Opinion

Rabbi Jonny Hughes of Radlett United Synagogue took on the subject of reincarnation for a special lunch ‘n’ learn workshop in London.

Rabbi Hughes addressed an audience of lawyers and guests at the Edgware offices of law firm Axiom DWFM.

Axiom is a multi racial law firm with strong links to the Jewish and Asian business communities and in particular is a headline sponsor of the Asian Jewish Business network

The Jewish Weekly and Axiom chairman Jonathan Metliss is a major sponsor of Rabbi Hughes speaking programme ‘US in the City’.

He has interviewed leading personalities including Cherie Blair, Lord Peter Levene, Lord Howard Leigh and Clifford Crown, chairman of Brentford FC, amongst others.

Mr Metliss said, “ We at Axiom were

Rabbi Hughes speaking at Lunch And Learn

delighted to host Rabbi Hughes whose talk was both illuminating and thought provoking “

Axiom proposes hosting more talks of this nature in the future.

Jami presents leading barrister at first in-person event since pandemic

Lord Pannick QC at the Business Breakfast 2022

Mental health charity Jami was delighted to introduce Lord Pannick QC at its first in-person event since before the pandemic. The inaugural legal breakfast was hosted by Adam Dawson, Jami’s chair of trustees and a barrister himself , at 9 Gough Chambers in the City of London.

Guests working in the law industry heard from Baron Pannick of Radlett about his exciting career as a QC and crossbencher in the House of Lords and about the rise in mental health issues among people in the legal profession, caused by the pressures of increasing workloads and sometimes the harmful influence of social media.

Described by Dawson as “the outstanding lawyer of his generation”, Lord Pannick QC has been involved in many of the seminal cases of the past 40 years, including representing Gina Miller, the woman who successfully fought to give Parliament a say in triggering Article 50 –the exit clause that severed the UK’s ties with the EU as part of Brexit.

The audience were also enthralled by the story of Jess Harris, a peer support worker for Jami, who described how the charity supported, transformed and saved her life after she was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder and found herself unemployed and homeless. She said: “When I first met Jami, my life was at the lowest place I had ever been.” However, following personalised one-to-one support with a Jami social worker, ongoing support to return to college and retrain, volunteering opportunities, and the chance to use her experience to support countless people on their own mental health journeys, Jess told guests: “I’m a long way from the Jess who Jami first met seven years ago.”

Now with a permanent job, a new home with her life partner, a full social life and the puppy of her dreams, Jess announced: “These days I’m happy. Still anxious but happy, but I’m OK with that.” And she gave credit to Jami for this turnaround in her life. “I owe a lot of my success to Jami,” she added. “And the continued and limitless support I received throughout those years.”

If you need support or are supporting someone who needs help, visit jamiuk. org/get-support/ or contact 020 8458 2223

The CST training course

CST recently held a very successful training course for over 40 Haredi community members from Stamford Hill. The participants all did a 6 week (3 hours per week) security awareness course with self-defence training that we designed specially to fit the requirements of the Stamford Hill community. Rather than CST’s usual courses which are based around security officers standing at a location doing security, this course was designed to address what to do in your community if something happens on the street or at a location that you need to respond to.

The course included an ACT awareness training session provided by the Metropolitan Police and delivered by a police officer, after which the participants were certified by both CST and the police.

The passing out ceremony at the end of the course was attended by Superintendent Andy Port from Central East BCU (Hackney and Tower Hamlets) and Acting Chief Inspector Greg Feldman of the Met Police Protective Security Operation (PSO). Andy Port gave a speech to the trainees in which he emphasised the police’s commitment to the security of all communities and explained how much he cares about our community.

Asher Teper Memorial Golf Day

The winning team with their trophy

The 17th Annual Asher Teper Memorial Golf Day organised by the Hebrew Order of David UK was held at Brocket Hall Country Club on the 4th July. The Day was a huge success with £25,000 raised for the beneficiary charities, Manna UK, Camp Simcha and The Malki Foundation. The Day Convenor, Michael Foreman said “We once again had a sell-out field and magnificent day at the new venue. Congratulations to the winners Matthew Plax, Paul Belchak, Mitchell Brand and Matthew Geey, seen with Sandra Teper. We are delighted that we have been able to help the charities who have gone through such a torrid time. We are sure that the much-needed funds that we have raised will go a long way to assist the people that these amazing charities help every day.

We would like to give special thanks to Jeff Maze and Jon Shapiro who are stepping down from the committee after 17 years of dedicated service.”

All three charities gave moving accounts of the families that they support, Neville Goldschneider from Camp Simcha described how they assisted the many families that they support and how they helped not just the seriously ill child but also their close family. Gaby Blauer from Manna, the UK arm of Meir Panim, spoke about the food support they give to families in Israel and in one example how they were supporting the son of a mother who was suffering from cancer. Geoff Hartnell from the Malki Foundation explained how the charity was set up in memory of Malki Roth who was murdered in a suicide bombing in Jerusalem in 2001. The charity now supports seriously ill children in their own homes with therapists and supplies essential equipment so that the child can remain with their family in their own home.