Essex Jewish News Chanukah 2024

Inside your 24-page Community Newspaper

CHANUKAH ISSUE 5785/2024

ART EXHIBITION

SPORTS DINNER

CHANUKAH PANTO

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THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER FOR THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN ESSEX & EAST ANGLIA

MITZVAH MADNESS ACROSS ESSEX

Members of East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue cleaned up the grounds of Haven House, while our Jewish primary schools collected for charity (pictures by Karen Zetter)

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UR region’s synagogues, schools and communal organisations came out in force for this year’s Mitzvah

Day. Paying tribute to the amazing projects that took place, Mitzvah Day Founder and Chair Laura Marks CBE said: “It was so heartening to see people all around Essex, and all over the UK, put on their green T-shirts, roll up their sleeves and join us in these acts of citizenship, communitybuilding and helping those who need us most.

“After a truly challenging year, on Mitzvah Day our faith communities did what we do best – we came together to give back.”

Mitzvah Day is the UK’s largest faithled day of social action. This year’s theme was Stronger Together – highlighting the need for unity after a year of unprecedented division, polarisation and anxiety within Britain’s faith communities.

Pupils at Wohl Ilford Jewish Primary School collected for Camp Simcha and Sikh welfare charity Nishkam SWAT. A true cross-faith project, Harj Sethi of Nishkam SWAT also addressed the school’s Kabbalat Shabbat assembly.

Speaking to the Essex Jewish News afterwards, he said: “This is an amazing coming together of two faiths. The children, parents and teachers of WIJPS have donated dried food, warm clothes, hats, socks, scarves and gloves which we will distribute to those in need – of all religions and none – in Ilford and Stratford.

At the end of the day, this is all about our shared humanity.”

Year five pupils then paid a visit to

Jewish Care Vi & John Rubens House care home in Gants Hill, where they brought cheer to residents. It was the culmination of a three-week programme, run with the charity GIFT, about the art of small talk.

The school’s Jewish Studies Lead Deborah Harris said: “The children have gained so much from the experience and have asked to go back to the home to see their new friends. Watching the two generations interact on Mitzvah Day was very special.”

New Essex Masorti Synagogue also went to Jewish Care Vi & John Rubens House on Mitzvah Day weekend, holding their Shabbat service there. The event was extremely well attended by residents, relatives and NEMS members, with prayers led by the community’s trainee rabbi Tim Motz.

The care home’s activity manager Jacklin Stephenson said: “What a wonderful Shabbos we all had due to NEMS joining us for a service. We have spoken to the residents and everybody enjoyed it. We would like to thank all the people who came to make a most memorable morning.”

Members of East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue helped to clean and clear the grounds of Haven House Children’s Hospice, as well as baking cupcakes for families and staff of the hospice.

ELELS Mitzvah Day Co-ordinator Merle Muswell told us: “Haven House Children’s Hospice has also been close to the hearts of our members. On this Mitzvah Day, it was really important for us to be able to help this amazing and much-

needed institution for our area. It was an honour and a pleasure to support them.”

Children from Clore Tikva School collected toys for Camp Simcha and non-perishable food for the Chabad Aid Foodbank. They were able to tell Rabbi Jordan Helfman of Oaks Lane Reform Synagogue all about it when he visited on the Friday before Mitzvah Day. Oaks Lane then held their own Mitzvah Day, organised by the synagogue’s new Bnei Mitzvah teacher Yael. The community’s youngsters decorated plant pots and filled them with plants, which were then donated to Vi & John Rubens House.

Ilford Federation Synagogue and Chigwell and Hainault Synagogue both collected food for good causes including GIFT and US Chesed, which will go to families facing food poverty in our community and beyond.

Linda Conroy of Ilford Federation said: “Mitzvah Day comes every year and we wanted to do our bit to fulfil the commandment of mitzvah during this difficult time.”

Members of the Redbridge Jewish Community Centre delivered get well soon cards to patients currently at Whipps Cross Hospital, while tenants at Jewish Blind & Disabled donated toiletries to Jewish Women’s Aid. Children and adults at Harlow Jewish Community – including Rabbi Irit Shillor – marked Mitzvah Day by collecting urgently needed items for Harlow Food Bank, while Southend Reform Synagogue held a tea and quiz as well as cheder activities.

Further afield, in the East End of London, Jewish Care Brenner Stepney Community Centre hosted a Mitzvah Day tea and entertainment, sponsored

by Clifford Chance, where residents – including Holocaust survivor Henry Glanz – danced with staff and volunteers.

Speaking about the day, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – who took part inside 10 Downing Street – said: “Mitzvah Day is a day of service, uniting thousands of people from different faiths and backgrounds to do good in support of those in need. No matter the challenges we face, and no matter what our differences may be, we are always stronger together.”

In total, 35,000 people of all faiths and backgrounds took part 2,500+ projects across Britain – and even more in a further 41 countries around the world. They also included London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, senior Conservative MP Bob Blackman, Bishop of Edmonton Revd Canon Dr Anderson Jeremiah, Progressive Judaism Co-Lead Rabbi Charley Baginksy and Imam Asim Hafiz, the Islamic religious advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff.

Looking back over a hugely successful Mitzvah Day, and a whole month of projects and events in its lead-up, the charity’s CEO Stuart Diamond reflected on what makes it so special. He said: “Mitzvah Day is a joyful experience that inspires people to give back to their communities.

It’s a reminder that even small acts of kindness can have a big impact.”

• See all the Mitzvah Day pictures on pages 4-5

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The Essex Jewish News is the newspaper of the Jewish community in Essex and is published by Essex Jewish News Ltd. CIRCULATION AREA Barking, Barkingside, Brentwood, Cambridge, Chigwell, Chingford, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping, Gants Hill, Gidea Park, Harold Hill, Harlow, Hainault, Highams Park, llford, Leyton, Leytonstone, Loughton, Newbury Park, Ongar, Redbridge, Romford, Southend and Westcliff, Wanstead and Woodford.

ESSEX JEWISH NEWS TEAM: Chair: Philip Leigh Directors: Manny Robinson, Simon Rothstein, Jonathan Bloom, Marc Shelkin, Micaela Blitz, Hazel Weinberg Editor: Simon Rothstein Editorial Consultant: Manny Robinson News and Features: Micaela Blitz, Linda Newman and Pat Lidiker Proofreaders: Jan Martin-Ellis and Sherri Hoppen Typesetting & Artwork: Jason Levy and Kate Abram (Dynamic Pear) Printing: Sharman Printers COPYRIGHT: All material is the copyright of Essex Jewish News Ltd and must not be reproduced without the written permission of the Editor.

CONTACTS: All stories, pictures and editorial contributions should be sent by email to simon.rothstein@hotmail. co.uk or mannyrobinson@outlook. com For all advertising opportunities, please contact: sales@essexjewishnews.co.uk

USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS Age Concern Redbridge 020 8220 6000 Ahada Bereavement Counselling 07758 727 328 Alzheimer’s Society 020 8970 5770 Board of Deputies Information Desk 020 7543 5400 Chabad Gants Hill addiction support 020 8554 1624 Chai Cancer Care 0808 808 4567 Chigwell and Hainault League of Jewish Women 0790 560 5781 Chigwell and Hainault JACS 020 8551 2355 Citizens Advice Bureau 0870 126 4140 Empathy 07765 191 067 Gants Hill JACS 0208 550 9450 Jewish Lads’ and Girls’ Brigade 020 8989 8990 Jewish Bereavement Counselling Service 020 8457 9710

Jewish Blind and Disabled 020 8371 6611 Jewish Care 020 8922 2222 Jewish Care Community Events 0208 418 2100 or email: timea.kasza @jcare.org Jewish Marriage Council 020 8203 6311 Jewish Women’s Aid 0800 591 203 League of Jewish Women www.theljw.org email: office@ theljw.org Redbridge WIZO 020 8551 1301 Resource 020 8346 4000 Samaritans 020 8553 9900 /020 8520 9191 Southend and Westcliff JACS 01268 771978 The Paperweight Trust 0330 174 4300 Phone numbers are correct at the time of going to press. If your contact number or the contact number of your organisation has changed, or if you would like a contact number to be included, please advise us.

Meet the team

PAT LIDIKER Each issue we introduce you to a member of the wonderful Essex Jewish News volunteer team Tell us a bit about yourself?

I have spent a lifetime in journalism. My first job, working for the Leicester Mercury, lasted over 30 years. I have also edited local glossy magazines and freelanced for various nationals, including as regional correspondent for The Jewish Chronicle.

During my career, I’ve been lucky enough to interview politicians – including Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Harold Wilson – as well as authors and stars of stage and screen. I have even covered Royal visits. It really is the most fun job in the world!

What is your personal connection to the Essex area?

My late husband Stanley and I brought up our two children in Leicester – Louise, who married an Essex boy and lives in Epping, and Michael, who settled in Melbourne.

We lived in a warm and vibrant community in Leicester, and I co-wrote two books about the historic synagogue there. When Stanley and I eventually “retired” to the Bournemouth seaside I joined the Wessex Jewish News!

Eight years ago, after losing my husband, I decided to move to Woodford Green to be nearer my family.

How and when did you first became involved with the Essex Jewish News?

One day when I was at the supermarket, I picked up a copy of the EJN. I really liked the paper and contacted the Editor, Simon Rothstein, about being involved. We met for lunch; he invited me to write for the paper and it proved a perfect stepping stone to integrate with the wonderful Essex community.

It has been a great way to meet different people and make new friends.

What is your role within the paper?

I have been part of the writing team for a few years now and regularly contribute to the paper on a wide range of subjects.

I think that journalists are inherently nosy people who are not afraid to

ask questions, and I am no exception and I bring this experience to the stories I cover for the paper, whether it is interviewing local MPs or covering newsworthy events.

Why do you think that the EJN is important to the local community?

The Essex Jewish News is more than just a local paper. It is a unique publication that encompasses an entire county in its pages sharing fascinating and interesting stories from across the local area.

It also gives a platform to local Jewish schools, charities, synagogues and organisations to make people aware of their activities and highlights the diversity of the county and represents every level of Judaism.

Reveal a fun fact that people would not expect?

My dream of being a journalist took root as a girl when my father’s cousin, Judith Simons, regaled us all with exciting tales about her own work on newspapers in the North.

She was always my inspiration, especially when she became the entertainment editor on the Daily Express and wrote the first stories about a new band called The Beatles!

One memorable day, Paul McCartney casually started strumming a new song.

He said he liked her name, so it started as Judy Baby, he changed it to Hey Jude and the rest is history. Maybe you’ve heard of it?

Judy wrote a big splash on the front pages about it and naturally it become family legend. I still miss her.

What do you enjoy most about writing for the paper?

I’ve always thought that journalism is the best career in the world, but when I moved to Essex, I was on the verge of retirement. Being able to write for the EJN has meant that I have been able to continue doing a job that I love and proves that there is no age limit.

I would encourage others to consider a career in journalism and writing for a local paper, like the EJN, is a great start.

So no matter your age, or career stage, the Essex Jewish News is for you!

• To write for the Essex Jewish News, please email simon.rothstein@hotmail. co.uk • To help support this newspaper, please donate at www.tinyurl.com/ EJNDonation

WHERE YOU CAN PICK UP THE ESSEX JEWISH NEWS SYNAGOGUES Brentwood Reform Synagogue Chabad Buckhurst Hill Chabad Epping Chabad Gants Hill Chelmsford Jewish Community Chigwell Synagogue Chingford Synagogue Cranbrook United East London & Essex Liberal Synagogue Harlow Jewish Community Ilford Federation Leytonstone and Wanstead Synagogue Loughton Synagogue New Essex Masorti Oaks Lane Reform Romford Synagogue

Southend & Westcliff Hebrew Congregation Southend Reform Sukkat Shalom Woodford Forest

SCHOOLS Clore Tikva King Solomon High Wohl Ilford Jewish Primary COMMUNAL Jewish Blind & Disabled Aztec House Jewish Blind & Disabled Hilary Dennis Court Jewish Blind & Disabled Milne Court

Jewish Care’s Southend & Westcliff Jewish Community Centre Jewish Care’s Vi and John Rubens House Limewood Court, Beehive Lane The Shop, Southend

RETAIL Delicacy, Chigwell Gary Green, Clayhall La Boucherie, Barkingside Reuby’s Salt Beef & Cheesecake Bar, Clacton-on-Sea Shalom Bakery, Gants Hill

SUPERMARKETS Morrison’s Loughton Sainsbury’s Barkingside Sainsbury’s Brentwood Sainsbury’s Loughton Sainsbury’s Newbury Park Sainsbury’s Ongar Sainsbury’s South Woodford Sainsbury’s Southend Sainsbury’s Westcliff Tesco Barkingside Tesco Collier Row Tesco Epping Tesco Westcliff Tesco Woodford Avenue LIBRARIES Fullwell Cross Gants Hill

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Details of Chanukah lightings and events

By MANNY ROBINSON

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UNDREDS of people are expected to brave the cold weather and turn out for the public Menorah lightings marking the festival of Chanukah.

Events, organised by Chabad, will be staged over the eight days of the festival throughout Essex and North East London, beginning at sunset on Wednesday 25 December.

These public lightings will take place in Loughton, Gants Hill, Buckhurst Hill, Epping, Chigwell, Ongar, Havering, Barkingside and Woodford.

Southend and Westcliff Hebrew Congregation, along with the city’s council, are holding lightings every night of Chanukah. They are open to the entire Jewish community of the area, as well as general members of the public.

Many other synagogues in our region will also be running lightings in their areas – including the annual event hosted by Leytonstone and Wanstead Synagogue – as well as putting on Chanukah parties, services and trivial pursuits.

These include a Chanukah craft event being held on Friday 20 December at Lea Bridge Library, Walthamstow, from 3.30pm-4.30pm.

To find out more about a Chanukah lighting, party or event near you, please contact your local community – a list can be found at the bottom of page 2, opposite.

Chanukah and Christmas coincide this year, a clash that only happens

once every 15 years – meaning it has been nearly two decades since Chanukah was celebrated so late in the calendar year. It was back in 2005 that the holiday also ran from 25 December through to 2 January 2006.

We know this paper has a number of non-Jewish readers and supporters, who enjoy picking it up from their nearest supermarket.

For those of you who wish to know

more about Chanukah, also known as the Festival of Lights, it is an eight-day festival celebrating light over darkness.

It commemorates the victory of the Maccabees, Jewish freedom fighters, who routed the oppressive Syrian Greeks from the Holy Land and restored the Temple service.

The culmination of the miracle was when the Maccabees entered the Temple and found there was just one small bottle of pure oil to fuel the

Please help us bring light into the lives of those who need it this

Menorah. Expected to only last for one day, it burned for eight straight days.

Parents will often give their children one small present each day of the festival, to mark the eight days for which the oil burned.

Traditional food enjoyed during Chanukah are cooked in oil, to celebrate the miracle, and include latkes and doughnuts. These are also often given out at the events taking place!

Chag Sameach (happy holidays).

As people in our community live longer, the need for care and support is greater than ever before.

We are here not only for older adults who face loneliness, isolation, and the challenges of ageing, but also for younger individuals and families who need mental health support.

However, we are facing an additional cost of £1.1million each year, as a result of the rise in employers’ National Insurance outlined in the recent Budget.

Your donation, now more than ever, will bring light into the lives of the 12,000 people we touch every single week.

To donate, please call 020 8922 2600 or visit www.jewishcare.org/chanucare Thank you for your continued generosity, we wish you and your family a happy Chanucare.

you can also donate here!

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24th November 2024 Photo gallery 2

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London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s interfaith ‘Take & Make’ recipe box packing

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Redbridge Jewish Community Centre get well soon cards for Whipps Cross Hospital

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New Essex Masorti Synagogue Shabbat at Jewish Care Vi & John Ruben’s House

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Ilford Federation Synagogue collection for GIFT

Wohl Ilford Jewish Primary School collection for Camp Simcha and Nishkam SWAT

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Wohl Ilford Jewish Primary School visit to Jewish Care Vi & John Ruben’s House

Oaks Lane Reform Synagogue decoration of plant pots for Jewish Care

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Clore Tikva School collection for Camp Simcha and Chabad Aid Foodbank

Harlow Jewish Community collection for Harlow Food Bank

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East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue tidy of Haven House Children’s Hospice

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The Board of Deputies of British Jews food collection

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Mitzvah Day tea at Jewish Care Brenner Stepney Community Centre

• Thanks to Karen Zetter, Caroline Teo, Tony Knox and all those communities who sent in their photos.

Will you help save lives this winter?

Please Donate SCAN TO DONATE

worldjewishrelief.org/winter T: 0208 7361250

With war raging, freezing temperatures and blackouts, now more than ever older Jewish people in Ukraine need your help.

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Stanislaw’s art returns ‘home’ for Oaks Lane exhibition

By SIMON ROTHSTEIN

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N exhibition celebrating the life and work of Stanislaw Brunstein (1914-1994) ran during November and early December at Oaks Lane Reform Synagogue – the community where the renowned Warsaw-born Jewish artist made his home after surviving the Holocaust.

For a long time after the Shoah – in which he lost his entire family – Stanislaw did not paint. He only resumed his passion in 1962, creating memories of pre-war Polish Jewish life. He said at the time: “I told myself if I could paint and recreate this society, it would be a way of making certain that no one would forget.”

Stanislaw’s first major exhibition took

place at Oaks Lane Reform Synagogue nearly 60 years ago – so it is fitting that is where his paintings returned.

Opening the exhibition, his daughter Denise said: “It is with great pride, pleasure and nostalgia to once more have my father’s paintings shown in our synagogue.

To say this is timely is an understatement.

In this difficult and ever-challenging world of rising anti-Jewish hatred, somehow the images of Jewish characters, albeit painted ones, hiding away in our loft, become an irony too hard to stomach.”

Titled ‘To Life! From Memory to Canvas: Celebrating the Life and Work of Stanislaw Brunstein’, the exhibition was split into three parts.

The Shtetl Room was designed to give the viewer a full-bodied experience of the vitality of life in pre-war Poland – cramming in as many characters and scenes as possible on the wall.

In contrast, the second, called – Family/ Attachment/Separation/Loss, was defined by empty spaces and pictures of people hungry, fearful and mourning.

The third – named after the artist himself – displayed a series of self-portraits and looked at how Stanislaw experimented with different styles and content.

Writing in the last edition of the Essex

Thank you for everything, Deborah

Jewish News, former Reform Judaism President and friend of Stanislaw, Rabbi Professor Tony Bayfield said: “The deaths of the six million are an agony far beyond articulation or comprehension. But a major part of my learning has been about the equally unique and inarticulable pain and suffering of the survivors. This suffering continues even to the second and third generations. And so too does the faithfulness, loyalty and love – as we have expressed in the lives of Denise and Lorna, Stanislaw’s children.”

The exhibition was made possible thanks to the support of The National Holocaust Centre and Museum, Oaks Lane Reform Synagogue, Redbridge Museum and a number of passionate volunteers.

• Pictures courtesy of the Brunstein family.

Harlow hosts inspiring interfaith service

By MICAELA BLITZ

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EBORAH Mulqueen – the person most responsible for keeping the Essex Jewish News financially viable for the last decade – has retired.

Deborah made a real mark as the EJN’s Head of Advertising, becoming wellknown throughout the community for her passion for both the paper and promoting the work of communal organisations and businesses within its pages.

EJN editor Simon Rothstein said: “We are a volunteer-run community paper, which distributes thousands of copies for free all over Essex – as well as publishing online. It is only thanks to Deborah’s dedication and hard work that we have been able to attract the advertising to continue to fund this vital communal asset.”

Deborah first started working for Frank Cass’s publishing company in 2001. As well as running many businesses, Frank – who died in 2007 – was also the founder of The Bridge, which was the forerunner of the Essex Jewish News.

When Barbara Newman, the woman who was responsible for selling advertising for this paper, sadly passed away mid-way through production of the Chanukah 2013 edition, Deborah was asked to help out

whilst they found someone else to take over.

As she jokes: “Eleven years later, and I am still just helping out!”

Now that she is retiring, Deborah is looking forward to being able to be more spontaneous and hopes to have more time to spend with friends and family. As a lifelong Spurs supporter, one of the things she is planning to do the skywalk across the top of the stadium with her daughter.

Deborah is also planning to continue research on her family tree, which has seen her discover new family connections. Her goal is to uncover even more information and share this with her children and grandchildren, so that they know more about their ancestry.

Looking back at her time at the paper, she says: “It has been a pleasure to work with the many members of the EJN team over the years. I always had a soft spot for the late Clive Bayard, who was very supportive. I wish everyone at the paper lots of luck for its future.”

Advertising for the Essex Jewish News will now be handled Adrian Cohen and his team at Mr Paperman. If you wish to place an ad, please email sales@ essexjewishnews.co.uk.

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ARLOW Reform Synagogue brought together a diverse range of community leaders and faith representatives for a special interfaith service.

Among the guests were Harlow MP Chris Vince and the Deputy Mayor of Sawbridgeworth Salvatore Pagdades, as well as the community’s leadership including new Chair Jon Kaye. They were joined by representatives from the Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Baháʼí faiths.

The service was a mixture of shared values and mutual respect, with each representative offering readings highlighting the common threads of compassion, peace and unity. The atmosphere was one of warmth and inclusivity, with everyone coming

together to celebrate their shared humanity.

Following the readings, the congregation enjoyed a delicious kiddush, featuring traditional Jewish foods that added a festive touch to the occasion.

The kiddush encouraged everyone to mingle, share stories and build connections.

Jon Kaye said: “This service was a powerful demonstration of the strength of interfaith dialogue.

“The event fostered connection and understanding – reminding everyone of the importance of coming together in a divided world – and exemplified how faith communities can work together to create a more inclusive and compassionate society.”

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The importance of remembrance E

Top award for our Micaela

SSEX Jewish News writer Micaela Blitz was part of the production team that won the Social Impact Award at the AIXR Awards in Rotterdam, Holland (pictured).

Micaela produced a virtual reality project that tells the stories of Holocaust survivors for a new generation.

Titled The Journey Back VR – and created by East City Films and Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center – the work applies cutting-edge technology to engage visitors on an emotional journey with Holocaust survivors.

The AIXR Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in virtual and augmented reality.

Read more in the Pesach edition of the Essex Jewish News.

Ashley Kissin, Jeff Ellis and Sam Isaacs of Romford Shul and the pupils of WIJPS were among the 3,000 people who marched in the AJEX Parade

By SIMON ROTHSTEIN

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EWISH communities of all denominations across Essex came out to honour the Jewish men and women who served and fought for Britain – taking part in both local ceremonies and the national AJEX Ceremony and Parade.

This year’s AJEX event saw a record 3,000 people parade from Horse Guards to the Cenotaph. Its theme was ‘Marching Together, Standing Tall’ – chosen not only to remember and commemorate those who protected us in the past, but to also highlight the importance of the fight against antisemitism today.

The organisation’s national chair Dan Fox said: “This year’s Parade was an exceptional display of unity and pride.

‘Marching Together, Standing’ Tall isn’t just a theme - it reflects our collective strength as a community.”

In addition to the parade itself, AJEX’s ‘Remember in Red’ campaign saw pupils at Jewish schools wear red to mark Remembrance Week, plant poppies and hear from veterans. A special Shabbat was also observed in synagogues, with memorial prayers said.

AJEX CEO Fiona Palmer said: “We came together to honour the sacrifices of Jewish veterans, showing our unwavering pride in being British and Jewish. We are proud to celebrate our community’s significant contribution to the fabric of our society.”

New Harlow chair ‘optimistic for the future’

By PAT LIDIKER

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ROADCASTER Jon Kaye (pictured) has been elected as the new chair of Harlow Jewish Community.

The Reform synagogue is enjoying continual growth as more Jewish people move out of London to Harlow and its surrounding towns, taking advantage of strong transport links, great amenities and lower house prices.

Jon now leads an enthusiastic team with a commitment to get things done and ensure the future of this vibrant community.

He will work with former chair, and now deputy chair, Lorraine Kirk, and the rest of the synagogue council in a true team effort on behalf of members.

As a freelance broadcaster, Jon’s contribution to the Jewish community has been immeasurable since the early 1990s, when he presented a daily Jewish programme on Spectrum Radio. He has since worked for stations including LBC and BBC Essex, and also spent several years at Jewish Care - where he ran a recording studio producing talking newspapers, books and audio magazines distributed throughout the UK. Speaking after his election, he said: “I’m delighted to be taking on this role, following on from Lorraine – who has done a great job.

“We are lucky to have a terrific rabbi, Irit Shiller, and our own permanent building.

With more Jewish people moving to Harlow, Bishop’s Stortford and towards Stansted Airport, I’m optimistic for the future.”

Every single penny raised through this appeal will be ringfenced to fund Jami’s mental health services

“Jami has been our light at the end of a very dark jamiuk.org/chanukah tunnel.”

From helping Amy to manage her anxiety to supporting Talia as a parent carer, Jami is a lifeline for many families. So that we can bring hope and light to many more, please donate to Jami this Chanukah.

To donate, scan the QR code, call 0208 922 2600 or visit

Donate to Jami this Chanukah

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Talia, Amy’s mum

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A first wedding ceremony for Vi & Johns

Football quiz scores another fundraising success

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EWISH CARE’S annual, hotly contested, Redbridge Football Quiz raised £6,000 for the charity.

The event – run by Jon Jacobs and the Football Quiz Committee – is now in its 23rd year and has raised over

£100,000 to date. This year’s event was won by Alan Hakimi’s team (pictured).

Jon said: “Congratulations to Alan and his team, and a huge thank you to everyone who came along to support the quiz once more.”

Michelle and Jason on their second wedding day

By MICAELA BLITZ

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OU may remember the Essex Jewish News celebrating the wedding of Michelle and Jason Schwartz in the Rosh Hashanah edition of the paper. The happy couple were the first ever to get married at Jewish Blind & Disabled’s Aztec House in South Woodford.

Unfortunately, due to Michelle’s mother Loretta’s ill health, she was unable to attend. The couple wanted her to be involved in their nuptials, so in another first, they held a second wedding ceremony at Jewish Care Vi & John Rubens House care centre in Gants Hill for Loretta and the other residents.

As Michelle told the EJN: “My mother has dementia, and I wanted her to feel that she was part of the wedding in some way. She was not able to come to our wedding, so this was a way to bring it to her.”

When Michelle initially approached the centre, as she was planning the wedding, they were keen to make it happen for her.

The care home’s activity manager Jacklin Stephenson said: “It was so special for us all to make this memorable simcha for Loretta, Michelle and Jason.

Loretta was so happy on the day, and she enjoyed it so much. We made invitations and sent them to all the residents who were so excited to get dressed up for the occasion.”

Many of the volunteers got involved in the celebrations from holding the chuppah to making beautiful fascinators for all the guests. Even the centre’s shomer, Rabbi Dovid Shaw, brought a musical element to it by singing prayers accompanied on his guitar during the service.

Michelle and Jason along with Loretta

and the other wedding guests then enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea, and the happy couple were even able to have their first dance (again!) to Always and Forever by Heatwave.

Jacklin said: “As well as being a happy occasion for the family, our residents, volunteers and staff have all been reminiscing about weddings. Everyone was just so uplifted by the couple sharing this with us all at the home and it was an overwhelming success.”

Being able to celebrate her wedding with her mother in this way was a unique experience, and Michelle says she would encourage others to consider sharing their own simchas with family members in this way.

She added: “It was priceless to see smiles on my mother’s and the other residents’ faces. It was a very special day, and I am grateful to everyone who helped make this happen.”

Loretta was so happy to see Michelle get married

Southend’s Doris celebrates as she turns 104

By PAT LIDIKER

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ORIS Rose, pictured here with her friend and Jewish Care volunteer Jack Leaf, enjoyed her 104th birthday with enough celebrations to put someone half her age to bed for a month.

Firstly, a party with friends and family at Jewish Care Southend & Westcliff Community Centre, shared with her great-granddaughter – who turned 25.

There was also a celebration at Southend & Westcliff Hebrew Congregation’s Pop In Centre, a family

meal at a restaurant in Tilbury and finally a Murder Mystery Evening at Woodford Forest United Synagogue. Needless to say, not all on the same day!

Doris enjoyed every moment and told us: “I want to use the pages of EJN to thank my loving family and everyone who keeps me happy, active and engaged – not least my son John and his wonderful wife Stevie.”

We too wish Doris happy birthday and look forward to reporting on her 105th in 2025!

Take your place in the line dance

By PAT LIDIKER

L

INE dancing sessions have become a major feature of Jewish Care’s community programme, and you don’t have to be as young and flexible as a Strictly professional to join in. Or have to struggle into a leotard!

Regular participant and volunteer Helen Brown told us: “It is so much fun, not serious and a great way to enjoy yourself. The hardest part is the first step, if you don’t know anyone and you’re coming alone then it can be very hard.

“But everyone here is so friendly and classes like this encourage participants

to come out of their shell a bit more each time. It’s easier once you get through that first barrier of attending and as well as being great fun this is a stimulating way to exercise.”

Hour-long sessions take place as part of the Redbridge Jewish Community Centre programme – currently taking place at Woodford Forest United Synagogue – every other Monday from 10.30am.

Members and volunteers alike can enjoy the music and socialising while knowing it has a positive overall effect on their wellbeing.

Line Dancing at Jewish Care’s Redbridge Jewish Community Centre

CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n 9

Business boost for Essex entrepreneurs B USINESS PEOPLE from around Essex enjoyed a day inspiration, learning and networking at Work Avenue’s Enterprise Expo.

Work Avenue is the community’s leading employment and business support organisation. The Enterprise Expo is its flagship annual event and featured a series of high-profile Jewish business leaders sharing their strategies for success.

The title of this year’s Expo was ‘Customer First, Always’. Explaining the importance of the theme, Work Avenue CEO Debbie Lebrett said: “This isn’t just a slogan. It’s a mindset, a guiding principle and, ultimately, a blueprint for business success.”

The event was organised and hosted

by Work Avenue Head of Business Joanna Sadie and Business Adviser Kim Davidson.

Speakers included Bourne Leisure CEO Paul Flaum, Slip Receipts Founder and CEO Tash Grossman, Craig Hartzel of Hartz AI, Social Misfits CEO Rebecca Martin and Nick Rabin, the Founder of Possibility Consulting.

Reflecting on what he has learned at Bourne Leisure – the hugely popular UK holiday business which includes the Haven and Warner Hotels brands – Paul told those gathered: “You must always have a customer-centric mindset, and get your mission and culture right.”

He added: “The good news for those here today is that, due to the transformative nature of new technology, it is much easier for small businesses to disrupt and attack big businesses.”

Just as valuable as the expert-led seminars were the buzzing networking sessions and vibrant discussions that took place during the coffee and lunch breaks.

Expo attendee Julia Morgan running her Fit For All business

Event hosts Kim Davidson and Joanna Sadie

Attendee Julia Morgan, from South Woodford, runs inclusive personal training company Fit For All. After 20 years as a special educational needs teacher, Julia created her own small business – spotting the real need within the fitness industry to support those with special needs disabilities.

Work Avenue have supported her on all aspects of the business journey, including with producing a business plan, branding, marketing, cash flow, finding clients, strategy and maintaining focus.

Now 10 months into her business, Julia has built up a number of personal training clients and also runs group classes, including for a local authority. Even more importantly, she is providing a vital service

for those with special needs disabilities that isn’t available anywhere else.

Julia said: “I couldn’t have done this without Work Avenue. Teaching is such a controlled, structured and routine career, and running your own business is the total opposite of that – so that support and

insight has been vital.

“The Enterprise Expo itself was an inspiring and thought-provoking event.

I came away with lots of action points and ideas for my business and had the chance to network with many like-minded people.”

Paul Flaum AND Tash Grossman share their business tips

INDEPENDENCE. DIGNITY. CHOICE. Raymond’s stroke had a devastating effect on his and Pamela’s life until they moved in to their Jewish Blind & Disabled apartment. Now they enjoy the best of both worlds – independence with a social life on their doorstep.

Registered Charity No. 259480

Raymond & Pamela moved into their state-of-the-art mobility apartment in 2019.

To donate or find out more about our housing and support, please visit www.jbd.org or call 020 8371 6611

10 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024

Tour the new Jewish Care community campus J

EWISH Care CEO Daniel CarmelBrown has given an update on the building of the charity’s new care and community campus in Redbridge – and invited Essex Jewish News readers to take a tour.

Daniel said: “We are delighted that our new development is taking shape and is on track for completion in 2026.

“In spring 2025, we will be inviting the local community on hard hat tours to begin to share in the excitement of seeing our long-held vision of this new first-class campus for north east London and Essex.”

Jewish Care recently held a tour for its cornerstone donors, the Sugar and Ronson families, along with key members of the Redbridge community.

In May 2025, the charity plans to

hold an online community fundraising campaign, to raise the additional funds to help complete the vision for the new, modern and fully accessible campus.

Daniel added: “The hub will meet the needs of the local community in north east London and Essex, now and into the future.

“It will include The Sugar Family Care Home, a 66-bed care home to replace our Vi & John Rubens House care home in Gants Hill, The Ronson Community Centre, The Dennis Centre for people living with dementia, and the base for our local Social Work and Community Support Team and Meals on Wheels hub.”

• To register for one of the hard hat tours of the campus, please email info@jcare.org.

Rebbetzin Henry Brandman with the Chabad Women’s Circle members

Shabbat Dinner in an hour

H

ENNY Brandman, Rebbetzin at Chabad Buckhurst Hill, hosted a very handy and practical workshop on how to make a four-course Shabbat dinner in one hour.

The evening began with tips on cooking gefilte fish, an instant pot chicken soup and matzah balls. The main dish included a delicious honey lemon chicken with a choice of sides, including pumpkin pie, shawarma spiced cauliflower and soy green beans finished off with a one-

bowl chocolate brownie, apple cranberry crumble or easy lemon pie.

Everyone got to taste all the dishes and went home with a handy souvenir recipe booklet complete with tips and shopping lists.

The events are part of a Women’s Circle programme which hosts other baking events along with arts and culture evenings throughout the year.

To find out what’s on next, please visit www.chabadonthehill.co.uk.

Key donors visit the site of Jewish Care’s new first-class care and community campus in Redbridge

Chelmsford Mayor helps community celebrate 50 years

M

EMBERS of Chelmsford Jewish Community were invited to the Mayor’s Parlour, as part of the congregation’s 50th anniversary celebration.

Chair Stan Keller said: “It was a very interesting experience and we were made very welcome by the Mayor, Cllr Janette Potter together with the Mayoress, the Deputy Mayor and other members of the Mayoral team.

“Following the visit, we had a splendid

Derek Silverstone with the AJEX Standard by the new plaque

Dunkirk war hero honoured in Leigh ceremony

afternoon tea at the Little Channels Bistro. Fifty is a notable achievement but will the CJC be around to mark the 60th?

New members are very welcome.”

The CJC is an independent community that welcomes Jewish people of all shades of religious observance and background, as well as nonJewish members of mixed faith couples and families. To find out more, please email info@jewishcommunitychelmsford. co.uk.

A The Chelmsford Jewish Community celebrate with the Mayor and Mayoral team

COMMEMORATIVE plaque was unveiled to honour the Dunkirk War Hero and Jewish Naval Officer, Sub Lt Martin Solomon.

More than 50 people attended the ceremony, at Strand Wharf, Leigh-on-Sea, which also coincided with Merchant Navy Day. The service was acknowledged by flying the Red Ensign.

The World War Two hero was

honoured by the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women of the UK (AJEX). Southend and Westcliff Hebrew Congregation (SWHC) warden Derek Silverstone held the AJEX Standard, while SWHC Chairman Dennis Baum gave a brief account of Sub Lt Martin Solomon’s history.

If you wish to find out more, there are several websites where you can read about the hero’s many exciting exploits.

CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n 11

David Dein dinner raises £83,000 for Jewish Care

A

LMOST 200 guests attended Jewish Care’s Redbridge Sports Dinner to hear David Dein MBE in conversation with journalist and broadcaster, Matt Lorenzo.

Co-owner of Arsenal for 24 years, vice-chair of the Football Association and president of the G-14, many have said that without David Dein, there would be no Premier League.

Sports Committee chair Andrew Klein introduced the guest speakers, whose conversation roamed from stories of sporting icons – including Arsène Wenger, Ian Wright and the late Sven-Göran Eriksson – to the international footballing calendar, the best players he did and didn’t sign, David’s opinions on VAR, and a

real-time clock at matches.

Jewish Care vice chair Gayle Klein made an appeal for the new care and community campus in Redbridge and, after a lively auction, led by Matt Lorenzo the charity’s new chair, Marcus Sperber thanked the guest speakers and all who attended.

Ellisa Estrin, director of fundraising and marketing at Jewish Care said: “We are so grateful to both David and Matt for giving up their time to be with us and for sharing insights.

“With the fantastic support of our guest speakers, and the amazing generosity of our guests, the evening raised over £83,000 to go towards funding our brand new £24m care and community campus in Redbridge.”

Carole and Mick are top of the table

S

TANDARDS were high at the annual Table Tennis Tournament held by the Redbridge Jewish Community Centre (RJCC).

Thirty-eight people took part, with

a group of RJCC cheerleaders there to welcome the players and umpire Andy.

Congratulations go to the winners Carole and Mick, who took home the trophy, and runners-up Madeleine and Tim.

Chabad Buckhurst Hill launches new teen events A NEW series of events for young teens, in secondary school Years 7-9 has launched in Buckhurst Hill.

Chabad runs monthly teen events which have become extremely popular in the community. They offer a safe and fun place for teenagers to come together monthly, to hang out with friends during the dark winter nights, without their parents and with fun and exciting activities planned.

October saw a ‘Pizza Making in the Sukkah’ event, November’s session

included learning how to make delicious chocolate rugelach alongside games rooms fun, socialising and a fun Kahoot Quiz Game. December has an ice-skating trip to JW3 planned, joining forces with a group of teens traveling down from Birmingham for the day.

Looking into the coming year, the next evenings will be held on Saturday 18 January and Saturday 15 February.

Contact Chabad Buckhurst Hill on office@chabadonthehill.co.uk or 020 8279 2987 to find out more.

12 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024

Chanukah greetings

to the Community 5785/2024

Rabbi Yanky & Rebbetzen Rochel and family, the Honorary Officers and Board of Management Wishing all readers a joyous & happy Chanukah

ILFORD FEDERATION SYNAGOGUE A thriving community

2a Clarence Avenue, Ilford, Essex IG2 6JH Tel: 0208 554 5289

wishes the community a Happy Chanukah 5785

Rabbi & Rebbetzen Singer, The Honorary Officers, Board of Management and our Community send greetings to all EJN readers for a Happy and Peaceful Chanukah A

ILFORD FEDERATION SYNAGOGUE

ROMFORD & DISTRICT (AFFILIATED) SYNAGOGUE (Incorporating Havering Jewish Ladies)

25 EASTERN ROAD, ROMFORD, ESSEX RM1 3NH 01708 741690 The Honorary Officers and Congregation wish everyone a Happy and Healthy Chanukah

Rabbi & Rebbetzen Wollenberg, Rabbi Hill, the Honorary Officers & Synagogue Council wish all readers a Happy Chanukah 20 Churchfields, London E18 2QZ Telephone 020 8504 1990 www.wfus.org.uk

Southend and District Reform Synagogue 851 London Road Westcliff-on-Sea Essex SS0 9SZ Telephone 01702 711663 www.southendreform.org.uk

Greetings from

WOODFORD FOREST UNITED SYNAGOGUE

2a Executive Clarence Avenue, Ilford, Essex 6JH The and Council of IG2 Southend Tel: 0208 554 5289 and District Reform Synagogue, More than a synagogue together with just Rabbi Warren Elf MBE, warmly wish the and all **Daily morning and community Sabbath services** games readers**Weekly a happy andafternoons** healthy Chanukah

London

East and Essex Liberal

Synagogue

Rabbi Richard Jacobi and

Emeritus Rabbi David Hulbert, the Honorary and Officers

Council send warm wishes to the community and all readers of The Essex Jewish News for a

Healthy and Happy Chanukah

To find out more about East London & Essex Liberal Synagogue please visit www.elels.org.uk.

**Large active JACS group** **Full educational programme** Kabbalat Shabbat and Shabbat morning *New modern designed building** services aremodern held weekly Zoom, halls forby hire** **Attractive with fortnightly Shabbat morning **Lift to all floors including Sabbath**

services at SDRSOfficers Rabbi Singer, the Honorary and Board of Management wish all You are welcome to joinand us. readers of the EJN a Happy Please contact the synagogue for details.

Peaceful Chanukah

The team at the Essex Jewish News wish all our readers a Happy Chanukah

B KING SOLOMON HIGH SCHOOL

WOHL ILFORD JEWISH PRIMARY SCHOOL

Headteacher: Ms M Phillips Tel: 020 8498 1300 info@kshsonline.uk www.kshsonline.uk

Headteacher: Mrs L West Tel: 020 8498 1350 office@ijpsonline.co.uk www.ijpsonline.co.uk

The Governors, Staff and Students at both schools wish the whole community a very happy Chanukah

A fresh approach to design, branding and communications

Wishes the Essex Jewish community a very Happy Chanukah www.dynamicpear.co.uk

CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n 13

wish all of our friends and supporters a very happy and healthy Chanukah

For all advertising opportunities, please contact sales@ essexjewishnews. co.uk

On behalf of Executive Directors: Rabbi Aryeh MBE & Devorah Sufrin of Chabad Gants Hill Rabbi Odom & Henny Brandman of Chabad Buckhurst Hill Rabbi Yossi & Rivkah Posen of Chabad Epping Rabbi Tzvi & Mushkie Birnhack of Chabad Southend-on-Sea

ϮϮ ĞĞŚŝǀĞ >ĂŶĞ͕ /ůĨŽƌĚ͕ ƐƐĞdž͕ /'ϭ ϯZd

Gants Hill: www.chabadilford.co.uk Buckhurst Hill: www.chabadonthehill.co.uk Epping: www.chabadepping.co.uk Southend: www.chabadsouthend.co.uk

ZĂďďŝ ^ƚĞǀĞŶ Θ ZĞďďĞƚnjĞŶ ^ŝŽďŚĂŶ ĂŶƐŬLJ͕ ƚŚĞ džĞĐƵƚŝǀĞ ĂŶĚ ^LJŶĂŐŽŐƵĞ ŽƵŶĐŝů ǁŝƐŚ ĞǀĞƌLJŽŶĞ Ă ,ĂƉƉLJ ŚĂŶƵŬĂŚ

A friendly and inclusive Reform synagogue

Wishing everyone a very happy Chanukah

In our town-centre building you’ll find: • Shabbat and festival services • Cheder • Social events • Adult education And more… www.harlowjewishcommunity.org.uk Want to know more?

Email us at admin@harlowjewishcommunity.org.uk

Rabbi Goodwin and Chaya, Rabbi Rosen and Olivia, the honorary officers and synagogue council together with our pre-school nursery wish all readers of the Essex Jewish News a very happy Chanukah.

Limes Avenue, Limes Farm Estate, Chigwell, Essex IG7 5NT

14 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024

Focus on

The 653 and the 647 trolleybuses...

COLCHESTER the East End’s ‘Jewish’ travel stars

By PAT LIDIKER

By EDDIE SUMMERS

Photo © Ben Brooksbank (cc-by-sa/2.0)

The inside of Colchester’s lovely synagogue

C

OLCHESTER, the historic County Town of Essex, has only had its own shul since 1969 but today attracts members from Colchester, Clacton, Ipswich, Frinton, Coggeshall, Woodwood and Sudbury and beyond.

Membership of the independent Colchester and District Jewish Community currently comprises more than 90 families, boosted by increasing numbers of Jews continuing to move out of London since the 1960s – as well as staff and students from Essex University.

Yet early records show that, in the 12th century, a Benedict of Norwich paid a hefty fine for selling goods without licence to, among others, Aaron, Isaac and Abraham of Colchester. There are many other references to local Jews through the Middle Ages… not always complimentary!

The evacuation from London during World War II brought many Jewish families to Colchester as well as other “safer” towns and cities across the UK. Jewish National Servicemen posted there held Friday night services at their garrison, inviting service personnel from the Commonwealth and USA. They also introduced communal sederim.

All this sparked incentive for the establishment of a proper community and in 1969 land was bought from the Spiritual Church to be converted into the town’s very first synagogue.

It was officially opened by then Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jacobovits.

Tanya McFerran, chair of the congregation, told us: “We don’t have a rabbi and so our own committed group of leaders take the services, alternating traditional and contemporary services to reflect and meet the needs of our community.”

These leaders include the shul’s warden, Harvey Newman, who – as we reported in the last issue – unveiled Clacton’s new Holocaust Memorial, having taken on the major role of fundraising to make it possible.

Tanya said: “For us as a community it is the culmination of years of recognising the impact of the Holocaust, purely in relation to Clacton where we have supported Holocaust Memorial Day services for a very long time.”

The community also recently celebrated its first wedding for several

years when members Naomi Fellerman and Raphael Graziani married.

With family and friends coming from Italy, America, Australia, France and all across the UK – many were able to visit this wonderful part of Essex for the first time.

Naomi, who was born in Harlow but spent most of her adult life in Bedfordshire, told us: “We first met on Jdate and had a long distance relationship for about four years.

“I worked in London and lived in Bedford while Raphael’s house was in Colchester where he works. Rather than him having to move and change jobs, it made sense to get married and live here.”

Naomi still commutes to London although the couple have put down roots within the Colchester community and are involved with the communal Seder and other events.

Their wedding ceremony was conducted by Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein – one of the most senior rabbis within Progressive Judaism – and the bride walked in to the melodious sounds of Dodi Li, sung by the groom’s cousin Manuela Sorani from Milan.

It was another special day for this special community.

• To find out more about Colchester and District Jewish Community please visit www.cdjc.org.uk

Naomi and Raphael on their wedding day

T

HOSE of us who once lived in the area between the East End and Stamford Hill – encompassing Stepney, Mile End, Bethnal Green, Shoreditch, Dalston, Hackney, Clapton and Stoke Newington –will always remember the ‘Jewish’ trolleybuses… the 647 and the 653.

These two red monsters played a prominent part in our lives. As a schoolboy, I took the 647 from Stamford Hill to Aldgate, then on to Arbour Square, E1, the location of Raine’s Foundation Grammar School.

On six evenings a week, either of these buses would transport me to my Club, Oxford & St. Georges, then based at the Bernhard Baron Settlement, Berner Street (later re-named Henriques Street.)

When I left Raine’s, I had a succession of junior-type jobs, before being conscripted into National Service in 1950.

As the decade drew to a close, London Transport announced that the trolleybus was to be phased out, and replaced by the already operating diesel bus.

And so, on 16 May 1962, the last London trolleybus made its final run – route 604 in Wimbledon. With its sad demise, much of the character departed London’s streets.

For the trolleybus had a style and presence all of its own, as it glided smoothly and gracefully between stops.

I recall with great clarity, an average Autumn morning in the late 1940s travelling to work on the 647 or 653, depending on where my employment was at the time.

At around 7.30am, Stamford Hill was invaded by hordes of mainly Jewish workers, boarding the five trolleybus routes – 643, 647, 649, 653 and 683 – bound for the East End or the City, where hundreds of clothing factories and workshops were concentrated.

On the bus, tailors, pressers, machinists and cutters filled the dusty seats with their bulky overcoats encroaching the aisles. Dense cigarette

smoke swirled around as Players Please, Woodbines, Churchmans and Senior Service were puffed, ash littering the floor.

The Daily Express, Mirror, Worker, Herald, Sketch and News Chronicle were dotted about, pages rustling.

Conversation was a colourful mixture of animated Yiddish and broken English, confined mainly to: cursing the ‘Guvnor;’ blaming Hymie for sewing in the shoulder pads improperly; how close to winning Littlewoods or Vernons Pools; and the judgements on Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham and Clapton Orient.

Loud exclamations of “do me a favour,” “I should live so long,” “me, you’re asking?” and “He should take a meesa meshinna!” pierced the foul, grey air.

The packed bus whooshed past stops that were choked with long queues.

Disappointed, forlorn faces would peer at the passing passengers, who responded with smug stares.

Most of the workers carried sandwiches for their lunch, usually in a brown paper bag.

People then were not particularly weight or diet conscious, so the bread was liberally spread with schmaltz.

Of course, at Pesach time, the bags contained matzos, accompanied by say, gefilte fish or a pickled cucumber. As the men and women moved up, down and around the bus, the matzos could be heard crackling in their pockets!

The two half-hour journeys there and back, were highly entertaining to a neutral observer. The characters who frequented the 647 and the 653 inhabited a kind of Jewish Damon Runyon world.

The ‘ding’ of the bus-tickets being punched; the swinging roof-poles; the conductor’s wisecracks at every stop; the Yiddishisms - these remain powerful memories of the period.

The ‘Jewish’ trolleybus is no more, gone but not forgotten. Will it ever come back? I should live so long!

CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n 15

60 Second Schmooze:

Lizi JacksonBarrett Picture by Photography by Rohini

We start with each person speaking for one minute, giving us an introduction to themselves and their business. We then welcome a guest speaker to share their own experiences as well as tips or advice we can all use.

I have also introduced what I call the ‘Chesed’ round which encourages acts of kindness within the group. It is an opportunity for people to offer some sort of help or support to another member of the group – whether that is an introduction or helping them with developing their website. It can be just a small thing but inspires people to ask for help from others in the group.

Often entrepreneurs can feel shy to ask for help, but when there is an onus on everyone doing something for someone else it feels more balanced.

What future plans do you have for the group?

I hope that our Newbury Park group goes from strength to strength with more local people joining. I have already spoken to people about setting up groups in different areas, and in January we will be opening a group in Edgware and then, in February, in Southend. We are also talking

CONFIDENCE coach, author and TedX speaker Lizi Jackson-Barrett is the founder of the Jewish Business Network group which launched earlier this year at Oaks Lane Reform Synagogue in Newbury Park. She talks to Micaela Blitz about setting up the network and her big plans for its future.

How did the Jewish Business Network start?

In November 2023, I was at one of the regular business networking groups that I’d attended for years. A woman, who was there as a visitor, commented on how nice the venue was and I replied that it was where I’d held my children’s B’nai Mitzvah party. Nervously she whispered to me: “Are you Jewish too?”

As a Jewish entrepreneur herself, she admitted that she was apprehensive in sharing that kind of information within a business forum – especially as the 7 October terrorist attacks had happened the prior month and antisemitism was on the rise.

It made me consider my own feelings on identity, how many other Jewish business people might also be feeling about this and how it affects presenting their authentic selves for fear of revealing parts of their identity.

A few weeks later, when I was picking up my kids from Oaks Lane, I was speaking to one of the other parents about my business. He suggested we have a further conversation about whether his place of work could use my coaching services This started me thinking about how many other opportunities may be out there for people within the Jewish community to help each other with contacts and introductions.

I guess both encounters led me to creating the Jewish Business Network.

In September 2024, we held our first meeting.

How did you attract other Jewish business owners?

To promote the Jewish Business Network, I had to think about where the most appropriate places would be to post so advertised through the Oaks Lane newsletter, as well as Facebook groups such as EssexK. We also placed an advert in the last issue of the Essex Jewish News.

When I sold my first ticket, I was really pleased but also worried in case that was it. If no one else turned up that would be a disaster! I aimed to sell 15 tickets for the first event as I thought that would be a reasonable start. I actually ended up selling 40 tickets, which was amazing and really encouraging.

What was the first meeting like?

It was a hugely diverse mix of people from different business sectors and across different age groups from people in their 20s who were just starting out to those in their 70s who had been in business for many years.

It was a great opportunity for people to network and share their experiences.

Some of those who attended had never been to a networking event like this before but felt comfortable in the fact it was a Jewish group.

How do the meetings work?

We meet every third Monday of the month in the evening from 7:15-9:30pm in the Oaks Lane Reform Synagogue building.

The meetings have a structure based on my favourite parts of other networking groups I have attended.

about setting up groups in Liverpool and Hertfordshire.

I feel like this is the right time for a group like this and ultimately, my plan for 2025, is to set up one new group a month, in different locations around the country and online, and then by 2026 I would like to go global.

Currently my main business is as a confidence coach but potentially if this continues to grow then this may become my main business and I am excited to see what develops.

How can people find out more about, and join, the Jewish Business Network?

We have just launched our new website - www.jewishbusiness.network – which is very exciting and gives a lot more information about the group.

There are two ways that people can be involved, either as a pay as you go visitor or as a member for either 6 or 12 months.

Becoming a member allows access to additional benefits such as being part of a WhatsApp group, details on other events and groups that may be relevant and also inclusion in the business enquiry service that I’m planning to add to our website.

The Jewish Business Network in full swing at Oaks Lane picture by Amanda Hall Photography

Happy Chanukah FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT OAKS LANE REFORM SYNAGOGUE WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN OUR GROWING COMMUNITY WHERE WE LIVE JEWISH LIFE WITH PURPOSE FOR FURTHER DETAILS OF ALL OF OUR SERVICES, FAMILY FRIENDLY PROGRAMMES AND OTHER EVENTS PLEASE CONTACT US AT: WWW.SWESRS.ORG.UK WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SWESRS OFFICE@SWESRS.ORG.UK 020 8599 0936

16 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024

The Essex boy and his ‘unapologetically Jewish’ pantomimes

By LINDA NEWMAN

R

OLL up, roll up for Jewish panto season: The corny gags, slapstick, cartoon baddies and singalongs are all here.

Oh yes, they are!

The tradition of pantomime has long been associated with the festive season at Christmas time. But now the genre has been transformed ‘as if by magic’ taking on a Jewish identity, theme, jokes, even some Yiddish – and is now set to become a regular part of our Chanukah celebrations, bringing together the traditions and joys of Jewish storytelling and traditional panto.

Last year the UK’s first ever professional Jewish pantomime, Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Pig, received rave reviews and here comes a brand new panto now showing at the JW3 cultural centre on Finchley Road, written once again by playwright and performance artist Nick Cassenbaum.

Nick, 36, has collaborated on work for the Royal Court, Battersea Arts Centre and Soho Theatre – but his first big break came in the Essex synagogue of his youth.

The playwright grew up in Woodford Green and taught at the cheder at Woodford Liberal Synagogue (now part of East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue).

It was there, at the age of 16, that his first ever panto-style work – a Purim Spiel based on Cinderella – was written and performed. A glittering career has followed, with Nick describing his work as “extremely Jewish but rooted in British popular theatre”.

So how did his first professional Jewish pantomimes come about?

Speaking exclusively to the Essex Jewish News, Nick said: “William Galinsky, director of programming at JW3, got in touch and asked me if I’d be interested.

“I write the script and also lyrics for the songs and then as it goes along different members of the team and cast often put in their own slant.”

This year’s panto, Nick’s second, is Goldie Frocks and the Bear Mitzvah.

Nick told us: “What’s different with our versions is that whilst most pantos take a fairy tale and perform it as a fairy tale, ours are completely rewritten.

“This one features Goldie Frocks, who lives in a workshop, and Mama Bear, who is planning her son’s ‘Bear Mitvah!”

The cast includes Debbie Chanzen, returning as the dame in the hilarious role of Mama Bear, as well as actress Heloise Lowenthal (Goldie Frocks), performance artist Frankie Thompson (Baby Bear), magician Frankie Thomson (Spirit) and actor Simon Yadoo, who plays the baddie Calvin Brine.

Nick added: “The beauty of pantomime is that the performers want to have a good time and their input is really important. Debbie almost rewrites

the script while it is in her hand putting in her own jokes and gags!”

Last year’s panto – Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Pig – was set between the fictional towns of ‘Gants On The Hill’ and ‘Edge of Ware’; this year’s show is set around the East End and ‘Piccalilli Circus’ as well as “Cirque de Oy Veh’.

The fun storyline has plenty of twists and turns: Goldie Frocks has been trapped in the workshop of the evil fashion designer Calvin Brine for all her young life. Wicked Brine has a dastardly plan to take London’s Fashion world by storm and he is after a fur coat made from a Baby Bear to get his wish! Meanwhile in the happy big top at Piccalilli Circus, ringleader Mama Bear is getting ready for her cuddly, 13-yearold, Baby Bear’s Bear Mitzvah!

I wondered how do the younger members of the audience get it as it is much more layered than a usual pantomime because of all the Jewish jokes and Yiddish references?

“True family entertainment works on several different levels,” says Nick.

“It appeals to younger kids, because I make sure all the usual pantomime tropes are in there; we’ve got villains that they are desperate to boo, we’ve got the whole - what used to be called the ghost sequence of ‘who’s behind you?’ – plus slapstick and songs that are easy to sing along to.

“I’ve really tried to make sure that there’s something for everyone. This year by centring it around a Bear Mitzvah, I think there’s a lot for teens and kids going to cheder. Plus I’ve included a whole routine with a ‘Two Ronnies’ style sketch based around Jewish objects. And there’s lots of magic tricks too.”

Last year’s panto was enjoyed by non-Jewish audience members just as much as the Jewish ones. Nick told us: “You don’t have to be an elf to enjoy Lord of the Rings. People just love a good story. Some might laugh at different moments from others, but that’s the beauty of panto – it has always operated on different levels.”

A three-piece Klezmer style band joins the cast live on stage with every song a parody of one made famous written by a Jewish person.

As Nick concludes: “We’ve tried to make it all unapologetically Jewish in every way.”

• Goldie Frocks and the Bear Mitzvah will be at JW3 – the UK’s flagship Jewish cultural centre – 341-351 Finchley Rd, London NW3 6ET until 5 January.

Book via www.jw3.org.uk/panto.

• You can also see Nick Cassenbaum’s new play Revenge: After the Levoya – which is set in Essex – at The Yard Theatre, Unit 2a Queen’s Yard, London, E9 5EN, from 8– 25 January 2025. Find out more at www.theyardtheatre.co.uk.

Playwright Nick Cassenbaum

A selection of rehearsal photos from Goldie Frocks and the Bear Mitzvah – pictures by Eamonn B Shanahan

CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n 17

18 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024

Making Chanukah go with a swing

By LINDA NEWMAN

Sabra Swing are ready for their festive concert

C

heck out the fabulous jazz ensemble Sabra Swing – who are putting on a concert that celebrates the season with a joyous blend of Chanukah (or as they spell it Hunnukah) hits, plus festive favourites you never knew were written by Jews.

Sara Feldmann Brummer

The band came together in 2021 when they met at the Tsitsit Jewish Fringe Festival. Their arrangement style has many influences including klezmer, Latin, jazz and showtunes with the New York Times describing their “heartfelt fiery performances” as “soulful and virtuosic”.

The band’s singer is Harlow Jewish Community member Sara Feldmann Brummer – who has been praised by the press for having “a beautiful and ethereal sound” and “sensuous and impertinently hilarious vocals”.

She is joined by violinist Miriam Kramer, pianist Nicholas Durcan, bassist Steve Rossell and drummer Hamish Birchall.

Their next gig is titled ‘Oy Hanukkah’ and will take place at The Arts Depot in Finchley on Thursday 19 December. The band will perform Jewish classics including Hanukah in Santa Monica, Ma’oz Tsur and the Dreidel Song, as well as festive favourites Walkin’ In A Winter Wonderland, Rudolph The Red Nosed

Reindeer and Let it Snow.

Speaking about the Christmas songs, Sara told the Essex Jewish News: “We tell the story of those composers who went into America as immigrants and needed to assimilate, needed to earn some money and they were struggling.

“There was a lot of antisemitic feeling at the time, so many of them had changed their names so they didn’t sound so Jewish and wrote nonreligious songs focussed on family time, and love and joy.”

In addition to singing with Sabra Swing, Sara has a busy working life as a cantorial soloist for several Jewish communities including Edgware and Hendon Reform Synagogue and Westminster Synagogue.

Speaking about her own shul – the Reform community in Harlow where she and her young family are members – Sara added: “Being part of this congregation means a lot to us. It’s a small community, but a really important Jewish link and we try to help as much

as we can.”

Last year Sara sang at the ceremony put on by Harlow Council to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, which was led by Rabbi Irit Shillor, and they will be doing so again this coming January.

Sara added: “The event includes speakers from many different faiths in Harlow, including Rabbi Irit of course, and some wonderful young dancers from Razed Roof, Harlow’s inclusive performing arts company who will be performing again.

“The ceremony was very moving.

It is a privilege to attend be able to be part of it.”

Stamford Hill and Stoke Newington as well as the East End. “These locations were a couple of miles – in the case of Hackney, Stamford Hill and Stoke Newington – away from the ground, with the East End fewer than four miles away.

“As a result, the O’s were the local club for tens of thousands of Jewish people and many of them chose to support the team.

“That support passed on through the families and it is fair to say that the movement of the Jewish community in the 1950s onwards to areas including

Gants Hill, Redbridge, Barkingside and Newbury Park only buoyed that support.”

Jewish footballers Mark Lazarus, Bobby Fisher, Scott Kashket, Barry Silkman and Dave Metchick played a combined 600+ games for Orient and two of the club’s most high-profile chairmen, Harry Zussman and Brian Winston, were also Jewish.

Eddie concludes: “We are proud to be Orient fans and proud of our club for partnering the game with us and showing such a commitment to its Jewish supporters.”

UPCOMING DATES: Thursday 19 December 2024: Sabra Swing: Oy Hanukkah at The artsdepot, 5 Nether Street, London, N12 0GA. Thursday 3 April 2025: Sabra Swing at JW3, 341-351 Finchley Rd, London, NW3 6ET. For more details on gigs and tickets, visit www.sabraswing.com.

Orient partnership scores with Jewish fans

By SIMON ROTHSTEIN

L

EAGUE ONE football club Leyton Orient became the first to ever partner with a Jewish supporters’ organisation, as it linked up with the MeshuganOs for the team’s home match against Bristol Rovers in early December.

The MeshuganOs was set up

by Leyton Orient die-hards Eddie Gershon, Jonathan Glass, Daniel Gold and Steven Phillips – a play on the Yiddish slang Meshugana and Leyton Orient’s nickname, the O’s.

As part of the partnership, the club distributed 100 free tickets to local Jewish schools, communal groups and charities.

Four leading communal figures attended the game – Lord John Mann (the Government’s independent adviser on antisemitism), Michael Wegier (CEO of the Board of Deputies of British Jews), Jonathan Prevezer (chair of Maccabi GB) and Michael Ziff (co-chair of the London Jewish

Forum).

Leyton Orient has always had a strong Jewish following.

MeshuganOs joint founder Eddie told the Essex Jewish News: “If you ask football fans which club is most associated with its Jewish supporters, the answer will likely be Spurs.

“While it is true that Spurs has always been the favoured club for a large number of Jewish fans, it would be fair to say that Leyton Orient runs it pretty close.

“As a percentage of its overall support, the O’s might well be one of the, if not the, best-supported club amongst the Jewish community in England.”

Orient’s association with the Jewish community goes back decades.

As Eddie explains: “When they were Clapton Orient and played at Millfields, large swathes of the Jewish community resided in Hackney,

OBITUARIES CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n 19

Tributes to those we have lost, written by MANNY ROBINSON

SIMON BENSCHER

Simon Benscher addresses a Liberal Judaism conference

Born: 15 March 1955 Died: 28 October 2024 BIG hearted, passionate, supportive, caring and deeply committed ...these are some of the words that could be attributed to Simon Benscher, a key figure in the history of Liberal Progressive Judaism in Essex.

He was a big man, both in the physical sense of someone tall and wellbuilt and in the sense of a presence and, in particular, a fine baritone voice.

Simon’s singing began young. A pupil at Sir John Cass school in Duke’s Place he was identified by Revd Richard Strevens, the vicar of St Botolph’s, as being a good enough boy soprano to guest sing with the choir at St Paul’s Cathedral – but his long-term contribution was to his own religion.

His parents joined the newly formed Woodford and District Liberal

Synagogue in the mid-1960s. The same building hosted Simon’s barmitzvah and was where he met Lois, who later became his wife. They married in the shul on 13 June 1976 and had a son, Marc.

Simon did everything to help the synagogue – from schlapping and setting up High Holy Days services to chairing the council on two occasions.

His booming baritone voice became the signature sound for services at Marlborough Road.

He was an exemplar of Liberal Judaism on a national level, volunteering to serve on Liberal Judaism’s Board of National Officers for 20 years, including as the movement’s Chair up to the point where a health emergency brought it to a premature end.

MAX LEA MBE Born: 29 June 1930 Died: 20 September 2024 Max Lea receiving the MBE from the Queen

advocate for the formation of one united Progressive Judaism – which is now happening.

Rabbi Richard Jacobi, minister of East London and Essex Liberal, said: “We have had so many wonderful tributes to Simon. He may be gone, but he will not be forgotten for a long time.

“At heart, he was a family man, happiest having a meal – especially at Oslo Court restaurant – with family and close friends. There are many who will miss him, but be very glad that he was part of their lives.”

Above all else, Simon’s passion was travelling the country and building real connections with Liberal communities and members.

He was expert at bringing people together. He was an integral figure in the discussions that led to the merging of the Woodford and Bet Tikvah Liberal congregations to form East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue.

He also played a vital role in merger conversations between Liberal Judaism and The Movement for Reform Judaism in the 2010s, and was an ardent

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Maxie passed his refereeing examination in 1962 and became a member of the various Amateur Football Association and RA bodies and then an AFA council member in 1976. He was elected life president of the organisation in 1990.

Maxie grew up in the East End and was a stalwart of his beloved Cambridge and Bethnal Green Boys Club which was based in those early days in Chance Street.

He became a club member in 1941 and then a manager in 1947, a position he held until the club closed in 1988.

But for more than 60 years Maxie organised the annual reunions of club

members and received the MBE from the late Queen in 2000 for services to football and youth work.

Maxie was born in Whitechapel as a twin but his sibling died after eight hours. His parents lived in Brick Lane where his mother ran a small grocery shop while his father ran a tailoring business.

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20 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024

Cookery

By SHELLEY POSNER

CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n 21 have a hollow sound. Allow them to cool thoroughly then wrap them in foil and put them in an airtight zip lock bag. Then freeze right away or use them fresh.

PEANUT BUTTER CHICKEN: The ingredients below are for a beautiful sauce with a delicious peanut flavour. You can use it in several ways. I like to use a roaster cut into eight pieces and brush the sauce over the top. Put it in the fridge for an hour to marinate before roasting it in the usual way for around an hour at 180°C. Or you can use chicken pieces of your choice – wings, legs, thighs etc.

Alternatively, you can use chicken or turkey schnitzels and cut them into strips.

Thread them onto skewers, brush some of the marinade over them and cook them under a grill with a medium heat, turning once or twice and brushing with more marinade. This is nice served over a bed of rice. Serve any extra sauce on the side. ½ cup smooth peanut butter ½ cup water ¼ cup soy sauce 4 cloves of garlic crushed 3 tbsp lemon juice 2 tbsp soft brown sugar ¼ tsp chilli flakes – optional but does give a good warmth Salt & pepper

O

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir over a low heat until you have a thick sauce. Taste to adjust the seasoning if necessary. Allow to cool and use as above.

can be made parev with dairy-free margarine and dairy-free white chocolate chips. You can make them in a traybake tin and cut them into squares, or you can use paper cases in a muffin tin. They freeze well and defrost quickly so it’s useful to keep a few in the freezer if you have unexpected guests!

Ingredients 50g butter or margarine 150g white chocolate chips plus 50g extra to stir in 80g caster sugar 2 eggs 60g chopped dried apricots 80g plain flour 40g ground almonds 50g nuts of your choice – almonds, pecans hazelnuts – chopped small 1 tsp vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 190 deg C. Line your tin with parchment paper or grease well or use paper cases as above. Melt the butter and 150 gr of white chocolate chips together over a bowl of hot water. Stir in the sugar, mix well and allow to cool slightly for a few minutes.

Beat in the egg then stir in the apricots, the extra chocolate chips, and all the rest of the ingredients.

Fold together to incorporate all the ingredients. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin or use a tablespoon to half fill the paper cases.

Bake for around 15-18 minutes until golden and spongy to the touch.

The square tin may take another 5 minutes longer. Test with a skewer to make sure it comes out clean. Remove to a cooling tray and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and enjoy!

NE of the best sights of all the Egg wash: VANILLA & APRICOT festivals is my menorah fully 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp of water BLONDIES: lit with all its coloured candles Poppy seeds or sesame seeds to burning brightly in the front window – decorate These are effectively white brownies! shining a light upon the nations as it is In a large mixing bowl place the They are useful in the fact that they said! It reminds me of my childhood and warm water, yeast, sugar and olive the fun of singing familiar songs and oil and mix to combine. Let it sit for opening presents and playing games with five minutes on the worktop until it is the family. foamy and bubbly on the top.

Doughnuts and latkes are familiar To the yeast mixture add honey, foods this time of the year, but there is salt, eggs and 3 cups of flour. Mix it also a tradition of eating dairy dishes, together with a spatula. Add in 2¼ which is derived from the Chanukah more cups of flour and mix until a story of Judith. dough comes together in a ball. Turn This year I have tried to include Finest quality memorials designed toc requirements customers’ specific r the dough out onto a floured worktop recipes that incorporate oil and dairy – Finest quality memorialsdesigned designed to customers’ specifi Finest quality memorials designed customers’ specifi c requirements Finest quality memorials to customers’ specifi c requirements and start to knead.

If the dough is although not in the same dish. There is Marble & Granite Specialists • Renovati ons and additiona Finest quality memorials designed to customers’ specifi c requirements sticky add another ¼ cup of the flour.

Marble & Granite Specialists • Renovati ons and additi onal inscripti ons Marble&&Granite GraniteSpecialists Specialists •• Renovati Renovations onal inscripti ons also a chicken dish that sounds like it Marble onsand andadditi additi onal inscripti ons has dairy but doesn’t. I hope you enjoy Marble & Granite Specialists • Renovations and additional inscriptions Knead until all the flour is incorporated them as much as we do in our family. Finest memorials to customers’ specific requirements and quality the dough is smooth. Itdesigned will be Whatever you decide to make this slightly on the sticky side – you can & Granite • Renovations and additional inscriptions Chanukah, I hope you have your tableMarble coat your hands inSpecialists a little oil to knead filled with love, fun and laughter. Chag if it’s too messy. You can also do the Sameach from my family to yours. kneading process in a food mixer if Finest quality memorials designed to customers’ specific requirements you have a dough hook. It does make Finest quality memorials designed to customers’ specific requirements it easier! Try not to add too much flour HALF HOUR OLIVE OIL Marble & Granite Specialists • Renovations and additional inscriptions as the dough will be tough to eat.

Marble & Granite Specialists • Renovations and additional inscriptions CHALLAH: I use strong bread flour when making regular challah as it has a high gluten content but for this recipe you can use ordinary white flour. There are a huge number of patterns online for plaiting and shaping challah. If you’ve not done it before it might be best to stick to an ordinary three strand plait keeping the lines short and fat for the best rise.

This quantity will make two mediumsized loafs.

With a sharp knife cut the dough into even sized pieces. Roll the pieces into strands slightly shorter than your tray.

Please call us if you wish to visit one of our showrooms Seal the pieces together at the top Please to one of ofour ourshowrooms showrooms Pleasecall callususififyou youwish wish to visit visit one and start to braid. When you have 12 London Road 130 High Street 12 Beehive Lane Ilford achieved your desired shape cover 12Aveley RM15 4XS Edgware HA8 7EL Essex IG1 3RD London Road 130 High Street Beehive Lane Ilfor 12 London Road 130 High Street 1212Beehive Lane Ilford the loaves with oiled clingfilm and Aveley putT: 01708 682790 T: 020 7754 4646 T: 020 7754 4659 RM15 4XS Edgware HA8 7EL Essex IG1 3RD 12 London Road 130 High Street Aveley Road RM15 4XS Edgware 7EL Essex IG1 3RD 12 London 130 High Street 12 Beehive them somewhere warm for around (Adjacent to Cranbrook United SynagogueLane in Beehive IL T: 01708 682790 T: 020 7754 4646 T: 020 7754 4659 T: 01708 682790 T: 020 7754 4646 T: 020 7754 4659 Aveley RM15 4XS Edgware HA8 7EL Aveley RM15 4XS Edgware HA8 7EL Essex IG1in Beehive 3RD 15 minutes to rise (I use the airing enquiries@memorialgroup.co.uk (Adjacent to Cranbrook United Synagogue in BeeL (Adjacent to Cranbrook United Synagogue cupboard!)

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1 ½ cups warm water – don’t make it 12 London Road 130 High Street 12 Beehive Lane Ilford T: 01708 682790 T: 020 7754 4646 T: Edgware 020 7754 4659 WWW.MEMORIALGROUP.CO.UK WWW.MEMORIALGROUP.CO.UK too hot, just hand warm 12 London Road 130 High Street 12 Beehive Lane Ilford RM15 4XS HA8 7EL Essex IG1 3RD Heat the oven. Uncover the loaves andAveley (Adjacent to Cranbrook United Synagogue in Beehive Lane) 2 tbsp dry instant yeast Aveley RM15 4XS Edgware HA84646 7EL IG1 3RD T: 01708 682790 T: 020 7754 T: Essex 020 7754 4659 brush them gently with a pastry brush ¼ tsp sugar T: 020 7754 4646 T:Cranbrook 020United 7754 4659 (Adjacent to Synagogue in Beehive L with the egg and water wash. Now T: 01708 682790 1/3 cup olive oil (Adjacent to Cranbrook United Synagogue in Beehive L enquiries@memorialgroup.co.uk sprinkle with the seeds of your choice. ¼ cup honey WWW.MEMORIALGROUP.CO.UK enquiries@memorialgroup.co.uk Bake them in a hot oven for around 152 tsps salt WWW.MEMORIALGROUP.CO.UK 20 minutes. The top should be a good 2 eggs WWW.MEMORIALGROUP.CO.UK 5¾ cups sifted white flour / strong brown colour and to test if they are bread flour done, tap the base of the loaf. It should

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22 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024

The Interfaith

By DR EMMA HARRIS

R

PERSPECTIVE

ECENTLY, the Woolf Institute hosted two book launches.

We celebrated the eagerly awaited 25-year history of the Institute told through the memories of our Founder President, Dr Ed Kessler MBE, our staff (past and present) and researchers, current scholars, alumni and supporters, alongside a multitude of photos spanning the quarter century.

The story – now legendary – is told that during the latter half of the 1990s, two men met regularly in a café in Cambridge to discuss interfaith dialogue and the problems caused by the misunderstandings and ignorance of other faiths.

During one of these conversations, one turned to the other and suggested they should establish a centre. The two men were Dr Ed Kessler MBE and Revd Professor Martin Forward. It was originally called the Centre for JewishChristian Relations, later renamed the Woolf Institute.

The rest, as they say, is history!

I contributed a piece to the book.

As the current longest serving member of staff, I tell the story of how I became involved in the Institute back in 2011 and my journey through the years from my first position as Administrator of Academic Programmes to my current role as Director of Grants Management and Alumni Relations.

When I moved to Cambridge in October 2009, I learnt about the Woolf Institute from a former UCL colleague, Dr Lars Fischer, its then Academic Director. We would often meet at a local café.

Our chats became rather Woolforientated when he floated the idea of me working with him as the administrator for the MSt in The Study of Jewish-Christian Relations, a programme he directed in collaboration with the University of Cambridge Faculty of Divinity and the Institute of Continuing Education.

I should note at this point in the story that there was no job to offer, just a wish on Lars’ part! I have no idea what went on behind the scenes, but I was invited to meet with the Institute’s Founder, Dr Kessler. It was not an interview, just an informal conversation. Time passed by; I continued to meet Lars for coffee, but we never talked further about the role.

I assumed that nothing would come of my conversation with Ed. One Friday, in March 2011, just a few months after meeting Ed, my parents and I were going for a preShabbat drink at The Anchor pub

Dr Ed Kessler with his new work on Jewish-Christians relations

in Cambridge. Just as we walked through the door, my mobile rang.

Without sounding too dramatic, it was a call which changed my life.

People say there is a key moment in their lives which transforms them.

That was my moment. Ed was calling to offer me a job.

Two months later, on 16 May 2011, I joined the Institute; funnily enough, it was the same day that Lars had –

almost a year earlier – invited me to give a lecture to the MSt cohort about my PhD research on Anglo-Jewry’s Experience of Secondary Education, 1830-1920.

Within a year or so, my role had expanded. I became the Academic Coordinator and was involved in the Institute’s online course provision.

The story of one Muslim participant has remained with me all these years. He took part in the course Bridging the Great Divide: the Jewish-Muslim Encounter which explored the history, culture and theology of Muslims and Jews, reflecting both on similarities and differences as well as discussing the major challenges. He had never engaged with Jews. He readily admitted that his education had not been sympathetic towards the Jewish community. By the end of the course, the change in his attitude towards Judaism and the Jewish community was astounding. He felt truly connected to his Jewish peers in this virtual class; they were his brothers and sisters. His son was born towards the end of the course; he delighted in telling his peers on the discussion

forum that the course had had such an impact on him that he named his son, Abraham, a constant reminder of the incredible Muslim-Jewish dialogue he had experienced.

Late in 2016, I was promoted to Director of Studies and led on the strategic and operational plans for teaching, even creating my own online course on Representations of Jewish-Christian Relations in Literature, asking the question, ‘in the 21st-century, what can we learn from literary works to effect greater understanding between one another?’.

Last year, whilst still being involved in various aspects of teaching and public engagement, my role shifted to that of Director of Grants Management and Alumni Relations. More than 13 years after I first stepped through the doors of the Woolf Institute, my interest in the study of interfaith relations has not waned and I am proud to be part of such an inspiring institute that fosters understanding between people of different beliefs and improves the way people live together in society.

We were equally delighted to launch A Documentary History of Jewish-Christian Relations from Antiquity to the Present Day, edited

by Dr Kessler together with Neil Wenborn.

The Documentary History is the first comprehensive attempt to gather up to 200 key primary documents, which shed light not only on the theological context, but also on the social, political, economic and other contexts, which are central to Jewish-Christian relations. Each of the selected documents is followed by a commentary and the volume is a systematic and authoritative single-volume work on the encounter between Jews and Christians.

It reflects massive changes of attitude and approach to the question of Jewish-Christian relations, particularly since the beginning of modern Zionism and the Christian rediscovery of a more constructive relationship with Jews and Judaism in the late 19th century, the establishment of the State of Israel (1948) and Vatican II (1965) and its consequences, including Jewish responses.

In our weekly newsletter, This Week at Woolf, Dr Kessler wrote: “You can learn what happened over the 2,000-year history of the encounter, as well as how and why, and the huge changes and massive improvement there has been in the Jewish-Christian relationship in more recent times.”

With Chanukah (and Christmas) fast approaching, I can highly recommend A Documentary History of Jewish-Christian Relations written by a team of leading international scholars in the field.

It is the ideal gift for anyone who wants to explore the relationship between the two religions.

CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n 23

From Russia with Love... but little else!

VIEW FROM THE SIDELINES

By MANNY ROBINSON

A

RELATIVE of mine, digging through his parents’ old suitcases, discovered a photograph of a white bearded old man standing alongside a wooden bimah, a large prayer book in his hand. The synagogue was also wooden. I say ‘old man’ because he looked 80 but could have been 30!

There was no name on the photograph but the wording on the back was in Russian.

The photograph could have been straight out of a scene from Yentl or Fiddler on the Roof, with the wooden shul in a village like the fictional Anatevka.

I was told that the man was my great-grandfather, his name unknown.

His son, my grandfather, came to Britain with his wife in the 1890s and the 1900 census states that they were from Poland, not Russia, although the elastic borders in those days between the two countries changed from week to week.

In the 19th century, the Russian Empire was home to about five million Jews, at that time the largest Jewish community in the world.

About half left to escape the pogroms and the edict that Jewish boys would have to serve 25 years in the Russian army. The Jews escaped mainly to the United States – but about 150,000 arrived in the United Kingdom, settling mainly in the East End of London.

I shall forever be grateful to my grandfather, a simple cap maker, for coming to these shores legally as an asylum seeker from the pogroms and other horrors. He and his fellow Jews must have endured enormous suffering to get here.

But who was the man standing in the wooden synagogue? What work did he do? Did he have brothers and/ or sisters? What was his wife’s name?

Whether my grandfather sat my mother down on his knee and told her about his life in Eastern Europe I will never know. She certainly never told me.

I suspect many others will also never know about their own longgone relatives either, because little or nothing was ever written down by them about life in the shtetls and passed down from generation to generation.

History, particularly Jewish history, is a vast subject and fortunately our children DO have some knowledge of what life was like in the shtetls of Eastern Europe.

Debbie Juggler, the new deputy head of King Solomon High School in Barkingside told me: “Before I came to King Solomon, I don’t think

we really taught much about life in Eastern Europe for the Jewish population who lived there. Now from Year 8 we are incorporating it, including the growth of Chassidim, Zionism and other subjects.”

But she agreed that personal recollections were almost impossible to find, adding: “Perhaps those Jews who came to this country simply wanted to forget the horrors of the pogroms that they had witnessed.

Perhaps they were only interested in their new lives in Britain and only wanted to look forward, not back.”

Another possible reason was that Yiddish was in the main a spoken language rather than a written one (mama loshen – mother tongue) and putting pen to paper to record what someone’s personal life was like was not on the agenda.

The Jews helped to change the course of history. But many of the older population know so little of that history. They went to cheder, learned their Bar Mitzvah and that was that.

Their knowledge, of course, increased with the Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel. But there are personal records of those events.

I don’t think our grandparents and great grandparents found England’s green and pleasant land a walk in the park. Far from it.

By the turn of the century a media and public backlash had begun. The British Brothers League was formed and at rallies its speakers said that Britain should not become “the dumping ground for the scum of Europe”.

An editorial in a Manchester newspaper said that “the dirty, destitute, diseased, verminous and criminal foreigner who dumps himself on our soil shall be forbidden to land.”

In 1905, the Aliens Act was introduced to control immigration.

Those who appeared “unable to support themselves” were declared “undesirable”. The Act also allowed the government to turn away potential immigrants on medical grounds. Asylum seekers fleeing from religious or political persecution were supposedly exempt from the Act but nevertheless, their claims were often ignored.

While the Act was designed to prevent paupers or criminals from entering the country, one of its main objectives was to control immigration from Eastern Europe… and that meant Jewish immigration which had increased significantly after 1880.

Future Prime Minister Winston Churchill opposed the Act. He stated that it would “appeal to insular prejudice against foreigners and racial

prejudice against Jews.”

The Act was eventually repealed by the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919, although some of the border control mechanisms it established remain to this day.

By coming to this country many of our grandparents and great grandparents produced children who had a profound effect on the world.

From the offspring of those early

immigrants came scientists, doctors, actors, writers, philosophers and musicians. That might never have happened had they stayed – and managed to survive – in Eastern Europe.

The late Sir Peter Ustinov wrote in his book ‘Dear Me’ that he felt: “The Jews have made a contribution to the human condition out of all proportion to their numbers.”

Wise words ... and how true.

Do something beyond incredible By leaving a Future Gift to Jewish Care in your Will, you’ll be doing something beyond incredible. Future Giving ensures that vulnerable older people in our community are supported, even beyond your lifetime. Without gifts in Wills we couldn’t provide the high level of care that our community deserves.

To find out more about Future Giving or our free Will-writing service contact Sarit on 020 8922 2819, email legacyteam@jcare.org, visit jewishcare.org/ futuregiving or scan the QR code below

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24 n ESSEX JEWISH NEWS n CHANUKAH 5785/DECEMBER 2024

Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high risk investment. Take 2 mins to learn more.

Wishing the Essex Community a Happy Chanukah An Award Winning EIS and SEIS Investment Fund Manager

Curating Tomorrow's Growth Since 2014 Investing in dynamic, innovative businesses harnessing AI and other enabling technologies across a range of key sectors Opportunity Back the latest B2B SaaS companies harnessing AI and other enabling tech Tax Efficient Invest and benefit from SEIS or EIS tax relief depending on fund choice No Initial or Ongoing Fees to Investors Only a Performance Fee after return of initial investment

Contact us via your IFA or directly: Spencer Krett 020 3011 5095 sk@symvancapital.com | www.symvancapital.com

50+

Investments

£50m AUM

800

Subscribers

100

Founders

5

Exits

7%

Failure Rate

RISK SUMMARY Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk. What are the key risks?

1. You could lose all the money you invest - If the business that Symvan Capital’s funds invest in on your behalf fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. Most start-up businesses fail.

2. You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong - Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance.

- Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it.

3. You won’t get your money back quickly - Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early.

- The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange.

These events are not common.

- If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.

4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket - Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.

- A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.

5. The value of your investment can be reduced - The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.

- These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION This document has been approved as a financial promotion pursuant to section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by Symvan Capital Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom , FCA number 685262 , and whose registered office is at 2 London Wall Place, 6th Floor, London EC2Y 5AU. 2 December 2024