC.
“By proscribing the IRGC, not only would its resources be subject to seizure, but public support for the group would be criminalised.
“This step is especially critical as public displays glorifying dangerous organisations have increasingly surfaced on the streets of London in recent months.”
Labour MPs and peers were among the signatories, as is Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6.
The Green Party has been accused of displaying “deep denial about the left’s antisemitism crisis” after enlisting councillor Jo Bird to deliver a talk on combating Jew hate, writes Lee Harpin.
The Wirral politician, who was expelled from Labour after speaking at an event organised by a group who regularly denied antisemitism allegations in the party, spoke at the Association of Green Councillors event last weekend.
She addressed the audience on Understanding and Combating Antisemitism and on Dealing With Accusations of Antisemitism.
The Jewish Labour Movement was among those to condemn the Greens’ use of Bird to conduct antisemitism training sessions.
A spokesperson told Jewish News: “This truly beggars belief. The idea that the Greens would use someone who was expelled from the Labour Party for antisemitism training shows what deep, deep denial they
are in about the left antisemitism crisis in their Party. This isn’t how so-called progressives should behave towards minority communities.”
The campaigner against antisemitism Steve Cooke also posted on X: “Here are Green councillors showing they can do comedy too with Jo Bird
leading a conference session on ‘understanding antisemitism’. ”
He added: “Note the subtitle of her presentation.” The subtitle: ‘dealing with accusations of antisemitism’.
Bird joined the Greens after she was ousted from Labour in November 2021, having repeatedly
joked in speeches about “Jew process”. She also spoke in support of an activist who clashed with Jewish former MP Ruth Smeeth, now Baroness Anderson, at the launch of a report on antisemitism under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
In one of her speeches Bird, who
is Jewish, claimed there was a “privileging of racism against Jews, over and above – as more worthy of resources than other forms of racism”.
The Greens announced they had appointed Bird as co-secretary of Jewish Greens, which describes itself as the “first port of call within the party for educational purposes and Jews and Judaism”.
Concerns about the failure of the party’s leadership to tackle antisemitism among its membership were heightened in the run-up to the general election.
A party spokesman said: “The training was developed in collaboration with our Jewish Greens group. As a prominent and experienced Jewish councillor, Jo Bird is considered by the Association of Green Councillors as ideal to deliver such training.
“We have complete confidence in Jewish Greens and those Jewish councillors who developed and delivered this training programme at our conference.”
Former Tory minister Penny Mordaunt and Lord Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, are to lead a wideranging Board of Deputies Commission looking into the continued rise of antisemitism in the UK, Jewish News understands.
election. She has frequently spoken out on antisemitism, and is believed to be keen on a return to political life.
The two political heavyweights will advise Board president Phil Rosenberg on a Commission which will also encompass a comprehensive review of hate crime legislation, policing and prosecution, including public order and safety. Mordaunt, a former defence secretary, served as Leader of the House of Commons 2022-24, and was MP for Portsmouth North for 14 years before losing her seat at in July’s
The Conservative Party has written to Keir Starmer to express concern about his government’s handling of the International Criminal Court decision on arrest warrants for Israel’s political leaders. A joint letter from Priti Patel, shadow foreign secretary and Robert Jenrick, shadow justice secretary, claims that the “only beneficiaries of this decision are Hamas”.
It calls on the prime minister make clear that the government will not support the arrest warrants. It states: “The White House has ‘fundamentally rejected’ the ICC’s decision”, which would “do nothing to help secure the release hostages, get more aid into Gaza or deliver a sustainable end to the conflict. But, by contrast, the UK government’s response to the decision has been nonsensical.”
A Westminster source praised the pair for agreeing to lead the Board’s commission saying “Mann and Mordaunt really o er much needed expertise and clarity on the issue at a critical time.” Rosenberg first pledged to establish the commission during his successful campaign to succeed Marie van der Zyl as Board president.
Ahead of the July general election the Board’s own manifesto pledged a review of “hate crime legislation, policing and prosecution, to ensure the toughest framework in place for o enders”.
The letter regarding the ICC decision to issue arrest warrants for the Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, suggests that it “has no proper basis in international law.”.
It adds: “The court was established on the principle of ‘complementarity’, meaning that it was designed to pursue cases in instances where countries do not have robust and independent judiciaries. That cannot be said of Israel, which is the only democracy in the Middle East and possessed of one of the most advanced legal systems in the world.
It has been suggested that Karim Khan KC, the chief prosecutor, relied on Hamas sources, and that “sources from UN bodies whose employees are a liated with Hamas”.
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Four leading antisemitism campaigners have been shortlisted for the Pete Newbon Award for the public understanding of antisemitism, writes Michelle Rosenberg.
The honour is presented annually by the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism in memory of the activist, who died by suicide in 2022.
Heidi Bachram, Nicole Lampert, Alex Hearn and Elica Le Bon are on the shortlist for the individual who has made the greatest contribution to public understanding of antiJewish hate.
Heidi Bachram built, and each time it was vandalised rebuilt, a memorial for the victims of 7 October in Brighton. While not Jewish, she works tirelessly to focus public attention on the hostages in Gaza.
She said: “I am deeply honoured to be shortlisted for the Newbon Award. I feel Pete with us in the fight, which has become much more intense since the October 7 attacks. This award is part of his legacy and I’m so humbled to be a part of it.”
Alex Hearn is director of Labour Against Antisemitism and a social media and journalistic commentator. He has worked with counterterrorism institutions and has spoken in the Lords, the European Parliament and in the media.
He said: “Being shortlisted for an award by LCSCA, who do such
valuable work, and in the name of a dearly missed member of our community, Pete Newbon, is a double honour. To be recognised in this way, among all the many people who work so hard against antisemitism, makes me feel incredibly proud.”
Jewish News journalist and broadcaster Nicole Lampert has
worked to tell the story of 7 October, the plight of the hostages, survivors and families, and has told the story of the victims of sexual violence.
Lampert said: “It’s an honour to be shortlisted in the name of the kind, valiant warrior against antisemitism, Pete Newbon. Covering this story from all angles has taken
Counter-terrorism police have arrested 10 people linked to the Palestine Action group in its investigation into attacks on the defence technology firm Elbit Systems UK, writes Lee Harpin.
After the granting of a series of warrants, nine people were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Six arrests were in London, including one in Barnet and one in Kensal Green. The London arrests include women aged 19, 24, 28, 30 and 40, and a 27-yearold man.
A 72-year-old man from Hull was arrested on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.
The arrests are in connection with an investigation into an incident on 6 August in which a group
of people forced their way into the building of Elbit Systems in South Gloucestershire, causing extensive damage.
Palestine Actvists have repeatedlly targeted Elbit, including its Filton-based research and development hub, over its Israeli links.
Elbit Systems is an Israel-based military technology company and defence contractor, which had an annual revenue of $5.5bn in 2023.
On 6 August, Palestine Action
activists were arrested after they broke in and damaged weaponry in the Bristol manufacturing hub.
A larger group from Palestine Action used a prison van to smash through the outer perimeter and the roller shutters into the building. Once the six were inside, they began damaging machinery and Israeli quadcopter drones.
Employees and two police officers were seriously assaulted.
Palestine Action activists this month splattered red paint and smashed windows of the offices of pro-Israel groups in Hampstead High Street. The group also bragged they had “abducted” two sculptures of Chaim Weizmann, Israel’s first president, who had earlier been an academic at the university, although one of them stolen items was not who the group believed it was.
me, an entertainment journalist, to the war-scarred borders of Israel to investigating antisemitism within previously cherished institutions like the BBC, the UN and Oxford University. I’m lucky that I had a small army, including my friends on this shortlist, besides me.”
Iranian feminist and social media activist Elica Le Bon said: “This is so heartwarming. Thank you so much. It means so much to me to be even considered for such an honourable award.”
The judges include Luke Akehurst, MP for North Durham; Kirsty Young, chief of staff at the Holocaust Education Trust, and Joanna Bell, social media influencer.
A spokesperson for the awards praised the “exceptionally high calibre of nominations”, adding that the shortlist “highlights just some of the incredible work being undertaken day in and day out to address this vile and pernicious hatred. Our thanks go to all who submitted nominations, and to all of those who are working to ensure that anti-Jewish racism is never allowed to go unchecked.”
Other nominees included David Collier, Alan Johnson, k-larevue. com, Richard Kemp, Lesley Klaff, Rachel Moiselle, Douglas Murray, Melanie Philips, David H Stone and Jonathan Turner. The winner will be announced at the Robert Fine Memorial Lecture on 8 December.
The charity StandWithUs UK and the Union of Jewish Students have condemned the burning of an Israeli flag at a Jewish student event in London.
According to witnesses, people who were not guests at the evening, co-sponsored by both communal groups, shouted “Free Palestine” when they noticed the Israeli decorations at the venue. The individuals were given a warning by the venue management that they would be removed if they repeated the chant.
Reportedly, one of these people then approached the DJ stand at the event last week and began burning the Israeli flags with a lighter. The person was stopped, removed from the area and spoken to by police, who are investigating the incident.
StandWithUs UK said it was “appalled by the actions of the individual who felt that they could burn the emblems of the only Jewish State in the world during a party for Jewish students..”
UJS said it “unequivocally condemns the burning of Israeli flags displayed at the annual “TLV Takes LDN” event, and the verbal abuse received by some students leaving the venue.”
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has emailed MPs outlining his objections to legalising assisted suicide days before Friday’s debate on the proposed legislation, writes Lee Harpin.
In his email to MPs, Rabbi Mirvis said he felt a “moral obligation” to speak out about a proposal which would “impose a new and immeasurable pressure upon terminal patients who are already extremely vulnerable”.
Jewish News revealed earlier this month how Mirvis was joining with other faith leaders voicing opposition to the Assisted Dying Bill, sponsored by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater.
But while Judaism has traditionally been against euthanasia, ahead of this week’s second reading of the bill, some rabbis and other leading Jewish figures, including doctors and politicians, have questioned the traditional stance.
A spokesperson for Progressive Judaism said there would be no official comment from the movement on the
issue, apparently leaving the way open for individual rabbis to reach their own opinion on assisted dying.
In the week leading up to tomorrow’s debate, Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson revealed he had attended two town hall gatherings: one with constituents in favour and one with those against.
Hundreds attended one event at Finchley Reform Synagogue to hear speakers, including Tory peer Lord Finkelstein, argue the case for assisted dying. One of the organisers of the shul event, Andrew Jacobs, 70, told the BBC he would “be very disappointed” if Tomlinson did not vote in favour of the bill.
Jacobs said he backed assisted dying after seeing his mother’s struggle during her final days. “She told me, ‘my body is a burden to me. If I were a pet, you’d put me down’,” he said. “Seeing a loved one in distress, it’s really hard.”
Tomlinson revealed later he remains undecided on what he says will be “the hardest decision of his political career”.
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Muslim organisation 5Pillars was found guilty last week by media regulator Impress of breaching the discrimination clause of its standards code following a complaint from the Community Security Trust, writes Charlotte Henry.
The verdict relates to an episode of the organisation’s Blood Brothers podcast and is the second guilty verdict Impress has handed down against 5Pillars this year. CST told Jewish News it “welcomes the ruling and the confirmation that 5Pillars had given an unchallenged platform to air their antisemitism”.
The latest ruling relates to an interview with former deputy leader of the far-right organisation Britain First, Jayda Fransen, by host Dilly Hussain in an episode entitled Britain First, Christian nationalism and the Zionist agenda. It has been found that Fransen espoused antisemitic theories without pushback, encouraging hatred or abuse towards Jews.
The Impress adjudication states: “The interviewee’s [Fransen’s] unchallenged assertions that Jews were responsible for Pornhub, for ‘the abortion industry’ and for ‘the LGBTQPZ plus agenda’, and that there was a ‘disproportionate number of Jews occupying positions of authority’, had the e ect of perpetuating a narrative of prejudice against Jewish people.”
Rejecting the claim that providing more challenge to the interviewee would have made the podcast too long, Impress recognised “the publisher had full editorial control over the scope, content and duration of the item and had an obligation to ensure that, whatever its length, it complied with the code. Overall, the committee considered that the lack of challenge by the interviewer to the claims enabled the interviewee to encourage hatred or abuse of Jews”.
While the complaint was upheld, Impress cannot take action because it oversees a voluntary system, one which 5Pillars has quit.
It gave notice it was leaving the regulator in June but had previously regularly referred to its membership to promote itself as a legitimate media organisation. Dilly Hussain hosted the podcastin question.
A statement from Impress said it was “of course disappointed that 5Pillars came to the
decision to leave Impress earlier this year”. In a post on the website, editor Roshan Salih wrote: “Impress is no longer a suitable regulator for 5Pillars”. He also called for the establishment of a Muslim media regulator.
Run primarily by Salih (editor) and Hussain (deputy editor), 5Pillars describes itself as “a news, opinion and analysis-based website which concentrates on British Muslim news but also looks to the wider Islamic world”. It has built up a substantial audience across its website and social platforms with 173,000 followers on Twitter and 200,000 subscribers on YouTube.
A browse of the website might lead a reader to think it is a mainstream outlet focused on Muslim community news and events. However, 5Pillars has often published content that can appear geared towards radicalising its audience.
Reaction to Hamas’ 7 October attack
Disturbing content published by 5Pillars seen by Jewish News during months of investigation includes a video posted on 8 October 2023 entitled “The Palestinian resistance go on the o ensive”. It frames the 7 October attacks positively and downplays the horrors inflicted on women, children and older people that day, falsely claiming these groups were protected. That
video includes footage of Hamas propaganda, including clips from the terror group.
“There will come a time when the Palestinians, when the resistance, will decide strategically that it’s time to regain in as best way as possible the territories that were unjustly usurped from them,” the narrator warns towards the end of the six-minute video.
He later adds that the 7 October attacks should be seen as a “natural progression in the strategies of a liberation movement and a religious prerogative to liberate Masjid Al-Aqsa”.
Content 5Pillars publishes appears to have real-world consequences. In January this year, disturbing scenes took place at an event being held by the charity Boys Clubhouse, which helps disa ected young men. After Hussain tweeted details of a talk being given there by IDF soldier Levi Simon, a group of hooded men turned up at the event in Hendon. Hussain, however, rejects the actions were because of anything he posted.
There are worries 5Pillars content could lead to further such incidents. A policy expert explained to Jewish News: “You’re talking about a media which plays on people’s emotions and to encourage them to anger. This anger seems, in my view, to be taken out primarily against people who are identifiably Jewish.”
Blood Brothers podcast
Last week’s ruling relates to an interview with former deputy leader of the far-right organisation Britain First, Jayda Fransen, by host Dilly Hussain in an episode entitled ‘Britain First, Christian nationalism and the Zionist agenda’ Hussain broadcasts his Blood Brothers podcast on the alternative video platform Rumble as well as the 5Pillars website and audio platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Some videos were previously removed by YouTube, probably because they violated its rules. As well as the episode with Fransen, there is also an edition of Blood Brothers with former BNP leader Nick Gri n. Indeed, the far-right is prominent on 5Pillars. Christian nationalist Jim Dowson has appeared on the podcast and there has been an episode with neo-Nazi Mark Collet, who runs the organisation Patriotic Alternative. That episode was the subject of the other complaint upheld by Impress this year.
Frequent references to “Zionists” can be found across 5Pillars content. The Chief Rabbi is referred to as “an outspoken supporter of Israel” in a report about his knighthood. That same article mentions honours given to the “proudly Zionist” former Board of Deputies chair Marie Van der Zyl, and to television presenter Rachel Riley. It is hard not to see the word Zionist as anything other than a substitute for “Jew”.
5Pillars has also faced scrutiny for homophobia. It was handed a £3,000 grant from Public Interest News Foundation from its Covid-19 Emergency Fund in 2020, but there was a backlash following the publication of a homophobic video. Pink News reported the broadcast called gay people a “gross crime against Allah”.
Impress has urged change. “It is our strong belief that it is better for both publishers and the public that recognised independent regulation is taken up as widely as possible to preserve journalistic integrity across the sector,” it said. “Unfortunately, until there are genuine incentives put in place for that to happen, publications will continue to be free to do as they please, including discriminating against protected groups with no recourse or consequence.”
Actress Miriam Margolyes referring to Oliver Twist’s fictional character Fagin as ‘Jewish and vile” was not antisemitic, according to the BBC.
The 83-year old Harry Potter star, who is Jewish, caused outrage with her comments to Kirsty Wark on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row on 13 August.
When Wark asked Margolyes to mention a memorable Charles Dickens character from her childhood, she replied: “Oh, Fagin without question. Jewish and vile”, adding: “I didn’t know Jews like that then. Sadly, I do now.”
Broadcaster and antisemitism campaigner Jonathan Sacerdoti submitted a formal protest to the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU), which rejected the complaint, saying the most “natural understanding’ of the remark was that it referred “vile” to Fagin and the attributes which made his character stereotypical.
The BBC said the “unexpected comment” should have been challenged and “we have taken swift action to remove it from the programme and it is no longer available”.
An international research hub has been launched to urgently tackle increased Holocaust denial and distortion perpetuated by AI, writes Lee Harpin.
The Landecker Digital Memory Lab: Connective Holocaust Commemoration, based at the University of Sussex, UK, will act as a central hub to help combat the impact of social media, computer games and AI on Holocaust memorial.
At the project’s launch its director, Professor Victoria Grace Richardson-Walden, said: “Holocaust denial, distortion, contestation and trivialisation have become more visible over the past decade.” She also gave a warning about the decision of some schools in the UK to stop teaching about the Shoah after “claiming it’s too political or too insensitive at this time.”
Richardson-Walden added: “We saw a peak during Covid, particularly on social media platforms, but since October 7, it has been amplified
to such an extent that questioning the Holocaust has become normalised in mainstream public discourse.
“The lab seeks to address these issues by providing a hub that aims to tackle them at the transnational level through interdisciplinary and cross-sector working. Holocaust memory and education are confronting an existential crisis; it has never been more urgent to do this work.”
Lord Khan, Minister for Faith and Lord Eric Pickles, president of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and the UK Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust Issues were applauded for their speeches at the launch event.
Lena Altman, co-CEO of the Alfred Landecker Foundation, said: “How do we encourage a digital generation to engage with the murder of millions of Jews and apply lessons from this past to contemporary challenges? The digital memory lab
addresses this head-on by mapping existing high-quality digital content on the Holocaust in a unique archive, so that those engaged in historical and political education do not have to reinvent the wheel, but learn from best practice examples instead.
“Also, the Lab seeks to foster interdisciplinary and international collaboration among researchers, developers and educators, thus contributing to breaking up silos, all in order to make the Holocaust matter today to the widest possible audience.”
Pickles previously warned of the “profound consequences” to society of faked imagery relating to the Holocaust produced through generative AI and other emerging technologies. In a speech given at the UK co-sponsored Conference on Holocaust Distortion and Education in Bucharest, Hungary, the Interna-
Holocaust distortion has become more common
tional Holocaust Remembrance Alliance chair said:” The consequences of cheap, widespread fakery are likely to be profound. It is possible to imagine Holocaust survivor testimony being manipulated.”
One hundred and fifty communities in five continents participated in this year’s Rabbi Sacks Global Day of Learning, marking four years since the death of the former Chief Rabbi. The epicentre was the 2024 Sacks Conversation, which took place in Jerusalem at the National Library of Israel, writes Jenni Frazer.
The 2024 Sacks Conversation is an annual event honouring the legacy of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. The Sacks Conversation celebrates his enduring influence as a global moral leader, fostering dialogue and the exchange of ideas. This year’s theme, ‘The People of the Book’, reflects a concept that Rabbi Sacks cherished — a commit-
ment to learning, dialogue and the power of ideas. The event featured a conversation between America’s ambassador to Israel Jacob Lew. and Jerusalem-born writer and educator, Rachel Sharansky Danziger. The choice of the National Library of Israel as the venue coin-
cided with the rehousing of Rabbi Sacks’ personal archives, now preserved at the library. These archives contain pivotal documents, handwritten correspondence, certificates, and meticulously-crafted notes for some of Rabbi Sacks’ most influential speeches.
Rachel Sharansky Danziger began the conversation with a message of hope in the power of Rabbi Sacks’ legacy. She said: “Although we don’t have Rabbi Sacks in the flesh and can’t hear his voice to share insights and to get us through these di cult times, he bequeathed us a treasure of texts and words that we can turn to and continue to converse with him about the hard times and good times.”
A 63-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of malicious communications o ence after calling Progressive Judaism’s Rabbi Gabriel Kanter-Webber a “kapo boy” on social media. Rupert Nathan made a series of insulting comments on a close friend’s Facebook post in which he also described Rabbi Kanter-Webber as a “creep”, and “fake Rabbi”. The Brighton and Hove Progressive synagogue rabbi reported Nathan’s comments to the police and his professional body the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment.
Nathan was arrested in August. While the CISI decided not to take any action, police have put his case to the Crown Prosecution Service to assess whether he should be charged with ‘malicious communications’. The father of two claimed he was locked up for 12 hours after he was arrested. He told the Daily Mail: “In the police station I was treated like a proper criminal. I was fingerprinted, DNA tested, photographed and then kept in a cold cell completely alone for 10 hours. It was humiliating.” Nathan was released on bail on 11 November. “Kapo” is a word used for Jews in German concentration camps who cooperated with the Nazis in overseeing other prisoners in return for preferential treatment.
The deputy prime minister has stepped in to the continuing fight by Bevis Marks Synagogue against a 43-storey tower block proposal which would radically a ect the synagogue, writes Jenni Frazer.
The City of London planning committee is due to consider the proposal from developers on Friday 13 December – the same developers whose planning application for a 47-floor building was rejected by the City in 2022.
Now, Angela Rayner, who is also secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, has e ectively frozen the situation by issuing a Holding Direction, after being asked to “call in” the tower block application. Her move prevents the planning committee from
giving permission to the developers to proceed – or to turn them down –without “specific authorisation”.
Rayner may now decide whether
One of Germany’s most infamous Holocaust deniers and a hero of the country’s far-right and neo-Nazi movement has died while awaiting her latest prison term.
Ursula Haverbeck, who was 96, claimed that Auschwitz was a work camp rather than a death camp, and that nobody had been gassed to death there.
She challenged a German court to prove that the Nazis committed mass murder, and declared on TV that the Holocaust was “the biggest and most sustainable lie in history”. She spent years in prison, as an elderly widow, for lying about the Holocaust, and was called the “Nazi grandma” by German media. Her antics, particularly in the
ministers should consider the planning application. Her intervention does not mean she is in favour of the City of London or of Bevis Marks, the
last two decades of her life, brought shame to many Germans and kept Holocaust denialism in public life there. She routinely flaunted national laws designed to keep citizens from denying or downplaying the Jewish genocide.
“We won’t have any impact on you with words,” one German judge, Lisa Jani, announced during one her 2022 sentencing of Haverbeck. In explaining why a prison term was necessary for the nonagenarian, Jani said the defendant had “strayed miles from the historical truth” and “damaged the memories of millions of murdered people”.
“She is a lost cause,” Magistrate Bjoern Joensson, who issued an earlier sentence against Haver-
oldest synagogue in Britain; but as Bevis Marks’ press spokesman Paul Dimoldenberg told Jewish News, her action “moves this from an important local issue to putting it on the national agenda”.
Rachel Blake, MP for the Cities of London and Westminster, described Rayner’s action as “positive”, adding: “The proposed development would negatively impact Bevis Marks synagogue, and I have objected to it. I believe this application goes against policies that protect accessibility, inclusivity, and cultural heritage.
I have been working closely with Rabbi Morris of Bevis Marks synagogue for months on the future of this site, and I’m pleased to see this decision from the government”.
Shalom Morris, the Bevis Marks
beck, said about her in 2015, according to the German news agency Deutsche Welle.
Joensson added that it was “deplorable that this woman, who is still so active given her age, uses her energy to spread such hairraising nonsense”.
Born in 1928, Haverbeck married Werner Georg Haverbeck, a former Nazi o cer nearly two decades her senior.
She largely stayed in her husband’s shadow until his death in 1999, after which she began publishing writings and other work glorifying him and the Nazis and questioning the historical record on the Holocaust. She was first convicted and fined in 2004.
rabbi, said: “We welcome the intervention of the Deputy Prime Minister on the threat to Bevis Marks Synagogue. The future of Bevis Marks synagogue is now very much on the national agenda, as befits its Grade I listed status and its historic role in British Jewry.”
The 300-year-old Bevis Marks synagogue is under threat from a proposed 43-storey tower at 31 Bury Street, in the City of London.
Since January this year, it has now been included in a Conservation Area which should provide further protection. More than 1340 objections to the tower have been sent to the City of London planning committee, ranging from Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis to historian Sir Simon Schama.
@justincohen
peer has urged the government to reverse its decision to increase tax on charities, as the impact of the measure on care for society’s most vulnerable became clearer.
Research by the Nuffield Trust estimates the employer national insurance (NI) tax rise, when combined with rises in the national minimum wage, could cost charities as much as £2.8bn.
Jewish News spoke with several communal charities this week, who are each facing additional seven figure bills. And we’re highlighting the impact on good causes in other minority communities too.
Lord Levy, president of Jewish Care and Sense, says since the budget he has been inundated with concerns about the impact of the NI rise on charities.
“They now face having to overhaul annual budgets and potentially cut back on frontline services for some of the most vulnerable in
vulnerable in society.
“There is no
doubt the government faced a massive black hole, but such measures that risk these essential services – and the jobs of the heroes who provide them day in and day out – are profoundly disappointing.”
She added: “It would be a tragedy for the budget changes to lead to a reduction in the support charities are able to provide.”
foundly disappointing.”
He added: “I’m urging ministers at every opportunity to introduce an exemption for the thousands of charities now facing an uncertain
thousands of charities now facing an uncertain future.”
Concern is increasing over the NI rise introduced in the budget, given that it impacts charities as well as businesses. UK charities employ almost one million people and are already struggling with rising costs, growing demand and a fall in funding. Yet about one in four people in the UK relies on the social care services they provide.
duced in the budget, given that it impacts charialmost one million people and are already strugfour the
The budget now looks poised to cost some of the community’s largest social care and charitable organisations millions in extra costs.
table organisations millions in extra costs. annnounced
Jewish Care annnounced last week it expects an additional £1.1m hit annually while for Norwood that figure is £1m and £400,000 for Kisharon Langdon. The United Synagogue anticipates a 500,000 hit.
Kanti Nagda, manager of the Sangat Advice Centre, which supports Asian and other minority communities on welfare benefits and housing, says: “We will have to cut back on services, reduce hours, and put activities on hold. Ultimately the people who need things the most will lose out. So we call on the government to reverse its decision. Reimbursing charities for this NI rise would be the most welcome thing.”
Hopscotch, a charity that works with women and their families from different ethnic backgrounds to improve their physical and mental health and wellbeing, says the tax increases will add at least £35,000 to their wage bills at a time when they can ill afford it.
Norwood it was doing when it announced the tax rise.
Richard Franklin, CEO of Kisharon Langdon, believes that the government knew exactly what it was doing when it announced the tax rise.
CEO Benaifer Bhandari said: “Because of the language services we provide, councils lean on us for culturally appropriate support. Our services are in such need. More than we can provide. And the pressures on us with the NI rise just adds to that.” Cutting service provision is a last resort for Hopscotch, but Bhandari cannot rule it out.
“The government took out the cost of exempting charities from their projections [based on follow-up reports by the Nuffield Trust and the Institute for Fiscal Studies].
Trust and the Institute for Fiscal Studies].
“In my view it wasn’t a mistake and it they were reluctant said. “It is hard to fathom that this adminisa
This tips everyone into operating deficits.”
“In my view it wasn’t a mistake and it appears they knew what they were doing, and they are reluctant to move their position,” he said. “It is hard to fathom that this administration has come up with a tax regime that penalises those with least broad shoulders. This tips everyone into operating deficits.”
Franklin continues: “I have a team looking at it and we will be very calm and considered about this and plan for all eventualities.
it and we will be very calm and considered about look authority allocation to mitigate this in part,
“The government might look at local authority allocation to mitigate this in part, but that approach is arguably a difficult one as [local authorities] have their own issues.”
She said: “We will need to dip into our designated reserves to cover these costs, which we set aside for redundancy pay for staff and care workers should the organisation need to close in an emergency. This hike is going to make a lot of charities question whether they can afford to keep existing.”
Revealing the true extent of the crisis, the Care Provider Alliance (CPA) this week warned the social care sector faces potential collapse, following a survey of 1,180 providers.
The study paints an alarming picture of broken Britain and a sector already stretched now facing “impossible choices”. The CPA report quotes one provider as saying:
Jewish Care CEO Daniel Carmel-Brown
Jewish Care CEO Daniel Carmel-Brown says the charity would now need to turn to the community to raise £20m before the end of this financial year to “continue doing all that we do today, and to avoid having to make some difficult choices”.
“continue president
Michael Goldstein, president of the United Synagogue, which employs more than 800 people across its communities, nurseries, cemeteries, kashrut and support departments, adds: “The government must urgently grant an exemption for charities. If the government doesn’t reverse its decision, it is vulnerable people across the country who will inevitably pay the price.”
for charities. If the government doesn’t reverse vulnerable country who will inevitably pay the price.” impact
“We have made it through a global pandemic and cost of living crisis only to be shut down by the very government that we hoped would save us. This is not just about business viability – it’s about the lives of hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people who rely on these essential services.”
The CPA survey found 77 percent of organisations will have to draw on reserves, 64 percent will have to make staff redundant and one in five is planning to close its business entirely.
Prof Vic Rayner, CPA chair, said: “Without adequate support, we now know for certain that services will close, care providers will stop delivering public services, and care workers will lose their jobs. Critically, a huge number of people who rely on care and support will go without or see their lives deteriorate.”
The impact of the ‘charity tax’ bombshell is being felt across all voluntary organisations in the UK, with many facing difficult choices in the months ahead.
the UK, with many facing difficult choices in the months ahead.
Even the UK’s largest charities are not immune. The UK Alzheimer’s Society says increased NI contributions will mean more of their supporters’ donations are taken up by additional tax.
impact of the NI rise would be “significant both ners. We are hearing from our local partners and from other charities too it is the combination of which was higher than anticipated - plus the rise lowering to
able that is hitting them hard”.
Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said the impact of the NI rise would be “significant both on the national charity and on our local partners. We are hearing from our local partners and from other charities too it is the combination of the increase in the national minimum wage –which was higher than anticipated - plus the rise in employer NI contributions and the lowering of the salary floor at which they start to be payable that is hitting them hard”.
“This could impact on our ability to provide support for those who need it more than ever,” a spokesperson says. “The UK government must realise that charities are already working in a difficult and inflexible situation with rising demand and increasing costs. The NI rise will be a significant additional factor for us to contend with, while we support thousands of people affected by dementia.”
The charity tax impact is also expected to be felt in the education sector. Raisel Freedman,
assistant director of PaJeS, the umbrella organisation for Jewish schools, said: “The increase in NI contributions is just one of several compounding financial pressures facing approximately 80 independent Jewish schools - who are all registered charities.
“With the simultaneous introduction of VAT on school fees, removal of business rates relief, and rising minimum wage requirements, these educational institutions are confronting a perfect storm of
policy changes that threaten their financial viability.”
In a recent letter to the Independent newspaper, Claudia Mendoza, CEO of the Jewish Leadership Council, claimed that the tax rises will also impact the fight against antisemitism, saying it will “damage the essential work done by Jewish charities” and lead to contractions “across the whole sector, including all those charities who are fighting bravely against antisemitism”.
Mendoza added: “The chancellor must
urgently consider an exemption from this tax rise for the charity sector. Without this, the services provided by British charities will be reduced – in some cases critically.”
So what next for our charities?
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has seen more than 7,000 organisations already sign up to its open letter to Rachel Reeves calling for reimbursement of NI contributions for the voluntary sector.
The letter states: “The harsh reality is that many organisations may be forced to reduce staff, cut salaries, and most importantly, scale back services for the very people they strive to support.”
At the time of going to press the NCVO was still awaiting a Treasury response to its open letter.
However, responding to criticism of the budget, a Treasury spokesperson told Jewish News: “Our tax regime for charities, including exemption from paying business rates, is among the most generous anywhere in the world, with tax reliefs for charities and their donors worth just over £6bn for the tax year to April 2024.
“We have protected small charities and businesses by more than doubling the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of them with NI liabilities either gain or see no change next year. Charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs where eligible and are still exempt from business rates.”
The chancellor said the rise in NI overall would raise £25bn a year by the end of the parliament. The government also points to the extra £600m being put into social care services in government grant funding next year, announced by the chancellor. • Editorial comment, p18
On 30 October, Rachel Reeves delivered the first budget of the new Labour government and announced a triple whammy for many charities:
• NI paid by employers is set to rise by 1.2 percentage points to 15 percent.
• The threshold at which employers pay secondary class 1 NI contributions will be reduced from £9,100 to £5,000 a year
• Finally, the national minimum wage is also set to rise, which will impact a number charities as one of the largest employers in the UK
All these measures come into effect in April 2025, leaving charities, social care organisations and some schools scrambling to plug a funding hole.
Care Provider Alliance statistics
• 479 homecare providers estimate cost increases of 9-12 percent, which council and NHS commissioners say they cannot meet. In addition, 42.9 percent will need to shorten care visits
• 628 care homes report severe financial pressures with 77.6 percent looking to reduce or stop planned maintenance while 79.7 percent will halt capital investment
• Some 708 providers for adults and supported living face particular challenges. One provider says: “The 105 people who we support would beforced into NHS care, or to other providers (if there are any left)”. Another adds: “Our work supports learning disabled adults to become more independent. If our services stop, all of these people will have limited lives and will become dependent on state funding – it’s a false economy.”
• The survey reveals implications for the care workforce. In addition to cutting jobs, 76 percent of providers will have to cut training and resources for staff, 86 percent cannot maintain wage differentials, threatening career progression, and 64 percent will step back from paying the real living wage.
Former Israeli education minister Shai Piron should be a better-known figure abroad, writes Jenni Frazer.
Once number two on Yair
Lapid’s Yesh Atid list, he is now a rabbi and the founder president of a grassroots movement called Pnima (Inward), which seeks to bridge gaps between different groups in Israeli society, from religious to secular.
But the quietly spokenformer politician is also something of a rock star in the charities and disabilities sector, as a spokesman for the non-profit organisation Simcha LaYeled, which helps hundreds of children and young people all over Israel, who have chronic illnesses and disabilities, but no cognitive issues.
Part of Piron’s attachment to Simcha LaYeled can be explained by his son, Naor, who will be accompanying Piron on a
visit to London in support of the charity at the end of the month.
Naor is profoundly physically disabled, but became part of the Piron family when he was a baby and had been left in hospital by his biological family.
Naor – who began receiving help from Simcha LaYeled when he was six – is now 20, the same age as the charity, and despite his physical problems, has joined the Israeli army.
“Because of the situation after October 7,” says Piron, “everyone in Israel feels they want to do something to help. For young people like my son, in a wheelchair, it’s not so easy. But for the army, it’s sending an important message that people with special needs who want to be soldiers, can be soldiers.”
Piron became interested in Simcha LaYeled when he was still a government minister and watched Naor and other special
needs friends blossoming under the mentor scheme operated by the charity. Rather than a central building it has hubs across the country from which its volunteers and staff visit people in their homes or in hospital, giving them “a sense of community”, says Piron, and making them feel part of a whole.
“I felt that the work inspired trust from the young people and give them a lot of hope,” Piron says, adding that even today, Naor has a regular mentor who comes to see him, sometimes taking him out for a beer –something highly appreciated by these young people.
Several times a year Simcha LaYeled runs wildly popular activity camps for upwards of 300-400 special needs young people, and Naor can often be seen taking part as an alumnus of the movement.
But post-7 October, life has
of course been very much more difficult for every Israeli, and all the more so for the special needs community.
Many of them, says the charity, could not leave their homes for months on end “for fear of being caught in a rocket attack and unable to reach a shelter or safe room in time. This forced seclusion exacerbated their sense of isolation and intensified their fears and anxieties; all of this had an adverse effect on their health.”
Readers can catch Shai and Naor Piron in London on 30 November in a programme moderated by Shani Cohen, star of the satirical TV show Eretz Nehederet. For tickets to An Evening of Unity and Hope, from 7.30pm in the City of London, visit: https://shorturl.at/Mgfjr
• For donations: via JNF UK, partners and sponsors, visit: https://shorturl.at/D1tFt
More than 35,000 people from all backgrounds came together last weekend for Mitzvah Day, Britain’s biggest interfaith day of social action.
Politicians taking part included Keir Starmer, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Bishop of Edmonton the Revd Canon Dr Anderson Jeremiah, Progressive Judaism’s Rabbi Charley Baginksy and Imam Asim Hafiz, Islamic religious adviser to the Chief of the Defence Staff.
A total of 2,500 projects were undertaken, encompassing care home visits, cooking for those in need, litter picks, card-writing, park clean-ups, and food bank and winter clothing collections.
All embodied Mitzvah Day’s 2024 theme of ‘Stronger Together’, defying the forces that threaten to tear us apart and uniting to support local charities and build bridges of commonality.
Mitzvah Day founder and chair Laura Marks said: “After a truly challenging year, on Mitzvah Day our faith communities did what we do best – we came together to give back.
“It was so heartening to see our most senior leaders from across the religious and political spectrum put on their green T-shirts, roll up their sleeves and join us in these acts of citizenship, community-building and helping those who need us most.”
Keir Starmer wrote a personalised thank you card for the staff of Spring Grove Care Home, which was hand-delivered by the home’s local Labour MP Tulip Siddiq, economic secretary to the Treasury, during a Mitzvah Day musical event for residents and their families.
The prime minister said: “Mitzvah Day is a day of service, uniting thousands of people from different faiths and backgrounds to do good in support of those in need. No matter the challenges we face, and no matter what our differences may be, we are always stronger together – and I am incredibly inspired by the volunteers taking part.”
Ed Davey took part in an intergenerational ballet dance to cheer the residents of Nightingale House Care Home. He was joined in the dancing by Laura Marks, youngsters from the Apples and Honey Nightingale nursery and the residents themselves.
The Liberal Democrat leader said: “It was a delight to join the community at the Nightingale Care Home to mark Mitzvah Day, and to see the generosity of spirit reflected in so many acts of kindness across the country. The theme of this year’s Mitzvah Day, Stronger Together,
is a timely reminder that we all have much more in common than divides us.”
Sadiq Khan packed ‘Create and Make” boxes filled with fresh vegetables for people supported by the Mayor’s Fund for London, joined by deputy mayor Debbie WeekesBernard and volunteers from the Jewish and Muslim networks at City Hall.
Imam Hafiz, Rabbi Baginksy and the Rev Jeremiah came together at care home Hammerson House, where residents and volunteers – including from Caritas Westminster, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster and local Jewish communities – packed for Food Bank Aid and sang and danced together.
Rabbi Baginsky said: “This was a heartwarming event on a very special day. Mitzvah Day provides us all with an incredible opportunity to take part in making the world a little bit better and remind ourselves how much stronger we are when we work together.”
Imam Hafiz said: “Whether through zakat in Islam or tzedakah in Judaism, our shared traditions remind us that caring for others is not just an act of kindness but a sacred duty. Mitzvah Day beautifully reflects these shared values, bringing us together to strengthen our communities and make a meaningful difference.”
Other key multifaith events included a full day of activities for refugees in Cumbria, a cook-a-long organised by Edgware & Hendon Reform Synagogue and Neasden Temple, Harrow Interfaith’s litter collection, support for the warm food café at Moortown Baptist Church in Leeds, six organisations uniting for a community tea at Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue, collaborations between Northwood and Ruislip United Synagogue and Elim Church, and meal preparation at the C4WS night shelter with minister for faith Lord (Wajid) Khan.
Mitzvah Day projects ran in 40 other coun-
tries around the world, including Germany, South Africa, Australia, Ukraine, Spain, Canada and across South America.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Scotland’s first minister John Swinney and senior members of the Conservative Party were among those paying tribute to all those who took part.
The Chief Rabbi said: “Mitzvah Day is one of the greatest initiatives of the British Jewish community. Thanks to Mitzvah Day, people are showing kindness and doing so many amazing things.”
Swinney said: “There is so much that unites people of faith, and so much that we have in common. This day of social action recognises the centrality of community, of strong relationships, of compassion, and of reaching out a helping hand.”
Bob Blackman MP, secretary of the 1922 Committee, joined an interfaith gardening project run by Stanmore and Canons Park United Synagogue. He said: “Mitzvah Day is brilliant because it brings the whole community together to do things they may not usually be doing.”
Looking back over a successful day, and a whole month of projects and events in its lead-up, Mitzvah Day CEO Stuart Diamond reflected on what makes it so special.
He said: “Mitzvah Day is a joyful experience that inspires people to give back to their communities. It’s a reminder that even small acts of kindness can have a big impact.”
Robbie Keane has broken his silence and revealed why he stayed on as manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv when war broke out last year, writes Neil Silver.
The Republic of Ireland football legend led the Israeli club to a league and cup double and the Europa Conference League Last 16 stage, before resigning in June with one year remaining on his contract.
Keane, 44, was widely criticised in his native country for choosing to continue in the post after Israel’s invasion of Gaza on 7 October last year. But he did so because he felt he had a duty of care to his sta and his players, he said..
Keane said: “Let’s make it clear, obviously there has been a lot of stu going on. I resigned at the end of the season from my post at Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“When the war began, we left the country, but I had five sta , I had a lot of foreign players who relied on me as their coach.
“We were winning the league, hadn’t won it in three years, we were in Europe and doing very well. My analyst, for example, he has got a mortgage, a family and kids he has to feed. The decision just to step away from something, it’s not just my decision, it’s everybody else’s decision, which was tough.
“What is happening is ter-
rible and nobody wants to see it. Hopefully it ends very, very soon. But at the end of the day, I’m a football manager and my sta have got people to look after. I have got a duty of care.
“My [match] analyst was at Middlesbrough for 12 years. For him to come with me to Israel, and then for me just to walk away from that and leave him and his family… you can’t
just walk into a job. It’s dicult to walk into a job straight away after leaving a post for 12 years. He is just one example, I had other sta .
“I had players calling me, ‘please don’t leave coach, don’t leave, what you have done for this club’, so I made the decision to stay until the end of the season and walk away from a big contract, another year, possibly two more years. We made that decision as a group and as a sta .
“But to go and win the league and to win the double, nobody can ever take that away from me.“
Flags in support of Palestine have been displayed by sections of the Irish support at several Ireland internationals recently, while Derry City supporters also unveiled a huge ‘Free Palestine’ banner at Lansdowne Road during the Football Association of Ireland Cup final earlier this month.
EcoJudaism has held the UK’s first Jewish eco-vigil, drawing praise from MP Sarah Sackman for “being in the heart of government and holding us to account”.
The event in Parliament Square, Westminster, last week united a cross-section of the Jewish community, including Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, EcoJudaism’s founder.
The choir of JCoSS added a special touch with its performance on the day.
EcoJudaism CEO Naomi Verber called on the government to “choose life” for people and wildlife alike, warning that unchecked economic growth “degrades life”
She emphasised the Jewish community’s duty to recognise environmental responsibility as a core moral and religious value.
Rabbi Mordechai Wollenberg, who is on EcoJudaism’s rabbinic advisory board, criticised politicians’ failure to prioritise stewardship. “Youngsters often outshine us with their concern and activism,” he said. He tied the vigil’s urgency to the recent COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, urging leaders to act decisively: “Don’t let us down when it comes to our environment, ecosystems, and very existence.”
The oldest stone inscription of the Ten Commandments goes up for auction in New York next month with the provison that its new owner ensures it is always available for public display.
Sotheby’s is planning to include this information when it offers the 1,500-year-old tablet for sale, according to Sharon Mintz, the senior Judaica specialist for the auction house.
She said she would like the tablet, which left Israel 20 years ago, to end up in a public institution but the sale terms do not include any such requirement.
In 2004, an American rabbi named Shaul Shimon Deutsch requested a licence to export the ancient Samaritan tablet. The Israel Antiquities Authority agreed, on the condition that it be publicly displayed. Deutsch was allowed to sell it to a third party under the same condition. He complied, taking the tablet to his Living Torah Museum in Brooklyn.
The tablet remained there until 2016, when he put it up for auction. The requirements of the export licence were publicised, and an anonymous buyer bought it for £677,000 After that, it vanished.
railway excavation, only to be used to pave the entryway to a house near the Israeli city of Yavneh. For 30 years, it sat there, battered by foot traffic.
In 1943, a scholar recognised its significance and translated the inscription.
The 20 lines of text matched the commandments of Jewish tradition, except for one: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” was missing.
Instead, the tablet included a commandment to worship on Mount Gerizim, a Samaritan site in the West Bank.
Berlin’s chief of police has warned the German capital’s Jews and LGBTQ+ individuals that not everywhere in the city is safe for them.
In a press briefing, Barbara Slowik insisted that there were no “no-go areas” in Berlin –but then immediately added: “However, there are areas, and we must be honest at this stage, where I would advise people who wear a kippah or are openly homosexual or lesbian to be more attentive,” emphasising the importance of caution in public spaces.
“I do not want to ‘defame’ any particular group of people as perpetrators”.
Though she did not specify particular neighbourhoods, Slowik made it clear that the Israel-Gaza war was the trigger for the rise in antisemitic incidents in Berlin. Since 7 October Berlin police have initiated over 6,200 investigations related to antisemitism and incitement to hatred. A significant portion of these cases involves hate postings on the internet, property damage, and propaganda offences.
Steven Fine, a history professor at Yeshiva University, tried to track down the Ten Commandments tablet. He was gathering the most important ancient Samaritan artefacts from museums and libraries around the world for an exhibit on the role of the Samaritan people in the history of Western and Jewish civilisations. The Samaritans are thought to be descendants of the ancient Israelites.
The tablet, which weighs 113 pounds and is 2ft tall, surfaced during a 1913
Fine contacted Heritage Auctions, which had arranged the 2016 sale, as well as the Samaritan community, but his inquiries drew a blank. He had to do without it when The Samaritans: A Biblical People ran at the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC in 2022 and 2023.
This month, word reached Fine about a Samaritan artefact for auction at Sotheby’s: the tablet had resurfaced. According to Sotheby’s, the seller is the person who bought it from Deutsch eight years ago.
The tablet can be viewed at Sotheby’s in New York from 5 December until the auction on 18 December.
Slowik noted that “unfortunately, there are certain neighbourhoods where predominantly Arab-descended people live, who also have sympathies for terrorist groups,” and where “open antisemitism is articulated there against people of Jewish faith and origin”.
Nevertheless, the police chief, clearly walking a delicate line, maintained that her intention was not to stigmatise any community, saying:
Despite the rise in reported incidents, violent crimes against Jewish individuals remain low. “Fortunately, the violent crimes against Jewish people are low, but without question, every act is one too many,” Slowik said. She made her comments a week after a Jewish youth football team had to be put under police protection after it was attacked by a pro-Palestinian mob armed with sticks and knives in Berlin.
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Editorial comment and letters to the editor
The shocking murder of Chabad rabbi Zvi Kogan in the United Arab Emirates last week is being mourned by Jews all over the world. Anyone – no matter how secular – who has ever wandered into an out-of-the-way destination and found the beaming figure of a Chabad shaliach, offering a warm Jewish welcome and a taste of home, will understand why.
Zvi Kogan was a shining example of Chabad’s work, to judge by the many beautiful online tributes to this 28-year-old, who had accomplished so much. The UAE authorities have announced the arrest of three named Uzbek men whom they say were responsible for Rabbi Kogan’s death.
But the shadowy hand of Iran’s repulsive Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, still hangs over the killing, and rightly makes everyone in the diaspora aware of its continuing threat. Now is the time for the UK to proscribe the IRGC – if for no other reason than to honour Zvi Kogan.
Concerns over the impact of the National Insurance tax hike on communal have gained pace over the last week, as the impact on services become clearer. Three care charities alone – Jewish Care, Norwood and Kisharon Langdon – are staring in a combined £3m bill in the face. If Rachel Reeves’ plan is enacted without are further balancing measures, services to the most vulnerable are threatened along with the jobs of the heroes who spend their working lives providing that care.
But this is far from an issue centred around the Jewish community. Jewish News is using its platform to amplify the impact on other minorities including the black, Muslim, LGBT and Asian communities and wider society. We have spoken to several such good causes this week and will continue to shine a light on this in the coming weeks in collaboration with other media outlets.
I’m responding to your piece on the assisted dying bill debate (Jewish News, 7 November). I’m a Jewish disabled person and a member of Alyth Synagogue. Too often these debates about people with disabilities, and the terminally ill, happen without our perspective. I’m a member of Not Dead Yet UK, a national disabled people-led campaign calling for assisted dying legislation for the following reasons
Choosing assisted death is often not in fact a choice. Decisions are made on the basis of feeling a burden on others, inadequate and lack of good and caring palliative care and doctors’ judgments about our quality of life.
We are concerned with NHS limited resources, and doctors may well be inclined to offer a medically assisted death instead of providing good quality health care for all.
We are also worried that medically assisted dying will become a duty to die, especially when
I would like to endorse Bette Rabie’s excellent letter (Jewish News 7 November) about Ravenswood Village and add two points.
First, while the village is indeed in a quiet rural setting, it is by no means remote or isolated; a 10-minute walk along a flat, well-surfaced footpath takes one to the thriving village of Little Crowthorne, with shops, cafes, a station and other amenities. Residents of Ravenswood who enjoy socialising are frequent visitors to this village; our sister was well known there, and worked there in a charity shop. Residents also travel to nearby towns, to London and to other places for many and varied pursuits: theatres, sports and charity events, and many others.
The second point to mention is that Ravenswood Village has all sorts of facilities to help residents live their lives to the full. There’s a synagogue, cafe, hydrotherapy pool, indoor trampoline and facilities for art and music therapy, as well as a school and college of further education. There are discos, bingo sessions and other events. Outdoors there is exercise equipment and a stables affiliated to the Association for Riding for the Disabled.
Residents can also be seen out and about in the village using a variety of modified bicycles or, like Bette’s son, enjoying a walk.
Michelle Paul and Deanne Beevers
By email
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our health and social care system is inadequate and unable to provide the dignified support needed to live good lives.
The UK Government says the Terminally Ill Medically Assisted Death bill will provide safeguards to ensure that only terminally ill people without any real prospect of recovery will have access to a medically assisted death. But the BBC1’s recent documentary, Better Off Dead? highlighted how similar assisted dying laws enacted in other countries began with terminally ill patients and then widened to include people without lifelimiting conditions such as those with mental health conditions and learning difficulties.
Rather than assisted dying, we want the right to life, the right to live with dignity and the support needed to live comfortably and well until death.
Simone Aspis
By email
The recent fatwa issued by Gaza’s most prominent Islamic scholar, Professor Dr Salman al-Dayah, is a powerful condemnation of Hamas. This pronouncement against the group’s actions is a crucial step, especially coming from such a notable authority in the Muslim world. However, the fatwa raises a series of critical questions that demand further attention. Despite this explicit condemnation from a senior religious academic, many pro-Palestinian organisations in the UK and internationally have yet to issue similar statements. While these groups have highlighted the suffering of Palestinians, their silence on Hamas’s role in perpetuating violence undermines a balanced and just approach to advocacy. Calls for peace must include clear rejection of all forms of violence, regardless of political alignment.
Eli Cohen NW11
Following on from your article about Jewish country houses, did you know visitors to the British Museum can see 300 unique artefacts collected by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild? The collection is displayed in the Waddesdon Room. Judith Konzon By email
“HOW DO YOU DO IT?” That’s a common question asked of medics. Daunted by their dedication as they administer sedulous care, it is humbling to see them at workalways shielding patients from their own di iculties. From their own pain.
For Talia Slotki, nursing coordinator in the Pain Clinic at Shaare Zedek Medical Centre, understanding injury, trauma and su ering has been an integral part of her job for many years. But on 7 October she lost her two sons and now pain is embedded in her life .
Noam, 31, and Yishai, 24, le home on ‘Black Saturday’ to defend besieged communities near the southern border. Both fought valiantly before falling in battle. For a harrowing week, Talia, and her husband, Shmuel, a revered communal Rabbi together with their other five grown children did not know their fate. Then the devastating confirmation came that both men had been killed.
That Talia could stop sobbing long enough to stand is a feat that would defy most mothers. But Talia did more than stand; she walked through the doors of Shaare Zedek and got on with her job.
Earlier this year, Talia was awarded an Honourable Distinction for Bravery and Heroism by Yitzchak Herzog, President of Israel in recognition of her unwavering dedication in the face of unimaginable personal tragedy.
Choosing to return to work despite her profound grief exemplifies the extraordinary balance of personal and professional commitment in Talia’s story. The literal Hebrew translation of Shaare Zedek is ‘Gates of Justice’
and though Talia was served no justice, the hospital was where she was determined to be.
“Every time I walk through these doors, I remind myself why I’m here,” she says. “Two days a er the shiva ended, our entire family returned to work. My daughter, who is also a nurse went back to Soroka hospital; my husband and three sons to reserve duty and our youngest son went back to his pre-military programme. In the beginning it was di icult to work properly, but the hospital is very important to me in normal times and even more so during this time of war. Providing professional care to ease the pain of the injured gives additional meaning to daily life. Our sons Noam and Yishai did not stand idly by when their brothers needed them. This is the legacy they le behind, and we will do our best to honour it in our own way.”
Sta of heroes
In times of war, heroes emerge in many forms.
At Shaare Zedek Medical Centre in Jerusalem, the doctors, nurses, and support sta have proven to be just that – heroes who continue to show up every day, tirelessly putting their patients first despite immense personal sacrifice and uncertainty.
Since the onset of the war, the hospital’s sta has embodied resilience and dedication, o en operating under extraordinary pressures. Their commitment comes despite personal hardships that could easily overwhelm others. Among the sta are parents with sons and daughters serving on the frontlines, facing the anguish of knowing their children are in harm’s
way. As a nurse whose son serves in combat reflected: “Every time my phone rings, my heart skips a beat. But when I’m here, my focus is on my patients. It’s how I cope.”
So they remain steadfast, choosing to channel their grief and worry into caring for the lives entrusted to them.
A culture of compassion
Shaare Zedek has long been a cornerstone of Jerusalem’s healthcare system, serving the city’s diverse population. The hospital’s ethos of compassion and unwavering professionalism is deeply ingrained, but during the war, this ethos has been tested like never before.
Despite air raid sirens, the strain of a constant influx of wounded soldiers and civilians and the emotional toll of the broader conflict, the sta arrives each day, driven by a singular purpose: to heal. Physicians who have spent sleepless nights worrying about their own children don scrubs and nurses who live in communities a ected by rocket fire soothe patients with calm, steady hands.
For the hospital’s employees, their sense of duty transcends personal pain. “This is where I can make a di erence,” one doctor explained. “If I break down, who will be here for the people who need us?”
So the hospital sta perform a nearsuperhuman balancing act, juggling demanding roles at work while caring for families. Some travel long distances, navigating road closures and dangers, while others work double shi s to cover for colleagues in reserve duty.
Harnessing hope
In the midst of tragedy, the hospital has also
witnessed powerful moments of hope. Since the war began, Shaare Zedek has experienced a record-breaking number of births, a poignant reminder of resilience and renewal.
Jodi Stender, a midwife at the hospital since 2013, described the intensified spirituality in the delivery room during this time. “As the news filled with grim reports of death, I continued to bring new, innocent life into the world. G-d’s presence in the delivery room feels almost palpable. Every baby born since 7 October symbolizes our strength and belief that we will flourish as a nation.”
Jodi recalls supporting a woman who had been evacuated from a southern community a er spending 15 hours in a safe room during the 7 October attacks. Exhausted and emotionally drained, the woman struggled with her seventh labour, so di erent to the rest, but with encouragement to acknowledge her trauma, she agreed to an epidural, and soon a er, delivered a healthy baby.
“This reminded me of how the Jewish people will continue to fight and move forward,” Jodi said. “Each birth feels like a victory.”
A testament to the human spirit
The unwavering dedication of Shaare Zedek’s sta , including that of Talia Slotki, is a profound testament to the strength of the human spirit. War casts its shadow over daily life in Israel, but Shaare Zedek’s sta remain beacons of stability and care. Their courage and compassion inspire not just Jerusalem but all who hear their story.
“We can’t control what’s happening out there,” said one sta member, “But we can control how we respond. And here, we respond by saving lives.”
‘To anyone going through tough times, I’d say hold on to hope and focus on what keeps you going’
The easiness with which Gilad Rachamim Aviad gives this advice suggests it is written on a mug, when the reality is that it was learnt on the battlefield where he almost lost his life.
In the early weeks of the war, Gilad was serving as a reservist in Khan Yunis, Gaza. It was there that he received exhilarating news -his wife, Miriam had managed to send him a message through his commanders: she was pregnant. To be told something so wonderful while surrounded by the brutality of war allowed him to focus on the joy of impending fatherhood instead of where he was.
But the elation was short-lived. The next day during a rocket attack, Gilad was hit. Shrapnel pierced his chest, narrowly missing his heart but causing severe damage to his diaphragm and stomach. Evacuated by helicopter to Shaare Zedek,
doctors fought to save his life.
“They were incredible,” says Gilad, reflecting on his arrival at Shaare Zedek. “They acted quickly to save me, to stabilize my conditionand they took care of Miriam too. She was my rock—calm, strong, and supportive.” Gilad’s recovery journey was gruelling. Multiple surgeries and extensive rehabilitation followed. The physical healing was challenging, but the
with me—it was overwhelming. They not only preserved my life but were part of this incredible new chapter.”
Toda raba
Looking back, Gilad is filled with gratitude for the care and compassion of the Shaare Zedek sta . Their skill and dedication not only saved his life but also supported his family through the ordeal.
“For me, it was my wife and our unborn child. I’m deeply grateful for the incredible hospital team and pray we meet again only for joyful occasions like these.”
Gilad’s journey is a poignant reminder of life’s fragility and resilience. It underscores the value of community, family, and the medical professionals who tirelessly serve in moments of crisis and celebration alike.
“Life is precious,” he says. “I’m so thankful for the blessings I have, and I look forward to moving forward with health and happiness.”
From the trauma unit to the delivery room, Gilad’s survival and advice inspires us to find hope even in the darkest of times and to cherish every moment of life’s journey.
mental toll of such trauma was profound and continues to this day.
“I focused on my wife and our unborn child,” he shares. “I wanted to be there for them, so I worked hard to heal. Miriam’s strength and unwavering support gave me the motivation I needed”.
Nine months later, Gilad returned to Shaare Zedek under vastly di erent circumstances— this time to welcome his son into the world.
The same hospital where he had fought for his life became the setting for one of his happiest moments.
“It was surreal,” he says. “Seeing the same medical team that saved me now celebrating
‘I wanted to be there for them, so I worked hard to heal. Miriam’s strength and unwavering support gave me the motivation I needed’
Back in September Martin Brownstein stood before a large audience and gave a speech from the heart, about the Shaare Zedek. His words were carefully chosen as they had to make enough of an impact to encourage listeners to donate and the motivation for this would be a story – his own. “I owe my life to Shaare Zedek,” said Martin and the room fell quiet. “And I have been asked to spend a few minutes telling you about my stay there.”
It was just before Pesach and during the Friday night evening meal with family when Martin, on a visit to Jerusalem fell ill. “I was lying on the sofa, barely understanding what was happening and my brother David said that, if I was no better in the morning he would take me to the local clinic.”
No better the next morning, Martin was taken to the clinic, where the doctor took one look at him and said: “Take him straight to the Miyun. Shaare Zedek is close… and the best. So we jumped back in the car, or at least David did. I criyached back and somehow folded myself into it.”
It was Martin’s good fortune that the junior doctor who examined him in the Emergency Room, was from the right department and immediately recognised that he had an exceptionally rare and virulent form of necrotising fasciitis (flesh-eating infection) that was destroying his skin and tissue.
Martin was admitted to the hospital immediately and over the following days had life-saving operations to halt the spread of infection and remove the dead matter. Later came reconstructive plastic surgery using skin gra s from his thighs which lead to Martin spending five weeks at the hospital.
“Yes, I spent five weeks there,” Martin told the shocked gathering. “So in those five weeks my wife Adele and I had plenty of opportunity
to see Shaare Zedek in action. And this is what I saw.”
“I saw doctors and nurses working with unbelievable skill and utter dedication. They were very professional and patient, issuing instructions and answering questions calmly. And they were a real cross-section of Israel’s population - young and old, female and male, Arab and Jew, Muslim, Christian and Jewish, religious and secular.”
Martin paused.
“I saw non-medical ward sta –managers, cleaners, catering sta – all seeing their mission as clearly as the medics did - making us who were ill, well enough to return home to our families.”
Meanwhile Martin’s wife Adele saw the financial sta - “who took on the burden of dealing with our travel insurers and the translators in the bowels of the hospital” who produced the English medical file for her husband’s return to the UK.
What Martin experienced, made for a fulsome and fabulous list that also included: “Volunteers - lending books and selling papers and other items from trollies, o ering comfort and help, chatting to patients and making kiddush in the corridor on Shabbat and chag.”
All these people, with very few exceptions, Martin said - “interacted with us, with kind words and a smile, putting us at ease and giving us hope that all would be well.”
A er the horrible diagnosis on his arrival, Martin, now recovered, was optimistic about his departure and not disappointed. “I saw and laughed with the medical clowns, much to the delight of my grandson who didn’t want me to miss the special Shaare Zedek experience which had so li ed his spirits.”
Martin realised that what he saw and experienced was not unique as the other patients got the same excellent treatment and care regardless of their gender, ethnicity or religion.
“ In the bed next to mine was an East Jerusalem Arab engineer who had badly injured his legs at work. He was someone I would never normally meet, so the many interesting conversations we had were mutually beneficial. He even interpreted the Russian-Israeli ward manager’s instructions for me and I fetched his co ee from the corridor.”
In his speech for tzedakah, Martin le no stone unturned, even sharing the moments when he emerged from heavy sedation a er the initial operations and began to imagine things or so he thought. “I saw soldiers sitting around cradling
guns and in the middle of the night, a heavily guarded elderly man in Arab dress in a wheelchair was taken to one of the cubicles. But these were not dreams. In the week before Pesach a suicide bomber had blown up a Jerusalem bus, injuring 21 people, some critically, but not killing anyone, not even himself. He did lose several limbs and was taken to Shaare Zedek where for two days the ICU medics fought to save him. They even brought his father in for a deathbed visit”.
Again Martin paused. This was a lot to process, not least of all for him. “And this, I must tell you, was the hospital where the sta some years earlier, had lost their respected and much-loved colleague, the head of ER, David Applebaum. He was murdered in a terrorist bombing at a café, along with his daughter on the night before her wedding.”
In his carefully chosen words Martin had le no doubt about the pedigree and legacy of the hospital founded nearly 50 years before the State of Israel. He allowed the audience to emotionally connect with his story. Shaare Zedek Medical Centre may be at the cutting edge of modern medical research, use of technology and innovative care, but what sums it up best is its logo – a heart.
“And it is a Jewish heart,” said Martin, who if he had been well enough would have gone to the Seder in the hospital shul. “Time for one last anecdote?” Martin went ahead. “When Adele visited during Chol Hamoed Pesach, the guard asked to search her bag. She was surprised he could even think she was a terrorist. ‘Oh no,’ said the guard, ‘we’re not looking for weapons. We’re making sure no
Martin Brownstein is the face of the Shaare Zedek UK Chanukah Campaign. The Jerusalem hospital cares for patients like him and thousands of others every year, and this year the hospital has had to bear its share of an immense national burden.
In this war, trauma specialists with the skills and experience are treating the most severely injured victims - military and civiliansof that day and the subsequent and continuing war and aerial attacks. The financial and emotional cost of that is significant.
To donate: VISIT shaarezedek.org.uk/ chanukah-2024 looking for weapons. We’re making sure no
We hope that Martin has shed enough Chanukah light on what happens at Shaare Zedek to ask for your support.
‘A Jew unable to visit certain countries? So,
We work tirelessly so that you and your family can lead the Jewish life of your choice.
CST is almost entirely dependent on charitable donations and, with demand for our work at an all-time high, we are asking for your help.
Please, give us what we need for tough times ahead. To donate, scan the QR code or visit cst.org.uk/protect
CAT SHAKDAM POLITICAL ANALYST
This is a time for plain speaking.
A dark and insidious shadow is creeping over our continent, a shadow of a hatred we once believed defeated, but which is rising again in our midst. Today, Britain stands at a crossroads, confronted by a grave and dangerous enemy that threatens not only our peace but the very essence of who we are. The new wave of antiZionism and antisemitism engulfing Europe is no mere political disagreement – it is the revival of an ancient hatred, cloaked in new guises, but unmistakably driven by the same dark force.
This hatred now masquerades under the banner of “Freedom for Palestine,” yet it is the very face of Islamic fascism – an ideology that despises liberty, condemns tolerance, and justifies violence under the guise of moral righteousness. This ideology, a perversion of belief, is designed to sow fear and divi-
sion, aiming not only to threaten the Jewish people and the state of Israel but to tear down the very foundations of British society. In our towns, our universities and on the streets of Europe, we see its reach growing stronger, infiltrating our public discourse and eroding our shared values. We must see it for what it truly is: a cancerous hatred cloaked in the language of “resistance,” directed against the Jewish people, against freedom, and against all that our nation has defended for centuries.
We are witnessing a chilling revival of the old prejudices that swept across Europe less than a century ago. This hatred, draped now in the language of “resistance” or “solidarity,” is not new. It is an echo of the past—a past that claimed millions of innocent lives and nearly destroyed the world. We are a nation that remembers the Holocaust, the camps, and the horrors unleashed upon the Jewish people. We are a people who understand the tragic consequences when evil is allowed to grow unchallenged.
Britain once stood as a bastion against the fascism that threatened to engulf the world. We were the nation that rallied, that dug in our
heels, that would not bend to the will of tyrants. Britain stood not only for itself but for all those oppressed, including the down-trodden Jewish people, who have contributed so much to mankind. Today, Jewish communities remain the most racially abused minority in the United Kingdom, yet where are the loud, righteous calls against anti-Jewish hatred? Where is the outcry for Emily Damari, a Spurs-supporting British citizen held hostage by the Jihadi terrorists of Palestine?
It is a bitter irony that, while Jews face hostility on our streets, pro-Palestinian rallies swell in support of groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad – organisations that revel in acts of terror. Where are the cries of “not in my name” from their supporters? Instead, we witness those who cheer on violence and give succour to terrorists, defending the horrific atrocities of October 7 and the antisemitic riots in Amsterdam. How far can our tolerance be pushed before we recognise that it has become a shield for those who would seek to destroy the very values we stand for?
Britain has always been the island of hope in a dark world, the voice of defiance proclaiming
that freedom, justice, and human dignity will prevail. It was our soldiers, our families, our people who sacrificed to ensure that these principles would endure.
Let us not squander that legacy by turning a blind eye to those who stoke hatred and division. We must rea rm our commitment to protect the vulnerable, to stand against bigotry, and to hold fast to the values that define us as a nation. Britain does not bow to tyranny—then, now, or ever.
Britain, it is time to wake up. This threat, this rise of Islamic fascism and the revival of antisemitism, demands the same courage and resolve that once defined us. It is not enough to condemn these acts with words. We must act, we must protect, and we must defend. This is no time for silence. To be silent is to be complicit. To turn away is to betray the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in the hope that such hatred would never rise again.
We owe it to our fathers and grandfathers, to those who stormed beaches, who fought in trenches, who endured bombings and bloodshed, not to let this new darkness engulf our society. We owe them nothing less.
in the UK will experience domestic abuse during their lives. It is something which affects women of all backgrounds and from all communities, including our own.
Icouldn’t believe this could happen to someone like me.’ Those were the words of a constituent who attended one of my recent advice surgeries in Finchley and Golders Green. Let’s call her Talia. She’s an educated, articulate, Jewish woman, raising beautiful children. I saw lots of myself in her. Unlike me, she is also the survivor of domestic abuse.
She’d been subjected to coercive behaviour by her husband throughout her marriage. Domestic abuse doesn’t always show up as bruising and black eyes; it can take the form of insults, financial manipulation, and controlling behaviour, such as dictating when you can see your family and friends. This was Talia’s experience. She felt she had done something wrong, as if it was somehow her failure. After a time, she was able to leave and rebuild her life. But she still had to encounter her abusive ex-husband in social settings. Talia is not alone. One in four women
As an MP, I feel privileged that many people feel able to share their stories with me. Talia got in touch when she heard me speaking in parliament about the government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the next decade. She wanted me to understand her experience and to share how she thinks the justice system can better support women like her.
This is not just a mission for the government, but for me personally in my role as solicitor general. As I go about my daily work, it is Talia’s story and others like hers that I hold with me.
I am fortunate to be working to make our commitment to halving VAWG a reality in my ministerial role: securing additional funding in the Autumn Budget for the Crown Prosecution Service to support Rape and Serious Sexual Offences teams and working closely with the director of public prosecutions and the Victims’ Commissioner to improve the
outcomes of rape and sexual assault cases in the criminal justice system.
We are passing Raneem’s law, in memory of Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem, who were murdered by Raneem’s former partner. This legislation will introduce a domestic violence specialist into every 999 control room and overhaul the way Police forces respond to stalking and domestic abuse.
This is just the start. As we marked Jewish Women’s Aid Shabbat, as part of 16 days of global activism against VAWG, I’m reminded of how much more there is to do.
I’m delighted to work alongside wonderful organisations such as Jewish Women’s Aid, which provides vital support tailored to the needs of women in our community. Everyone who attends shul or Jewish communal spaces
will have seen their posters on the back of lavatory doors and will know that their helpline represents a lifeline.
Last Friday I joined Sam Clifford, CEO of Jewish Women’s Aid, and members of her team outside Carmelli’s Bakery in Golders Green to help them raise awareness of the issue within our community.
Prevention means us having honest conversations around our dinner tables, and in schools and synagogues, about consent, respect and what domestic abuse can look like. We will tackle this scourge through education.
As Talia reminded me, each one of us – politicians, community leaders, men and women alike – has a role to play.
If you are experiencing domestic abuse, or are worried about someone who is, you can contact the Jewish Women’s Aid Helpline on 0808 801 0500 or the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247. You can also contact Sarah’s office by emailing sarah.sackman.mp@parliament.uk. In an emergency, call 999
RABBI DAVID MASON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HIAS+JCORE
An incoming president who promotes the ‘great replacement’ conspiracy fantasy and has a history of playing into antisemitic tropes. A campaign where he referred to refugees – a protection status introduced after the horrors of the Holocaust – as an “invasion” and “infestation”. It’s evident that Donald Trump’s victory should concern Jewish communities on both sides of the Atlantic.
Here in the UK, I’m proud to lead an organisation partnered with the USA-based international refugee protection agency HIAS.
Initially formed in the late 19th century to help Jews fleeing persecution and poverty in eastern Europe, HIAS now helps refugees all around the world, led by Jewish values and history. With Trump promising to close the US border, and threatening to deport millions of people, their work has never been more urgent.
From across the pond, it might be tempting to ask – why should Trump’s policies on refuge and asylum concern us? But as British Jews, we understand the global importance of supporting displaced people. Many of our parents and grandparents received sanctuary in this country, but not always welcome.
We fear that a Trump administration will o er refugees nothing but hostility.
This appointment of Stephen Millar – who was instrumental in the policy that separated 5,000 migrant children from their parents, during the first Trump administration – sets a troubling tone.
Trump’s pledges aren’t just an isolated issue: they are part of a worrying global trend. At a time of record displacement, refugee rights are perhaps needed now more than ever before. But across Europe, populist and far-right governments have been abdicating their responsibilities, and rolling back protections. Many will feel further empowered by a Trump administration. And while the new UK government has rightly scrapped the Rwanda plan, we need to ensure that they can hold strong against populist pressure to back a deterrence-only approach.
There are strong connections between UK political figures and the rise of the far-right in the United States. With politicians like Nigel Farage having consistently backed Trump’s hostile refugee policies, there’s a risk that such sentiment further influences British politics. As Trump himself has acknowledged, “what he [Farage] is doing is sort of what we did a few years ago”.
We must also confront the rhetoric driving this anti-refugee trend. In the US, Trump has referred to immigrants as “poisoning the blood of our country” – language reminiscent of the 1930s. This rhetoric has consequences. In Trump’s first term, antisemitism and hate crimes rose, with extremists empowered.
We saw the impact that such inflammatory rhetoric has in England and Northern Ireland
this summer: when we see racist narratives utilised by politicians, we need to call it out. And just as we refuse to tolerate antisemitism in wider society, we have to stamp out any racist or Islamophobic language within our own community. So, in this troubling time, what are the answers?
As a community, we must continue to draw on our values and experience to show solidarity and compassion with displaced people. And we need positive stories about refuge and asylum to be amplified – both by the press, and the Government.
Providing welcome must remain something we are proud of. This has to be matched by reforming our asylum system, so refugees have a fair chance to integrate and rebuild. At HIAS+JCORE, we see every day what displaced people can do, if they are given the opportunity –just like our community did after arriving, often as refugees, in the 19th and 20th centuries. There’s no doubt that this is a di cult and unsettling time. But as Mark Hetfield, HIAS’ president, reminds us: “We’ve been through this before. Together. And we got through it, staying true to our values.”
PROF DAVID HIRSH CEO OF THE LONDON
CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF CONTEMPORARY ANTISEMITISM
We set up the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism (LCSCA) because we were afraid. Antisemitism had been progressively spreading into academic disciplines in the social and human sciences, and it was becoming more and more acceptable and normal. This was an antisemitism that angrily denied being antisemitic, which was carried by people who thought they opposed racism and who were convinced they were the good guys. We were afraid because anyone who challenged this antisemitism was more and more likely to be denounced by their academic colleagues as a charlatan who misused their academic talent and perverted their disciplines in an e ort to delegitimise criticism of Israel. Hamas was founded to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state. It hoped to destroy the peace process by murdering Israelis in buses and in restaurants in the name of Palestine. Hamas hoped to make Israelis believe that all Palestinians hated them and it hoped this would turn Israeli public opinion away from peace. More
recently Hamas has encouraged Palestinians to murder Israelis randomly, using knives or cars, in the hope that Israelis would come to fear any Arab who they encountered. The founding document of Hamas made it clear that it regarded peace with Israel as a violation of the principles of Islam and it repeated Nazi-style antisemitism as though it was embraced by the single, authentic reading of Islam.
Happily for Hamas, the peace process did collapse, in January 2001. In August 2001, at the World Conference against Racism, in Durban, there was a formidable campaign to reset thinking about Israel from a maker of peace to an entity that was incurably evil. It sought to take us back to the 1970s UN and Soviet era. A week after Durban was the 9/11 attack on the USA, which revitalised antisemitic Islamist politics for the 21st century.
On 7 October 2023, Hamas showed its hand. It broke into Israel and murdered everybody it could find; it perpetrated a campaign of sexual violence; and it kidnapped 250 people. It turned out that by that time, there were enough people around the world who were ready to embrace elements of the Hamas view of the world.
People in our universities glorified the day of Jew-killing as ‘resistance’; they claimed that Israel’s inherently genocidal nature was the real aggression and that the day of Jew-killing
was just a small, understandable response; they blamed the victims; and they denied that there was violence against Israeli civilians.
Strangely, all four of these responses to 7 October could co-exist within an individual.
Those of us who thought that Hamas showing its hand would put people o had miscalculated.
The 21st century rebirth of antisemitism gained momentum. University administrators, senior police o cers, BBC decision-makers and even judges went along with the new antisemitic culture. This was not because they were bad people, or because they secretly hated Jews, but just because those kinds of powerful people are pretty good at reading the culture around them, and at reflecting it back in their decisions. That is how they get into those positions and it is how they stay in those positions.
If you watched university presidents being quizzed by Congress, you’d see what I mean.
So the antisemitism that we worried about 20 years ago, after Durban, and as we watched fellow academics campaign to boycott our Israeli colleagues, and when Labour people didn’t seem bothered by Corbyn’s record of antisemitism; that antisemitism has been energised by 7 October.
Today it has become normal and legitimate to accuse Israel of deliberately murdering thousands of children, and to accuse Jews who
refuse to disavow their relationship with Israel of complicity in genocide.
The centre organises an annual set-piece event towards the end of the year. The Robert Fine Memorial Lecture is named after our greatly missed colleague, mentor and friend.
Israel is not committing genocide, or anything like it, but a significant layer of people around the world have constructed Israeli genocide as fact, and people who don’t agree are treated as one would treat Nazi apologists and Holocaust deniers. So, when we set up the London Centre, we were not wrong to be afraid. The situation for antisemitism scholars, for Holocaust educators and for academics confronting antisemitism in their own disciplines was serious, and getting worse.
But we are succeeding in organising and institutionalising resistance to antisemitic thinking in academia. We are reconstructing and growing our networks of scholarly community, we are running seminars and building for our second international conference, this coming March. Antisemitism is frightening. But come join us on 8 December, have a drink with us, and see what we are achieving in academia. We need your support. And we think the fight against antisemitism in wider society needs ours too, because to lose the universities would be a profound setback both for Jews and for democratic thought.
Natasha Collins, 18, was awarded the Sir James d’Avigdor-Goldsmid Award ahead of her marching in the AJEX parade with JLGB. The medal recognises individuals who have shown not only bravery and resilience but also a profound commitment to serving others, overcoming personal adversity, and who have made positive contributions to their community. Natasha, from Borehamwood, is the daughter of Lisa and the late Daniel Collins. Despite the challenges of the last seven months following the unexpected death of her father, Natasha has continued to support her local JLGB weekly groups and run events for young leaders whilst studying acting at a drama school in London.
Pre-school children from Little Bicks Borehamwood, Mill Hill and Kinloss made Magen David poppies in woodwork class to lay on the Cenotaph in Mill Hill. On Remembrance Day they had an exciting trip by bus and train to meet up and thank all the soldiers who fought for our country and honour the two-minute silence at 11am. Little Bicks’ Shelly Sunshine said: “We are teaching the next generation how important it is to honour those who gave service. The children told us how they wanted to say thank you to the soldiers, we put it in a poem and read it out at the cenotaph. It was a very special trip for everyone.”
Jewish Care held its annual legacy event at the Royal Opera House in central London as a heartfelt thank you to pledgers, supporters and friends. The event was hosted by the charity’s honorary president Dame Gail Ronson and long-standing supporter and Royal Opera House chairman Sir Lloyd Dorfman. Dame Gail said: “I have many wonderfully fond memories of both organisations, both have a deep-rooted history going back over two centuries, one a beacon of artistic excellence and cultural heritage, the other a beacon of light in the world of adult social care, and the largest Jewish charity in the country.”
Special needs school Side by Side in Hackney held a Remembrance Day assembly for its older students. The event honoured the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for our country. The assembly began with a short address from headteacher Gerald Lebrett, who explained the meaning of Remembrance Day. At 11am, students and staff joined the rest of the UK in a minute’s silence.
Jewish News co-sponsored a book launch for Danish-Israeli journalist Jotam Confino. The event at community hub JW3 was to mark the publication of his book, Netanyahu’s Israel: Rise of the Far Right. Compered by fellow journalist Nicole Lampert, the 60-strong audience heard about Confino’s experiences since 7 October and his thoughts on the Israeli government and the support of the British diaspora.
When Adam Bass couldn’t find anything on the kosher food shelves to jazz up his meals he created his own brand, made in Israel. He tells Amanda Cohen how he did it
For Adam Bass, keeping kosher is a serious business. A brand management expert, the father of three turned to religion later in life to improve his work-life balance and better connect with his young family. He also started to browse the kosher food aisles of supermarkets but was disheartened by the quality of the o erings.
“It was mostly just grey and disappointing,” says Adam, 58, who took an even closer interest after working on a project with Tesco in 2016.
“It’s not easy keeping kosher and at the time the quality of the kosher food brands in UK supermarkets was not that exciting or enticing. I would walk past the kosher food shelves, seeing rows of cold meats, jars of preserved fish and chicken stock; it was boring.”
He was especially frustrated given the burgeoning celebration of contemporary Israeli cuisine. “The kosher section of supermarkets did not have the fun of the Ottolenghistyle cooking that was making waves and I wanted to make those flavours accessible to the kosher and mainstream consumer.”
And so, he set up Providence Deli – an a ordable kosher brand committed to authentic Mediterranean ingredients and Israeli cuisine, delivering flavours akin to the Sephardi style of cooking favoured by his French-born wife, Valérie.
Sourcing produce from Israel, Providence Deli o ers about 20 ambient and chilled products, from hummus and harissa to schug and sun-dried tomatoes.
“Our aim is to source and make
A look
great products with vibrant and bold flavours that just happen to be kosher, bringing some much-needed innovation to the market.”
With chilled products retailing at about £2.50-£2.99, there has been good uptake: Providence Deli is now available at Sainsbury’s and Tesco, kosher shops and independent retailers across the UK.
Adam has no hesitation in having a label that states clearly that that the products are made in Israel.
Adam has no hesitation in having the products are made in Israel. faced
quent wave of antisemitism and
However, like most brands connected to the Jewish State, Providence Deli has faced challenges – especially since the 7 October terror attack and subsequent wave of antisemitism and anti-Israel campaigns that followed.
does not want to eat the product because it’s made in Israel, they can go and eat something else. I’m proud that we source our products from a country that is standing up to aggressors on all sides, against impossible odds.”
In recent years, Providence Deli has focused on chilled hummus as an example of authentic Israeli produce, and they now supply 26 tonnes of hummus every year. There is, Adam thinks, a positive message in this product.
For a time, fresh fruit and vegetables were sourced from countries like Turkey and Jordan – before new methods and technology led to renewed development of agriculture across Israel over the past year. And so, production has not ceased.
“A love of hummus is common across the Middle East. It is a great example of how food can overcome
“A love of hummus is common example of how food can overcome barriers and borders.” consumer of hummus, accounting
Noting that the UK is a major consumer of hummus, accounting for 40 percent of Europe’s market for the popular dip, he says: “Coming from Israel, what we o er is authentic. We use a higher percentage of tahini than other brands, which makes our hummus so much more delicious and
“That’s why I won’t take ‘Made in Israel’ o the label,” says Adam. “It doesn’t just tell you about where the ingredients are from, it is about the stories behind them. What other country goes through something like that and manages to sustain its production of fresh fruit and vegetables?”
He adds: “It is a privilege to make Israeli food available to people who want to support us.”
Over one period, Providence Deli products were ‘boycott’ stickers, leading the goods from its that some busiIsrael-connec-
Over one period, Providence Deli products were defaced by anti-Israel ‘boycott’ stickers, leading one independent retailer to remove the goods from its shelves.
It is no secret that some businesses choose to omit their Israel-connection to avoid such trouble; so why doesn’t Adam?
“We initially kept a relatively low profile about our Israel connection, but after 7 October, I don’t care,” he says.
“There is no way I am taking ‘Made in Israel’ o the label. If we get some ‘boycott’ stickers on our products, so be it.”
“We initially kept 7 October, I don’t care,” he says. He adds: “If someone
He adds: “If someone
“Coming from Israel, what we tahini brands, which makes our hummus creamy.”
Beyond that, Adam is
Beyond that, Adam is proud of Israel’s ability to harvest and produce fresh fruit and vegetables, despite the ongoing attacks and challenges over the past year.
ongoing attacks and past year. The 7 October
The 7 October terror attack led to aftershocks across the country, including the agriculture sector. In the face of ongoing rocket bombardment, fields were set alight, and the country faced a shortage in supply, especially of tomatoes, red peppers and
across the country, including
Adam, who also runs Golden Goose – a brand licensing agency with clients that range from Del Monte to The Rocky Horror Show –now has plans to expand Providence Deli with new flavours.
The former Haberdashers’ Boys’ pupil, who attends Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue and Chabad HGS, also hopes to push the brand into more retailers – making kosher food and Israeli produce available on a larger scale.
“We know there is a growing appetite among British consumers for the flavours we o er,” says Adam, who distributes 45 percent of Providence Deli produce through Tesco supermarkets across the UK. “Our goal is to bring these recipes to the mainstream market, without hiding where they come from.
At the same time, foreign workers had fled, while Israeli nationals were displaced or called up for reservist duty.
rocket bombardment, fields were a shortage in supply, especially cabbage. At the same time, foreign workers had fled, while Israeli nationals were displaced or called up for reservist duty.
“This is about more than business; it is about the acknowledgement and celebration of Israeli resilience. We believe in spreading peace, love and great hummus.”
days, dark nights, dark
– Darren Richman explains the concept behind ‘Noirvember’
Like stand-up comedy, film noir was developed and perfected in America and Jews played a vital role. One might argue that stand-up as an art form was in some way inspired by the tendency for Jewish people to be rounded up and slaughtered every few hundred years and thus an ability to joke became something of a necessity. Film noir has its origins within one particular period of slaughter, the Second World War, and was born in part from an influx of European Jews to Hollywood.
We are nearly at the end of Noirvember (November to the uninitiated), the month in which many feel compelled to celebrate all things film noir, largely by watching noir films. Noir is the Hollywood crime drama, produced primarily between the early 1940s and late 1950s, that expertly combined high art with low. Jewish emigres such as Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder and Otto Preminger brought with them to America a German expressionist style which somehow combined perfectly with the hardboiled tone of novelists such as Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and James M Cain. The result was a cycle of films with titles containing words like big, city, dark and night, that incorporated femmes fatales, dramatic shadows and rain-soaked streets. It is a genre without equal developed by Jews who had to adapt to survive.
Like Seinfeld or Succession, noir films tend not to age, because of their cynical depiction of a world populated almost exclusively by selfserving and venal characters largely concerned with sex and money. One might argue they don’t seem dated because of how
closely that resembles the actual world we inhabit. In many films of the 1940s and 1950s, the female characters are mere ciphers with little agency whereas femmes fatales call the shots. The women of noir are painted as cynically as the men and the result is they have the everlasting appeal of Elaine in Seinfeld Wilder, perhaps the greatest and most versatile filmmaker of Hollywood’s Golden Age, set the standard with Double Indemnity in 1944. The screenplay, based on a Cain novella, was co-written by the director and Chandler and thus three of noir’s most important figures were brought together like some kind of Paramount Pictures supergroup. The result was like one of those immortal Beatles albums, an early great that remains the gold
standard against which emulators must be judged. The hardboiled crime fiction that inspired noir was, like much comedy of the silent era, born out of the Great Depression. People were scrabbling around for work and there was a desperation that made criminality almost an inevitability at times. Noir films rarely present heroes in any traditional sense, just the occasional cynical, wisecracking detective whose interest in a case is determined largely by the fee. Lust is the most common motivator and the worldweary outlook is best summed up by Walter Neff at the end of Double Indemnity: “I killed him for money – and a woman – and I didn’t get the money and I didn’t get the woman.”
one of the darkest noirs in existence, was shot, almost oxymoronically, in glorious Technicolor.
There is a gloomy fatalism that runs through noir that is rarely seen outside of a Thomas Hardy novel. Even the Hays Code, Hollywood’s moral guide at the time, did little to dispel the sense that people are awful and the universe is cruel and arbitrary. With six million Jews senselessly murdered in the preceding years, how could these artists have any other view of the world?
All of this might give the sense that noirs are formulaic and yet there are few genres with such versatility.
Kiss Me Deadly has a science fiction undertone, Stanley Kubrick’s
The sense of dread and criminality unpunished that pervades these movies was undoubtedly, in part, a result of the Holocaust. Many of those involved, in front of and behind the camera, had fled the Nazis but left behind family members who died in the camps.
The Killing is a heist picture that would inspire Reservoir Dogs while Leave Her to Heaven,
The level of thought and craft that seems to have been devoted to these low-budget films is nothing less than inspiring. The neon street signs juxtaposed with chiaroscuro lighting helps create a mise en scène that is instantly identifiable. It should perhaps come as no surprise that many of cinema’s greatest writers, directors, actors and cinematographers started their careers in film noir. To this day, there is debate about what exactly constitutes a noir film but I am inclined to quote Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s assessment of pornography: “I know it when I see it.”
The days are getting shorter and the ‘season of goodwill’ is approaching. Before long, it’ll be time to put the Baileys on ice and Mariah on the stereo.
Noirvember is the yin to the Christmas yang, a month dedicated to the futility of life. Perhaps paradoxically, many of us consider these films to be comfort viewing and there is something reassuring about the familiar tropes. There will be ample time for It’s a Wonderful Life next month but now is the moment to indulge in a genre that argues, like most of the history books, that life is quite the opposite.
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Riding in a Jeep through Makhtesh Ramon, an enormous crater in the Negev desert, my driver Eitan Gutzwart keenly points out that it’s here, and only here, where you can meet God. In the desert it’s “just you, nature and God”, he says. It’s a profound conclusion, but staring at the distant horizon it’s easy to see why he might have arrived at it. The sights of the Negev, whether it is the rock cliffs or the ibex, truly take the breath away.
This is a place of history, geological significance and a thriving agriculture sector. And it’s all of that which we explore in the next part of a series from Jewish News with the Israeli Government Tourist Office,
The desert is a crucial part of the story of Israel, not least because David Ben-Gurion is buried there. His grave is located at Sde Boker and he always talked about his love on
the region. Walking by this rather understated site feels quite poignant, particularly at a moment when Israel feels in peril. It is a very tangible reminder of the Zionist dream.
Geologically the Negev is a fascinating place. The multicoloured layers in the rock all revealing amazing parts of our past.
There are plenty of places to stay around the Negev too. For example, Isrotel Kedma hotel is relatively new and a stunning, modern environment to relax with family.
Conducting agriculture in as seemingly as barren a space as the Negev desert might seem unlikely, impossible even. However, a combination of Israeli innovation, and, if we’re honest, Israeli stubbornness has meant there is quite amazing produce coming from the region. I saw it when I spent a summer on a Kibbutz in the Aravah Valley many years ago and it remains the case now in the Negev.
Take the Kerem Sheizaf vineyard for instance, run by Israeli journalist and columnist Zur Sheizaf. He flipped all convention in the way he runs his vineyard, proudly doing the opposite of what others had told him to do. “Your adventures and misadventures are just the same,” he proclaims with a cheeky grin.
He goes on to explain that the height that he is operating at, about 400m above sea level, and the subsequent temperature differences between day and night, “make the taste [of the wine] very sharp and make the colour very strong.” He adds that “we take the techniques - the old ones, the new ones, the organic ones, the more advanced ones or whatever and create ecosystem. This is the challenge and this is the beauty of doing things in the desert”.
Sheizaf describes his vineyard as “a patch of softness inside all this harsh environment.” Looking out at the rows of vines sprouting from desert sand, the grapes set to be turned into delicious wine, that description feels rather apt.
It is not just wine that Israeli agriculture has fostered. There is beer too. The Srigim Brewery, inspired by its founders’ trip to Bavaria, produces a range of very drinkable beers that have been developed over the years. The brewery also offers tours and is a wonderful hangout spot, a haven away from the heat. Just make sure you have your designated driver as the beers are pretty strong. The brewery operates as a co-working space, hosts live music and has a relationship with the music department at the local school too. Indeed, the Drunken Owl distillery flew out of there, producing a fabulous whisky if you need a chaser with your beer.
The Srigim Brewery is also home to a tribute to one particular 7 October victim. Tomer Nagar was a member of the Golani brigade and one of the first to encounter Hamas terrorists as they attacked. He fired off 675 bullets before being killed. There is now a Tomer Beer, so raise a glass to this fallen hero when you have a pint.
All these companies understand the importance of the land they are working in. Preserving it and operating in an ecologically responsible manner is at the heart of what they do. Sheiza pays a lot of attention to ladybirds, for instance, making sure that the environment around the vineyard suits them so they can help his vines. This all requires huge amounts of innovation, not to mention dedication, but it seems to be paying off.
Hedai Offaim is also deeply conscious of the connection between the human and the land, and developing agriculture in a sustainable way. He “became a farmer because I had this romantic dream, poetic dream” of what that life would be like. He imagined he would leave early in the morning “with a tractor, come back at sunset, eat a watermelon, play the violin in the hot wind”. However, at different points he has had very big farms and strayed from that dream.
Offaim says that after losing a friend who was serving in the reserves, he felt determined to return to his dream and spent time travelling Europe to find out how this might be done. Now “we have in our farm a 40 square metre room in which we grow 365, days a
year, 750, kilos a day of green fodder to feed the animals.” This means “that we bring one truckload of seeds, and then we grow the fodder. We feed the goats. We milk the goats; we make the cheese. We pack the cheese, we brand the cheese, we send it in our own cooling cars to our own farm shops and farm cafes in Israel, which is not farm to table, this is seed to table, and this is seed to plate.”
This current approach puts ecological thinking right at the heart of what he does as a farmer and a chef. And don’t worry, he has vines and produces wine too.
All of these sites are just examples of the kind of agricultural innovation that is taking place in Israel. It is led by people who are proud to open their doors and show visitors the work they are doing.
Back in the desert crater, it feels like you are shut off from the world as you look for some of the fascinating species that live here and admire that ancient trees that have survived and provide shade. It is a magical experience. Later that night, sitting outside in the warm, looking up at the stars, I fully understood the magic this part of the country holds and why people have worked so hard to develop agriculture here and, perhaps, meet God.
In our thought-provoking series, rabbis, rebbetzins and educators relate the week’s parsha to the way we live today
BY MIRELE MORDECAI
MA’ALEH PARTICIPANT AND SEED SCHOOL PROGRAMMES MANAGER
This week’s parsha, Toldot, introduces us to the story of Esau selling his birthright to Yaakov for a bowl of lentil stew.
“Yaakov said, ‘Sell me your birthright now.’ Esau said, ‘I am going to die; so what use is this birthright to me?’ Yaakov said, ‘Swear to me now.’ And he swore to him and sold his birthright to Yaakov” (Bereishit 25:31-33).
At first glance, this may seem like a rash decision. Esau trades something as valuable as his birthright for something as fleeting as
food. But this moment speaks to a deeper theme in Jewish thought: the danger of instant gratification.
The Marshmallow Experiment, conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel in the 1960s, gave children a choice: eat one marshmallow immediately or wait 15 minutes for two. The results were striking: those who waited often had better life outcomes, including higher SAT scores, healthier bodies, and better coping skills. This experiment demonstrated the power of delayed gratification — the ability to resist the temptation of immediate rewards in favour of long-term success.
Instant gratification is the impulse to seek immediate pleasure, often at the expense of long-term benefits. Esau’s actions reveal this mindset. Overcome by
hunger, he cannot see beyond his immediate need. His claim “I am going to die” exaggerates his condition, highlighting his emotional reaction and rash decision-making.
The Chizkuni points out that Esau was not in any real danger, yet he is consumed by the desire for instant satisfaction, disregarding the lasting value of his birthright.
In contrast, Yaakov understands the value of the birthright in both material and spiritual terms.
While Esau acts impulsively, Yaakov demonstrates foresight. The Meforshim explain how Yaakov recognised the birthright as a spiritual legacy, not just a material inheritance. Yaakov’s decision teaches us that the ability to delay gratification often leads to deeper, more lasting rewards, not only in
Esau would possibly have chosen one marshmallow now over two later
the physical world but in spiritual matters as well.
In today’s world, the temptation for instant gratification is all around us – from social media to delicious kosher meals delivered straight to our door at a touch of a button. This story reminds us of the importance of patience and thinking about the long term. Whether in managing time, finances or relationships,
the Torah teaches that true fulfilment often comes from making thoughtful, deliberate choices. After all a Torah scholar doesn’t become wise overnight.
In a world that often prioritises instant pleasure, it is those who can think ahead and make decisions with the future in mind who will ultimately reap the greatest rewards.
We are the largest provider of sheltered housing to the Jewish community in the UK. We deliver services to around 550 properties; primarily sheltered housing with some other supported housing and general needs homes.
As we look to the future and in line with our commitment to strong governance, we are now seeking to recruit additional nonexecutive members for our various Subcommittees and the main Board. These are voluntary roles and require a commitment to attend quarterly meetings throughout the year. Meetings are held in the early evening.
Many of our Subcommittee members have progressed to become duly elected members of the main Board. All non-executive members receive the support of the established senior executive team, and we are proud that our non-executive and executive members enjoy strong and positive working relationships.
We are looking for individuals who want to make a difference, understand our business and our regulatory framework, and share our commitment to providing quality accommodation and associated services to our community. We need individuals who want to make an impact, understand the contribution that they can make but also have a strong understanding of risk. We are interested to hear from individuals who work or have expertise in any of the following fields:
l Social Housing Finance
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l Social Housing Management
To find out more or for an informal conversation about the role please contact the Chief Executive –jgoodman@jliving.org.uk
Applicants will be required to submit a full CV, Supporting Statement and will be required to participate in an interview.
BY RABBI ELANA DELLAL THE LIBERAL JEWISH SYNAGOGUE
Mitzvah Day can bring light to each one of us
In a world that can feel increasingly divided, this year’s Mitzvah Day at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue’s Rimon religion school showed how acts of kindness can illuminate darkness and build bridges between communities. From our youngest students to our teenagers, every age group took part in meaningful projects that brought to life the values of chesed (kindness) and tikkun olam (repairing the world).
Stuart Diamond, CEO of Mitzvah Day, visited and captured our community’s imagination during morning tefillah with a powerful metaphor about how one small light can illuminate an entire cave. He challenged our young people to consider
the light they bring to the world - a message that resonated deeply as our students engaged in various social action projects throughout the morning.
Speaking with our teenagers, Stuart shared his personal journey of witnessing injustice in South Africa, inspiring a thoughtful discussion about social responsibility and active citizenship. Our youngest students explored the concept of welcome by drawing their own versions of Abraham’s tent, carefully considering what would make visitors feel special and comfortable. This activity took on deeper meaning as Harriett Goldenberg, chair of social action and a volunteer from the LJS Asylum Seeker Families Drop-In, shared insights about their vital work.
Since 2014, this volunteer-run initiative has provided destitute asylum-seeking families with a safe haven, offering hot meals, children’s activities, clothing, and essential supplies one Sunday each month. The morning buzzed with creative energy as children crafted personal items – frames, mirrors,
The series where progressive rabbis consider Judaism in the light of 21st-century issues
bookmarks, and headbands – for the children who attend our Drop-In centre.
Our teenagers designed Chanukah cards for elderly members, bridging generations through art and care. Despite the cold rain, our Kabbalat Torah students demonstrated remarkable commitment to environmental responsibility by cleaning up the local canal.
These activities were complemented by an overwhelming response to our collection drive for the Drop-In centre, with families donating essential items from nappies to toiletries.
This practical support embodied Stuart’s
message about building bridges between communities, a message that feels crucial in current times. LJY-Netzer movement workers reinforced these themes, leading sessions about welcoming the stranger – a mitzvah that feels particularly relevant in today’s world.
Mitzvah Day at Rimon exemplified how social action can be both educational and practical, engaging participants of all ages in ageappropriate ways. It showed our young people that everyone, regardless of age, can contribute to making the world a little better. From the smallest hands drawing welcoming tents to teenagers engaging in environmental action, each activity reinforced the same message: that individual actions, however small they might seem, create ripples of positive change.
As one light can illuminate a cave, so too can small acts of kindness illuminate our world. In these challenging times, our community’s engagement with Mitzvah Day reminded us that building bridges through acts of kindness isn’t just a nice idea – it’s an essential practice that helps create the world we wish to see.
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• FCCA chartered certified accountant
• Accounting, taxation and business advisory services
• Entrepreneurial business specialist including start-up businesses
• Specialises in social media influencers and sport sector including tax planning and financial management
• Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation Volunteer of the Year JVN award
SOBELL RHODES LLP 020 8429 8800 www.sobellrhodes.co.uk a.shelley@sobellrhodes.co.uk
LISA WIMBORNE
Qualifications:
Able to draw on the charity’s 50 years of experience in enabling people with physical disabilities or impaired vision to live independently, including:
• The provision of specialist accommodation with 24/7 on-site support
• Knowledge of the innovations that empower people and the benefits available
• Understanding of the impact of a disability diagnosis
JEWISH BLIND & DISABLED 020 8371 6611
www.jbd.org
Lisa@jbd.org
ILAN RUBINSTEIN
Qualifications:
• UK born, licenced Israel estate agent in Israel since 2001
• Ilan assists in buying, financing & re-sale of new & existing property in Israel.
• Helps level the playing field opposite vendors, developers & even the bank
• Attentive to your needs, saving you time, hassle & money
I.L.A.N. ESTATES & INVESTMENTS “Bringing Jews Home” UK: 0203-807-0878 ISRAEL: +972-504-910-604 www.ilanrealestate.com nadlan@hotmail.com
JONATHAN WILLIAMS
Qualifications:
• Jewellery manufacturer since 1980s
• Expert in the manufacture and supply of diamond jewellery, wedding rings and general jewellery
• Specialist in supply of diamonds to the public at trade prices
JEWELLERY CAVE LTD 020 8446 8538 www.jewellerycave.co.uk jonathan@jewellerycave.co.uk
CAROLYN ADDLEMAN
Qualifications:
• Lawyer with over 20 years’ experience in will drafting and trust and estate administration. Last 14 years at KKL Executor and Trustee Company
• In close contact with clients to ensure all legal and pastoral needs are cared for
• Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
KKL EXECUTOR AND TRUSTEE COMPANY 020 8732 6101 www.kkl.org.uk enquiries@kkl.org.uk
STEPHEN MORRIS
Qualifications:
• Managing director of Stephen Morris Shipping Ltd
• 45 years’ experience in shipping household and personal effects
• Chosen mover for four royal families and three UK prime ministers
• Offering proven quality specialist advice for moving anyone across the world or round the corner
STEPHEN MORRIS SHIPPING LTD 020 8832 2222 www.shipsms.co.uk stephen@shipsms.co.uk
JACOB BERNSTEIN
Qualifications:
• A member of the APCC, specialising in financial services compliance for:
• Mortgage, protection and general insurance intermediaries;
• Lenders, credit brokers, debt counsellors and debt managers;
• Alternative Investment Fund managers;
• E-Money, payment services, PISP, AISP and grant-making charities.
RICHDALE CONSULTANTS LTD 020 7781 8019
www.richdale.co.uk jacob@richdale.co.uk
DR BEN LEVY
Qualifications:
• Doctor of psychology with 15 years’ experience in education and corporate sectors
• Uses robust, evidence-based methods to help you achieve your goals, whatever they may be
• Works with clients individually to maximise success
MAKE IT HAPPEN 07779 619 597 www.makeit-happen.co.uk ben@makeit-happen.co.uk
SUE CIPIN OBE
Qualifications:
• 24 years+ hands-on experience, leading JDA in significant growth and development.
• Understanding of the impact of deafness on people, including children, at all stages
• Extensive services for people affected by hearing loss/tinnitus
• Technology room with expert advice on and facilities to try out the latest equipment.
• Hearing aid advice, support and maintenance
JEWISH DEAF ASSOCIATION 020 8446 0502 www.jdeaf.org.uk mail@jdeaf.org.uk
Antique – Reproduction – Retro Furniture (any condition)
Epstein, Archie Shine, Hille, G Plan, etc.
Dining Suites, Lounges Suites, Bookcases, Desks, Cabinets, Mirrors, Lights, etc. House clearances
Single items to complete homes
MARYLEBONE ANTIQUES - 8 CHURCH STREET NW8 8ED 07866 614 744 (ANYTIME) 0207 723 7415 (SHOP)
- e-mail -
@maryleboneantiques.co.uk
YOU CONTACT US BEFORE SELLING
ARTICLES WANTED
CHARITY & WELFARE
Friendly Family Company established for 30 years
Sell your gold Jewellery for cash BEST
We clear houses, flats, sheds, garages etc. No job too big or too small! Rubbish cleared as part of a full clearance. We have a waste licence. We buy items including furniture bric a brac.
For a free quote please phone Dave on 07913405315 any time.
Confidential Bereavement Counselling for adults and children individually. Support Groups available. We offer in person, online and telephone counselling. Contact Jewish Bereavement Counselling Service in confidence. 0208 951 3881 enquiries@jbcs.org.uk | www.jbcs.org.uk
07438 954144 LAW MENTOR LAW MENTOR
Former “Magic Circle” solicitor offers help with:
• CVs and personal statements
• interviews and assessment days
• coping with stress and workload
• promotion and new opportunities
For more information contact Tom lawmentor@btinternet.com / 07590 057097
Sheltered Accommodation
We have an open waiting list in our friendly and comfortable warden assisted sheltered housing schemes in Ealing, East Finchley and Hendon. We provide 24-hour warden support, seven days a week; a residents’ lounge and kitchen, laundry, a
patio and garden. For further details and application forms, please contact Westlon Housing Association on
LAW MENTOR
Former “Magic Circle” solicitor offers help with:
• CVs and personal statements
• interviews and assessment days
• coping with stress and workload
• promotion and new opportunities
For more information contact Tom lawmentor@btinternet.com / 07590 057097
Furs, Jewellery, Old Costume Jewellery, Watches, Silver, Designer Bags, anything vintage. 01277 352560
Come and see us in our North London showroom for the best engagement ring selection.
We can create the design of your dreams ...and at a wholesale price!
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- £2,014.84
We also purchase sterling silver candlesticks and any other sterling tableware www.howcashforgold.co.uk
We can supply any certificated GIA or HRD diamond of your choice. @jewellerycave
A free valuation from our in house gemmologist and gold experts on anything you may wish to sell. If you are thinking of selling, we purchase all diamonds in any shape, size, clarity or colour. WE PAY MORE than all our competitors. Try us, and you will not be disappointed!
Over 1/3 of Chai clients are under 50
56,318 hours of expert support and care
Chai does not charge for services and does not receive any statutory funding Chai has provided
22,098 appointments over the year Currently supporting 4,400 clients from age 3-99
11 centres across the UK and Home Support Service
To donate please scan here:
This year Chai has provided support to
1,039 new clients
