Feature

Community members attended Holocaust survivor Maja Bagley’s funeral last week.

The United Synagogue Burial Society organised the levaya of Maja, 103, who escaped the Nazis in 1938.

“We thank everyone who came, and everyone who spread the word on social media to ensure we had a minyan,” the US said in a statement. “It shows the positive power of social media and the importance of community. It was also fitting that someone who had to flee the Nazis because of her Jewish identity was laid to rest surrounded by the Jewish community.”

Maja was born on July 16, 1919. She fled Nazi Germany for New Zealand with her parents and younger brother, trained to be a photographer and worked in various studios.

Maja used a large Victorian camera with glass negatives and focused mainly on traditional portraiture. She also developed prints in her darkroom at home. Maja undertook a role at the Auckland Star newspaper as a photographer in the 1940s.

But the New Zealand authorities considered Maja an “enemy alien” despite being a Jewish refugee and confiscated her camera.

She married and raised a family and

Maja celebrating her 102nd birthday remembered how despite her experiences, her love for photography never wavered and continued to take photographs as a hobby, even teaching herself how to take them on her granddaughter’s iPhone.

“Maja was by all accounts an extraordinary woman and it was the Burial Society’s sacred duty to conduct her levaya,” the US noted.

Norwood raises £2.1m for vital services

Celebrating Norwood’s campaign

Tribe Poland trip

Tribe’s Poland trip Over 50 students participated in a five-day trip to Poland with Tribe.

This was their largest group size since before the pandemic.

Participants from years 12 and 13 learnt about Jewish life before the Nazi invasion of Poland.

Rebbetzen Freda Kaplan was the main educator. The group visited the Warsaw Jewish cemetery, Yeshivat Chachmei Lublin, Lezjansk and the Warsaw Ghetto.

Concentration camps included Belzec, Majdanek and Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Participants spent an uplifting Shabbat in Krakow where they went on a walking tour of the old Jewish Quarter, Kaziemeirz, and visited Schindler’s Factory. Over Shabbat, the group had the opportunity to reflect on their own Jewish heritage and future plans.

Lara Bassalian, 17, from Finchley United Synagogue, said: “The trip was eye-opening and inspiring. My understanding of the Holocaust has been enriched. I really loved the sense of togetherness and unity despite the loss and sadness we each felt.”

Noah Zemmel, 16, from Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue, added: “I discovered so much about myself and my Judaism. I think it’s something that everybody should do whether they are Jewish or not.”

Anna Coleman, Tribe’s Senior Operations Manager, noted: “This trip was an important opportunity for the students to learn about the atrocities of the Holocaust as well as discovering more about their Jewish heritage. This moving experience really helps participants to explore their Jewish identities and roots.” Norwood has raised £2.1m in a 36-hour online fundraising drive as part of its #WeNeedNorwood campaign.

The fundraiser, which exceeded its £2m target, replaced its annual dinner ensuring a cross-section of donors could participate against the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis.

The campaign showcased individuals with a range of learning disabilities, special educational needs and autism for whom Norwood has provided a lifeline, as well as support and counselling for their families as a whole. Funds will be directed to where they are most needed.

A Norwood poll of the Jewish community found almost a quarter of respondents thought they or a family member would need to access support services within three years.

Chair of Trustees Neville Kahn explained the need to raise funds on a large scale. He said: “In recent years the need for Norwood’s vital services has grown. One in four members of our community need our services. The way in which individuals across our community depend on us has also changed. Norwood continues to adapt to meet those needs, so we can continue to be a safety net.”

Speaking at the close of the campaign, Kahn was gratified by support.

He said: “We are a community charity and exist to serve the community’s needs, but when we needed our community they supported us to reach our fundraising target in very challenging times. It’s never been more important for the community to come together to ensure our organisations are empowered to continue to assist our most vulnerable members, now and in the future.”

Mr Rodney Ross from “We were there too’’ telling of Jewish soldiers who fought in WWI at Broughton Jewish Primary School’s Remembrance assembly.