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REGEV BLASTS BACK OVER WEST BANK ANNEXATION 11 JUNE 2020/19 SIVAN 5780

@TheJewishWeekly 145

BY DAVID SAFFER

Israel’s UK Ambassador Mark Regev has vehemently defended his nation’s West Bank annexation plans. The emissary’s hard-hitting response follows an open letter from 42 high profile people in the UK Jewish community (published in Haaretz last week) calling on him to convey their “concern and alarm” at the proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s unity government as it poses an “existential threat” to the traditions of Zionism in Britain and to Israel. Signatories including Lord Daniel Finkelstein, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former Labour MP Luciana Berger, Holocaust survivor Sir Ben Helfgott, historian Sir Simon Schama and former JC chairmen Alan Jacobs and Steven Grabiner, backed by large numbers of the Jewish community, argue that the coalition’s proposal damages Israel’s international standing, security

and will inflame tensions in the region. Further, it has grave consequences for the Palestinian people, destabilises peace with neighbours Jordan and Egypt, and emboldens Iran and its proxies. The impact on Diaspora Jewry and relationship with the State of Israel would also be profound. Signatories conclude that a principled global defence of “annexation” or “extending sovereignty” would be near-impossible. Regev has long defended Israeli rights and beliefs in challenging times. And in a detailed no-nonsense retort in writing to signatories, makes it clear that a policy of consecutive Israeli governments has “always been” that Israeli law “must be extended” to parts of the West Bank as part of a peace deal. Recalling Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir’s Labour governments rejecting a return to pre-67 lines, as it brought Israel “neither peace nor CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Ambassador Mark Regev

ISRAEL’S NEW AMBASSADOR TO THE UK

As the Jewish Weekly went to press it was announced that the current Minister of Settlement Affairs, Tzipi Hotovely, has been appointed as Israel's new Ambassador to the UK, replacing Mark Regev whose posting comes to an end this summer after five years.

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Neo-Nazis jailed Tory candidate belittled Holocaust BY ADAM MOSES

Former Conservative parliamentary candidate, Cllr Ryan Houghton, has been readmitted to the party after belittling the Holocaust on a martial arts forum. Writing under a pseudonym seven years ago, the Tory candidate described some Holocaust cases as “fabricated” though he noted there was “no credible evidence” to suggest the Holocaust did not happen. Houghton also praised “interesting” research by Holocaust-denier David Irving, though backtracked on the comments, posting he was “not defending” Irving’s views. Suspended as Aberdeen North candidate, Houghton apologised for his actions. Following a “robust investigation” he will not undergo anti-Semitism training. “I apologised at the time and have done so in-person to anyone who has contacted me about the matter,” Houghton said. “The comments which led to my suspension were isolated and took place nearly a decade ago. They in no way reflect my political or professional record and I find prejudice of any kind abhorrent.” Following an investigation, a Tory spokesman said that Houghton’s “unreserved acceptance” of what he had done

Cllr Ryan Houghton

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had been taken into account. Houghton understood the “consequence of his actions”.

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Five neo-Nazis have been jailed at Birmingham Crown Court for being members of banned far-right terror group National Action. Alice Cutter, 23, who used the name “Buchenwald Princess” in a “Miss Hitler” beauty pageant, received a three-year prison sentence on Tuesday. Judge Paul Farrer QC said Cutter’s former partner, Mark Jones, played “a significant role in the continuation of the organisation” after its ban in 2016. Jack claimed in a letter to the judge to have turned his back on the far right. He was sentenced to five-and-a-half years. Cutter and Jones, both from Sowerby Bridge near Halifax, were convicted with Garry Jack and Connor Scothern at a trial in March. Jack, 24, of Birmingham, who reportedly self-identifies as a Nazi, appeared via video-link for sentencing. He received a four-and-a-half year term. Scothern, 19, of Nottingham, considered a future leader of the group, received an eighteen months prison sentence. Daniel Ward, 28, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty to being a National Action member last year. He was jailed for three years. Max Hill QC, Director of Public Prosecutions, said the group were “diehards” in their thinking. “They hark back to the days of not just anti-Semitism but the Holocaust, the Third Reich in Germany, and they take their mindset from those extreme Nazi groups

and latterly neo-Nazi groups in Germany,” he said. Cutter, was described as a “central spoke” of the outlawed group in court and trusted confidante” of one the group’s leaders. She entered an online ‘National Action Miss Hitler’ contest four years ago. Aside from exchanging racist and anti-Semitic messages, Cutter posed for Nazi salute outside Leeds Town Hall, joked about gassing synagogues and using a Jew’s head as a football. The court heard that Jones had “feelings of admiration” for Adolf Hitler and had a wedding edition of Mein Kampf. A former member of British National Party’s youth wing, Jones visited Buchenwald concentration before the pageant where he gave a Nazi salute in the execution chamber. According to police, the group was preparing weapons for a “race war”. Campaign Against Antisemitism pressed the government to ban the terror group and welcomed the sentences but called for more action. “They send a clear signal that those promoting far-right antisemitism will face the full force of the law, but these prosecutions are not enough.” said a spokesman. “We continue to urge the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute anti-Semites of whatever political persuasion so that justice can be delivered for the Jewish community.” National Action was founded in 2013 and banned after celebrating the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in June 2016.

UAE attend online CER programme The Jewish community of the United Arab Emirates participated in a special online Torah programme organised by the Conference of European Rabbis ahead of last Shabbat. Some 100 members of the community in Dubai and Abu Dhabi watched Zoom classes by CER President Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt and UAE Chief Rabbi Yehuda Sarna. “Since the outbreak of this horrible plague, we are all in our homes in isolation, without the ability to join prayers and communities together,” he said. “We must remember that Divine Providence is trying to teach us about the

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importance of each and every one of us, when we gather to build the Tabernacle of G-d and do His will.” Chief Rabbi Goldschmidt told delegates the People of Israel had a special organisational structure, based on the directions of the Torah. He added, “The Torah details each and every tribe, even though to our physical eyes each tribe’s leader gives the same exact thing. Even though we are one nation, each tribe has its own unique importance.” The CER initiative was the latest project since the coronavirus pandemic hit global communities.

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Open Letter to the Right Honourable Boris Johnson, Prime Minister Dear Prime Minister, Earlier this week, Carers Week, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock released a video stating that he wanted to say “a huge and heartfelt thank you to all our carers, who are out in the community doing so much for others, especially at this time”. Mr Hancock’s thanks were much appreciated, however, the challenges that carers of SEND (special educational needs and disability) children and young people around the UK are experiencing are very real and are not getting any better. The need to provide full-time care during the covid-19 crisis has put many families under even usual and the current Carer’s Allowance of £67.50 per week, Message frommore thepressure Chief than Executive regardless of how many children with special needs are being looked after, is pitifully low. in aid of NORWOOD

Good morning and welcome to the CJ O’Shea and Galliard

As a charity that supports adults an with special needs and disabilities, Norwood – Homes Golfchildren Day in aid and of Norwood, event that haseducational ﬁrmly established itself as a favourite in our fundraising calendar. one of the UK’s largest Jewish charities – is more than familiar with the issues that have always been there but have been exacerbated crisis. such, it would be a dereliction of our duty if we weren’t Every year weby arethe trulycurrent grateful that you As choose to support our work way. Day To those of you who for lastlast week by the Green Party MP for Brighton to draw your attention to in anthis Early Motion thatwere washere tabled year’s event, thank you for helping to raise more than £60,000 Pavilion, Caroline for Lucas. Norwood. To those of you joining us for the ﬁrst time today – welcome and I hope you enjoy yourself enough to make this an annual dateGovernment in your diary. calls on the “to increase funding for good

This EDM quality respite care centres and respite carers to alleviate the pressure on families, to recognise the extraordinary care that people provide in their Days like today are a crucial part of Norwood’s annual fundraising efforts, and enable us to remain committed to extending effectiveness in championing own homes by paying carersourareach realand living wage and giving them paid annual leave, and to bring forward a children, campaigning for inclusion and creating new ways of thinking about disability. strategy to recruit more respite carers that recognises and pays them as professionals with specialist skills”. Norwood strives to enable as many people as we can to achieve more than they ever thought possible. None of this could be achieved without voluntary support, the ﬁnest

example of which is represented by your effort a today – thank Norwood believes that this is not matter ofyou. party politics and fully supports this proposal. We are very much hoping thatCJyou willand too andHomes look for forward to today’s seeing this issue raised in the House at the Finally, I’d like to thank O’Shea Galliard sponsoring event. You generosity and support is invaluable so a huge thanks from everyone at Norwood. earliest opportunity. Good luck on the course!

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Head Office Broadway House, 80-82 The Broadway, Stanmore HA7 4HB T 020 8809 8809 E info@norwood.org.uk DX 48915 Stanmore norwood.org.uk Head Head OffiOffi ce ce Broadway Broadway House, House, 80-82 80-82 TheThe Broadway, Broadway, Stanmore Stanmore HA7 HA7 4HB 4HB Patron Her Majesty The Queen Presidents Lord Mendelsohn & Lady Mendelsohn CBE Head Office Broadway House, 80-82 Head TheOffi Broadway, ce Broadway Stanmore House, HA7 80-82 4HBThe Broadway, Stanmore HA7 4HB Vice President Ronnie Harris T 020 T 020 8809 8809 8809 E info@norwood.org.uk E info@norwood.org.uk DXDX 48915 48915 Stanmore Stanmore norwood.org.uk norwood.org.uk Patron of8809 Adult Services Norma Brier OBE The Broadway, Head Offi ce Broadway House, 80-82 Stanmore HA7 4HB Trustee Board Neville Kahn (Chair), Julia Chain (Deputy Chair), David Smith T 020 8809 8809 E info@norwood.org.uk T 020 8809 DX 8809 48915EStanmore info@norwood.org.uk norwood.org.uk DX 48915 Stanmore norwood.org.uk

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4 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 security” following the Six Day War, Regev points out that Eshkol extended Israeli law into formerly Jordanian-controlled territory, whilst under Meir’s government, the Allon Plan recognised the “strategic significance” of the Jordan Valley and Golan Heights. “Menachem Begin applied Israeli sovereignty to the latter during his tenure,” Regev adds. Recalling that Yitzhak Rabin, who as Prime Minister signed the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians, “firmly believed” that any sustainable peace would be built on “robust security” arrangements, Regev reminds detractors of the proposal that Rabin, in his final speech before the Knesset, stated that Israel would insist on control over the Jordan Valley ‘in the broadest meaning of that term’.” Regarding security concerns, the emissary observes that Israel’s friends in the international community, including those in the UK, have “long understood” secure borders are essential to any durable peace. And noting that President Bush recognised a negotiated solution must account for ‘realities on the ground, including already existing Israeli population centres’, Regev defends US President Donald Trump’s Middle East ‘Peace Plan as it builds on “core principles” received with “remarkable openness” by Arab states. Regev however laments, “It is regrettable but unsurprising that this plan was immediately rejected outright by the Palestinian leadership, who dogmatically cling to one-sided UN and EU ‘peace plans’ that consistently ignore Israel’s vital concerns.” He continues, “Washington is not only advancing peace, but also enhancing Israel’s security and helping to protect its existence as a Jewish and democratic state.” Looking to the future, he concludes, “Israel’s new unity government will remain cognisant of our steadily improving relations across the Arab and Muslim world, and our critically important partnership with Jordan. We will continue to engage with Washington about how best to seize the historic opportunities inherent in the American initiative, which offers the hope of a more peaceful and secure future. It is high time for the Palestinians to come to the table and constructively do the same.”

The furore over the community letter continues but the Embassy remains steadfast. A spokesman for the Embassy noted, “This new government will move forwards in agreement with the US and in dialogue with our neighbours and partners, safeguarding Israel’s interests as a Jewish and democratic state, our peace treaties, and regional stability.” Away from the domestic UK signatory-Regev spat, Netanyahu is under intense pressure globally regarding annexation but appears set to hold his nerve. News reportedly broke last night that he is to announce annexation of three large settlements areas in the West Bank including Maale Adumim, Gush Etzion, and Ariel, shortly after July 1 as they are “well-defined areas” and do not require much planning. Issues relating to the Jordan Valley would follow at a later date. The United States however has called on

Regarding security concerns, the emissary observes that Israel’s friends in the international community, including those in the UK, have “long understood” secure borders are essential to any durable peace. Israel’s leader to delay plans and European Union countries, including the UK, oppose the proposal. Palestinian Authority Senior PA official Saeb Erekat warned Israel yesterday annexation would lead to “disaster” and a “path of conflict”. PA President Mahmoud Abbas has already ended “all agreements” with Israel and US. In a quite astonishing few days, German Foreign Minister made the European case to Netanyahu, Defence Minister Benny Gantz and Ashkenazi yesterday but tellingly did not threaten sanctions. Maas later held talks with Palestinian and Jordanian officials. Ashkenazi has warned of a “hostile reaction” from the international community. It was also reported this week that Gantz

may visit Jordan to calm anxiety over annexation plans according to media reports. The meeting would be Gantz’s first official foreign trip in the post. Israel and Jordan have a long-held peace treaty but tensions have mounted in the past 12 months over annexation. Jordan’s King Abdullah II has warned Israel its treaty could be harmed. Debate among Israelis is intense on the subject. Recent opinion polls suggest 50 percent of Israelis support annexation. To that end, thousands of Israelis demonstrated against Netanyahu’s plans in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. At least five protesters were arrested near Rabin Square. Should Israel move forward with annexation the EU has discussed potential sanctions against Israel, mainly financial, that do not require a majority vote. Analysts believe they could lead to bilateral treaties being suspended with some nations. Up to eight nations may recognise a Palestinian state. Netanyahu, meantime, has met settlement leaders to discuss ‘security’ objections to Trump’s plan. Vowing to protect Israel’s interests as it was “a historic opportunity”, he reportedly said sovereignty issues and a Palestinian state were separate in negotiations. Settler leaders, whilst backing annexation, are concerned over security issues as a “terrorist” Palestinian state would be situated in Israel’s “heartland”. Some 20,000 Jews live in the territories. Settlements Affairs Minister Tzipi Hotovely told Samaria Regional Council head, Yossi Dagan, this week that a plan had yet to be submitted. Dagan made it clear he was not willing to give up a “centimetre”, but warned settlements did not have to agree with Netanyahu’s plans. “We are at a crossroads that could either see excellent historic results on sovereignty or the creation of a terror state in the heart of the country,” he said. Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ will see a future Palestinian state surround 19 settlements. The plan allows for sovereignty over settlements along ‘67 armistice lines but isolated settlements would only be linked to Israel by small access roads With the beginning of July two weeks away the annexation debate will dominate political discussions.

From the editor’s desk Last week 42 members of UK Jewry sent a letter to Mark Regev asking Bibi to stop the annexation of the West Bank. Unlike certain governments across the Middle East, Israel allows free speech and people are legally entitled to make requests of its government without fear of reprisal. Mark Regev has rightly given a robust no nonsense rebuttal of the letter as you will have read on our front page. When it comes to Israeli security, we are sadly dealing with the type of governments who are very into rules and EU law when it comes to Israel, but are happy to conveniently forget other laws such as

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basic human rights or paying money to dead terrorists’ families to encourage mass murder. What these 42 Jews need to start realising is that you can not negotiate with terrorists and giving them land does not make peace. Look at Gaza - enough said. The 42 Jews mentioned that they were concerned of ‘grave consequences for the Palestinian people.’ One wonders if their deep concern for the Palestinians has been made clear to the Palestinian Government? Have they written letters to the Hamas leadership who store their rockets in hospitals and send children to the front

line? These actions certainly have grave consequences for the Palestinian people. It would be interesting to see if they have written letters to countless human rights abusers around the world such as the many African dictators who kill and impoverish their subjects on a daily basis without any international protest? Have they written to Saudi Arabia to request the immediate cessation of public beheadings? The list of other important letters goes on and on beyond the scope of this editorial. But let’s hope the point has already been made.

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MKs back coronavirus draft bill

Avichai Mandelblit

Israeli ministers have approved a draft bill regarding the coronavirus pandemic. Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Benny Gantz and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein proposed changes defining government powers following protests. The “coronavirus law” does not include Shin Bet security service powers to track Israelis infected with the virus. It does include an extension of Knesset authority, assurances regarding the Knesset and courts, protections for a right to protest and transparency over budgets. Ministers approved a 45-day extension surrounding emergency regulations regarding quarantine enforcement. The bill balances a need to take “rapid steps to halt the pandemic and individual rights,” Netanyahu told ministers at his weekly cabinet meeting. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said legislation includes clear boundaries how the government can operate.

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MKs to back cannabis legislation

Likud and the Blue & White Party will promote legislation to legalise marijuana and non-incrimination of users. A statement by the main parties backs a “responsible model” to fit Israeli society. Reform would advance the use of medical marijuana enabling cannabis growers to obtain a license and users to receive a medical permit. “A huge portion of the population supports non-discrimination of cannabis and now is the time to correct the law,” said Likud MK Sharren Haskel. “The last general election campaigns have emphasised this issue even more.” Netanyahu pledged to promote the issue during his election campaign. Blue & White backed cannabis medical use and a policy of non-incrimination during debates.

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Israel COVID toll hits 300 BY DAVID SAFFER

Israel has recorded 300 deaths due to the coronavirus pandemic health officials announced this morning. A resurgence of COVID-19 cases has taken place with schools and businesses reopening. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s acknowledged the sharp spike at his weekly cabinet meeting but resolved to continue the fight against the deadly disease. “The virus is here, it is not a figment of either my imagination or of anyone else’s,” he said. Defending Israel’s response, he noted, “Countries that adopted a very lenient and very liberal policy understood that they have no choice but to take steps and impose restrictions that we took at the outset, after they have suffered thousands of deaths.” He added, “Whoever said at the outset that there was no danger here or that there is no danger now, misled the public and encouraged behaviour that endangered both the public health and the lives of many people. Part of the clear increase in the rate of infection that we have seen in Israel in the past eight days stems from, and it was expected, from the measures we enacted to ease restrictions in order to open up our economy. But some of it also clearly stems

from a loosening in strict adherence to the rules regarding masks, distancing and hygiene.” Netanyahu noted the Corona cabinet would consider steps to negate the latest Covid upsurge and help businesses back to routine activity. Whilst there had been encouraging signs of economic recovery, its continuation depended on Israeli citizens. Netanyahu visited Israel’s Institute for Biological Research with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein for an update on progress to find a vaccine. Challenges continue, especially with sections of the public snubbing health guidelines. “The increase in coronavirus infections is becoming worrying,” said Edelstein at Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva, who lamented public “obliviousness and disregard” to guidelines. “The right way is strict enforcement,” he explained. “People need to understand that there is no difference between enforcement of traffic laws and enforcement of coronavirus laws.” In related news, the Ministry of Culture and Sports have delayed the reopening of theatres, cinemas, event halls and live shows until June 21.

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A resumption of train services is also on hold, having been delayed four times to date. Israelis have struggled to get to work resulting in overcrowded buses. Edelstein called for the economy and railway traffic to reopen despite an increase in new cases. “Minimum danger, maximum protection,” he said. “The police must go back to strong enforcement in malls, buses, trains, restaurants, event halls and elsewhere to make the public more disciplined.” Tel Aviv has emerged as a coronavirus hotspot. Health officials said the increase is due to an outbreak in Jaffe where a number of schools have been closed. A factory, meantime, has opened to make millions of high-spec N95 masks. “We are preparing for a second wave of the virus,” said Gantz. Elsewhere, the Central Bureau of Statistics has released data illustrating April as

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the worst month for Israeli businesses in the past decade. CBS releases a monthly report on country’s economy since 2011. Before the pandemic, Israel had one of the world’s lowest unemployment rates, 3.4% in February. But unemployment hit a record 27.5% in mid-April. Up to half a million people may be unemployed by January 2021, government officials said, equating to around 11% of the population. Entertainment, aviation and tourism are among those severely hit. Around 65 percent of Israeli start-ups are also not expected to survive six months. Meanwhile, following extensive talks, the Finance Ministry has offered El Al a $250 million loan. Major cost-cutting measures are expected with reportedly up to a third of El Al’s 6,000 staff being made redundant. Last month it was reported the government made a $400 million loan with specific requirements on a recovery plan.

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Shin Bet arrest Ben Yigal killer BY ADAM MOSES Shin Bet security service has arrested a Palestinian terrorist who threw a block that struck and killed IDF First Sgt. Amit Ben Yigal during an arrest operation in the West Bank last month. Namzi Abu Bakr, 49, is a resident of Yabed. The IDF and Israel Police assisted in the operation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Amit Ben Yigal z”l President Reuven Rivlin welcomed the arrest. “I would like to commend the IDF, Shin Bet and security forces for catching the killer,” Netanyahu said. Rivlin added he was proud of security forces who captured the terrorist after many nights of relentless pursuit. “We will act uncompromisingly against terrorism and its perpetrators to keep Israelis safe,” he said. Baruch Ben Yigal, Amit’s father, told reporters he felt a joy filled with sadness. “This person has upended our lives, this is seeing light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. Ben Yigal was among a Golani Brigade reconnaissance conducting an overnight arrest of four terror suspects last month when the tragedy occurred. The 21-year-old was

fatally struck leaving the village. Ben Yigal was transferred to a Haifa hospital but pronounced dead. The IDF detained over 10 residents from a building, including Abu Bakr, where the block was thrown. Abu Bakr denied involvement but is now in custody. Ben Yigal, who was one month before ending his army service, was buried at Be’er Yaakov cemetery. Former Defence Minister Naftali Bennett and IDF officials attended the funeral. Another Palestinian terrorist, Arafat Irfayia, has confessed to raping and stabbing to death teenager Ori Ansbacher in February. Irfayia admitted the horrific crime after calling his mother from a courtroom. Ori, 19, was discovered with fatal injuries in the woods on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Irfayia confessed to his lawyer but remained silent in court during a December hearing. Irfayia is affiliated with Hamas and previously imprisoned on terror offenses, was indicted on charges of terrorism, rape and unlawful entry to Israel in March 2019. Shin Bet described the murder as nationalistic.

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WJC boom in Zoom conferences BY NATALIE ASH World Jewish Congress is keeping affiliates updated with its global work through Zoom conferences. A regular National Community Directors Forum brings together community leaders to address Covid-19 related including crisis management, modified religious practices and viral hate speech reporting. Dozens of officials from national governments and international organisations attended Special Envoys & Coordinators Combating Antisemitism’s third international meeting earlier this month to exchange best practices in the battle against anti-Semitism. SECCA’s event follows meetings in Bucharest and Munich last year. The latest agenda focused on internet hate speech and anti-Semitic conspiracy myths. WJC’s Maram Stern and Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission cochaired the meeting. Stern encouraged delegates to improve conditions for Jewish communities, adopt and implement the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism and enact legislation regarding hate speech. Von Schnurbein noted hate speech and incitement to violence was criminalised but conspiracy myths were not necessarily hate speech. She also stressed that it was the responsibility of social media platforms to support fact checkers. Elan Carr, US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, highlighted the importance of going on the offensive against anti-Semitism by stressing Jewish values, Jewish history and what Jews had brought to the world. Frederic Potier, France’s inter-ministerial delegate said proposed French legislation would remove hate speech within 24 hours of reporting. France’s supreme court is expected to bring the law into effect this summer. UK’s Lord Eric Pickles backed regulatory intervention. “The pandemic has shown that we need to up our game on working with social media companies to ensure better detection and removal of misinformation,” he said. Felix Klein, Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany, backed Lord Pickles’ comments. Gillian Merron, Board of Deputies, added that virtual events were vulnerable and informed delegates that the Board had fought “Zoombombing” but they had struggled to compel Facebook to respond to online threats of violence. Raya Kalenova, European Jewish Congress, reviewed data reflecting increased levels of anti-Semitic content online and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Issues of adequate fact-checking was clearly a priority for the SECCA participants.

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Secca’s next forum is scheduled to take place in September to consider future initiatives. In related news, the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic has seen ant-Semitic incidents double in 2019 compared to 2018 according to a Ministry of Culture and the Endowment Fund for Holocaust Victims report. Anti-Semitic incidents online were accredited to far-right extremist. The Czech government has been proactive in fighting anti-Semitism, adopting the IHRA anti-Semitism definition last year. WJC President Ronald S. Lauder praised the decision, calling it a “principled and important step” to tackle anti-Semitism head-on. WJC, meantime, welcomed the Serbian justice system on its decision to uphold the legality of Aleksandar Jinker’s election as president of the Jewish Community of Belgrade. The appointment follows two years of divisiveness within Serbia’s Federation of Jewish Communities. “We are greatly encouraged by Serbia’s demonstrated commitment to resolving this issue, even against the backdrop of uncertainty and strained resources brought about by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Lauder. Commenting on Serbia’s Law on Restitution of the Jewish Property, he commented, “It is without a doubt one of the most just and far-reaching in Europe and should serve as a model for other countries. “We sincerely hope that the resolution of this leadership crisis will enable the Serbian restitution legislation to be implemented with full transparency, and that after two years of crisis, the Jewish community of Serbia can enjoy the calm and security that this legislation is intended to guarantee.” Serbia has adopted the IHRA anti-Semitism definition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced last week. The definition was reportedly adopted a few months ago, but the government postponed an announcement amid the coronavirus pandemic. WJC and the Embassy of Israel in Serbia applauded the move. Israel’s Foreign Ministry Director General Yuval Rotem welcomed the decision and called on more countries to follow Serbia’s example. The Serbian parliament passed a law offering compensation to Holocaust victims and relatives for property illegally seized during the Holocaust in 2016. The legislation allocates an $1 million payments for 25 years in a wide-reaching move among European states. Serbia’s parliament has also backed establishing a memorial centre to honour those killed at the Staro Sajmiste concentration camp in Serbia. Around 10,000 Serbs, 7,000 Jews and 60 Roma died between 1941 and 1942.

11 JUNE 2020

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BY BRIAN GORDON Although Covid 19 has been, sadly, so devastating for many, there is certainly one silver lining to this very black cloud. It could potentially affect the education of every child in the Jewish community in an unexpectedly positive way. “Relationships Education”, has been a highly contentious issue both within our kehilla and across the UK for over 3 years. It has now had a reprieve – due to the effect of the Corona crisis. An intrinsic element of the process of bringing RSE into schools is parental engagement. Most schools would have been following the parental engagement process this term prior to the compulsory start of Relationships Education and RSE teaching from September 2020. Due to school closures this term it has been difficult for schools to conduct this statutory process. The Department for Education (DfE) has now informed The Values Foundation that all schools can “have flexibility over how they discharge their duty within the first year of compulsory teaching,”. Whilst RSE will still be “compulsory” from 1st September 2020, the active word is “from”. Schools can now individually decide on their readiness to provide effective RSE suitable for their cohort and have until the start of the summer term 2021 to actually begin teaching the subject. This will allow enough time for schools to follow consultative procedures with parents, including engaging parents on their RSE policy as well as planning their curriculum provision and sharing resources. The DfE is mindful of sensitivities in teaching RSE whilst also being aware of concerns raised about Ofsted inspection, particularly in this matter. The DfE has reassured schools that Ofsted inspections are currently suspended and when routine inspections do re-start, inspectors will “be sensitive to, and will take account of, the context and circumstances of each school”. Faith schools must create and publish a robust RSE Policy, taking into account the school’s ethos, cohort and age appropriateness. The Statutory Guidance states that: “Schools must have regard to the guidance, and where they depart from those parts of the guidance which state that they should (or should not) do something they will need to have good reasons for doing so.” Therefore, schools can justifiably make a strong case regarding their choice of topics

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and teaching strategy that can match all sensitivities, as long as they fulfil their legal requirements in RSE. Whilst the UK Kehilla will be able to heave a sigh of relief as they have been relieved of the pressure of delivering RSE this September, there is a much greater positive implication. This breathing space allows more time for various organisations who are already active in this field of work, to continue to bring evidence to the DfE on certain contentious issues that are shared by many people in the UK. Furthermore, there has been a groundswell of support for traditional family values and the dangers of interfering with these in every sense, emerging from Westminster over the last 3 months. This started with a statement by the Minister for Equalities, Liz Truss MP, who made an important statement in April concerning a serious child safeguarding issue. This has been followed by a swathe of over a dozen local authorities removing various resources they were previously recommending in teaching RSE. Most recently, there has been an increase in support for traditional role models, emanating from the House of Lords. There has been a challenge to the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, to take a step back and review RSE. All this is to the Kehilla’s great advantage. Whilst the issues concerning our community are of course our primary concern, issues concerning the future of the education of the UK’s children is more compelling for Government departments. We should be able to benefit greatly from the next 10 months during which some serious discussions will be taking place about RSE. Health Education is also mandatory for state-funded schools; in independent schools, Health Education is taught as part of PSHE. The DfE is highlighting prioritising the support of both staff and pupil emotional and mental well-being, particularly as all school stakeholders return from a period of extended lockdown which has been stressful for all involved. It is highly recommended that all schools in the kehilla take advantage of the resources that will be available regarding mental wellbeing, as pupils return to school. There will now be ample opportunity for all schools to plan, prepare, liaise with experts and go through a full process of engagement with parents. Managing the delicate balance of maintaining our own ethos whilst remaining within the RSE guidance is now even more accessible than before.

There will now be ample opportunity for all schools to plan, prepare, liaise with experts and go through a full process of engagement with parents.

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Family are climb Mount Everest Things for GIFT! a bit… Jeremy & Talia Rowe were very passionate about doing something positive to help those struggling during the pandemic. They came up with an innovative initiative for their whole family to raise money for GIFT by ‘walking’ the height of Mount Everest, over 58,000 steps over 2 weeks. Talia tells us “We wanted to do something as a family to help others during this time. We often volunteer for GIFT and love doing so; we knew at this time that there would be an even greater need for GIFT’s services. Our kids are very active and we were looking for an opportunity to give them a sense of achievement. We bought step watches and off we went, each day recording our steps. Our children were very motivated and really excited to go walking in all weathers!” Michal told us “I loved counting my steps everyday.” Meira said “We put our watches on our legs so we didn’t miss any steps!” And Yael explained “everyone was so generous!” Family Rowe have so far raised £1336. To sponsor them please go to their page https:// gift.charitycheckout.co.uk/pf/familyrowe To contact GIFT to register your lockdown challenge, email info@jgift.org or phone 0208 457 4429

Sarah’s 100 mile walk for JAMI

JAMH’s new helpline In response to the Covid-19 crisis, Jewish Action for Mental Health (JAMH) has launched a new helpline. The helpline number is 07510 204 844. If not answered, people can leave a message which will be responded to as soon as possible. JAMH Chair, Psychologist, Dr Sandi Mann said, “During this unprecedented time, it is normal to feel anxious and we have already had a significant number of callers getting in touch since the launch of the helpline.” It has been observed that many people’s mental health has deteriorated due to being isolated during lockdown, or further shielded for even longer periods. Parents having to home-school their children, whilst working has also been a cause of stress and there has been an increase in the number of people who have had to turn to food banks, increasing anxiety. Kate Lurie, JAMH Project Coordinator added, “JAMH also works with other organisations and can help to find the support that people need if we cannot directly help ourselves. We have a list of partner organisations that we work with and in some cases, we can even provide counselling services free of charge.”

The Rowe family

Sarah (Sybil) Schiller

BY YOCHEVED CURZON Sarah (Sybil) Schiller truly deserves a mention this week. Formerly an adult teacher of IT, Sarah was instrumental in setting up a charity 25 years ago, called Back to Life. The raison d’etre of the charity was to raise awareness and funds for Jami, the mental health charity. At the time she was living in Southend and had an older brother who utilised their

services. Since the passing of her brother, now 16 years ago, she has undertaken an annual sponsored walk along Southend pier and environs, walking 10 miles each time and raising in total around £50,000. This year Sarah is celebrating her 80th birthday and has committed to completing a 100 mile walk for Jami. Due to covid lockdown she walks locally in Edgware, but you may see her pounding the tarmac in Stonegrove Park. Born and raised in Stamford Hill, London, Sarah moved to Southend when first married, and after the passing of her husband, was then introduced to Ralph, who is today a well known Baal Koreh, based at Kehillas Netzach Yisrael in Edgware, where they have been members for the past 12 years. Sarah is also a dedicated supporter of Sage Nursing Home, where for 9 years she has provided music therapy to residents with a fun outreach experience each week. Sarah says, ‘I moved to Edgware because I wanted to get closer to my religion, and to serve Hashem better.’ This she has done without a shadow of doubt. We wish her much hatzlocha. To support Sarah please go to her fundraising page on https://uk.virginmoneygiving. com/100milesforjami

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11 JUNE 2020

A real-time choir during lockdown A synagogue choir in London has achieved what is believed to be a world first by releasing a live choral recording made during lockdown via the internet. The choir of Mill Hill United Synagogue - directed by Eliot Alderman - released last Friday a recording of shul favourite Eitz Chayim Hi by Nissan Blumenthal in which the members of the choir were singing with each other and being conducted by Alderman in real time, despite all participants being isolated from each other in their own homes. The Coronavirus lockdown has hit choirs hard, as it has meant they are essentially unable to continue any of their regular activities. ‘It’s affected all choirs around the world, both Jewish and non-Jewish; since they can’t meet up physically due to the risk of spreading the virus, they simply cannot make music together.’ said Alderman. ‘As a conductor it can be very frustrating because when people watch your arms moving about on screen, they are not actually seeing you in real-time, but instead with a second or so of time-lag, and likewise you as conductor are not hearing them sing back at you in time with the movements you are making, meaning it’s utterly impossible to keep everyone singing together and in time with each other.’ Of course, many choirs - as well as orchestras - have tried to get around this by making recordings in which each participant records their own musical line in isolation, and then the various recording are edited together after the fact to make a complete performance. But using ground-breaking technology, Alderman and the Mill Hill shul choir have come up with a way to connect with each other via the internet in real-time, and so are able to rehearse as a choir in the normal way and even produce live recordings of their singing. Alderman explains: ‘The software we use is very sophisticated, and reduces the ‘latency’ or ‘time-lag’ to no longer than the time it would take sound to travel from one end of a room to the other in a real concert-hall setting, so it’s effectively as good as us all being in the same room as each other.’ ‘It’s really wonderful - it means we can rehearse and perform music in essentially the same way we would in “real life”’ explained choir bass singer Gershon Cohen. By recording the output from their online sessions, the choir have been able to release their ‘live’ lockdown recording to great compliments from the Mill Hill Jewish community. The choir has plans to release further live recordings in the coming weeks, and is also exploring the possibility of live-streaming one of their online sessions, which would effectively allow them to sing live for the community as part of an online service or concert.

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Jewish Choice is virus-free and has opened its doors to relatives again One of the hardest challenges of recent weeks has been the curtailing of visits from the relatives of our residents, but now, with the whole site confirmed last week as virus-free - when all residents of Choice House, Choice Court and staff, even those working from home, were tested for Covid-19 and all proved negative - Jewish Choice is judiciously managing visits again. Through careful planning and in conjunction with Public Health England, Jewish Choice has once again moved with well-judged alacrity and opened its doors over a 3-day period to relatives, ahead of most other elderly care facilities. As Chief Executive Paula Peake confirms, “We are prudent most certainly, but nonetheless proactive in our planning,

to ensure that the elderly in the Jewish community, who are currently living in their own home, can once again benefit from our extraordinary care. We can now address the very isolating impact that the fear of contracting Coronavirus has had on the elderly in the community and are also delighted we can be open for their relatives once they are living here.” Relatives were invited at specific times and designated one of 7 socially distanced areas across the campus to relax and chat. There was laughter and tears, sharing of stories and memories and plenty of Kleenex available! Jewish Choice is well supplied with PPE and relatives are fully prepared and wearing PPE in Choice House, meeting again with their loved ones.

JLC and Work Avenue support 150 families with £250,000 grants After nearly eleven weeks of living under lockdown, we have started to take our first tentative steps towards the new normal. The challenge for the country will be to stabilise and start to rebuild the economy, and for many of us, it will be to try to make sure we can balance the books personally and keep ourselves afloat. Many of us have been fortunate to have Government support behind us easing slightly our immediate cashflow concerns. The furlough scheme has been a relief for so many, allowing staff to be retained and paid 80% of their salary, with many employers managing to top up the remaining 20%, eliminating financial worries in the short term. In the early days there was a mad dash to try and get onto the HMRC website to register employees for furlough. Thankfully now, the pressure has eased and applying for furlough is a relatively straightforward process. Speaking to one agency we work with they said, “Whilst we did not have to furlough our agency staff, we were glad that we could and we hope that this support will mean they can manage over the next few weeks until we can call on them to work again.” Some, however, have not been so fortunate, for example those on zero hours contracts and who have found themselves with no income literally overnight. Unsurprisingly many employers found their cashflow seriously affected and sadly their employees suffered, some waiting up to two months for outstanding salaries to be paid. Worse still, some employers thought making redundancies would be an easier process than furloughing and those employees now find themselves with salaries outstanding and no job to return to.

This is where the Emergency Community Fund established by the JLC and administered by Work Avenue stepped in. The fund was set up specifically to support those whose earnings had been affected by COVID-19 and who faced a delay or were ineligible for Government support. To date, the fund has supported 150 families with over £250,000 being allocated to families right across the community and up and down the UK. It has supported individuals, families large and small and those suffering from more complex and additional issues. An email from a grateful fund recipient said ““I truly have tears in my eyes with the wonderful generosity funding you have given me.” And another “You have no idea what a difference you’ve made to the quality of life for my family.” The fund has also supported entrepreneurs, both the self employed and those running limited companies. One company director commented: “The grant you have given me has given me hope for my business for the future. You have ensured I can survive personally over the next few weeks, whilst your business advice meant that I have been able to receive a bounce back loan and begin to prepare my business to reopen soon. I couldn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel before I contacted you, now I am hopeful for the future.” The Emergency Community Fund closes on 30th June and finial initial applications need to be received by 14th June. For further information about the fund please visit https://theworkavenue.org.uk/covid19/ or call Work Avenue on 02083713280.

Meeting loved ones while wearing PPE at Jewish Choice home

As the shutters came down at Haber’s World Store, Kings Road, Prestwich, some of the staff were busy sorting out breads, challot and salads to be placed into “Help Yourself Trollies’’, where the local Kehillah could help themselves to the kind donations from the store, and bags were handed over to those neighbours who are in self isolation.

Placing bread into the ’’Help yourself Trolley’’ at Haber’s World

PHOTO: LAWRENCE PURCELL

Celebrating Shavuot at Jewish Care The whole community got involved with making Shavuot special for residents and members of community centres across Jewish Care. Residents at Jewish Care homes enjoyed fruit and cheesecake to celebrate Shavuot. The Flower Bank Hub have restarted upcycling supermarket flowers that would have gone to waste by delivering them to The Betty and Asher Loftus Centre. Whilst hundreds of Meals on Wheels continue to be delivered by Jewish Care volunteers each week, recipients received and members of community centres also received surprise cakes to enrich their Shavuot festival. Jewish Care also teamed up with Gift to run a Shavuot card making session for young people on the Jewish Care Bnei Mitzvah programme as well as students from Hasmonean High School for Girls. After

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Residents at Jewish Care’s Lady Sarah Cohen House celebrate Shavuot

a fun and creative session, the cards were sent to Jewish Care homes as a thank you to Jewish Care staff, volunteers and Chag Sameach to Jewish Care residents.

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Time to care for our unpaid carers 8 – 14 June is Carers Week and 4.5 million additional people are caring for older, disabled or seriously ill relatives or friends since the Covid-19 pandemic. This is on top of the 9.1 million unpaid carers who were already caring before the outbreak, bringing the total to 13.6 million. Carers are seven times more likely to be lonely compared with the general public, according to a survey commissioned for Carers Week (8-14 June) by charities. This year, for Carer’s Week, Jewish Care, AJR (Association of Jewish Refugees) and JAMI have made a film for our carers, who are caring for the most vulnerable and often feel invisible. Together, we are putting carers in the spotlight so they can feel our support and know that they are always visible to us, and what they do as carers is hugely appreciated. We hope they will take a little bit of time out to nurture their own sense of well-being and will feel better, less alone and isolated. You can watch the film on YouTube youtu.be/ hpmjQo4ZBwY The three organisations each have their own specialist knowledge and understand how best to support carers with different needs, such as those caring for people living with dementia or physical health needs, supporting people around their

Carers workers, from all three organisations, work together behind the scenes throughout the year, to ensure carers in the Jewish community receive the best possible support. Lesley Wines is a qualified social worker and Team Manager of Jewish Care’s Family Carers Team. She has been involved in supporting carers since 1996. She is really passionate about the importance of recognising carers in the community. She says, “So often people don’t even realise they are carers, they see themselves as simply looking after a relative or friend. We understand that caring is so much more, although it wasn’t until 1995 that the government officially recognised the role of unpaid carers. “Our Family Carers Team check in to see if carers need practical advice or emotional support. Often, having the opportunity to share feelings with someone who is there especially for them, rather than the person they care for, can be vital to the

carer’s own well-being. “I consider myself really fortunate to work with an amazing team of skilled and dedicated colleagues who are committed to supporting carers within the community, helping to empower and support them and assisting them in accessing their entitlements. “I have learnt so much over the 20 years I have worked at Jewish Care from the carers we support. I work with such strong and amazing carers who are an inspiration. It is so important that carers get support for themselves. They need to have someone who can listen to them without judgement and who can give them the emotional support and practical advice they need. If you or anyone you know needs support please do not hesitate to contact our team.” For support, information, advice – or just someone to talk to, please contact the team by calling 020 8922 2222 or email helpline@jcare.org

Carers are seven times more likely to be lonely compared with the general public, according to a survey…

Lesley Wines, Team Manager of Jewish Care’s Family Carers Team

mental health or where the carer is, or is supporting someone who was affected by Nazi oppression, including the second and third generation survivors.

Muffin stops Project ImpACT! On Sunday, Project ImpACT volunteers (a dynamic youth volunteering programme that facilitates volunteering opportunities for young people), baked and delivered almost 500 muffins to care home staff at numerous residential homes across London, including Jewish Care’s Betty & Asher Loftus and Maurice & Vivienne Wohl Campuses, Spring Grove and Spring Lane. The buzzing zoom event was brilliantly led by chef Fabienne Viner-Luzzato and her daughters. Adam Overlander-Kaye from Jewish Care addressed the teenagers and explained how Jewish Care staff are managing during these challenging times. The ImpACT volunteers were delighted to show their appreciation to staff members for their hard work and caring for the vulnerable and elderly members of our community. A quote from one of the recipients, says it all: “Thanks so much - the muffins were AMAZING and varied and all so carefully made and presented. How can we thank these young people for their efforts? The staff were very excited to see such a spread. It was a huge thanks to them for doing such a difficult job. Many have been very scared about coming to work on the frontline of the virus, in particular, our Filipino members of staff whose risk factor is high and who support family members overseas. It’s been a very intense time”. The event coincided with National Volunteers Week and ended with a Project

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ImpACT awards ceremony. Chayli, the Founder and Director of Project ImpACT, spoke to the volunteers to thank them for all their incredible hard work over the year supporting 18 incredible charities with over 1,200 volunteering hours. Nicky Goldman from JVN handed out awards for outstanding volunteers and volunteers of the year, which included Emily Sinclair, ImpACT Ambassador of the Year, amongst others. A special film presentation was shown with messages of thanks from partnered charities thanking the volunteers for their contribution and encouraging them to continue their wonderful volunteering in the community.

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Following the end of the Thursday evening ‘clap’ for the NHS, Kenton Synagogue members decided that it is vital to continue to support all the NHS key workers. Like other shuls, Kenton is closed and members cannot pray or socialise together. It was decided that in lieu of a sponsored kiddush every Shabbat , we would now sponsor a Key Workers’ ‘Kiddush’ (KWK) - a Thursday evening supply of food for one of six organizations locally who work in or are helping the NHS. This initiative was launched on Thursday June 4th when Rabbi Yehuda Black and Kenton’s Chairman Rachelle Goldberg delivered Pizza and salads for key worker’s at St Luke’s Hospice in Kenton. Here is a picture of them in action. Dedicated workers at St Luke’s continue to care for patients and loved ones in these challenging times and are alleviating stress on the NHS.

Sam Cohen

Sam, 12, sings for Jewish Care home residents Sam Cohen, 12, is passionate about singing and musical theatre. Sam, is coming up to his Bar Mitzvah and recently volunteered to entertain residents at Jewish Care’s Lady Sarah Cohen House with a virtual concert. He sang a selection of songs including Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline and an encore of Perfect by Ed Sheeran.

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The JLC in partnership with Work Avenue, established a fund to support those across the community whose earnings have been directly affected by COVID-19. The fund specifically assists those who are ineligible for Government support or who face delays accessing Government funds to assist with living expenses.

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Pioneer of Women’s Education to Leave LSJS Post after Two Decades Dr Tamra Wright, Director of Academic Studies and Educator Development at the London School of Jewish Studies, will be leaving her post at the end of July, after working at LSJS for 23 years. Wright, a specialist in 20th century Jewish philosophy whose achievements include spearheading the School’s online delivery of degree programmes and leading the Susi Bradfield Educational Leadership Programme for over 20 years, will be taking up a new role as Curriculum Development Advisor at Faith in Leadership, St Benet’s Hall, University of Oxford. Krish Raval OBE, Director of Faith in Leadership, said, “We are thrilled and honoured to engage Dr Wright’s vast creativity, intellectual rigour and considerable experience in curriculum design to strengthen our offerings as we move towards an online educational platform. This will be in addition to her ongoing and invaluable contribution as a long-standing member of Faculty for the Senior Faith in Leadership Programme.” Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, who is a patron of Faith in Leadership as well as Honorary President of LSJS, said, “For over twenty years, it has been a privilege and pleasure to work with Dr Tamra Wright.

During this time she played a key part in the growth of adult education in Anglo Jewry. In her decades of service to the London School of Jewish Studies, she has made enormous impact in many areas, especially in promoting the development of women’s leadership and academic learning in the community at a graduate level. I wish her many more years of continued success, and am delighted that her new role at Faith in Leadership will see her utilise her many talents for the benefit of so many of the UK’s faith communities.” Dr Michael Harris, Rabbi of The Hampstead Synagogue and a Research Fellow at LSJS, said, “The Bradfield Programme has had an extraordinary impact on Anglo-Jewry and has helped to normalize the idea of female educators who teach Torah at a high level in Orthodox synagogues and communities. Over the past five years, our Shul has been blessed with five outstanding female Scholars-in-Residence who have all been graduates of the Bradfield Programme. The wider Jewish community has been extremely fortunate to have a scholar of Dr Wright’s calibre, a former Stanton Lecturer at Cambridge, devote her time and creative energy to community education in this way while

Dr Tamra Wright

simultaneously continuing to produce world-class academic output”. Michael Bradfield, on behalf of the Bradfield family, said “Tamra Wright created and oversaw 20 years of the Susi Bradfield Educational Leadership Program and inspired well over 200 graduates to teach, lecture and deliver shiurim to

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both men and women. Tamra has created the most extraordinary bond between each year’s cohort, encouraging them to move way beyond their comfort zone. Her contribution to Modern Orthodox teaching over the last 23 years has been outstanding as she has made teaching by women mainstream. The Bradfield family wish to thank Tamra for her scholarship, her creativity and her dedication to LSJS, Modern Orthodoxy and the Bradfield program and wish her every success in her new role. Dani Jaff-Klein, a trustee of LSJS and graduate of the Bradfield Programme, said: “We are grateful to Tamra for her decades of service to LSJS and the wider community, and wish her every success. I am fortunate to have benefited directly from Tamra’s expert leadership while participating in the Bradfield Programme several years ago. There is no doubt that the immense network and high standard of women’s scholarship and engagement in the UK community has been as a direct result of Tamra’s excellent guidance and facilitation of this unique programme.” Dr Wright will continue her connection to LSJS as a Senior Research Fellow.

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COMMUNITY 19

Ben & Jake smashed 100km for Chai

Rabbi Akiva and Rebbetzen Batya Rosenblatt

PHOTO: NATALIE LEWIS.JPG

Hadley Wood appoints rising stars as new rabbinic couple Hadley Wood Jewish Community is thrilled to announce the appointment their new Rabbinic Couple, Rabbi Akiva and Rebbetzen Batya Rosenblatt. The Rosenblatts have been the Assistant Rabbinic Couple at Woodside Park United Synagogue since 2018. The couple are expected to take up their new post in August following a comprehensive community vote in their favour yesterday. They are only the second full time rabbinic appointment in the United Synagogue community’s history and the first since the opening of its new shul and community centre in 2018. Rabbi Rosenblatt was born in Liverpool and grew up in North West London. He studied for many years in the world’s leading Yeshivot: Sunderland, Heichal Hatorah Betzion (R Tzvi’s) and The Jerusalem Kollel, receiving his first rabbinic ordination aged 23. He is a trained chazzan and particularly enjoys singing at Jewish wedding ceremonies. He supports Liverpool Football Club. Rebbetzen Rosenblatt originates from Manchester. She studied at the Jewish Teachers Training College in Gateshead for three years and subsequently taught Jewish studies at Broughton Jewish Primary School. After marrying Rabbi Akiva and moving to Israel, she studied at the Shelem College of Complementary Medicine in Jerusalem and qualified as a massage therapist and reflexologist and set up her own successful massage salon in Jerusalem. Earlier this year the Rosenblatts graduated from the Rabbinic Training Academy, an 18-month leadership programme which develops the skills of newly-qualified rabbinic couples. They were both recently appointed to the Chaplaincy team of the Nightingale Hospital. The Rosenblatts take over from Rabbi Yoni and Rebbetzen Elisheva Birnbaum

who are moving to Hendon to take up a new rabbinic position. Rabbi Akiva Rosenblatt said: “We are so excited to join this vibrant, dynamic and innovative community. Building on the Birnbaums’ incredible spirit of warmth and inclusivity, we look forward to enriching the lives of all our members with the wisdom, love and spirituality of our heritage - regardless of age and level of observance. “We will miss the Woodside Park community tremendously and feel deep gratitude for the wonderful experiences and the constant support. The relationships built and profound friendships forged will remain with us forever. Batya and I thank in particular Rabbi and Rebbetzen Hackenbroch for their care and guidance together with Steven Woolf and Gidon Ohana, the community’s Chair and Vice Chair, for their support and friendship.” John Melchior, Chair of the Board of Management of Hadley Wood Jewish Community, said: “We are delighted to welcome Rabbi and Rebbetzen Rosenblatt to Hadley Wood Jewish Community. Based on the fantastic work that Rabbi and Rebbetzen Birnbaum have done over the last ten years, we were confident that we could attract the very best talent to our community, and we were not disappointed. “Through a very unusual lockdown interview process, the Rosenblatts shone through, and we were convinced that they possess all the qualities that we were looking for to drive our wonderful community to further strength and engagement. Our choice has now been supported overwhelmingly by both our Board and our membership, and we can’t wait to welcome the Rosenblatts to join us for the next chapter of the Hadley Wood Jewish Community story.”

In the week between 24th-31st May, brothers Ben and Jake Musikant collectively ran an impressive 100km to celebrate their grandfather’s recent recovery of pancreatic cancer in aid of Chai. Feeling inspired by the bravery of their grandfather who had time-critical surgery and was on intensive care for over two weeks, and the brothers initially had a goal to complete the challenge and to raise over £1,177 for their chosen charity, Chai. The Musikant boys came up with a brilliant plan of action. Ben aged 11, decided to run an outstanding 77 km, marking his grandfather’s age - calculating this as an 11km daily run for 7 days whilst his younger brother Jake, aged 10, split his runs throughout the week to make up the additional 23km. Having never run even 1 km before, it was an unbelievable achievement for Jake. Brutal 5am wakes up, perseverance and a strong support network of family and friends resulted in an epic success with the brothers running the distance from London to Portsmouth and smashing their target, raising an outstanding £9,000. The money raised will go towards Chai’s

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Ben and Jake Musikant

‘Children, Teenage and Family Service’ which provides much needed support for children and their parents who have been impacted by a cancer diagnosis within their family. Often knows as the ‘Troublesome Two’ the boys remained in positive spirits throughout and reflected on their success at the finish line, “Both Jake and I feel it has flown by, not only because we were having fun but because we knew we were benefitting Chai Cancer Care who continue to work so hard to support the lives and happiness of our friends, family and all those who contact them in need.”

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From the front line… BY JACQUELINE CURZON I hypothesised some months back that the emergence of covid-19 from Wuhan had likely manifest many months before they declared it. I had confirmation about events from someone who witnessed some dubious activity last autumn, that things were likely awry in Wuhan. This week's Telegraph reports would seem to corroborate this probability, with the news that Harvard Medical School researchers conducted a study on traffic convergence around the hospitals in Wuhan region. It showed a significant spike in hospital traffic as far back as October 2019. Their research was obtained using 350 satellite images, similar to those used by the CIA. They compared images over identical periods in 2018 and 2019, and the images were distinct, with no smog, tall buildings or clouds to block the view. As a ‘Homeland addict,' I’ve seen many satellite images, and they present well over distances of thousands of miles. In a parallel data exercise, the team looked at internet searches on Baidu (Chinese equivalent of Google) in Wuhan region, and saw significant numbers of searches tying in with Covid-19’s major symptoms. Dr John Brownstein of Harvard, told the BBC, ”clearly there was some social disruption taking place well before what was previously identified as the start of the coronavirus pandemic.” There could always be other reasons for these search increases, but Wuhan will never admit what the real story is. It's academic anyway. Across the pond, we have been following the outpouring of anger over the manslaughter of George Floyd. Whilst we understand the very emotive feeling following the barbaric death of an innocent man, mistreated by Minneapolis police, we must be appalled at the satellite rioting which has gathered apace across the world. i was equally horrified by the vandalism of the Colston statue in Bristol, which was subsequently thrown into the harbour. However, for the police to allow protests by hooligans, under the banner of ’black lives matter,’ is abhorrent. I completely understand democratic protest and free speech, but we could surely have agreed to have the statue taken down and melted. For the police to stand by and allow this vandalism was nothing short of disgraceful. Similarly this week we saw the daubing of the Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square. I hear arguments that Churchill 'was a racist' (news to me), and postulate everyone is jumping on a political bandwagon, but it remains a fact that the world has definitely moved on since some of these historical figures were around. Churchill was an iconic leader of a nation. Does that mean that we have to throw everything out - baby, bathwater and all, under the guise of allowing free speech?

Jacqueline Curzon PHOTO: LARA MINSKY PHOTOGRAPHY

Rioting and looting will never achieve anything positive. We stand back and allow this at our peril. Mass gatherings, such as we are witnessing, not only fuel division and hatred, but also put lives at risk, given the demographics of crowds, which inevitably require a police presence, putting officers at risk of physical assault from protesters. Rioting and looting will never achieve anything positive. We stand back and allow this at our peril. People have asked me over the past week why we 'are revisiting Madeleine McCann,' and why after 13 years the parents have not conceded 'that their daughter is likely no longer alive.' In a nutshell, it’s about closure. It’s about knowing. Within the characters of the word closure we find both ’lose’ and ‘cruel,’ which perhaps reminds us that something without price is lost, but kept in your heart forever. I will never get over the death of my beloved father, because of cruel and harsh decisions made without my agreement, and also because of the appalling manner of his death. With little Madeleine, a much loved child, we are now hearing that there could be connected deaths and disappearances, potentially at the hands of one individual. Closure - in sudden or violent circumstances - is never straightforward. On a happier note, an article in this week’s paper mentions Sarah Schiller (see page 12), who is soon completing her 100 miles walk for Jami. Because of covid, she is unable to walk in her usual spot at Southend, instead staying this year in the safe haven of Edgware. She will soon be turning 80. Very big cheer for you, Sarah - you are a champion!! Since lockdown we’ve experienced many difficulties in accessing various hygiene products, such as hand sanitiser, soap and gel. When we have able to access them,

we’ve seen massive price hikes. Well, the latest product to add to this ‘supply and demand lark’ is face-masks. Following the Government’s policy turnaround (Now you need them, now you don’t), they require us to don masks for travelling on transport and in hospital settings. Take as an example a pharmacy, previously selling face-masks at £1 each, or even £5.99 for a luxury model. I predict they will now push them up to £7, even higher for the spiffing N95 version, because they know that we will not be allowed to travel on public transport without them. Emergency legislation is being considered to tackle likely profiteering, as demand will mushroom. Of course, you can always make your own, sound-of-music style: cut up some chintzy curtains if you like. But I couldn’t make one, I was never in the Girl Guides, and I’ve got enough going on, without honing my dressmaking skills. Further problems are poised to strike. As a community which does a lot of cooking, I imagine we all use a lot of disposable latex gloves. These are a mainstay in our homes, used for a myriad of tasks and normally we pay perhaps £4 pounds a box of 100, but now my household has run out, I notice local shops are pricing them at £10 a box, which is unfair, and essentially comes down to everyone trying to make a quick buck. Given that the Republic of China doubtless manufacture billions of these products, and they are now more or less going back to ’business as usual,’ [perhaps they never stopped], why is everyone trying to get a bite of the market. Those who are hoping to get a bite at a dental appointment sometime soon may be in for a real disappointment, for waiting lists are going up at a rate of 40,000 patients a day, with warnings of absolute chaos when surgeries finally reopen. I understand that UCLH is preparing to open paediatric services, albeit at such a reduced rate, that it can barely classed as provision. [4 patients per day], but for others, I have no idea. The BDA is anticipating a backlog likely to exceed 1 million within a few months. Frustratingly, many dentists are finding that the cost of obtaining PPE has increased sixtyfold. Now, what was I just saying about profiteering? With strict infection-control rules, the priority for appointments is going to be those with serious dental issues, or the deepest pockets, so in the interim perhaps forget about the check-up and give up the sugar. From dentists to schools, it is worrying - but not at all surprising - to be told that exams for 2021 could face massive disruption, with the Education Department now adding that secondary schools may not fully open, even in September. The only certainty is that the subsequent 12 months will be highly disruptive. As a parent with a child hopefully sitting GCSEs in 2021, and in the same

academic year our twins (Harmony and Melody) starting year six, it is 100% going to be a massive learning curve. I did comment last week that children’s mental health was already suffering through the Covid crisis, and this week that’s been underpinned by various agencies, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists. They have asked the Government to convene a resilience task force to examine addictive behaviour, which has been fuelled by an increase in alcohol and Internet dependence, and connected problems in relationships, work and finances. We understand - as a community - that addiction feeds on isolation, and of course there’s been no greater isolation than what we've experienced during lockdown. Lastly a few thoughts on quarantine proposals, which appear not to be quite as effective as they had hoped. We already had indicators that it would be difficult to implement, and despite more than 500 travel and hospitality firms, plus airlines, petitioning to stop the 14 days of quarantine (self isolation), the witching hour has struck and it has passed into legislation. Home Office documents indicated there was no method for officials to ensure details given by travellers would be genuine. You were likely to be fined only if entries were 'manifestly false,' such as claiming your name is Mrs Doubtfire, Elisabeth Mountbatten Windsor, or you say you reside at Kensington Palace. Now the legislation is in place, there are spartan checks at ferry terminals or airports such as Heathrow, although travellers still have to endure temperature checks, paperwork screening and a possible interview. If you are staying with family, advice is to avoid contact and minimise any time spent in shared areas. That's easy peasy if, like us, you are a family of 8 and have young children. Anyhow, once you have completed your online Contact Locator form and have provided details of how you can be contacted, you’re free to go. I think here of a close friend who travelled last week to Israel to visit his sick mother. Of course, he’s had to spend 14 days in quarantine on arrival. Once he’s finally escaped from his Alcatraz, and paid her a visit for a few days, he will then return to the UK and spend a further 14 days in domestic quarantine. So, how long IS a covid queue? Several hours, or weeks, p'raps a month, m’lady.. Should you choose to breach the quarantine rules here, you could face a £1,000 fixed penalty. If you are heading for Scotland, the fine for breaches is £480. Nice to see that we are again ‘united’ in our misery. I voiced irritation at inequality of policies across the union last week, with concerns over the little fiefdom called Scotland. So, with this week's news about quickie divorces, I’m delighted we might finally make some headway. Marriages are not always made in heaven. If anyone happens to have Nicola‘s number, let’s please give her a call, and see if we can get the ball rolling! Och Aye Jacqueline x

To support Jacqueline in her battle with pancreatic cancer, please go to: www.gofundme.com/f/jacqueline039s-front-line-cancer-battle-fund THEJEWISHWEEKLY.COM

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FEATURE 21

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Building self esteem

BY ARYEH SAMPSON Low self esteem is very prevalent in our society today. It is associated with a greater propensity for depression, anxiety and anger. Feeling bad about oneself is very painful and the psyche acts to protect a person from experiencing these feelings. In psychotherapy, the strategies that protect a person from this pain are known as ‘defence mechanisms’. There are many forms of defence mechanism. For example, perfectionists strive to feel good

about themselves by avoiding failure, people pleasers and high achievers strive to gain recognition from others, and loners isolate themselves from others to avoid the pain of rejection. Defence mechanisms may have short term benefits, but they never take away the underlying problem. The following approaches can help to increase self- esteem, each step being effective alone or in combination with others.

1) INCREASE YOUR SELF- AWARENESS

An important first step is to have greater awareness of our self critical thoughts and gain insight into their source. These critical and tortuous statements are often unconscious and habitual. Uncovering their origins, which are frequently from the childhood or teenage years, renders them more understandable. For example, a person who feels useless may trace these feelings back to a traumatic experience, time of failure, or critical remark. When we

begin to understand that these critical voices are not a voice of truth from our essence, but something learned from an external source, we can begin to take them less seriously and to stop identifying ourselves with them.

acceptance are considered to be essential to facilitate this process. It is also important to express any other painful feelings which may be associated with low self esteem, such as anger, disappointment, sadness and guilt.

2) CHALLENGE YOUR INNER CRITICAL VOICE.

4) EXPRESS YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF.

Challenging this voice helps us to see that a lot of the statements it makes are based on irrational thinking and are not true. For example, a person who is a perfectionist can ask himself, ‘Is it really true that if I don’t excel in this exam I don’t have value?’ A people pleaser can ask, ‘Is it really true that if someone doesn’t like me I’m not good?’ In this way we develop a more realistic attitude and become less controlled by our critical thoughts.

3) EXPRESS YOUR FEELINGS.

When a person feels a sense of shame or inadequacy, there is a tendency to want to hide this from others. Sharing these painful feelings, which are often guarded as secrets with a supportive person helps to normalize them. Great emphasis is placed in psychotherapy on creating a trusting relationship which will help a person to share his feelings fully. Empathy as well as non judgmental and unconditional

In Positive Psychology, great emphasis is placed on understanding one’s natural strengths and utilizing them in a positive way. Martin Seligman, the pioneer of Positive Psychology, wrote: “We feel elevated and inspired when the exercise of will culminates in virtuous action.” By expressing our own individual strengths, we raise our self-esteem. On a practical level, a person can ask the question, “What can I do that would help me feel better about myself?” Aryeh Sampson is a psychotherapist based in North London and counsels online . He is the author of ‘Go to Yourself, Transformation through Jewish Wisdom and Psychology’. To receive a free download copy, email aryeh.sampson@gmail.com . He has a YouTube channel,’ Aryeh Sampson’ where he shares insights on a range of psychological issues. Aryeh can be contacted at aryeh.sampson@gmail.com. For more information about counselling view www. ascounsellinginnorthlondon.co.uk

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FEATURE 23

The Picture Palaces 24 FEATURE

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These are frustrating times. When he is not travelling our holiday expert Malcolm Ginsberg likes to be active and can sometimes be found joining Rachel Kolsky, she of ‘Jewish London’, a guide book now in its third edition and fifth reprint, on one of her walking tours. But even that is now “off”. Or is it? BY MALCOM GINSBERG Lockdown has produced a new style of traveller, or non-traveller, sitting comfortably at home with perhaps a cup of tea, or something stronger ready to grab when the need arises. The virtual tourist. And Ms Kolsky has become the virtual guide. Connect at the booked time to Rachel on your TV, computer, tablet or phone and she will log you in for your live tour. You will be joining up to one hundred others. Malcolm viewed on behalf of Jewish Weekly and this is what he had to say.

The Classic, Hendon

Imperial Manchester

“If you are of a certain vintage do you remember the Ionic at Golders Green, the Ritz Neasden and the Temple Fortune Odeon, once a very comfortable overflow for the High Holidays? Ladies sat in the balcony. Those were the picture palaces of yesteryear. At the appropriate time I Zoomed and found myself in ‘The Waiting Room’ soon joining the others for ‘The Tour’. There is no travelling involved and it does not matter if it is raining or if you are tired or even if you want to make a beverage. You can see and hear her very clearly, and no, sometimes annoying, third parties with questions. Getting from Holborn to Brick Lane takes less than one second. The tour lasts just over an hour. My choice of talk was ‘Picture Palaces’, perhaps better described as the history of the cinema. Rachel, however, has a whole list of virtual tours including

The Everyman

PHOTO: EVENING NEWS

Disraeli (excellent), Jewish London and Hampstead. William Friese-Greene in the UK is usually credited with the first screening of a moving film as we know it in 1888, but sadly he was to die a pauper in 1924. The Lumière Brothers’ screening on 22 March 1895 for circa 200 members of the ‘Society for the Development of the National Industry’ in Paris was probably the first presentation of films on a screen for a large audience. London was quick to follow and in 1896 the Polytechnic in Upper Regent Street hosted the Lumière’s Cinématographe in its main hall. Today it is part of the University of Westminster. In the 1920s it became a proper cinema, the Art Deco venue rebuilt in 2015. Once film had demonstrated its lasting appeal, businessmen began taking over shops, halls and railway arches, painting over the windows and otherwise rather crudely converting them into full-time cinemas. In 1928, British cinema went through a huge transformation when the first sound film, ‘The Jazz Singer,’ featuring the voice of the film’s star Al Jolson, premiered in the Piccadilly Theatre, London. By the early 1930s nearly all feature-length films were presented with synchronised sound and in 1935 ‘Becky Sharp’ was released, based on Thackeray’s novel ‘Vanity Fair’ and generally regarded as the first Technicolor movie. Later, large impressive cinemas incorporated Wurlitzer organs but others were less grand becoming known affectionately as ‘fleapits’. These two technological breakthroughs, sound and colour, secured the dominant role of the American industry and gave rise to the ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’. Rachel took us through the history of London’s cinemas with plenty of archive and contemporary images, often showing a building in its heyday with a huge auditorium, typically the Finsbury Park Astoria, remembered for its pop stars of the 1960s; the Troxy Commercial Road in Limehouse; and the lavish halls of Brixton and Streatham. Lesser lights too, and still around the Electric Cinema Portobello Road with just 83 plush seats, plus now long gone the news theatres at Victoria and Waterloo stations, where despite their departure boards, many a customer fell

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asleep and missed the train. Time did not allow a mention of my favourites, the Gaumont State Kilburn, the largest of them all, with its 4,000 capacity and a third class entrance around the side, and the Astoria Tottenham Court Road, home of Around the World in 80 days, filmed in glorious Todd-AO with David Niven in the lead. One brand she did not highlight was Apollo. It would have confused everyone. In London there are several that have been cinemas including Victoria, now seemingly the perpetual home of ‘Wicked’, and the once Hammersmith Gaumont, which back in 1966 hosted the win of Graham Hill at Indianapolis, a first for live transatlantic events. Wife Bette sat just behind us. Later I was to know them well. Son Damon was five at the time when they lived in Mill Hill. The Apollo is ‘Live’ these days on BBC TV. Throughout her talk Rachel referred back to the Phoenix Cinema, East Finchley, built in 1910, and still very much a going concern, and where ‘The Singing Fool’ Jolson’s first real talkie made its North London debut. With a remodelled front, once inside it is a lovely and comfortable venue and very close to the Tube station. With Covid-19 Rachel reminded her viewers when ‘going to the pictures’ was the national pastime people often attending their local cinema twice weekly. In Britain the highest attendances occurred in 1946, with 1.6bn. However TV was on its way, and, with the exception of the Coronation in 1953, every year saw a decline hitting rock bottom in 1984 with just 54m visits. In recent years it has averaged around 170m plus, due to some very good films, and a great improvement in what is on offer at the cinema in addition to the film itself – comfy seats, ample legroom and smoke-free auditoriums. You can dine in an Everyman and the flagship Odeon Leicester Square offers better seating than most theatres and Dolby sound via 400 speakers, but it is not cheap. By the outbreak of WWII there were 5,000 cinemas in the UK, mostly single screen, with names from my childhood: Essoldo, Odeon, Gaumont and Ritz. Every High Street had its ‘flix’, many with a balcony, and smoking allowed. The better class venues offered a ‘tea room’. Today there are 4,000 screens, on average three per venue, but with some multiplexes offering up to 12 projection facilities in extreme comfort with seats that vibrate in time to the film with press button controls to get the perfect position. Let’s hope they are soon all open. The names Bernstein (Granada), Deutsch (Odeon), Sheckman (Essoldo), all Jewish, were the cinema royalty of their time. Rachel Kolsky brought them to life. www.golondontours.com/golondontours/ home.html

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11 JUNE 2020

Looking for answers? Send your question to Rabbi@RabbiSchochet.com RACISM & JUDAISM

Dear Rabbi I was surprised that there was no mention in your column last week about the race riots going on in the United States and in fact in the UK and many other parts of the world. What is the Jewish perspective on everything going on right now? Does Judaism even have a position on racism as it is not referenced anywhere in the Torah. I look forward to hearing some words of wisdom. Pamela Dear Pamela The most fundamental teachings of Judaism clearly renounce racism altogether, such as “You shall love the stranger like yourself,” or the reminder in Bereshit that all of us - regardless of race, colour or belief system - were born of the same mother and father: Adam and Eve. “Why did G-d create swarms of bees, prides of lions, herds of deer, schools of fish, and flocks of birds, and only one human couple?” asks the Mishna. “So that no one can say to another ‘My ancestry is superior to yours’” (Sanhedrin 4:5). The single big question to consider is this: Is racism less of an issue today than it was all those years ago? The answer is, absolutely! 60 years ago whites and blacks couldn’t sit together on a bus. Restaurants and toilets were segregated. But that’s not the point is it? The fact is there should be zero racism in a 21st century modern world – full stop! It’s not about progress made! It’s about clearly not enough progress made! I do think it is necessary to

stipulate here the following: The fact that we saw mayhem in the media all week has less to do with racism and much more to do with opportunism. Many of the rioters were anarchists who couldn’t care less about social harmony and cohesion. Demonstrating and protesting is good. Rioting and looting is bad! Those people defeat the whole point and purpose and undermine the bigger message. Still, the hard fact is that a human life was very deliberately taken, snuffed out for the whole world to see! There is nothing that can excuse that in any way shape or form. It tells us that racism is every bit existent in a modern-day world that has no place for it! Credit has to be granted to governments which have prioritised legislation against race-hate crimes. It certainly makes people think twice before they choose to express any sort of racial sentiment. But what does legislation do apart from suppress something, rather than genuinely cure it? Racism isn’t some virus like polio that can be eradicated by social and legislative medicine. There is after all an ever-replenished sump of resentment that is always with us. You don’t have to go to statistics for this: Anyone who looks into their own hearts honestly enough knows it to be true. Prejudice is one of the principle constituents of the human personality. To be sure, there’s nothing wrong to have pride in your own nationality and heritage: Englishman, Germans, African Americans, and Jews. Every one of them has a heritage.

Tehillim Psalm 145 This week’s we finally arrive at the most famous of all psalms that we say three times every day. The Talmud states in Berachot that one who recites Ashrei 3 times a day goes straight to Olam Habah. This is because Man is required to give thanks and praise to his Creator daily to thank Him for the many miracles, He performs each day for us. We breathe, we have sunshine and rain, we have health, happiness sustenance and so on. When one thinks of the trillions and trillions of cells that combine effortlessly in the human body to keep a person alive, we truly must be thankful to Hashem above. In davening, before the start of Psalm 145 which begins with the words Tehilah L’David, we add the famous words of Ashrei, which is borrowed from earlier in Tehillim. The psalm

And there’s a certain virtue to being subjective about your own heritage. I’m especially proud of my own ancestry – of my people. The problem is when it spills over and it gets to a point of excess when it is no longer about being proud of your ancestry, but turns into a lack of respect for others. We, as Jewish people, know better than most, what it is like to endure prejudice. We can’t go banging on about Anti-Semitism, and expect others to rally to our cause if we are not prepared to do the same for the benefit of other persecuted minorities. And we therefore have a responsibility to be extra alert, sensitive and responsive to it! The prophet Malachi’s cry “We have one father: One G-d created all of us” says it all. This does not mean we have to align ourselves with any movements per se. The BLM movement is vehemently anti-Israel, which in itself means they’ve shifted from a social agenda to a political one. That should not be their objective and again blurs the lines and takes away from the bigger message. Society clearly has a lot of work to do to root out racist and anti-other attitudes in its culture because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. But it’s not enough to talk about racism. One must believe in dealing with it. And it isn’t enough to believe in dealing with it. One must work at it. As a Rabbi I will state simply this: It all comes down to one of the opening verses in the Torah: “And G-d created man in His image.” The two Hebrew words,

B’tselem Elokim, the image of G-d is a concept embedded in men and women equally. But the message is much greater than that. It is about the equality of all humankind. The Talmud makes clear that every human, as an image of G-d, is endowed with three intrinsic dignities: infinite value, equality and uniqueness. We all live with the objective

of striving to be in G-d’s image; our lives are all different and yet the same. If we all respected that reality, if you really believe that “you are G-d’s child” about yourself, then you would believe that about others as well, because you know that G-d has many children. May we indeed know of an era where peace and harmony reigns supreme for all mankind forever more, Amen.

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This Psalm is a refuah sheleima for Nosson Chaim ben Zohra

then follows an alphabetical order from Aromimcha. The main question is why there is no line beginning with the letter Nun. Essentially the letter Nun stands for the word nefilah which means to fall. King David didn’t want to make direct reference to falling down but he did allude to it in the next line of ‘Somech Hashem lchol hanoflim,’ which means ‘Hashem supports those who fall.’ We must make mention of the famous verse ‘Poteach et yadecha umasbia lchol chai ratzon – You open Your hands and provide every living thing with its deepest desires.’ There is so much deep meaning behind these eternal words. Many people spread their hands open wide when saying it and it is a good segulah for parnassah.

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Often people float their way through the prayers without properly concentrating on a word that they are saying. However, there are usually two things that jump out and demand proper concentration, this one and Borech Alenu in the Amidah. As a popular business saying goes; cash is King! Let us hope and pray that we can all find the time and commitment to properly give thanks to our Creator with proper concentration throughout all of prayer and bring about the coming of Mashiach, speedily in our days Amen.

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If you tell an 8 year old, “Soon I am sending you to boarding school” “M-M-M-Me? Live on m-m-m-my own? I could n-n-n-never do it.” The only problem was that he used up all of his Of course, 4 years later, there he would be, yoube,worried Of course, 4the years tomorrow later, there he would happily packing up to go and live away from home. happily packing up to go and live away from as the saying goes-and yo building materials in order to learn. Now that he Tell the same to your daughter at 17, “In a few years you will be married!” right? home. survived, was skilled, he had nothing to build FOR with.STUDENTS AND LONDON’S LEADING PLATFORM YOUNG PROFESSIONALS “Me? Married? I have plenty of time. 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decision? Is there a secretCHANA path that guarantees- JERUSALEM his house. The second one began on-the-job AHARON GABBAY - KOLLEL ZICHRON VERACHEL If a Candle Falls on the Table During This newsletter contains Divrei Torah and may contain Sheimot - Please dispose of accordingly success? Shabbat / RABBI ELI MANSOUR training, meaning he took his own materials controlled the entire c eating, getting dressed, our animals etc.his own In and itthat keeps him busy”. Because we have a dwelling to Hashem”. The words ‘to Hashem’ on the move, the Jewish people felt the entire time Imagine being given a computer programmed and started building, making mistakes along emphasise point. 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Sefer andHowever, much more harm than good, gives a wheel“You to to know passenger andussaid h of the world. Baalei Nefesh, explainscontains why it isDivrei that every This newsletter Torah corner and may contain Sheimot - Please dispose of accordingly 1 feel sense of control, but we must never forget that thatwe are with every we who take, we must son just doesn’t have own wh A parablesingle is told ofstep a hitchhiker manged we turn in our life from beginning to end, our wheel is merely a toy in the eyes ofhis a child. catchreal a lift with and his young The surrounded by Mitzvot: on the field, eating, getting If you take the Hebrew word wreaks man - ‫אדם‬, rearrange know whotothe onea man in control is.child. Hashem set mine and havoc. So dressed, our animals etc. In order to cater for our hitchhiker couldn’t help but notice that the child, the letters to ‫ מאד‬- many. Man is capable of many YOU DON’T NEED A TICKET TO TRAVEL free will, Hashem gave us the power ato ‘run form that: anand can own and itso keeps him busy” in the passenger seat every next to histime father, you had a do the ofsatreminder things accomplish much. Throughout smallfeel toy wheel of his own.you The child without fail life, we are on a constant journey: growing, creatworld’ - we plant, we build, we create.action However,and in control must remember free will, we feel a sense o During the years in the desert the Bnei Yisrael were THE PASSENGER SEAT Hashem wants us to know that with every single was continuously making every move while the ing and even destroying. Our contribution to this constantly on the move. In this weeks Parasha, the theThereal oneconvinced in control. Rav control, and so towethe try moving. child was that it step we take, we must know who the that real oneHashem in car was is past to u pasuk points out that every time the Jews traveled control is. 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A Religious Response to Protests for Social Equality BY RABBI MOSHE TARAGIN Over the past three months, the corona medical crisis has induced a worldwide upheaval. The social protests in the USA surrounding the death of George Floyd has launched a social upheaval, as we consider the importance of racial equality. The “basics” of our response have already been voiced and appear to enjoy universal consensus: The Jewish community, obviously, opposes discrimination of race, religion, or skin color and is horrified by the scenes of police brutality. Our unwavering support of racial equality doesn’t lessen our desire for an efficient but humane police force capable of providing both security and respect of human life. What are the religious values which should frame our response and our attitude? Here are a few points to consider…

1.RELIGIOUS MOTIVATION FOR SOCIAL EQUALITY

Undeniably, racial equality is essential to a moral and properly functioning society. Our struggle with the corona virus has highlighted the vital importance of national and social unity. For a religious person however, racial equality is primarily based upon the belief that every human being is created in the Divine image and is deserving of our utmost respect and support. Man, possessing intelligence, consciousness, emotions and free will is the pinnacle of G-d’s creation and our reverence for G-d must translate into respect for all His creations- and certainly for every Man. Recognizing this supreme value, Rebbi Akiva announced “Beloved is [all] Man” because he was created in the Divine image. If Man is beloved to G-d he must be beloved to us. Human suffering blemishes the Divine image and human suffering at the hand of a fellow human being is a Divine tragedy. In addition to respecting the Divine image in man, Jews aspire to fashion a society based upon the just and moral image that we sense in G-d Himself. Injustice and suffering are discrepant with G-d’s kindness and when they prevail our world veers further from G-d’s intent.

2. SOCIAL JUSTICE AS “PART” OF A LARGER RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

Despite the importance of social justice, it cannot occupy a disproportionate “portion” of our overall religious experience and displace more essential religious values. Often, over the past two centuries, Jews who veered from classic halachik tradition, replaced halachik observance with the crusade for social justice. We pursue social justice as “part” of an overall agenda to draw G-d into our world and reshape

humanity in His image. Interest in social justice must be interwoven into overall religious experience. Relatedly, despite our best efforts, our world will only attain comprehensive moral fitness through Divine redemption. Until that stage arrives, we should attempt to advance the world- as best we can- toward a greater state of morality and fairness. However, our interest in a moral world must bolster our interest in propelling this world toward a Messianic endpoint of absolute morality. Absent of this larger drive, our efforts at social reordering is limited, and to a degree also flawed.

3. THE MORAL MANDATE OF A JEW

As Jews who have suffered historical persecution, we possess a greater responsibility to rail against human suffering. The Torah commands us to embrace the convert as we were once strangers in Egypt. At the formative stages of our national identity we suffered discrimination and bondage, to sensitize us to human suffering. For centuries, Jews were socially and historically disempowered and could offer little actual assistance to victims of discrimination. In the modern era, however, having been socially enfranchised as active participants in society, our historical mandate demands reasonable efforts to insure the dignity and rights of every human being.

4. TREPIDATION OF A “UNIFORM”

Police brutality is even more odious for a nation which, for centuries, lived in mortal fear of soldiers and police officers who would routinely abuse helpless and hapless Jews. Many Pesach Hagadot append a picture of a non-Jewish soldier alongside the mention of the “evil son” or rasha in the list of the four sons. Jews lived in terror of thugs who used their office to persecute them. Abuse meted out by unformed security personnel meant to protect us, should resonate with great terror for a Jew.

5. THREE CAUTIONS

As committed as we are to social reform, we must be cautious of three potential errors. Firstly, we shouldn’t conflate the narrative of racial inequality with that of anti-Semitism. Sadly, hatred of Jews stems from larger metaphysical forces and from our unique historical agenda of over 3500 years. Pursuing social equality in the modern era should not blur the trans-historical nature of the Jewish mission and the consequence of anti-Semitism. Secondly, we must participate in this process even though we may not enjoy reciprocity or even gratitude from other minority groups. Traditionally, Jews spearheaded social equality movements,

Man, possessing intelligence, consciousness, emotions and free will is the pinnacle of G-d’s creation… incorrectly assuming that Jewish relations with other minority groups would prosper; sadly, this was rarely true. However, our motives are purely “lishmah” to relieve human suffering, whether or not this process gains support among other groups. Again, our motives are larger than mere contemporary social dynamics. Finally, we must maintain moral clarity about our own struggle in Israel. A recent agenda-driven newspaper in Israel likened the Jewish State to the brutal police in Minnesota. In Israel, we face many moral challenges in defending ourselves against our violent enemies. We don’t always get it completely “right”. However, our armed forces are amongst the most humane in the entire world, willing to absorb significant risks while attempting to save innocent lives while pursuing those who seek us harm. We are thousands of miles from Minnesota!

6. DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH

The recent protests are, in part, a response to forty-year period of phenomenal financial growth- which hasn’t been equitably distributed. We live in a gilded age and, as was the case 120 years ago, disproportionate wealth is controlled by a small minority of the population. The Torah itself is concerned with this combustible situation; every 50 years, yovel resets the financial equation by redistributing wealth among the entire population. Ancient economies evolved more slowly and a reshuffling once every fifty years was sufficient. In the modern era we have developed economies capable of rapidly generating astounding

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wealth. Though the Torah generally supports Capitalism, it also favors an equitable distribution of wealth; modern man has yet to develop economic models capable of these dual goals.

7. BALANCING DETERRENCE OF CRIME AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

This is, perhaps, the most delicate issue to balance. It is obvious that brutal police methods are horrifying to civil societies. It is equally obvious that effective police enforcement is absolutely necessary to protect all colors, races and religions from crime. Calibrating the two values is obviously tricky but Chazal already offered guidance: the preservation of human dignity justifies slight reduction of deterrence. We select the most humane form of capital punishment even though a more painful execution would exert greater deterrence. Likewise, the prosecution protocol strongly favors the defendant; Beit Din will take extraordinary measures to protect a defendant- even though such liberal protocols will definitely diminish deterrence. Evidently, on a social level, the Torah favors human dignity over law enforcement. Though this issue is highly sensitive and extremely context-specific, Chazal’s “prejudice” for human dignity serves as a rough guideline for balancing between these two important values. Let us continue to improve our society just as we anticipate G-d’s renovation of our world. Rabbi Moshe Taragin has taught at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Gush Etzion, for the past 22 years.

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JUDAISM 29

Self-Confidence or Self-Value?

BY YAIR SIMONS Many people feel that they have the ability to be productive, but they lack the self-confidence to do so. Out of despair, they try to gain strength by having bitachon in Hashem, so that they will be able to pursue their goals. However, when the situation becomes challenging, a person may feel that they need to be pushy in order to succeed. But that characteristic is not naturally part of their personality, so the attempt fails. The failure leaves the person with less confidence than he originally had. Additionally, he feels that he had bitachon, but it did not work. In truth, before gaining self-confidence, a person has to value who he is. That is called having self-value. Hashem made everybody unique. Because of this, everybody is naturally better in one area than in another. This is true for you too! Even the smartest people are hopeless in areas which you are capable. In order to gain confidence in what you are doing, you should notice what you are good at and value it! If you already know where you had success, then you should value yourself for what you have achieved. Rav Reuven Loichter shlita explains the episode regarding Dovid Hamelech

Hashem gave me strength to win! So, with Hashem’s help I will also win against Golias!”

SO, WHAT DID HASHEM GIVE YOU?

Sometimes, it is hard for you to know what you are good at. That is not because you haven’t got spectacular abilities. It is because you haven’t yet decided which of your many qualities you should value. So, it is worth spending time analyzing what you are good in. If you are not sure what your strong points are, here is how to find out: • Ask a few friends “What do you think I am good at?” • You could ask yourself, “If somebody would ask me to help him out, what would I enjoy helping them with?”

SELF-VALUE, BITACHON AND SUCCESS

… before gaining self-confidence, a person has to value who he is. killing the giant warrior Golias. When Dovid Hamelech felt courageous that he would be successful, he didn’t say, “I have bitachon in Hashem that Hashem will

make a yeshua for Am Yisroel.” Rather he said, “I know that I can rely on Hashem now. Why? Because, once I was confronted with a lion and

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Once you identify your strong points, you will find it much easier to value yourself. Together with this ability to value yourself, will come bitachon that Hashem gave you these talents. You will be confident that you can share your skills and help other people! From this point onwards you will gain confidence in pursing your goal. And you will succeed in this even in the most challenging times.

30 JUDAISM

Beha’alotecha RABBI DR RAYMOND APPLE

ASCENDING LEVELS

Beginning with the first important word in the Torah reading, this week we learn about kindling the lights in the sanctuary. The verb used is “a-l-h”, going up. The nature of candlelight is to go up, and the task of those who kindled the lamps was to ensure that the lights worked properly and rose up. The Ramchal says in his Mesillat Yesharim that there are several levels in the service of G-d. The simplest level is to keep to the physical commandments such as those that deal with what to eat (e.g. matzah on Pesach) and what not to eat (e.g. milk and meat combined). Before long one is so accustomed to the basic level that it becomes second nature, and one is ready for the next level. Stage by stage we elevate ourselves so that we eventually reach the highest level that is possible for a human being.

WHAT I LEAVE BEHIND

The sidra has a focus on Levites. One of the marks of being a Levite is to have no territory, to be landless. Apart from the historical reasons, we learn from this that in the spiritual scheme of things, possessions are not as important as character. What I have is not as important as what I am. What I leave behind me is only

important if I have a good name and have given my children a good example. This is why the prayers in the house of mourning include Psalm 49, which says, “When he dies he takes nothing with him”.

NEW ELDERS

Moses has had it. He is no youngster, and he has constant trouble from the querulous, quarrelsome people that he has to lead. He has tried his hardest. He has done his best. (Num. 11:14-17). G-d tells him not to try to deal with everything by himself but to take seventy elders and work through them. But already in Egypt the people had elders (Ex. 3:16). What happened to them that made it necessary to appoint a new team? According to Rashi, their position had gone to their head. They behaved irreverently and irritated the Almighty, who had to punish them with death. Now a new group has to be found. The men who were chosen had been through the mill. They had suffered with the Israelite slaves and were humbled by their experiences. They had such love for their fellow

How does one go about acquiring the trait of Chassidut? Firstly, by contemplating the exaltedness of Hashem and the vast gap between His greatness and our meekness. One also considers the great kindness and the intense love that Hashem bestows upon Klal Yisroel and one will then be filled with powerful love for G-d too. This contemplation is greatly assisted by one who regularly recites Tehillim. Ramchal emphasises that one who recites the heart-warming Pesukim in Tehillim will evoke feelings of the love and fear of G-d that King David so eloquently expressed. One should also read stories of people who lived with the trait of Chassidut such as the Rabbis of the Talmud and even up to contemporary times. What causes one to lose (even if temporarily) the trait of Chassidut? Ramchal writes that two things cause a person to lose grip on Chasidut: 1) being over-occupied with worldly matters 2) worries. If a person is overcome with their concerns

Israelites and such respect for their leader that G-d was confident that they would conduct themselves properly and lighten the leader’s load.

PROPHETS APLENTY

Eldad and Medad were reported to Moses. They were prophesying in the camp. Joshua urged Moses, “k’la’em” (Num. 11:28), “shut them in” – i.e. “put them in prison”. Another view is that “k’la’em” means “destroy them” – not physically, but, according to the sages, by calling their bluff: “Give them real responsibility for public affairs, and it will soon wear them out and destroy them”. Moses was not inclined to be so strict. In his humility he did not regard the two as a threat to his prophetic leadership. His answer was, “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His spirit upon them!” (verse 29). Samson Raphael Hirsch reads into Moses’ words the message that there can be no monopoly of spiritual leadership. No particular office or class is automatically entitled to spiritual status. “The lowliest of the nation shares with the highest the opportunity of being granted Divine inspiration.”

What I have is not as important as what I am. What I leave behind me is only important if I have a good name

Mesillat Yesharim: Part 41 RABBI MORDECHAI ULLMAN

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Rambam believed that all human beings have the moral and intellectual potential to become prophets, whereas Y’hudah HaLevi regarded prophecy as an expression of Divine grace, but in either case there is no socio-economic factor. Whether prophecy arises from below or descends from above, it does not depend on rank, lineage or material endowment. It depends on whether the individual is worthy that “the Lord would put His spirit upon them”.

Rabbi Apple served for 32 years as the chief minister of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, Australia’s oldest congregation. He is now retired and lives in Jerusalem. Rabbi Apple blogs at http://www.oztorah.com

Hilchot Shabbat We just had a baby and I was wondering what the Halacha says about using baby wipes on Shabbat? Hugo Johnson, Liverpool.

and ambitions in worldly matters, then even if they had previously achieved levels of Chassidut they will very likely lose them. Pursuit of unnecessary pleasures is also a contradiction to Chassidut, for obsession with physical pleasure can not run in tandem with a true love of Hashem. The opposite of fear and obsession is trusting Hashem. One who is aware that Hashem decides how much money they will make in a year, will understand that defying his Mitzvot for fiscal gain or over working are completely fruitless pursuits. Strictly speaking, one could sit and wait for their income to arrive as per G-d’s Rosh Hashana decision; however, after Adam sinned, we were fined with needing to work for a living. So, make an effort for a living – within the boundaries of reasonable Hishtadlut to meet your family’s needs but as King Solomon said, “Don’t exert yourself to become wealthy”. Do what’s necessary, leave space in your life for serving and appreciating Hashem and learning His Torah and that way one can hope for success in this world and the next.

What a fantastic question to begin our Halacha column with! This matter has been subject to debate since the midend of the 20th century with Torah giants such as Rav Feinstein and Rav Auerbach among others ruling leniently, and Dayan Y.Y. Weiss and Rav Wosner ruling stringently. The debate has continued to today, with the late Rav Falk and Rav Osher Weiss taking opposing views. The core of the issue is the Torah prohibition of “Sechita” which literally means, squeezing a liquid from a solid material. Most medieval authorities understood this to be a subcategory of the Torah prohibition of “Dash”, which is the removal of food from its natural casing or surrounding. In order to approach the issue in an informed manner, there are numerous points to consider. • What are baby wipes made of? Fibres or paper? • Assuming they are made of paper are they comparable to the Talmud’s example of squeezing natural materials, in view of the fact that paper is sourced

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from trees? • What is the moisture that is on the wipes - oil or water? • Is the liquid mainly on the surface of the wipe or is much of the moisture absorbed in them? • Is it a very wet wipe or a wipe that is not capable of transmitting wetness to another material? • How are they used on the baby - gently, with mild pressure or squeezed out? • Is the moisture that is extracted from the material considered “going to waste” or is it considered useful? • Is each wipe detached from the next one in the packet or is there a perforated line that is torn when removing one? We will G-d willing explore these issues in the coming weeks.

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Beha’alotecha

Beha’alotecha Word Search

Aaron felt sad for not being able to bring a Korban for the grand opening of the Mishkan, so Hashem tells Moshe to tell him, “You’ll have an even greater opportunity – lighting the Menorah daily!”. We are taught how the Jewish people travelled in the desert – following the cloud at day and the fire at night. Sometimes, it could come as a complete surprise and after only one day’s stop they would pack their bags and continue their journey and sometimes, they could be in the same place for many years. (Maybe this is a lesson for life – they trusted Hashem.) How did Moshe alert them to travel? With silver trumpets! The

Jewish people now begin travelling away from the Sinai area, where they had been for most of a year and they start finding the Man food a little boring so they complain and Hashem sends them loads and loads of meat (birds actually) to eat until they are truly bored of that. This teaches us to appreciate the good things we have especially a gift from Hashem such as the Man! Finally we are taught that Miriam spoke Lashon Hora about her brother, Moshe and is punished with Tzara’at. Ever the humble and generous spirit, Moshe davens to Hashem to cure her and, after a seven day wait, the Jewish people are able to travel on!

Tangram Challenge!

AARON • DESERT • LEVI • MEAT • MIRIAM • TRIBE

Using all the shapes on the left can you make the teapot shape on the right?

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Follow our Journey: Bike4Kef

NEW DATE

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NEW ROUTE CURRENTLY BEING PLANNED SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE

KEF is a London-based charity supporting the lives of children and young adults with physical and learning disabilities and their families. With the help of devoted and energetic volunteers KEF has helped the Jewish community for 15 years. KEF provides out of school activities, recreational events and residential trips including summer and winter residential camps.

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Bike4Kef.org or call Mordche 07584 327 303 Following the outbreak of COVID-19, there is an urgent need for funds Minimum sponsorship £1,250 per rider Bike4Kef is a men’s only ride

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Beha’alotecha

In a nutshell Beha’alotecha opens with the consolation prize to Aaron. Aaron had just seen all other princes of the tribes offer up a Korban to Hashem in honour of the new Mishkan but he was excluded from it. So Hashem tells him - you will have a role to play for far longer than your fellow princes. You will be lighting the Menorah in the Mishkan (and later in history, in the Beit Hamikdash and, even later in time, the victory of your descendants that will bring about the lighting of the Chanukah Menorah)! Then the Levi’im are formally appointed to take the place of the firstborns, and represent the Jewish people in the Mishkan. The firstborns lost their privilege due to their involvement in the golden calf. Pesach was coming and the Jews were to bring a Korban Pesach. There was a group of Jews who were Tamei and they were unable to bring up the Korban. Moshe asked Hashem on their behalf if there was any solution and they were then taught about the second opportunity known as Pesach Sheni, which is one month

later, on 14th Iyar, which allows them to bring a Korban Pesach. The Torah then describes the travel system of the Jews in the desert. They would follow the cloud at day and the fire at night. At times, they would stay in the same place for one night, and at times for many years. Moshe was told to make two silver trumpets, which the Jewish people used on special occasions, but in the Midbar this was to signal the beginning of a journey. For the first time since arriving at the Midbar of SInai almost a year before that (do you remember what date?), the Jews are told to travel on and Moshe asks his father-in-law to join them. Travelling can be unsettling and not long after they leave, the complaints begin. They are not satisfied with the Manna, they remember the fish they were given in Egypt and they also want meat! Hashem replies by saying they will have a massive amount of meat sent to them but they would eventually be put off by it. They had no good reason to complain and Hashem gave them

Word Wheel The goal of a word wheel puzzle is to create as many words possible with the letters in the word wheel. Each word must contain at least three letters. You can only use each letter once and every word must have the letter in the centre of the wheel.

Use this area to write the words you have found.

t u o

swarms of quail (birds) that flew in from the sea. Those who overate died in a plague. One lesson from this is to focus on the things that are going well in life instead of complaining. Another is, sometimes when we desire something we don’t need to, Hashem may make it come to us but it doesn’t do us any good. The Parsha ends with the Loshon Hora Miriam spoke to Aaron about Moshe and Hashem, after stating that Moshe was the most humble person on earth, gives Miriam Tzara’at. Moshe davened to Hashem to cure her, but her Tzaraat meant that she had to isolate for seven days and the Jewish people waited for her. This wait was actually a reward for her waiting patiently for her brother Moshe when he was a baby in a basket; remember how she stood by her brother to make sure he stayed safe? You never know how a good deed can be rewarded even eighty years later!

a i

a m

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Last week’s words: Here are some words you may have found from last week - you may have found more! ave eve lav lev

tav vag vat vee

veg vet eave gave

lave leva vale veal

vela bevel gavel leave

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levee valet vegete velate

elevate vegetal vegetable

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Q: What do you get when you cross a vampire and a snowman? A: Frost Bite! Q: What did one plate say to the other plate? A: Dinner is on me! Q: How does a vampire start a letter? A: Tomb it may concern…!

(Answers at the bottom of page upside down)

1. What has a neck but no head?

3. What type of cheese is made backwards?

Q: What kind of tree fits in your hand? A: A palm tree!

2. What is next in this sequence? JFMAMJJASON…

3) Edam 1. A bottle

2)’D’ for December

1. Season ticket 2. It never ends 3. One on a million

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4. Cooking for one 5. Easy on the eyes 6. Mixed greens