Brutal reality
Adrien Brody shines in 2025’s first must-see movie Review, page 25
‘Emily’s just like a normal girl again’
Thomas Hand on daughter’s recovery from hostage ordeal Interview, see page 4
Concern grows over social care reforms
Jewish charities sound alarm on three-year wait
The community’s leading social care charities have expressed concern about the extended time period set by the government to address the need for significant reforms in the sector, writes Lee Harpin. Health secretary Wes Streeting last week announced the launch of a historic independent commission to reform adult social care, warning older people could be left without vital help and the NHS overwhelmed unless a “national consensus” was reached on fixing a “failing” system.
An interim report will be delivered in 2026, but he final report is not expected until 2028.
Norwood’s chief executive, Naomi Dickson, responded to the government’s announcement, telling Jewish News: “While we welcome the renewed commitment by the government
to addressing the significant challenges in the social care sector, most notably the real cost of funding care now and in the future, we are concerned about the protracted timeline for further reviewing where the issues lie.
“Social care providers such as Norwood are under more pressure than ever, and the prospect of another distant report provides little clarity or direction for us as we look to pivot to ensure we can continue to provide quality care for the people we support, while faced with meeting increased costs of up to £2m a year as a result of National Insurance rises.”
Jewish Care’s chief executive, Daniel Carmel-Brown, told Jewish News: “It’s imperative the Government garners cross-party support for long-term change and the commission is a vehicle to do this, and therefore avoids successive governments abandoning
for many years. We had hoped to see national consensus on the issue of long-term funding for social
and the provision of additional funding to local authorities for adult and children’s social care for many years.
“Jewish Care believe that we have created a model that demonstrates how a partnership between the state, communities and families can work successfully. We have offered to be part of any future discussions on models of social care and funding to share our model and expertise in this area with decision-makers on how to resolve the growing crisis in social care, with increasing costs for providers. It is currently unsustainable.”
A task force, led by the cross-bench peer Louise Casey, will now be charged with developing plans for a new national care service.
Wes Streeting at Jewish Care’s 2024 dinner
MPs back drive to make Britain ‘Khamenei-free’
A new campaign group backed by leading MPs from across the political spectrum is calling for the government to shut down Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s UK network, writes Lee Harpin.
United Against Nuclear Iran (Uani) launched its campaign this week by driving a big van with a billboard reading “Make Britain A Khamenei Free Zone” around Westminster.
Conservative MPs Suella Bravermanm, Robert Jenrick and Reform UK’s Richard Tice confirmed their support for Uani’s demand for the government to close all hubs linked to the regime in Tehran, and expel all Iranian representatives.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Photo: Handout via Reuters)
Unai also call for the government to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, which is seen as the paramilitary force of the state abroad.
Labour Friends of Israel’s honorary vice-chair Mike Tapp also said he was supporting this campaign “to crack down on the Ayotallah’s reign of terror which has exerted its influence in the UK for too long”.
Director of IRGC research at Uani, Kasra Arabi, said: “For far too long, Britain and the EU have failed to take action against the network of infiltration centres tired to the Ayatollah’s regime.
“These centres have been seeking to nurture home grown Islamist radicalisation and propagating extreme antisemitism and even seeking to recruit British nations for nefarious terrorist related activities.
“Our campaign says enough is enough we need to dismantle this network or centres and make Britain and Europe and Khamenei-free zone. It is critical for British security because the regime is plotting terror on British street.” Iranians
ATTORNEY GENERAL
TO BE ASKED ABOUT ISRAEL STANCE AT JLM
Attorney General Lord Richard Hermer KC is expected to be questioned about the government’s stance on Israel in an appearance at the Jewish Labour Movement’s flagship annual one-day conference, writes Lee Harpin.
Another session at Sunday’s all-day event will feature Sir Nicholas Hytner in conversation with JW3 chief executive Raymond Simonson, discussing concern over antisemitism in the arts world in the aftermath of the 7 October Hamas atrocity.
Sir Nicholas, who grew up in Didsbury, south Manchester in a “Jewish cultured family”, ran the National Theatre successfully for a decade, and was brought in by the Royal Court last year to help venue overcome concerns around antisemitism and funding.
Hermer, Britain’s most senior lawyer, will take part in a conversation with Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner where he will also discuss his own background in the community.
The human rights barrister, a member of Alyth Synagogue in Temple Fortune, is also expected to mount a defence of his decision to approve a limited UK arms export licence suspension to Israel last summer.
Hermer is among several senior Labour figures to attend Sunday’s conference at a venue in north London, with justice minister and Finchley and Golders Green MP Sarah Sackman, Middle East minister
Hostage’s body is found in Gaza
Hamish Falconer, and recently appointed life peer Luciana Berger among other speakers. Falconer will be in conversation with Labour Friends of Israel parliamentary chair Jon Pearce MP.
The conference will also feature appearances from some of the community’s most respected lawyers, with Adam Rose and Adam Wagner hosting a panel event with Sharone Lifschitz, whose parents were kidnapped on 7 October and whose father Oded is still held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
Lord Mann, the government’s independent antisemitism adviser, will also appear alongside Progressive Judaism’s Rabbi Charley Baginsky at a session discussing extremism, chaired by Jewish News’ Lee Harpin.
Ticket details can be found at jewish labour.uk/one_day_conference_2025
The body of Bedouin father of 19 Yousef alZaydana, kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October has been found in the Gaza Strip. The IDF said the discovery indicates “grave concern” for the fate of his son, Hamza al-Zaydana.
Yosef, from Rahat, and Hamza, were kidnapped from Kibbutz Hulit with Aisha and Bilal, also Yosef’s children. The brothers were released after 55 days in captivity.
In a statement, the IDF said: “Yesterday we located and recovered the body of the hostage Youssef Ziyadne from an underground tunnel in the area of Rafah in Gaza, and returned his body to Israel. In addition, as part of the operation, findings were located related to Youssef’s son, Hamza Ziyadne, who was also abducted on 7 October, which raise serious concerns for his life.
“The IDF sends its heartfelt condolences to the family and will continue to operate in order to bring back our remaining hostages held in Hamas captivity.”
After Aisha and Bilal’s release, the family said: “From what we heard, Hamas didn’t care who they kidnapped, Jew or Arab, as far as they were concerned, any kidnapped person could help them with their demands.
“The four of them were alone in a room. They didn’t know if they were at home or in a tunnel, they received meals as usual and heard explosions all the time.”
Ali al-Zaydana, Yousef’s brother and Hamza’s uncle said: “We were informed that the body of Yousef had been found. Our hearts ache. We wanted him and Hamza to return to the bosom of the family alive – but unfortunately Yousef will return dead.”
Ali added: “Aisha and her brother Bilal were waiting to hug them. This is a difficult and shocking disaster.”
• A list of hostages in Gaza who could be released in a ceasefire deal circulated in international and Israeli media this week amid reports that ceasefire talks were once more gaining momentum.The Israeli government warned that the list does not reflect any agreement or information about the status of the people on it.
Youssef and Hamza Al-Zaydana
Baroness Anderson, Mike Katz and Miriam Mirwitch at a JLM Chanukah event
and Israelis come together to protest outside the Iranian embassy in London
The campaign is launched this week outside parliament
Concern as Meta axes fact-checks
Campaigners against antisemitism have expressed “deep concern” after Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta confirmed that it was axing fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram, writes Lee Harpin.
The social media platforms will instead adopt the community note system now used on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The move came as Zuckerberg and other tech executives seek to improve relations with US President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office later this month.
It was also welcomed as “cool” by billionaire X owner Elon Musk.
In a video posted alongside a blog post, external by the company on Tuesday, chief executive Zuckerberg said third-party moderators were “too politically biased” and it was “time to get back to our roots around free expression”.
Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly criticised Meta for its factchecking policy, calling it censorship of rightwing voices.
But in the US, Anti-Defamation League (ADL) chief executive Jonathan A Greenblatt said after the announcement: “It is mind-blowing how one of the most profitable companies in the world, operating with such sophisticated technology, is taking significant
steps back in terms of addressing antisemitism, hate, misinformation and protecting vulnerable and marginalised groups online.
The only winner here is Meta’s bottom line and as a result, all of society will suffer.”
Online antisemitism watchdog Cyber Walk’s founder Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor added: “This change means one thing, very in line with the trend of both X since Musk acquired Twitter – more hate speech, more politicised content, more silos and less effective responses from platforms.
“This change potentially undermines the safety of all marginalised communities, including the Jewish community, which is currently experiencing one of the worst onslaughts of widespread Jew-hatred in both online and offline spaces.”
Meta’s fact-checking programme, introduced in 2016, had referred posts that appear to be false or misleading to independent organisations to assess their credibility. Posts flagged as inaccurate can have labels attached to them offering viewers more information, and be moved lower in users’ feeds.
Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican who replaced Sir Nick Clegg as Meta’s global affairs chief, has suggested Meta’s reliance on independent moderators was “well-intentioned” but too often resulted in censoring.
Files reveal Bibi’s
1990 Dublin trip
20-year-old ‘caught with recipe for mustard gas’
A 20-year-old man from East Yorkshire has appeared in court in London accused of plotting a terrorist attack after he was allegedly caught with a recipe for mustard gas.
Jordan Richardson, of Howden, near Goole, appeared before Westminster magistrates accused of engaging in conduct in preparation of an act of terrorism.
He was arrested on 19 December after he allegedly made Instagram posts expressing his support for Islamic State (Isis). When arrested, he was found with a document that is said to have set out an attack plan, referring to killing bystanders. He also had a handwritten recipe for sulphur mustard, a “blister agent”, it is claimed.
Prosecutors told the court that the recipe was the kind of gas that could be put in a grenade. Searches of digital devices showed he had expressed a desire to kill or harm infidels and the Jewish population.
Irish-American to stand trial for terrorism offences
A 24-year-old Irish-American with a military record has been indicted on terrorism charges for travelling to Lebanon and Syria to try to join Hezbollah, the US Justice Department has said.
Jack Danaher Molloy was arrested in Chicago last month for lying to FBI agents who asked him whether he had ever intended to join the Lebanese terror group. Molloy said he had no plans to and had had no business in Syria. In fact, the department said, he travelled to Lebanon in August 2024 in an attempt to enlist with Hezbollah and, after being rebuffed, went to Syria to try his fortunes with the terror group there. He converted to Shia Islam in February 2024 and was known among his contacts as “Yahya”. He faces a maximum prison term of 20 years.
Biden awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Soros
A doctor who praised Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as a “legend” has been suspended pending a GMC investigation after Jewish News revealed a stream of antisemitic posts and conspiracy theories on her social media account.
Responding to questions about her endorsement of the man behind the 7 October massacre, consultant neurologist
Dr Rehiana Ali asked a Jewish News reporter: “What is the nature of your readership? Are they normal human beings or are they extremist in their outlook? Do you/Jewish News endorse extremist views against nonJews in the Talmud?”
Jewish News contacted the GMC to share further examples of Ali’s posts, including responding to Tweets detailing injuries sustained by Sinwar: “Many will view him as a superhero” having had “no food for 3 days…. and still fighting.”
The General Medical Council told JN that Ali had been suspended on 20 December pending a full investigation She has worked for the NHS for 21 years and spent a decade at London’s Imperial College.
Benjamin Netanyahu visited Dublin years before he became Israeli prime minister in an attempt to establish a diplomatic presence in the capital, according to newly released documents. The Israeli embassy is now in the process of closing.
In February 1990, Netanyahu was the deputy foreign minister in the Likud government and Ireland held the presidency of what was then the European Community (EC).
Files released by the National Archives in Dublin show that the Department of Foreign Affairs prepared a brief resume of his career, so that officials could familiarise themselves with a man who would become a defining figure in Israeli politics. His meeting with Irish foreign affairs minister Gerry Collins took place in Dublin on 21 February 1990.
Netanyahu suggested there was a “natural feeling of sympathy towards Israel among the Irish people”, but relations had not been helped by Irish soldiers who had been killed in Lebanon while serving with Unifil, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon .
Many of these attacks had been blamed on Lebanese militias supported by Israel.
Netanyahu told Collins that 95 percent of the Israeli people were against Palestinian
aspirations, and defended Israel’s refusal to withdraw from the territories it had occupied since 1967.
He was also questioned about settlements in the Occupied Territories and responded by saying only a tiny fraction of Jewish immigrants to Israel lived there. He maintained that they were not being incentivised to live there.
Collins cited a statement by the Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir in the Knesset in the previous week, in which he said he would strengthen Jewish settlements through “Judaea, Samaria, Gaza and the Golan”.
An Israeli embassy in Ireland was opened in December 1993, and an Irish embassy in Israel was opened three years later.
Joe Biden has awarded the United States’ top civilian honour to George Soros, the Holocaust survivor and billionaire donor to progressive causes. Biden’s selection of Soros, 94, to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom is notable because Soros’ giving has made him a frequent target of criticism and invective from right-wingers around the world. Some of the criticism has been explicitly antisemitic or resembled age-old conspiracy theories about Jewish power.
Formal comments at the White House ceremony included: “Born into a Jewish family in Hungary, George Soros escaped Nazi occupation to build a life of freedom for himself and countless others around the world.”
Biden’s decision spurred criticism from some conservatives, including Elon Musk, the billionaire who owns the platform X. In a post on X Musk called Soros’ award a “travesty” . Soros’ son Alex, who assumed the helm of the family’s Open Society Foundations charity last year, accepted the award on behalf of his father. Two other Jews were among 19 to receive the honour in the last batch of medals awarded by Biden: the businessman and philanthropist David Rubenstein and the fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Another recipient was the humanitarian chef Jose Andres.
The Israeli embassy on Shelbourne Road in Dublin, which is about to be closed
Dr Rehiana Ali
Mark Zuckerberg makes the annoucement
‘Ireland helped free Emily but now it rewards Hamas’
Dublin-born Thomas Hand, dad of a 10-year-old kidnapped on 7/10, hails
Ireland’s
role in her release but questions ever returning to his birthplace
The Irish father of a young child kidnapped by Hamas has said he would think twice about returning to the country of his birth given the deepening tensions between Israel and Ireland, writes Lianne Kolirin.
Thomas Hand, whose daughter Emily spent 50 days in Gaza after she was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri, will always be deeply grateful to the Irish government for helping to bring her home.
“They were really instrumental in getting Emily back – they did a hell of a lot,” he said in an exclusive interview.
Emily, now 10, was initially thought to have been killed in the 7 October attacks, but just under a month later Hand was informed that his daughter was still alive and being held hostage in Gaza.
“Within a few days of finding out that Emily wasn’t dead but kidnapped, the first trip we took was to Ireland,” the 64-year-old told Jewish News.
“We met with the prime minister, president and lots of MPs – it was purely a political visit to make them put pressure on Hamas and they definitely did.”
And yet despite his gratitude, Hand said he would “hesitate” to return to his birthplace given the current situation.
It comes just days after Israel announced the closure of its embassy in Dublin due to the worsening relations between the two countries. Defending the move, foreign minister Gideon
Sa’ar earlier this week accused the Irish government of “antisemitism based on the delegitimisation and dehumanisation of Israel.”
In recent months, Ireland has formally recognised the State of Palestine, said that it would execute an arrest warrant on Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netan -
yahu and backed South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. News of the embassy’s closure did not come as a surprise to Hand.
“I expected them to do it a lot earlier,” he said, because Israel regards Ireland as doing “too many anti-Israel things”.
Father and daughter are from Kibbutz Be’eri, which was the site of some of the worst horrors on 7 October and where 101 people were murdered. That day Hand was at his home on the kibbutz, while his daughter was on a sleepover at a friend’s house nearby.
Ireland’s recognition of a Palestinian state has come in for harsh criticism from Hand. “Recognising Palestine as a state, very soon after their massive terrorist attack –it was almost a reward,” he said. “They [the Irish government] must have seen all the atrocious videos that Hamas put online themselves and yet they were recognised. For me personally, it looked like they were being rewarded.”
Hand, who like his daughter is
a dual Israeli-Irish citizen, was not happy about the embassy’s closure as he believes cutting the lines for diplomacy is “never a good thing”.
“But I guess they had to show some kind of sign that we’re not very happy with the decisions being made by the Irish government,” he said.
Born and raised Catholic he now describes himself as an atheist and said he would “probably hesitate” before returning to Ireland due to the strength of anti-Israel feeling.
“I’m pretty well recognised nowadays. I could be very easily attacked,” he said, as he recalled coming face to face with anti-Israel demonstrators while in Ireland.
The problem, he believes, is deeply entrenched.
“They [the Irish] simply don’t understand the history of the place. Myself, before I came here, I had Palestinian sympathies – I was a sympathiser.”
But living in Be’eri, just a few kilometres from Gaza, changed his outlook.
“They fired thousands and thou-
sands and thousands of rockets at us continuously,” he said.
“Ireland mistakenly sees Israel as the super power, the strength, the oppressor and of course they have sympathies for the Palestinian people,” he said. “Well, if they understood the history of the place, they’d realise there is no comparison.”
Hand and his daughter were reunited just over a year ago, when she was released by Hamas on 26 November.
Like so many other residents of Beeri and other kibbutzim in the area, the pair spent months living in hotel accommodation by the Dead Sea - until recently.
Back in September, they – along with many others affected by the crisis - were moved to live in “prefab houses” on another kibbutz close to Beer Sheva.
“The kibbutz expanded their fence and then new housing was built pretty rapidly, amazingly,” he said. Emily is “fantastic,” he told Jewish News, and just like a “normal little girl”.
When asked if he would return to Be’eri, he said: “In a heartbeat. If I didn’t have Emily, I would have been back months ago.”
He said that at least 150 residents, many of whom are older and without children, have returned to Be’eri but that the overall reconstruction work has not yet begun.
“We’re still demolishing the houses that are irreparable in Beeri. There’s no new building going on yet – to build up again that amount of housing is going to take time. But that’s the dream one day, just to go back there,” he said.
Would he not feel nervous?
“We were always nervous,” he said. “Constantly being attacked by missiles, rockets, on a weekly basis. That’s been our norm for the last 20 odd years, since Hamas came into power.
“We’re used to living with that and I don’t believe the Israeli army will ever let that happen again. Hopefully.
“Everything will depend on the state of the army, the state of Hamas and whatever government is in power at the time, in the future.”
Thomas with Emily moments after the pair were reunited following her 50-days in Gaza
Emily with her pet dog. Thomas says she is recovering well from her ordeal
Six-month verdict on Starmer: ‘Must do better’
Our political editor Lee Harpin hears disappointment about the government’s stance on Israel but finds hope and gratitude too
Keir Starmer and his inner circle have been accused of under-estimating the scale of communal solidarity with Israel at war during Labour’s first months in power.
The party leadership did not foresee the backlash from a sizable section of the community, including life-long Labour supporters, as they announced a series of tough foreign policy moves on Israel, it is now claimed.
Six months after Starmer was elected prime minister, Jewish News spoke with communal leaders, business figures and parliamentarians to get their reactions to the government so far.
A frequently held view that emerged was the failure of the Starmer government in the immediate months after the July election triumph to read the mood of a majority of British Jews.
In the run-up to the 7 October Hamas atrocity, criticism of Israel’s far-right coalition under Benjamin Netanyahu had indeed reached unprecedented levels, including here in the UK. But following the massacre of about 1,200 men, women and children in Gaza, Jews across the globe put their objections to Netanyahu to one side, as Israel faced multiple security threats, from Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and ultimately from the regime in Tehran.
“Labour made the age-old mistake of only listening to the voices within the Jewish community it wanted to hear over Israel,” one parliamentarian reasoned as they spoke to Jewish News in Westminster.
“If Jeremy Corbyn was drawn to the voices of the small slither of anti-Zionist Jews in this country, the Starmer project has been perhaps overly sympathetic to the admittedly not insignificant chunk of Jews who hold what one might describe as ‘soft-left’ views on Israel.
“These people are outspoken in their opposition to Netanyahu and unafraid to attach themselves to campaigns around issues like occupation in the West Bank.
“These are all legitimate concerns. To me, the
mistake the Labour have made is in wanting to believe that this is the dominant viewpoint of UK Jews. I think they recognise this now.”
Another lifelong Labour supporter and communal figure suggested the government had failed to understand that the connection between UK Jewry and Israel exists “at a very emotional, visceral level” even while concerns about the way the war in Gaza has been conducted.
“You would be hard pushed to find too many British Jews supporting the far-right ideals of Israeli ministers like Smotrich and BenGvir,” they reasoned. “Many haven’t dropped their concern with the direction of travel taken by the Netanyahu government in Israel.”
But explaining negative reactions to the government’s stance on Israel, the source added: “If you had a member of your family who was badly behaving, you could disapprove of their conduct, you might even want to discipline them your-
selves, and you might have strong words in private. But if you see a third party taking them to task, you end up feeling protective of the family member. This is a natural response.”
Another well-known community figure who spoke to Jewish News was even more blunt. “The problem for Labour, and perhaps a problem for the community itself, is that a significant number of us are socially liberal on a range of issues, be it Europe, or whatever,” they said. “But when it comes to Israel, using the party political spectrum as a measure, many of us are nearer Reform UK than we might admit.”
But a not insignificant section in the community believes the government needed to take a more critical line towards the Israeli leadership, and that the government has been correct to stress the importance of international law.
With Starmer’s background as a human rights lawyer and with attorney general Richard Hermer’s career before entering Westminster following a similar path, and with the foreign secretary’s own background in law, some communal figures told this paper it was “hardly a surprise that after coming to power this govern-
ment has taken the direction it has on Israel”. One Conservative-leaning source said: “The only surprise is that there are people who are now surprised.”
Others point to the fact that criticism of the Israeli government’s war against Hamas has grown in the UK community, as it has elsewhere, with the loss of too many innocent lives as the conflict continues for longer than most wanted or expected it to. Anger at the conduct of settlers in the West Bank and fears about far-right annexation plans have left some progressive Jews calling for a tougher stance to Israel’s farright coalition government
In October last year, when JW3 in north London was the venue for a conference put on by the Yachad organisation in coordination with Haaretz newspaper, the event was massively over-subscribed. The clear message emerging from the event, marred by a pro-Palestine protest outside, was a near-unanimous call for the UK to get tougher on Israel, and to bring in sanctions against its far-right ministers.
The audience was not made up of far-left anti-Zionists but represented the voice of the soft-left in the community.
Members of the Jewish Labour Movement, Jewish News understands, have been less outspoken on the policies of the Starmer government in relation to Israel and the Palestinians.
One Jewish Labour source said it was important that communal leaders also noted there was still not insignificant support in UK Jewry for the line taken by the Starmer government towards Israel, and increasingly critical voices about the way the war against Hamas has been conducted.
“Some of us have longed for a government that took a more critical stance to Netanyahu and what he represents,” Jewish News was told by one activist. “Many of us felt the Conservative’s failure to call out the excesses of the Netanyahu government was not only morally wrong but an actual existential threat to diaspora Jewry.
“We are not Jews on the fringes of the community either. We are active, shul-going, very involved members of the community. If our community leaders are not representing our views when they meet with the government, then that’s a problem also.”
Another youth activist said: “It worries me that at these meetings with government ministers, our established communal leaders are failing to put across our opinion.”
Despite sweeping into power with support from the community at levels not seen since Tony Blair, there is a sense of disappointment at the performance of the prime minister.
There is also anger, from the Jewish charitable sector and the wider business community,
Starmer taking part in Mitzvah Day
Keir Starmer is praised by some for his criticisms of Israel’s war against Hamas
at chancellor Rachel Reeves’s budget – which raised employers’ national insurance contributions, and lowered tax thresholds.
Some now suggest support for Labour in the community has dipped to levels seen under Ed Miliband, although this seems an exaggeration, with Starmer in power for barely six months.
Continued concerns about high levels of antisemitism across the country has only heightened the sense of anger and alienation from Labour among many in the community.
One communal figure, previously happy to declare their support for Starmer ahead of the election, told us: “I thought we were getting the next Tony Blair with Keir. We have got something closer to Ed Miliband.”
A lifelong Labour activist and communal figure said of Starmer: “He is nowhere near the orator of Blair or Brown – he’s quite cold.”
Responses from the business world were also negative. “I can see what they are trying to do commercially,” one pro-Labour industrialist told Jewish News, reflecting on the e orts of Starmer, and Reeves to spark economic growth through transport and house-building projects. “I just don’t think there is su cient experience and know-how in the prime minister’s cabinet to be able to pull it o , yet.”
Another communal source, with significant cross-political influence, admitted that some of the former Conservative-supporting businessmen and women they knew, who had been persuaded to switch parties in July after giving up on the previous government, had already decided to walk away from Labour.
Condemnation, as well as a sense that foreign secretary David Lammy has “left the community down”, is also easy to pick up.
After he confirmed September’s arms licence suspensions in the Commons, Lammy could have expected to have made himself a target of often spiteful remarks from some of the more vocal elements on the right wing of the community. But the Tottenham MP now also faces claims from one-time supporters in the community that he has failed in the role to display his credentials as a self-confessed “liberal Zionist”.
A social media post put on X shortly after Lammy was pictured with his arm around Mandy Damari, mother of Gaza hostage Emily, made no mention of the hostages and instead referenced only the “unacceptable humanitarian situation in Gaza” for Palestinians.
This communications slip-up did not go unnoticed by Labour MPs either, some telling Jewish colleagues working in Westminster that they understood the upset caused by those in charge of Lammy’s social media feed.
Conservative supporters in the community have also made much of the UK’s recent vote in favour of a motion in the United Nations, the text of which appeared to stop short of suggesting a Gaza ceasefire could happen only if the hostages were released.
Blame for the vote was, predictably, directed at Starmer and Lammy, ignoring the fact that contentious voting by the UK at the UN, usually deeply critical of Israel, was also a reality under the Tory government.
But it would also be wrong to suggest that the Starmer government had been written o by the Jewish community ahead of Chanukah.
One senior communal source, known for their pro-Israel stance, told Jewish News: “Six months into o ce, the government faces a choice. If it wants to influence events on the ground, and help promote a sustainable regional peace, it needs to be seen as a fair and honest broker. Sadly, however, both its rhetoric and its actions – on arms sales, UN votes and the ICC –are too often failing to meet that test.
“The government can forge a principled and consistent approach to the region, which will earn it influence and trust, or it can attempt to appease Israel’s implacable opponents here at home – but it can’t do both.”
But some of the government’s loyal supporters have told JN they believe the di erences policy-wise between this government and the previous Tory one in relation to Israel have been exaggerated, sometimes for political reasons.
When Lammy announced in July the UK was restoring funding to the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, saying he had received reassurances about its neutrality, many overlooked the fact that Andrew Mitchell, the former Tory government’s foreign minister, had confirmed this was going to happen in a Commons speech he made back in May.
Former foreign secretary David Cameron recently confirmed he had been “working up” sanctions against Israeli far-right ministers before the general election was called.
And while the UK government under Rishi Sunak said it had applied to submit objections to the International Criminal Court after chief prosecutor Karim Khan sought arrest warrants for Hamas leaders as well as for Benjamin Netanyahu and his then defence minister Yoav Gallant, when Labour took power it emerged that no actual legal objection had been filed.
Criticism that the Starmer government is proving less e ective at dealing with antisemitism is also challenged by some communal figures who have been engaging with ministers on the issue, especially in the past two months.
A source familiar with security issues in relation to the UK community reasoned it had taken up to four months for the government to settle down, having been in opposition for so long.
Another community representative, not previously known as a Labour supporter, was similarly encouraged and reassured.
“Look at what most of the cabinet ministers, and the prime minister, have said, and what they are actually doing on the issue. Look at the way [health secretary]
Wes Streeting came out and called for NHS bosses to sack sta who were found to have been antisemitic. This is significant stu .”
Another source from the communal charity sector said the government should be given far more than six months to deal with problems around the pro-Palestine demos, arguing that the “police often can’t enforce laws that are too vague, or don’t exist”. There is also optimism in recent weeks over the government’s willingness to open its doors to community representatives and listen to a wide range of concerns.
Starmer, home secretary Yvette Cooper, Streeting, education secretary Bridget Phillipson and culture secretary Lisa Nandy have all recently met with sizable delegations, leaving those attending with near-unanimous praise for the way the government is seeking to tackle the rise of antisemitism following 7 October 2023.
Some of these meetings have also seen frank discussions on the government’s stance towards Israel being raised. It is also clear that organisations such as CST enjoy as good and close a relationship with this government as they did with the last one.
Another sign that tensions over the government’s foreign policy stance on Israel were starting to subside came at the Downing Street Chanukah reception last month, attended by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.
Back in July Mirvis had expressed “deep concern” about the new government’s apparent tougher stance over Israel, and previously good relations between and Starmer appeared to have broken down. Last month, as Starmer delivered a well-received speech inside No 10, he praised Mirvis, who was standing next to him, for his “wise counsel”.
With Rabbi Charley Baginsky (right) at a meeting of faith leaders in Downing Street
With Israel’s President Isaac Herzog in late July last year
Frontrunners emerge to be Israel’s new UK envoy
Two names have emerged as possible successors to current Israeli ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely, who ends her five-year term in August, writes Lee Harpin.
One report in Israel claims Benjamin Netanyahu is considering appointing his chief of staff Tzachi Braverman, while a second article suggests deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel could be the new UK envoy.
Haaretz’s reports that the prime minister has singled out Haskel as a potential Israeli ambassador in London to ensure that she votes in favour of the bill that would exempt ultraOrthodox men from military service and that she votes in favour of the 2025 state budget.
He has used ambassadorial appointments in the past to get lawmakers who threatened to vote against his government to resign. The newspaper cites three sources for the story, but staff in Netanyahu’s office such a plan and Haskel called it “baseless”.
Meanwhile, a report on the Walla news site says Netanyahu is considering appointing his chief of staff Braverman. He was among those questioned by police in November on suspicion of forgery and fraud over the illegal altering of records in the Prime Minister’s Office on the early morning of 7 October 2023, amid the Hamas onslaught.
Netanyahu’s spokesperson said Braverman’s name had been touted for numerous posts, adding: “It would be better for the media to focus on more substantial matters than engage obsessively in endless vague and anonymous speculation.”
During her five-year long stint in the UK Hotovely has
become known for her right-wing political stance after being elected as a member of Knesset in Netanyahu’s Likud party in 2008 and became deputy foreign minister in 2015.
In December, during a Sky News appearance Hotovely was pressed on the question of Palestinians having their own state, telling presenter Mark Austin: “Absolutely no.”
She added: “Israel knows today, and the world should know now that the Palestinians never wanted to have a state next to Israel.
“They want to have a state from the river to the sea. They are saying it loud and clear.”
A former newspaper columnist, Hotovely has been called the “ideological voice of the Likud”.
IMAM’S TALK SPARKS MANCHESTER ANGER
An imam who claims Jews wage wars and spread corruption headlined a big venue in Manchester on Sunday despite calls for the event to be cancelled, writes Michelle Rosenberg.
Sheikh Mishary Alafasy, the imam and preacher of the Grand Mosque in Kuwait, addressed the 2,000-capacity Bridgewater Hall arena as part of a tour of Britain. Billed as ‘an evening of inspiration’, the occasion promised “mesmerising Quranic recitation, soul-stirring nasheeds (hymns) and heartfelt duas (prayers)”. The event was sponsored by UK-registered charity the Al Mustafa Welfare Trust, to support its Palestine and Gaza emergency appeal.
Alfasy has a history of antisemitic rhetoric and calls for violence. On 7 October 2023, the day of the Hamas atrocities, in a post to his 15 million followers on social media platform X he wrote: “O God, cast terror into the hearts of the Zionists.”
A letter from UK Lawyers for Israel to Manchester City Council, the trustees and chief executive of Bridgewater Hall
and the venue’s operators, ASM Global, had called for the event to be cancelled. The letter, shared with Jewish News, cites several further examples of Alafasy’s comments.
In 2011, Alafasy wrote on Twitter that “[The] characteristics of the Jews [is] their eagerness to wage wars and [spread] corruption in the land.”
A spokesperson for the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester & Region told Jewish News: “To allow an extremist a prominent platform in one of our city’s most iconic venues makes a mockery of the assurances we have received to tackle antisemitism in all its forms.”
Tzipi Hotovely has been ambassador since 2020
Sheikh Alafasy: hate rhetoric
Schools Bill ‘like living under Stalin’
Strictly Orthodox leaders have compared the Government’s Schools Bill to “antisemitic” moves introduced in the Soviet Union under Stalin and Nazi Germany under Hitler as they staged another protest outside Parliament, writes Lee Harpin.
Introducing the Bill into the Commons on Wednesday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said it was “time for Government to act” with new powers for local authority registers of children who are being homeschooled or taught in out-of-school settings such as yeshivot.
Around 250 members of the Charedi community, including children, staged their latest demonstration in Westminster to coincide with the Bill’s second reading in the Commons.
Many held banners that suggested the
A protest against the Schools Bill
Bill amounted to “religious persecution” and an “oppressive attack” on the religious communities in the UK.
Phillipson, who has met with Charedi leaders and who has been supportive of
Jewish state schools such as JCoSS and JFS, is adamant action needs to be taken to stop children from disappearing from the education system, either as a result of them attending unregulated schools or not attending at all.
The minister told the Commons that if the Bill passed, it would establish “a new legal obligation for safeguarding partners to work hand-in-hand with education, because it’s often teachers who first see the signs of abuse and neglect and a new duty to establish multiagency child protection teams.
Hackney Council recently reported that it was aware of 1,582 children and young people in unregistered educational settings in the borough.
The “vast majority” were thought to be teenage Orthodox boys studying in yeshivot providing “only religious instruction,” the
council said. Phillipson told MPs: “A vote against this Bill is a vote against the safety of our children, a vote against their childhoods and against their futures.”
But at the protest, Rabbi L Weiss told Jewish News: “We have been through Russia with Stalin, and we have been through the Nazis with Hitler and we have survived. We have got God, they won’t survive, we will survive. We have got the promise.”
Asked about banners at the protest branding the government’s Bill as “antisemitic” Weiss said: “Well, they are trying to take away our religion and they are trying to take away our beliefs.Antisemitism does need to mean to kill Jews, it is also to take away their beliefs. We have held these beliefs for thousands of years and will not accept their attempts to try to make us become atheists.”
WESTMINSTER SHOAH MEMORIAL ‘BUILT BY 2027’
Planned memorial and learning centre
A supporter of the proposed UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Westminster has predicted the project will be built in 2027.
Lord Pickles – co-chair of the advisory board overseeing the building of the memorial – told The New Yorker magazine that while work on the memorial had paused while a new law made its way through parliament, he was confident that planning
permission would be given to allow the memorial to go ahead.
He claimed a campaign of misinformation was being spread about the likely impact of the memorial and learning centre, telling the magazine: “We are subject to either people thinking we’re going to go super-woke, or they think we are going to go imperial, triumphant. We are not going to do either.”
In an article headlined ‘Why is it so hard to build a Holocaust memorial in London?’ Baroness (Ruth) Deech expressed strong criticism of the project, saying: “Everybody loves dead Jews, the living not so much. I think that sums it up.”
Louise Hyams, a Tory councillor in Westminster, said local planners had unanimously rejected the memorial as “too large, too
imposing”. She added: “It did not get over the message that a Holocaust memorial should [get over].”
The article noted how in 2026 a decade would have passed since David Cameron announced the structure would be built in Victoria Tower Gardens. Lord Pickles was asked when he believed the memorial might be built, and he said his best guess was 2027.
Revealed: the shocking rise in post-7/10 hatred
Newly obtained data shows the sharp increase in antisemitic hate crime in the UK since the 7 October atrocity – even in regions with small Jewish communities, writes Lee Harpin.
Details covering the past 18 months were obtained by the PA news agency from 33 of the 40 police administrations across England.
They confirm some forces have seen a double spike in types of religious hate crime, with numbers jumping after the start of the HamasIsrael conflict in autumn 2023 and again following the Southport attacks last summer.
Antisemitic o ences recorded by forces including Greater Manchester, West Midlands and the Met rose sharply in the weeks after the outbreak of hostilities last October, followed by an increase in Islamophobic o ences after the Southport stabbings in July and subsequent violent disorder in towns and cities.
Community Security Trust (CST) spokesman Dave Rich said: “These figures show similar trends to CST’s own antisemitic data, with a sharp rise in anti-Jewish hate crimes following the October attack to levels that have still not returned to what used to be considered ‘normal’.
“The increases are even more
shocking when set against the relatively small size of the Jewish communities in some of these places.
“This kind of anti-Jewish hatred should be unacceptable to all, and we will continue to work closely with police and the CPS, alongside local Jewish communities, to reduce the impact of this hatred.”
The figures show Greater Manchester Police recorded an average of 13 antisemitic o ences a month from January-September 2023, with spikes of 85 in October and 68 in November; Islamophobic o ences averaged 35 a month in 2023, 39 from January-July 2024, spiking at 85 in August and 21 in September.
ISRAELIS VISIT UK
A group of teenagers from V’Ahavta Shoham Reform community in Israel spent a week in the UK strengthening their ties with a synagogue in Hertfordshire.
The Shoham shul has been ‘twinned’ with The Liberal Synagogue Elstree (which organised the visit), a relationship that emerged from the formal twinning between Shoham in central Israel and Elstree and Borehamwood in 2023.
During their stay, the youngsters
Antisemitic o ences recorded by West Yorkshire Police averaged six a month from January-September 2023, jumped to 44 in October, then fell back to lower levels; Islamophobic o ences averaged 33 a month in 2023 and 39 a month from January-July 2024, before rising to 94 in August then 73 in September.
British Transport Police recorded a monthly average of seven antisemitic o ences in January-September 2023, followed by a jump to 60 in October and 70 in November, after which the numbers fell back.
The force also saw low numbers of Islamophobic o ences each month –fewer than 20 – across this period,
‘TWIN’ SINAI
were welcomed by youth councillors, town and borough councillors and sta as well as church and synagogue leaders.
They visited the old Jewish East End of London, the JW3 community centre in Hampstead, met residents at a Jewish Care home in Stanmore, celebrated Chanukah, ate latkes and lit candles with members of TLSE and Edgware and Hendon Reform communities, and enjoyed sightseeing in central London.
apart from spikes in November 2023 (42) and August 2024 (29).
The Met changed the way it records hate crime at the end of February 2024 but, under the previous method, an average of 54 antisemitic o ences a month were logged from January-September 2023, followed by steep rises to 517 in October, 411 in November and 228 in December.
Under the new method, an average of 116 Islamophobic o ences a month were recorded from MarchJuly 2024, followed by 190 in August and 97 in September.
Other forces covering largely urban areas, such as Merseyside, South Yorkshire and West Midlands, saw a lower volume of these crimes overall but still recorded spikes in antisemitic o ences in the autumn of 2023 and Islamophobic o ences in the summer of 2024.
Methods for capturing hate crime are not consistent across forces, so the data cannot be used to compare directly the number of o ences between di erent areas or provide an overall total for England.
Data obtained from smaller forces, or those covering areas with few towns or cities, typically showed low numbers of o ences, often in single figures.
IS
‘OUTSTANDING’
Europe’s largest Jewish primary school, Sinai in Kenton, has been rated as ‘outstanding’ across the board by education o cials Ofsted.
Following an inspection in November, Sinai received the highest grading across all areas, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and early years provision. Remarkably, the school was also told there were no areas for development.
Head Juliette Lipshaw, who was once herself a Sinai pupil, said: “An outstanding school does not happen overnight. It is years of hard work, commitment, energy, drive, ambition and passion that come together in a relentless pursuit to be the biggest and best Jewish primary school in Europe.”
She added: “We are a big school, with a big heart. We look after the whole child and know our children individually.”
Israeli players will be allowed to compete in the World Indoor Bowls Championships in Norfolk after tournament organisers revoked a ban on them taking part.
The World Bowls Tour (WBT) had claimed there had been a “significant escalation in related political concerns” after the involvement of three Israeli bowlers at the Scottish International Open in August.
But in a new statement on 31 December, it was confirmed that Daniel Alonim, Amnon Amar and Itai Rigbi could now compete in this month’s tournament after “significant additional security measures” had been put in place.
The announcement came on the day 100 MPs and peers had written to WBT expressing anger at the decision to stop the Israelis taking part.
Organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Antisemitism, the letter noted “profound concern” over the decision.
The Conservative Friends of Israel, and UK Lawyers For Israel organisations had also expressed their own anger at the ban.
MP Rupert Lowe, whose Great Yarmouth constituency includes Hopton-on-Sea, where the Norfolk tournament is due to take place, welcomed the decision.
Alonim is now scheduled to play in the World Open Singles, while Amar and Rigbi will feature in the World Open Pairs.
CST security at the Chanukah in the Square celebration
Ban U-turn: Israeli bowlers
DATE:
Shul is destroyed as California fires rage SHOP PRAISES SINWAR BOOK
A synagogue with more than 100 years of history in Pasadena, California, burned down on Tuesday evening as fires swept across parts of southern California.
The fate of a Chabad centre about 40 miles away near the coast was unclear as a major fire flared in the Pacific Palisades, one of three di erent blazes destroying structures and threatening lives in multiple pockets of the greater Los Angeles area.
The Pasadena Jewish Centre and Temple burned for hours as fire spilled out of the Eaton Canyon, fuelled by strong winds.
The 434-family congregation had operated from the Mission-style building, which had a wooden Torah ark carved by the Jewish artist Peter Krasnow, and three outbuildings since the 1940s.
“It’s a massive centre, it’s just crumbling with the intensity of the heat,” a KTLA reporter said while broadcasting from the scene. She added, as flames shot through the synagogue’s roof: “It looks like
the concrete and the metal is just melting. … It’s just a total loss.”
A man who used to go to the synagogue said: “I feel numb to this. It’s like a bad, bad horrific dream. To see that it’s not going to be here tomorrow… ”
The congregation’s executive director told The New York Times
that everyone employed by the synagogue was safe. “We are devastated, but our sta are safe and we managed to get our Torahs out safely as well, while ash was coming down in our parking lot,” said Melissa Levy, who said she had been evacuated from her home.
Southern California has long
been vulnerable to fires, but climate change has altered weather patterns that in the past largely limited fire season to only parts of the year.
Earlier in the night, a larger fire in the Pacific Palisades, located on the Pacific coast north of Santa Monica, was under an evacuation order as strong winds spread a fire there. A third fire later erupted several miles north.
Zibby Owens, the publisher and bookseller who recently put out an anthology titled On Being Jewish Now, posted footage on Instagram showing her family’s home being lapped by flames before its camera feed was lost.
The Chabad of Pacific Palisades evacuated 100 children from its preschool on Tuesday as fire neared the property, Rabbi Zushe Cunin told local TV news.
He and other rabbis posed with the community’s Torah scrolls as they removed them from the path of the fire path on Tuesday evening.
A Dublin bookshop has pledged to restock sold-out copies of a novel by former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, describing him as a “king in a chair” facing o against “Zionist scum”, writes Michelle Rosenberg.
Connolly Books, self-described as “Ireland’s oldest radical bookshop,” posted on Facebook about The Thorn and the Carnation, written by the architect of the 7 October massacre during his incarceration in Israeli prisons for the murder of 12 Palestinians.
The post labelled the book as “a vital piece of literature” and praised it for o ering insight into “the resilience and ethos of a man who played a pivotal role in shaping the discourse of resistance within the Palestinian context”.
It also lauded the novel for detailing the planning of the 7 October attacks, known as the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation.
Responding to inquiries from Jewish News, a spokesperson for the bookshop confirmed the initial order of Sinwar’s novel had sold out quickly and promised restocks.
When pressed about its support for promoting a book by a former leader of a designated terrorist organisation, the spokesperson doubled down with inflammatory language, hailing Sinwar’s actions and condemning Israeli forces in provocative terms.
The book, published by Lulu.com in April 2024, is available on the platform’s website. In a statement to Jewish News, Lulu emphasised its status as a self-publishing platform, asserting that content is the sole responsibility of individual account holders and can be reported for guideline violations.
FESTIVAL EXPANDS FOR ALL JPR announces new chair
The seventh annual Festival of Spoken Ivrit comes to schools this month and, in a first for the festival, this year it has branched out to include adult and youth audiences in community centres and shuls.
The festival comprises four plays, performed by a team of professional actors from Israel’s Hashaa Theatre. The aim of the festival is to enhance Ivrit as a spoken language in the UK.
This year’s theme, Heroes, Heroines and Heroism, reflects the challenges of the past year and the heroic stories that have come to light, with the message too that bravery is not limited to the battlefield – everyone can
be a hero or heroine through acts of kindness, understanding and support.
Running from 23 January to 6 February in Jewish schools and several synagogues, including Mill Hill, Hadley Wood and Hampstead, the festival marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day with an emotive production of Sentenced to Life, which tells the true story of Holocaust survivor Avraham Auerbach. It is the only play in the repertoire that will be performed in English.
• For further information please contact your synagogue or your child’s school. The plays are also showing at JW3: visit jw3.org
The Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) has appointed David Ereira as its new chair, succeeding Stephen Moss, who has been in the role since 2015.
Ereira is a current JPR trustee and vice-chair, who has also served as chairman of Norwood and vice president of S&P Sephardi. He remains an honorary life president of Norwood.
in his ability to continue advancing JPR’s essential work.”
Ereira said: “I am deeply honoured to step into the role of chair following the exceptional leadership of Stephen Moss. With over three decades of community service, I am dedicated to advancing JPR’s mission at a time when the need for accurate, insightful research has never been more urgent.
Outgoing JPR head Stephen Moss said: “David brings a vast wealth of experience and a passion to take JPR to new heights. He is the perfect person to lead this vital organisation into its next chapter, and I am deeply confident
“As we face unprecedented global challenges, JPR’s work remains crucial to ensuring Jewish communities in the UK and Europe are empowered with the data and insights they need to navigate these turbulent times.”
A home burns on Tuesday as the Pacific Palisades fire spreads
David Ereira
Trump repeats ‘hell will break out’ vow
Donald Trump this week repeated his threat that “all hell will break out” if Hamas does not release the hostages it is holding in Gaza as his Middle East envoy signalled optimism about a ceasefire deal that would see some of the captives go free.
The president-elect and his chosen envoy, real estate magnate Steve Witko , made the comments at a wide-ranging press conference Tuesday, 13 days before Trump returns to o ce. Although he is not yet in the White House, Witko appears to be taking a role in the negotiations.
“I think we’re making a lot of progress, and I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha,” the capital of Qatar, where talks are being held and where Witko said he would fly shortly. “I think that we’ve had some really great progress, and I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president.”
He added: “If those hostages aren’t back by the time I get into o ce, all hell will break out in the Middle East and it will not be good for Hamas.”
EDITOR HIT BY ‘VILE ABUSE’
The man at the centre of “vile and sinister” attacks by The Guardian writer Owen Jones has been subjected to a torrent of antisemitic abuse, Jewish News has learned.
Jones wrote a longform “investigation” into the BBC’s coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas, which was published by the online outlet Drop Site News. In it, Jones claimed to have spoken to “13 current and former sta ers, who mapped out the extensive bias in the BBC’s coverage” and said the focus of their complaints, all made anonymously “for fear of professional retribution”, was BBC News Online Middle East editor Ra Berg.
Jones said Berg “sets the tone for the BBC’s digital output on Israel and Palestine”, adding the journalists to whom he spoke “allege that internal complaints about how the BBC covers Gaza have been repeatedly brushed aside”. Jones alleged one former BBC journalist told him: “This guy’s [Berg] entire job is to water down everything that’s too critical of Israel.”
A source close to Berg said the Middle East editor had described Jones’ investigation as “vile and sinister”. Berg told the source Jones had “triggered the biggest torrent of antisemitic abuse against him which he had ever experienced in his life”. He is now understood to be considering legal action.
Collaborator files open
A massive trove of documents about suspected Nazi collaborators in the Netherlands is open to the public for the first time, writes Adam Decker.
TRAINING AND SELF DEFENCE
Until now, only researchers and relatives of those accused of collaborating could access the information but two years ago, a Dutch consortium devoted to preserving history said it would make the records available online when they were no longer shielded by privacy laws.
Visitors to the consor-
tium’s website can now view a list of 425,000 people investigated during the Holocaust and dossiers on them, including what investigators found, can be viewed in person at the Dutch National Archive in the Hague.
Availability of the material has been controversial in the Netherlands because relatively few people in the database were ever formally charged or even faced formal investigations.
The Dutch government investigated 300,000 people
for collaborating and more than 65,000 of them stood trial in the years after the war. Collaboration enabled the Nazis to murder some three-quarters of Dutch Jews, including their most famous victim, Anne Frank. The identity of the person who betrayed her hiding place has long been a matter of debate. It was not until 2020 that the Dutch government apologised for failing to protect Jews during the Holocaust, long after other European leaders had done so.
MUSK HAILS GERMAN RIGHT
Billionaire Elon Musk has endorsed the far-right German political party Alternative for Germany, known as AfD, in the latest in a series of posts to draw accusations of catering to antisemites.
Musk, an influential adviser to president-elect Donald Trump, shared a post on his social network, X, by a right-wing German influencer commenting on the collapse of Germany’s government. “Only the AfD can save Germany,” Musk wrote.
Musk, who spent more than a quarter of a billion dol-
lars to support Trump’s election campaign, is poised to take a major role in reshaping the US government.
The AfD, which increased its vote share in EU elections
earlier this year, is known in Germany for its far-right politics, including anti-Muslim rhetoric and a pro-Russian and anti-EU stance.
Some of its politicians have also downplayed the Holocaust, while a German Jewish leader said the party’s success in the June elections “should give all democratic forces pause”.
German courts have fined one of its leaders, Björn Höcke, multiple times for using the Nazi-era phrase Alles für Deutschland, or “Everything for Germany”.
A sign in Jerusalem reads, ‘Congratulations! Trump, make Israel great!’
Owen Jones
Elon Musk
Be’eri residents return
Michelle Rosenberg visits a kibbutz now rebuilding and dreaming of renewal, 15 months after 132 people were killed and 32 kidnapped
“Whenever you see Be’eri, please have a picture in your mind of a human body with missing limbs. This is us now as a kibbutz. We need time to regrow our limbs or accept that our body will still live with some missing.”
These are the stark words of 55-year-old Yigal Chetrit, who lost 102 friends on 7 October, including four former classmates, his boss and company chairman and “many, many” others.
Chetrit takes Jewish News into what remains of the kindergarten classrooms at Kibbutz Be’eri. Close to the Gaza border, Be’eri was a prime target for Hamas terrorists on Black Shabbat. It endured the biggest human loss of any kibbutz.
His friends massacred accounted for most of the 132 residents killed; 32 hostages were taken into Gaza, 18 have come back alive, three were killed in captivity and 10 remain.
He says: “You can’t live in a small place like a kibbutz for nearly 40 years and not feel or behave like it’s a family.”
The challenge of rebuilding a once thriving, peaceful, green and beautiful community is not just a physical, economic and logistical one; the emotional and spiritual scars from that day will likely never leave. How, then to rebuild the more than 130 homes and public buildings destroyed?
Two hundred residents have returned to live at the kibbutz, a further 250 live across Israel and 700 will remain in temporary housing 43 kilometres away at Kibbutz Hatzerim in the southern Negev until August 2026, when it is hoped most kibbutz members will be able finally to move back to Be’eri when it is rebuilt.
Those who have returned are those whose houses were not damaged significantly and many of them are running the kibbutz businesses. Families with youngsters are not there – it’s still not a place for children at the moment.
Jewish News travelled back to Israel with the UK’s Israel charity UJIA, which has been on the ground at Be’eri from the start, spearheading a campaign to restore some sort of normality.
Recognising Israel’s recovery will take years, the organisation says it’s committed “to support the people who need us as they rebuild their
lives”, and to date UJIA has raised £7.8m as part of its emergency Israel campaign.
The organisation’s emergency relief efforts are helping communities such as Kibbutz Be’eri, Kibbutz Mefalsim in the south and towns along the northern border to return home and to thrive.
At Kibbutz Be’eri specifically, this involves the physical reconstruction of buildings like the kindergarten. Supporting 350 children up to the age of 17, its existence is key to providing the infrastructure necessary to encourage young families to return; literally bringing it back to life with a new, growing population.
Inside the ruins of the once busy, bustling nursery and kindergarten, Yigal Chetrit pauses frequently as he talks; to gather his thoughts. There are a number of times that it’s clearly a struggle to get his words out. He’s been at Be’eri for decades, chief executive of Messer, a subsid-
At the beginning, in early November 2023, those who returned “saw themselves as pioneers”. Says Chetrit: “They took care of cleaning the kibbutz and maintaining the infrastructure. As for the rest of the kibbutz members; some are still hurt and need time to come back to normality. We still have 10 members in Gaza and we haven’t yet buried all our dead.”
Most residents wanted to be with the evacuated community, firstly in the Dead Sea and now at their temporary home at Hazerim.
Chetrit adds: “Be’eri has yet to begin rebuilding. We haven’t started to demolish our 130 homes and public buildings that were ruined. Some families don’t feel safe to be in our area and education facilities are not ready yet.
“Some people are saying ‘I’m not going to set foot in Be’eri until everything is rebuilt and we have a real sense of security’. Others don’t care and they’ve come back.”
iary of the kibbutz’s printing press, the largest in Israel. It’s a horrific, surreal experience to be taking visitors around his home to bear witness, again and again, to what happened there.
Not all residents are happy to have their homes constantly intruded upon; others realise its historic import.
Chetrit tells Jewish News those who have come back have a home to come back to, unlike the others who have not been so lucky. Most work in the print house, the garage, clinic, laundry, dining room or in agriculture.
He says: “Since the opening of the print house and then the dining room, we’ve begun to feel we have gained control of our lives after the horrific events. Our lives are pretty much the same but so different as the kibbutz now is very quiet, especially at night. You feel the ‘heaviness’ in the air.”
In July, YNet reported that Kibbutz Be’eri will receive nearly $100m for rebuilding and reconstructing some of the 130 houses destroyed, and for infrastructure, including roads and pipes. It is the largest sum to date allocated to any of the Gaza border communities invaded by the Hamas terrorists on 7 October.
Some of the money from this Tkuma (‘revival’) Directorate will be allocated to creating new communities at Be’eri, for residents who want to start somewhere entirely new on the kibbutz, but while it is a start, those funds are limited and won’t cover everything the Be’eri community needs to thrive.
That’s exactly why UJIA has made significant pledges, including a commitment of £960,000 for the rebuilding of the kindergarten, a vital foundation for the education and well-being of the kibbutz’s children, and an additional £80,000 pledged for the reconstruction of a nursery garden outside.
These are non-negotiables for the kibbutz –but elements the government funding wouldn’t be able to cover.
UJIA chief executive Mandie Winston says the rebuilding of the complex of kindergartens and educational facilities “will signal to families that Be’eri is building for the future and so this will be the first major capital project the kibbutz will undertake”.
She continues: “As a community in mourning, in trauma and struggling to heal – particularly while 10 of its members are still held hostage in Gaza – this process is taking time. The land for the UJIA-supported kindergarten has already been cleared and it is expected that significant progress will take place in 2025 to begin construction and development of the complex later in the year.”
Chetrit tells Jewish News how Be’eri residents “dream and live for our future”, adding: “Part of this future is the new kindergarten and the new educational complex.”
In the first year of its recovery post BlackShabbat, Be’eri has provided 2,300 individual therapy sessions, facilitated 70 therapeutic
A classroom at Kibbutz Be’eri. Inset: Yigal Chetrit. Pic: Michelle Rosenberg
The dental clinic and tributes to the fallen at Kibbutz Be’eri after the Hamas attack
Bullet holes pockmark a kibbutz wall
to restart their lives
groups, and organised nearly 4,000 complementary treatment sessions.
Programmes like surfing, cycling, and skiing have brought healing and connection to community members of all ages.
Residents and survivors have established seven kindergartens in hotels, portable schools for grades 4–12, and a summer learning centre for 27 children.
Chetrit says bar- and batmitzvah ceremonies “united our youth and strengthened our sense of community” while Shabbat receptions, picnics,
workshops, and food trucks created “vital opportunities to rebuild our communal bonds, even while dispersed across the country”.
Looking ahead, the kibbutz is launching three critical campaigns; first to continue supporting its members through tailored programming and training; secondly to rebuild Be’eri into a selfsustaining economy, and thirdly to implement a large-scale plan to rebuild its infrastructure.
Attempts to move forward, emotionally or practically, are difficult. There is also the challenge of 1,100 Jewish residents and multiple
opinions. Not everyone is agreed on exactly how to move forward. Some are adamant no-one will ever live again in a home of a murdered Be’eri resident. It’s unthinkable. Others believe keeping the homes as memorials is a fitting tribute.
Chetrit says: “First and foremost, I want to express our deepest respect and gratitude to the Jewish diaspora in England, who have stood by us from the very first days.
“We vividly remember the delegations that came to the Dead Sea hotel to listen to our story, learn about the atrocities we endured and stand united with us in the face of evil.
“Opening the gates of our beloved Kibbutz Be’eri to host you, allowing you to witness the devastation – our burned and destroyed homes –was a profound and emotional moment for us. “
He adds: “Your unwavering love and support are deeply felt.”
Chetrit says he is determined that – again with the support of the diaspora – “together, we will overcome this tragedy, win the war, rebuild Kibbutz Be’eri, and work tirelessly to bring our hostages home.
“For those alive, we will support their journey of rehabilitation, and for those brutally murdered, we will ensure they receive a proper burial with the honour and dignity they deserve.”
Backing up the comments, the UJIA’s Mandie Winston says: “The UK community’s support of
Be’eri is critical at a time when government support for the kibbutz does not cover all the physical, emotional and economic needs of a kibbutz trying to rise from the ashes.
“In addition, through this project, UK Jewry is making a statement of support and solidarity for the kibbutz that we stand with them and support them as they rebuild their community and their lives.”
UJIA Israel director Emily Pater says the UK Jewish community’s generosity over the past year is making this possible.
She adds: “As we enter the next stage of the recovery, in particular, as evacuated residents begin to return to their homes, further funds are needed to ensure families can return safely and communities are empowered to rebuild in a manner that is sustainable and sets them up for the future.”
Speaking directly to those across the global Jewish community who have supported Be’eri, Chetrit says: “Last year, your generosity came during our most vulnerable time.
“Before we could even assess our needs or create a formal recovery plan, you had faith in the future of our community.
“Your support became the cornerstone of our recovery, enabling us to achieve remarkable milestones. Thank you for your trust and belief in us.”
An artist’s rendition of the planned new kindergarten and educational buildings to be built
Editorial comment and letters to the editor
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A mazeltov amid all our challenges
Reasons to be cheerful have been scarce during these challenging months. So we can be forgiven a moment of communal kvetching over the King’s New Year Honours list.
It was gratifying to see so many Jews recognised for their contributions inside and outside the community. Stephen Fry, Jeremy Isaacs, Loyd Grossman, Tamara Finkelstein, Michelle Dyson and Prof Stephanie Amiel were among the better-known figures featured on King Charles’ fourth honours list, but a hearty mazeltov goes to all those who will pick up gongs in the coming months. Several of them were honoured for their tireless work in the charity and voluntary sectors that help to sustain wider society.
In a world overshadowed by division, the achievements of these honourees stand as a testament to the enduring Jewish values of education, creativity and justice. Their recognition in the list is a source of pride for our community and a reminder to us all of the profound impact of compassion and perseverance.
May the honourees’ work continue to inspire us for years to come.
JEWISH NEWS CONTACT DETAILS
Publisher and Editor Richard Ferrer
020 8148 9703
richard@jewishnews.co.uk
Publisher and News Editor Justin Cohen
020 8148 9700
justin@jewishnews.co.uk
Political Editor Lee Harpin lee@jewishnews.co.uk
Community Editor
Rosenberg michelle@jewishnews.co.uk
Design Manager Diane Spender 020 8148 9697 diane@jewishnews.co.uk
Executive Editor – Features Brigit Grant brigit@jewishnews.co.uk
Features Editor Louisa Walters
louisa@jewishnews.co.uk
Online Editor editorial@jewishnews.co.uk
Production Designer Sarah Rothberg sarah@jewishnews.co.uk
Production Designer John Nicholls
john@jewishnews.co.uk
Accounts
Benny Shahar
020 8148 9694 benny@jewishnews.co.uk
Operations Manager Alon Pelta 020 8148 9693 alon@jewishnews.co.uk
Events Director Beverley Sanford
020 8148 9709 beverley@jewishnews.co.uk
Assault on free press
UK Jews have plenty to say about BBC bias but at least we have public broadcasting and the freedom to complain. A bill scheduled for discussion in Israel proposes to dismantle the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation, and in effect close its news channel, Kan. This assault on press freedom, even if unsuccessful, is an attack on journalistic freedom. It also means Israel would lose its rights to take part in Eurovision or to broadcast the World Cup. Were the beliefs of the two MKs behind this not so inflammatory I would hesitate to see it for what it is: the removal of broadcaster independence, established to guarantee programming that reflects Israel’s multiculturalism. For me and many Jews in the UK, this is personal. Since 7 October 2023, access to reliable and unbiased news is vital. Kan broadcasts in Hebrew, but the subtitles help. I and millions of others watched the journey of the hostages who so far have been allowed to come home. The news and discussion programmes are robust. But for something more heartwarming, there is
nothing better than the evening programme that features two guys in their car interviewing an ordinary person who has been through sometimes extraordinary trauma. I’ve spent many long evenings at the kitchen table with a dictionary and a notebook, learning the vocabulary of war, terrorism, Palestinian and Israeli politics, and ordinary human life.
The most provocative claims made by these particular politicians are of course only on social media. Some elected leaders seem unable to use, appreciate or probably even contribute to balanced public discourse. A free press guarantees accountability and freedom of speech. While I love Kan and Eurovision (but not football), there is something far more serious at stake – Zionism is a democratic movement.
But Israel is not unique. Once in power, those who will exploit its democracy will not hesitate to dismantle its vital freedoms.
Rabbi Shulamit Ambalu, Sha’arei Tsedek North London Reform Synagogue
LIMMUD HIGHLIGHTS AND HICCUPS
Of all the stories about the ongoing war in Gaza, I regard the recent Limmud conference walkout at the appearance of the Israeli ambassador as one of the lowest acts. The Jewish left-wing group Na’amod is quoted as saying: ”There should be no space in the Jewish community for war crime apologists and racists.” Indeed there isn’t, which is why I cannot regard Na’amod as part of the Jewish community.
Terry Davis, By email
LE PEN’S HATE
Jean-Marie Le Pen’s death marks the passing of a figure whose legacy embodies the toxic undercurrents of Holocaust denial and far-right extremism. May his passing inspire renewed vigilance against the ideologies he championed and a commitment to safeguarding remembrance and unity.
Amanda Kohen, By email
I was privileged to attend the recent Limmud conference in Birmingham. It was an extremely well-planned the programme catering for young and old, religious and not committed who came to learn, listen and interact with marvellous speakers. Thank you so much Limmud organisers and volunteers. I have already pencilled next year’s Limmud in my new diary.
Norma Neville, Hendon
VALERIE IS MUSIC TO OUR EARS
It is truly heartwarming to read about Valerie Hamaty, an Arab Christian, leading the race to represent Israel at Eurovision. This is a welcome reminder of the beauty of cultural diversity and the unique tapestry that is Israeli society.
Eurovision has always stood as a celebration of creativity, inclusion, and the power of music to transcend borders. To have an artist from Israel who embodies the nation’s vibrant pluralism, while showcasing his talent on such a global stage, is inspiring. Hamaty’s performances send an important message to the world: Israel is a rich mosaic of faiths, ethnicities, and cultures. Her rise in the public eye challenges stereotypes shows the real Israel to the world.
Sidney Singer, By email
Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Unlike other Jewish media, we do not charge for content. That won’t change. Because we are charity-owned and free, we rely on advertising to cover our costs. This vital lifeline, which has dropped in recent years, has fallen further due to coronavirus.
Today we’re asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do. For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with. 100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity. Support Jewish News by visiting our donor page at jewishnews.co.uk
Israel’s naval conflict tests western resolve
ALEX BRUMMER CITY EDITOR, THE DAILY MAIL
As a correspondent in Washington in the 1980s I vividly recall taking a call from a source at the British Embassy asking me to come over as they had something urgent to share. The UK government was alarmed by reports that the US Administration, in its battle with the Sandinista rebels in Nicaragua, was considering mining the country’s strategically important ports with access to both Caribbean waters and the Pacific Ocean.
The UK, home to the International Maritime Agency, has an immediate and historic obligation as a great trading nation, to support freedom of the high seas. Despite the excellent relations between Ronald Reagan in the White House and Mrs Thatcher in Downing Street I was informed Britain would look very dimly at any e ort by the Americans to interfere with that principle. The dispute over Nicaragua’s ports made of a splash.
As Israel’s military response to the rape, pillage and killing of 1,195 Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023, and the seizure of 250 hostages by Hamas fighters unfolded, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen fired at Red Sea shipping and sent armed drones into Israel. The hostilities with the Houthis reached new intensity over the festive days when they lobbed missiles into Tel Aviv injuring a dozen or so citizens.
The attacks came after Israel targeted ports and energy infrastructure in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. The Houthis have been threatening Western energy supplies for almost a decade by aiming at Saudi Arabian oil fields. In 2022 they temporarily interrupted refining by hitting a Jeddah oil terminal. The Saudi air force, armed with British made Tornado fighters and supported by British and US weaponry, has fought to suppress the Houthis with a ruthless bombing campaign.
Many shoppers in Europe may not have noticed. But the Houthi’s current threat to the Red Sea – in support of Hamas – had a significant impact on supply chain in this
holiday season. Freight rates have climbed, adding pounds to shopping baskets, as some shipping from Asia has been diverted around the Cape of Good Hope. American and British naval vessels have been deployed to the region to help keep shipping lanes open.
One would have to listen very carefully to the rhetoric of politicians in London to hear any commitment to maintaining the freedom of the seas. Indeed, because oil prices have remained subdued during the current geopolitical tensions in the Middle East British and American politicians, diplomats and humanitarian groups have been largely silent on broader strategic issues. References in G7 communiques, from IMF and central banks have been determinedly neutral archly referring to geo-political tensions without specifically spelling them out.
Israel’s merciless hounding of Hamas in Gaza has claimed 45,000 lives according to disputed Hamas/Palestinian data which fails to acknowledge the death of more than 10,000 Hamas fighters. The toll has attracted condemnation from all corners of the earth and has led to Israel’s war leaders, including
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, being indicted for possible humanitarian crimes.
Israel’s avowed promise to eliminate the Houthis and decapitate its leadership provides a reminder of how the muchdisparaged Netanyahu government – aided by American war material – has been doing the West’s work by eradicating Iran’s ‘arc of resistance’ in the Middle East. The defanging of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria and the fall of horrendous rule of the Assad dynasty is a devastating blow to the supporting powers of Iran and Russia. What comes next in Damascus is a known, unknown.
Whether Israel can repeat its military success in Yemen, given that Saudi aggression only served to strengthen the Houthi rebels, is uncertain.
Yet if the country can help restore longterm security to oil supplies, helping to keep energy prices lower over the longer haul, that must help to economic stability.
Similarly, by upholding the goal of freedom of passage on the high seas Israel could help provide a much-needed boost to a fragmented world trading system.
Charedi schools count cost of Labour's policy
MOTTY PINTER DIRECTOR OF COMMUNAL AFFAIRS, CHINUCH UK
Imagine waking up to find your children’s school suddenly closed. Why? Because the government imposed crippling new taxes, forcing it to shut its doors. And the alternative? There isn’t one – other local schools have already collapsed. Unthinkable, right?
This is the stark reality facing thousands of strictly-Orthodox Jewish families in the UK. The government’s tax policies threaten to shut down our children’s schools – institutions that shape their futures and safeguard their identity. Without these schools, families like mine will be left with no alternatives, and our community risks losing everything we’ve built in this country over the past 70 years since arriving as refugees fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe.
The government’s recent budget introduced three devastating measures: VAT on school fees, the removal of business rates
relief, and increased National Insurance contributions. For Charedi schools, which educate around 20,000 children across the UK, this is catastrophic.
These schools aren't elite institutions with hefty fees; parents typically contribute less than £100 per week, a stark contrast to the £580 average at private schools elsewhere. Despite many parents being unable to contribute, schools ensure no child is turned away for financial reasons.
Charedi schools already operate on tight budgets, relying on donations to survive and often running deficits.
Many Charedi families, like many in state schools, come from low-income families, making it impossible to raise additional funds from parents or donors.
Now, these new taxes, amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds per school, force impossible choices: pay sta wages or meet new tax demands.
For many, fulfilling both won’t be possible, leaving closure as the only option. Consequently, thousands of children in our community stand to lose access to the education that is fundamental to our way of life.
This is not just a fiscal issue – it’s an existential one.
The government acknowledges that faith children will be disproportionately affected but insists that all children are entitled to a state-funded school place, designed to be a welcoming environment for children of all faiths and none. However, for Charedi families, state schools simply aren’t a viable option.
Mainstream non-faith state schools cannot accommodate essential aspects of Charedi education, such as Torah learning, Jewish holidays, daily prayers, and kosher facilities. On top of this, the risk of antisemitic bullying for visibly Jewish children makes mainstream non-Jewish state schools impractical, and the few state-funded Charedi schools, established over a decade ago, cannot absorb an influx of thousands of displaced students.
Even if these challenges didn’t exist, the numbers make it unworkable. In Hackney, where my children are educated, approximately 10,000 Charedi children attend Charedi independent schools, yet there are fewer than 2,500 vacant state school places.
There simply isn’t the capacity to absorb the children from schools that might close.
Creating new Charedi state schools is no quick fix. Current regulations make this unrealistic, and even if amended, establishing new schools would take years.
Meanwhile, thousands of Jewish children could be left without suitable education. Furthermore, parents have the right to choose an independent school for their children – a right now being taken away by pricing them out of reach.
Ironically, if low cost independent schools close, tens of thousands of children will need places in state schools, costing taxpayers at least £415 million annually (£7,690 x 54k pupils) – far more than the £32 million they expect to raise in VAT from all low-fee schools. Is this policy truly about fiscal prudence, or is it driven by ideology? Clearly, the financial numbers don't add up. This isn’t just a financial issue – it’s a moral one and a clear breach of the Human Rights Act. The government’s policies disproportionately a ect low-income families and minority communities, punishing those who can least a ord it.
‘As London Zoo carries out its regular stocktake of animals, we look back at a previous notable year...’
The West End box office appeal of antisemitism
JONATHAN BAZ
THEATRE CRITIC & BROADCASTER
Antisemitism is quite the attraction in London’s theatres right now. At the Trafalgar Theatre, TracyAnn Oberman’s Merchant of Venice 1936 , an adaptation of Shakespeare’s original that places the story’s antisemitic themes centre-stage, is playing to packed houses. Just up the road, the box office at the Harold Pinter Theatre is doing a roaring trade in advance ticket sales for Giant a play that focuses on the hateful personal rantings of celebrated children’s author Roald Dahl.
Meanwhile five minutes away from the Trafalgar on London’s Embankment, the Kit Kat Club (formerly the Playhouse Theatre) is ushering its star-billed take on Cabaret into its fourth year, and taking a look across the Thames to the Menier Chocolate Factory, the run of Mel Brooks’ musical The Producers is entirely sold out. And that short list does not even include the National Theatre’s awardwinning The Lehman Trilogy that has just
finished its fourth London run and which, it has been argued, is itself an antisemitic trope hiding in plain sight.
Cabaret, of course, is an inspired collaboration by Kander & Ebb that takes Cristopher Isherwood’s essays on the collapse of Germany’s Weimar Republic, transforming them into a show in which the increasingly parlous and doomed existence of Berlin’s Jews provides the mood music to the Kit Kat Club’s decadent decline. Giant, albeit brilliantly performed with John Lithgow turning in an Olivier-worthy turn as Dahl, o ers little more than a platform for some of the author’s most hateful utterances.
Around the turn of this century, the Monty Python troupe famously wrote the lyric that, “You won’t succeed on Broadway if you don’t have any Jews”. That lyric, it appears, could easily be amended and with some justification, to “you won’t succeed in theatre if you don’t hate any Jews”, for aside from Brooks’ brilliant and merciless send-up of Nazi Germany, the other three productions have at their hearts strong themes of contempt, with tickets selling fast.
So, what is it about witnessing hatred aimed at Jews that makes for such a box o ce draw? I discussed this question with a number of leading theatre-makers.
Henry Goodman, an Olivier-winning Shylock in Trevor Nunn’s 2020 Merchant of Venice at the National, commented to me that in our predominantly rational and progressive society, audiences really enjoy and are released of deep tension by participating in a thought dialogue (ie not simply just watching the play) while at the theatre. Goodman notes that antisemitism is a very deeply rooted tectonic plate in social life. He suggests that there is a sense in theatre-going people that may seem them think to themselves: “I’m not like that but I keep being swayed by emotions I have no control over - thank heavens that this play is an intellectual or emotional valve that may even be funny, releasing pressures in my head to open myself to its argument or to resist its temptations”
Oberman herself argues that the torment of the Jews is the archetype of su ering, with audiences who may not really understand antisemitism and its impact, queuing up to see what that hatred looks like up-close. Eilene Davidson, an accomplished producer on both sides of the pond, echoes Oberman, suggesting that the box-o ce draw of antisemitism is that it allows audiences who may not necessarily understand the complexity of history’s hatred of the Jews, to see it first-
hand. Davidson went on to comment that in her opinion, the antisemitism manifest globally today is at a depth of volume and hatred not seen since the horrors of the 1930s
But stepping back, and perhaps in the simplest of analyses, was William Shakespeare right all along in recognising the entertainment value of Jewish su ering?
In the overall context of The (original) Merchant of Venice, the fate of Shylock’s Jewish moneylender is little more than a sub-plot that has allowed Bassanio to woo the fair Portia and achieve the happiest of endings in a bucolic Belmont. Shakespeare removed Shylock from the play in act four (of five), never to be seen or heard from again.
Perhaps much like the audience’s delight in seeing the villain killed in a classic fairytale, Shakespeare will have known that seeing Shylock stripped of his family, his fortune and his faith will have provided much mirth to the Globe Theatre’s 16th century groundlings. While The Merchant of Venice may today be recognised as one of the canon’s more tragically problematic plays never forget that it actually remains one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies. Is the joke on us? Jonathan is a theatre critic and broadcaster. Read more of his writing at www.jonathanbaz.com
Ireland’s shift in tone from solidarity to open hostility
PETER CARDWELL PRESENTER, TALKRADIO
Siding with the Palestinian cause is, for many in Ireland, a natural state. One underdog in solidarity with another, this time against Israel rather than the historical British ‘oppressors’. But post-October 7, this is little more than identity politics writ large. Because a crude mix of atavism and bastardisation of fact is the grim facade for the disturbing level of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in Ireland today.
There is historical context. Ireland was neutral in World War Two. In 1980, it became the first EU nation to call for Palestinian statehood. And since 7 October, Irish discourse has been infected from the ground up. Pro-Palestinian students sit in tents plastered with grotesque and inaccurate charges of Israeli ‘genocide’, their soundtrack the music of the vile band Kneecap. A County Donegal pub refuses to serve Zionists. A Dublin bookshop sells out of Hamas leader Yayya Sinwar’s book, who they call ‘heroic’.
Often, Irish political leaders are no better. The nation’s president, Michael D. Higgins, cultivates an avuncular image, but the ke yeh absurdly draped around his neck betrays his true strength of feeling. He mourned Yasser Arafat;t, objected to Hamas being labelled terrorists and called for the Irish to boycott Israeli goods.
His rhetoric hardened recently, culminating in claims Israel leaked a letter he’d written to Masoud Pezeshkian on his appointment as Iranian president. In fact, the Iranian embassy in Dublin had published an acknowledgement of his letter. Last week, he claimed Israel had breached the sovereignty of three countries and wanted a settlement in Egypt. In his opening remarks as prime minister in April, Simon Harris criticised Israel’s actions, but did not mention Hamas’s Israeli hostages.
When Israel closed its embassy in Dublin recently, Harris called it “the diplomacy of distraction” (distracting of course from Netanyahu’s treatment of Gazan children). The Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar has called Harris antisemitic.
These days, there are no Jewish members of the Irish parliament, though brave Jews
such as the former minister Alan Shatter continue to speak out. Irish-based Israeli citizen Karen Ievers is one of the few pro-Jewish public voices alongside him. Indefatigable PhD student Rachel Moiselle recently reported gra ti to police reading: ‘Zionists not welcome in Dún Laoghaire’ in the middle-class enclave where she grew up.
Harris’s deputy, and a rival party leader, Micheál Martin, as foreign minister, was one of the first senior international politicians to visit Kibbutz Be’eri, from where a nineyear-old Irish-Israeli girl, Emily Hand, was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on 7 October.
Like so many, Martin now seems to have abandoned what leadership he showed and has joined the e ort to retrofit the definition of genocide to target Israel.
Emily, released after 50 days, and Kim Damti, an Irish woman murdered by Hamas on 7 October, are barely mentioned now. For Chanukah last month, unlike almost every festival celebrated by any Irish religious grouping, there was no message from Higgins, Harris or Martin.
The media is too often complicit. Palestinian ‘journalists’ were celebrated by Irish counterparts in Ireland this week, with
seemingly no acknowledgement that the Gazans are often simply Hamas propagandists. Figures from the ‘Gaza health ministry’ are trotted out without question or context in terms of their veracity.
As a frequent visitor to Dublin, I know the decency and humanity of many Irish people. Some I have spoken to in recent days in Dublin are privately uncomfortable with the overwhelming and extreme leftist anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric, yet feel they have no option but to stay silent for fear of being ostracised. Will anything change this?
Howard Lutnik, the Cantor Fitzgerald CEO who will be US Commerce Secretary in the Trump administration, is critical and sceptical of Ireland’s tax system, its surplus and the role of American companies based in Ireland, attracted by its low corporation tax. He is also very pro-Israel.
The Irish-American relationship from next month will, as a result, be fascinating to observe in this context, especially as new coalition forms in Ireland. The realpolitik of economic relations may help dial down the anti-Israeli rhetoric.
Peter is a presenter and political editor at TalkRadio
Sunday 15 June 2025 – Wednesday 18 June 2025
This 3.5-day road-bike Challenge, set in a beautiful and unspoilt part of the world, will take you past granite rock formations and along picturesque coastal roads, the preserved archipelago La Maddelena and across to Corsica with 257km of climbs and sweeping descents. If you have adventure in your soul, a huge sense of camaraderie and a passion to support and empower neurodiverse children, their families and people with neurodevelopmental disabilities to live their best lives, then book now. Places are limited.
REGISTER NOW via the QR code or via our website. For more details talk to Julie on 07718 969138 or email julie.braithwaite@norwood.org.uk
•
•
•
•
•
1
CROWD BRAVES THE RAIN AT KINLOSS LIGHTING
A crowd of 70 braved the rain to watch the lighting of the eighth Chanukah candle by Chabad of Golders Green outside Kinloss Synagogue, organised by Maxine Elias and Ruth Levenson. Speakers included Anne Frank Trust co-founder Gillian Walnes-Perry, Kit for Troops founder James Ansher, British IDF lone soldier Uri and singer Levi Levine.
2SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS LIGHT UP SPECIAL WEEK
The Wohl Campus, Kisharon Noé School and Loftus Learning Centre enjoyed a creative Chanukah week with a puppet show, dreidel-making sessions, glow-inthe-dark fabric painting, crown making and a treasure hunt for ‘oil jugs’ glowing in the dark. The celebrations culminated in a big party, bringing together the entire school community. Pupils enjoyed traditional treats including latkes and doughnuts, received festive gifts and took part in activities including dreidel games and a glow-stick celebration around a beautifully lit Chanukiah.
3CHILDREN AND PARENTS AT JEWISH CARE GATHERING
More than 120 children and parents enjoyed an inter-generational Chanukah party at the Michael Sobell Jewish Community Centre, with residents from Otto Schiff care home at Jewish Care’s Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Campus. Led by Jennifer David from Debutots, children made dreidels and Chanukiah art, with some gifting their dreidels to residents. Lily 3, and Yasmin, 2, made Chanukiahs with mum Debra while resident Zara, 100, said: “I’ve had the most fabulous afternoon!”
4GLOBETROTTING EVENT FOR JEWISH FUTURES
More than 200 young professionals joined Ta’amim, Aish UK and Moshe House Camden to mark Chanukah with a globetrotting event that took guests from Jewish Futures’ newly-opened Hub on Brent Street to a two-floor ‘Chanukah House of Fun’. Floor one paid homage to Americana, with arcade games, diner-inspired food and doughnuts while upstairs participants found themselves in Israel, celebrating at The Shuk with falafel and shawarma-topped hummus bowls, a beach bar and a surf simulation station.
5JEWISH NEWS PUBLISHER ON TOP OF THE WORLD
JN’s own Justin Cohen celebrated his birthday by lighting a candle on the Chabad Lubavitch Menorah at Golders Green Station. Celebrating the fourth night of the chag, he was joined by singer Aaron Isaac, the chazan at Hampstead Synagogue.
6
CHAG SAMEACH TIMES TWO FOR COMMUNITIES
Communities from Sutton & District Synagogue and Hampstead Garden Suburb United Synagogue celebrated Chanukah, while members of Cardiff United Synagogue sponsored a menorah at the Welsh Parliament. Senedd Member Darren Millar sponsored a party with doughnuts, music and words of inspiration from Rabbi Rose.
A look
Comic’s serious call for ‘self-loving Jews’ Fast-food wizard
Adrien Brody delivers an extraordinary performance as a man struggling to re-establish his life and his marriage a er the Holocaust, says Jenni Frazer
Let’s be honest, a film about Brutalist architecture does not sound terribly appealing. But Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist– which won him and his star, Adrien Brody, three Golden Globes this week for best drama, best director and best actor respectively – is an extraordinary creation. It also picked up plaudits in festivals in Venice and Berlin, and will almost certainly win Oscar nominations. For once, embrace the critics, and run rather than walk to the nearest screening.
Corbet spent seven years making this film, and it shows in every lovingly rendered detail. It is the story of a Hungarian Jewish architect, Laszlo Toth, who washes up in post-war America a broken man. By degrees, we discover that before the Holocaust he had a successful architectural practice in Budapest. In America, however, he struggles to re-create that life.
Initially taken in by his cousin Attila (Alessandro Nivola), who has established a furniture company in downtown Philadelphia, Laszlo begins, slowly and painfully, to try to rebuild his life. We know from hints at the outset that he su ered during the Shoah, though we don’t find out until the end exactly what happened to him.
And we also know that Laszlo has arrived in America without his beloved wife, Erzsebet (Felicity Jones), or his niece - his late sister’s daughter, Zsofia (Ra ey Cassidy). But Attila has gripping news: both are still alive, though stuck in Hungary.
It is rare in any American film for an individual’s Jewish identity to be properly and authentically shown. But The Brutalist’s audience can be in no doubt that Laszlo Toth is the genuine article, from the moment we see him in shul – one of a number of such references in the film – to the at first slightly puzzling voiceover from an American news programme, telling listeners about the establishment of the state of Israel. We also hear Hebrew and Yiddish in several scenes. Brody, familiar to international audiences for his lead role in Roman Polanski’s The Pianist – he is also starring in a sequel, out later this year – delivers an extraordinary performance as Toth.
Brody’s own mother, Sylvia Plachy, was Hungarian Jewish and escaped to America during the Hungarian uprising in 1956. Brody has drawn on her experience as an outsider seeking to rebuild her life. Toth isn’t just an immigrant, he’s a Jewish immigrant trying to make sense of American society, and at the same time trying to persuade people of the clean lines of his architectural vision.
Buren’s, a Jewish lawyer called Michael Ho man, that permits are finally organised for Erszebet and Zsofia to leave Hungary, there is a stinging line from van Buren’s even Waspier son Harry, directed at Toth, which for me summed up the immigrant experience. “We tolerate you,” Harry shouts at Laszlo, as they walk through the building site of the intended memorial to van Buren’s mother.
Erszebet because, as Corbet acknowledges: “The truth of the matter is that most eastern or central European Jewish architects who got stuck in Europe during the war did not make it out alive.”
There are elements of real-life architects, such as Marcel Breuer and Mies van der Rohe, in Toth, but essentially, this compelling figure is a product of Corbet’s rich imagination.
The actor has perfected a Hungarian accent to the extent where it is hard to tell where Brody ends and Laszlo Toth begins. Both Brody and Jones spent time learning Hungarian, a notoriously di cult language, and the investment has clearly paid o .
The Brutalist runs to more than three hours, and features an unusual interval. But it’s so worthwhile engaging with it, as Corbet, who both wrote and directed, is determined to tell the story his way, without shortcuts.
Just when you think Laszlo is never going to catch a break, he and his cousin get an unusual commission: to redesign and build a library for a Wasp-y millionaire, Harrison van Buren. The streamlined result is a thing of beauty, and ultimately leads to an incredible vanity project which van Buren (the Australian Guy Pearce) engages Toth to build.
Inevitably, however, things go tragically wrong. Though it is through a contact of van
entirely fictional. Corbet, who has been
It came as a shock to discover after watching this film that Laszlo Toth is entirely fictional. Corbet, who has been fascinated by the e ect of post-war psychology on post-war architecture, met and interviewed the architectural scholar Jean-Louis Cohen at Princeton University, where he teaches.
Cohen is renowned for his work on Le Corbusier and Frank Gehry, so was the ideal person to answer Corbet’s question: could he tell him of a reallife architect who was successful in central Europe, but due to the Holocaust had to start all over again in America?
person to answer Corbet’s ques-
And Cohen could not come up with a name to fit these requirements. So Corbet and his co-writer, Mona Fastvold, invented Laszlo and
One more thing to add to this film is the incredible score, by the UK-based composer Daniel Blumberg. He not only echoes the spare, stark outlines of Brutalist architecture but helps to recreate the jazz influences of the 1950s in some key scenes. Essentially, The Brutalist is the story of damaged people: Laszlo and Erszebet because of their experiences during the Holocaust, van Buren as the rapacious capitalist who still fails to bend everyone to his will.
only echoes the spare, stark outlines of the 1950s in some key scenes. capitalist who still fails to bend everyone to his will.
I guarantee that audiences will fall in love with Toth. The film opens on 24 January but for an early opportunity to see it, the UK
is holding a preview screening at the Phoenix in East Finchley on 16 January at 6.30pm. Tickets: ukjewishfilm.org
Jewish Film Festival
Adrien Brody won a Golden Globe for his depiction of architect Laszlo Toth
Brody and Alessandro Nivola, who plays his cousin
Brody with co-star Felicity Jones (Erzsebt)
Ahead of his first solo UK show, Israeli comedian Yohay Sponder chats to Alex Galbinski about love, identity and faith
The world has become smaller for Jews and certainly for Israelis. Since 7 October 2023, many of us have been bombarded with anti-Jew hatred online and in person. We have lost friends and, even if we are not facing rocket attacks ourselves, there is a heaviness and an unsettled feeling in our hearts.
Yohay Sponder, an Israeli stand-up, wants us to raise our heads above the parapet. He wears a large Magen David because he knows it means a lot to fellow Jews, and he wants to encourage everyone – not just Jews – to take pride in their identity. This is the reason he has called his first solo show, which he performs in London’s Leicester Square Theatre next month,
Self-Loving Jew “I would love to encourage other people to
“I would love to encourage other people to be Jewish [outwardly] – don’t be in the closet. It’s a message of being confident in who you are – Jewish or not Jewish, no matter who you are, be out and proud. Show us who you are and we’ll accept that.”
Yohay says he realised the term ‘self-loving Jew’ summarises his show. “My act is one story of what’s going on. Since what happened to us as a people since October 7, I’m mocking the self-hating Jews who I truly think are damaging us. They’re hurting our spirit and they’re taking away a lot of our legitimacy too.” He is referring to people who say they are only anti-Zionist and not antisemitic, adding: “That just is not [compatible] – it’s not coming from a place of knowledge.”
Sponder, 42, is entreating us now to share our heritage.
us now to share our heritage. need you are, you have to stay
“We need to stay alive and we need to tell our story. These are the two things that I’m asking you, as my crowd member, regardless if you’re Jewish or not, but if you are, you have to stay alive in order to tell your story.”
He will then reveal his
“Jewish story that took place a few years ago in London – what happened when we went there to perform and when we faced antisemitism and antiZionism in the same incident”. That moment changed something in the way Yohay reflected on his identity, his nation, about Israel’s right to exist and about the ignorance of people, especially those from Britain, calling him a coloniser. “When you’re from Britain, that’s just very weird,” he laughs, “and [it shows a] lack of self-awareness... you’re unaware of your own history.”
unaware of your own history.”
Yohay
Sponder: ‘We need to stay alive and we need to tell our story’
Yohay started doing stand-up in English in
view, also showing that we’re not just a around.”
A veteran on the Israeli comedy scene, Yohay started doing stand-up in English in 2012 mainly because, he says, he wanted to give his compatriots a voice. “We felt, as Israelis, unheard. I felt that doing English stand-up could help us give our point of view, also showing that we’re not just a nation in a war zone or just dealing with sad issues; we’re also funny and fun to be around.”
Kong – Jews now want to get together and laugh. His sister, Zohar Elimelech, writes with Yohay, for whom the role of comedy is to unite people. “It sounds like a beauty contest [answer], but I really believe that comedy can bring peace. Comedy is proven to bring di erent people together. [I’m going to] bring world peace with my comedy and I will do it because I’m an Israeli – there is nothing we cannot do!”
been war as well as in Israel’s other attackers. In wars – “in the war [there’s] more war” – and
“the
‘That’s bad’… they didn’t let us even one that day”, who included Yohay’s soldier cousin.
Yohay finds the laughs in the absurd and, recently, this has been in the Hamas-Israel war as well as in Israel’s other attackers. In one YouTube clip, he refers to a babushka of wars – “in the war [there’s] more war” – and in another he jokes that “they promised us ‘never again’ after the Holocaust” but now it is “never ever again”. He tells me that when the October 7 atrocities took place, “the world was not lining up and saying, ‘That’s bad’… they didn’t let us even one week to mourn all the people we lost that day”, who included Yohay’s soldier cousin.
When asked what he is most looking forward to about the UK shows, Yohay says: “To be safe – I’d love to stay alive.” I wasn’t expecting that response, I tell him, to which he replies, chuckling: “Yeah, I’m joking and not joking at the same time. You know, Europe has been crazy recently. I don’t know what to expect.
“I remember times when you expected to have a good show and you just wanted people to laugh. Today, you just wish everyone is gonna be OK. A good show is if everyone survived the show.”
identity. So, he says in another comedic clip:
Yohay is not politically correct; a comedian friend advised him that in America (and by extension Britain) one can only make jokes about one’s own identity. So, he says in another comedic clip: “Whatever I am I can do,” sharing that he is half-Moroccan and half-Polish and proceeding to amplify his heritage for laughs in order to be able to tease everyone. The world is indeed his stage but, he a rms, regardless of the locations in which he appears – and he has recently performed in Israel, America, Australia and Hong
On a more serious note, he adds: “These people [in the audience] are my family. To see them getting together, laughing, having this relief from stress, I am happy and honoured to be the one who made that happen. And then I’m going on stage, I’m telling jokes, and this is just pure bliss.”
The feeling is mutual, Yohay, and we can’t wait for more of your shows.
The world is indeed his stage but, he in Israel, America, Australia and Hong
• Yohay Sponder performs at Leicester Square Theatre on Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 January. For tickets, visit leicestersquaretheatre.com
By Candice Krieger candicekrieger@googlemail.com
FROM PRET TO ITSU: JULIAN’S $3BN MISSION
The founder of two of the high street’s most popular eateries is on a quest to make fast food healthier – while inspiring new entrepreneurs
s the founder of two the UK’s most prominent fast-food retailers, Pret A Manger and Itsu – together worth more than $3bn (£2.4 billion) – Julian Metcalfe could be forgiven for slowing down. But the British entrepreneur remains more driven than ever.
Since Pret was sold in 2018 for about $2bn, he has been on a mission with his Asian-inspired Itsu chain to make fast food healthier.
He tells Jewish News: “The opportunity to try and sell healthier food which is convenient and fast has become critical.
“Fast food hasn’t really advanced in decades – not because consumers don’t want healthy options, but because it’s expensive to
make and retailers have struggled to compete at the same price point as cheaper, massproduced meals.”
Metcalfe is committed to cracking this challenge and the global fast-food market with Itsu, without compromising on health or quality. “I am so driven to solve this and make headway in a ordable food. It’s relevant, fascinating and captivating and I love it. I’m more engaged in it than ever before.”
The secret ingredient, he says, is finding “that harmony” between the sta , customers and the product.
Metcalfe’s story has the makings of a film or inspirational book after he learnt about tenacity and the need to drive forward from a young age.
His mother killed herself on Boxing Day when he was seven – his parents were
divorced and he lived with his sister and mother at the time – and, as he recalls: “That was a difficult thing. That created a loneliness.”
He moved to live in London with his father, David, the son of Edward Metcalfe and best man to the abdicated Edward VIII at his marriage to Wallis Simpson. David went to Eton College and served in the Irish Guards before entering the insurance world.
“We had powerful people to dinner all the time,” Metcalfe has told other publications.
He moved school to Harrow before studying property at the Polytechnic of Central London, where he met Sinclair Beecham.
After a brief stint working in commercial property, in 1986, the two teamed up to buy the failed restaurant chain Pret A Manger. They relaunched it as a superior sandwich bar selling fresh food made by trained staff in an in-store kitchen. The business reportedly lost £80,000 in the first year, but they persevered. When Pret was sold in 2018 to JAB Holdings, it had about 530 locations worldwide and the company was valued at about $2bn (£1.5bn). The key, Metcalfe says, is never to give up.
He is married to Brooke, a New Yorker, and together they have a blended family of children. His story took an unexpected turn 15 years ago, when he discovered he had a 19-year-old daughter, Celeste, from a previous relationship with society figure Camilla Ravenshear.
Speaking to Steven Bartlett on the entrepreneur’s The Diary of a CEO podcast, Metcalfe revealed that Camilla broke the news to her daughter, then a student at Bristol University, just two weeks before meeting him on London’s King’s Road. The tycoon also had two children, Billy and Misha, by his ex-wife Melanie.
Metcalfe said: “I have a brilliant, beautiful and thoughtful 19-year-old daughter. I reckon I’m the luckiest man ever.”
They now work together in the business daily – Celeste sits on the board of the company – and two of Metcalfe’s other children are also involved, helping with his mission of expanding the brand globally. “Working with my children has been wonderful. We’ve really bonded over it,” he says.
Founded by Metcalfe in 1997, Itsu now has 86 restaurants across the UK, Belgium and France, and a growing supermarket business across Europe and beyond. Later this month, Itsu is opening its second restaurant in Manchester, in the city’s Tra ord Centre.
The London-based businessman is particularly fascinated by the food scene in Tel Aviv, which he says has “captured the imagination and flavours of the past 50 years in an astounding way. The creativity of the cuisine there is remarkable.
“Levantine food in general is quite challenging to produce quickly and well – much of it doesn’t lend itself easily to fast food, with shwarma being the closest example,” adding: “Food plays a huge role in the Jewish community. They genuinely care about it.”
Asked for advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, he emphasises two key qualities: adaptability and a clear vision. “Accept the fact that things will not turn out the way you want them to,” he advises. “You need tenacity and have to ask yourself what your vision is –what are you adding to the consumer’s life? Be brutally honest. The success of any business rests on the value of the product.”
As Metcalfe sees it, it’s not about the marketing or the drive alone, especially in the food industry. “Consumers know the di erence between good and bad,” he says, and ultimately that’s what makes or breaks a brand.
He remains committed to providing people with access to nutritious, a ordable food for under £10. “This is the toughest arena in the world,” he says, “but it’s also the one with the greatest opportunities.”
Julian Metcalfe
MAKING SENSE OF THE SEDRA
In our thought-provoking series, rabbis, rebbetzins and educators relate the week’s parsha to the way we live today
BY RABBI TOBY WEINIGER ST JOHN’S WOOD SYNAGOGUE
Economists must nurture
Few topics dominate public discourse more than debates about economic policy and its potential to drive growth. Yet beyond the statistics and strategies lies a profound question: how do we ensure that economic systems protect and promote human dignity?
Joseph’s leadership during Egypt’s famine o ers a timeless model for navigating this balance. As the famine tightened its grip, Joseph centralised resources under Pharaoh’s control. The Egyptians, desperate for survival, pleaded: “Buy us and our land for bread... and we will be slaves to Pharaoh” (Bereishit 47:19). Yet Joseph refused to reduce the population to slavery. Instead, he implemented a system closer to genuine employment rights.
The Meshech Chochma suggests that Joseph’s own experience as a slave influenced his policies. Having endured the degradation of servitude, he was determined to preserve the Egyptians’ dignity. Joseph’s leadership reminds us that practical solutions must never come at the expense of moral responsibility.
Moreover, while Pharaoh gained ownership of the land, the people retained 80 percent of their produce, with the government receiving only 20 percent. This tax structure was revolutionary. Before Joseph’s reforms, the norm in Egypt – and across the ancient world – was the opposite: rulers claimed the majority share, leaving individuals with little.
Joseph recognised that people are more motivated when they retain autonomy, and reap the rewards of their labour. By ensuring dignity and providing conditions where people benefited from their own hard work, he supported the population through a crisis with economic reform and increased dignity.
This theme echoes in Jacob’s final blessing to Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Menashe, in parsha Vayechi: “God, before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, walked, God who sustained me as long as I am alive, until this day, may the angel who redeemed me from all harm bless the youths, and may they be called by my name and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, and may they multiply abundantly like fish, in the midst of the land” (Bereishit 48:15-16).
The Talmud (Pesachim 118a) draws a striking insight from this blessing: “Sustenance is harder than redemption,” teaches Rabbi Yochanan. How could an individual’s e ort in earning a livelihood surpass the spiritual grandeur of redemption for the world?
Our sages explain that while redemption can occur through intermediaries – such as angels, as Jacob mentions in his blessing –sustenance requires direct human e ort and God’s blessing. The juxtaposition of “the angel who redeemed me” and “God who sustained
me” highlights this point. Sustenance demands a delicate partnership between hishtadlut (human initiative) and bitachon (trust in God). Joseph’s leadership is a reminder that economic systems must not only meet immediate needs but also honour justice, compassion and human dignity. On a personal level, we, too, are called to navigate the balance between e ort and faith, recognising that sustenance is a shared endeavour between human e ort and Divine blessing.
FINN Partners
Location: Home based
MICE Sales Manager – Part-time
FINN Partners, a leading PR, Marketing and Representation agency, is looking for a part-time MICE sales manager to promote and market Jerusalem as an international MICE destination.
The long-term vision is that the successful applicant will be required to devote at least 50% of his/her time to the job, but initially this will need commitment of around one day per week.
Key responsibilities:
Candidates must possess the relevant Trade & MICE background.
Develop key new business opportunities to secure new business & partnerships.
Identify key customer opportunities and build a plan to target agencies and corporate clients through proactive sales approaches.
Position Jerusalem to the market with a focus on business development.
Building a strong database for clients in the UK and Ireland.
Maintain existing client base & identifying new customers.
Support conversion of direct enquiries with large emphasis on driving new leads.
Create & coordinate prospecting and sales blitzes.
Review all segments to identify which industries are currently producing. Develop a strong sales and marketing plan on how you will penetrate your markets through calls, site inspections, familiarisation trips and entertainment.
Continually audit our business mix to ensure we have the right business segments to deliver exceptional results.
Attend and participate in sales initiatives, customer appointments & tradeshows as required.
Take responsibility for the activation of the overall MICE sales strategy in conjunction with the Director of Sales.
For further details, please contact Chris Woodbridge-Cox: chris.woodbridgecox@finnpartners.com
Progressive Judaism
LEAP OF FAITH
BY RABBI REBECCA BIRK FINCHLEY PROGRESSIVE SYNAGOGUE
Thirty years ago my life was changed, I’m certain, by the bagel. Not one in particular but the plethora of bagel shops, knish stands and various Jewish foodstuffs available – alongside the casual use of Yiddish expressions I encountered everywhere – in Boston, where I studied for my masters in theology and on frequent trips to New York City.
Even more surprising for a British Jew was, far from encountering a majority Orthodox community, I had the mind-opening experience of Progressive Judaism (known as Reform Judaism in the USA) being the largest, most confident of all the
Jewish denominations. I was deeply impressed by its confidence and courage as it engaged with contemporary life and brought Jewish tradition to the fore in an open and engaging way. It inspired my journey to the rabbinate.
Now, after 23 years as a rabbi, I am watching a new moment in British Jewry that will change our Jewish landscape. The coming together of Britain’s Liberal and Reform movements, to co-create one Progressive Judaism for the UK, is on track to be finalised in 2025, subject to a positive decision by constituent members.
This will amplify our voice, grow our numbers and broaden what it means to be Jewish and concerned and engaged in modern life. Representation is also key. When our children see ‘their’ rabbis in high-profile places – such as when Progressive Judaism co-leads Rabbi Josh Levy
and Rabbi Charley Baginsky represent us in Downing Street – it makes a difference to the confidence and possibility of what we can achieve.
I sit on the Path to Progressive Judaism Advisory Board, and as we do this work we think deeply about what is being built. The chair of the board, Dr Ed Kessler, describes what is happening as “the most significant moment in British Jewry since the war”. It is.
The practical concerns, of course, are taking much focus, but so are the theological and ideological values. Progressive Judaism will be accessible, meaningful and brave.
We share already the belief, as Deuteronomy 30 promised, that this thing, this ‘Jewishness’, is close to our mouths and our hearts. We know that justice and courage are as dear to us as is the custom of Shabbat. We know that expanding
the narrow definitions of Jewish identity will continue to be at the heart of what we do. At this time, we rabbis and cantors are also asking ourselves critical questions. What does it mean to be a Progressive Jew in Britain in 2025? What does it demand of us? What are we progressing from and towards?
And what about God in this new movement? What will change? How diverse can our views be on Israel and Jewish identity and still remain one movement?
I am intrigued to see how we answer these questions together with integrity as we become this more impactful Progressive family.
Rabbis Josh Levy and Charley Baginsky, leaders of Progressive Judaism
Need Cash Fast?
Sell your gold and coins today! Can’t choose the diamond ring you are looking for?
GOLD PRICES AT RECORD HIGH!!!
Receive the best prices for your unwanted gold today! Call Jonathan 020 8446 8538
9 ct per gram - £24.44
14 ct per gram - £38.12
18 ct per gram -£48.87
21 ct per gram - £57.02
22 ct per gram - £59.69
24 ct per gram - £65.15
Platinum 950 per gram - £21.01
Silver 925 per gram - £0.58
Half Sovereigns - £238.75
Full Sovereigns - £477.50
Krugerrands - £2,026.52
We also purchase sterling silver candlesticks and any other sterling tableware www.howcashforgold.co.uk
Suits from £79.50
Overcoats from £79.50
Trouser Bargains £25
Raincoats from £49.50
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!
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!
JACKETS FROM £49.50 OVERCOATS £49.50 KNITWEAR BARGAINS £20 ANY 2 FOR £30
STUART SHUSTER - e-mail - info@maryleboneantiques.co.uk MAKE SURE YOU CONTACT US BEFORE SELLING ANTIQUES
Top prices paid
Antique – Reproduction – Retro Furniture (any condition)
Epstein, Archie Shine, Hille, G Plan, etc.
Dining Suites, Lounges Suites, Bookcases, Desks, Cabinets, Mirrors, Lights, etc.
House clearances
Single items to complete homes
MARYLEBONE ANTIQUES - 8 CHURCH STREET NW8 8ED 07866 614 744 (ANYTIME) 0207 723 7415 (SHOP)
closed Sunday & Monday
ARTICLES WANTED
Dave & Eve House Clearance
Friendly Family Company established for 30 years
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.
ARTICLES WANTED
Furs, Jewellery, Old Costume Jewellery, Watches, Silver, Designer Bags, anything vintage. 01277 352560
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 CHARITY & WELFARE
Leave
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 sunny patio and garden. For further details and application forms, please contact Westlon Housing Association on 020 8201 8484 or email: johnsilverman@btconnect.com
|
PESACH 2O25 BY THE SEA
Escape to the shores of Brighton & Hove for a Pesach like no other!
Just an hour from London, our fully catered programm includes cosy accommodation, outstanding meals and a family-friendly atmosphere. With daily synagogue se mikvah, 24/7 security and a Rabbinic-led programme & excursions, let us do all the work as you enjoy creating memories this Spring.
EARLY BIRD OFFER ENDS 31 JAN!
Half-board packages by our kosher restaurant penthouses & modern apartments
bnjc.co.uk/pesach or scan here for more information
GET IN TOUCH
