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21 June 2017/ 27 SIVAN 5777

IN A WORLD FULL OF TERROR

Reaction to ‘Al Quds Day’ March, P2-4

WHY WAS THIS NOT BANNED? 32 HATTON GARDEN, LONDON, EC1N 8DL

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Britain should hold its head in shame BY JAMES MARLOW Hatred, incitement and calls for the destruction of Israel were heard throughout central London on Sunday as marchers with Hezbollah flags paraded alongside a speaker on the microphone who blamed the Grenfell Tower deaths on the Zionists. “The Tory-loving Zionists who kill people in high rise tower blocks” was shouted out several times by a man called Nazim Ali, who was given the “privilege” of inciting the crowd for more than four hours. Although the actual march did not begin until 4pm, Ali began his chanting well before 3pm on Langham Place alongside the BBC, whipping up hysteria with poison, racism and lies, and the crowd loved it. The usual “Israel is a terrorist state” and “Zionists murder babies” along with the popular “Palestine will be free” was heard on the loud, blaring speakers. But now a new blood libel has been introduced, accusing Jews of being responsible for the horrific fire that killed so many in North Kensington last week. “Zionist corporations are responsible for the Grenfell Tower disaster,” was shouted out by Ali as police stood by, not knowing what to do whilst surrounded by the yellow Hezbollah flags. Nazim Ali is the director of the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), which is the registered charity that runs the yearly Al Quds day procession. The IHRC told its followers that it would

be permitted to carry and fly “the Hezbollah flag to show support for the political wing of Hezbollah” on the streets of London. Whilst the British government has proscribed the “military wing” of Hezbollah a terrorist group under the Terrorism Act 2000, the “political wing” is not classed as such, which is something that even Hezbollah disagrees with. In October 2012, the group’s Deputy Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, said, “We don’t have a military wing and a political one. We don’t have Hezbollah on one hand and the resistance party on the other. Every element of Hezbollah, from commanders to members as well as our various capabilities are in the service of the resistance and we have nothing but the resistance as a priority.” In addition, the group’s head, Hassan Nasrallah, who said that “If Jews all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide,” is leader of both wings. Ali led the marchers along Langham Place, which runs into Regent Street, at just after 4pm with around 500 followers, although others joined the procession along Oxford Street. Pro-Israel demonstrators then suddenly appeared with Israeli flags at Oxford Circus and tried to block the marchers from turning right into Oxford Street. Dressed in a pink shirt and red trousers with dark sunglasses, Nazim Ali instructed his followers to sit down in the middle of Regent Street whilst he called on the police to protect them from

the “Zionist baby killers” who are trying to stop a “peaceful march.” He also criticised the police for not doing their job and accused the “Zionists” of anti-Semitism as shouts went out against the 10 Neturei Karta members who were dressed in strictly Orthodox Jewish garments. But earlier, instigator Nazim Ali was seen on camera being held back as a 20-year-old Muslim named Yishmael approached him with an Israeli ﬂag wrapped around his shoulders, asking why he makes no reference to all those killed in India and other places around the world. Police moved in to what seemed to be a form of protection for the young Muslim, as Ali shouted out “child killers” and “murderers of British soldiers.” It then appeared that police were warning Ihsmael against provoking the marchers whilst Islamic security oﬃcials were trying to hold back the radical Ali. WHAT IS THE MARCH ALL ABOUT? “Al Quds” means “Jerusalem,” and the march takes place every year throughout Iran, Lebanon and Western countries. All Sunni Arab states however have banned this march, which was introduced by the Ayatollah Khomeini who took power by force in Iran in 1979. The following year, war broke out between Iran and Iraq, which Tehran called the “war to liberate Jerusalem.” With more than a million dead, the war ended after eight years by mutual agreement,

A young boy displays the ﬂag of Terror

but ever since, the Islamic Republic remembers Al Quds on the last Sunday of Ramadan. However many on the march were Sunni Muslims calling for an end to the “barbaric” Israel and condemning the “baby killers” who are the real terrorists in this world. “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” means the destruction of the entire state of Israel and its nine million citizens, including nearly two million Arab

Israelis. In response to why the marchers were not calling for unity or peace or even using the opportunity to condemn radical Islam, the response from many in the crowd was that America and Britain were the terrorists along with their partners Israel. The mayor’s oﬃce was aware of the concerns raised by the Jewish community before the march and had received a full brieﬁng on the policing plan from the Met Police

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WHAT’S INSIDE THIS WEEK 01 News 08 Israel News 14 Community 22 Judaism 26 Business 28 Sports 30 Kids The counter-demonstration

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21 JUNE 2017 Commissioner. However mayor Sadiq Khan insisted “As is the case for any group, protesters have the right to march as long as they do so within the law.” So what is the law Mr Mayor, and why is it open to so much interpretation? In a statement released from Sadiq Khan’s office, it said, “The mayor has ensured that the Met fully appreciates the potential impact of this march on London’s communities and is monitoring the situation closely. As ever, there will be a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime or anti-Semitism.” But apparently that is not the case if a speaker on a microphone with powerful amplification is allowed to blame the Zionists or Jews for the Grenfell Tower disaster which killed nearly 100 people including many children. In addition Ali said out loud, “We are fed up with the Zionists, we are fed up with their rabbis and we are fed up with their synagogues.” The Jewish Weekly is asking, is this free speech, or is this incitement by a British Muslim named Nazim Ali against the Jewish community? WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PREVENT THE AL QUDS ANTI-SEMITIC MARCH NEXT YEAR? MP Matthew Offord wrote to the Home Secretary on Monday morning condemning the racial slurs, terrorist flags and stretching police resources at a time when the threat level for another terrorist attack remains at severe. He said allowing the march to go ahead was irresponsible and thoughtless and asked Ms Amber Rudd to instruct the Metropolitan police to take criminal action against the individual(s) causing the incitement that this paper has already named. The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism are themselves gathering evidence to be used in a possible legal case against the government if the law is not changed to prevent this type of hate on London’s streets in the future. The group liaised with police officials before the march and explained that if the Hezbollah flag was allowed to be flown, it would be an extremely provocative act. Gideon Falter of the CAA spoke of his frustration at the general anti-Semitic rhetoric heard in many circles and said prison sentences proscribed by law are not being imposed. “The issue is a failure to enforce the law and failure to prosecute,” he said. Before the march, lawyers for

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THE JEWISH WEEKLY Campaign Against Anti-Semitism had challenged the police to use their powers under section 12 of the Public Order Act 1986 to impose a condition on the procession so that marchers were in no doubt that they cannot show the emblem of Hezbollah. However the Metropolitan Police Service refused their request. ROUND UP OF THE NUMBERS Although around 500 pro Palestinian demonstrators set oﬀ from Langham Place, approximately another 300 joined them along the march. Hundreds of police were assigned to the operation, with more than a dozen police vans following the procession. At Oxford Circus an estimated 100 pro-Israel supporters appeared. The Zionist Federation reported that another 500 were

at the counter-demonstration in Grosvenor Square. Speakers organised by the ZF included MP Matthew Oﬀord, former MP Andrew Dismore, JLC leader Simon Johnson, Board of Deputies head Jonathan Arkush, Paul Charney of the Zionist Federation, Israel resident Kay Wilson who survived a terror attack, and several others who inspired the audience. It is clear that the pro-Palestinian Al Quds numbers were way down from previous years, probably due to the geo-political landscape changes in the Middle East where Saudi, the Gulf States and Egypt are forming an alliance against Iran, Hezbollah and the Shia militias in Iraq. Pro-Palestinian supporters were also likely kept away because of the recent terror attacks in the UK and the realisation by some that Iran is behind the wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, killing

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Pro-Israel supporters appearing at Oxford Circus

many Sunni Muslims. When we contacted the metropolitan police, the reply was simply: “An appropriate and proportionate policing plan was in

place for this march on Sunday 18 June between Portland Place and Grosvenor Square, as well as related counter demonstrations. There were no arrests.”

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22 -year old dies after ‘torturous mistreatment’ BY MELANIE SINCLAIR

Otto Warmbier, a Jewish American student sadly died on Monday after being released by North Korea in a coma last week after 15 months of captivity. Doctors in the US said he suffered from “severe neurological injury.” They said his eyes opened and blinked but without any sign that he understood verbal

commands or his surroundings. His family said it was told he had been in a coma since soon after his March 2016 sentencing. A statement released by the family read: “It is our sad duty to report that our son, Otto Warmbier, has completed his journey home.” Warmbier who was described

by peers as being “generous, outgoing and sweet” was accused of trying to steal a propaganda banner while visiting with a tour group. President Trump put out a statement saying “ The United States once again condemns the brutality of the North Korean regime as we mourn its latest victim.”

Otto Warmbier at his trial

Terrorist ﬂags must be banned from our streets BY MATTHEW OFFORD HENDON MP Free speech is the cornerstone of our parliamentary democracy and a freedom envied in other countries around the world. As passionate as I am to defend this freedom, I am equally passionate about preventing abuse of this freedom. The staging of the Al Quds rally in London is an example of such abuse. Established by the Iranian regime to show solidarity with Palestinians and to oppose the existence of Israel, this event shows the hypocrisy of the organisers. While claims are made about Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian peoples in Gaza and the West Bank,

the same organisers are content for - and even encourage - people to display the terrorist flags of Hezbollah as part of the protest. In September 2015, I wrote to the Metropolitan Police to make a complaint that Hezbollah flags were being displayed outside 10 Downing Street during the visit of the Israeli Prime Minister. I believe this is a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act, as Hezbollah’s External Security Organisation was proscribed in March 2001 and in 2008 the proscription was extended to Hezbollah’s Military apparatus including the Jihad Council. The then-Home Secretary, Theresa May, agreed with me on this point.

In addition to this display, speakers were chanting racial slurs. Several people were publicly chanting “Khaibar Yahud” while other speakers were claiming that “Zionists” caused the Grenfell Tower ﬁre. Footage has spread widely on the internet with one man saying: “Some of the biggest supporters of the Conservative Party are Zionists. They are responsible for the murder of the people in Grenfell. The Zionist supporters of the Tory Party. Free, Free, Palestine!” I ﬁnd this assertion repugnant and wholly unacceptable. The police in London are currently stretched with the threat of terrorism, the possibility of a further

terrorist attack, and the problems caused by the terrible Grenfell Tower tragedy. That the organisers of the Al Quds rally went ahead yesterday was totally irresponsible and thoughtless. Freedom, democracy and the rule of law are irrelevant to those who organise and attend this rally. It’s not free speech to make anti-Semitic speeches and ﬂy terrorist ﬂags. The sooner the Al Quds rally is banned the better it will be so the organisers can gather support to ensure the Palestinian Authority meaningfully engage in the search for peace.

These same Muslims never leave their houses, businesses and mosques with their women, children and disabled family members to protest against the constant menace of terrorism. When Islamic terror targets the west, I often hear from the Muslim community that “Terrorism has no religion” and the ﬂow of condemnation rolls in from every corner of the community. I see Muslim vigil with emotional candles lit in memory of the victims of terrorism. But that is where Muslims feel their job is done. I want to see Shia and Sunni Muslims joining hands and then waving British ﬂags whilst walking the streets of London in the hot sunshine. I want to see Shia and Sunni Muslims with their families chanting “NO TO TERRORISM” and “TERRORISM HAS NO RELIGION.” And this is exactly what the people of the UK expect to see from

the British Muslim community. The British want to see Muslim marches against Islamic terrorism and against the religious extremism which is directly associated with the doctrine of political Islam. But the community is far too defensive. Instead of accepting that we have a problem and must deal with this extremism, we look away. After the recent atrocities including the Finsbury Park attack, the community now needs to show the exact same unity as they showed on Al Quds Day last Sunday. The Muslim community must organise marches and protests and sign petitions. They also need to exert pressure on the government to make new tougher laws against terrorism. If Muslims fail to do this, they are directly responsible for whatever happens in the name of their religion and they have to

courageously accept this. Silence is an evolution - not a solution to terrorism.

Matthew Oﬀord

O’ Muslims show your unity now BY NOOR DAHRI FOUNDER OF PAKISTAN ISRAEL ALLIANCE The Al Quds day was inaugurated by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 and is an exclusive Iranian and Shia day – it has nothing to do with Arab and Sunni Muslims. It is one of the few days in the year when Muslims show enormous unity all over the world, especially in western countries, as they come together in solidarity for the Palestinians and against the state of Israel. The Muslim community celebrate Al Quds in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia and most other western countries by waving Hezbollah ﬂags with the full knowledge that

Hezbollah is a proscribed terrorist organisation. On this day, Muslims of every sect of Islam leave their houses, businesses and mosques and protest against the Jewish state, conveying the strong anti-Israel message from the streets of western countries. But Sunni Muslims know very well that Hezbollah is the Lebanese based Shia organization, supported by Iran, and is directly involved in the killings of hundreds of thousands of Sunni Muslims in Syria. Yet on this Al Quds day, Sunni Muslims conveniently forget theses barbaric and inhuman crimes and instead unite against the Jewish country Israel. This is why it is called “Islamic Unity.”

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Noor Dahri

21 JUNE 2017

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Labour... anti-Judaism not anti-Zionism BY GEOFFREY ALDERMAN Why is anti-Jewish prejudice tolerated – alive and well you might say – in the British Labour party? In the wake of the recent general election I held an impromptu seminar that addressed the election outcome, and I asked my audience to answer this particular question. All present, without exception, oﬀered the same response: the British Labour party was not anti-Jewish; however, it was anti-Zionist, and this anti-Zionism was deliberately being interpreted by others as anti-Semitism. That is to say, my entire audience bought into the undeniable history of British-socialist opposition to colonialism in all its varied forms: the Balfour Declaration was a colonialist enterprise, and the establishment of a Jewish ‘homeland’ in Mandate Palestine was (so the argument went) inevitably condemned, therefore, by Labour in the 30 years that followed. My audience then listened as I oﬀered an humble critique of this explanation. I shall tell you what I told them. Anti-Jewish prejudice is endemic in the Labour movement. It was there at its birth, and indeed at its conception. And it had nothing whatsoever to do with Zionism. The Labour Party was established in 1906 and built on political foundations laid by the Labour Representation Committee that had been formed in 1899 to put more working men into Parliament. The LRC was a joint enterprise – a partnership between the trade union movement and a number of socialist societies, such as the Fabian Society and the socalled Independent Labour Party founded on the initiative of the Scottish socialist Keir Hardie in 1893. British socialism in the 19th century had a strong anti-Semitic streak, stemming from the view that – rightly or wrongly- the capitalist industrial system that had enslaved the working man was a diabolical enterprise, in the launching and sponsorship of which international Jewry had played a leading part. I use the word ‘diabolical’ deliberately, because underlying this mindset was an undeniable religious imperative. It was not out of sheer cussedness that the prominent early 19th-century radical William Cobbett bracketed “blaspheming Jews,” along with

Quakers and “usurers of every description,” as financial parasites “feeding and fattening on the vitals of the country.” This mantra was taken up by the Chartist movement, which campaigned for working-class rights in the mid-19th century, but it also fused with the Methodism that was – and remains - such an important force within the Labour movement. Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson once said that Labour owed more to Methodism than to Karl Marx. He was right. Dating from the mid-18th century, Methodism was founded by John Wesley, an unashamed anti-Semite. And we might note that 21st-century Methodism regards Judaism as a racist religion. This palpable bigotry can be seen at work in – for example – the totally one-sided report on Israel that the Methodist annual conference infamously endorsed in 2010 and in the anti-Israel exhibitions controversially hosted by the Methodist church in Hinde Street, London. In the very last decade of the 19th century these various strands knitted comfortably together. The Trades Union Congress called repeatedly upon the government to restrict the entry into the UK of “aliens” – by which they meant immigrant Jews, whom they wrongly accused of pushing down wages by agreeing to accept lower hourly rates of pay, working longer hours and tolerating inferior living conditions. We can see all these elements at work in the “pogrom” (the phrase was that of Churchill, then Home Secretary) that engulfed the minuscule Jewish communities of industrial South Wales in August 1911. Egged on by socialists and Christians, the miners of the “Western Valleys” turned violently against Jewish tradespeople. When the Monmouthshire Welsh Baptist Association, meeting a week or so after the riots, was asked to condemn the rioters it refused to do so: “Resolutions did more harm than good,” one delegate explained, “and they encouraged the Jews. There were about 100 Jews in Tredegar now, and if they had many more resolutions they would have 500 there.” Seven years later the Labour Party adopted its first constitution, written largely by the early Fabians Sidney and Beatrice Webb. It was Sidney (as Lord Passfield) who was responsible for the infamous 1930 White Paper on Palestine, by

which the then Labour government attempted, unsuccessfully, to bring to an end the promise to the Jewish people encapsulated in the Balfour Declaration and the Mandate (after worldwide Jewish protests the Paper was withdrawn). The previous year Jews had been massacred by Palestinian Islamists in Hebron. “I can’t understand why the Jews make such a fuss over a few dozen of their people killed in Palestine,” Beatrice lectured Chaim Weizmann! This astonishing disdain found an echo in Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin’s ambivalent attitude towards Jewish suﬀering in the post-war Attlee government. It ﬁnds another echo in the attitude of the modern Labour Party towards Jews and Jewish rights. And it explains why that party and its present leadership is evidently

willing to tolerate a renewed anti-Jewish rhetoric within Labour’s ranks, giving Jew-baiters like Ken Livingstone a slap on the wrist when they should be kicked out. The impromptu seminar at which I recounted these facts listened intently. And then fell silent.

Geoﬀrey Alderman is Michael Gross Professor of Politics & Contemporary History at the University of Buckingham and the author of British Jewry Since Emancipation (2014)

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US Chessed Project ready to send in additional help following devastating Grenfell Tower ﬁre BY JAMES MARLOW

A spokesperson for the United Synagogue Chessed Project told The Jewish Weekly that they have oﬀered their own volunteers to help victims of the Grenfell Tower blaze whenever they are ready. Lawyers, therapists, child phycologists and many other professionals will donate their expertise and time through the US project. This latest gesture from the Jewish community comes after the local Holland Park and New West

Synagogues urged its members to oﬀer assistance to victims. Many answered the call by donating blankets, clothes, toiletries and food. Rabbi Avraham (Mino) Labi of Holland Park Synagogue and Rabbi Moshe Freedman of the New West End Synagogue have both visited the North Kensington community on several occasions, liaising with the Christian and Muslim chaplains. A volunteer working with the relief eﬀort said that the response from Jewish communities across

Controversial Documentary After the French-German broadcaster Arte cancelled the showing of a documentary highlighting antisemitism among European Muslims, the German tabloid newspaper Bild decided to broadcast the programme. The controversial production was uploaded to Bild’s website under the headline “Jew-Hatred: Bild Shows the Documentary Which Arte Won’t.” In its defence, Arte said it cancelled the showing claiming the ﬁnal version of the documentary did not conform to the remit agreed with its producers when it was commissioned. But in a letter to Josef Schuster, the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany who protested against the decision to cancel the broadcast, Arte Program Director Alain Le Diberder insisted that the documentary had been canned for “honourable and good reasons.” According to Le Diberder, the ﬁlm’s overwhelming focus on the Middle East was so far removed from the original remit given to the producers that it had to be turned down. Le Diberder emphasized

Op-ed

that the rejection on these grounds should not be taken as an “assessment of the quality of the film or its thesis.” Bild showcased a list of well-known German commentators praising the film, including Matthias Kuentzel, whose several books include a study of Germany’s relations with Iran, and Ahmad Mansour, a Middle East analyst who accused Arte of “having problems with reality.” Matthias Becker, an antisemitism expert and a research associate at the Technical University of Berlin, told The Algemeiner, the film was “a long overdue analysis of the relationship between antisemitism and criticism of Israel within the media.” Becker lauded the documentary for its “insights into the BDS movement and foreign funding for Palestinian NGOs with a clear anti-Israel agenda.” Becker also condemned Arte‘s decision to cancel the documentary as a “provocation.” “The Jewish state, Israel, represents the main object, or target, of current anti-Semitic activities, not only in Europe,” he said. Clemens Heni, the director

London has been overwhelming. People are reaching out to help dozens of families affected by the fire, which engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in West London. Synagogues as far away as Hertfordshire joined in the relief effort, and Borehamwood Synagogue began a communal collection almost immediately after the tragedy. The inferno ripped through the block, which housed 120 families in North Kensington, leaving people trapped on upper floors with

of the Berlin International Centre for the Study of Antisemitism (BICSA) and the author of several scholarly articles and books on contemporary antisemitism, was far less impressed with the film. Criticizing the production as “poorly made,” Heni said that the producers had not included sections on antisemitism in the UK, Hungary, Scandinavia and other European locations as requested by Arte. Heni added that the accompanying interviews with figures from the political Right meant “the viewer does not get a picture of Zionist criticism of today’s Israel, nor of mainstream German antisemitism.” “The film is a kind of propaganda for Israel and that is not what a good Zionist film should be,” Heni told The Algemeiner. “A Zionist film should make you think and use your own head.” Among the issues covered in the documentary were the prevalence of antisemitism in children’s programming in the Middle East, physical threats to Jews in French and German cities and the role of antisemitism in the media.

that be “a night..”) At the time of writing, my forecast that Mrs May BY COUNCILLOR RABBI SAUNDERS would still be prime minister on the Well, my goodness. I ended my Friday morning has been proven previous article by quoting Har- correct. However, it wasn’t quite old Wilson: “A week is a long the circumstances I envisaged. Jertime in politics!” Maybe I should emy Corbyn has taunted the PM now amend that to: “A day is a that her government is a “coalition long time in politics..” (Or should of chaos,” turning her own words

firemen unable to reach them. As flames licked up the building, some desperately held their babies from windows while others jumped. Hundreds of firefighters battled to control the blaze and were all praised for doing such a heroic job. The building had only recently been refurbished, with new aluminium cladding covering the exterior. But anger has now turned to rage with local Kensington residents demanding answers like why was the building such a fire trap and who

exactly is to blame? These answers will take many months, perhaps years, but prosecutions could come if police find the law was broken. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said just after the fire, “The pictures of the fire at Grenfell Tower are truly harrowing. My thoughts and prayers today are with all of those affected and with the heroes running towards danger to help save lives. May G-d be with them all.”

British Empire Medal goes to the Rebbetzen The former head of the London Beth Din, Dayan Chanoch Ehrentreu, joined hundreds in congratulating his wife Rebbetzen Ruchie (Rachel) for being named by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on this year’s birthday honours list. The Rebbetzen as she is known to thousands will receive the medal of the “Order of the British Empire” for services to the “vulnerable and elderly members of the Jewish community of northwest London.” For the last 32 years of her life, Ruchie Ehrentreu, 84, has devoted her time every Sunday visiting Jewish and non-Jewish patients and taking care of their requirements at the Royal Free hospital in Hampstead as the chaplain. If for any reason she was unable to be there on a Sunday, you would see her at the hospital on the Monday. In addition the Rebbetzen is behind the monthly “Neshei” group where more than hundred elderly and disabled people and holocaust survivors meet in Golders Green to socialise and hear a variety of exciting and motivational speakers. Ruchie said she was unaware she was being considered for the honour, and when asked about it she simply shrugged her shoulders and said “I just love what I do.” Her husband Dayan Ehrentreu on the other hand said, “In my opinion, she should have been made a Baroness or a Lady,” referring to all the voluntary

against her. However, I consider an alliance with the DUP will be a “coalition of competence.” How long it will last is of course a diﬀerent matter entirely. However, if the arrangement with the DUP can be made to work, there is every possibility the Government will survive - at least till after

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work his wife does. Their daughter Ricki Dunner who lives in Golders Green was extremely proud of her mother, saying, “She feels that she gains from it so much more than they do,” an added “She really loves to give and do this wonderful mitzvah.” The Ehrentreus have been Rabbi and Rebbetzen at the Beit Hamedrash Beit Yisrael in Shirehall Park, Hendon, since 1985. The management and congregation wished the Rebbetzen “many more years of good health to carry on her wonderful work and expressed the need that she should continue to inspire the community through her exemplary acts of Chessed and Kiddush Hashem which are always carried out with her unique charm and genuine warmth.” Mazal Tov.

Rebbetzen Ruchie Ehrentreu

Brexit (but whether Mrs May will still be in charge is another matter.) Like everyone else, I was shocked and saddened by the terrible ﬁre in West London last week. The circumstances of this tragedy reminded me of the verse in Jeremiah that we read on Tisha B’Av; “For death has ascended through

our windows, it has entered our palaces.” As a councillor I know that councils are already examining their housing stock to ensure there will be no repeat elsewhere. I would urge all private landlords to do the same . It is essential that lessons are learnt.

10 ISRAEL NEWS

21 JUNE 2017

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IDF exercises and training in Cyprus

Israeli commandos wrapped up a large-scale exercise in Cyprus, returning to Israel after an intensive three-day drill on the island. The advanced drill involved close to 500 combat soldiers from the Egoz Special Forces unit as well as Super Hercules transport planes, 10 Black Hawk helicopters and around 100 Cypriots. Israel and Cyprus have taken part in several military drills in recent months, and Cyprus’s Defence Minister Christoforos Fokaides stated that the drill with Israel was “aimed at enhanced defence cooperation which enables joint training and exercises to take place.” The commandos trained on high altitude terrain of between 1,350 and 2,000 meters, and they also practiced urban combat in abandoned and semi-abandoned Cypriot villages, as well as underground inside tunnels.

“The world of warfare is now one of urban and underground combat. The enemy, be it Hezbollah, Hamas or Daesh (ISIS), now fights differently and we must be properly prepared to fight them,” a senior officer told journalists. Described by him as the first of its kind and one of the largest exercises by the commandos held on foreign territory, it required the transport of a large amount of equipment using the Super Hercules planes which took off from Nevatim air base. A senior Air Force officer who also took part in the drill said that the ability to take a significant amount of troops and equipment abroad was challenging as “a flight of an hour and a half over the ocean in a helicopter is no small challenge,” he said. The drill also worked on the cooperation between the IAF and the commandos in unfamiliar terrain,

including transporting soldiers at low-altitude both during the day and at night. According to the senior oﬃcer, any small miscalculation of the drill could turn into a security issue as it was held on foreign soil, and therefore the locations where the drill was held were chosen because of the least amount of civilians present. The exercise was nonetheless criticised by many on Cyprus, including opposition party AKEL (The Progressive Party of Working People), which said that it was a “dangerous development” that risked sending the wrong message to the Arab world. “AKEL expresses its opposition to this exercise, which not only does not serve the interests of our country, but involves us in dangerous war plans along with an army that has been an occupying power for 50 years in the Palestinian

Netanyahu still trying to boost his government Political sources say Prime Minister Netanyahu offered MK Tzipi Livni the Foreign Affairs portfolio, confirming an exclusive report by Channel 10 News. Netanyahu tried to bring Livni into his government in order to bolster his efforts to restart negotiations with the Palestinians, under the auspices of US President Donald Trump and his Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt. Netanyahu has been holding the Foreign Affairs portfolio since his government was formed, hoping that opposition leader Isaac Herzog would join. But talks with the Zionist Union chairman did not bear fruit. Livni’s associates said she rejected the offer because she believes Netanyahu is not planning

MK Tzipi Livini

on taking enough steps to advance a diplomatic process with the Palestinians in a serious manner. “She got the impression that what Netanyahu is doing is nothing but hot air,” a Livni associate said. “She is not interested in joining for nothing.” Livni has explored an opportunity to join the United Nations as an assistant secretary-general. She is also pushing for open primaries to lead the Centre-Left in the next general election. None of the candidates in the current Labor leadership race have said they are willing to join Netanyahu’s government, though Netanyahu has not given up hope on Herzog joining his government if he wins the Labor party leader race on 4 July.

Israeli commandos during large-scale drill in Cyprus

territories,” Cyprus Mail quoted the party as saying. “Any form of militarisation of the cooperation of the Republic of Cyprus with Israel is also dangerous for Cyprus and for peace in the region,” it added. Rejecting those claims, the Cypriot Defense Ministry stated that the country was “upgrading its geopolitical role as a security contributor and a factor for stability in our wider region,” and that Nicosia was planning to hold joint exercises with Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan. Relations between the Hamas,

Hezbollah, Iran alliance are becoming stronger and deeper in light of the Qatar crisis. Palestinian newspaper Al Quds reported on Thursday that the deputy chairman of Hamas’s political bureau, Musa Abu Marzouk, privately met with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. In addition, the senior Hamas representative met with Abbas Ibrahim, Major-General of Lebanon’s General Directorate of General Security, to discuss the issue of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

PHOTO CREDIT: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT

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12 ISRAEL NEWS

21 JUNE 2017

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Netanyahu furious over Palestinian lies about Jerusalem attack The prime minister blasted the Palestinian Authority and its ruling Fatah party on Sunday for its failure to condemn last Friday’s terror attack at the Damascus Gate and called for intensified international pressure on the Palestinians to end stipends to terrorists’ families. Binyamin Netanyahu noted that rather than condemn the Palestinians who killed Border Police officer Hadas Malka, PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement “issued a statement in which it condemned Border Police officers for killing the terrorists and praised the murderers as heroes.” Minutes before being stabbed to death by a Palestinian terrorist, Staff Sergeant Major Hadas Malka, 23, of Moshav Givat Ezer in central Israel, sent her close friends a final smiling selfie wishing them a Shabbat Shalom. Then three West Bankers, armed with an automatic weapon and knives, carried out simultaneous attacks at two adjacent locations. Two attacked a group of police officers at Zedekiah’s Cave with an automatic weapon and knives, and a third stabbed Malka a short distance away at Damascus Gate.

The attackers were identiﬁed by the Shin Bet internal security agency as Bra’a Salah and Asama Atta, both born in 1998, and Adel Ankush, born the following year. All three were members of Palestinian terrorist organizations and were shot dead by security forces as they carried out their attacks. The 23-year-old staﬀ sergeant died of her wounds at Hadassah Hospital in Mount Scopus and was laid to rest last Saturday night in Ashdod. Four other people were lightly and moderately injured in the attack, including a policeman and two East Jerusalem Palestinians. Some reports said the gun used by the attackers jammed, preventing further casualties. Fatah condemned “the war crime carried out by Israeli occupation forces in Jerusalem against three Palestinian teens,” spokesperson Osama al- Kawasme said in a statement. Fatah added that “the international community’s silence emboldened Israel to further spill the blood of Palestinians.” Netanyahu expressed outrage at that narrative, saying “Apparently there is no limit to (their) lies and gall. The Palestinian Authority, of course, refuses to condemn the murder, and the same authority will now pay reparations to the families of the murderers. I call on world nations to denounce the

murder and those who glorify it, and to demand immediate cessation of payments by the PA to the families of terrorists, action that only encourages terror.” Israel and the US have been pressing the PA to end payments to the families of terrorists jailed for attacking or killing Israelis. Palestinians have said halting stipends is out of the question. Israeli officials say Palestinians have paid out some NIS 4 billion (£0.85 billion) over the past four years to Palestinian prisoners and “martyrs” killed during attacks against Israel. Jerusalem insists the policy is a major incentive to would-be assailants to carry out attacks. Netanyahu said security forces were preparing to demolish the homes of the three terrorists in the West Bank village of Deir AbuMashal. He added that he had cancelled Ramadan visits to Israel for West Bank Palestinians and had instructed police to bolster security in the Old City. The terrorists bought their weapons themselves, and one of them was active in distributing nationalistic and religious content on the internet. They worked in East Jerusalem. Minutes before breaking the fast of Ramadan, while many Muslims flock to the street to feast, it was easy for them to mix with the crowd without Israeli security forces noticing them. To add insult to injury the original BBC news report was titled, “Three Palestinians killed after deadly stabbing in Jerusalem.” The headline omitted the fact that the three perpetrators operated in two different scenes and were

Binyamin Netanyahu

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Border Police oﬃcer Hadas Malka

neutralized after they attempted to assault Israeli policemen and killed Staff Sergeant Major Hadas Malka. US President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., took to Twitter to criticise the BBC for its misleading headline. He wrote in response, “You mean after they stabbed a female Israeli police officer to death... right? This is as close to being misleading as possible,” he charged. Prime Minister Netanyahu had reportedly requested that Yuval Rotem, the Director General of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, as well as the Israeli Embassy in London, both act to have the BBC acknowledge that the headline misrepresented the details of the attack. Within two hours the headline was changed. Both Hamas and ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic Hamas movement based in the Gaza strip dismissed the claim by ISIS and said all

three assailants were members of Palestinian organisations - two were from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Hamas like Fatah condemned the shooting of the three attackers as a “crime by the occupation.” Over the past 18 months the Old City and the Damascus Gate in particular have seen several attacks by Palestinians and, in one case, a Jordanian national. Since September 2015, mainly Palestinian assailants have killed 43 Israelis, two visiting Americans and a British student, mostly in stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks. In that time, some 250 Palestinians were killed by Israeli ﬁre, a majority of them attackers, according to authorities. Israel has blamed the violence and terrorism on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders compounded on social media sites that glorify violence and encourage attacks.

14 COMMUNITY

21 JUNE 2017

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Woodside Park members from all walks of life play a role in Shul BY DAVID SAFFER

Tottenham Hotspur and Celtic could face each other in the forthcoming UEFA Champions League at Wembley Stadium next season. One might wonder how this could impact on Woodside Park Synagogue members, which boasts one of the largest communities of the United Synagogue, standing currently at around 1,400. Part of the northwest London Eruv with Barnet and Mill Hill, Rabbi Pinchas Hackenbroch has been its minister since 2008; but prior to this posting, he began his rabbinic career at Newton Mearns Synagogue in Glasgow, home city to Rangers and the mighty Celtic. A huge sports fan, particularly football, Rabbi Hackenbroch follows the fortunes of Tottenham. A former amateur player of NW Neasden, he came out of retirement to score a goal for a Rabbi XI side that lost 9-2 against a Tottenham legends team in a charity Laniado event last September. And whilst at Newton Mearns he represented a Members of Parliament football team that included MPs from London and MSPs from Scotland for charity, so he might have split loyalties. This is a sporting rabbi who cites major triumphs as lessons of inspiration in sermons and will probably have a comment or two should this powerhouse ﬁxture north and south

of the border clash in the group stages. But it will be in good taste with a spiritual meaning! Just under eight decades ago North Finchley and Woodside Park was an informal Jewish community. High Holiday services took place at the home of Max Sebba, a wellknown philanthropist in Totteridge. As the community became established, services moved to Alexander Grove, when it became admitted to the United Synagogue in 1943. Early ministers included Rabbi Sydney Leperer and Rabbi Cyril Shine. During the 1950s it acquired its present site, which had been a Victorian Masonic temple and a ﬁre station during the World War. The Masonic temple was converted into a synagogue in 1964. Spare land was developed to include a communal hall and classrooms, named after Rev Linden and Chazan Wiseman, who both died in a fatal car crash after oﬃciating at a funeral in November 1956. Following the tragedy, Jews College responded at short notice to provide a chazan who could also read from the Torah. Teenager Michael Plaskow stepped forward and went on to serve the shul as chazan for 43 years. He and his family have settled in Israel since his retirement. The original Victorian building had two sections. The front half,

The ShabbatUK bus visited Woodside Park’s Yavneh Nursery children

The Chief Rabbi presents books to Woodside Park’s ‘Torah Dash’ participants

rebuilt in 1985, accommodates the shul, which incorporates stained glass windows from the former New Cross Synagogue in South London. The shul also keeps alive the memory of Sunderland Beit Hamidrash through its Aron Kodesh and bimah. The back section, rebuilt a decade later, is a three-ﬂoor community centre that includes a kindergarten and youth facilities. Rabbi Hackenbroch hails from Stanmore and attended Hasmonean High School prior to reading Law at London Guildhall University. He fondly recalls attending Stanmore Synagogue, where his father was a warden, and his respect for its rabbi, Rabbi Dr Jeﬀrey Cohen. “My family were very involved and I wanted to give something back to the community, so it was just a question of which way I was going to do it,” Rabbi Hackenbroch said. A rabbinical path was his choice, which began at yeshivot in Israel after university studies. Whilst obtaining semichah, Rabbi Hackenbroch graduated in practical rabbinics through the Ner Le’elef Institute and Kollel Halichot in Jerusalem at the turn of the millennium. During this period, he married his wife, Gila Elevitsky, whose father was rabbi of the Mizrachi Shul in Antwerp, in 1997. Rabbi Hackenbroch was appointed Rabbi of Newton Mearns Synagogue in 2003. “I’d never been to Glasgow but

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we were struck by the warm welcome of the community,” he recalled. “They were receptive, supportive and up for the challenge. “The move was the right opportunity at the right time. We could see there was a genuine desire to work with us and build the community together. As a result, membership increased for the ﬁrst time in a number of years, so we were very lucky.” The Hackenbrochs were renowned as hosts and for providing dynamic educational and social programmes, including a learning initiative called ‘60 days for 60 years,’ which tackled contemporary Jewish issues and attracted over 1000 people. Head of kashrut for west of Scotland, Rabbi Hackenbroch was a sought-after speaker at inter-communal and interfaith events. “It’s special when one goes to a ﬁrst pulpit, and an advantage of a

The Hackenbroch family photo

post, particularly in the provinces, is you don’t have the infrastructure of the United Synagogue, so you are involved in every aspect of the Jewish and wider communal life,” he recalled. “It enabled me to learn on the job all aspects of being a communal leader. “Being in Scotland, there was a different culture, it’s a different way of life. “We were exposed to everything under the sun, from anti-racism and interfaith events to representing Scottish Jewry on national and royal occasions. “Travelling across Scotland was a huge learning curve. I learned so much.” Rabbi Hackenbroch took up his post at Woodside Park just under a decade ago. “It was the right time to move on and no reflection on the Glasgow community,” he recalled.

21 JUNE 2017

Woodside Park Baby Blessing Ceremony welcomes new members with a teddy

“When we arrived the Woodside Park community was in a state of flux. There had been a rift between various groups so the first mission was to rebuild, galvanise and unify the community, which took a couple of years, but since then we have grown in all directions. “Our membership has increased, and the amount of programmes we do are at the forefront of many of the most dynamic, which other communities try to emulate.” In terms of educational programmes, shuirim and discussion groups are available on a plethora of topics for members of all ages. There is also a huge range of educational and social activities for youth and young families. With the shul attracting members from Totteridge to West Finchley and further afield, it is on an upward trend that it aims to continue. So how have Shabbat services, which attract 200 people when there is no simchah, developed? “Nothing stands still in communal life. At present we have one main service, then children, toddler,

Woodside Park Synagogue

COMMUNITY 15

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youth and intermediate services,” Rabbi Hackenbroch explained. “Occasionally, we have young family services as well, but we also have ‘squads,’ for boys and girls, which have been duplicated in the United Synagogue. Children who attend learn about speciﬁc subject matters, and the squads have proved exceptionally popular.” The Hackenbrochs have six children, and they are renowned for an open-door policy and for being extremely approachable. Away from shul life, Rabbi Hackenbroch practices as both a commercial and family mediator on panels, with law ﬁrms and charities to advise and resolve their disputes. He is also a frequent contributor in the press, social media and on radio. Rebbetzin Hackenbroch is a highly respected psychotherapist as well, working for the charities Camp Simcha and Noah. In Glasgow, she worked for Relate as a therapist, lectured for UJIA and was the liaison between

Glasgow and London Beth Din. A popular speaker with ladies and teenage girls at Woodside Park, Rebbetzin Hackenbroch was instrumental in Shabbat UK and other high-profile social programmes, and for several years she has coordinated the ladies learning programme, New Moonies. Woodside Park has a commitment to care and the Hackenbrochs are naturally involved in this field. Rebbetzin Hackenbroch assists in facilitating the Woodside Park Bereavement Group (The Kaddish Club) and Woodside Park Cares. “Lay chaplains visit patients from our community at Barnet Hospital and The Kaddish Club meets regularly,” Rabbi Hackenbroch explained. “People grieving have an opportunity to share as a group experience. “We have a voluntary care coordinator to help in the various needs of the community, which includes volunteers going to Reubens House, a local Jewish care home.” Known for thought-provoking and inspiring sermons and shiurim, Rabbi Hackenbroch’s innovative Learning without Limits guest speakers programme is now in its fifth year. So how does he approach putting together an inspirational sermon for congregants?

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“I keep up to date with what is going on in the news,” he explained. “The subject matter has to be something that is on people’s minds, what concerns them. If it doesn’t touch them, if it’s not relevant, then it will be a big turn-off, so I’m always trying to find issues or current affairs that are directly relevant to people’s lives. “But sometimes we don’t have a sermon. You have to be flexible so we do discussions or debates on everything and anything under the sun. “You cannot be one dimensional as a rabbi anymore. You have to vary your approach. “On a recent sabbatical, I met different communities around the world and it gave me new insights. My eyes were opened seeing what is going on. It offered a different dimension and you become more dynamic. “A danger is that you can be insular, inward focused and tied up with our own work, which does not enable you to venture out to develop.” In terms of future challenges, he noted, “We’ve pretty much outgrown our facilities at Woodside Park so we would like to rebuild at least part of the site. “We must also deepen our engagement with our already vibrant

community. Reaching out to more people is the next stage of our development as a shul.” As for demographics, Rabbi Hackenbroch describes his congregation as “a perfect bell.” “Having been an established community there is a broad spectrum of adults, but we also have 450 kids,” he explained. “Young families are constantly moving into the area, and we are particularly encouraged by the numbers of young members that have come forward to take up lay leadership roles. They are giving back and making a mark, which is encouraging for the future. “But the key is to try to create even more leaders because every person has a role unique to the community. I’m always approaching people at a simchah, or if somebody comes through our doors, to find ways where they can find fulfilment giving something back to our community that would enrich us and enrich their lives. “The great positive is that we are a community, there is a true sense of harmony and unity together with care and concern for every member. “Members from all walks of life want to play a role, and that is what makes us so special.”

Rabbi Hackenbroch at Eruv Launch

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21 JUNE 2017

Tribe-A-Side 2017 proves a hit Last Sunday, over 65 children competed in Tribe’s annual ﬁve-a-side tournament at Powerleague in Mill Hill.

Participants competed with their friends and members from six different US shuls to be the crowned Tribe-A-Side 2017 champions. Participants played in two separate tournaments: for those in school Years 7-8 and in 9-11. With scores of goals throughout the afternoon,

there were plenty of highlights, including Belmont being crowned eventual winners of the Years 7-8 tournament and the Mill Hill team winning the Years 9-11 competition. Tribe’s Community Liaison Manager, Ben Vos, said: “Once again, the atmosphere at TribeA-Side was fantastic. This event always attracts lots of youth from across our United Synagogue communities to meet, compete and play some great football together.”

The young footballers hold a Tribe banner

Young US treat members to a relaxing weekend away Young US whisked a group of over 50 young professionals away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life for an inspirational Shabbat at the Daventry Court Hotel and Spa. The weekend was run in conjunction with South Hampstead, St John’s Wood and Western Marble Arch US communities. During a relaxed Shabbat, participants had the opportunity to unwind and listen to speakers including International Media Consultant, Jason Pearlman, who

said: “I constantly find that it can be hard as a young professional to take some time out for myself and get away from the pressures of work and everyday life. It was therefore greatly appreciated that Young US organised a relaxing and enjoyable way for us all to unwind and take our minds off our hectic work lives.” Young US Rabbi Josh Zaitschek, commented: “Young US are always looking for new and innovative ways to cater for the needs of our members, and I’m delighted that this second retreat was even more successful than the first. I’m thrilled that so many came and took part in an amazing weekend, where they were able to build strong bonds with one another whilst taking time out of their busy schedules to have fun and relax. This is another great example of how we are engaging with our younger members and helping to strengthen connections with their local communities.”

discussed a range of topics. With a Q&A session involving a number of rabbis and rebbetzens as well as exciting and fun activities, it was the perfect way for everyone to switch oﬀ and enjoy the wonderful Shabbat atmosphere. Guests were also encouraged to take advantage of the spa and pool at the four-star hotel, and they were treated to a musical Havdallah and a variety of delights at a late night buﬀet on Saturday night. One participant, Sara Coleman,

Some of the young professionals

Whiskey evening raises £2,500 As a distraction to election night, Kisharon held an intimate whiskey tasting evening with whiskey expert Dr Maish Weinstein. Twenty people attended the event hosted at the home of Kisharon’s events manager Nicole Peppi and her husband Brian Gordon. Dr Maish Weinstein showcased several limited edition whiskeys and discussed the tasting notes whilst explaining how the area where the whiskey is made greatly aﬀects the taste. Guests got the chance to learn about and taste each of the whiskeys, creating a

few whiskey drinkers by the end of the night. £2,500 was raised on the evening which will go towards supporting Kisharon’s vital services. Brian Gordon, Kisharon’s Whiskey Tasting host, said: “Kisharon provides hugely important services to so many people and we wanted to host an evening where we could highlight these services and support Kisharon. It was an amazing evening of great learning, great company with the most exclusive whiskey. Dr Maish Weinstein educated us to some great whiskey,

and we’re already planning for the next one in September in time

Kisharon whisky tasting

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Participant Joel Freedman, winning captain for the Years 9-11 team, said: “The whole team played well, considering there were only ﬁve of us and the heat made it harder. We all worked hard and played the football we

knew would work. No one gave up and everyone from the goalkeeper to the strikers knew what they had to do. It was a great tournament from all the boys.”

Competing for the ball

Concert held for Hadassah

Head medical clown Dush entertains the audience in Kinloss together with Chazzanim Jonny Turgel, Steven Leas and Danny Bergson togeteher with the Shabbaton Choir under the direction of Steven Levey.

Morasha Sacks School choir perform

for people to stock up before the Chagim, so watch this space.”

Dr Maish Weinstein

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Roxy’s £2,000 run for Emunah Pedal Push at Gan Yachad raises £400 for Emunah Roxy Blumgart

Roxy Blumgart completed the St Alban’s Half Marathon while raising £2000 for Emunah. Inspired by a visit to one of the charity’s homes in Israel last year, Roxy was “privileged to witness ﬁrsthand the incredible work that Emunah does for children from diﬃcult backgrounds. So I pushed myself out of my comfort zone to raise funds for a cause that is close

to my heart.” Her eﬀorts were commended by British Emunah director Deborah Nathan, who said: “We are so proud of Roxy, and the money she has raised will make a diﬀerence to the children’s lives.” Anyone who would like to take on a challenge to support ‘at risk’ children in Israel should email deborah@emunah.org.uk or call 020 8203 6066.

Property lunch raises thousands The leading lights from the UK’s property sector came together on Friday 16 June to support Norwood, at the annual Property Lunch at the Park Lane Hilton Hotel. The event, attended by more than 750 property professionals, raised over £600,000 for the charity, allowing them to continue providing vital services to thousands of vulnerable children and their families, children with special educational needs, and adults with learning disabilities. The prestigious event saw guests treated to a rare appearance from speaker Dame Stella Rimington DCB MA, former Director General of MI5, who told a rapt audience how individual agents are still key to secret service work, saying; “Agents – the human resources – are vital, even to this day. They can do things that technology simply can’t. Counter-espionage is slow, careful work – you have to watch and engage” Following on from Dame

Stella’s appearance, guests watched the presentation of the highly-regarded Property Lunch Awards, given in recognition of exceptional performance, with Derwent London winning the Commercial Award, Pocket Living winning The Residential Award, and Allford Hall Monaghan Morris winning the award for Outstanding Achievement. They then heard from Rebecca, a young woman supported by Norwood who overcame a diﬃcult childhood to be where she is today. Speaking of how the charity helped her, Rebecca said; “Thinking back to the little girl who had lived in 16 homes in 14 years, sleeping on a mattress on the ﬂoor, I can’t believe that this is how my story turned out. My life was given a second chance because of Norwood, and I’m going to make the most of it, starting with beginning my PhD, where I’ll be able to do further research and inspire future female scientists” The day itself was sponsored

by leads sponsors, Derwent London, Galliard Homes, and Savills; media partner, Property Week; reception sponsor, Residential Land; brochure and guest list sponsor, Lawrie Cornish; entertainment sponsor, Jones Lang LaSalle; awards sponsor, The Oﬃce Group; and auction and raﬄe sponsor, Rhodium. Speaking of the success of the Property Lunch, Committee CoChair Mark Pollack said; “The Norwood Property Lunch has emerged as the leading charity property event in the calendar, and it was great to see the buzz generated by 750 guests networking in The Grand Ballroom. There is no doubt whatsoever that Rebecca stole the show: her eloquent and emotional talk about how Norwood has transformed her life, resulted in both a standing ovation and barely a dry eye in the room… reminding everyone why it’s so good to be supporting this wonderful charity”

More than a dozen nursery children enjoyed a sponsored Pedal Push at Gan Yachad while raising £400 for Emunah on Thursday, 15 June. British Emunah director Deborah Nathan said: “It is heart-warming to see UK kids having so much fun at the same time as helping less fortunate children in Israel.” She also paid tribute to nursery head Reva Ross, staﬀ and parents “for making the magic happen.” This is the Hendon-based nursery’s ﬁfth annual fundraiser in aid of Emunah.

Danielle Hirsch, aged two

Representatives from across the sector

Professionals enjoy the lunch

PHOTO CREDIT: SHARON GREEN PHOTOGRAPHIC

Sunshine for RAGS day for Redbridge local community The sun shone on Thursday the 15th as nearly 120 golfers took out their golf bags for the 47th Annual RAGS (Redbridge Aid Golf Society) golf tournament at

PHOTO CREDIT: YAKIR ZUR

Abridge Golf and Country Club raising £125,000 for community services in the Redbridge area. 26 men’s and 4 ladies teams took part in the annual tournament, organised by both the RAGS committee and the Redbridge Sports and Entertainment Fundraising committee, raising much needed funds for local Jewish charities. A cheque for £110,000 was presented to Chief Executive, Simon Morris, Jewish Care to support their work in the local area, and the Community Security Trust were presented with £10,000 and £5,000 was donated to

Sidney Gold RAGS Scholars. Overall winner of the day was Danny Waters who won the Monty & Jack Shafron Trophy. The Chair of the Golf Committee is Andy Green. Commenting after the event, committee member, Andrew Klein said; “RAGS is a real highlight in our calendar and the Redbridge Sports Committee and RAGS continue to work together to raise much needed funds for Jewish Care. We were delighted to be able to raise a total of £125,000, vital funds to support a range of services for the local Jewish community”.

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Proud golfers after raising £125 K

Jewish Care provide a wealth of services in the area from social work and family carers services, a specialist centre for people living with dementia, a nursing

and residential care home and of course the Redbridge Jewish Community Centre.

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Chief Rabbi visits World Jewish Relief’s project To mark the start of Refugee Week (19-25 June), Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis visited one of World Jewish Relief’s projects supporting refugees in Yorkshire. The programme offers one-to-one support for Syrian refugees to overcome barriers to employment and prepare them for the UK job market. The Chief Rabbi and Mrs Mirvis spent a day meeting refugees from Syria who have been brought to safety in the UK by the British government and are beginning new lives here. The Chief Rabbi blessed the refugees, saying that they should be successful in all their endeavours and that they should be reunited with their families when the war finally comes to an end. After an introduction to the project from World Jewish Relief staff, the Chief Rabbi observed an English language (ESOL) conversation class with Syrian refugees. Paul Anticoni, World Jewish Relief’s Chief Executive, then chaired a roundtable discussion with the refugees, Chief Rabbi and Mrs Mirvis. The group discussed the war in Syria, their impressions of the UK and their aspirations for the future. One of the refugees thanked the Chief Rabbi for listening to the group’s stories and expressed appreciation for everything the

Jewish community is doing to support them. Another told the Chief Rabbi how all Syrians have experienced the loss of at least one family member or have a relative who has been tortured in a Syrian jail. World Jewish Relief, the Jewish community’s international development agency, aims to assist 1,000 newly-arrived Syrian refugees to become ‘job ready’ and find suitable employment as a step towards long-term integration. The programme is informed by the charity’s experience and expertise in developing livelihood opportunities, predominantly for vulnerable Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. World Jewish Relief provides training for refugees to understand the UK workplace culture and offers practical employment support and advice through CV writing, interview coaching and work placements. The project supports refugees to gain new qualifications and boost their confidence and employability. World Jewish Relief also works with businesses to break down the barriers of hiring refugees by helping them understand what skills refugees bring. Volunteer-run mentoring and language programmes support their integration into British society and employment.

51 refugees have taken part in the programme which launched last year, with 22 now identified as ‘job ready.’ 11 have found employment. Posts include working at a major supermarket, civil engineering and a dental technician. The project is being funded by World Jewish Relief through a number of generous private individuals and foundations. The Chief Rabbi said: “It is humbling to listen to the remarkable positivity of people who have endured such enormous upheaval and yet refuse to allow this to define their future. I am tremendously proud of the generosity of our community, which is helping the refugees to meet their needs so impressively. The response of World Jewish Relief to the refugee crisis, a major challenge of our time, both far from our borders close its source, and now in the UK, has been exemplary.” Henry Grunwald, World Jewish Relief’s President, accompanied the Chief Rabbi on the visit and told the participants that he was the son of refugees and, as a result, knows only too well how difficult it is to learn the language and build a new life. Henry said: “World Jewish Relief was formed in 1933 to help people flee Nazi Germany, including

Annual Chairs brunch inspires community leaders On Sunday, the United Synagogue held its annual Chairs aand ViceChairs brunch which was hosted by St John’s Wood US. Attendees had the opportunity to consult with US Trustees and senior staﬀ at The US, receive updates on policies, funding and new initiatives, as well as sharing best practice with colleagues and peers from other US communities. The programme also included an address on ‘Communicating Your Vision’ from International Media Consultant, Jason Pearlman, as well as a Q&A session with US President Steve Pack and the US Chief Executive Steven Wilson. Jo Grose, Community Development Manager who helped coordinate the event, said: “I’m delighted that so many of our communities joined us today, working together on their

strengths and challenges, in order to enhance the events and services that they currently oﬀer to their members. We are so grateful to our lay leadership for all they do for our communities week in and week out and we are determined to continue doing everything we can to support them.” Participant Karen Ackerman, Chair of Muswell Hill US, said: “It was inspiring to be a part of

the Chairs Brunch and come together with so many lay leaders from different communities. All of the attendees are committed to growing their communities and see them flourish, with today being a major stepping stone in that direction. I would like to thank The US and their staff for their support, ideas and guidance”.

Jason Pearl speaks to the audience

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through the Kindertransport, and enable them to develop lives and livelihoods in Britain. This programme is inspired by our origins, reflecting the Jewish values of welcoming the stranger into our home and enabling people to support themselves.” Paul Anticoni said: “World Jewish Relief has been helping vulnerable people find work for 80 years. We helped children on the Kindertransport find jobs, we continue to help Jews in Eastern Europe gain sustainable employment, we enable people in disaster zones to reclaim their livelihoods, and we are now using our expertise in Yorkshire and the West Midlands to enable 1,000 Syrian refugees to integrate in to British life. “The gap in provision for employment services for refugees, combined with our extensive experience in livelihood development, means that we hope to make a significant contribution to their experience of settling in the UK, following the war and persecution that so many faced in Syria.

“We’d like to thank the Chief Rabbi for spending a day with us to meet with refugees and see our programme in action.” Laurence Saﬀer, president of the Leeds Jewish Representative Council who attended the meeting alongside executive director Susie Gordon, said: “The Leeds Jewish Representative Council is delighted to support World Jewish Relief in the project they are leading on helping to settle Syrian refugees. This is the latest phase in over a century of working with those of other faiths in our area to ensure our cities remain beacons of tolerance and respect and a welcoming place of safety for all.” Contact: Richard Verber, Head of External Aﬀairs, World Jewish Relief – 020 8736 1256; richard@ worldjewishrelief.org

Dentist visits Kisharon Mr Dentist, (otherwise known as Jeremy Kaufman) visited Kisharon’s Tuﬀkid Nursery to teach the children about oral

hygiene and how to brush their teeth properly!

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ASK THE RABBI Looking for answers? Send your question to asktherabbi@thejewishweekly.com

Are assimilated relationships worth a family feud?

Should parents show favouritism?

Dear Rabbi,

I have been invited to the twenty-ﬁrst birthday party of my niece. Her parents are making a big splash and all the family are coming, relatives from far and near, some who are more observant and others less so. The issue is that this niece is unfortunately dating a non-Jewish boy whom she met at work. I have no doubt he will be at the party. Her parents are of course unhappy about the relationship but don’t feel strong enough to do anything about it. My dilemma is that if I don’t go I know this will cause real upset between me and my sister and her husband. The fallout will be immense. But I don’t want to be that person who has to smile when introduced to him as though lending some respectability to this sham of a relationship. I certainly don’t want to bring my impressionable teenage daughters along for them to ask questions and be exposed to this sort of sorry scenario. What do I do?

I hope you don’t mind me writing to you with a rather unusual question. I am a teenage girl with a younger sister who I adore very much. But it is clear to me that my mother shows her preferential treatment and I am starting to resent it. I know it sounds crazy when I tell you that we ﬁght, which is absurd thinking about our nine year diﬀerence. But I think it is wrong for a parent to show favouritism to any child and would like to know if there is any halachic reference I could quote to my mother.

Zippi Dear Zippi, If you told me this was an engagement party or wedding I would wholeheartedly agree with your decision, as your very attendance essentially lends credence to the relationship and that would be wrong. But it’s a birthday party for your niece of which her boyfriend is a by-product. Her parents you note are weak, and of you don’t go you’ll create a family broiges whereby you have little or no chance of ever being able to inﬂuence the outcome. Being there provides an opportunity thereafter to talk to your sister and impress upon her to start “womaning up” to her daughter and telling her how she really feels. That said, I don’t think you need to bring your children along. Exposing them to anything that will prove confusing longer term. You also then strike the balance between airing your protest whilst keeping the channels of communication open.

Chaykee Dear Chaykee, Your story is reminiscent of one that Andrew Lloyd Webber made rather popular through his Broadway show, Joseph. In the Biblical story Jacob shows favouritism to his younger son Joseph which evokes jealousy from the brothers and we know where that went. The Rabbis tell us that we learn from the story how one should never show favouritism to any child over another. So, for one thing, always remember, the youngest child is always going to get that little bit of extra attention. But perhaps you could have an open and honest conversation with your mother and tell her how you feel. Better still, if you read this column then in all likelihood the paper is in your house and your Mom reads it too. Mom, if you are reading this – you have two princesses. Treat them both as queens. Is Kabbalah frowned upon? Dear Rabbi, I was invited to attend a class on Kabbalah at a place called the Kabbalah Centre. I always thought it is wrong for Jews to study Kabbalah, so why is there a centre promoting it? Or is it in fact OK for me to go? Jeremy

Dear Jeremy, There are two types of Kabbalah; the “Kosher” kind and the kind they teach at the Kabbalah Centre. Kosher Kabbalah is an integral part of Torah and Torah determines what is “kosher.” Indeed the very term Kabbalah means ‘tradition’ – revealed teachings handed down and transmitted through the ages. It seeks therefore to follow strictly the teachings and insights of that time-hallowed tradition. It is the very opposite of inventing personal innovations, regardless of how attractive they may appear to be and how much self-gratiﬁcation they may oﬀer. So recent centres which claim to teach Kabbalah – or use it as a launching pad for their own philosophies of life have nothing to do with authentic kabbalah or Judaism for that matter. They may assert that their activities reconnect their followers with religious traditions. But the record of their readings, writings, practices and attitudes prove the very opposite. To state, as they do, that they

will not observe mitzvoth until ﬁrst understanding the spiritual reasons behind them, is essentially what gives up the game. It is a denial, not only of divine authority and of Torah, but of the most fundamental premise of religion in general. It’s all about what G-d wants from you – not what can I get out of G-d. To argue, as these neo-kabbalists do, that their ways reconnect them to religious traditions, begs the question, what religion and which tradition? To claim to follow the Torah and Kabbalistic teaching while blatantly contravening the dictates of both is a self-evident absurdity. The ignorance in some of their

teachings and the distortion of some of the texts, not to mention the exorbitant fees charged and the falsiﬁcation of kabbalistic claims – brings the good name of Judaism in general and the sacred name of Kabbalah in particular, into ill repute. Stay away. Far, far away!

Follow Rabbi Schochet at: RabbiSchochet.com Twitter: @RabbiYYS Facebook: facebook.com/Rabbiyys.

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TO HASC AND BEYOND BY MORDECHAI ULLMAN It’s his sixth album in the past decade, but Mincha is more than a beautiful collection of songs. It contains many messages that have already had a tremendous impact across the planet. I set out on Tuesday (after

davening Minchah) to discover the man behind the music, whose contagious enthusiasm has enhanced so many occasions. We started by discussing the road from Hendon to the world famous HASC (Hebrew Academy for Special Children) stage, whose line-up of singers is always ﬁrst

class. For Shloime it was a big jump; in his own words “a very special experience I appreciated more after the concert.” It was his ﬁrst large performance with the legendary Jewish superstar Avraham Fried as well as many others in the top tier. In recent years, he’s also appeared on

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numerous internationallyacclaimed music events on three continents. Born into a Chassidic family in the 1970s, Shloime grew up listening to genuine Chassidic music amongst other genres. He incorporates the beauty of a wide range of music, to bring the best

of all worlds together to today’s ever-demanding audiences. Whilst weddings are where Shloime is in his element – bringing joy to a bride and groom and connecting with the hosts of the simcha – the concerts require conﬂicting modes of excitement. “On the one hand, the crowd

21 JUNE 2017

Shlomie performing with Avraham Freid

Shlomie with Yonatan Razel

prefers – as I do personally – spontaneity and humour.” On the other hand, there is the band to take into account, and perfecting the dual duties of the singer and musicians often limits the possibility of being too spontaneous on some stages. There’s another diﬀerence: “At a wedding, the guests have all come with a common goal to bring joy to the chatan and kallah,” he explains. “Whereas by a concert, you’re dealing with a much broader crowd with varying expectations.” Once stuck in a New York snow storm, Shloime and his friends arrived at the concert hall with little time to prepare. That evening was a smashing success, with the lack of preparation working in their favour. Turning to album #6,

With Helfgot and Fried

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Shloime explains that to succeed, an album needs an original name and a message. “Mincha” achieves just that. This is the first time an album has been produced with a short name that means something to everyone. Two years of enormous effort were invested into the stunning production that is vintage Gertner. At what point does Shloime reap the joy of all the effort? “When the song Mincha came in, I enjoyed the message of the song more than the song itself.” Once finished it was beautiful, but the

His latest album ‘Mincha’

message remains as inspiring as it is incredibly practical. Remarkable feedback for the album came in the form of a voice message all the way from Manhattan. Working in an area not boasting a minyan, this businessman often ﬁnds himself davening Minchah without a minyan, to his chagrin. Having listened to the song, he longed for an opportunity to ﬁt praying with a minyan in his working day. In an extraordinary twist of divine Providence, a Chabad shaliach invited him into a minyan in a much unanticipated venue. “The Ba’al Shem Tov said when people are at work and suddenly feel the shock, ‘I didn’t daven Minchah yet,’ that startling realisation opens the gates of Heaven before the prayer is actually said.” Mincha brings together local talent Shimshy Neiman as well as the big stars in the Jewish music industry. Of course there’s a composition from leading composer Yossi Green and songs from a “most amazing arranger,” Mona Rosenblum. Unique to this

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album is a “very rare” duet with Yonatan Razel, a beautiful chuppah song “Hayom Te’Amtzeinu” (a stunning version of which was recently recorded live at a chuppah in Israel and is available on Youtube). Mona waited till now to allow himself to put his entire soul into the album from start to finish. “That includes selecting and rearranging the songs, and recording the vocals, and he delivered a top production with original music that we grew up with.” Unique for this 21st century – largely thanks to Mona – is that there’s no electronic music; it’s all live instruments. Returning to live performances, I question that which is immediately noticeable at any Gertner event – the trademark smile and ensuing joy he generates. How does he manage to do that? Shloime explains it is the blessing of having a career you love. The crowd is there with the chatan and kallah, and its enthusiasm is largely dependent on the singer. Their enthusiasm is also reflected by the singer, whose enthusiasm in turn affects the crowd. His CDs appeal to a wide range of audiences, and considering his array of fans in North London alone he overcomes significant juggling acts. Some of his audience don’t want “pop” songs or English songs. Many however, want the tunes to be ‘with the times.’ This requires a delicate balance, and the result

has constantly been a beautiful blend, bridging the modern with the timeless. As a singer Shloime doesn’t merely sing; he takes part in writing the lyrics and musical arrangements too. However, more significant that no crowd is too large is the fact that no audience is too small either. Shloime is an active participant in the cheer-up squad Schmeichal. This selfless team, led by Shayele Gluck, go to hospital wards to uplift patients. The Shmeichal organisation was named so after the hit song from the Nissim album. “Erev Shabbat Shayele arrives home 20 minutes before the start of Shabbat, having performed for patients in four hospitals.” These mini-performances “not only strengthen the patients, giving them the strength to fight whatever they need to, it brings a spirit of freshness to everyone in the ward – patients and staff.” As we end our interview I ask if there’s a message for the aspiring young singer. Shloime is confident that it’s a possibility for anyone with talent. “The more the merrier. It makes everyone work harder, like a new bakery needs to add something special to appeal to customers.” Shloime sees success as Divine assistance. “One should never think they’ll have no impact on the music industry because it’s unlimited – there’s space for all. Anyone at any given time could break in to the music industry and be a bigger hit than he ever imagined.” Indeed, Shloime attributes his success to the Master Artist, the Designer of the universe, Who granted people with talents and inborn interests in different fields, who all have their share in the song of creation.

28 SPORTS

21 JUNE 2017

THE JEWISH WEEKLY

SPORTS EEKLY

ONE NATION... ...MANY TEAMS

Ronaldo, De Gea and more in transfer window rumours

BY DAVID SAFFER

The footballing ‘rumour mill’ is in full blast on potential Premier League signings for the 2017/18 season. Just over a month has passed since Chelsea lifted the title, but that is yesterday’s news as journalists, football pundits and fans alike ponder who will be lining up for leading clubs in August. And some of the game’s biggest stars are the subject of intense debate and discussion. Leading the transfer gossip frenzy is Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo who is currently playing for Portugal in the FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. The four times Champions League and FIFA Ballon d’Or winner is said to want a return to former club Manchester United after being accused of avoiding Spanish

taxes. Ronaldo denies any wrongdoing and depending on which report you read it will take an offer in the magnitude of £130m to £350m to prize the 32-year-old record Real Madrid goal scorer away from his current club. United appear set to offer £183m plus keeper David De Gea for Ronaldo and Spanish international striker Alvaro Morata (Daily Mail), whilst another suggestion is that the Reds will offer less and try buy 24-year-old Morata separately (Daily Mirror). Earlier this month, Ronaldo was instrumental in Zinedine Zidane’s team victory in the Champions League against Juventus in Cardiff when he struck two goals for a 12th crown. On an unforgettable night for the Portuguese star, his brace saw included his 600th senior career

goal whilst he also became the first player to score in three finals in the Champions League era. Zidane wants to keep his prolific striker but only time will tell how this story plays out. What is certain is that the speculation will not go away for most sought after player in the game alongside Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. Suffice to say, it’s an intriguing situation that will keep football hacks busy. Elsewhere at Old Trafford, there is no let-up where skipper United’s record goal scorer Wayne Rooney might be playing his football next season. It’s anyone’s guess but the smart money is still on a dream return to hometown club Everton, where he is sure to get regular first team football – seen as essential if the England’s leading goal getter is

Could he be re-‘United’?

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to force his way back into Gareth Southgate’s World Cup plans. Rooney was dropped from the most recent England squad when Southgate’s team drew with Scotland thanks to a last-minute equaliser from Tottenham Hotspur’s proliﬁc sharpshooter Harry Kane, who also donned Rooney’s England captain’s armband. An alternative that is still receiving plenty of media attention is a switch to the mega money Chinese Super League, where Chelsea striker Diego Costa is another a major target following on from his Chelsea teammate Oscar, who signed for Shanghai SIPG in a £60m deal, and former United star Carlos Tevez, who joined Shanghai Shunhua in a £40m transfer in the last transfer window.

However, with Chinese league clubs potentially facing a 100% tax on signings for the mid-season transfer window that runs to July 14, both deals may be in the balance. Proceeds would go into a government-run fund if enforced, in effect doubling transfer fees. Notwithstanding this situation, whether Costa does leave Stamford Bridge, another former teammate, Everton’s Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, could be heading back to his previous club under boss Antonio Conti where he endured a tough spell first time around. The Blues are also rumoured to be interested in signing Monaco midfield player Tiemoue Bayayolo and Argentine Willy Caballero as back-up goalkeeper (Evening Standard). Over in north London, FA Cup winners Arsenal have not received too much publicity, but along with

Everton, Arsene Wenger’s team are looking at Columbian striker Carlos Bacca (Talksport). Where that leaves Wenger’s myriad of strikers is anyone guess, but if the Arsneal boss does strike it lucky in the forward department then West Ham United are said to be keen on Gunners striker Olivier Giroud (Daily Telegraph). As for the Goodison Park club, when, not if, top striker Lukaku moves on, Celtic’s star forward Moussa Dembele could well replace him on Merseyside (Daily Post). Of course, that is if one of the other big guns doesn’t come in for the Frenchman first. Back across in the blue half of Manchester, Pep Guardiola is eyeing up a move for Tottenham Hotspur’s highly rated full back Kyle Walker, although he might consider his former star full back Dani Alves at Barcelona, who was in the Juve line-up that went down to Real Madrid in the Champions League final. With the release at the end of last season of both Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna, City’s boss will have to make a move in this area of team development (BBC Sport). But City have competition as Bayern Munich are the latest club to express an interest in the £45m rated Tottenham defender (The Sun). On the subject of attacking midfielders, City are said to also be in the hunt for Borussia Dortmund youngster Ousmane Dembele, who is likewise a target of Liverpool. The talented French player joined the German side from Rennes only last season, but he has impressed with mature displays. If rumours are to be believed, he

21 JUNE 2017 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

could well be on the way to another summer switch. But watch this space, because Barcelona is also believed to be watching the 20-year-old. And if the Spanish giants come into a three-way battle for his signature, they could well win the day because it would take a brave player to not want to line up alongside Messi et al. Both Liverpool and City might also lock horns over another target, Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has also captured the attention of Chelsea. Whether Jergan Klopp ends up disappointed only time will tell, but with Champions League football around the corner at Anﬁeld,

Liverpool’s charismatic boss will be sure to boost his squad whatever the outcome. And among a rumoured target is Bordeaux forward Gaetan Laborde (according to Le Parisien). The French striker had a sound season in France and a potential £9m offer could do the trick (Talksport). Liverpool have arguably had the most transfer chat around as they have also made an enquiry for Real Madrid youngster Marco Asensio, as have Arsenal and Juventus. With limited playing time likely for the Spaniard this season, a deal could just materialise at one of these European giants (Daily Star). And the Reds have still not lost hope of capturing Roma and

Dudi wins 22nd tennis title in Nottingham BY DAVID SAFFER

Israeli tennis star Dudi Sela came from a set-down to lift the men’s ATP Challenger trophy at the Aegon Open in Nottingham last Sunday. The number three seed’s 22nd career title came in a hard fought 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory against fourth seed, Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano. The triumph resulted in Sela climbing 17 places in the ATP rankings to 81. In earlier rounds the 31-yearold defeated Denis Kudla, Ricasdas Berankis, Lloyd Glasspool and Marius Copil without dropping a set in his impressive run to the ﬁnal.

SPORTS 29

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But it came too late for automatic qualification for Wimbledon this month, although he might get a wildcard as he did after winning the Nottingham tournament back in 2011. Sela started off the season in fine form by winning the Canberra Challenger then reaching the second round of the Australian Open. But erratic form saw Sela miss out on automatically qualifying for the French Open. Sela must now decide whether to compete in next week’s Wimbledon qualifiers; however should he resist the challenge he has now automatically qualified for the US Open in August.

Egypt winger Mohamed Saleh, but a £35m valuation is one the Anﬁeld club will not agree on. So it might be a case of negotiation before a possible move transpires (Sky Sports). In other transfer winger talk, Barcelona look likely to action a £10.5m buyback clause for Everton and Spain’s Gerard Deulofeu with the fee a steal in the current hyper-inﬂated market (The Times). As for last season’s Premier League runners up, one player who might be on the move is Austria defender Kevin Wimmer. Southampton has enquired about the Tottenham player but presently won’t pay the £20m asking price (Daily Mirror). Meanwhile, a player possibly

going the other way is Bournemouth striker Joshua King who has welcomed the news (Bournemouth Echo). And finally, there has been action aplenty at Claudio Ranieri’s former Premier League champions Leicester City off the field. Newly appointed boss Craig Shakespeare is poised to take on Michael Appleton as assistant and on the playing front is keen on West Brom and Northern Ireland stopper Jonny Evans (Daily Telegraph). So there you have it… although as yet there is not much news of Gunners duo Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, but who knows what the next few days will bring as the summer transfer circus continues.

BOYS TOWN JERUSALEM

13 13 for

The Ox could be waving goodbye

What is your 13 FOR 13 fundraising project? You can be as creative as you like!

Walk/run/cycle 13 miles

Take 13 dogs for a walk

Paint & sell 13 paintings

Sell cupcakes over 13 days

Invite 13 friends round for a film night

Remain silent for 13 hours

BAR-MITZVAH

PROJECT Want to raise money on your special occasion?

Money raised goes towards a Bar-Mitzvah for a disadvantaged child at Boys Town Jerusalem

Why not join the Boys Town Jerusalem 13 for 13 Bar–Mitzvah Project

Dudi Sela in action

www.boystownjerusalem.org.uk rachel@boystownjerusalem.co.uk 020 8090 8421

Reg. Charity number: 1100332

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30 KIDS

21 JUNE 2017

THE JEWISH WEEKLY

Parshat Korach In this weeks Parshah we read about jealous, evil people who tried to challenge Moshe’s leadership, and the terrible results that taught all the Jews an important lesson. Korach, who is from the tribe of Levi, has the honor of helping the Kohanim (priests) and carrying the parts of the Mishkan (Sanctuary) while traveling. But for him this isn’t enough. He is jealous of Aaron because he wants to be a Kohen too. He gets over 250 people to be on his side, and goes to complain to Moshe and Aaron, saying. “Why should you two be the leader and the Kohan? Why do you think you’re better than everybody else?” To prove that they really are worthy of being Kohanim, Korach and his men prepare an offering of Ketoret (incense) to bring in the Mishkan. Aaron also prepares an offering, and they all stand outside the Mishkan holding their pans. The earth suddenly opens up and swallows Korach and all of the other men rebelling against Moshe. All of the Jews see this and it is clear to everyone that Moshe is the true leader, appointed by Hashem, and that only a Kohen (Aaron or his sons) are allowed to bring the ketoret offering. Some of the Jews start complaining so a plague starts to spread. Aaron rushes to bring a ketoret offering as an atonement for the people and the plague stops. Hashem makes one more miracle to prove that Aaron’s family are the only true Kohanim. As a final proof that Aaron is the chosen Kohen, Hashem makes Almonds appear the dry stick that he carries with him allowing everybody sees this dead stick is growing almonds they see Aron is the real Kohen chosen by Hashem.

Across

1 He was jealous of Moshe and Aaron 3 The Hebrew word for priest 5 The English word for Mishkan

Down

2 It grew on Aaron’s stick 3 We bring this oﬀering as an atonement (to say sorry) 4 He is the leader of all the Jews

GOOD LUCK!

Arts and Crafts Egg carton very hungry caterpillar • • • • • •

You will need

1 x row of egg cups from an egg carton Red paint Green Paint 2 x googly craft eyes 1 x small piece black pipe cleaner Glue

Method 1. Cut a row of six egg cups from the carton. Tidy the edges by trimming with scissors or a craft knife. 2. Paint the head red and the body green 3. Glue on the googly eyes. 4. Now pierce two holes in the top of the caterpillar’s head. Bend a small piece of pipe cleaner into a ‘V’ shape and thread it through the holes, so it pokes up as antennae.

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21 JUNE 2017

KIDS 31

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CUT OUT & KEEP

TO CREATE YOUR VERY OWN JEWISH WEEKLY RECIPE BOOK

Cake in a mug Ingredients: • • • • • • • • •

4 tbsp self-raising ﬂour 2 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp cocoa 1 egg 3 tbsp milk 3 tbsp vegetable oil 1/2 tsp vanilla essence 1 tbsp chocolate chips Ice cream and/ or cream

Method: 1. Put all of the dry ingredients in a mug and mix it well with a spoon. Grind all of the cocoa against the side of the cup using a spoon so that there are no more lumps. 2. Put the egg in and beat it a little on top of the dry ingredients to break the yolk. 3. Add the vanilla, milk and oil and mix everything together. 4. Stir in the chocolate chips and put the mug in the microwave for 3 minutes on high. 5. Serve with ice-cream and/or cream.

Did y u kn w? Facts about chocolate

Chocolate can sicken and even kill cats and dogs.

Approximately 3 million tons of cocoa beans are turned into chocolate products each year

The world’s largest chocolate bar weighed 5792 kg!

Eating dark chocolate every day reduces the risk of heart disease by one third.

White chocolate isn’t technically chocolate as it contains no cocoa solids or cocoa liquor

Chocolate comes from a fruit tree; it’s made from a seed.

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21 JUNE 2017

YOUTH 37

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Making the Mark

part 2 of 5

BY CHAYA SANDLER

Tuning up Kayla has an upcoming job interview, and an examiner is coming to assess her music. As I told you last time, mornings are just not my thing. I am a creature of the night. As light and dark vie for control of the sky, my soul awakens, steadily shining in proportion to the darkening of the ether. So, since Hashem loves me, my interview was scheduled for the afternoon. It was to be at 5:30, which gave me precisely half an hour to dash from my school to the school where I was to be interviewed. I was praying the tube would be on time; if anyone committed suicide I would kill them. I sent off my CV and hoped it was professional-ish. They called me in for an interview so I suppose they must have liked it, but what do I say?? It’s so nerve-wracking and yet this is precisely the time I need to be the most confident! I’m this little kid really, just playing at being grown up, and now life is shoving me out into the big wide world with no one to hold my hand. I know my fellow morning travellers probably think I’m insane as I slide through the doors just as they’re closing and spend ten minutes catching my breath and then doing my hair. (I know I’m supposed to get dressed before I leave the house, but if they had sockets on the tube I would straighten my hair there. Though, in that case, my fellow passengers would probably consider me something other than mad.) But now I convinced my evening counterparts of that too. I don’t know if you’re up to that stage yet, but your first job interview is seriously nerve-wracking. You try to maintain a professional, confident air, but inside your heart makes its presence, and its nerves, known the entire time. Sitting in the reception outside the office, I stifled a giggle. Don’t laugh,

don’t cry, just breathe. Breathe, breathe, inout, in-out, not so obviously! Then of course, you’re busy surreptitiously sizing up the competition. Of course you make small talk and wish each other luck, but really all you can think of is if it’s possible for your heart to overheat. Can your heart beat too fast? Mine was trying to outdo Usain Bolt. Once you’re done, it’s time to psychoanalyse every word and move on your part and theirs. You have to get on with the rest of your life, but it’s always in the back of your mind, this little niggling feeling, the apprehension and impatience that will in no way hasten the end of the limbo into which you are now cast as you await the verdict. Hired? Or… At least it isn’t as bad as the apprentice. My interviewer wasn’t half as bad as Clive’s, and they didn’t set me even one task. I got home and pulled out my instruments. That A-level won’t pass itself. My science books lay accusingly in my bag; they would have to be dealt with later. For now, I pushed them under the desk and out of my mind. A history textbook slid out - drat you Queen Victoria but even you, Ma’am, will have to wait. The music is calling me. I get slightly soppy about music. This piece however is tinged with nerves because the examiner is coming in tomorrow and this piece must be perfect! It is already, masI know it’s a little terpiece. Still, a more practice won’t hurt… At some point that night I went to sleep. Nerves and tension and excitement ran circles around my mind as they fought for supremacy. As the moon succumbed to the sun, my mind succumbed to sleep and

silence reigned. Dawn rose and the shadows fled. I slumbered on. I awoke at my usual time of 20 minutes before the tube leaves. I fell out of bed, struggled out of my covers and made it to the bathroom, where I washed my hands (and my PJs too), dragged a t-shirt over my head and grabbed a top out of the cupboard whilst stepping into a skirt. I subjected my hair to a comb as I flew down the stairs and downed a coffee whilst pulling on my shoes. The requisite chocolate bar and smoothie were grabbed on the way out along with my bag as I ran for my life. Sliding into the tube carriage, I smudged some poor lady’s makeup as I did my hair - oops. Rachel sauntered on ten minutes later, all sweetness a n d light a n d all things bright. I hate morning people. Struggling through science, even my teachers picked up on my tiredness. For the first time in my life I actually skipped a class and slept through history. I felt so guilty. I’m normally a model student, but I consoled myself with the fact that this was the first time and I was in sixth form, plus there were some extenuating circumstances. At lunch, Rachel and Abby quizzed me on the interview and my absence. “I was zonked, guys. I could not fall asleep last night.” “Nerves?” asked Abby. “Yeah, and I need to be sharp for this afternoon. An examiner is coming to listen to our compositions.”

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“Good luck! You know you’ll be great. You are brilliant! What are you worried about?” Rachel meant well, but there is a pressure when you’re perceived to be the best. The price you have to pay for success is that you must succeed. You must be the best. You can’t come in second and you must never, ever fail. No slipping up; push yourself as far as you can go. Because you have no choice. I’m not a perfectionist, but I am incredibly demanding of myself. If I get anything less than 90, I consider it a failure. I am never fully secure in myself. As soon as I reach one peak, there is another to climb. I feel like I can never reach the top, and if and when I do, what will I have to do to stay there? I know I’m a musician. It’s in my blood, it’s in my soul. It’s who I am, it’s how G-d made me. And know I have to prove that to the world. “What instrument did you choose?” Rachel interrupts my reverie. “Flute.” This was a solo piece and it was the most precious part of my music. The flute expresses my soul. All my music does, but the flute even more so. I hate playing for just anyone; it’s baring my soul, sharing my mind, giving over a little piece of myself, and this was the biggest part of myself I had ever put into my music. Everything was riding on this one. The mark I would get for it would swing my final mark. If I did well it was a big advantage, but if I failed…I may as well not study for the exam. This was my last composition piece. After this I got my final marks for the practical. The bell rang. This was it, the moment of truth with so much at stake. And it had arrived.

TO BE CONTINUED

38 WOMEN

BY MICAELA BLITZ

21 JUNE 2017

THE JEWISH WEEKLY

Dinner is served

“I am not going to panic, it’s only dinner,” I say as I flick through my well-worn Evelyn Rose cookbook. The book was my grandmother’s, and there are notes and comments on many of the recipes in her swirly handwriting with helpful reminders to ‘stir longer’ or ‘use more eggs.’ But all the notes in the world are not going to really help me now as I stare blankly at the book, hoping for inspiration. Let me start by explaining. Whilst I am not a natural-born cook, I am nothing if not enthusiastic in my efforts. Unfortunately, enthusiasm is not the same as skill, and I have been known to over-boil vegetables until they are mush and to burn rice. One time it was so welded to the saucepan that I just threw it in the bin. My husband, Adam, never did work out where that saucepan went, and I was too embarrassed to tell him!! Being the dutiful husband, Adam has often had to smile sweetly whilst being served crunchy halfcooked pasta or unidentifiable brown slop, and I know that deep down he wishes that I would sometimes present him something that is almost edible. In my defence, I do cook some things that he likes, and I make a mean green salad, which is difficult to get wrong. I know we are not living in the 1950s, and Adam also has been known to make dinner occasionally. Surprisingly, for one of four boys, he is actually a dab hand in the kitchen. But whilst he is not Michelin-star level yet, in my opinion, he makes the best cheese and mushroom omelette this side of the North Circular! After we got married, Adam moved into my flat whilst we looked for a house somewhere that would not mean selling a kidney. We had managed to find a modest house, for a slightly more than modest price, whilst still keeping all our vital organs intact, but

FICTION

it had needed a bit of TLC. As it transpired the TLC required was actually a complete re-wiring of the whole house, a new boiler, and several coats of paint to hide the hideous, mustard-coloured walls of the previous owner. After months of living in a building site, with a constant layer of dust and a stream of builders, plumbers and decorators, we ﬁnally got our home in order. To celebrate, I had the great idea of inviting both our families over for Shabbat dinner. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, away to say thank you for the help and support (and cash injection) that all of our parents had given us for the house. For putting us up, and putting up with us throughout the building works. But with the day looming upon me, I was beginning to wish I could retract the invitation. His mother, as Adam always reminds me, is an amazing cook, baker, ice cream maker and all round regular superwoman in the kitchen, and she did this whilst raising four boys and holding down a job at the local synagogue. Although she had now retired, with no little ones at home, it just meant she had even more time to create amazing tasty morsels to put me to shame. Having now got grandchildren, she now had a whole new generation of hungry mouths to feed, and they were always happy to oblige. Whenever Adam visited his mother, he always returns with neatly labelled Tupperware full of homemade yumminess, from stews to soups, which he hides in the back of the freezer, so as not to embarrass me. He thinks I don’t know

they are there, but I do… My own mother is actually a pretty good cook too, as is my sister, who unfortunately for me seems to have inherited those genes, as well as the genes for great hair, good height and nice teeth. I seem to have gotten the ‘good at maths’ gene from my accountant father, and I spent years of my school life with braces, fuzzy hair and trying to come up with ways to make myself taller. No amount of algebra is going to help me with dinner now. “Just make something simple, that everyone will like. There is no need to go overboard, it’s just us!” my mother had said in her usual reassuring way. But when she said simple, I don’t think that she meant beans on toast, which is one of the only things I have managed to perfect. Apart from the time when I managed to burn the toast so much that the smoke alarm went oﬀ, and I had to get Adam to take out the battery to make it stop. “Why don’t you just go to the deli and buy it all in,” my best friend Shana had helpfully suggested. “They do a really good chicken soup, and you can even get a rotisserie chicken and just pretend you did it yourself.” “That’s cheating,” I tell her. “I promised a home-cooked traditional Shabbat dinner for my family, and that is what they are going to get. Made with love, by me.” “Debbie, I’ve tasted your cooking, and it will take more than love to make that work!” “Yeah, thanks. What should I do? Could you come over and help me?” “I would if I could, but I have a

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date tomorrow, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to turn down the chance of happiness so that I can help you make kugel!” “Kugel? Oh dear, I forgot about the kugel. That’s Adam’s dad’s favourite. I don’t even know how to make kugel!” After speaking to Shana I was even more stressed about the imminent dinner, so I decided to try to get an early night and just worry about it in the morning. My sleep was interrupted by vivid cooking-related dreams, or rather nightmares. First I dreamt that I had to call the ﬁre brigade just before Shabbat because I set the kitchen on ﬁre. Then giant kneidlach were jumping out of the saucepan and chasing me down the street. Finally, on opening the fridge I found that all I had was a pot of hummous and an aubergine, whilst all my guests were sitting at the table waiting for dinner. I woke up in a cold sweat, and I didn’t need any kind of Joseph-like interpretation to tell me what I already knew. It was pretty obvious that even my subconscious didn’t have much faith in my culinary skills. At work the next day, I could hardly keep my eyes open due to lack of sleep. I spent much of my time daydreaming about chicken soup. Call me crazy, but to me making good chicken soup is like one the ultimate tests for a Jewish woman. Think about it; whenever you have a bowl of soup, without even realising it you give it a rating in your head comparing it to your own mother’s, your grandmother’s, or even to great aunt Dora’s chicken soup to see how it matches up. Women have been making chicken soup for generations, each with her

PART 1 OF 2

own unique interpretation, a bit of spice here, a parsnip or two there; creating their own story through their food. How hard could it be? Chicken soup for Jews is likened to the elixir of life, the cure of all troubles, and the only thing that makes you feel better when you have a cold. My mother had shown me how to make it a few times at her house, but this would be the ﬁrst time I would be attempting it, without her there to point me in the right direction. This could make or break me… I realised that I had completely zoned out during my meeting when Matthew, my boss, brought me back into the room with the words, “So Debbie, you won’t mind attending that event tomorrow night will you? It starts at around 7pm. It will be a great chance to meet some of the other members of the team, and you never know where it might lead. Is that ok?” An event on a Thursday night? On the only Thursday night I have before the Friday night when I have six people coming to dinner? Um, yeah, why not. Of all the things I could be doing, I would love to attend a work event. Thanks Matthew, much appreciated! Of course, I didn’t say that aloud. This could be a great opportunity for me work-wise, and if I wanted to go for that promotion, I needed to get in with the rest of the team. So I said, “Yes, of course Matthew. Looking forward to it,” and gave a pathetic smile even though I was mentally calculating how many hours of sleep one person can actually survive on. Apparently, Margaret Thatcher only had four hours of sleep a night, and she was able to run the country (although some may disagree to what extent), so I’m sure I could produce a dinner... couldn’t I?

TO BE CONTINUED ...

21 JUNE 2017

WOMEN 39

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HAYLEY HYAMS - APPOINTMENT MARKETING Hayley Hyams had always worked in the financial sector, so when she was unfortunately made redundant whilst pregnant with her second child, she was able to put her significant experience into finding a new job. Hayley joined a telemarketing company on a freelance basis, and she soon realised that not only did she enjoy the role of speaking to people directly by phone, but she was actually very good at it. She started thinking about setting up on her own, and after the birth of her daughter, Sophie, she put this plan into action. Her company, Appointment Marketing, based in Borehamwood, offers clients across various sectors including IT, Office Supplies, and Education a way to target customers to create direct sales opportunities for their products and services. By identifying key potential business across both B2B and B2C companies, she is able to generate leads for her clients using the telephone, which she describes as “a powerful business tool when used correctly.” Hayley works closely with companies to understand their needs in terms of the customers they hope to attract. She helps them to create

a guide for her to use whilst speaking to prospective customers, which is not so much a script, but more bullet points to ensure that key points are covered. She is then provided data through brokers which she uses to target relevant potential customers. As well as using the data supplied to her, Hayley also likes to think outside the box, and she is often inﬂuenced by the world around her to reach out to new companies. “Recently, I was in my kitchen, and there was a jar of peanut butter on the side. I thought, why not contact the company and say that I had enjoyed their product so much

that I wanted to reciprocate and share a great service with them? So I did, and I asked if they were considering reviewing their cleaning suppliers in the near future. As luck would have it, they were actually looking for a new contract, and I managed to secure a significant amount of business for my client. All on a whim!!” Selling is obviously very much in her blood. Her father, David, used to be a salesman in the more traditional door-to-door way. When he unfortunately lost his job during a recession, Hayley, aged only 12 years old, took the initiative to get in touch with everyone

in her dad’s black book and managed to find him a new job. It is this same love of helping people that is the basis for her company and part of what she feels stands her apart from other telemarketing companies. She offers a personal touch to clients, working primarily as the main contact on behalf of each company she represents. Hayley feels that it is important to be honest and open when dealing with potential customers and to be clear about the reason that you are calling. “Often people don’t like sales calls and feel that it is an invasion of privacy, so it can be difficult to gain people’s trust on the phone. Rather than make it a sales call, I make it a conversation, and people seem a lot more receptive to this.” Part of the job that Hayley really enjoys is securing the appointments on behalf of her clients, even though she admits it can be hard work at times to get the results. “It can be a real rollercoaster, and every day is different. Some days I can secure a lot of appointments and it’s not even lunch time, and other times it can take a bit more perseverance to book something in, but I never give up.” Once the appointment is secured, she then passes the details on to her client, and hopefully they will then go on to secure the deal in a face-to-face meeting. For Hayley, this is the most rewarding part of her job. “It makes all the hard work worthwhile,” she says, “and it means that I have helped them to grow as a business. I really care about the companies I am working for and want them to be able to make money.” With almost a decade of

experience in running her own business, whilst also raising a family, she hopes that she can inspire other women considering start- i ng out on their own. “Even though sometimes it might seem diﬃcult along the way, it is deﬁnitely worth it,” she says. “Be determined and just keep going. Running my own business and making my own money gives me a real sense of worth, and I hope it will encourage other women to do the same.” It is this sense of worth that she is also passing on to her daughters, Jessica (10) and Sophie (8). She wants them to understand the value of working, and that when they grow up they can have their own careers. “My daughters know that their mummy works and that this money pays for nice holidays, new clothes and will also pay for their future. I want them to grow up to be able to be independent, and with an understanding of what hard work can achieve.” If you would like to discuss a way that Appointment Marking can help your business, please contact Hayley on 0843 289 8536 or hayley@appointmentmarketing.com.

Do you know anyone who specialises in an area of female expertise and would like to be featured on this page? Let us know by emailing micaela@thejewishweekly.com

Tips and tricks - Ice Cream Jewish Weekly aims to source the most genius, time saving and useful hacks for you every week, so watch this space! The sun is shining (at the moment), the weather has beed hot and all you want is a nice refreshing ice cream…mmmmm!! Isn’t it annoying though, when you take the container out of the freezer and the contents inside are hard as stone? Yes, you could wait for it to melt, but if you wait too long, it might be raining again! Sometimes you just need ice cream, NOW!!!

will also prevent those little ice crystals from forming and help it to keep fresher for longer.

Never have that problem again with this handy trick. Put your ice cream container in a Ziplock freezer bag before you put it in the freezer. Not only will it keep the ice cream at perfect consistency so that you can serve it easier, but it

If you have any questions or there is something you want to feedback on, please contact us on ofﬁce@thejewishweekly.com. Your question might be someone else’s solution!

Although now you know this trick, it may not be in the freezer for very long, before it’s all gone!!!

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40 WOMEN

W oman of W orth

atford and Bromley United Synagogue in Beckenham has had a weekly Friendship & Social Club for over 50 years. The club was first started by Dr Alfred Cavendish and his wife, Queenie, and has subsequently been run by other members of the community. Its current organiser, Rowena Rosenfeld, took over from her predecessor, Freda Goodman, about eight years ago, and along with her husband and her regular team of willing helpers, they have been responsible for running the club ever since. The club offers a chance for the senior members of the community to meet up, socialise with friends and enjoy a delicious three-course meal, cooked by Rowena and her team. It runs from 10am – 4pm every Tuesday, and as well as cards, games and refreshments, there is also a shiur from the minister, Reverend Cantor David Rome, grandson of the greatly respected Reverend Judah Rockman, who served the community for 45 years. Catford and Bromley United Synagogue was originally established as a synagogue in 1939 and is affiliated to the United Synagogue. As the only Orthodox synagogue in the area, it serves much of the Jewish community in southeast London and Kent within a 300-mile radius, and it has an impressive overall membership of around 300 people. It has been at its current address on Crantock Road since 1952, and in 2014 the community proudly celebrated its 80th anniversary. Although originally from Wembley, Rowena moved south of the river over 50 years ago and has never looked back. Together with her husband Paul, she ran a successful retail business for 35 years in the local area, and they are very much part of the community. They have been members of the synagogue for 46 years, and in that time they have been involved with various committees. Rowena even sat on the board for a short time. When they both retired eight years ago, Paul was concerned that they would have too much time on their hands, but Rowena had other plans. “Paul said, what will we do with ourselves once we retire, we will get bored. Having been busy all our lives, I knew that we wouldn’t be able to just stop just because we

21 JUNE 2017

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‫ֵֽא ׁ ֶשת ַֽחיִ ל ִמי יִ ְמ ָצא‬ weren’t working. I told him not to worry as I would ﬁnd something for us to do…and I did!” Since retiring they have kept busy not only helping out at the club, but with other worthwhile causes too. For the past ﬁve years, Rowena has volunteered along with other members of the community on a stand at a local supermarket to collect for charities in the area for the annual Mitzvah Day. Customers were asked to donate non-perishable goods that could be taken to a nearby food bank in Lewisham, and the response has been great. “The generosity of the customers was overwhelming. It was nice that so many people donated to a local worthwhile cause,” she says. She has already booked the stand for the next Mitzvah Day on 19th November, and she hopes that they will be able to continue their success. Volunteering is something that Rowena has always believed is important, which is why she tries to help whenever she can, not only in her work in the local area, but also with programmes in Israel. She has regularly volunteered as part of SarEl, a national project for volunteers

ROWENA ROSENFELD for Israel, where she worked in warehouses helping to pack kit bags and medical supplies for the soldiers. “It was great to meet new people with interesting stories and at the same time be able to help and support Israel. I really loved the experience, and I still keep in touch with some of the people I met.” Although the Friendship and Social Club meets on Tuesdays, the preparation for it keeps her busy for much of the week. Rowena does most of the shopping on Friday, when she travels to North London to buy kosher meat, with additional fresh produce being bought on Sunday. On Mondays, Rowena and her team come in to prepare part of the meal. Her dedication to the club has meant that even a hip replacement and two shoulder operations have not stopped her helping out, and she was back as soon as possible, even with her arm in a sling! She feels that the success of the Friendship and Social Club is very much a group eﬀort, and she is grateful for the help and support she receives. “The club deﬁnitely could not run without the whole team,

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and we work together to make it as enjoyable as possible for everyone who attends. The best part for me is when I see everyone having fun.” Joe Burchell has been the chairman of the synagogue for over 15 years, having initially held the role from 1995 to 2006 and then being reinstated in 2013. He knows Rowena well through her involvement with the shul. “Rowena is a true example of a Woman of Worth,” he says. “Without her and others like her our community would not be as strong as it is today. Being based in southeast London rather than the main Jewish hubs like northwest London or Essex, we can often get overlooked. But Rowena is typical of many of our members who volunteer their time and services to make Catford and Bromley United Synagogue a really unique and special place for the local Jewish community.”

If you would like to know more about Catford and Bromley Synagogue, please contact chairman@catfordsynagogue. org.uk or call 0208 698 9496. Check out the website www.catfordsynagogue.org.uk for further information.

If you would like to nominate a ‘Woman Of Worth’ to be featured on this page then please email micaela@thejewishweekly.com

21 JUNE 2017

Q&A WITH JUDITH

Mrs Judith Nemeth, MBA, is the founder and director of AlPiDarko Ltd. AlPiDarko delivers courses and offers support to parents and teachers, empowering them to understand their children’s behaviour and learning so that they become the expert! To find out about courses offered in your area email alpidarkohelp@gmail.com

day. And what does he really

about something in school – the

the right thing, and your comments on this. Now home is a haven. Home is a break from school. Home is a place when I can “grumble the most but am treated the best.” And if your child does complain

viewpoint. But remember that his teacher needs your support as well so your child knows that he needs to respect and honour his teacher at all times – and that will be the biggest key to his success.

What are the best approaches I can need? Plenty of encouragement, tool you need is empathy. Show adopt in order for my child to achieve catching him being good and doing that you hear and understand his his/her full potential in school?

Great question; how long have you got?! Although you are not by your child’s side during his school day, there is so much you can do to ensure he can get the most out of school, pick up all the lessons and return home fulfilled and happy. The most important approach to have is to let him know you are there for him. This is the best foundation in life that your child can have, and there are a number of ways you can do this. Let’s start with the mornings: what are they like? Well, maybe don’t answer that. But use the adage “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Now’s the time to start to plan how your child can go off every morning (or most mornings) feeling secure, happy and confident. All it takes is for you to prepare the night before and ensure that his uniform is ready and that breakfast is ready to go. Then he can go off in the morning with his bag packed, sandwiches made, forms signed, homework done etc. And maybe, if you can, tuck a little note into his lunchbox or school bag sending love and wishing him a great day! It’s these little things that count. And what messages does your child take with you through the day? Does he feel that you support him when he comes home from school or criticise him for not being the top? Does he feel that as soon as he comes home he has to fight for his place to get a word in edgewise or that he will have his

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space to talk to you and share his day? Will he come home to an inviting supper and also have a quiet space to do his homework? Again, it’s those little things that count. Building your child’s self-esteem during your contact times gives your child the confidence to forge ahead and succeed. How does this happen? Imagine an empty glass. This is the glass that holds self-esteem. What you are aiming to do is to fill this glass with your child’s successes by building on his strengths and giving him opportunities to perform what he does best – whether this is in the arts, helping around the home or indeed anything he is good at. Giving children opportunities to succeed with their inborn talents fills up that cup. When that cup is full the process continues – but now your child has the confidence to push himself outside his comfort zone – try those harder maths questions, volunteer to speak in public, offer to be a monitor. Once the cup is full, he will not only be willing to try something new but will also flourish in social circles. It’s great if you’re able to be home for them every day, but even if you’re not, leave a note or a little treat just to show that you wish you were there. When you do see your child, for sure you can ask the question “and how was school today….?” But don’t always expect an answer or certainly not immediately. Asking the question leaves the door open for your child to share if he wants to. However what he really want to do is just be home, play, chill and not be interrogated about his

Q A

Can parents “prevent” bullying?

Bullying is a fact of life in many schools. We cannot wrap our children up in cotton wool; neither can we keep them in a bubble protecting their self-esteem. So can you do anything to build resilience in your child so that he does not fall victim to a bully – or become the bully himself? We CAN do an awful lot, via effective parenting, in trying to ensure that our children do not turn into bullies and, should they be confronted with a bully, can withstand their taunts. Bullies go for the vulnerable child – so how can I try to help my child avoid being that victim? Any child who feels good about himself will not be easy prey to the bully – or become one. And isn’t one of our most important tasks to find our child’s individual talents and strengths and build on those so that his identity and self-esteem are intact? There are two key foci in parenting that will help you help your child withstand bullying: giving him the confidence of knowing his place, and ensuring he feels safe, secure and unthreatened at home. The tools for building a child’s self-esteem can all be put into one box labelled: “Encouragement!” An encouraged child feels good about himself; does not need to criticise others to aggrandise himself; will not fall prey to others’ telling him he’s no good.

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Never overlook any opportunity to encourage your child – every act he makes has been a choice – and if he’s making the right choices, notice them and describe how his good choices please you. One way of reminding yourself to notice the good is remembering the adage, “In this house good behaviour gets noticed.” In how many homes is it only the bad behaviour that gets noticed? “You didn’t go to bed on time!”; “Why didn’t you brush your teeth?”; “You always argue with your brother!”; “Your bedroom is a mess!” What if your child was always hearing “I noticed you sharing your toys!”; “Thank you for clearing up your toys!”; “I love the way you’ve brushed your hair.” This child feels valued and loved – and knows his place positively. And secondly, you need to make your home a haven. When your child comes home does he feel confident that you have ears open to his stories about school – or is he worried you will interrogate him on “what marks did you get?”; “why are you friendly with…..?”; why didn’t you eat your lunch?” Our children need to feel that home is a place we are not criticised; we can say what we wish without being contradicted; we are respected for who and what we are – whatever our age and abilities. This is not to say that we will not guide our children and correct their sometime inappropriate behaviour and/or comments. So what is the difference between criticism and correction? It’s all in the timing: when we tell off a child at the time of the

misdemeanour – this is criticism and builds resentment; when we correct a child just before he may do something wrong again – this just points the child in the direction you want him to go. And you know what? He’ll go that way! But what to do if, sometime during the year, your child comes home and either complains he is being bullied or describes some behaviours that you construe as bullying? The ﬁrst thing is not to overreact or panic. Your child is watching your reaction very carefully – and if he sees you react strongly to this news, he may use this later as a ploy to get attention. What you do need to do, though, is keep your eyes and ears open. Whilst continuing to build your child through encouragement and helping him to see things in proportion, it is also essential to keep your antennae tuned in to repeated complaints about a particular child (or group of children) in school. And if you’re worried, contact the school and work together in sorting this out. An age-old discussion amongst educators is: Who does one really need to help – the bully or the bullied? The fact is, when it is your child, you want to help him whatever the side of the fence he is on – and eﬀective parenting can work wonders.

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