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How a Lake District school makes sense of the Holocaust P26
BRITAIN’S BIGGEST JEWISH NEWSPAPER 12 April 2018
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27 Nissan 5778
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Issue No.1049
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The community marks Yom HaShoah See page 10
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@JewishNewsUK
YOM HA’ATZMAUT Rabbi Andrew Shaw CEO Mirzrachi UK What can one think about at such a joyous time as we are about to celebrate 70 years of Medinat Yisrael? I believe it is incumbent on all of us, to realise the enormity of what this anniversary means. To do this, I think back to one of the most inspiring broadcasts I have ever heard. It was the BBC recording of the liberation of Bergen Belsen in 1945, which I heard for the first time several years ago. The survivors who knew they were being recorded began singing the Hatikvah. However, it is not the version that we sing today. They sung the version wri written by Naftali Hertz Imber in 1878. It was adopted as the anthem of the Zionist movement at the first Zionist Congress in 1897. Forty-eight years later it was being sung by survivors demonstrating the unwavering belief of our eternal nation to never give up hope of returning to our ancestral homeland. an That day, from the depths of hell on earth they broadcast to the world the hopes and dreams of our nation for the past 2000 years.
“Od lo avdah tikvateinu, Hatikvah hannoshanah Lashuv le’eretz avoteinu La‘ir bah david k'hanah”
“Our hope is not yet lost, The ancient hope, To return to the land of our fathers, The city where David encamped’. And then, miraculously, just three years later, for the third time in our long history, David Ben Gurion declared the establishment of the Third Commonwealth of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. For thousands of years not just the last 70, Israel has represented much more than a piece of territory: Israel is home. It is a focus for the Jewish heart, a haven for the Jewish people and a sanctuary for the Jewish soul. This week on Yom Ha’Atzmaut we will give thanks to God as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of that historic day when Israel once again became the nation state of the Jewish people. Over those last seven decades, Israel has experienced some incredibly demanding and testing times but it continues to be a beacon of light in an ever-darkening world. So please celebrate this week by
celebrating the wonder that is Medinat Yisrael. Join us in celebrating 70 years with a Weekend of Inspiration of Torah from Israel, (details inside this wrap) as well as memorable concerts across the country reminding us of the long journey from Avraham Avinu 3750 years ago to David Ben Gurion and beyond.
Festive Tefilla, Audio Visual Presentation, Guest Speaker and Reception