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WIZO releases disturbing domestic violence stats BY LEAH WAXLER Domestic violence in Israel rose by 315 per cent in 2020 according to a WIZO study ahead of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25th. WIZO collected data from government ministries, State Comptroller’s office, Israel Police and Israel Prison Service. Twenty-six women were murdered in Israel last year compared to 17 in 2019. Of the women murdered, 13 were killed by partners, compared to five in 2019. Four of the women killed had filed a complaint with police, 31% of suspects were known to police. Calls to the domestic violence hotline increased from 2,286 calls two years ago to 5,866 in 2020, a 157% increase. The number related to spousal violence and rose alarmingly from 688 to 2,853, a 315% hike, in the same period. Rivka Neumann, WIZO’s Division for the Advancement of Women, said the increase in domestic violence affected all sectors of Israeli society and was linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She reportedly said. “During lockdowns women and children found themselves stuck inside homes with an abusive person. There was no way for them to go outside.” Israel Police registered 20,140 violence offences and threats between couples in 2020, an 11.6% rise on 2019. Domestic violence also rose over the same period for male victims by 43%. Neumann hopes statistics will improve post-pandemic though family issues will continue, particularly individuals affected by PTSD. And she has called on the Israeli government to set up long-term programmes as more families will have entered the cycle of violence. World WIZO chairperson Anita Friedman appealed to the government to combat a “real plague.” “If a national state of emergency is not declared, and if government ministers’ schedules are not put on hold in a national effort to stop the bloodshed and suffering that are being passed down from generation to generation, then we have failed as a society,” she reportedly said.
18 NOVEMBER 2021
Dame Margaret appointed APPG co-chair Dame Margaret Hodge is co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Jews. The veteran Labour MP for Barking was unanimously elected and succeeds Wes Streeting, MP for Ilford North, who stepped down due to his promotion to the Shadow Cabinet. The Board of Deputies, which provides the secretariat to the APPG, approached Dame Margaret about the post. Her cochair will continue to be Conservative MP, Christian Wakeford.
During the EGM, Parliamentarians heard from Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl, Michael Wegier and Amanda Bowman. Dame Margaret said issues of key importance to British Jews must be addressed. Ms van de Zyl noted Dame Margaret was not just a part of the Jewish community but admired for defending the community. The Board provided updates on shechita, coroners and the community’s response to Covid-19.
CAA concern over Holocaust survey BY DAVID SAFFER Over half Britons polled in a survey are unaware six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany poll found that under a quarter of 2,000 UK adults asked thought two million Jews or fewer perished in the Nazi genocide. Although 89% of respondents were aware of the Holocaust and 75% knew it involved the genocide of the Jews the same figure did not know about the Kindertransport. Other figures showed that 67% wrongly believed the British Government allowed Jewish immigration to the UK, just over 50% believed fewer people care about the Holocaust than in the past whilst most felt
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another Holocaust could happen. Around 90% believe it is important to continue to teach about the Holocaust. Campaign Against Antisemitism are deeply concerned about the figures. “This is frighteningly fertile ground for the cultivation of Holocaust denial,” a spokesman said. “Clearly, there is a great deal more to do in the field of Holocaust education. That a majority of respondents believed that another Holocaust could happen today underscores the urgency of the fight against antisemitism, both through raising awareness and, crucially, zero-tolerance enforcement of the law.” A survey by the organisation in 2020 found that 32% of 18-39-year-olds in Britain were unable to name a concentration camp during World War Two.
